CMLL #213, #215, #218; AAA 04/08

Yes, I know these were a million years ago for you. I’m workin’ at it.

CMLL #213: 03/04 US (10/07/05 MEX)

This is the one with the quite good Mexican National Trios title match. I think I would’ve put it on my ballot, had I seen it time. Well worked and well laid out. Expected more out of the main event.

CMLL #215: 03/18 US (10/21/05 MEX)

Whoever is getting paid to run the shows backstage should probably be fining themselves after shows like this. For the love of god, please start at least one of four matches without a rudo beatdown. It’s completely lost it’s impact.

AAA: 04/08 US (??/??/05 MEX)

This was the best of ’05 show. I think I would’ve have been interested in the Shocker/Sangre Chicana match but after seeing how the third fall ended up, I probably would’ve been angry at the time wasted. So it’s all good in the end. Shocker not going over Sangre Chicana mystifies me. I think a “Who’s been the more disappointing high profile promotion jump: Shocker or Christian?” debate would be lively. I guess Shocker is better off – it’s slightly better to be underwhelming with the glimmer that you might still be good if given a chance, then to be exposed like Christian.

After seeing the tournament, and then seeing the match that started them, I’m starting to think the National Middleweight stuff from ’05->’06 might have been an angle from the beginning. Or at least partially so; maybe the commission groused about it and they just decided to storyline it from there. Someone was watching Savage/Crush from WM10 before the match, I think.

Getting to hear the Latin Lover reactions for myself was cool. I would say he’s was ‘over’.

CMLL #218: 04/15 US (11/11/05 MEX)

The Rey/Averno/Mep vs Mascara/Mistico/Wagner match really well. One of those annoying times they tease a fun match and don’t follow up, but Averno & Mephisto work well with La Mascara & Mistico.

I’d be totally behind La Mascara as a wrestler, regardless of any other mitigating reason, if he just had a different name. Kid can go when put with people who can go, and that’s all I ask for. Well, that a decent name. But I really have no problem with his push at this point.

Now that I’m thinking about – who should’ve won the Reyes de Aire? (Sangre Azteca, Misterioso, Mistico, or Volador – but they weren’t there so. So besides them.)

Tony Rivera – time has past
Oro II – good god no
Neutron – this would been fine, but he’s on the old side and not a regular; I was happy with him being runner up.
Leono – not at that level yet
Danger – too opening card
Valiente – see above
Mascara Purpura – too out of control
Loco Max – not unless he’s lightweight champion again.

That just leaves Stuka Jr. I think Stuka’s good – he looked that way versus Flecha – and they should use him more. Is Stuka Jr. significantly better than La Mascara at this time? I don’t know that we have proof. It could go either way, and I’m fine with it going La Mascara’s way.

(Of course, my inner booker – I’m desperately trying to kill him off, he’s no help to anyone – thinks Stuka still should’ve one, so they could’ve done a rematch this week instead of Purprua/Stuka or even a title match. But of course that’s wouldn’t happen.)

I think you could make the case that La Mascara should’ve won it over even Volador Jr., but that didn’t happen so who cares.

What’s Left

04/22 #219 (11/18/05)
04/29 #221 (12/02/05)
05/06 #222 (12/09/05)
05/13 #223 (12/16/05)

My TiVo has no freaking idea what to do with the room. And it’s summer and there’s nothing going on anyway. Maybe I’ll start to record stuff in decent quality for once!

I may start #219 tonight; I’m kinda fatigued of recapping right now.

06/30: Previews

Nothing? Nothing.

CMLL (FRI) 06/30 Arena Mexico
1) Mini Olimpico, Ultimo Dragoncito vs Mini Damian 666, Mini Halloween
2) Neutron, Pantera, Sagrado vs Hombre Sin Nombre, Loco Max, Sangre Azteca
?) Mascara Purpura vs Stuka Jr. [lightning]
3) Felino, La Mascara, Volador Jr. vs Averno, Mephisto, Misterioso II
4) Blue Panther, Mr. Niebla, Silver King vs Kenzo Suzuki, Ohara, Okumura
This is Silver King’s return to Arena Mexico. Did he ever return after WCW? I think I recall reading about an angle bit where he was announced for a match, but walked out before it because he was too Big Time International Star for it, and didn’t return till he became Black Tiger III. I think they booked Kenzo without actually having anything for him to do.
5) Dos Caras Jr., Hijo de Lizmark, Rey Bucanero vs Atlantis, Marco Corleone, Ultimo Guerrero
Of the FBI guys, who would you have ranked last? Who’s here? Exactly.

FWIW, LA Park is known to be working Auditorio Municipal Teoloyucan tonight, but opposite Dr. Wagner Jr. (who wasn’t mentioned as being pulled due to a double booking; why isn’t he booked?) Atlantis and Silver King are both working that show as well, so you’d think it’d be possible for Park to work both. Perhaps there’s a third show?

Ovaciones has been hard on Mascara Purpura all week; I’m hoping whatever trainwreck happened on Sunday makes it on to GdR, just because they’ve built that diaster up better than anything else this week. I don’t disagree with Ovaciones’ general sentiment; Purpura’s seemed like a guy focused on trying impressive spots and could care less about the logic/reasoning behind doing the spots, and his saftey and the saftey of those he’s working with. If he was living in Monterrey, we’d lump him in negatively with the Crazy Boys and Joe Liders. But those guys would be the ones taking the heat, and he’d just be another one of ’em. His main disadvantage is doing it the promotion the Ovaciones lucha beat guy writes; I’m sure he’d say the same if not worse about the stuff the new NGX guys are doing there, but he doesn’t do much AAA stuff.

Obviously, CMLL doesn’t have the same problems with Purpura and must not think he screwed up so badly, or they wouldn’t have given him this match. Maybe it’s not a big deal.

Getting back to AAA – they’ve go their first post-Triplemania TV taping tonight as well.

AAA TV (FRI) 06/30 Gimnasio Miguel Hidalgo de Puebla
1) La Parkita, Mascarita Sagrada, Mini Path Finder vs Jerrito Estrada, Mini Psicosis, Rocky Marvin
2) Billy Boy, Fabi Apche vs Gran Apache, Tiffany [AAA MIXED, #1]
These two were the surviving teams at TripleMania. You’d think Billy would get a win here for revenge over the hair loss, unless they’re breaking up the couple.
3) Crazy Boy, Joe Lider, Juventud Guerrera vs Antifaz, Corazon de Barrio, Hator
4) ???, Intocable, Zorro vs Cuervo, Escoria, Ozz
Again, we’re guessing Extreme Tiger here.
5) ??, La Parka, Octagon vs Chessman, Konnan, Muerte Cibernetica
And Porky here. Though, if Gronda really was back with AAA, you think he’d return on TV first.

Lucha Times

Satuday: If they don’t skip an episode (and they have been) it’s Part 1 of the Rey de Reyes episode. If not, it’s part 2. Both episodes have short match lists, and they stretched it two weeks with lots of footage from previous RdRs.

FWIW, it’d take us 12 weeks to catch up if they were to keep skipping every other week. I’d rather they just skip everything and go to TripleMania, but no one listens to me.

Sunday: AAA does the introduction for Magnate following the one match he will ever have. This is how AAA rolls.

FWIW, Galavision’s online lineup says they’re reruning Vuelta Monday morning 3-6a, same as they do the Saturday show. That’s not on my TiVo listings at the moment.

GdR: the main event sounds good…in theory

06/29: IWRG preview

Nothing much going on today.

Stuka Jr. vs Mascara Purpura in a lightning match (10 minutes, 1 fall) has been added to Friday’s Arena Mexico card as a sixth match. That could be quite fun or quite sad. I wonder who’s booking who dislikes undercard rudos so. I also wonder why I read guys like Satanico (as a trainer) talk about wanting guys to have ground skills and not just high flying spots, and yet they reward a guy who’s only shown high flying spots.

“Gronda” is listed on this weekend’s AAA Arena Coliseo Monterrey show. He could be back. It could be a clone, and they just ‘accidently’ omitted that. Who can say.

IWRG (THU) 06/29 Arena Nauclapan
1) Antaris vs Comando Gama
2) Ave Fenix, Kid Tiger vs Bacteria, Vampiro Metalico
3) Fabian el Gitano, Marco Rivera, Star Boy vs Black Terry, Fantasma de la Opera, Okumura
4) ?, Solar, Tony Rivera vs Bestia Salvaje, Pierroth, Veneno
5) Cerebro Negro, Dr. Cerebro vs Felino, Pantera [IWRG TAG]
Title change? Nah.

(I’ve got goofy javascript on the page to try something. Yell at me when it starts to be annoying.)

Televisa/Universion update

Noticed this paragraph in a story about the Univision sale:

Televisa, which owns 11.4 percent of Univision, has a programming deal with Univision that expires in 2017. But relations between the two have soured over program royalties and the rights to air Televisa’s shows online.

It sounds like Televisa wants more money for it’s programs, or it’ll sell it’s part of the network and look to get out of the deal. But we’ve got a while to go before that happens.

But what about “the rights to air Televisa shows online”? That sounds promising:

Despite complaints from Univision, Televisa plans to air its television programs over the Web in the United States once a provision in its 17-year deal with Univision expires in December.

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM. Hmmm. (I won’t say it.)

Who the heck signs a 17 year deal, by the way?

This is lazy day speculating for a lazy day. I blame CMLL dropping the ball.

Digressing: If you haven’t been checking, Rudopolis did a big June update with *8* TV show recaps. Reading what’s actually airing helps fill in the gaps of what we’re hearing – like, apparently Brandon is the guy Gran Apache thinks is really Fabi Apache’s baby daddy. I had no idea.