Day: December 19, 2008

A few quick site notes

thecubsfan 1 Comment

– I told the spam filter to be nicer to posts with links. Hopefully it works. If you ever put in a comment, and it just doesn’t show up right away, assume it’s in moderation and I’ll approve as quick as I see it. Unlike MovableType, I don’t get ‘lost’ comments very open with WordPress, but delayed ones happen from time to time.

– as you might have been able to tell from me messing with the links on top of the page, we’re getting close to the TAPATIA awards. Last year, the voting ran from 01/13 to 01/27, and it’ll probably be the same period this time around. Should give plenty of time for the last few matches (and AAA tapings) to trickle in as you’re working on your ballot.

I think we’re sticking with the same 10 awards as the last year: Best Wrestler, Match, Tecnico, Rudo, Female, Unit, Promotion, Rivalry, Improved, Underutilized. The only change I feel like making is allowing people to vote “NO” or “NONE” where appropriate. But that doesn’t fit well with ‘Best’, so I’m not sure.

You shouldn’t feel required to watch everything to wrote. If you feel like you’ve seen enough to have a solid opinion on who should win what, that’s good enough for me. And if you want to see more, putting together a link list of notable matches during the year has been one of those things I’ve been working on/off and I hope to have something together before voting starts.

– If I can find any news, there will be a normal update on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Thursday’s are slow enough on a normal week, so maybe we get Tuesday GDL results and no more. It’s the following week that’ll be bumpy; there may be no news updates from 12/31 to 01/03. Or you may just get even angrier, bitter screeds than usual on those days.

– As always, suggestions, ideas and criticism is welcome.

12/19: IWRG, Mexico preview

thecubsfan

IWRG (SUN) 12/14 Arena Naucalpan [the gladiatores]
1) Imperio Azteca b Soldado del Diablo
2) Eragon & Miss Gaviota DQ Trauma I & Trauma II
3) Black Terry, Cerebro Negro, Dr. Cerebro b Eragon, Jack, Pendulo
4) Head Hunter I, Nosawa, Tetsuya b Oficial 911, Oficial AK47, Oficial Fierro
5) Masada L Scorpio Jr., Veneno [hair]

Main event was supposed to feature Mascara Ano 2000 Jr., but Veneno replaced him and was the first one to save his hair. Masada lost his hair to Scorpio Jr.

cmll
cmll

CMLL (FRI) 12/19 Arena Mexico
1) Ángel Azteca Jr. & Angel de Oro vs Calígula & Méssala
2) India Sioux, Marcela, Princesa Blanca vs Amapola, Hiroka, Medussa
3) Flash vs Pólvora [lightning]
4) Mascara Dorada, Máximo, Valiente vs Felino, Misterioso II, Sangre Azteca
5) La Máscara, Toscano, Volador Jr. vs Ephesto, Terrible, Texano Jr.
6) Dos Caras Jr., Mark Corleone, Shocker vs Black Warrior, Rey Bucanero, Último Guerrero

Previews
– Ovaciones
– Notimex
– ESTO

Yea, this would’ve been fine in Arena Coliseo. I’m more intersted in the Bucanero show (only for the matches.)

You can make a case that the CMLL bodybuilding contest is silly and I’m not sure I’d argue with you. It’s the kind of thing that I know is supposed to make me impressed with how hard they work out in the gym, but ends up making wonder about CMLL’s anti-doping policies (or lack thereof) and note how bodybuilding to those extremes is actually probably really bad for your body. Not to mention generally outdated and stillyness of it all.

However, if they’re going to do it, the people who had to work out like crazy, diet like crazy and whatever else might as well get a real prize out of it. Not money or a trophy, but a real opportunity. So I’m glad Povlor is getting this lightning match. If he and Flash are good, great. If not, it’s not the first or last bad match in Arena Mexico.

CMLL isn’t usually the promotion that builds up shows for other days and buildings, so as much as the main event probably should be a UG/Dos affair, I don’t know. It may be a “let’s get this done QUICK so I can get to the nightclub” affair. And there’s not a lot else going on, as you can probably tell from me spending two paragraphs on Polvora.

AAA has short articles on Lider & Nicho as unbeatable tag champs, the return of the Vipers, Mesias & Abismo on the tecnicos and the Psycho Cirucs on tonight’s taping. Great hilarity in the last one – the writer admits he has absolultely no idea what their win streak number is supposed to be. This is such the wonderfully done story. AAA’s last TV taping of the year is tonight, but it seems firmly in a time killing mood.

El Hijo del Santo is not a fan of lucha on TV.

Noticias Oaxaca seems to be down at the moment, but cazador2005 @ SML reposted a very detailed interview with Pierrothito from that site. It doesn’t answer the “how does he work the Santo shows?” question.

Luchaworld has Robert on CMLL GDL from 05/13 and 05/20/07, CMLL 05/27/07, and AAA 05/27/07. KrisZ’s news update is also up.

Ohtani’s Jacket is disappointed by El Dandy vs Satanico in a hair match fro 1991.

TWoLL: The Ban On Women’s Wrestling

thecubsfan
The World Of Lucha Libre, by Heather Levi
The World Of Lucha Libre, by Heather Levi

As mention in the review, one of the strengths of The World Of Lucha Libre is the length and breath of the research. Today, we’ll take a look at what that research found about the ban of women’s wrestling in Mexico City and what it says about the powers of the DF lucha libre commissions, the most powerful commission in the country.

The usual story is women were banned from wrestling in Mexico City starting in the early 50s, and then unbanned in the late 80s/early 90s because times had changed.

In The World of Lucha Libre, the author could not find anyone who took responsibility from putting a women wrestler ban in place. Everyone else seems to point at the secretary of the lucha libre commission (a position above the president, which is Fantasma’s current job) as being responsible, but the man in the position at the start of the ban (and for many decades after) Rafael Barradas says it was beyond his control. The wrestlers union, which represented luchadoras, had long wanted the ban lifted and made a push after Barradas retired in 1985.

The association organized a series of closed-door matches between women in the State of Mexico using a referee with a Federal District license to demonstrate that the women were qualified wrestlers. They then went to seek out the government office that had jurisdiction over the prohibition, but in the course of the process they discovered that officially there was no ban. It did not exist in written form. They discovered, moreover, that the commission instead had no legal authority over the spectacle.

(p 186)

Not just over the spectacle of women’s wrestling – the lucha libre commission was never actually given legal power over lucha libre events. To use the lingo, it was all a work. People believed the commission had authority and honored it, but it was never there all along. Neither was the women’s wrestling ban – the best guess suggested by the union leader of this movement was there an unstated arrangement between the lucha promotions and the Uruchurtu administration not to promote women’s wrestling. The union leader actually uses Dr. Wagner Jr. and Hijo del Santo’s favorite word to describe it: a veto.

As far as the book knows, the DF commission has not since been given legal power over lucha libre events. There’s a bit about a movement to give them this power in the late 90s, but the movement failed (and Rafael Barradas ended up back in charge.) As best I can tell, from what I read here and what I’ve seen happen, the local government/political groups can block/disallow shows, but the commission is limited to after-the-fact (and nuisance) reactions, if even that.

And as for the women: the book talks to older luchadoras after women have started working Mexico City again, and they note women were main eventing in the previous television era (of the 50s) but are relegated to the opening matches in this one. Those interviews were done in the mid to late 90s, so I think the women might be heartened by the bigger luchadora matches now reaching semifinal level and happening more frequently. Still, their dreams and goals of equality haven’t been reached – even on AAA’s Reina de Reinas tournament is not the main event of it’s show, and it certainly isn’t given the same importance as the male tournament.