Oficial Factor is Rey del Ring, CMLL/AAA previews, TripleMania, Angel de Oro

IWRG (THU) 05/31/2012 Arena Naucalpan [Black Terry Jr. (flickr), Estrellas del Ring, The Gladaitores]
1) Charly Madrid & Serpiente de Oro b Matrix Jr. & The Mummy
2) Centvrión, Chicano, Pantera DQ Avisman, Damián 666, El Hijo del Diablo
Damian 666 replaced Apolo Estrada Jr. Tecnicos took 1/3, Hijo del Diablo fouling Chicano after Centurion & Avisman.
3) Oficial Factor b Oficial Spartan, Imposible, Dinamic Black, Carta Brava, Douki, Freyser, Alan Extreme, Oficial Fierro, Pete Powers, Mike Segura, Tony Rivera, Freelance, Shadow Phoenix, Multifacético, Dr. Cerebro, Oficial Rayan, Golden Magic, Veneno, Eterno, Trauma II, Eita, Pirata Morgan, Bestia 666, Head Hunter, Oficial AK47, CIMA, Hijo de Pirata Morgan, X-Fly, Oficial 911 [Rey del Ring]
Trauma I missed the match due to injury. Damián 666 was also shown on the poster but wrestled in the semimain instead. Match had 3 minutes between entrants, the match lasting 90 minutes. Shadow Phoenix was nearly eliminated many times, and feuded with Trauma II. Taya Valkyre was with Pete Powers and interfering often, with the luchadors fighting back against her (or, in Dinamic Black’s case, kissing her.) Powers was eliminated when he was distracted by Factor hitting Taya; Fierro and Eita threw Pete out. Dinamic Black managed five dives in this match and had an outstanding performance. Final two were Hijo de Pirata Morgan (28?) and Oficial Factor (27), Factor winning with bodyscissors. Pantera, last year’s champ, presented Factor the belt.

AAA returns tonight to Veracruz, the site of it’s first ever show, for a sort of 20th anniversary celebration. The main event is Cibernetico, Electroshock and new reluctant tecnico LA Park facing off Chessman, Hijo del Perro Aguayo Jr. and Hector Garza. Undercard matches include continuation feuds Wagners vs Consejo, Lider vs Psicosis, Apaches vs Fabi, and Argos versus his Air Force partners. There’s two mystery men listed on the show; CIMA’s expected to be one of them (teaming with Halloween & Psicosis to face Tiger, Lider and Juiv), and his trainee Eita could end up in the mixed tag. TripleMania’s date and location will be announced this weekend (see below for more), so AAA might have something for it here.

Tonight’s the Rey Escorpion vs Black Warrior hair match. Most evidence points to Rey Escorpion winning. He’s been a focus of CMLL attention over the last year, while Warrior had been persistently ignored up until this feud. CMLL dabbled with giving Escorpion a new look during the feud (it didn’t take), and Rey Escorpion’s emphasized that a win would cement him as a star. Warrior has been much more motivated since this issue has started, but there’s no indication he would move onto anything bigger if he won. (In fact, Warrior’s not listed on any card for next week yet.)

The strongest reason for Rey Escorpion losing is he’s previously lost his hair to pay for his son’s medical bills. The last we heard about Escorpion’s son was that the 2011 operation was successful, and hopefully he’s still doing well today.

Today’s also the semifinals of the En Busca de un Idolo, with Titan facing Euforia and Diamante versus Dragon Lee. It’s unclear if the format is straight single elimination or more than that; the website mentions voting reopens this weekend, but it doesn’t say how (if?) it factors in.

There will be a chat tonight. I’m still not exactly sure when, but guessing around 8:00 pm CT. Check here, or Twitter.

AAA will announce this weekend that TripleMania takes place August 5 in the new Arena Ciudad de Mexico. SuperLuchas has the confirmation. That date has been suspected for a while, and the location has been presumed since the start of the year. For what it’s worth (optimism!), neither WWE nor TNA are running PPVs that weekend. TNA participation should be expected.

Rob has highlights of 06/01/2005 AAA, and 06/01/2007 CMLL.

Lucha Libre in Japan

06/01 NJPW: Angel de Oro b PAC via Devil’s Wings [BOSJ]

I literally yelped at my computer when I saw that result. Angel de Oro is 4-0, 8 points, leading his block by a clean two wins. Angel de Oro’s remaining schedule:

06/02: off
06/03: vs Prince Devitt
06/05: vs BUSHI
06/06: vs Rocky Romero
06/07: vs KUSHIDA
06/09: off

Last year, the first year with 9 man groups, 10 points got you at least tied for the second spot (top two move on), and 12 moved you on. Angel needs one and probably two more wins if he’s going to pull this off. He’s probably not beating Devitt – though if he does, this whole conversation changes – but the other three aren’t any more important than PAC. I don’t believe Angel de Oro is going to advance because recent history, but if we put that aside: BUSHI is new to NJPW and it’s not certain where he slots in, KUSHIDA is on the rise but Mascara Dorada did beat him in January, and I don’t know exactly what CMLL feels towards the ex-Grey Shadow nowadays, but I believe NJPW could win a little favor with CMLL by giving Oro a win over a guy who walked out on them. Angel de Oro beating any one of them is not a huge upset. He’s already shifted the math from “impossible” to “not impossible!”, the next week might be fun.

Links

• Perros del Mal store opening had a lot of wrestlers and a 100 fans. It looks like t-shirts and the like.
• LA Park talks about appearing both the first AAA’s show and tonight’s 20th Anniversary show.
• Santo’s RECORD column is about how bad his four show tour in Northern Mexico drew, blaming it on everyone else ruining lucha libre for him.
• Konnan & Chavo Classic had a fun conversation on Twitter. Given recent experience with Chavo Guerrero Sr., I’m on Konnan’s side. (Also, this was an excuse to learn Storify.)
• OMEGA had a press conference for their Pierroth tribute show this weekend.
• Juarez’s Aereo and Anima II have a mask match this weekend.
• Los Porros discuss their IWL Trios title loss.
• The 06/15 AAA Tijuana show is also a fundraiser for a sick girl.
• Kcidis draws Metal Blanco & Triton.