Thank you to everyone who reached out to check on me while I was away for personal reasons. Today’s post is just about CMLL, and I’ll have more as I find time to put it together over the next few days.

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 05/26/2023 Arena México [AS, CMLL, Estrellas del Ring, Kaiser Sports, The Gladiatores, thecubsfan]
1) Angelito b Galaxy [lightning]  
6:36
2) Capitán Suicida, Fuego, Volcano b Crixus, Kráneo, Raider  
11:38.
3) La Jarochita b La Catalina [lightning]  
9:28
4) El Coyote & Rugido b El Audaz, Felino Jr., Guerrero Maya Jr., Hombre Bala Jr., Rey Samuray, Zandokan Jr. [MEX MIDDLE, seeding battle royal]  
vacant title (Templario won CMLL MIDDLE)
5) Guerrero Maya Jr. b Audaz [MEX MIDDLE, quarterfinal] 
3:02
6) Rey Samuray b Zandokan Jr. [MEX MIDDLE, quarterfinal] 
2:53
7) Felino Jr. b Hombre Bala Jr. [MEX MIDDLE, quarterfinal] 
2:52.
8) Rugido b El Coyote [MEX MIDDLE, quarterfinal] 
2:59.
9) Guerrero Maya Jr. b Zandokan Jr. [MEX MIDDLE, semifinal] 
3:09.
10) Rugido b Hombre Bala Jr. [MEX MIDDLE, semifinal] 
2:51
11) Atlantis Jr., Star Jr., Volador Jr. b Euforia, Hechicero, Mephisto  
9:35. Straight falls, setting up a trios title match next week.
12) Soberano Jr. b Dragón Rojo Jr. [Copa Jr. VIP, final]   
12:54 via sitdown piledriver. Dragon Rojo got stretchered out (like everyone does for that move.)

This is already distant past and I wasn’t in a note taking mood. My recollection is Soberano/Dragon Rojo was better than the Templario/Dragon Rojo matches, but I’m not any higher on something built around Dragon Rojo. That result does point to a Soberano/Dragon Rojo/Templario match for September.

The tournament felt like everyone was told they had five minutes from the moment they walked out to the moment they returned, which is why that tournament style isn’t much good. Capitan Suicida, Fuego and Volcano may be ending up another trio, because that’s the second time they’d been together in a short order.

CMLL (SAT) 05/27/2023 Arena Coliseo [CMLL]
1) Acero, Aéreo, Shockercito b Full Metal, Minos, Pequeño Polvora
2) Valiente Jr. b Sangre Imperial [lightning]
3) Amapola, La Guerrera, Skadi b La Magnifica, La Vaquerita, Metálica
4) Cancerbero, Difunto, Luciferno b Dulce Gardenia, Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa
5) Euforia b Yota
6) Atlantis, Blue Panther, Volador Jr. vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Dragón Rojo Jr., Fuerza Guerrera

Yota loses both of his singles matches on his way out. That’s normal for NJPW wrestlers finishing up excursions, but it was obviously a strange situation this time. I did see a couple of Japanese fans pointing out Yota was unlikely to beat Sanada if he couldn’t win in CMLL, but it didn’t seem like many and it didn’t seem to affect the title match at all.

CMLL (SUN) 05/28/2023 Arena México [CMLL]
1) Dr. Karonte II b Cachorro [lightning]
2) Astral, Neón, Oro Jr. b Apocalipsis, Cholo, Disturbio
tecnicos took 2/3
3) Robin b Diamond [lightning]
4) Arlequín (Jalisco), Furia Roja (Jalisco), Guerrero de la Muerte b Magia Blanca, Magnus, Okumura
Team Jalisco took 2/3
5) El Hijo del Villano III, Felino, Misterioso Jr. b Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II, Kráneo
Team Felino took 2/3
6) Panterita del Ring Jr., Valiente, Volador Jr. b Hechicero, Stuka Jr., Yota
Tecnicos took 2/3

This was Yota’s last match here, he’s not expected to make another return. CMLL’s going curiously strong with the Jalisco guys. The social media pushed them as “the new generation from Jalisco,” but they’ve all been around for a decade.

CMLL (MON) 05/29/2023 Arena Puebla [Porra Fresa]
1) Espíritu Maligno & Sombra Diabólika b Amnesia & Brave Star
2) Mercurio, Minos, Pequeño Polvora b Acero, Shockercito, Último Dragóncito
3) Perverso, Prayer, Siky Ozama b Crixus, Difunto, Zandokan Jr. 
4) Euforia, Hechicero, Mephisto b Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II, Sagrado 
5) Atlantis Jr. & Soberano Jr. b Ángel de Oro & Niebla Roja 
sets up a tag title match next week

It’s odd CMLL had Los Infernales win here in retrospect.

CMLL (TUE) 05/30/2023 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [FDDE, thecubsfan]
1) Dulce Kitty, Luna, Sexy Sol b Atenea, Nexy, Valkiria 
Dulce Kitty picked up an injury.
2) Estrella de Jalisco I (2000s) & Estrella de Jalisco II (2000s) DQ Mr. Trueno & Rey Trueno and Mágico & Magnum and Gran Kenut & Jabalí 
Malefico & Exterminador attacked and unmasked Estrellas de Jalisco I & II (Gallo & Rafaga).
3) Bestia Negra, Demonio Maya, Principe Daniel b Ángel Rebelde, Optimus, Trono 
4) Crixus b Halcón Negro Jr., Ángel Negro Jr., El Gallero 
5) Bárbaro Cavernario, Dulce Gardenia, La Fashion b Arlequín, Furia Roja, Guerrero de la Muerte 
6) Stephanie Vaquer & Zeuxis © b Hera & Olympia [OCCIDENTE WOMEN TAG] 
first defense

The main event was said to go surprisingly well given the experience level of Valiente’s daughters.

I was really confused by the “Estrellas de Jalisco” thing last week, and even more so when I saw Gallo & Rafaga walk out of this match. The announcers explained and I caught on: Gallo & Rafaga wrestled as Los Estrellas de Jalisco in the 00s before taking on their more famous gimmicks and were going back to those identities for a match featuring a lot of older wrestlers. Of course, it ended with a run-in from the rudos of that day. The announcers pointed out this building’s anniversary show is coming up.

CMLL (TUE) 05/30/2023 Arena México [CMLL, FDDE]
1) Micro Gemelo Diablo I, Micro Gemelo Diablo II, Micro Sagrado b Átomo, Chamuel, Micro Ángel
2) Astral, Diamond, Oro Jr. b Dr. Karonte I, Dr. Karonte II, Inquisidor
tecnicos took 1/3. Astral suffered an injury taking a frontcracker from one of the Karontes.
3) Amapola & La Catalina b La Jarochita & Sanely
rudas took 2/3
4) Star Black b Sagrado [lightning]
sets up a MEX HEAVY title match
5) Dark Panther, Fugaz, Panterita del Ring b Felino, Felino Jr., Rey Bucanero
Tecnicos took 2/3
6) Ángel de Oro, Gran Guerrero, Niebla Roja b Esfinge, Valiente, Volador Jr.
Rudos took 1/3

Like I said last time it happens, Star Black is going to keep getting heavyweight title shots until he wins. CMLL likes him and there’s just not too many other heavyweights.

Los Dr. Karontes seem to be injuring their opponents on a regular basis. This would be a great gimmick for a doctor team – they hurt you and they put you back together – but it’s not a gimmick with these guys.

CMLL (FRI) 06/02/2023 Arena México [CMLL, thecubsfan]
1) Mercurio & Pierrothito b Angelito & Galaxy
9:36
2) Futuro & Max Star b Halcón Suriano Jr. & Neón
11:28 Team Max Star took 1/3.
3) Akuma, Dark Magic, Espanto Jr. b Dulce Gardenia, Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa
Ola Negra attacked Atrapsuenos post match, though the announcers seemed to ignore it
4) Guerrero Maya Jr. b Rugido [MEX MIDDLE, final]
10:46. Vacant title (Templario), final of last week’s tournament. Maya is the 62nd champion.
5) Atlantis Jr., Star Jr., Volador Jr. b Euforia, Hechicero, Mephisto © [CMLL TRIOS]
17:46. Mephisto & Hechicero had problems late, directly leading to their loss. Atlantis Jr., Star Jr. and Volador Jr. become the 34th champions. Hechicero blamed Mephisto for the loss, the two fought post match, and Hechicero seemed to say he was done with Los Infernales. Euforia did not pick a side.
6) Místico, Panterita del Ring Jr., Soberano Jr. b Fuerza Guerrera, Stuka Jr., Último Guerrero
14:35. Ultimo Guerrero cut off Soberano from breaking a pin and held him near the ropes, the first time they’ve touched in a match in months and months. (They didn’t touch the rest of the match.) Tecnicos took 2/3.

I saw the Soberano/Ultimo Guerrero interaction as accidental, like something that happened because they needed to for the match to make sense, but nothing planned. Ultimo Guerrero was back out of the way once Soberano was doing sequences and back the other way. Again, no one reporting on lucha libre in Mexico ever seems to notice or comment on this. That main event also came off like Fuerza Guerrera was booked for the show against Octagon or Atlantis, then whoever it was couldn’t appear, and they just had no idea what to do with him. He looked old. Panterita del Ring Jr. looked stupendous.

The trios title change was a surprise and also one that felt completely overshadowed by the split up. They were literally celebrating in the background of a shot of Mephsito/Hechicero shoving each other. It went from 0-10 so quick that you’d wonder about the Anniversario if the Dragon Rojo stuff hasn’t been so built up over the last few months. Maybe that just gives you an idea of scale: this felt like a big feud quickly (and Mephisto is a guy who’s ripe for a mask match.) The match was pretty good and the out-of-nowhere angle was done very well.

Guerrrero Maya Jr. and Rugido wasn’t perfect – it was a little clunky, and these guys aren’t over enough to the casuals for a finisher tease sequence to get over – but I still thought it was good. The promise of Guerrero Maya Jr. getting a title and defending it against challengers is big.

The guys in the second match went for it and it didn’t quite work all the time. The physical tools are there with the new guys – Neon has an impressive-looking leap to the top rope he pulled out a couple of times here- it’s just going to be a matter of putting it together all in one match.

CMLL (SAT) 06/03/2023 Arena Coliseo
1) Full Metal, Pequeño Olímpico, Pequeño Violencia b Aéreo, Fantasy, Pequeño Magía
2) Enfermero Jr. b Cachorro [lightning]
3) Capitán Suicida, Halcón Suriano Jr., Valiente Jr. b Apocalipsis, Cholo, Disturbio
4) Magia Blanca & Magnus b El Coyote & Okumura
5) Fuego, Fugaz, Hombre Bala Jr. b Pegasso, Rey Samuray, Stigma
6) Atlantis, Atlantis Jr., Panterita del Ring Jr. b Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr., Último Guerrero

Nothing particular to say about this one, but generally notable there’s very few substitutions on these shows as late.

CMLL (SUN) 06/04/2023 Arena México [CMLL]
1) Leono & Robin b El Hijo De Centella Roja & Prayer
2) Raider b Halcón Suriano Jr. [lightning]
3) El Audaz, Star Black, Volcano b Cancerbero, Luciferno, Virus
4) Zandokan Jr. b Okumura [lightning]
5) Bárbaro Cavernario, Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero b Panterita del Ring Jr., Star Jr., Volador Jr.
6) Euforia & Soberano Jr. b Valiente & Valiente Jr. [Copa Dinastia, quarterfinal]
7) Hijo de Stuka Jr. & Stuka Jr. b Misterio Negro & Misterioso Jr. [Copa Dinastia, quarterfinal]
8) Hijo de Stuka Jr. & Stuka Jr. b Euforia & Soberano Jr. [Copa Dinastia, semifinal]

Team Stuka advancing is a mild surprise, a good way to feature people who aren’t getting as much attention. Valiente Jr. seems like he’s found a regular role on this roster, Hijo de Stuka not as much.

The opener is Hijo de Centella Roja’s first CDMX appearance outside of the Torneo de Escuela. Didn’t seem like it would be a sure thing for him, but CMLL is going pretty deep on those. Tonalli, in an IWRG interview, claimed he’s still with CMLL but they wanted to focus on other Torneo de Escuela guys at the moment. The reality seems is CMLL is using more people than ever, even if for a match or two, and there are probably specific reasons if a guy as talented as Tonalli isn’t being used. We’ll see if he keeps showing up with RGR.

CMLL (SUN) 06/04/2023 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [thecubsfan]
1) Eclipse & Obeses b Chesmo & Palcry 
guessing on names, totally wrong
2) Estrella De Jalisco Jr. I, Estrella De Jalisco Jr. II, Último Ángel b Obek, Rav, Temerario 
Raven now Rav? Obelisk now Obek?
3) Dulce Kitty & Sexy Sol b Atenea & Valkiria 
4) Estrella de Jalisco I (2000s) DQ Exterminador, Javier Cruz Jr., Neutrón, Mágico, León Blanco, Gran Kenut, Flash, Rey Trueno, Bobby Black, Pepe Aguayo, Black Boy, El Hijo Del Calavera, Mr. Trueno, Estrella de Jalisco II (2000s), Jabalí 
Sides set pre-match (no battle royal)! A: Javier Cruz Jr., Neutron, Magico, Leon Blanco, Gran Kenut, Estrella de Jalisco I Flash, Rey Trueno vs B: Exterminador, Bobby Black, Pepe Aguayo, Black Boy, Hijo del Calavera, Mr. Trueno, Estrella de Jalisco II, Jabali. Exterminador unmasked Estrella de Jalisco I (Gallo) for the DQ.
5) Adrenalina, Explosivo, Fantástico b Barboza, Draego, Persa 
6) Místico b Averno 

This is the return of the Sunday show. It’s an afternoon start, as they’ve done for the irregular charity shows in this venue. The turnout seemed down from Tuesdays but maybe still OK? It’s hard to know what OK will be for this venue, starting now with lower wattage lineups. The main event played the hits.

CMLL (MON) 06/05/2023 Arena Puebla
1) Asturiano, Meyer, Millenium vs Rencor, Rey Apocalipsis, Sombra Diabólika
2) Volcano vs Siky Ozama [lightning]
3) Esfinge, Fugaz, Stigma vs Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido
4) Místico, Panterita del Ring Jr., Volador Jr. vs Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr., Último Guerrero
5) Ángel de Oro & Niebla Roja © vs Atlantis Jr. & Soberano Jr. [CMLL TAG]
9th defense

A main event title change seems unlikely after Atlantis Jr. picked up a title on Friday. It could be good, as could the semi-main. Siki Osama is a rare local who can match Volcano in height.

CMLL (TUE) 06/06/2023 Arena México
1) Angelito, Kaligua, Pequeño Magía vs Mercurio, Minos, Pequeño Polvora
2) Skadi & Tiffany vs La Magnifica & Metálica [Relevos Increíbles]
3) Halcón Suriano Jr. vs Vaquero Jr. [lightning]
4) Blue Panther, Dark Panther, Volcano vs Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II, Kráneo
5) Sagrado © vs Star Black [MEX HEAVY]
4th defense, second versus Star Black
6) Atlantis, Panterita del Ring Jr., Star Jr. vs Averno, Bárbaro Cavernario, El Hijo del Villano III

Villano getting a main event opposite Atlantis is going to be a big deal for him, even if it’s just a random Tueday night. Four defenses in eight months is pretty active for a heavyweight champion in CMLL.

CMLL (TUE) 06/06/2023 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Astro Oriental, Avispón Negro Jr., Bello Antuan vs Minotauro, Mortis, Rumbero
2) Flash & Pepe Aguayo vs Estrella de Jalisco I (2000s) & Estrella de Jalisco II (2000s) and Exterminador & Maléfico and Mr. Trueno & Rey Trueno
3) Okumura vs Arlequín [lightning]
4) Pegasso, Perverso, Rey Samuray vs Bestia Negra, Black Boy, Cris Skin
5) Apocalipsis, Cholo, Disturbio vs Leo, Omar Brunetti, Príncipe
6) Esfinge & Fugaz vs Furia Roja & Guerrero de la Muerte
7) Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido vs Difunto, Principe Daniel, Zandokan Jr.

Semi-main is the double tag team champions versus likely challengers.

CMLL (FRI) 06/09/2023 Arena México
1) Diamond vs Raider [lightning]
2) Guerrero Maya Jr., Rey Samuray, Stigma vs Difunto, Furia Roja (Jalisco), Zandokan Jr.
3) La Jarochita, Lluvia, Sanely vs La Catalina, Stephanie Vaquer, Zeuxis
4) Atlantis, Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr. vs Euforia, Soberano Jr., Valiente [Relevos Increíbles]
5) Mephisto vs Hechicero
6) Dragón Rojo Jr., Místico, Último Guerrero vs Templario, Titán, Volador Jr. [Relevos Increíbles]

They’re wasting no time getting to Mephisto/Hechicero. Soberano feels like he belongs in the main event, but then they’d have to find someplace else to put Ultimo Guerrero probably. Diamond/Raider could be good (and Diamond could use a good night.) Furia Roja gets a Friday appearance.

Titán returns to Mexico on that show after wrapping up a successful Best of the Super Juniors tour. His final league match with Hiromu Takahashi, the semifinal match with El Desperado and the final against Master Wato were heavily praised. Titán lost in the final while still dramatically raising his stock. You can see the planning if you look carefully – Titán was the one getting pinfalls in the junior tag feud last week, Titán pulling the upsets over Takahashi, and Desperado saves those victories as big moments Wato can still chance – but it still was shocking in the moment. I don’t know what’s next for Titán, but I don’t think he’s returning to the “3-6 in the group” stage soon.

Titán/Wato got a five-star rating in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. I believe that makes Titán only the second active CMLL wrestler to get a five star rating, joining Dragon Lee. Both of their matches took place in NJPW; there’s never been a CMLL match rated five stars in that newsletter. (The Villano III/Atlantis match got 4 3/4, which is technically not five stars if emotionally the same.) Titan advancing to the finals got a small bit of Mexican sports/wrestling media attention. His celebration following the semifinal win was the cover of Box y Lucha 3553. You should never underestimate how much doing well on an international stage means to both Mexican wrestlers and their fans.

(Thing that probably isn’t going to happen but would be great if it did: if NJPW will not let any of the AAA wrestlers appear on Forbidden Door, AEW should turn into the skid and bring in Titán and anyone else they can get for a weekend and cross off ‘booking a current bucket list CMLL wrestler’ from the bucket list. Titán truly is a NJPW guy so CMLL’s not going to object, and AAA’s going to be fine with whatever AEW is doing as long as they’re still getting Omega. I’d sneak in Vaquer and Volador if possible too but Titán is the actual reasonable one.)

The big upcoming co-promotion show people in Mexico are talking about is now Forbidden Door, but Fantastica Mania Mexico. I had heard (and written here) about the possibility of this tour since about the end of the Japan version. Maybe for me it came off flatter because I’ve had three months to think about it and who could be part of it. Mexican fans seemed to be much more excited. It’s not as large amount of wrestlers as CMLL sends to Japan, but it does have an A level name in Naito and a popular secondary guy in Desperado. That’s better than CMLL’s been getting from NJPW.

CMLL publicized the 06/30 show. They actually announced matches for other shows that week on Informa, just didn’t put them out on social media. (You can tell the real reach of Informa in how those didn’t get mentioned. It’s hard to get people to report on things now unless you spoon-feed it to them in small easy-to-digest portions. It’s not just a CMLL issue.)

CMLL (MON) 06/26/2023 Arena Puebla
4) Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido, Volador Jr. vs Bushi, Naito, Rocky Romero, Titán
5) Averno, Mephisto, Satánico vs Atlantis, El Desperado, Tiger Mask IV

CMLL (TUE) 06/27/2023 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
4) Averno, Rey Bucanero, Último Guerrero vs Bushi, Naito, Titán
5) Blue Panther, Fuerza Guerrera, Satánico vs El Desperado, Rocky Romero, Tiger Mask IV

(The Guadalajara show will include everyone wearing their old masks for the night.)

CMLL (FRI) 06/30/2023 Arena México
1) Audaz, Capitán Suicida, Hombre Bala Jr. vs Akuma, Dark Magic, Okumura
one fall match
2) Lluvia & Zeuxis vs La Jarochita & Stephanie Vaquer
3) Satánico vs Tiger Mask IV
Satanico 50th Anniversary match.
4) El Desperado vs Máscara Dorada 2.0
5) Bushi, Naito, Titán vs Atlantis Jr., Místico, Soberano Jr.
6) Rocky Romero © vs Volador Jr. [NWA WELTER]

I don’t have a defense number because I haven’t done the work to add all the “Dan the Dad” matches to the luchadb yet. I’ll work on it. This main event feels like the end of the story, but the All Star Junior festival show still exists as another possibility.

Naito last visited in 2019, which I recall as a not-so-serious match. That one had Rush & Terrible involved and this one might be more intense.

There are many good Mistico stories. One of my favorites was his returning to Arena Mexico in 2015 and declaring he would now be known as “Mistic 2.0.” The mocked name never made it to a match, with him claiming it was all a ruse to fool people who might want to steal his real new name (Caristico.) “2.0” is a dated suffix for people who know “technology” is a thing which exists but prefers to avoid interacting with it; perfect for CMLL. In theory, naming this guy “2.0” allows 1.0 Metalik to return and keep his name, though I don’t know if he wants to be Mascara Dorada even in CMLL at this point (and he’s still waiting for his US residency so he can’t be in CMLL.) For what it’s worth, CMLL filed for (just) “Mascara Dorada” as a trademark back on April 28th in a few categories they hadn’t covered before. Everyone’s going to end up calling him Mascara Dorada within a few weeks anyway, with or without the 2.0.

Mascara Dorada 2.0 is probably Panterita del Ring Jr. CMLL hasn’t made it official, but he’s widely believed to be the plan.

The slightly elevated prices for the Friday show caught some attention. The June 23rd show from runs between 150 and 630 pesos, while the FantasticaMania show goes from 300 to 780. (Ticketmaster lists a higher top price, so maybe there are ringside tickets labeled with a bigger price that aren’t still on sale.) It’s up, but not a lot compared to the biggest shows of the year.

What stuck out to me is this show isn’t listed as a PPV yet. JCR mentioned it will be a PPV on Informa, so it’s like a 95% chance it’s just the higher price point and CMLL’s slow on putting it up, and a scant percentage CMLL is going to offer the big crossover show on a platform the crossover audience might actually find. I expect it’ll be up on NJPW World eventually, but it would be a fine time for the “oh no PPV won’t work, guess we have to show this big match for free” issue to pop up again.

Satanico wrestled the original Tiger Mask before he was Tiger Mask, and before most of you were born. Tiger Mask IV may be closer to the end of his career than 72-year-old Satanico, but he’s a Tiger Mask so Satanico is excited to fight him as his career reaches 50 years. CMLL also is booked for 60-year-olds by 60-year-olds, and this checks off some boxes. Informa mentioned Blue Panther, and Atlantis will similarly be honored in upcoming months.

The Satanico celebration also mentions Lluvia & Zeuxis finally teaming up as Las Infernales. A female version of Satanico’s group featuring women he’s trained has been thrown out in interviews as an idea for years I still can’t explain why people are so attached to this idea. I’m glad they’re at least finally getting it, and it makes sense to do it on a show honoring Satanico. The only miss is Dark Silueta is not yet ready to come back from injury to be the third person in the trio, perhaps she’ll make an appearance at ringside. The male Los Infernales group not being involved stuck out as strange when this card was announced, but it makes more sense now.

I saw people wondering if Mercedes Mone might have been on this show had she not been injured on the last NJPW Strong show because this is the NJPW tie-in show. I don’t believe so; it’s important to understand how long and how loudly people have been pushing for this “Las Infernales” concept; that was always going to be the priority for a show honoring Satanico. I remain skeptical Mercedes is coming to Arena Mexico but, if it ever is going to happen, it’ll probably be an event where Mercedes is the main (and many only focus), not along with another batch of people.

Naito, Bushi, Desperado and even Tiger Mask appearing on this show means they’re all very likely to be among the NJPW wrestlers appearing on on the 06/25 Forbidden Door show. Going from Toronto to Puebla will be a long day, but the adjacent dates aren’t a coincidence. CMLL’s just announcing them first because they need to sell some tickets, AEW’s gotten that worked out for Toronto already.

Enrique Lutteroth Camou, said to be the oldest of the 2nd generation Lutteroth children, passed away. CMLL’s press release said he promoted shows at Arena Coliseo Monterrey for “four decades.” I don’t know much about him beyond that. CMLL didn’t mention an age. There is more info on him on Facebook: he was 95, living in Garza Garcia, and worked in the hotel industry. His most famous hotel seems to be Hotel Coral & Marina, who said Lutteroth actually passed away last Tuesday and re-posted a longer bio from a recent anniversary. Enrique Lutteroth had a degree in architecture from UNAM, and is said to be the person in charge of building Arena Coliseo Monterrey (under the direction of his father.) That hotel bio says Enrique promoted wrestling from 1954 to 1966, then took over running Hotel Country Club in Tijuana when his brother Hector decided to leave that role for politics. He stayed in the hotel business the rest of his life, founding Ensenada’s Hotel Coral & Marina in 1996 and serving as the president until his death. He’s also credited with founding the Nuevo Leon Boys & Girls Club.

Max Star said he was so nervous for his Arena Mexico debut that he almost fell down the stairs. He’s hoping the programming department holds a tournament for the now-vacant national lightweight title and that he gets to be part of it. Teaming with Volador in the Gran Alternativa and going to Japan are his other goals.

Atlantis suggests his mask is worth 50 billion dollars. I think you could take a few zeros off that and still get him to lose his mask.

CMLL

Titan made it to the finals of the Best of Super Juniors tournament. I am not making this up, it really happened. Titan defeated El Desperado in a fantastic main event and will meet Master Wato (old CMLL friend Kawato) in the final on Sunday morning. The full show from this morning is free on NJPW World; you don’t need to register. The Wato/Bailey match preceding it is also well worth watching.

Titan’s story inside this tournament has been the Llave Inmortal – his Mutalock variation – being completely unbeatable and inescapable once fully locked on. I was sure Hiromu Takahashi would be the one to escape it in the league final finally. He tapped out. I was sure El Desperado would get out of it this morning. He tapped out. Titan still seems like an underdog against Wato; even with all of LIJ rooting him out, Titan is the outsider. Titan would be the favorite in any other situation, and he’s got a decent chance of winning this.

I think it was Chris Charlton who speculated, right after the main event finish, that 90% of the fans walked into the building expecting to see Mike Bailey versus El Desperado set up as the final. I was definitely in that 90%, was slightly surprised when Wato beat Bailey and then was shocked in the end. It’s a big risk to put Titan and Wato, two guys who’ve never been headliners in NJPW, against each other in what’s traditionally a big drawing show. I have no feel for how well it worked today or how well it will work tomorrow, but it’s a tremendous endorsement given to Wato & Titan to headline in this spot.

(Post Wrestling translated a Proresu-TODAY interview with NJPW’s Takami Ohabri earlier this week. The president of NJPW said that promotion was close to shutting down during the worst of the pandemic; he could count the months on one hand. NJPW’s profits relied a lot of ticket sales and in-arena purchases, like AAA & CMLL. They’ve spent the last three years diversifying and growing their sales outside of the I’ve event as well as cut expenses and he believes they’ll just barely make a profit when their fiscal year ends in June. I don’t know if anyone could get CMLL or AAA to talk with numbers about their business during the pandemic, but I suspect they might have similar stories. As far as the BOSJ, NJPW seems like they’re in a place where they can’t yet afford to experiment – both this final and Yota’s return seem like things that they’re needing to work.)

CMLL (FRI) 05/26/2023 Arena México
1) Angelito vs Galaxy [lightning]
2) Capitán Suicida, Fuego, Volcano vs Crixus, Kráneo, Raider
3) La Jarochita vs La Catalina [lightning]
4) El Audaz vs Rugido, Guerrero Maya Jr., El Coyote, Hombre Bala Jr., Felino Jr., Rey Samuray, Zandokan Jr. [MEX MIDDLE, #1 Contenders]
vacant title (Templario won CMLL MIDDLE)
5) Atlantis Jr., Star Jr., Volador Jr. vs Euforia, Hechicero, Mephisto
6) Soberano Jr. vs Dragón Rojo Jr. [Copa Jr. VIP, final]

Templario got the title win, Dragon Rojo got the tournament win, maybe it’s Soberano’s turn.

The Mexican Middleweight tournamenti s a bigger question mark. Guerrero Maay Jr. is the closest guy to being pushed, but the ‘final 2 advance’ format gives CMLL a big opener for someone unusual to get a spotlight match. Maybe CMLL will go with Zandokan Jr. as hard as theorized. Maybe it’s Coyote’s big night. Maybe it’s Rugido continuing to get shots. Not really sure.

Not really sure about this card. Everyone seems like it has a chance to be good if it breaks right but nothing is a for sure great match. The PPV is up as usual. It’ll air on YouTube on 06/11.

Audaz says he feels fortunate to be in this tournament after dealing with personal problems and falling of his motorcycle and injuring his ankle. (That’s the first I’ve heard of any of that, but Audaz did disappear earlier this year.) He feels he’s fallen behind others like Titan, Hechicero, Esfinge and Templario and wants to catch up, though he really wants a match with Virus first.

Hombre Bala says winning the middleweight title would be the biggest moment of his career. (Correct.)

CMLL (MON) 05/29/2023 Arena Puebla
1) Amnesia & Brave Star vs Espíritu Maligno & Sombra Diabólika
2) Acero, Shockercito, Último Dragóncito vs Mercurio, Minos, Pequeño Polvora
3) Perverso, Prayer, Siky Ozama vs Crixus, Difunto, Zandokan Jr.
4) Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II, Sagrado vs Euforia, Hechicero, Mephisto
5) Atlantis Jr. & Soberano Jr. vs Ángel de Oro & Niebla Roja

The main event is a rematch.

CMLL (TUE) 05/30/2023 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Dulce Kitty, Karisma, Sexy Sol vs Atenea, Nexy, Valkiria
2) Mágico & Metatrón vs Estrella de Jalisco I & Estrella de Jalisco II and Mr. Trueno & Rey Trueno and Gran Kenut & Jabalí
3) Bestia Negra, Demonio Maya, Principe Daniel vs Ángel Rebelde, Optimus, Trono
4) Crixus vs Halcón Negro Jr., Ángel Negro, El Gallero
5) Bárbaro Cavernario, Dulce Gardenia, La Fashion vs Arlequín, Furia Roja, Guerrero de la Muerte
6) Stephanie Vaquer & Zeuxis © vs Hera & Olympia [OCCIDENTE WOMEN TAG]
first defense

Women’s tag match was set up last week (and women main eventing here is getting normal.) Match 4 is a four-way.

The Estrellas de Jalisco who are regulars were originally Estrella de Jalisco Jr. I & Estrella de Jalisco Jr. II; the Juniors got dropped quick. I think the ones in the second match are the mid 2000s versions of that character, who obviously may be related to the ones around now. It’s an all old guy match.

CMLL Informa ended with a new wrestler teaser. The wrestler wasn’t named nor fully shown, but it appeared to be someone in a Mascara Dorada mask. Metalik confirmed this is not him, though he still hopes to make it to Arena Mexico again. CMLL ended the video by teasing more information soon.

My first guess on the wrestler – and this is just a guess, I don’t have hard info on this – was Panterita del Ring Jr. based on the body type and based on him giving up his title earlier in the episode. Others have fairly pointed out Panterita is still booked on upcoming shows, which is unlike what CMLL does in these situations. Max Star and Futuro have both not been seen in a couple of weeks, though CMLL’s not booking any of the Torneo de Escuelas wrestlers frequently so it doesn’t necessarily mean anything.

A very long digression about a related thing that may mean nothing but is still slightly interesting

Is this a good time to talk about the Mascara Dorada trademark and drop a minor scoop in an unrelated bit? Sure, why not. Please keep in mind that, as far as I can tell, nothing about CMLL has or is going to change. CMLL is still going to keep on keeping on. Just, when we talk about “CMLL owns the name Mascara Dorada”, that fact appears to be in legal dispute.

There are two trademarks filed for “Mascara Dorada” in Mexico. One was filed by “PROMOCIONES MÉXICO COLISEO Y REVOLUCIÓN, S.C.”,  which what the Salavador Lutteroth’s have been mentioned as running since they took control of the company in 2019. (There’s never been an explanation for this specific name.) Their Mascara Dorada trademark was filed in 2021 and is listed as “In Process” in Mexico’s trademark database. The other “Mascara Dorada” trademark is registered to “MARIA SOFIA ALONSO PERCHES” (better known as Sofia Alonso.) This second trademark was filed back in 2010 originally under Paco Alonso’s name and is listed as fully registered. That trademark, along with 174 other Paco Alonso trademarks, were transferred to Sofia Alonso in 2019 following her father’s death upon her legal team’s request. This batch of trademarks includes other items we would consider “CMLL” property (including the name and logo itself.) It’s always been unclear why the names were registered under the Alonso name, but there’s been no outward sign of any issue with their usage through the changes of power.

Sofia Alonso is listed as renewing those registrations in September 2020. That’s almost a year after the Lutteroth’s appeared to cease control of the promotion from here. If you don’t remember or weren’t around, the brief version is Sofia Alonso took over CMLL following her father’s death in August 2019, then was apparently pushed out of power by other members by November of the same year. Alonso lost power but apparently kept control of her family’s trademarks. The Mascara Dorada record, and others in this batch of trademark renewals, list three more recent documents. Those all refer to a civil lawsuit between Lutteroths and the Alonsos over those trademarks. It doesn’t appear to be the renewal itself that caused the lawsuit, but instead Sofia Alonso signed an agreement with “Intellectual Property Assets Management, Inc.” in February 2021. Alonso appears to have licensed all her CMLL trademarks to this company. The full agreement doesn’t seem to be posted to the trademark site; we don’t know what she received from this deal. My presumption is the IPAM would’ve tried to extract a fee from the Lutteroth’s from using all those trademarks (which, again, include fundamental IP like “CMLL” and “Mistico” and “Mascara Dorada”.) The Lutteroth’s lawsuit was to stop all of thhs from happening, arguing Paco Alonso was not legally allowed to pass down his trademarks and they should’ve instead be invalidated. In theory, invading those trademarks would open a path for the Luttertoth’s pending trademarks to become the only official ones.

This lawsuit is all old news to the people involved and there’s not much more info on it. The US has public electronic records of civil court cases, allowing us to track things like the AAA vs Lucha Libre FMV case. Mexico does not, at least as far as I’ve been able to discover. The lawsuit was filed in 2021, and the most recent update is from 2022 (which seemed to be a ‘don’t do anything with this until the court case resolves’ statement as best I can tell.) There’s no apparent resolution to be found in the status of the trademarks: the Alonso trademarks are still active, the Lutteroths remain pending. The Lutteroth’s actions suggest they’re unconcerned; they wouldn’t be giving someone the Mascara Dorada name if they thought they were about to lose it. Most of these cases get settled, and maybe there’s some discussion happening outside of what we’re seeing in the documentation.

Panterita del Ring Jr. did give up the Mexican National Lightweight championship earlier in Informa. He said he was gaining weight, moving up to welterweight, and wanted to challenge Titan or Rocky Romero for one of the world welterweight championships. In reality, lightweight is a division CMLL has never been interested in for its 90-year history. They don’t want Panterita thought of as a lightweight if they’re going to push him big, they’re not going to have anyone that size beat Panterita in a title match, and that meant giving up the title was always the likely ending.

Those future Panterita matches include the Copa Dinastia, coming to CMLL in June. This is different than usual tournaments in that it’s a Sunday show event so it can have the final on Father’s Day. Seven of the eight teams are father/son. There will be two blocks of four teams:

• June 4th: Euforia & Soberano Jr., Valiente & Valiente Jr., Stuka Jr. & Hijo de Stuka Jr., Misterioso Jr. & Misterio Negro
• June 11th: Mistico & Dr. Karonte I (brothers), Atlantis & Atlantis Jr., Panterita del Ring Jr. & Panterita del Ring, Felino & Felino Jr.
• June 18th: final

Euforia & Soberano beat Gran & Ultimo Guerrero last year. They’re the only returning team from that version of Copa Dinasita; CMLL has so many related people that they can reload the tournament year to year.

CMLL Informa also included Barbaro Cavernario, Virus and Stephanie Vaquer talking about their matches in New Japan Strong. They were all pleased how it went, how they got cheers from the fans (maybe not the people up close but Virus thought the fans a little farther back knew them) and the praise they got from their fellow wrestlers. Cavernario said Okada, Tanahashi and Juice Robinson completed him for their match. Vaquer said KENTA complimented her work, and Vaquer told KENTA she had actually taken a seminar with him way back when she was first starting out in Chile. KENTA did not remember her, they hadn’t run into each other in the decade-plus since. They brought up Virus/ZSJ, Vaquer/Mone and even Bad Dude Tito/Cavernario happening in Arena Mexico – it sounded like something CMLL would like to do and said they would work on, but they weren’t promising any of it actually happening yet.

La Maligna talked to MedioTiempo about balancing lucha libre with her home life. She took four years off or her most recent child (a daughter), because she just didn’t want to miss important moments. She had missed birthdays (including her older son’s) in the past. Maligna’s father passed away back in October; he wrestled most often as Chavo Lomeli, but used the name “Maligno” for a while, and that inspired her name.

Electrico led a discussion at his university about lucha libre. There’s a photo of him and his right hand is heavily wrapped. Electrico last wrestled on May 9th.

AAA

AAA TV (THU) 05/25/2023 Feria Santa Rita, Chihuahua, Chihuahua [AAA]
1) Genio del Aire, Kamik-C, Skalibur (Baja California) b Arkángel Divino, Fantastik, Último Maldito
Fantastik replaced Drago Kid (moved up)
2) Chik Tormenta, Kempo Jr., Maravilla b Dalys, Drago Kid, Sexy Star
Drago Kid & Kempo Jr. added to the match. Maravilla and Sexy Star are feuding. Pagano appeared after the match to announce his return from injury. He was attacked by a mystery man again.
3) Aerostar, Arez, Octagón Jr. b Parka Negra, Psicosis, Villano III Jr.
mask ripping
4) Argenis & Gringo Loco b Myzteziz & Zorro
5) Emperador Azteca, Látigo, Toscano b Aramis, Mr. Iguana, Willie Mack
Tosscano snuck in a foul on Willie Mack
6) Sam Adonis b Psycho Clown [flag]
Gringo Loco, Argenis, and Samuray VIP all got involved.

There’s not much on this taping either, but it’s only been a few hours since it happened. The few camera angles shown suggest a low turnout, but I think that’s just how the venue was set up: it’s a small area relative to indoor AAA tapings and there were no risers, just people standing farther and farther back. (The fair said the space was ‘close to full’.) It may not look good in-ring on TV but it’s a free show at a fair, they may have gotten a lot of scenery footage to dress it up.

Pagano had a cane, but it seemed to be for fashion reasons rather than medical needs.

Maravilla and Sexy Star haven’t wrestled on TV since February and weren’t feuding them. AAA needs to publish its chart of rivals so we can discover who’s been assigned to whom.

The AAA Aguascalientes promoter also officially announced Verano de Escandalo for July 21st. Dorian Roldan had previously mentioned the show would take place in Aguascalientes. AAA’s taping schedule is wild for early summer. There’s one taping in the next 44 days, then three tapings (including a TripleMania) in 13 days.

AAA on Space this week has the first part of the Tijuana taping from April 22nd. No idea what will air this week. What was taped:

• Arkángel Divino, Fantastik, Rayo Star, Último Maldito vs Dinámico, Genio del Aire, Kamik-C, Skalibur
• Aramis & Willie Mack vs Látigo & Parka Negra
• Dalys, Octagón Jr., Persephone vs Chik Tormenta, Flammer, Villano III Jr.
• Hijo Del Vikingo, Jack Cartwheel, Komander vs Emperador Azteca, Puma King, Taurus
• Juicy Finau, Negro Casas, Rey Horus vs Forastero, Hijo de Máscara Año 2000, Sansón
• Laredo Kid, Pentagón Jr., Psycho Clown vs Nicho el Millionario, Rey Escorpión, Sam Adonis

GCW in Las Vegas (Fite+) tonight has Hijo del Vikingo vs Komander vs Gringo Loco.

Northeast Wrestling has Hijo del Vikingo vs vs Toxin vs Komander on June 9th in Connecticut.

Gringo Loco defends the Dreamwave Alternative Championship against Hijo del Vikingo, Laredo Kid, Arez and Aramis on 06/17 in LaSalle, Illinois. This show airs on IWTV.

Jersey Championship Wrestling announced Mike Bailey vs Psycho Clown for their July 9th show. Those shows always air free on YouTube.

(All these AAA matches outside of AAA sound far more interesting than anything going on in AAA. It’ll be better at TripleMania.)

IWRG

IWRG (THU) 05/25/2023 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG, Mas Lucha]
1) Legado b Súper Boy 
2) John Tito & Spider Fly b Histeriosis & Mr. Mike 
3) Lolita, Rey Halcón, Satania b Aeroqueen, Danessa, Éxtasis 
4) Aster Boy, Hell Boy, Noisy Boy b Dick Angelo 3G, Elemental, Legendario 
5) Cerebro Negro Jr., Nosaki, Shocko b Diva Salvaje, Jessy Ventura, Mamba 
Nosaki injured Jessy Ventura

I presume the main event is setting up Jessy Ventura being in peril in the upcoming cage match.

IWRG (SUN) 05/28/2023 Arena Naucalpan
1) Ei Bi Ci vs Rey Aztaroth
2) Éxtasis, Fussion, John Tito vs Águila Roja, Mr. Mike, Rey Halcón
3) Demasiado, Sagitarius, Zoy Raymunda vs Bugambilia, Mary Caporal, Óscar El Hermoso
4) Caballero de Plata, Relámpago, Spider Fly vs Elemental, León Dorado, Mr. Leo
5) Gran Pandemónium, Hijo de Pandemónium, Pandemónium Jr. vs Canek Jr., Nosaki, Shocko
6) Hell Boy & Puma de Oro vs Heavy Metal & Rocky Casas

The Casas/Hell Boy feud continues. Extasis and Elemental are working more than with Big Lucha but they’re not in great spots now.

IWRG announced Laredo Kid would be the sole Mexican rep in their upcoming World Lucha Libre Championship. IWRG’s been announcing names for the 16 wrestler field periodically, a mix of obscure foreigners who’ve been in IWRG in recent years and people I’ve never heard of; Laredo is the first interesting person. I’ll go over the list once they have a full field.

Big Lucha

It exists. They have shows on Friday and Saturday, which is the Gym show. They’re back on their own production starting with this show, and I’ve got no idea if that means both shows air, or if they’re still even airing live. It doesn’t feel like a great idea to preview these shows not knowing if they’re really going to be available.

Other News

With AEW & NJPW’s Forbidden Door around the corner, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter posted a list of the Mexican wrestlers in AEW as speculation they may all not be able to appear on that joint show due to NJPW/CMLL alliance. It’s an educated list but not yet official. It’s a safe bet those on upcoming AAA TV like Vikingo and Rush aren’t going to be allowed on a NJPW show, but it’s less clear about Andrade. He was upset with AAA about this situation last year and clearly wants to fix it somehow – maybe he’s had time to work on it. (I wouldn’t bet on it, but CMLL people seem like the ex-La Sombra a lot more than other people who’ve left and I wouldn’t rule out something quietly being fixed either.)

AEW fans who absolutely do not care about either CMLL and AAA outside of the way they impact these four weeks of television are up in arms a 30 year old Mexican feud hasn’t be resolved to make booking the undercard matches for a US-based promotion. It’s annoying. It’s also distances from reality. AEW could’ve booked whatever they’d like for this weekend’s show, there’s no NJPW/CMLL relationship holding them back, and the Mexicans who are booked are in a ‘get everyone on the card’ battle royal. (Vikingo isn’t booked; still holding out hopes he makes the pre-show, but again that’s the pre-show.) AEW is still the preferred option for Mexican wrestlers in the US in my eyes, because they’ll pay better Mexican wrestlers than anyone outside WWE, and they’ll give Mexican wrestlers more regular chances to get over than WWE or any of the other group, and they have been more open to Mexican wrestlers on the Ring of Honor brand. But they’re also not so featured in AEW proper that it’d be a sure thing that any of them would be certain to make Forbidden Door. I know Andrade said he was going to face Ospreay last year, but he’s in a different place now than then. Maybe the Lucha Brothers would defend their tag titles in a multiperson match, that’s about the extent of it. A lot of that isn’t a NJPW decision.

RIOT says their next show is on 07/22.

An interview with Salvador Rodriguez, author of the “Olvidemos el Circo, Maroma y Teatro” book. He started out writing about lucha libre on the old El Martinete board of all things.

A profile of sponsored wrestler 4 Aseses.