CMLL

Tonight’s show

CMLL (FRI) 10/25/2024 Arena México
1) Dulce Gardenia vs Difunto [lightning]
2) Ángel de Oro & Niebla Roja vs Magnus & Rugido
non-title match
3) Averno © vs Zandokan Jr. [CMLL LH]
2nd defense
4) Máscara Dorada, Místico, Templario vs Cavernario, Euforia, Soberano Jr.
5) Amapola, Dark Silueta, Hera, Kira, Lluvia, Princesa Sugehit, Reyna Isis, Sanely, Skadi, Zeuxis vs Alex Windsor, La Catalina, Persephone, Red Velvet, Samantha Black, Sayaka Unagi, Sumika Yanagawa, Tessa Blanchard, Viva Van, Willow Nightingale [Grand Prix de Amazonas]

I typically have a strong take about the person who will win these Grand Prixs, or at least the people in the mix. I’m not always correct, but there’s usually an obvious direction. I had no strong idea who would win when this field was announced and I still have no strong idea on the day of the show. I still presume it’ll be someone on Team Mexico, but the rise of Persephone is a reminder CMLL is more unpredictable than ever. There are a lot of people who could win and match itself should be pretty good, but I can’t tell you how it’s going to turn out.

CMLL revealed AEW’s Aubrey Edwards would be a special referee for this match. I presume, perhaps incorrectly, that La Vaquerita will still be the main referee. These Grand Prixs both do and do not need extra referees. There are typically three of them: one in the ring doing typical referee things, and two outside of the ring who are supposed to be keeping the teams in order (and then utterly fail to do so as the match turns into a riot once or twice.) I presume the real job of those outside referees is to pass messages back and forth should something go wrong and the elimination need to be reworked, and having an extra English speaker may help with that.

CMLL probably won’t have too many big angles the rest of the way. Next Friday will be the Dia del Muertos shows, so there’s no place to follow up. The rest of this show is just good matches to have good matches. Dorada & Templario have been an outstanding team in the past and have good opponents in match 4. I really liked Averno/Zandokan last time though I think this one is liable to be less cheating and more moves. Match 2 is the reliable world tag team champs against the reliable national tag team champions. Difunto’s been really good of late and the opener with Dulce should get over well. This should be a pleasant show.

CMLL pushed out a lot of ads for the Grand Prix meet and greet in the last day or so, including offering YouTube subscribers 50% off on the day of the show. That seems to indicate they didn’t come close to selling out all 50 tickets (and video footage seemed to confirm that.) Tickets for tonight’s show seem to be moving better; there were just scattered single tickets left on the floor when I checked Friday morning. CMLL was pushing the idea that the floor was pretty much sold out, the balcon was sold out, and gradas were mostly sold. CMLL seemed to think they’d sell this one out. It’s not a lock but it’s definitely plasuisble, and it’ll be a big number either way. I don’t really feel the buzz for this show, but it is still working strong as a ticket-selling concept.

CMLL (MON) 10/28/2024 Arena Puebla
1) Amnesia & Black Tiger vs King Jaguar & Sombra Diabólika
2) Meyer & Valiente Jr. vs Enfermero Jr. & Prayer
3) India Sioux vs Persephone [lightning]
4) Kira, La Catalina, Skadi vs Samantha Black, Sayaka Unagi, Sumika Yanagawa
5) Rey Samuray vs Arkalis, Pegasso, Stigma, Xelhua, Multy, Perverso, Guerrero Maya Jr. [Rey del Inframundo, semifinal]
6) Atlantis Jr., Místico, Star Jr. vs Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Soberano Jr.

This is the start of the Dia del Muertos week. CMLL is still honoring their concept of two women’s matches on every show even with other theme coming in. Match 5 is the first Guerrero Maya Jr. appearance since joining the rudo side. He seems the easy favorite in the match.

Lady Shadow was listed as a CMLL Amazona again this week on the Guadalajara broadcast, so she’s meant to be part of the CMLL roster even though she only works on Guadalajara shows and rarely even those. I wonder if the Andrade family connection has anything to do with it. That Guadalajara show aired for free even though the men’s equivalent show before the Grand Prix was definitely behind a paywall. CMLL never says what they’re actually doing half the time and I try to assume they’ll follow what they did last time, but that’s not always correct.

Bengalee, of the 2 show CMLL run, announced Friday she was quitting lucha libre immediately. I don’t know what’s going on but I assume she’s not had her last match – that perhaps the CMLL failure was a professional/emotional set back but she’ll be back around soon enough. I wonder what the knockoff effect of Bengalee and the other “independent luchadors” having that terrible Arena Coliseo match and eventually being pulled from all lineups has had on CMLL’s plans. India Sioux will have at least 13 matches this month, and probably a few of them would’ve gone to others. Maybe the original plan had Bengalee and others wrestling in Arena Mexico next Tuesday, freeing up more people to strength Guadalajara’s card.

Amapola is the guest on this week’s CMLL podcast.

Mistico also visited with the F1 drivers this week.

AAA

AAA is taping the next three Sundays, which is odd for them, so nothing this week. They do have a Vampiro retirement show in Ensenada, which seems to be promoted by the same “Lucha Libre AAA Border” group that ran that Tijuana show (and appears to be AAA itself presenting itself as a local promoter for whatever reason.)

On video this week

• Unimas will have part 1 of Heroes Inmortales
  • This show is (currently) listed as a 2 pm ET start time.
• Space will have part 2 of Monterrey
• AAA on YouTube will have part 1 of Monterrey

Latin Lover says he’s talked to AAA about bringing in Shocker for some non-wrestling appearances. Latin also mentions he’s bringing Shocker on his podcast soon.

JBL teased a return to the ring on Twitter, following stem cell therapy. It has never made sense for AAA to bring in JBL to be a third evil owner character associated with Alberto, but they keep putting him on TV anyway. (It’s hard to find an indication that’s actually helped AAA in any way, but AAA’s most important metric is how much heel heat they can get a promo, and JBL is willing to be racist in promos to get the desired heat.) Maybe AAA’s belief is they’ll get him in the ring to wrestle at one of the TripleManias next year. AAA’s main event strategy seems focused on either bringing people out of retirement or sending people to retirement.

IWRG

There was no show on Thursday. They announced it earlier in the week.

IWRG (SUN) 10/27/2024 Arena Naucalpan
1) Fauno vs Águila Oriental
2) Multifacetico Jr., Shamla, Tornado vs Demonia, Príncipe Centauro, Rey Halcón
3) Luka vs Abigor
4) Diva Salvaje, Mamba, Spider Fly vs Arez, Látigo, Toxin
5) Hell Boy, Hijo de Canis Lupus, Máscara Sagrada vs Águila Roja, Hijo del Fishman, Vengador
6) Jessy Ventura vs Vangellys © [IWRG Rey del Ring]

The full Mala Fama are back here after a few weeks.

IWRG (THU) 10/31/2024 Arena Naucalpan
***Castillo del Terror, 2024***
1) Príncipe Centauro, Rey Astaroth, Rey Halcón vs Caballero de Plata, Felino Boy, Sky Man
2) Gravity vs Águila Roja ©, Águila Oriental, Cerebro Negro Jr., Iron Kid [IWRG IC Light]
3rd defense
3) Keyra & Shamila vs Julissa & Valentina
4) Pig Decapitador, Pig Destructor, Pig Pool vs Gran Pandemónium, Hijo de Pandemónium, Pandemónium Jr. © [EdM Trios, lumberjack]
2nd defense
5) ?, Látigo, Toxin vs Diva Salvaje, Jessy Ventura, Mamba [IWRG IC TRIOS]
2nd defense. Arez is part of the champions but maybe not part of the defense?
6) Aquiles, Galeno del Mal, Hell Boy, Hijo de Canis Lupus vs Abismo Negro Jr., Colmillo de Plata (AAA), Garra De Oro (AAA), Octagón Jr. (AAA)
7) Pig Destroyer vs Bendito, Multifacetico Jr., Abigor, Villano V Jr., Tornado, Luka, Rock Power, Máscara Sagrada NG, Brazo De Oro Jr., Pandemónium, Spider Fly [cage, mask]

Rock Power and Spider Fly have had issues for months and seem most likely to settle the match. Abigor and Luka have feuded more recently and have a shot. Anyone else losing would be a surprise.

Match 6 features guest AAA appearances from people who were IWRG regulars in past lives. Though everyone wrestled in IWRG in a past life.

I’m unsure what Arez is up to on Thursday that he’s not making this show.

This show usually would be behind a paywall, especially if Mas Lucha were still airing it. I wonder if the IWRG channel has reached a viewership level where that’s an option.

Site News

I’ve added more than 500 new events to the luchadb from magazines Rob picked up during his trip to Mexico last month. I haven’t done a big compilation of just those ones, but today’s post doesn’t have much to it so I’ll point out the additions to more significant venues:

• Arena Mexico:
  • 06/24/1960 (Friday, only the main event)
  • 09/23/1960 (Friday, only the title matches)
  • 09/30/1960 (Friday, only the main event)
  • 11/07/1960 (Friday; only a note)
  • 11/04/1960 (Friday; only the title match)
  • 11/26/1976 (Friday)
  • 03/04/1977 (Friday)
  • 11/17/1977 (Friday)
  • 03/14/1980 (Friday)
  • 03/21/1980 (Friday)
• Arena Coliseo
  • 07/17/1960 (Sunday)
  • 03/06/1977 (Sunday)
  • 03/11/1980 (Tuesday)
  • 03/23/1980 (Sunday)
  • 01/28/1983 (Friday)
• Pista Arena Revolucion
  • 11/15/1976
  • 11/27/1976
  • 02/26/1977
  • 03/05/1977
  • 03/06/1977
  • 03/12/1977
  • 12/05/1977
  • 05/13/1978
  • 03/20/1980
  • 03/22/1980
  • 01/28/1983
  • 01/29/1983
  • 01/30/1983
• Toreo de Cuatro Caminos
  • 02/27/1977
  • 11/13/1977
  • 11/20/1977
  • 01/23/1983
  • 01/30/1983

There were no new AAA tapings, though I was able to correct a date or two and find some missing venue names. The (impossible) dream remains to one day have a full list of every Friday night EMLL/CMLL show, and we’re at least 10 more closer.

CMLL

CMLL (MON) 10/21/2024 Arena Puebla [CMLL, Fuego en el Ring, Grada, Mano a Mano]
1) Blue Shark & Rey Samuray b El Malayo & Siky Ozama
2) Pegasso, Rayo Metálico, Volcano b Kráneo, Multy, Okumura
3) India Sioux b Samantha Black [lightning]
6:50.
4) Maligna, Metálica, Olympia, Tabata, Zeuxis b Alex Windsor, Red Velvet, Sayaka Unagi, Sumika Yanagawa, Viva Van [cibernetico] 
Order of elimination: Maligna, Sumika Yanagawa, Olimpia, Metalica, Sayaki Unagi, Viva Van, Tabata, Alex Windsor, Red Velvet, leaving Zeuxis as the winner
5) Místico, Stigma, Xelhua DQ Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Soberano Jr. 
rudos unmasked the tecnicos, then had a game of baseball with the masks.

The baseball bit was funny. I haven’t been linking the Puebla/MVS stuff here (and I might still be behind in posting it on DailyMotion), but the Neon/Stuka match from last Monday is worth watching. Puebla only aired two matches last week and I suspect it’ll be the same this coming week with the cibernetico. Those hoping to see India Sioux & Samantha Black may be out of luck.

CMLL (TUE) 10/22/2024 Arena México [CMLL, Estrellas del Ring, Kaiser Sports, thecubsfan]
1) Diamond & Eléctrico b Grako & Inquisidor  
9:50
2) Futuro, Max Star, Volcano b Hunter, Infarto, Kráneo  
11:54. Futuro messed up a springboard and hurt his shoulder on the landing, though he didn’t seek medical attention.
3) Princesa Sugehit b Amapola [lightning] 
6:38
4) Barboza & Zandokan Jr. b Magia Blanca & Vegas  
16:01. Match came down to Zandokan and Vegas, and Zandokan used the ropes to foul Vegas before the winning move.
5) La Catalina, Lluvia, Tessa Blanchard b Persephone, Reyna Isis, Sanely  
13:14
6) Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr., Último Guerrero b Atlantis Jr., Dragón Rojo Jr., Volador Jr.  
14:29

A nothing much to show. I guess the main event was the best. Match 4 had moments but didn’t hang together. There was some fun small/big stuff in Match 2, but everyone looked lost after Futuro got hurt. Tessa always does this bit where she gives a cutter to everyone on the other team, and every single woman took the bump differently. Reyna Isis flipped around to her back somehow.

CMLL (TUE) 10/22/2024 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [Fuego en el Ring, Mas Lucha Jr.]
1) Magia Azul & Universys b Atenea & Quetzal
2) Hatanna & Zorah b Miss Panther & Queen Panther
Queen Panther replaced Lady Puma
3) Candela & Metálica b Emperatriz & Luna
Luna replaced Alondra
4) Lady Shadow & Miss Guerrera b Adira & Nexy
5) Alex Windsor, Red Velvet, Samantha Black, Sayaka Unagi, Sumika Yanagawa, Viva Van b Dark Silueta, India Sioux, Maligna, Olympia, Tabata, Valkiria
Red Velvet beat Dark Silueta

Team World and Team Mexico split the two lead-up ciberneticos. Red Velvet and Zeuxis are among the bigger names on each team, though their early wins suggest it’ll be someone else holding the trophy.

This show drew worse than a typical Tuesday Guadalajara show, as apparent in videos. I’m not even sure “all women’s wrestling” was the issue as much as the specific women used. There’s Dark Silueta, who is the local star. There’s Olympia, who is halfway pushed. And then there’s India Sioux, Maligna, Tabata, and Valkiria, all of who are among the least popular CMLL women. I’m not sure the bigger main event women would’ve drawn much better, but I think men at a similar level would’ve also struggled. There’s probably some interest in the guest women, but not an overwhelming amount – the “50 people only” meet and greet still hadn’t sold out as of Wednesday. Whatever the reason, CMLL main evented a show with mostly secondary/preliminary women, and it went about as well as it should’ve been expected.

There was a point where CMLL was essentially doing the Grand Prix twice a week, with most of the same names as part of the match in Guadalajara before Arena Mexico. I think someone in CMLL figured out they were giving away the match for free to anyone who had access to YouTube since the Guadalajara shows were always broadcast for free, and so CMLL dramatically cut down on the Mexico star power on these preview matches. But they’ve also put these Guadalajara shows behind a paywall on Grand Prix weeks, so they’re not really giving it away for free. They should look at just shifting back to the original idea if they’re going to keep putting these shows behind a paywall anyway.

I never wrote about the CMLL matches in the UK from the weekend, but there wasn’t much to write. All the matches were ok/good. Mascara Dorada/Tsuji (Lio Rush had travel issues) was more a cool idea than a cool match. The LIJ vs Dorada/TMDK match on Sunday was a lot of LIJ comedy, and then it felt like it ended early, perhaps because they were run out of town. There was a lot more in that match if they went for it, but it was not a show where they were going for it.

Capitan Suicida’s Super Junior Tag League adventure begins tomorrow morning. He and Tiger Mask face BUSHI & Hirmou. Suicida might not win a match on this tour and that is OK.

No CMLL Informa lineup as of yet. CMLL previously said they’d have both Grand Prix teams on this week.

CMLL (SAT) 10/26/2024 Arena Coliseo
1) Leono & Retro vs Apocalipsis & Cholo
2) El Audaz, Principe Daniel, Valiente Jr. vs Crixus, El Coyote, Pólvora
3) India Sioux, Samantha Black, Tabata vs Hera, La Maligna, Olympia
4) Explosivo, Fugaz, Star Black vs Dark Magic, Espanto Jr., Raider
5) Willow Nightingale vs Skadi [lightning]
6) Flip Gordon, Templario, Volador Jr. vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Hechicero, Terrible

No Dragon Rojo/Barbaro Cavernario match after all. Skadi/Willow is exactly the weird match I like to see in these Grand Prixs. Principe Daniel, one of Cavernario’s brothers, makes his first appearance in Mexico City since 2022. He’s barely appeared in Arena Coliseo Guadalajara the last few months so that he may have relocated to Mexico City.

Viva Van, Alex Windsor, and Red Velvet appear to finish up on Friday based on this lineup (so some or all might be on Collision that Saturday.) Unagi & Yanagawa are headed to Monterrey instead, which seems to be an annual bit for the Japanese contingent to the women’s Grand Prix. That show has a bunch of CMLL people on it, which may account for this show being a little weak on star power.

CMLL (SUN) 10/27/2024 Arena México
1) KeMalito & Periquito Sacaryas vs Mije & Tengu
2) Dark Silueta vs Sayaka Unagi [lightning]
3) Último Dragóncito vs Pierrothito, Shockercito, Pequeño Olímpico, Fantasy, Mercurio, Angelito, Pequeño Violencia, Kaligua, Full Metal, Pequeño Magía, Pequeño Polvora, Acero, Aéreo, Galaxy, Rostro De Acero [cibernetico]
4) Lluvia, Reyna Isis, Zeuxis vs Samantha Black, Sumika Yanagawa, Willow Nightingale
5) Místico, Neón, Volador Jr. vs Hechicero, Hijo del Villano III, Villano III Jr.

Rostro de Acero is indeed the last person in the minis cibernetico. CMLL’s promoted that tournament for a month and it is in the same match 3 position as ever. Outside of Mistico & Hechicero, it’s not like there’s a super compelling reason they’re in match 3 either. Silueta/Unagi is a rematch of the CMLL Japan title match.

Reyna Isis faces Viva Van on Thursday’s Ring of Honor show. I guess that’s sort of a Grand Prix preview match. The Brian Cage/Komander ROH TV title match also airs this week. Reyna Isis also taped a match with Lady Frost, which will probably air next week.

MLW 11/04

• Titan vs Averno vs Mistico for the MLW Middleweight Championship
• Esfinge & Kevin Knight & Ultimo Guerrero & Hechicero
• Atlantis, Altantis Jr., Star Jr. vs Barbaro Cavernario, Felino, Magnus
• Lluvia vs Persephone vs Jania Kai for the MLW Featherweight Championship – new

They’re still missing an Okumura match but everyone else is accounted for. At the prior show, MLW taped another full episode of their YouTube show without any luchadors, then sent out the CMLL guys for the live broadcast. I presume this will be the same.

A story on Angelito mentions the CMLL bodybuilding contest will be on 11/27. There’s also a Mr. Mexico bodybuilding contest on 12/01, which sounds like it may include some CMLL wrestlers. Angelito is aiming for top three.

I knew Fernando Valenzuela was a big deal to Mexican fans. I did not expect CMLL to put out a message marking his passing.

AAA

AAA did release that lineup for Saltillo

AAA TV (SUN) 11/17/2024 Lienzo Charro Prof. Enrique Gonzalez, Saltillo, Coahuila
1) ?, ??, ??? vs ????, ?????, ??????
2) Mr. Iguana & Niño Hamburguesa vs Andrómeda & Belcegor
3) Flammer & La Hiedra vs Chik Tormenta & Dalys and Julissa & Valentynna Reis
4) Dinámico, Drago, Laredo Kid vs Kento, Nobu San, Takuma
5) Dave The Clown, Murder Clown, Panic Clown vs Abismo Negro Jr., Psicosis, Taurus [AAA TRIOS]
6) Hijo Del Vikingo & Octagón Jr. vs Alberto el Patrón & El Mesías

Mesias and Octagon are meant to have a title match at some point, but AAA hasn’t made it clear when it’s happening.

The Psycho Circus have vaguely been feuding with the Vipers since before TripleMania Mexico City, but that trios title match is mostly about the Viper falling apart. It was actually Abismo Negro, Psicosis and Toxin won the trios titles. Toxin quit, so Fiscal became a trios champion. Fiscal got hurt, so the new Taurus became a trios champion. (Fiscal is strangely still booked in Juarez the week prior.) The Vipers won the belts because Sanson Cuatrero is currently in jail and AAA needed new champs. NGD won the belts because DMT Azul quit AAA. What I’m saying is these titles are bad luck and Psycho Circus should think twice about winning them.

Match 4 is a repeat from Juarez the week prior. Vikingo/Alberto in the tag match plays off the title match. Match 3 is the Hiedra/Julissa stuff, which is definitely a storyline and also probably more than a storyline issue. Andromeda got a write-up in the WON following Heroes Inmortales where he didn’t actually do as much as normal, so he appears to be the new Konnan favorite of the moment.

Fuerza Guerrera was Latin Lover’s podcast guest this week and asked Latin Lover if he’s going to wrestle. Latin Lover said he has an offer from Dorian Roldan to return for one match against Alberto on a PPV. Latin made it sound as if he hadn’t made a decision yet. Everything on AAA TV is building towards that match, so either he’s actually said yes or AAA believes they’ll get him to say yes when the time comes. AAA could theoretically run Latin Lover and Alberto without the title, Vikingo winning in Juarez and defending it against someone else, but it’s hard to imagine Alberto losing in AAA any time soon.

(AAA did a TV angle where Latin Lover revealed he could strip Alberto of the Mega title if he’s unprofessional, a play on Alberto’s many outside-the-ring incidents over the last decade. I think that’s more AAA wanting to prove they’ve thought this angle through rather than a setup for a direction; he did beat up and bloody Latin Lover after winning that title and I guess that wasn’t unprofessional enough to lose the belt)

INJUVE officially announced the rules for this year’s Lucha Por El Barrio contest. Participants must be Mexicans between 18 and 29 years old. The first session is November 4th. The winner will get 10,000 pesos and a one-year contract with AAA for 2025. 2nd and 3rd get the same contract and less money. This year’s winners were Dick Angelo 3G -> Taurus, Legendario -> Bengala and Lady Wind, who never wrestled for AAA past the tryout (and local Xalapa bookings.)

El Planchitas column this week speculates on a possible AAA return to Televisa. Nothing he mentions seems different from when this was brought up this past summer around the Unimas start date: there is a synergy to AAA’s US and Mexico programming being with the same broadcaster, and AAA’s pretty much forgotten on Azteca. (They’re on secondary channel A+, a channel so low profile that even just confirming AAA’s still on that channel is tough – the show is listed as Lucha Azteca with no mention of AAA.) AAA’s not going anywhere new over the air until they’ve finished their Azteca contract, and no one’s saying exactly when that contract ends. The news we’ve gotten about the AAA/Azteca deal in the past an end-of-year/early next-year renewal date in the past, so perhaps there’s movement in the last few months. At this point, I would be surprised if AAA stuck with Azteca even if they don’t immediately have a Teleivisa deal in hand; the AAA/Azteca relationship seems poor at this point. Televisa seems to be treating CMLL pretty well and my guess is they wouldn’t boot them to take AAA, it would more likely be a return to the original status quo of the network airing both promotions.

Octagon Jr. gave a mask to F1 Driver Sergio Perez, which will be useful next time he sneaks into an AAA show. Perez was at Heroes Inmortales and AAA didn’t mention on the broadcast; I don’t think even AAA knew he was there until photos came out after the fact. F1 drivers are among the most famous people in the world, Perez is an especially popular Mexican driver, and he was just chilling in the front row under a mask without anyone figuring it out. Perez has a lucha libre themed helmet design this week. (CMLL is also getting on this promotion.)

Quetzalli had (new) Taurus on her show this week.

Other News

Silver King passed away on May 11, 2019 in London, due to a heart attack in a match with Juventud Guerrera on a Todo x el Todo show. The current Hijo de Silver King and Juventud Guerrera were both in the Todo x el Todo tag tournament in Monterrey, which Mas Lucha aired this past week. Mas Lucha is now posting post-match interviews from that show including Hijo de Silver King saying he would avenge his father against Hijo del Santo and Juventud Guerrera. Santo unmasked Silver King, and the idea is Juventud Guerrera killed Silver King in their match. It’s doesn’t have any basis in reality – Juventud Guerrera did nothing to Silver King in that match, and just happened to be the opposition that night – and it’s obviously in terrible taste. Hijo de Silver King is a guy trying to get noticed and not really booked much outside his association with the rest of the Wagner family. (I’m not entirely sure he’s a real son of Silver King, as there have been fake Silver King children, but poking around his social media suggests that’s the case.) For his part, Juventud Guerrera’s post-match interview is shooting an angle for a match with his father against Santo and Santo Jr., and doesn’t bring up Silver King at all. (Most of the TxT post-match interviews are wrestlers pitching their matches, either for the rest of the TxT tour or for other indie promoters who might be interested.) There’s no sense anyone’s interested in booking a Hijo del Silver King/Juventud Guerrera match.

Shocker was released from Julio Cesar Chavez’ rehab clinic and was immediately on TV talking about it on Monday. He seemed to be saying the right things. This was his fourth trip to rehab, first getting sent there by CMLL in 2002/2003 for three months after walking off a commercial shoot, but he didn’t take it seriously. (There’s no obvious 3-month gap for Shocker in that time period; maybe the years are hard to remember. 2007 looks more likely.) He sunk deeper into addiction during the pandemic and mentioned he attempted suicide. Shocker says he was more cooperative this trip through rehab. He says he didn’t know it would last six months and joked he wouldn’t have agreed if he knew it would be that long, but he knew he needed it. He says he may return to wrestling.

GALLI announced Aramis versus The Beast Mortos for their show this Sunday in Waukegan. That match won’t be happening. GALLI posted a video with Aramis announcing that he was missing the show due to injury but it was a short term thing, he hoped to be back in a couple of weeks, and he’d make up to the GALLI fans then. Aramis is Hologram in AEW. The (very brief) shot of him getting beat up by Mortos on Collision this week was meant to be an explanation for him disappearing from their programming for a little bit; the timeline I originally heard had him returning after this PPV cycle, but maybe he’s feeling better a little faster on what he said in the video. The injury came near the end of the Mortos/Hologram match and had so far been unreported.

I was going to let that one sit forever and ever until Aramis or GALLI said anything, just to see if anyone would pick it up (nope!) and because there’s no benefit for me in reporting US news. If I were smarter, I would’ve just buried it in a late paragraph, as usual. There’s not any benefit in me reporting anything ever, to be honest, but I don’t have to deal with two dozen crying emojis quote tweets and aggregates who will just summarize it in their tweet. I get internet cred out of it, but I have all the internet cred I will ever need, and it doesn’t get you much. I can not go to the Internet cred prize booth and redeem it for a Slinky or 1980s KO Magazine or something else equally valuable. The only way to take advantage is to burn it in new and amusing ways. You can occasionally win a prize that way but it’s not a great way to go about it.

Arena Jaguar is billing this Sunday’s show as the final one ever for Volador Sr./Remo Banda/Super Parka in Monterrey. The original Misterioso is scheduled to also appear on the show.

Box y Lucha 3262 has too much on the cover.

Club Lucha has the newest edition of its podcast.

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 10/18/2024 Arena México [AS, CMLL, El Grafico, Excelsior, Fuego en el Ring, Kaiser Sports, PubliMetro, Telediaro, The Gladiatores, The Gladiatores (video), thecubsfan]
1) Futuro, Max Star, Pelon Encapuchado b Dark Magic, Espanto Jr., Raider 
9:59.
2) Alex Windsor, Red Velvet, Samantha Black, Viva Van b Amapola, Metálica, Olympia, Sanely   
10:22
3) Lluvia & Tessa Blanchard b Sayaka Unagi & Sumika Yanagawa © [CMLL WOMEN TAG]  
14:55
4) Atlantis Jr., Místico, Neón b Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr., Último Guerrero   
16:04. Neon was stretchered out after slipping on his dive
5) La Catalina b Toni Storm    
11:48. Toni Storm, upset about the loss, declared she’d return to CMLL later this year.
6) Persephone b Zeuxis [CMLL Universal de Amazonas, final]   
12:23. Catalina appeared before the match to hand over the belt. Persephone is the winner, Zeuxis fails in the final match for the second straight year.

If you’re going to go with someone, you might as well go with someone. Persephone getting to the final of the Universal tournament would’ve been a nice footnote, a small step up on the ladder, but ultimately a trivia note if that’s as far as she went. (Only total nutcases remember Texano Jr. was the runner-up in the first Universal tournament.) Persephone winning puts her firmly among the top of the division.

I’m just still surprised it was Perse who is getting that shove. I still think I would’ve gone with Kira or Olympia for that moment first, and I’d hear arguments for Skadi or Hera. Persephone is definitely in that mix, and there’s an argument she’s the better choice, but it’s not a clear-cut one. I feel like we’d learn about how CMLL thinks and evaluates their options if we ever heard the story behind this decision because it sure is an interesting one.

The match itself was good, better than Zeuxis/Willow on Aniversario. It suffered from some of the same issues as Rayo Metalico/Futuro – a lot of the crowd didn’t see them as main event players. Neither came off as the strong rooting favorite either – maybe Persephone by default of being the underdog – and this was put in a position where they had to battle uphill. The match was not booed, but it took a lot for the fans to get into it. They got a lot of time and told a unique for CMLL story of Persephone getting the win on her third try at the frog splash; your finish hardly ever works more than once in CMLL’s match style. Zeuxis was not as stiff as last year with Catlina, though she still hit pretty hard.

Catalina defeating Toni Storm wasn’t as big a surprise – Storm similarly lost the big singles match in her Stardom appearance – but it still felt like it meant something for Catalina to win. She still really could use something more impactful than her top rope splash. (She’s a Trish Stratus fan; can she just use Stratus’ Stratusfaction’s bulldog?) I still didn’t get the feeling the average CMLL fan knew or understood Toni Storm’s act, but she put forth a strong effort, and the match was good. CMLL seemed pretty aware of Storm’s character, and touches like the Instagram photos got very positive reactions.

Toni Storm announcing she’d return this year was eyebrow-raising. Storm did well enough as a one-off match, but she also lost, so there’s no obvious reason to bring her back soon for another show built around a Toni Storm match. (If/when Storm wins the AEW title back, it certainly would fit to run Catalina/Storm back as a title match, but I don’t get that sense AEW is getting to that moment before the end of year.) There isn’t much left on CMLL calendar  – the Dia del Muertos shows, the Leyenda de Azul, and the various holiday events. None of those require any international wrestlers. If we are to take Toni Storm’s comments seriously about returning this year (a danger), the only context that works is she’s coming back for an event that CMLL has yet to announce. Perhaps it’s another international tournament, or maybe it’s something specifically AEW-related. I have no idea, do not start asking me about an AEW/CMLL show, but something is up.

The trios match was good, but it could’ve been better. Neon crashing and burning did put a pale on things. (He seems to be fine.) The tag title match was just right. The women’s 4v4 was one of those matches that felt very planned out and better for it. Amapola and Metalica looked better than usual, the foreigners all fit in, and the match moved in well. The ending set up Red Velvet as the big star of those coming in. Ola Negra seemed overextended in the opener.

CMLL (SAT) 10/19/2024 Arena Coliseo [CMLL, thecubsfan]
1) Grako & Sangre Imperial b Astral & Astro Boy Jr.
12:14
2) El Coyote, Okumura, Pólvora b Rayo Metálico, Stigma, Xelhua
14:05.
3) Villano III Jr. TLDRAW Zandokan Jr. [lightning]
the two were brawling outside as the time ran out
4) Sayaka Unagi, Sumika Yanagawa, Viva Van b Dark Silueta, Lluvia, Zeuxis
16:37
5) Alex Windsor, La Catalina, Red Velvet b India Sioux, Princesa Sugehit, Tessa Blanchard
13:03
6) Dragón Rojo Jr., Esfinge, Místico DQ Bárbaro Cavernario, Difunto, Terrible
12:23. Straight falls, Cavernario fouled Rojo. Dragon tried to challenge for a singles match next week but kept getting beat up.

No one cares less about the Dragon Rojo versus Los Barbaros feud than Mistico did on this night. He took his time entering as Dragon Rojo got beat up by his former allies, he ignored that Rojo pinned captain Cavernario to end the first fall to get his pinfall, and he blew off the Cavernario/Dragon Rojo post-match fight to try for a third fall with him and Difunto.

Villano versus Zandokan was the one thing worth watching.

CMLL (SUN) 10/20/2024 Arena México [CMLL]
1) Último Dragóncito b Mercurio [lightning]
2) Cancerbero & Virus b Brillante Jr. & Dark Panther
3) Samantha Black, Sayaka Unagi, Sumika Yanagawa b Amapola, Dark Silueta, Princesa Sugehit
4) Akuma, Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II b Fugaz, Star Black, Star Jr.
Gemelos pulled a switch to beat Akuma
5) Alex Windsor, Red Velvet, Viva Van b India Sioux, Skadi, Tessa Blanchard
6) Atlantis Jr., Dragón Rojo Jr., Flip Gordon b Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Valiente
Dragon Rojo declared he was officially a tecnico going forward

Dragon Rojo is good for a tecnico turn once a decade. He tried being a tecnico in 2014, but it didn’t work well, and he was back to being a rudo in 2015. It’s hard to believe this will go any better.

The foreign women are generally beating the Mexican women, as typical for Grand Prix week.

CMLL (TUE) 10/22/2024 Arena México
1) Diamond & Eléctrico vs Grako & Inquisidor
2) Futuro, Max Star, Volcano vs Hunter, Infarto, Kráneo
3) Princesa Sugehit vs Amapola [lightning]
4) Magia Blanca & Vegas vs Barboza & Zandokan Jr.
5) La Catalina, Lluvia, Tessa Blanchard vs Persephone, Reyna Isis, Sanely
6) Atlantis Jr., Dragón Rojo Jr., Volador Jr. vs Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr., Último Guerrero

Match 4 are the oddballs who may over-deliver on a Thursday.

CMLL (TUE) 10/22/2024 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Magia Azul & Universys vs Atenea & Quetzal
2) Hatanna & Zorah vs Lady Puma & Miss Panther
3) Candela & Metálica vs Alondra & Emperatriz
4) Adira & Nexy vs Lady Shadow & Miss Guerrera
5) Dark Silueta, India Sioux, Maligna, Olympia, Tabata, Valkiria vs Alex Windsor, Red Velvet, Samantha Black, Sayaka Unagi, Sumika Yanagawa, Viva Van

This is an all women’s show and – in an effort to run a different match here than the Grand Prix – one with almost none of the star CMLL women’s names. Dark Silueta is here because it’s Guadalajara, and she’s the big CMLL women’s Guadalajara star. Still, the choices they’ve made to keep the other Grand Prix women away will make this a more challenging draw than even past all women’s shows. It’s a great opportunity for some of the other women, though.

Fightful Select posted something rather anodyne about Stephanie Vaquer and her sudden departure from CMLL to AEW following Forbidden Door. Almost no one discussing it cares all that much about CMLL. It’s just a chance to relitigate her departure in an AEW/WWE scope again. I will not be doing that. The Fightful Select report was AEW people vaguely saying, “yea, we’re going to try to do something so anyone we build up on Forbidden Door sticks around for a bit,” a news bit which sure is worth reporting but also could’ve been reported by “Duh Magazine.” There’s no guarantee anything AEW, CMLL, and the others will try will have any meaningful effect, but of course they’re going to attempt to fix an obvious problem.

AAA

AAA on Unimas aired one hour early. AAA did get the word out. It turns out the baseball game did disrupt the schedule – or more, that Unimas didn’t want to disrupt its usual block of movies, so all the other shows had to move up an hour that day, and AAA just happened to be the first in line.

I tried four times recording AAA this week, and all I got was the opening match and part of the in-ring promo. On Sunday, I got two recordings of The Rundown, the 2003 film starring the Rock, so I guess that’s as good as watching AAA. It’s fine. I’ve got the Unimas version of this taping to watch if I’m in a hurry. I’m not. I need to circle to some of this later this week because I’ve realized there’s something I want to explain in more detail, and it’s better if I have a bit more time.

The one match I got was the Exoticos versus the Guapos. It was okay. About a few minutes in, they stopped shooting the match to show Mesias at the announce desk complaining about Octagon Jr. from an incident they had in June. Octagon, with excellent hearing and speed, came out and brawled with Mesias. The Exoticos were kind enough to wait to return until Mesias and Octagon were done.  They went for longer after the ‘break’; the Guapos did well in that portion, and Pimpinela lost after being tripped off to the top rope.

The part of AAA TV I did included an upcoming show video for the first time in nearly a month.  The previous one listed TV tapings in Mexico City on 10/26 and 12/07. Those are missing from the latest listings, with an 11/17 Saltillo taping added. The Saltillo promoters are the same ones promoting the canceled Torreon show, so maybe there’s a make-good there. That lineup should roll out this week through AAA’s usual efforts. It’ll take care of TV through December 14th, and AAA usually runs repeat/Best of programming through the holidays. AAA will often tape a show in December and hold it over to air in January, so maybe later, Mexico City taping will show back up, or maybe they’ll go back to Acapulco. It is strange and not exactly confidence building that AAA’s shifting tapings around so close to them taking place.

For TV-watching purposes, this schedule means another “preview” episode is coming up on Space on 11/02. Unimas will get the 11/03 Showcenter tapings before they air in Mexico. Space and Unimas will start airing the same episode on the same day, with the Saltillo taping airing on December 7th, though that may not last long. There is no telling what AAA will do with Unimas when they go into their typical Best of programming on Space during the holidays.

That 11/17 Saltillo date is notable because AAA’s old partners BARBA is running a CMLL spot show in that city two weeks later. It’s also notable because Vampiro is already retired in Saltillo. he had his last match back in March. In theory, if Vampiro is truly retiring this year, that means his last TV appearance and his probable last match is the November 10th show in Ciudad Juarez. AAA hasn’t indicated that’s his final date by any means, so it probably isn’t the end.

There’s an AAA spot show tonight in Leon. The big draw is the Vampiro retirement tour, but it’s also notable as the show Sexy Star 2 previously said would be her final date with this promotion.

Other News

Mas Lucha steamed the 10/13 Todo x el Todo show (as if it was live) for paid subscribers on Sunday night. The next Hijo del Santo retirement shows are the 11/01 and 11/02 shows in London, being done by a local promoter. The following Mexico shows are the 11/09 show in Puebla and 11/10 in Veracruz. The Puebla show has never had a lineup, never had ticket information, and has never seemed like it’s happening. The other shows may be in question as well; there’s been a persistent rumor this week that the rest of this tour has been postponed or canceled. There’s not much to back it up beyond a screen grab of an LA Park comment on another post, and who knows if LA Park is ever serious. There doesn’t seem to be recent advertising for this Veracruz show as of yet, though tickets remain on sale, and most of the Todo x el Todo work seems to be done the week of the show. I thought there might be some big promotion following Mas Lucha’s stream of the show, but it doesn’t seem to have happened or at least it didn’t make it out their socials. I wouldn’t say the rest of the tour is off at this point, but it’s a suspicious situation. I’d still buy a ticket to the shows if I wanted to see Santo one last time, but I’d be checking the language on the ticket website about refunds.

Flammer won Mas Lucha’s Torneo Surprema on Saturday. She beat Faby Apache in the final, which meant it was a replay of the TripleMania women’s match. That match memorable was in front of a fraction of the audience because AAA told people the show wouldn’t start until a half hour later (and Mexican fans tend to be a late-arriving crowd anyway.) This rematch was in front of another disappointing crowd; Arena Lopez Mateos looked less than a quarter full for this annual tournament. Mas Lucha will try again in that building with the men’s version, Torneo Supremo, on November 16th. with Aerostar, Bestia 666, Chris Stone Jr., Imposible, Ozz, Rey Escorpion, Sanson and Solar. That’s a good field, but I’d also expect it to be another tournament with lots of interference to “set up matches in other promotions” (or to make sure no one has to really lose.)

This is as good as any since Imposible just came up to mention that Imposible and Trauma I made mask versus mask challenges on the AVE/TC show last weekend, with the idea of it happening in 2025. I’m not 100% sure that a match will happen, but they took it a bit more seriously than usual. This group put together the Wotan/Trauma I match earlier this year. Imposible is a guy who had an indie name, was a prospect for a while, never got a shot in CMLL or AAA, tried to be Fuerza Guerrera NG but never really got anywhere with that gimmick and seems to be fading out of wrestling towards other pursuits – it’s fairly plausible he’d wager his mask at this point in his career. Both Trauma I and Imposible are scheduled to be part of a five team tag match on the 11/09 AVE/TC show.

I was very skeptical Sabu would make it to Cancun for an indie show. In fact, here are photos of Sabu at the wrestling show in Cancun. All credit to Sabu.

There’s a new lucha libre art exhibit in Cuernavaca.

There was a lucha libre workshop in Oaxaca.

A profile of Payaso Pura Santa Jr.

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 10/18/2024 Arena México
1) Futuro, Max Star, Pelon Encapuchado vs Dark Magic, Espanto Jr., Raider
2) Amapola, Metálica, Olympia, Sanely vs Alex Windsor, Red Velvet, Samantha Black, Viva Van
3) Lluvia & Tessa Blanchard vs Sayaka Unagi & Sumika Yanagawa © [CMLL WOMEN TAG]
4) Atlantis Jr., Místico, Neón vs Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr., Último Guerrero
5) Toni Storm vs La Catalina
6) Zeuxis vs Persephone [CMLL Universal de Amazonas, final]

CMLL changed the card order on Thursday, with Persephone/Zeuxis now as the final. I don’t know if that’ll be a great match – Zeuxis didn’t quite deliver on Aniversario and Persephone is in a spot she hasn’t been in before – but they’ll have the advantage of working on their match all week.

Zeuxis is the favorite to win the tournament final. Catalina defeating Zeuxis was a big surprise last year, and Persephone isn’t featured even as much as Catalina was at that point. I can’t rule out Persephone, CMLL’s really into giving wins to new people, but it would be a shock. I don’t get the sense that Toni Storm is as big a deal to Mexican fans as past ex-WWE AEW people, and I’m not really sure what the outcome will be.

Match 4 is just a good match for the sake of a good match. Matches 2 and 3 will give some insight into how smoothly that Grand Prix is going to go. (A title change seems unlikely.) Ola Negra get another Friday night appearance in the opener, again a group of wrestlers likely to want to do a lot.

Toni Storm did the usual AEW guest star press conference on Thursday. I didn’t watch this one; I heard it had some streaming issues.

CMLL (MON) 10/21/2024 Arena Puebla
1) Blue Shark & Rey Samuray vs El Malayo & Siky Ozama
2) Pegasso, Rayo Metálico, Volcano vs Kráneo, Multy, Okumura
3) India Sioux vs Samantha Black [lightning]
4) Maligna, Metálica, Olympia, Tabata, Zeuxis vs Alex Windsor, Red Velvet, Sayaka Unagi, Sumika Yanagawa, Viva Van [cibernetico]
5) Místico, Stigma, Xelhua vs Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Soberano Jr.

Xelhua gets his first main event. It may be a product of trying to squeeze him onto the show when there are few men booked – he’s definitely ahead of the three tecnicos in match 2 – but they could’ve also just booked someone else and they trust Xelhua in the spot. The Mexican side in the women’s cibernetico are women not in the Gran Prix and Zeuxis.

No Tuesday Guadalajara lineup yet. They have announced it’ll be just women’s matches, no men wrestling.

I’m now semi-obsessed with checking the graphic for all wrestlers on CMLL shows, checking to see if CMLL (or whoever runs the graphic department) has decided they’re actually CMLL wrestlers or not. I don’t know exactly what it means – is it an administrative thing? A union thing? – but it sure means something to someone. Candela, Hijo del Pantera, and El Elemental have all appeared in Mexico City with the generic “Luchador(a) Profesional” tag, so they’re not considered on the roster. While scanning through the Guadalajara show, I noticed Adira is listed as “Amazona del CMLL”, so she is part of the CMLL roster. Everyone else in her match was “luchadora professional.” Satanico is “luchador professional”, while the other people in his match were Luchador del CMLL. Lady Shadow is listed as Amazona del CMLL, and that one seems so surprising that I’d want to see it a second time, to be sure. (Especially because they also list Olympia as Lady Shadow.)

CMLL Informa announced some of the Dia del Muertos plans. The emphasis is every show that week will have both that theme and also a special match. The Monday and Tuesday shows have the qualifiers for the Rey del Inframundo, the Friday show has the final, Saturday will focus on historic rivalries, and Sunday will be all unmasked wrestlers wearing their masks for one last show.

The qualifiers for the Rey del Inframundo are city-centric. Puebla, Guadalajara, and Mexico City will determine a winner each, and they’ll join last year’s winner, Barbaro Cavernario, in a final on Friday.

• 10/28 Puebla qualifier: Arkalis, Guerrero Maya Jr., Stigma, Pegasso, Rey Samuray, Xelhua, Multy, Perverso
• 10/29 Guadalajara qualifier: Barboza, Malefico, Calavera Jr. I, Calavera Jr. II, Bestia Negra, Furia Negra, Arlequin, Gallero
• 10/29 Arena Mexico qualifier: Vegas, Crixus, Difunto, Espanto Jr., Villano III Jr., Magnus, Coyote, Zandokan Jr.

The Rey del Inframundo stuff started with the semi-main wrestlers, and now seems to be moving down a level. Whoever comes out of the Guadalajara branch is getting their biggest Friday night appearance of the year, and it may be the same with the Puebla branch.

All shows that week will stream on Fan Leyenda. If you’re willing to give CMLL money for streaming content right now, it probably should be Fan Leyenda or don’t bother. CMLL appears to moving the next two Friday shows to Fan Leyenda, and likely the 10/29 shows. Fan Leyenda will also get two bonus shows (10/28 Arena Puebla and 11/03 Arena Mexico.) The Guadalajara show is likely also to be behind the Fan Leyenda wall – and not posted for free – the next two weeks.

CMLL also announced that the annual minis cibernetico in honor of “people of lesser height” day on 10/27 will include, uh, every healthy mini. There are normally 16 of them, Minos is out, CMLL said it’d be a 16-person match anyway. I presume Rostro de Acero wrestles again to round out the match, but CMLL listed everyone besides him. The micros will also be in action on that show. This cibernetico is a Sunday show and is not normally streamed.

Mistico was on to talk about his trip to Japan. He was announced as in the Leyenda de Azul – it’s something he hasn’t won, but that’s also because it’s been meant for the bigger weight classes in recent years. Julio Cesar Rivera did mention the hair/mask challenge with Hiromu, and Mistico quickly blew it off while focusing on other things. The idea that Hiromu and Mistico are having a hair versus mask match in 11 months is not a real thing at this point.

Sanely is this week’s guest on CMLL Informa.

AAA

I caught up with Heroes Inmortales. I guess that’s a good thing? It’s a good thing in that I can sit around and do anything else Friday before CMLL starts and I’ll probably enjoy that more than I will enjoy AAA Heroes Inmortales.

The overarching story to this episode is that the Eye team and Latin Lover are both trying to recruit people to their sides. It’s totally unclear what they hope to accomplish in doing this, just like it’s totally unclear what the Eye team is trying to accomplish. (JBL almost gets to it but he gets cut off.) Konnan and Alberto try and fail to recruit El Fiscal. Latin Lover tries and fails to recruit Flammer. Vampiro, a whole bunch of prelim wrestlers, and Negro Casas & Mecha Wolf (since they were in the next match) end up standing with Latin Lover at some point. The Eye Team just sort of wanders away. JBL was there and part of the segment to say some racist stuff for heat, most of which Jose Manuel Guillen was taking out or softening when he was translating it to Spanish. It’s still not clear what JBL is contributing in the racism department that Konnan can’t provide himself, though they did tease a Latin Lover/JBL match this time. It’s probably not happening.

A weird bit in that segment was Pagano’s music playing, then Konnan revealing he had set it up as a prank, Pagano wasn’t there to back Latin Lover up. Psycho Clown’s music played, and Konnan revealed it was the same bit done twice. The big reveal was Vampiro’s music playing and him being there, but he was the center of the show advertisement, of course he was going to do. It did draw attention to Psycho and Pagnao not being at this taping (they worked a lightly attended Arena Neza show) and not being on a lot of AAA tapings this year. The lack of star power on the AAA roster was showcased in the Copa Antonio Pena, stocked with people who are seldom on TV: Mini Vikingo, Black Andromeda, Money Machine, and Brazo de Oro Jr., among them. When Pierroth Jr. (just introduced on the last taping) and Panic Clown (the least important member of the Psycho Circus) are the bigger names, it looks like a promotion in trouble. Chik Tormenta won because AAA had an angle in mind, but there also were many other choices – maybe it would’ve been a present for Dalys otherwise. I think there’s potential in these prelim wrestlers, and I can work out how they ended up with a battle royal with just prelim people – some people in Japan, some people not brought from Japan, and the Retro guys seemingly dropped after TripleMania – but it looked like a sad state of affairs to a regular viewer.

The casual crowd who goes to those big Guadalajara shows seemed to have little awareness of the Chik Tormenta/Latin Lover social media controversy. They tried to play it up big on TV with multiple Chik Tormenta promos. It’s also a classic modern AAA angle where there’s no discernible payoff to any of it.

Laredo Kid tried as hard as you’d expect out of him in the main event, with an Alberto who is still looking for every shortcut he can to get through these matches. This time, it included Mesias coming out and seemingly interfering in half the match. It’s tough to get a good match out of either immobile Mesias or generally washed Alberto in 2024, and it’s a credit to Laredo that he was having a good one with both of them at the same time for a while there. The in-ring bit with the Eye guys and the rest got great heat for the racism and profanity, but it didn’t translate to the match. AAA’s hard camera shot right at the stage, and that stage was looking barren during that main event (even as the rest of the arena was fine.) The Vampiro match was either the last thing they needed to see, the show was too long, or they didn’t care much about who the mega-champion was. This match also played off a weird pattern for the night: apparently, fouls are legal, though everyone’s meant to be still using them to get heat. The mixed tag match (nothing special) ended with Crazy Steve fouling Abismo Negro before Havok chokslammed Steve on top of Abismo for the title switch. The trios match ended with Takuma fouling Epydemius and then doing a top rope poison rana for the win. Laredo fouled Alberto – in front of the referee, just like the other two – but he was unable to get the win. They may have meant to do more post-match, but the earlier in-ring promo went very long. So did the Copa Antonio Pena; AAA has never figured out how to time those out.

The Tokyo Bad Boys vs Dinamico, Hamburguesa, Epydemius trios match was a good match, uninterrupted every 20 seconds for a lumberjack strap bit. The lumberjacks walked to the back in the last two minutes for no reason other than pro wrestling being fake and AAA being the fakest pro wrestling possible, the lumberjacks left so the guys could do spots to the outside again. Vampiro was the usual Vampiro match and the usual retirement speech. The Riddle/Fiscal match seemed to be worked at a slow speed to accommodate Fiscal’s level, but he still gassed and blew spots near the end. It didn’t seem like these fans had any particular who Riddle was – or Havok or Steve were either. They all won their title matches, then disappeared in to the background as Fiscal and Abismo fought. AAA is all in on that feud.

AAA on TV this weekend

• Space: Monterrey part 1
• Unimas: Monterrey part 2
  • Charro Negro, Drago, Dianamico, Redimido, Toscano in a five way
  • Los Vipers versus Psycho Circus
  • Hijo del Vikingo, Laredo Kid, Octagon Jr. versus Belcegor, Emperador Azteca, and Taurus
• YouTube: Guerra de Titanes part 2

I was critical of AAA and Unimas’ work at promoting their weekly show earlier this week. AAA people – Alberto, Octagon,  Dorian, Roberto – are in Miami today to appear on Unimas and Univison shows to promote their shows. That’s great. The issue is not fixed by one day of publicity. It’s fixed by promoting the show every week, and there’s no immediate sign that’s changed. AAA could’ve been pushing “Hijo del Vikingo returns to US TV this Saturday on Unimas” all week in a myriad of ways, and the most they’ll end up doing is a still photo.

TNA officially announced Hijo del Vikingo versus Mike Bailey for the TNA X Division championship on their 10/25 Bound for Glory show. There’s a very good chance Vikingo will win that title; he doesn’t lose often when AAA sends him places.

IWRG

IWRG , LLB (THU) 10/17/2024 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG, thecubsfan]
1) Ángel Kid & Titanium b Fobia & Haku 
2) Argus, Máscara De Hierro, Súper Boy b Águila Dorada, Argus Fly, Gaius 
3) Lunatik Fly b Águila Roja, Skayler, Príncipe Centauro, Diablo Fly, El Cometa, Sol, Águila Oriental 
4) Black Terry, Carta Brava Jr., Fandango b Gallego, Rocky Santana, Romano García 
5) Hell Boy DDQ Tonalli, Aquiles, Puma de Oro, Lunatik Extreme, Toto 
Hell Boy unmasked Tonalli, Tonalli fouled Hell Boy
6) Dr. Wagner Jr., Hijo De Silver King, Simon Blanco b Hijo de LA Park, LA Park, LA Park Jr. 

Looks like it drew well, as typical. IWRG managed to give results of about four of these matches, though didn’t explain the changes in at least of them.

IWRG (SUN) 10/20/2024 Arena Naucalpan
1) Felino Boy vs Legado
2) Águila Oriental & Vudu Max vs Drakula Ng & Príncipe Centauro
3) Multifacético & Shamila vs Demonio & Puma de Oro
4) Noisy Boy & Tornado vs Águila Roja & Látigo
5) Aquiles, Luka, Veneno vs Abigor, Cerebro Negro, Vengador [super libre]
6) Hijo de Canis Lupus, Hijo De Silver King, Máscara Sagrada vs Ayden Cristiano, Toxin, Vangellys

Ayden Cristiano is Houston-based.

Other News

Open the Voice Gate had me on to talk about Gran Hamada’s career in Mexico and case for the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame. I think that his importance to the UWA, especially the early years, as well as his long run of quality wrestling, merits his inclusion. Even if you’re not interested, you should click the link for a great run of Hamada matches. The 12/16/96 5v5 was my favorite; some of the earlier matches are technically proficient, and that match was where the feud felt like it had shifted into a more heated personal fight. The tight room, the weird green walls and the loud crowd made that one specifically feel more like a very long lunch room brawl.

Rob appeared on the Flagship Patreon’s discussion of WON HOF candidates from Mexico. It’s behind a paywall but, if you pay up, you’ll be able to hear the same very detailed pro-Volador Jr. takes I’ve had to hear for the last 12 months.

(I think I’m going Gran Hamada, Sangre Chicana, Huracan Ramirez and Mascarita Sagrada but I haven’t sent it in yet and I can be moved more than in past years.)

Karis La Momia confirmed he’ll continue wrestling, just under a new name. Record had reported the opposite. There are about two days left for QueMoniito to reach a settlement with if Record is going to be correct on that story.

The viral video of the week is entrance music gone wrong.

CMLL

CMLL (MON) 10/14/2024 Arena Puebla [CMLL, DeporPuebla, Mano a Mano, Porra Fresa]
1) Astro & Meyer b Multy & Prayer
2) Skadi b Hera [lightning]
8:21.
3) Pegasso, Rey Samuray, Stigma b Futuro, Hombre Bala Jr., Max Star 
rematch of last week’s tie
4) La Catalina, Samantha Black, Tessa Blanchard b Persephone, Reyna Isis, Sanely 
scheduled debut of Costa Rica’s Samantha Black
5) Neón b Stuka Jr.
Stuka got DQed in fall 1, won fall 2, and Neon won fall 3.
6) Atlantis Jr., Máscara Dorada, Soberano Jr. b Esfinge, Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero [Relevos Increíbles]

CMLL ran a private show on Monday to promote the upcoming Venom movie. Volador has dressed up as Venom roughly 400 times, and this time he got to do it as an official sponsorship. He wrestled Hechicero. Sony put out some mock movie posters. Star Tom Hardy showed up to do interviews later, wearing a CMLL shirt.

CMLL (TUE) 10/15/2024 Arena México [CMLL, Kaiser Sports, thecubsfan]
1) Angelito & Kaligua b Pequeño Violencia & Pierrothito
9:29
2) Capitán Suicida, El Audaz, Hijo del Pantera b Disturbio, Hunter, Infarto
14:11.
3) Crixus, El Elemental, Okumura b Dulce Gardenia, Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa
12:50
4) Sanely b Reyna Isis [lightning]
8:29
5) Samantha Black, Tessa Blanchard, Zeuxis b Dark Silueta, India Sioux, Princesa Sugehit [Relevos Increíbles]
17:11.
6) Máscara Dorada, Templario, Titán b Bárbaro Cavernario, Hechicero, Terrible
14:44. Mascara Dorada replaced Volador Tuesday afternoon.

A mostly uninteresting show. It picked up a little in the main event but even that wasn’t as good as you’d think with those names. Match four had a classic “ref stops at 2 thinking it’s a near fall but it’s actually the finish” moment. Match 5 had Dark Silueta and Tessa Blanchard on two different books for the finish. Elemental looked fine in his debut and mentioned he’d been training with Tony Salazar in his promo.

CMLL (TUE) 10/15/2024 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [CMLL, Fuego en el Ring, Mas Lucha Jr.]
1) Eclipse Jr., Shezmu, Temerario b Fúnebre, Mortis, Ponzoña Jr.
2) Exterminador, Kráneo, Maléfico b Mr. Trueno, Rey Trueno, Volcano
3) Adira, Alondra, Emperatriz b Miss Guerrera, Nexy, Quetzal
Adira replaced Lady Shadow (moved up) on Tuesday.
4) Hera & Olympia b Lady Shadow & Skadi
Scheduled as MEX WOMEN TAG defense, Lady Shadow replaced Kira (shoulder) on Tuesday morning.
4) Atlantis & Blue Panther DQ Felino & Satánico
Satanico unmasked Atlantis
6) Gran Guerrero & Último Guerrero b Averno & Euforia

Mascara Dorada & Titan will be on opposite sides of a trios match at NJPW’s Royal Quest this Sunday. Dorada teams with TMDK’s Ryohei Oiwa and Robbie Eagles against LIJ’s Naito, Hirmou, and Titan. This show will stream live in English on RevPro’s service and in Japanese on NJPW’s service. (I definitely know the name “Royal Quest” and surely haven’t been calling it “Royal Road” previously.)

A fake graphic for a Mascara Dorada/Konosuke Takeshita match on Dynamite is floating around on Twitter. It is a fake, the person who put it out said it was a joke that they didn’t think it would get picked up on. I almost got worked by this morning; I didn’t see it listed on Twitter, so I looked around AEW’s Instagram and TikTok to find an announcement.  (There wasn’t one because it’s a fake match, but that’s why you should go through the bother of looking for the origin of these things instead of just believing whatever you see on Twitter.) As far as I know, Dorada still hasn’t gotten his US work visa. For that reason, Dorada being on Dynamite would’ve been news beyond of the match, but it doesn’t look like it’s happening yet.

Capitan Suicida will team with Tiger Mask IV in the NJPW Super Junior Tag League. They’re unlikely to do well in the tournament, but Suicida should have fun in that environment, as it’s a big trip for him. His schedule

• 10/24: vs BUSHI & Hiromu Takahashi
• 10/27: vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru & SHO
• 10/28: vs Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney
• 10/30: vs Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita
• 11/01: vs Ryusuke Taguchi & Dragon Dia

The tour runs from 10/24 to 11/02, and Suicida will probably hang around for the 11/04 Power Struggle show. No Titan this year – the LIJ team will be Hiromu and BUSHI –  so only one CMLL participant among the twenty-four wrestlers (unless someone else unexpectedly turns out to be Taiji Ishimori’s yet-to-be-announced partner.)

CMLL (SAT) 10/19/2024 Arena Coliseo
1) Astral & Astro Boy Jr. vs Grako & Sangre Imperial
2) Rayo Metálico, Stigma, Xelhua vs El Coyote, Okumura, Pólvora
3) Villano III Jr. vs Zandokan Jr. [lightning]
4) Dark Silueta, Lluvia, Zeuxis vs Sayaka Unagi, Sumika Yanagawa, Viva Van
5) India Sioux, Princesa Sugehit, Tessa Blanchard vs Alex Windsor, La Catalina, Red Velvet
6) Dragón Rojo Jr., Esfinge, Místico vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Difunto, Terrible

CMLL’s full on Grand Prix preview matches for the next six days. Match 3 is a battle between partners who will happily fight each other anyway. Match 2 is the first appearance of Rayo Metalico since his title win; a lot of the match 1/2 types are getting most of this month off as a result of the increased number of women’s matches. Metalico & Xelhua might be official Fuerza Poblana after that match.

CMLL (SUN) 10/20/2024 Arena México
1) Último Dragóncito vs Mercurio [lightning]
2) Brillante Jr. & Dark Panther vs Cancerbero & Virus
3) Amapola, Dark Silueta, Princesa Sugehit vs Samantha Black, Sayaka Unagi, Sumika Yanagawa
4) Fugaz, Star Black, Star Jr. vs Akuma, Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II
5) India Sioux, Skadi, Tessa Blanchard vs Alex Windsor, Red Velvet, Viva Van
6) Atlantis Jr., Dragón Rojo Jr., Flip Gordon vs Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Valiente

The main event on both Saturday and Sunday is listed as a normal match, not an incredible partners match, so Dragon Rojo will probably “officially” join the tecnico side in the next couple of days. Dragon Rojo Jr. for Guerrero Maya Jr., I think the rudo side won that trade.

CMLL posted a teaser for another announcement Tuesday night. They haven’t officially announced the Royal Quest participation, so it might just be that.

No Informa list as of yet. Many of the foreign wrestlers are in town, so that might be the bulk of the show.

11/09 MLW

• Titan vs Mistico vs Averno
• Esfinge & Kevin Knight vs Ultimo Guerrero & Hechicero
• Atlantis, Atlantis Jr., and Star Jr. vs Barbaro Cavernario, Felino & Magnus

They’re only missing matches for Okumura, Lluvia, and Persephone.

Persephone is on the cover of Box y Lucha 3625.

La Jarochita is hinting at a return in November. I neglected to mention it last week.

A story profiling a Guatemalan referee because he’ll be working a CMLL-staffed show in Chiapas.

AAA

I still haven’t gotten to watching AAA. I’ve been busy coughing up stuff. As much as I’m down on AAA in 2024, I would rather watch them than continue coughing up stuff.

SoloWrestling reports the 11/30 Barcelona show has been canceled. Tickets are still on sale but Live Nation sources (via a report by Pere Hernandez) say the show is off. SoloWrestling expects the other two announced dates (11/21 in Madrid and 11/22 in Bilbao) to be canceled shortly.

No one is all that surprised if these shows are canceled, it sadly always seemed a matter of when we’d hear this announcement. This is AAA’s brand: promise a big new idea, show little effort in accomplishing the idea, and then quietly pretend you never said anything when the idea isn’t immediately a success. It’s this tour to Spain, it’s Unimas, it’s Luchatitlan, it’s half the stuff they put on TV. This deal probably won’t hurt AAA as much, they probably passed most of the risks and costs so far to whoever was promoting in Spain, and they’re just out the money they would’ve made off sending the wrestlers over. (The wrestlers, who thought they were getting a great trip to Spain, might hold a bigger emotional cost from this experience, but at least this appears to be getting canceled early enough to find other work.) There was no chance on paper that “AAA running a series of shows in giant venues in Spain, despite having no real TV or interest in the market” was ever going to work, people in AAA had to know that, and they still ran with the idea instead.Are they just delusional? Are they trying to work some investors by pushing themselves as international? I don’t get it.

El Fiscal underwent (I think) nose surgery. AAA ran an angle where Abismo Negro Jr. broke Fiscal’s nose in a fight to set it up.

Latin Lover had Puerquiza Extrema on his podcast, which is a good deal for them and worrying sign he’s already running out of guests. (I think he had a hypnotist on last week.) As always, the guests said they’d like to help Latin Lover out in AAA and he said he’d go to AAA to talk about it with management. Isn’t he feuding with management? Ah, no matter.

IWRG

Thursday’s show was announced previously and is another Lucha Libre Boom card.

IWRG , LLB (THU) 10/17/2024 Arena Naucalpan
1) Ángel Kid vs Titanium, Fobi
2) Argus, Máscara De Hierro, Súper Boy vs Águila Dorada, Argus Fly, Gaius
3) Águila Roja vs Skayler, Príncipe Centauro, Diablo Fly, El Cometa, Lunatik Fly, Sol, Águila Oriental
4) Gallego, Rocky Santana, Romano García vs Black Terry, Carta Brava Jr., Fandango
5) Hell Boy & Tonalli vs Aquiles & Puma de Oro and Lunatik Extreme & Toto
6) Hijo de LA Park, LA Park, LA Park Jr. vs Dr. Wagner Jr., Hijo De Silver King, Simon Blanco

This is titled Last Dance – like the Venom movie – but I’m fairly certain this will not be the last Wagner/Park match.

Other Notes

Tinibelas’ FULL promotion announced they’d be going to Dubai from 11/02 to 11/09. Wrestlers announced include Lady Apache, Pirata Morgan, Hijo del Pirata Morgan, Lolita, Huracan Ramirez Jr. and a new Tinibelas 3G.

Pantera Jr. won the Michinoku Pro Fukumen World League. It sounds like he’s sticking around with Michinoku Pro for a bit.

Box y Lucha Norte says Arena Monterrey was 80% full for the Santo show.  They out drew both CMLL and AAA if accurate.

Club Lucha has a new edition of their podcast.