Tag: preview

CMLL (SUN) 12/07 Arena Mexico
1) Hijo del Faraon & Tony Rivera vs Apocalipsis & Holligan
2) Pequeño Damian 666, Pequeño Halloween, Pequeño Warrior vs Nino de Acero, Pequeno Ninja, Pequeño Olímpico
3) Mascara Dorada, Máximo, Valiente vs Felino, Heavy Metal, Sangre Azteca
4) La Sombra vs Ephesto [NWA WELTER]
5) Blue Panther, Dos Caras Jr., Toscano vs Black Warrior, Misterioso II, Ultimo Guerrero
6) Héctor Garza & Místico vs Averno & Mephisto [CMLL TAG]

This’ll probably be the best show of the weekend – every match has a chance to be good – and likely the most attended because of the prices and the size of the building. CMLL judges itself by how many people are in the building, so they’re liable to be happy, but I suspect they’ll be as or more interested in how much they hurt the Perros show and who gets more press.

Based on the feud, the tecnicos should win the main event, since the rudos have dominated them. Based on the direction of the promotion (as best as one can be determined), the rudos should win to cement their new status and give CMLL a ready made storyline for when they feel like starting things up in the spring (tag rematches all over the place.) I’ve waffled back and forth on this and I think I’m leaning towards new champs (the best thing you can do to elevate a guy is make him the forth in a Mistico vs Averno/Mephisto match) but I may change my mind three more times.

Semimain has no hype and probably should, since we’ve got the storylines of the Laguneros against Panther as well as Toscsano facing UG after turning tecnico. (Dos is just here. Probably thinking he had better things to do.) I’d love if this match ended with a clear direction – the end of the Laguneros concept, something with the Guapos vs the Guerreros, maybe even the end of the Guerreros – but I’m not holding my breath. It’s likely just to be a match, a match that ends on DQ via rudo foul.

Sombra vs Ephesto should be a Sombra showcase and I refuse to consider any other possibility.

Both three matches are just the usual stuff. I suspect all the guys on the left side winning, and it’s still funny they changed the opener just to get ‘bigger stars’ on the show. I hope Sangre Azteca isn’t being set up join Pesta Negra here, because he’d be no better off there.

This weekend is probably the last really interesting weekend in lucha libre of the year, but also one of the biggest. AAA’s final major show, Perro’s first show, and CMLL’s Counter Programming show (DF edition). Plus, IWRG’s running an anniversary show on Sunday, and AULL’s El Toreo’s show should probably be not have been as lost in the mix. Might as well take a look at the big three.

AAA’s Guerra de Titantes (Saturday, Orizaba, Veracruz)

1) Joe Lider & Nicho el Millionario vs Jack Evans & Teddy Hart [AAA TAG]
2) Alex Koslov, Rocky Romero, X-Pac vs Cuervo, Escoria, Ozz
3) Alan Stone, La Parka Jr., Octagon vs ?, Kenzo Suzuki, Rellik
4) Latin Lover vs Konnan
5) Mesias vs Zorro [AAA HEAVY, ref Charly Manson]
6) Pirata Morgan vs Súper Fly, El Brazo, El Elegido, Electro Shock, Super Porky [cage, mask, hair]

It doesn’t feel like AAA hasn’t followed on their promise of one Mexico City show a month, but they’re surely happy this one was far outside the city. Makes it a bit easier to compete for pesos.

This is not one of AAA’s stronger shows. The main event is three midcard feuds tacked together to get them all on the show, and because they (rightly) don’t think any of them means anything on their own. The AAA Mega title match gets a hard sell on the TV leading into this, but the title doesn’t mean much to drawing and neither does this particular match up or Charly Manson as a referee. This show lives or dies based on the drawing ability of Latin Lover and how well the Konnan Takeover angle has interested the fans. This is a referendum on the current direction of the product; the Cibernetico storyline elements are out, the Apache storyline elements are out, every match is now Legion vs AAA to some degree.

If you’d like to make an attendance guess, their website says the bleachers sit 6850 and the floor has room for 1500 more, so that’s 8,350 total.

My instinct for the main is a tecnico win to send everyone home happy. The nagging problem is no obvious way for Super Porky to not lose this match. I’m not sure AAA remembers this, but they just ran a multi-week angle this week about how impossible it was for Porky to climb out of a cage, adn then it took three people helping him and a ladder for him to actually do it. Even though it wouldn’t work with the story, Porky’s lost plenty of hair matches before and is still Porky. I also wonder if maybe Super Fly hasn’t hit bottom yet, and ends up with no mask so he’s differentiated between the other Air Force guys. I still lean towards rudos losing, but it’s not cut and dry.

Odds of losing, best to least
1) Brazo – it’d have to come down to him and Porky, and maybe some last minute added win by pinfall rule
2) Pirata Morgan – of the three feuds here, this seems to be the one working the best (may change my mind after seeing the chain match)
3) Super Fly – don’t have a good feeling
4) Electroshock – it really would be a joke for him to lose his twice in 3 months
5) Super Porky – having him not-retire, then lose his hair would be cruel to a comedy tecnico?
6) Elegido – may lose his mask, but not here

Having Charly Manson be referee for the title match should mean something. I still like my original theory: this was booked as Chessman vs Cibernetico, things occurred, but they kept Charly anyway. With these two, it doesn’t mean much. Either Charly refs it fair but we have some subtle build of Mesias/Charly and Zorro/Charly (both which should still be months away) or Charly does the shock rudo turn and gives Zorro the title. The tecnico side is weak and can’t afford to lose Manson, and Konnan’s bullying of the refs should finish with someone standing up to him. This looks like Zorro getting a visual pin, but Charly refusing to count due to something illegal and awarding the match to Mesias by DQ. (Will Konnan allow a title switch by DQ?)

With no Sergio Mayer involvement on the TV tapings, Konnan’s must be the surrogate for him and is here to give Latin Lover his win back. I’d be very surprised with any other outcome.

There’s no hype or interest in the Legion’s mystery man. Which doesn’t mean they won’t send a lot on it, it just doesn’t mean it makes sense to speculate about it. Ovaciones has restarted the Corelone rumors, though I’d figure he’d end up in DGM if he showed up here.

Speaking of, DGM vs Dark Family means a little more since the rudos are in the Legion. As before, this should be part of a big push for Dark Family to follow up on their turn, but the priority here is DGM so they should surely win. This clearly is the best chance at a good match on the show.

If Jack & Teddy don’t win the tag team titles this time, don’t you have expect they’re not coming back in ’09? This is the third straight major show with them getting a shot, and if they won’t finally give them the tag team titles now (over a team that has nothing going on), then I’m not sure when they ever would. Maybe they can lose because of DGM stuff, but I’m thinking they’ll finally win the titles here.

Before we go forward, let’s go back. Last five Anniversary main events:

2003 – Shocker beat Tarzan for his hair, Pierroth beat Violencia for his mask. Pierroth had been pushed hard all year (and prior), but Violencia wasn’t much. That match wouldn’t have worked alone, but Shocker (at his peak) and Tarzan (way up there, and won the previous year main) was really two of the top guys, who’d been opponents regularly going back to early 2002, having an really important match.

2004 – Universo 2000 loses his match to Canek, with Dr. Wagner Jr. and Rayo de Jalisco Jr. also involved. Even though it’s a multi-man match and those usually lose something, there was no sucker in the bunch. Universo was slightly lower the rest, so it wasn’t a big surprise he lost, but I do remember suggestions Canek might lose it (around the time it was changed to a fourway), and it was far different then usual situation of promising a big deal and delivering a little. Universo was a top guy years, always near the very top. If/when the other guys lose their mask someday, it’ll be huge news. This was a very big match.

2005 – Hector Garza loses his hair to Universo 2000 with Perro Aguayo Jr. also involved. This was more usual – Garza wasn’t on the same level, and the match existed to do a big match while putting off the big match they were actually building to (because no one had agreed to lose yet?) Still, the Perros were a hot rudo act, they ran a big angle to set it up being a triangle instead of a tag, and Garza wasn’t a guy who lost his hair a lot at this point.

2006 – Mistico takes Black Warrior’s mask. Black Warrior wasn’t really used as a top guy until this feud, but he was pushed as one for the 9-10 months leading up to the feud, trading wins and beating a guy who hadn’t really been beaten before this. Mistico was Mistico – he was in the hot Santo zone where no challenger would really be thought to have a chance, but you’d have to see it because it was Mistico in a big match. The promotion revolved around this feud, as much as CMLL ever revolves around one feud.

and then, last year and this

2007 – Blue Panther takes Lizmark Jr.’s mask – a quicky rudo turn that doesn’t have much behind, a tease of this direct match, CMLL backing off the match and doing a multiman cage match for lack of any idea, and Panther beating Lizmark in the end anyway. Both guys are among many who appear in semis and mains, drifting aimlessly without much momentum. The match only means anything becuase everyone (besides Villano V) else who would lose would mean something, but even then it’s iffy. CMLL makes no attempt at anything else on the card.

(and at this point, if you’re concerned about reading what probably will happen this year, you probably shouldn’t click on the link)

Read More

TripleMania’s really the big show of the weekend, for nearly as many reasons outside the ring as in it. This might be the first time a promotion’s focused their biggest show of the year on their heavyweight title match since the UWA. There’s a feud here to be sure, but with the mask match called off, this is far more reliant on the drawing power of US/Japan-like World Championship Feud than what’s normally done. Will AAA sell out the Copper Dome? Will PPV be a factor? Will anyone find the webcast? Will AAA try to get their own jump to counteract Niebla? Which group will get the headlines the next day?

Dunno!

1) Aerostar, Laredo Kid, Super Fly vs Cuervo, Escoria, Ozz

Maybe Gato Eveready as the sub? That’d work. Maybe the Clowns come out and kill both teams? That’d save them the time of fighting them separately.

2) Alan Stone, Octagón, Super Porky vs Black Abyss, Mr. Niebla, Psicosis

Histeria seems a good substitute. Like the opener, this is just here to fill out the card (which they may regret if they run low on time on the PPV window – I hope they got an hour more than CMLL gets) and get people onto the card. I think the tecnicos would be going over regardless of the situation, but maybe we’ll learn a little more about what might be next.

3) Brian Danielson, Jack Evans, Teddy Hart vs Extreme Tiger, Halloween, TJ Xtreme and Crazy Boy, Juventud Guerrera, Ricky Marvin

I don’t even know what to say about this match. There may be parts that are really good. There may be parts that are really bad. It doesn’t really play to anyone’s strengths or feuds – Jack and Teddy should be getting a tag title shot, the Mexican Powers should be facing the Hermaidad (a mortal lock to appear), Brian Danielson should be wrestling Solar I in Arena Naucalpan, and Ricky should be returning to CMLL instead of Wagner. This’ll be chaotic, likely to have good moments but ultimately not be all that cohesive.

4) Fabi Apache vs Mari Apache [hair]

I’m still a little bit behind on AAA TV, but they’ve hit me so hard with the “Billy Boy wants to make it up to Fabi Apache” story point, I’m sure this is going to end up with him being shaved here. The storyline going into is Fabi wants no one – not Billy, not Gran Apache – to be at ringside. Surely Gran Apache will end up there, and I figure cost Fabi the match. Maybe Billy offers to get shaved instead to make it up, but that doesn’t work either because nothing works out for Billy Boy. Unless the finish is too wacky, this should be the women’s lucha MOTY to date.

5) Vampiro vs Mesias [hardcore]

This will not be a MOTY. Though Vamp appears to be working a little bit before and after this, it’s a big layoff and he wasn’t ever claiming to be a great worker to start with, so it’s fair to expect a WSX brawl complete with explosion. You can’t go back to Mesias getting a shot at the title yet, so I think Vampiro wins this match to keep the feud (and Mesias’ TripleMania losing streak) going.

6) Bobby Lashley, Electro Shock, Kenzo Suzuki vs ?, Chessman, La Parka Jr.

Everyone sure thinks the mystery person will be Latin Lover, so it’s sorta got to be him or people will be upset about not getting someone they weren’t actually promised. This should turn out a lot of like the Steiner matches, with the foreign strongman tossing the guys around, getting put over strong, and AAA going nowhere with it. Except for Konnan bragging about the strength of the Legion…

7) Cibernetico vs Zorro [AAA HEAVY]

…leaning directly into Cibernetico winning a blah or worse match here. I mean, I guess there’s a shot that Chessman might turn, but they seem to be doing the slow build on that and I don’t see it happening here. (To me, it seems more like Chessman’s being set up with a feud for Mesias in case things fall apart with Vampiro, as has happened time to time.) They’ve done a great job of building up Zorro, so I don’t think they’d kill him dead here, but I don’t think Cibernetico’s going to get the title back only to lose in three months later. This is probably where having a better understanding about recent Puerto Rician booking would probably help things, but my impression is they like keeping the title on the big lead face and having all the rudos chase him, rather than the other way around.

Maybe I’m wrong? What do you have?

(in case I forget to say it yesterday, lucha times is being postponed until tomorrow on account of bleacher tickets. Also, I wrote this before Mistico’s status became iffy.)

TripleMania has the better card, but TripleMania should have the better card. It’s their big show of the year, this is only the summer cage match show they usually remember to do. That doesn’t excuse CMLL from one again seeking the minimal possible Big Card, but I’d be more upset if this was the 75th Anniversary card.

While the stories and feuds aren’t there, the match quality might be. There’s more matches that have a chance to be a bunch of fun than other recent CMLL shows.

CMLL (FRI) 06/13 Arena Mexico
1) Flash, Máscara Púrpura, Stuka Jr. vs Arkangel de la Muerte, Loco Max, Skandalo

Like this one. This is the protypical CMLL big show opener, a match featuring high flying tecnicos versus rudos just there to catch them. All three tecnicos really were passed over by Hijo del Fantasma (and La Mascara, to a lesser extent) when it came to pushing a new young guy and probably should have some gripes with that. This should be a nice tecnico win to start the show off, and we can sure we’ll see a Purpura shooting star press.

2) Grey Shadow, Sagrado, Valiente vs Averno, Ephesto, Mephisto

Valiente seemed about to springboard into a big push until he springboarded into the floor and broke his wrist. Will he get to pick off where he left off? Any one of the three tecnicos could benefit from being Averno’s next project (he unified the middleweight belts! no one cares!) or perhaps they the Triad of Terror could actually be getting back together. I think this is a tecnico win. I’m not really sure about that, but I am sure this also should be a good match.

3) Dr. Wagner Jr., La Sombra, Volador Jr. vs Atlantis, Rey Bucanero, Ultimo Guerrero

The Doctor is in. And waving to the fans while being punched. I know the idea here is we’re supposed to be Atlantis/Wagner here (soon to be a double mask main event with Octagon/Fuerza Guerrera) and I they’re also hinting as GdA being the first challengers for the winners of the tournaments, but the most interesting possibility to me is GdA being challengers for the other set of trios titles to mix things up. Two of the champs are here, and if there’s chances for them to do their stuff during the Wagner lovefest (and if the fans aren’t burned out with three straight matches of high flyers), this could be pretty fun. I’m with the Guerreros, and hopefully that’ll go better this week.

4) Blue Panther, Dos Caras Jr., Místico vs Hector Garza, Hijo del Fantasma, La Mascara [CMLL TRIOS]

I still don’t believe in the future for this titles, but the present is going to be pretty interesting. We’ve gone from Mistico & Garza being insta-friends to Mistico accusing Garza of stealing from to Mistico and Garza bragging about proving they can get along after all. That might be a bit harder after this one, and the story coming out of this will certainly how those two act towards each other during the match. I presume Garza and his guys will be leaning rudo during this match, but that’s not for sure.

My guess is this a higher profile version of the Kid’s Day match. Probably not in the style, but in the attempt at establishing Fantasma and Mascara as bigger stars, but by coming up just short. (Mascara needs to get a new name if he’s getting his push, by the way.) The other team has the guys CMLL pushes as the best technical wrestler, the most powerful wrestler and the most agile wrestler in the promotion, which seems like an unbeatable trio. Not to mention the possibilities for future matches.

5) el Hijo del Perro Aguayo vs Damián 666, Mr. Águila, Terrible, Texano Jr., Shocker, Marco Corelone, Heavy Metal, Negro Casas, Alex Koslov [cage, hair]

Let’s see: Perro’s not losing his hair. Shocker’s not losing his hair. Marco Corelone’s not losing his hair. Alex’s not losing his hair while he’s working with TNA. The other six have a least a shred of possibility but it’s not a huge deal if they lose. Still, I think there’s a little pressure not to have a Damian lose and prove everyone right about CMLL’s lame booking.

I don’t think much of the match – 10 guys in one ring brawling for a while isn’t going to work most of the time – but I have this feeling Negro Casas might be taking the fall. He’s been winding down his schedule quite a bit lately, but he’s still Negro Casas so it’d mean a little bit and it’d allow them to continue the Heavy Metal/Perro Aguayo story they seem to have latched onto.

What are your picks? I’ll preview TripleMania tomorrow.