03/21-23 Lucha Times

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FSE-US: the title for this show is “Blue Panther vs Lizmark Jr.”, but of course Lizmark Jr. hasn’t been wrestling lately. I dunno what that means, so I just went with the usual. The Amapola vs Dark Angel is already listed for NEXT week, so this taping has to be these matches anyway.

AAA US: Captains Advance To Rey De Reyes. Legion vs HBs/Intocable in the main event.

CAN52: Minis match is too good not to air. More Volador/Ultimo build in the main event.

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CMLL (Mex PPV): the full Friday night show.

CMLL (Mex TV): who knows. Repeat material, likely.

AAA MEX: Last stop before Rey de Reyes. Two more get in, and the full HBs are back together to take on Abismo, Head Hunter and Zorro.

FSE MEX: Virus & Infernales in one match, Sagrado and Valiente in another. Not quite right.

CadenaTres: the usual.

AAA #824

taped 02/15, aired 03/15

I really loved this match. In a promotion where rudo refereeing is done and overdone and then done some more, it does still work when you’re not expecting it and they’re subtlety building it thru the match. It even makes sense if you remember back to their (unresolved) issues last year – just because Abismo might be becoming a good guy doesn’t mean Hijo de Tirantes has to like him. Niebla was also as good as I’ve seen him here.

There’s been better matches, I don’t know if it would hold up to rewatching or redoing, and the post-match angle doesn’t make any sense as a story. On the other side, AAA seems to have toned down rudo referee bits – Piero’s been calling it more fair of late, Copetes hasn’t been around a lot, and Tirantes Sr. hasn’t been around at all – so this was helped by similar stuff not happening.

I’m totally expecting Hijo de Tirantes to be a back tecnico referee next time he’s referring a match without Abismo Negro, because I hope I would know if Hijo de Tirantes has been a rudo for a month. It was good to get to boo him for purposely being a rudo, instead of all the attention grabbing tecnico referee things I’m not supposed to make a deal about.

Meanwhile, the cage match, and the lack of idea of what was going on, was so AAA. I wonder how many people thought they won that match. “I know it’s tough for you, Halloween, having to get beat up post match, but you get to win the match!”

03/19: Coliseo, TripleMania, Televisa, DTU

Zorro and his huge Rey de Reyes sword

(Vanguarida) An employee of AAA, Daniel Chavez Benitez, passed away Monday when a tire on the van he was driving exloded, the car started to roll, and things got worse from there. Eight other people were injuried in the accident. Benitez and many of the others were selling merchandise at Rey de Reyes.

CMLL (SUN) 03/16 Arena Coliseo
1) Artillero & Súper Comando b Kid Tiger & Molotov
2) Mascarita Dorada, Pequeño Olímpico, Último Dragoncito b Mr. Aguilita, Pequeño Damian 666, Pequeño Halloween
3) Máscara Púrpura, Máximo, Mictlán b Euforia, Nosferatu, Virus
4) Sagrado, Último Dragón, Valiente b Mascara Ano 2000, Olímpico, Sangre Azteca
5) Dos Caras Jr., Dr. Wagner Jr., Volador Jr. DQ Atlantis, Rey Bucanero, Último Guerrero

Tecs won first fall clean. Second fall came down to Volador and Ultimo and Ultimo faked a foul. Volador knew he was screwed, so he brilliantly took off his own mask and threw it at Ultimo before the referee turned around. Rafa el Maya saw Ultimo selling a foul, saw Volador with his mask off, and had no idea what to call, so he asked the fans! Fans told him Ultimo yanked Volador’s mask, and that was the decision. This sets up the singles match next week, guaranteed not to have a clean finish.

One bad dive by Purpura took out both him and Nosferatu in the third match. Both were helped to the back before the end of the match.

Marco Rivera, who’s been pretty accurate about these things, says TripleMania will be 06/13 in Palacio de los Deportes, Mexico City. Besides the link over on the right side there, KatoKungFu posted photos from Rey de Reyes at el Martiente. Chavo Guerrero looks a bit rough.

In Reforma (via Jazzo), Fabian el Gitano apologizes for being a bad wrestler. No, really! He says he’s rededicated himself to improving, dropping his other job as a stripper to spend more time training. It sounds like he was asked to do this if he wanted to keep getting booked. I hope it works and he didn’t drop the wrong job.

(superluchas) Televisa’s always strange Wrestler of the Year ballot has Perro Aguayo Jr. (fair enough), Rey Misterio Jr. (strange – not even the year you’d pick if you were picking based on people outside of Mexico) and Abismo Negro (inexplicable given how much time he’s missed.)

Ovaciones has no results from last night’s action, but they do have an extended interview with Crazy Boy. Crazy lays out his vision for DTU again (trying to give spotlight to lesser known talent and different styles, not trying to compete with CMLL or AAA or IWRG or AULL.) He mentions the previously announced 04/04 DTU show, and also throws out the planned carded for their 05/04 show at the Lucha Libre Expo:

DTU (SUN) 05/04 Centro Banamex
1) Dark Zinder & Hoit vs Dance Boy & Money Pack and Black Fire & Ragde
2) Angel O Demonio vs Amo de la Noche, Talaxys
3) Aero Boy, Kaientai, Nightmare vs Lord Byron, Pesaddila, Violento Jack
4) A Star From ROH & Crazy Boy vs Joe Lider & Someone From The US

CMLL (MON) 03/17 Domo de la Feria de Leon [Am.Com.Mx]
1) Nitro, Skandalo, Virus b Carta Brava, Máscara Púrpura, Mictlán
2) Grey Shadow, La Sombra, Máximo b Averno, Ephesto, Mephisto
3) LA Park, Místico, Negro Casas b Atlantis, Rey Bucanero, Último Guerrero

Mistico got Ultimo with a small package in the main event. They fought again after the match and Mistico got in La Mistica

CHIKARA’s King of Trios DVDs, which included Pantera, Skayde and Incognito, is now for sale at Smart Mark Videos.

CMLL (THU) 03/20 Arena Neza
1) Molotov & Trueno vs Calígula & Méssala
2) Bam Bam, Pequeño Olímpico, Último Dragoncito vs Mr. Aguilita, Pequeño Damian 666, Pequeño Halloween
3) Felino, La Sombra, Leono vs Arkangel de la Muerte, Dr. X, Nitro
4) Alex Koslov, Místico, Negro Casas vs Averno, Damián 666, Mephisto

indy (SUN) 03/23 Arena Coliseo Monterrey
1) Metalico (Monterrey) & Mini Gato Volador vs Mariposa Monarca & Mini Hator
2) Aguila Rela & Huesos vs La Furia & Negro Casas
3) Angel del Amor, Genocida, Turbina vs Pancho Tequila, Rey Infernal, Tonina Jackson
4) Golden Boy, Huracan Ramirez Jr., Ultraman Jr. vs Espanto Jr., Jaque Mate, Simbolo
5) Hator vs Aventurero [FILL MIDDLE]

Noticas Oaxaca profiles local wrestler Guerrero Estelar.

Van Nuys, California indy wrestler Super Mojado was written about in a write story.

San Fransico’s Hotel del Arts has a Casa de Luchador. (thanks to Robert Lamb)

PressPeru wries about a woman trying to push for more women’s wrestling in her home country.

Site notes: This week’s AAA recap and the CAN52 recap are done and will be turning up the next two evenings. FSE lost a fall due to the game going long, so I’m just going to wait for the reair and take care of it next week.

News will be abbreviated on Friday and I do not figure on being around for PBP of the PPV. I’ll probably due the same open thread as the Rey de Reyes and catch up when I get a chance. I’ll chime over my iTouch if I end up some place with wireless.