Month: June 2012

One of the frequent points brought up comparing the debut of the original Mistico and the soon to be Mistico are the amount of television appearances. Mistico debuted in 2004, when CMLL was usually limited to a hour of TV in Mexico City.* Astro Boy would turn up on in the Stellar Moments highlights, but he was largely hidden from TV view and only seen by fans who already cared enough about the product to go to live events and arrive in time for the openers. Astro Boy had been around for a few years, but he was an unknown to most regular viewers when he debuted as Mistico.

CMLL now airs 6.5 hours of weekly television in Mexico City* every single week. If you don’t want to watch matches on TV, you can also find most of them on various YouTube channels. It’s impossible to not make a recorded match in some form, and everyone gets on a little. 152 wrestlers have had at least one TV appearance in Mexico City so far this year, compared to 58 the first half of 2004***, right before Mistico debuted.

The big unknown**** is how typical fan is treating all the secondary shows. We know the CMLL on Televisa show gets a poor rating, but numbers for all the other shows are complete unknown. Logic would should the Televisa show would be the most widely watched because it’s the most accessible channel, but how much more watched is unknown. People who visit this website tend to watch many different shows*****, but there are definitely people who only watch Televisa.

If you were one of those people, your view of CMLL might be very different:

CMLL luchadors who’ve had 7 or matches on CMLL on Televisa this year

13 Rey Escorpion, Black Warrior
11 Atlantis
10 Último Guerrero, Rush
09 Volador Jr.
08 Estrellita, Guerrero Maya Jr., Amapola, Delta, Terrible
07 Mr. Águila, Mephisto, La Máscara, Psicosis II

All TV appearances are not the same, but the two guys who’ve been the focus the last few months easily rise to the top. Estrelita & Amapola and the national trios champions are also points of emphasis.

If you follow CMLL overall, either by watching shows or reading blogs, Escorpion & Warrior were two guys in the middle who had a hair match that might be good but didn’t seem important in the grand scheme. If your only interaction with CMLL is watching it’s television show on it’s main station, they’re two of the biggest stars in the promotion.

I’m not sure if there’s a conscious effort to focus more on a smaller group of luchadors, or if the longer than usual feuds have just happened to cause this outcome. Warrior going straight from the hair feud to a trios title feud and Escorpion going straight to a possible breakup with Ultimo Guerrero seems to imply this is an intended result.

The rest of the roster…

6 Stuka Jr., Ángel de Oro, Marcela, Marco Corleone, Valiente, Ephesto, Pólvora

5 Mr. Niebla, La Sombra, Lady Apache, Dark Angel, Princesa Blanca, Máscara Dorada, Averno

4 Olímpico, Máximo, Misterioso II, Hijo del Fantasma, Blue Panther, Dalis la Caribeña

3 Shigeo Okumura, Felino, Virus, Tiffany, Fuego, Triton, Rey Bucanero, Euforia, Princesa Sugheit, Negro Casas, Super Halcon Jr.

2 Ángel Azteca Jr., Prince Devitt, Shocker, La Comandante, Ayumi Kurihara, Metro, Namajague, Hombre Bala Jr., Astral, Yujiro, Pegasso, Electrico, La Seductora, Hooligan, Brazo de Plata, Kráneo, Goya Kong, Skandalo, Titán, Nitro

1 Bobby Zavala, Sagrado, Disturbio, Apocalipsis, Dragon Lee, Cholo, Rey Cometa, Aereo, Luna Mágica, Lady Afrodita, Mercurio, Pequeño Nitro, Pequeño Olímpico, Tiger, Vangelis, Raziel, Súper Comando, Último Dragoncito, Puma King, Dragón Rojo Jr., Diamante, Zeuxis, Demus 3:16, Pierrothito, Sensei, Cancerbero, Niebla Roja, Pequeño Warrior

If you’re someone who only follows the Televisa show, Dragon Lee may be as new to you as Astro Boy was. He’s appeared exactly the same amount of times as Cholo, and that one match was on their best of show way back on January 7th. (Again, key point: We have no idea the percentage of fans who also watch something else.)

A large portion of Dragon Lee’s disappearing act has been the run of tournaments: Sangre Nueva was a C3 deal, Gran Alternativa aired on Fox Sports, and En Busca de un Idolo didn’t air anywhere. In fact, the Busca tournament almost served as CMLL’s usual vacation before someone changes characters, taking Dragon Lee off a lot of TV for about eight weeks prior to the gimmick change. The 1,000 of us who go to CMLL’s YouTube channel saw him plenty, but he just disappeared for most.

Flipping this around, what shows has Dragon Lee been appearing on?

8 C3 (and En Busca de un Idolo)
5 Fox Sports (over 3 episodes; 3 matches in the GA)
3 52MX, TVC Deportes
1 Televisa, Guadalajara

Not counting the web only En Busca de un Idolo matches, Dragon Lee last made TV on either of Friday night tapings in April.

Since I’m doing this for CMLL, here’s the comparable chart for AAA. Note that AAA’s had 30 minutes longer for a while, so there’s a little more opportunity to make TV. Also, I’ve left in the ‘classic TripleMania’ matches, so some odd names will pop up.

11 Chessman

10 Nicho el Millionario/Psicosis

9 Cibernético

8 Dr. Wagner Jr., Texano Jr.

7 Jack Evans, el Hijo del Perro Aguayo, Héctor Garza, Fenix (AAA), Mesías, Halloween, Fabi Apache, LA Park, Mascara Ano 2000 Jr.

6 Extreme Tiger, Mascarita Dorada, Dark Dragon, Toscano, Joe Lider

5 Tito Santana II, Silver King, Electroshock, Juventud Guerrera, Sexy Star, Atomic Boy, La Parka Jr.

4 Mari Apache, Lolita, Mini Psicosis, Octagoncito, Octagón, Argenis

3 Teddy Hart, Heavy Metal, Mini Histeria, Último Gladiador, Murder Clown, Gran Apache, Psycho Clown, Monster Clown, Drago

2 Semental, Aerostar, Mini Charly Manson, Argos, Decnnis, Cinthia Moreno, La Hechicera, Jeff Jarrett, Ozz, Relampago, Ángel Mortal, Zorro, El Elegido, Daga, Cuervo

1 Sexy Lady, Tigre Cota, Mini Psycho Clown, Sugi, CIMA, Yuriko, Abyss, Pasion Kristal, Pimpinela Escarlata, Alan Stone, Dinastía, Dizzy, Escoria, X-Fly, Billy Boy, Perro Aguayo Sr., Villano III, Damián 666, Súper Fly, Charly Manson, Kenzo Suzuki, Villano IV, Gallego, X-Pac

Note that Aerostar, someone considered underused by AAA, has actually appeared more times on Televisa than Dragon Lee. This measurement isn’t quite as relevant for AAA, since luchadors are much more likely to make appearances outside of participating in matches. Not all matches mean the same, too.

* As it does now, the length of the TV show could vary during different points of the year. CMLL wasa definitely producing a 90 minute version, since that eventually turned up in Canada and may have popped up elsewhere. Guadalajara appears to have an hour of TV at this time, but only locals would’ve had access to it. I’m unsure when CMLL Puebla started airing on TVC Deportes but do not believe it goes this far back.

** 2 hours of Tuesday & Friday tapings, 1 hour of the Sunday taping, 1.5 hour of Monday. That doesn’t include the recent En Busca de un Idolo web matches (between 15 minutes and 1 hour in TV time), the GDL show (1 hour), the Terra stream (1.5 hours) and whatever else might turn up.

*** Even that 58 number is inflated. CMLL was running the second Guapos U segment. A lot of rookies – Psycho Clown, 3 gimmick changes before being Psycho Clown! – made TV appearances they wouldn’t have otherwise earned.

**** maybe even to CMLL

***** I’d love to know which shows the people who visit SuperLuchas watch.

CMLL (TUE) 06/26/2012 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [Fuego en el Ring]
1) Relampago Azul & Thunder Boy b El Divino & Virgo
2) Èvola & Malefico b Black Metal & Metatrón
3) Princesa Blanca b Marcela
Princesa Blanca threw a drink in Marcela’s face and rolled her up for the win.
4) Sagrado, Stuka Jr., Valiente b Namajague, Sangre Azteca, Shigeo Okumura
Sagrado beat Okumura, challenged for a title shot. Okumura walked out without answering.
5) Averno, Mephisto, Volador Jr. b La Máscara, Máscara Dorada, Super Porky
Rudos took 2/3.

In the second part of Kaiser Sport’s interview with New Mistico, he says he will not be relying on La Mistica, but coming up with new holds of his own. He’s looking forward to being able to team with his brother. That’s going to be quite a team.

Today’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter says Abyss has been pulled from Saturday’s AAA TV taping. The section suggests TNA will send someone else instead, and it may be Robby E or Robby T in his place.  It goes on to say AAA is high on Robby T. You may remember Robby T as tall muscular man Robby Terry, who wrestled Mesias at last December’s Guerra de Titanes.  You probably do not remember him, because no one cared and the whole thing was forgettable. The idea of sending any one from TNA to Mexico thinking they’d get popular over time misses the point that TNA (and AAA) seems incapable of sending anyone regularly to Mexico, or even on occasional important dates. The only guy who was around consistently and long term was Hernandez, and while he was recognizable by the end of his run, he didn’t mean much.

LuchaWorld reviews Rayo Tapatios vs Hombre Bala & Super Halcon.

Links

• Estrellita feels she’s proved she’s at the level of everyone else. She’s looking for Tiffany and Amapola in the cage.
• Kcids draws the three faces of Remo Banda.
• The women in the cage match emphasis what a big opportunity for them to be in an Arena Mexico main event.

CMLL (TUE) 06/26/2012 Arena Mexico [CMLL, Kaiser Sports]
1) Bengala & Höruz DQ Inquisidor & Zayco
Zayco yanked Bengala’s mask. Two straight DQs for Zayco.
2) Hombre Bala Jr., Molotov, Super Halcon Jr. b Artillero, Bobby Zavala, Súper Comando
Tecnicos take 1/3.
3) Arkángel de la Muerte, Hooligan, Skándalo b Ángel Azteca Jr., Fuego, Pegasso
Pegasso returned from injury. Rudos took 2/3.
4) Rey Cometa DQ Puma King [lightning]
Puma fouled Cometa in 8:01. Third straight Puma DQ on Rey Cometa since the start of June.
5) Blue Panther, Hijo del Fantasma, Marco Corleone b Rey Bucanero, Terrible, Tiger
Tecnicos take 1/3.
6) Ángel de Oro, Máximo, Shocker b Felino, Mr. Niebla, Yujiro
Yujiro replaced Dragon Rojo. Tecnicos took 2/3. Niebla tried to foul Shocker, Shocker blocked it, fouled him and got away with it. Niebla reminded Shocker that he took his mask and criticized the tecnico for using a foul to win. Shocker reminded Niebla that losing his mask was no important because he’s 1000% Guapo, and challenged him to a singles match. Niebla wanted mask vs hair, but no.

A Kaiser Sports interview with Nuevo Mistico starts with the most important part: he’s debuting on August 3rd. That’s five Sundays away, so he’s going to be out of action for a considerable amount of time. It also puts his debut match airing the same weekend as the closing weekend of the London Summer Olympics. Televisa is airing the Olympics again this year and tends to skip the lucha programming when there are other spots on , so it’s probably the debut would not actually air on the weekend of the 10th. It would air on Fox Sports, but it seems a screw up for the big debut not to air on the most wildly available show.

The new Mistico appeared on Cadena3’s La Sobremesa talk show. Karla de la Cuesta, of the CMLL show on the same channel, is one of the hosts. That mask remains really tough for doing promos, and Dragon Lee rambled thru his explanation of how he became Mistico. He did not come off as a star. The big news is he says he’s keeping his Dragon Lee moves, so Kung Fu Wars may continue! No word on his twirling stick; Niebla Roja should’ve grabbed that while he was taking the mask. This is just one stop on a Mistico media tour (he did another show today) to build hype for his debut before his appearance. As with everything else with Nuevo Mistico, these aren’t as much to change the mind of anyone who’s already paying attention, but to alert those who are no longer paying attention that CMLL has a Mistico again and is now great to watch again. Good luck on that.

A column on Changoonga argues the biggest problem with Nuevo Mistico is the way he was introduced, at a press conference instead of a surprise appearance in Arena Mexico that would’ve compelled people to come back the next week.

The lucha libre section in Figure Four Weekly (Dr. Lucha) says Teddy Hart will likely be out of AAA once again if he doesn’t make Saturday’s AAA TV taping. There’s no obvious replacement partner for Teddy. Maybe they can find that Teddy Jack guy, not sure what happened to him.

Seductora claims she’s not really interested in having a match with Goya, but focused on saving her mask. That is the exact right game plan for her to have. Dalis hypes this Friday’s show as the first time women have headlined a major show in Arena Mexico. That sound right, though it’s really the cage that’s headlining the show.

Terra says they’ll be broadcasting Sunday’s Arena Mexico show. Maybe it’ll work better this time. No mention of why the promised retransmission never aired.

LuchaWorld reviews Nikura’s match.

Rob has highlights of 11/04/11 CMLL – the Mascara Dorada show.

Links

• Kcidis draws the CMLL clones
• Marcela defends her title against Amapola in SLP on Sunday.
• Bestia and Damian feel the FdT should still have the IWL Tag Team titles (which they lost due to not defending them.)
• Psicosis says his only objective is to destroy Joe Lider.
• Negro Navarro is teaching classes in Monterrey, uh, yesterday and today.
• Fuego en el Ring has an interview with independent luchador Calle 13.
• Supreme says he’ll dominate all in Mexico.
• Hector Garza will appear at the Trauma’s stand on 07/15.
• Cronicas y Leyendas has videos of Tamba in the 1980s and 1990s.

Lineups

IWRG (SUN) 07/01/2012 Arena Naucalpan
1) Centvrión, Charly Madrid, Mr. Magia vs Imposible, King Drako, The Mummy
2) Golden Magic, Niko, Relampago vs Douki, Eita, Pete Powers
3) Carta Brava Jr. vs Chicano [IWRG IC Light]
4) Dr. Cerebro, Máscara Sagrada, Veneno vs Cien Caras Jr., Pirata Morgan, Scorpio Jr.
5) Hijo de Máscara Año 2000 vs Bestia 666, Hijo de Pirata Morgan [mask, IWRG JUNIORS]
Bestia is the champion and putting his title on the line against the two masks.

Guessing Pirata Morgan is winning the title.

Poster lists the IWRG IC Welterweight title on the line. Carta Brava is actually the lightweight champion, Eterno is the Welterweight champ.

First match for King Drako/Halcon Salvaje since last November. Mr. Magia wrestled once, on New Year’s Day, and is having his next match seven months later.

Note, due to the election, alcohol sales will be prohibited on Sunday and Monday through Mexico.  It may affect attendance and crowd reactions. (I guess it could also mean a lot of people getting very drunk on Saturday night – during AAA’s taping?)

CMLL (MON) 07/02/2012 Arena Puebla
1) Asturiano, Black Tiger, Silver vs Akron, Fuerza Chicana, Sauron
2) Ángel Azteca Jr., Stigma, Tigre Blanco vs Apocalipsis, Inquisidor, Taurus
3) Fuego, Mr. Cacao, Stuka Jr. vs Arkángel de la Muerte, Hooligan, Skándalo
4) Shocker, Super Porky, Valiente vs Rey Bucanero, Terrible, Tiger
5) Atlantis vs Black Warrior

Black Warrior looks to continue his new found run of success.

CMLL (TUE) 07/03/2012 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Sky Kid & Soberano Jr. vs Sádico & Taurus
2) Smaker & Starman vs Demonio Maya & Virus
3) Goya Kong, Luna Mágica, Silueta vs Hikaru, La Comandante, Tsukasa
4) Diamante, Gallo, Sagrado vs Malefico, Misterioso Jr., Shigeo Okumura
5) Atlantis, Marco Corleone, Super Porky vs Averno, Ephesto, Mephisto

Gallo and Okumura pick up their feud.

Hikaru (Shida) & Tsukasa (Fujimoto) are the REINA tag team champs, being sent here by their promotion to wrestle Goya and Luna (and Silueta, who is nice to see back.) This is a not a good use of everyone’s time. They’re supposed to be doing a tag title match sometime during this week.

CMLL (TUE) 07/03/2012 Arena Mexico
1) Bengala, Höruz, Robin vs Camorra, Ramstein, Zayco
2) Hombre Bala Jr., Molotov, Super Halcon Jr. vs Bobby Zavala, Disturbio, Hooligan
3) Eléctrico vs Pequeño Nitro [lightning]
4) Mr. Cacao, Stuka Jr., Valiente vs Arkángel de la Muerte, Pólvora, Skándalo
5) Dragón Rojo Jr., Rey Escorpion, Volador Jr. vs Ángel de Oro, Máscara Dorada, Rush
6) Shocker vs Mr. Niebla

The chance of a double no-show in main event is amazingly high.

Rey Escorpion and Ultimo Guerrero may not be friends, but are Dragon Rojo & Rey Escorpion?

The last of Mr. Cacao’s matches.