Chico Che loser of Guerra del Golfo, Rey Cometa vs Namajague, LA Park & TxT

photo by Black Terry Jr.

IWRG (THU) 04/18/2013 Arena Naucalpan [Black Terry Jr. (flickr), Estrellas del Ring]
***Guerra del Golfo, 2013***
1) Galaxy & Mr. Leo b Fulgor & Power Bull
Straight falls.
2) Eita, Rayan, Tomahawk b Centvrión, Golden Magic, Saruman
Tomahawk & Eita replaced Picudo Jr. & Spartan. Golden Magic was hurt on a dive.
3) Apolo Estrada Jr. L Toscano, X-Fly, Oficial 911, el Ángel, Veneno, Spartan, Trauma II [cage, loser advances]
Spartan replaced Tomahawk. Both preliminary cage matches required the participants to stay in for 10 minutes. X-Fly was first out. Veneno was last out, leaving Apolo Estrada Jr. as the last one in.
4) Chico Che L Factor, Carta Brava Jr., Eterno, Dinamic Black, Eita, Trauma I, Danny Casas [cage, loser advances]
Eita worked twice. Danny Casas & Eterno feuded but left at the same time, leaving Chico Che behind.
5) Apolo Estrada Jr. b Chico Che [cage, hair]
Chico Che was exhausted, and fouled by Apolo Estrada. Apolo escaped for the win.

This is Chico Che’s five IWRG hair loss since 2009. Four of them have been in cage matches. Theories:

  1. the ten minute brawl before escape tires Chico Che out
  2. he’s too heavy to climb the cage
  3. his big move is jumping off the top rope and landing a splash, a poor strategical move in a cage match
  4. Chico Che hasn’t been in enough normal apuesta matches, stats would even out

CMLL’s posted video of the press conference for Rey Cometa & Namajague. This apuesta match happening next Friday is strangely sudden; it’s so last minute, they may not even be able to promote it on this week’s Televisa show. It’s way too soon for Namajague to lose his hair, and it’s probably also too soon for Rey Cometa to lose his hair. Cometa’s only been unmasked for seven months. We’ve expected a hair match to take place next Friday for a while, but that match seemed to be Mr. Aguila vs Shocker, which still seems to be going. There’s also no real special need for an apuesta match next Friday – it’s not a major show, it’s not a minor show, it’s just a show that’s had some distance between it and the March H2L show. If CMLL decided they did not want to do Aguila vs Shocker, then they could just not do an apuesta match or a big match at all. The attendance might not be as great, but announcing a repeat match at the last minute is probably not going to do a lot for attendance anyway. The glass breaking incident from last Friday and Namajague’s interference on Sunday showed CMLL was in a hurry to set up a match, but the reason they’re in a hurry remains a mystery.

My best guess there’s a left turn tonight where Shocker & Mr. Aguila get added to the match and it turns into a relevos suicida, giving CMLL a backup option in case Shocker or Aguila do not show up next week. It could also be possible Namajague has been called home right away, and CMLL is desperate to take his hair for whatever reason (though Lyger has said Namajague is staying for another year.) Those hunches are looking for logic based on information we have, and we’re very clearly missing some vital piece to make any sense out of this.

Tonight’s show is more straight forward, though just as active. The Mr. Aguila vs Shocker feud trudges on in the main event, with Atlantis and Ultimo Guerrero also on opposite sides of the main event trios. Euforia and Diamante Azul make up the numbers. The Gran Alternativa continues, with Bobby Zavala & Rey Escorpion the favorites to advance (which would set up a busy week for Rey Escorpion.) Metalico and Hijo del Signo, a feud that also could’ve been resolved if CMLL had to have an apuesta match next Tuesday, meet up in the segunda. Electrico makes his Arena Mexico return in the opener.

The tournament to find a new welterweight champion starts, with the final two from tonight’s cibernetico moving on (at least according to the terminology they’re using.) Rey Cometa and Namajague are in the tournament to continue their feud, but their participation really doesn’t make sense with Namajague not being eligible and both surely not advancing since they’re already announced in a hair match next week. Given the other eight participants – Mistico, Volador, Guerrero Maya, Fuego, Volador, Averno, Tiger and Sangre Azteca, tonight’s match looks really good and next week’s could be great. I keep thinking the final will be Averno vs Mistico for historical purposes, but I’ve been wrong on Mistico all week.

Estrellas del Ring, Kaiser Sports and R de Rudo (video here) have reports on the Todo x el Todo press conference, but there’s no extra clarity on the LA Park situation. It’s not even clear that LA Park will be on their show next weekend; Santo is quoted as saying Park is not part of TxT. They imply that Park will show up, but don’t promise anything. Hijo del Santo suggested running the Dr. Wagner vs LA Park mask match at the 41,000 seat Plaza Mexico. That’s not going to happen. LA Park’s appearance overshadowed the entire card, which was surely the plan.

The main event this past Wednesday in Auditorio Miguel Barragan in San Luis Potosi was supposed to be LA Park & Cibernetico vs Perro Aguayo Jr. & Parka Negra. That didn’t quite happen; both Drago & Toscano replaced Cibernetico with the promoter saying Cibernetico was hurt after Perro Aguayo Jr. beat him up in the locker room. That sounds like a cover story for a no-show, but weirder things have happened in AAA. In the undercard, an announced Dinastia vs Mini Psiociss title match must’ve not been a title match, because Mini Psicosis won and there’s no mention of the title being on the line.

Rob has highlights of 02/14/12 Perros del Mal.

Bill has highlights of 03/01/12 IWRG.

Links

great match roundup: week of 2013-03-30

Great/Excellent Matches
AAA on Televisa (UTDN): 2013-03-31
taped 2013-03-17 @ Plaza de Toros La Monumental, Monterrey
Texano Jr. vs Blue Demon Jr. for the AAA World Heavyweight Championship – great

AAA Fusion: 2013-04-04
taped 2013-03-17 @ Plaza de Toros La Monumental, Monterrey
Juventud Guerrera vs Daga, Fénix, Crazy Boy in the AAA FUSION tournament final match – great

Shows Watched But Nothing Made The List
– IWRG Zona XXI: 2013-03-31
– CMLL Guerreros del Ring on 52MX: 2013-03-30 – Mascara/Mephisto lightning match was close
– CMLL on CadenaTres: 2013-03-30
– CMLL on Fox Sports (Mexico): 2013-03-30
– CMLL on Televisa: 2013-03-30

Something I’m Putting Here Because I Don’t Know Where Else To Do It

Rey de Reyes: a really good show

1) Dralion, Rey Orion, Sick Boy b Gemelo Muerte I, Gemelo Muerte II, Rico Rodriguez
Hasn’t aired! Probably was at least OK.

gif to distract from lists

2) Fénix b Juventud Guerrera, Daga, Crazy Boy [AAA FUSION, final]
GREAT, see above

3) Devil Rocker, Machine Rocker, Soul Rocker b Monster Clown, Murder Clown, Psycho Clown
good match for this feud

4) El Mesías b Heavy Metal, La Parka, Parka Negra, Octagón, Pentagón Jr. [Rey de Reyes, semifinal]
5) LA Park b Jack Evans, Villano IV, Psicosis, Drago, Chessman [Rey de Reyes, semifinal]
6) Canek b el Hijo del Perro Aguayo, Cibernético, Electroshock, Silver King, Toscano [Rey de Reyes, semifinal]
All okay/good and perfectly fine for their role on their show

7) Fabi Apache b Mari Apache, Taya Valkyrie, LuFisto [Reina De Reinas, final]
very good, better than expected

8) Texano Jr. b Blue Demon Jr. [AAA HEAVY]
GREAT, better than expected

9) El Mesías b Canek, LA Park [Rey de Reyes, final]
not as good as I wanted but still okay/good

Now, my favorite match of the AAA/CMLL big show weekend was the CMLL main event, becuase I’m more invested in the adventures of Stuka, Rey Cometa and Namajague, and that show had a lot of okay/good stuff in the undercard. Rey de Reyes had great matches and more good stuff up and down the card. I don’t know if anyone’s going to beat it this year; I sure hope they try, because if AAA & CMLL come close, it’s going to be a pretty good night. Last year, there were a lot of shows with one good match and a lot of just okay stuff and it was hard to pick one card from either of the two major promotions as a standout show. This year is off to a strong start.

Matches Worth Consideration But Will Be Watched Later
IWRG TV: 2013-03-31
taped 2013-03-21 @ Arena Naucalpan
Dinamic Black vs Fenix (AAA) for the IWRG Intercontinental Welterweight Championship

Noches de Coliseo: 2013-03-31
taped 2013-03-24 @ Arena Coliseo Monterrey
Silencio vs Simbolo [JAGUAR CHAMP]

I’m also kind of still watching the TxT shows, in that they’re on my TiVo and I’ve watched the minis opener and I keep telling myself to watch the rest but it hasn’t happened yet.