Rey Cometa takes Namajague’s hair, Boby Zavala wins Gran Alternativa, Averno defeats Mistico

photo by CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 04/26/2013 Arena Mexico [CMLL, Yahoo! Deportes]
***Arena Mexico 57th Anniversary***
1) Arkángel de la Muerte, Hijo del Signo, Skándalo b Metálico, Sensei, Soberano Jr.
Metalico and Signo appear to still be feuding.
2) Ephesto, Felino, Mephisto b Ángel de Oro, Delta, Guerrero Maya Jr.
Rudos took 1/3
3) Boby Zavala & Rey Escorpión b Atlantis & Hombre Bala Jr. [Gran Alternativa, final]
Bobby Zavala got a Revolucinarios sombrero to go with his Rey Escorpion t-shirt. Team Zavala took falls 1/3 to win the tournament. Small trophies were handed out.
4) Rey Cometa b Namajague [hair]
Seconds were the same partners from Dos Leyendas, Okumura & Stuka. Japanese jumped Cometa, and Namajague took fall 1 with a powerbomb. Cometa came back with a stage moonsault and an armbar to take fall 2. After a long third fall, Cometa landed the 450 splash to take Namajague’s hair. Namajague did not fight the decision, and had his hair cut off.
5) Averno b Mistico [MEX WELTER]
Moved to the semimain. Finals of a cibernetico last week to determine a new champion. Seconds were Sombra & Mephisto. Mistico got a good early start, but was put down by a Devil’s Wings in the first. Mistico came back with an armabr (La Mistica II) in the second. Third fall was very long, but ended in what was expected – a La Mistico. However, Tirantes was distracted, and the rudos conspired to foul Mistico. Averno covered him and won the championship. 71st champion. Averno is the 71st known champion.
6) Terrible, Último Guerrero, Volador Jr. DQ La Sombra, Máscara Dorada, Rush
Moved to main event and wrapped up quick because the other matches went long. Rudos took 1/3, Rush fouling Terrible in the third.

I had Mephisto fouling Mistico last night based on RadioCMLL, but the pictures show it was Averno.

Attendance was at regular show levels. Maybe even less than that. The fans who swell CMLL from 4,000 to 12,000 see Arena Mexico as the cathedral of lucha libre, but they’re also the people who only show up at their church on the big holidays. Tonight wasn’t Christmas or Easter to them.

AAA tapes tonight in Chilpancingo. The poster lists it as an Evolucion taping, but it seems to have more stars like a full TV taping than the single brands ones. The Cibernetico/Perro feud continues in the main event, but it’s also about time for AAA to start pointing the way towards some of the other matches on TripleMania.

Todo x el Todo also returns for it’s monthly show. The main event is a La Migra versus a trio of Mexican rivals: Hijo del Santo, Hijo del Solitario, and Dr. Wagner Junior. My hunch is the Mexicans can not get along and La Migra escapes with a win. LA Park hasn’t been mentioned since the press conference but teased he’d make an appearance here as well. They’re also building towards Shu el Guerrero vs Super Muneco, for some reason.

CMLL 52MX is airing the top 3 matches from last Sunday.

Pequeno Black Warrior is running a show this Sunday to help offset costs of operations for his special needs daughter. He’s got a good lineup.

Rey Escorpion defeated Morelos luchador Criss Boy in a hair vs hair match this past Saturday.

Rob has highlights of 03/01/08 AAA.

Bill has highlights of 03/22/12 IWRG.

LuchaWorld has KrisZ’s news update.

CMLL Gaceta previews Sunday’s Arena Mexico card.

Porra Fresa previews Monday’s card.

Atlantis vs Ultimo Guerrero heads to Tijuana on 05/31. They’re the young guys working the semimain under Mil Mascaras &  Rayo de Jalisco vs Canek & Cien Caras (appears to be Cien Caras Jr.)

Lineup for a Kid’s Day show Saturday includes Cisne, who I haven’t seen mentioned since he dropped out of CMLL.

Lineups

CMLL (FRI) 05/03/2013 Arena Mexico
***Atlantis 30th Anniversary***
1) Oro Jr. & Soberano Jr. vs Artillero & Súper Comando
2) Aereo, Fantasy, Shockercito vs Pequeño Nitro, Pequeño Violencia, Pequeño Warrior
3) Fuego, Rey Cometa, Stuka Jr. vs Misterioso Jr., Namajague, Shigeo Okumura
4) Blue Panther, Rush, Super Porky vs Rey Bucanero, Terrible, Tiger
5) Atlantis vs Averno
6) Máscara Dorada, Mistico, Thunder vs Euforia, Niebla Roja, Último Guerrero

Bobby Zavala celebrates his win by getting the week off. That’s different. Only the Cometa/Namajague feud is followed up on (and there’s maybe still one more match to go with that, because they Okumura & Namajague still have the Arena Coliseo Tag Team championship.) Opener looks very good.

Wagner vs La Migra, Arena Mexico Anniversary show

photo by Black Terry Jr.

IWRG (THU) 04/25/2013 Arena Naucalpan [Black Terry Jr. (flickr), IWRG]
1) Dragón Celestial & Fulgor b Ángel Del Amor & Seiya
2) Imposible & Picudo Jr. b Alan Extreme & Saruman
Alan Extreme replaced Freelance.
3) Centvrión, Chico Che, Dinamic Black b Apolo Estrada Jr., Eita, Tomahawk
4) Danny Casas, Golden Magic, Veneno b Canis Lupus, Carta Brava Jr., Eterno
More Danny/Eterno feuding.
5) Dr. Wagner Jr., Hijo de Pirata Morgan, Pirata Morgan DQ Cien Caras Jr., Hijo de Máscara Año 2000, Máscara Año 2000 Jr.
Wagner team took 2/3, when La Migra from TxT ran in and attacked Wagner

CMLL held some big matches the last few couple of years on New Year’s Day. Bobby Zavala & Disturbio beat Tigre Blanco & Leono for their hair a few months ago, and Hombre Bala Jr. & Super Halcon uncovered the Rayo Tapatios in 2012. CMLL hasn’t always run big matches on New Year’s Day, but one other of their most important matches took place on New Year’s Day 2005: Mistico defeated Averno to win the NWA World Middleweight Championship. It was Mistico’s first championship, it was Averno and Mistico’s first singles match against each other, and it was the moment where a sold out Arena Coliseo saw Mistico change from a quickly rising young to the new top star of lucha libre. There were important events which led up to that match, and there was more to come to continue growing Mistico’s legend, but that was the moment where the switch was flipped and where Averno became locked to Mistico as his eternal rival.

My calendar says today is April 26th, but CMLL is going for a New Year’s Day feel tonight as it hopes to recreate some history. It’s Mistico, it’s Averno, it’s their first singles match, it’s for a title, it’s the main event, and everyone expects it to end with the same La Mistica in the center of the ring. This time, it’s the vacant Mexican Welterweight Championship, vacated seemingly only so CMLL can ‘correct the mistakes’ of last year’s Busca un Idolo tournament. And that’s the large problem: the fans got behind Mistico I to make it to the top, even with super quick rise to get there. He was the right kind of guy doing the right kind of moves effectively. CMLL hasn’t found a way to get the people behind Mistico II, because there’s now a lot of more of those kind of guys then there were when the first guy came up. (There was a Volador, as this Mistico will be reminded loudly on Sunday.) The fans gravitated to other luchadors last year. CMLL can ignore that and put Mistico on his throne, but it doesn’t solve the underlining problems. If Mistico does win tonight, which is my assumption, there will be casual fans and curious fans there who will be okay with it, there will be loudly vocal hardcore fans very unhappy and he has a title in a promotion drowning in them. If Mistico loses tonight, he’s stuck as another high flyer in a promotion overstocked with them. Neither really helps turn Mistico in to the big star CMLL desperately wants and needs him to become.

Mistico needs his own Averno – not this Averno, but someone new so this feels less like a recreation – to be someone he can battle and overcome, giving him wins he seems to earn and aren’t just given. The other story of that New Year’s Day 2005 match was Averno becoming a bigger star along with Mistico. 2005 Averno was a well regarded midcard rudo, someone who would be a challenge for young Mistico to beat and who could work against him to create a great match, but not someone established at the top. Mistico I had to progress his way to the top against others trying to do the same. Mistico II is being thrown in with guys who are calling themselves the best rudo in the promotion. If Mistico II is beating the top guys in the promotion already, he doesn’t really ‘need the fan’s support’ and so won’t get much. If he’s got to fight to get there, then the fans might go with him a bit.

Rey Cometa and Namajague are two guys who’ve found their own rival, though this would seem to set the level for the loser. There’s nothing wrong with being a midcard guy who gets occasional big matches, but it’s hard to imagine Rey Cometa going much farther than that if he loses his mask and his hair in under a year’s time. A win in between only helps so much. Namajague losing his hair is less relevant to his career – his real one will be happening elsewhere – but it also seems to kill of interest in the NJPW guys coming in for apuesta matches for the next while.  NJPW’s already announced the next novato to go on a training session will be doing it in Europe, not Mexico, so maybe CMLL’s just taking a break on Okumura based feuds for a while. The big matches feel rushed for this show, but if this card draws at all, it seems like it should be credited to this feud continuing on (and we’d also have to go back and give them extra credit for Dos Leyendas.)

The third big match for this Arena Mexico anniversary show is the Gran Alternativa final. I have less of feeling about who will win and more am hoping for the outcome. Hombre Bala Jr. has come along way from his debut, but the team with Super Halcon Jr. feels like it has potential and some momentum which would probably be disrupted if Bala wins. Boby Zavala (correct spelling, thanks Dr. Lucha!) is a deserving winner in his own right. His team with Disturbio is also good, but it has less time behind it. Neither of the guys are or should be going to the top right away, but both would be okay to move up from the Tuareg/Metalico/Starman tier to the Misterioso/Vangelis/Triton/Fuego tier. In a CMLL Gaceta interview, Zavala is thrilled by the possibility of joining the Revolucinarios, while Bala has put aside family feuds.

Los Piratas kept the IWRG IC Trios Championship over Los Legendarios in Arena Coliseo Monterrey.

Sombra, Rayo de Oro and Voltron beat Felino, Big Ban and El Padrino in Guatemala this past Sunday.

AAA’s upload of last week’s UTDN show is here.

A ESTO ticket giveway for this Saturday’s TxT card has Golden Magic and a Triton – possibly a 3rd Triton – in the spots of the Rayo Tapatios.  The main event guys from TxT did a lot of press for the show yesterday, including the run-in on the Arena Naucalpan show. Hijo del Solitario refused to promise he won’t turn on Hijo del Santo in their trios match. Hijo del Santo says he doesn’t believe Blue Demon Jr. is so unintelligent as to actually sign with AAA.

Links

Lineups

CMLL (TUE) 04/30/2013 Arena Mexico
1) Camaleón & Höruz vs Apocalipsis & Inquisidor
2) Astral, Pequeño Halcón, Stukita vs Mercurio, Pequeño Nitro, Pequeño Olímpico
3) Guerrero Maya Jr. vs Ephesto [lightning]
4) Ángel de Oro, Diamante, Valiente vs Puma, Sangre Azteca, Virus
5) Rey Escorpión vs Stuka Jr. [CMLL LH]
Rey Escorpion is the champion. First defense.
6) La Máscara, La Sombra, Shocker vs Felino, Mr. Niebla, Negro Casas

Pesta Negra in the main event for a Kid’s Day show. Rey Escorpion looks favored in his match as well.

Opener would be Horuz’ return from a knee injury which took place back in the Sangre Nueva tournament.

05/17 AAA Sin Limite Lineup (Puebla)

AAA TV (FRI) 05/17/2013 Gimnasio Miguel Hidalgo de Puebla
1) Lucky Boy & Niño de Ébano vs Carta Brava Jr. & Fresero Jr.
2) Axel, Dinastía, Pimpinela Escarlata vs Argos, Mamba, Mini Abismo Negro
3) Faby Apache & La Jarochita vs La Hechicera & Mary Apache
4) Alan Stone, El Elegido, Toscano vs ?, Halloween, Psicosis
5) Fénix, Heavy Metal, La Parka vs Chessman, Parka Negra, Pentagón Jr.
6) Blue Demon Jr., El Mesías, Electroshock vs Máscara Año 2000 Jr., Silver King, Texano Jr.

Air Date: I have no idea! Nothing really makes sense until they explain what the Evolucion tapings are for, and AAA doesn’t like explaining things, they like just throwing them out like so many darts. Nothing really makes sense until stuff starts to air. This one probably can’t air until 05/24 at the soonest, so let’s say that and 06/01.

It still seems like they’re killing time, and this is about the second to last taping before TripleMania. Pacing remains an issue. On the good side, you can’t spoil anything when nothing is happening.

I say “hey, Consejo’s done” and there’s Consejo in the main event. To lose unless Demon & Mesias fight, but there they are. Maybe they’ll get to split up? Maybe they’ll get to react to being on different brands? It’s amusing to see none of the luchadors on Twitter react to being drafted to one brand or another, as if they don’t care because it’s actually totally meaningless. As if!

Mystery spot in the fourth seems like it should be Ricky Marvin. I wonder who it’ll actually be.

I’m alright with Axel being slotted at the Argenis level, though I have no idea why he started off in argument with Daga if that’s where he’s at.

Maximum Velocidad are tecnicos this week. Fresero Jr. is my favorite member of the Shield.

Taping Schedule
04/30 27: Chilpancingo (Evolucion)
05/12: Durango (???)
05/17: Puebla (Sin Limite)
05/24: Madero/Tampico (????)
06/16: Mexico City (TripleMania)

I’ve been told, but haven’t been able to confirm, that there’s even 2 more tapings in May yet to be announced, one of which sounds like it’s a Fusion taping based on the proximity to Mexico City. So much TV.

04/27-28 lucha times

box. Also, a special airing of Tercera Caida airs this Saturday, with more footage from Chicago.

== AAA ==

AAA-Televisa: Blue Demon & Mesias vs LA Park & Texano, and at least one of the Rockers vs Aerostar/Argenis/Fenix and the Minis

AAA-Fusion: We all find out together? There’s no Fusion matches left, so either this switches to Evolucion (and there’s no difference) or it’s rerun time again.

== CMLL ==

Galavision/Televisa: the Mexican Welterweight cibernetico and maybe the maine vent

FOX: Gran Alternativa Block B

52MX: Valiente vs Polvora and Mistico vs Volador in trios.

C3: Generacion Dorada vs Hijos del Averno, Rey Escorpion vs Stuka

MegaCable (Guadalajara): This is the week that’s supposed to have Ultimo Guerrero vs Mistico, but they’ve been avoiding showing the main events here.

TVC Deportes (Puebla): Not sure, since they skipped airing last week.

Terra: Mistico vs Volador

== Other ==

IWRG-AYM Sports: Eterno vs Danny Casas, if a new episode airs.

IWRG-TVC Deportes: Golfo de Guerra?

Noches de Coliseo: Wagner (& Purpura) vs Konnan Big (& Rico)

ChilangaMask, Maximo vs Lyger

ChilangaMask has added Xtreme Tiger vs Stuka vs Magnifico to their 05/19 show, as well as adding Christina Von Eerie to the women’s match (Silueta  & Chik Tormenta.)

I haven’t been doing updated on Maximo’s NJPW tour because it’s a lot of “Maximo loses meaningless trios/atomicos match early in the card” results that I’m not sure I’d be even concerned about if it was happening on a non-major show in Mexico. Something interesting did happen on today’s show: Maximo got pinned by Lyger after a casita, then Lyger challenged Maximo to a mask vs hair match. (nWo Puroresu pointed this out.) I read it as more as Lyger getting into the spirit of being a luchador by making a challenge for an apuesta match that’s never going to actually happen, but I guess there are weirder ideas.

Last night’s Tercera Caida had a lot of coverage from the show outside Chicago this past weekend. Included was an interview with Samuray del Sol, who explains he hasn’t been back to AAA as Octagon Jr. because he’s been busy elsewhere. That doesn’t quite explain why he missed the matches he was already announced for – he was busy with AAA those days but didn’t appear – but is a safe story to explain why he won’t be there in the immediate future.

Dr. Wagner Jr. can’t even remember how his feud with LA Park started. Neither can I!

Rob has highlights of TripleMania XI (2003), AAA 07/03/03 and TripleMania XX (2012).

Bill has highlights of 03/13/13 CMLL.

Links