Astro unmasked in IWRG, AAA in León, CMLL in Puebla

photo by Black Terry Jr.
photo by Black Terry Jr.

IWRG (SUN) 04/17/2016 Arena Naucalpan [+LuchaTV, Estrellas del Ring]
Guerra del Golfo, 2016
1) Galaxy & Picudo Jr. b Black Dragón & Dragón Fly
2) El Divo & Freyser b the Tiger (Tamaulipas) & Violencia Jr.
Straight falls. Debut for Tiger.
3) Diva Salvaje, Miss Gaviota, Pasion Kristal b Factor, Rayan, Spector [super libre]
Straight falls. Rematch challenge follows.
4) Astro L Halloween, Mr. Águila, Veneno, Golden Magic, Bestia 666, El Hijo del Diablo, Oficial AK47, Rafy, Apolo Estrada [cage, losers advance]
Halloween replaced Super Nova. Astro lost to Rafy.
5) Dr. Cerebro L Oficial Fierro, Máscara Sagrada, Danny Casas, Hijo De Dos Caras, Canis Lupus, Mike, Leo, Damián 666, Eterno [cage, losers advance]
Black Terry replaced Canis Lupus (injury). Bestia helped Damian escape.
6) Dr. Cerebro b Astro [mask, hair, cage]
Astro is Emanuel Marin Jacome, 27 years old, 6 years a luchador, from Toluca.

Astro losing is a significant surprise; he’s been around enough where he’s established himself as an indie guy, but perhaps he decided he needed a new identity after giving up Astro Rey Jr. (which Mephisto claimed he owned.) Someone truly surprising losing these is a nice change of pace; I’d bet most people thought Dr. Cerebro was once again losing his hair when the main started.

AAA visits León, Guanajuato tonight for a TV taping, one which will start airing on April 30th. The main event has Dr. Wagner & La Parka versus Brian Cage & Texano Jr. It’s weird to see Texano Jr. on a lineup after he was destroyed on TV two days ago (and won’t be missing any shows.) Cage did a lot of the destroying, and is somehow supposed to be Texano’s partner. Dr. Wagner  & La Parka are mismatched pairs on the other side. AAA seems high on La Parka of late; he really should be in a title mix if he’s getting pins on the champion and the Rey de Reyes final is booked around keeping him strong. The result match would be worse but it doesn’t seem like a concern.

The second biggest match on the show is a four way tag title match with the winning team getting the title shot on the next taping. This past week’s TV had Averno talking about this match, except he pretty much only talked about Angelico & Jack winning the match. It’d be a surprise for a surprise’s sake if any other team won.

The other matches on the show are a Psycho Circus vs La Familia semifinal, the Xinetez facing Aerostar, Drago and Octagon, the Apache sisters against the rudas who never win, and a fun looking atomicos opener. It’s possible AAA might make some future matches out of those – and the semimain is already set to be a rematch on the next taping – but the most useful information would be the dates/locations for the Lucha World Cup and Verano de Escandalo. Show will start sometime after 9pm (a few minutes after Puebla.) There’s no official live stream.

CMLL has it’s usual Puebla show tonight. Cibernetico makes his return to Arena Puebla, teaming with Mr. Niebla and Rey Escorpion against Angel de Oro, Mascara Dorada and Volador in the last match. The real main event is a rematch from last week, a Relevos Increibles with Rush, Mascara & Terrible against Atlantis, Ultimo Guerrero and Gran Guerrero, which seems to be setting up a Ultimo Guerrero/Rush main event. 05/01 (the end of the Kid’s Day weekend) is the logical date for the next big show here, but that match doesn’t sound suitable for children. The full card is here; the show starts at 9pm.

The 04/22 LLF show is a benefit show for luchadora Flor de Loto, who’s battling stomach cancer.

Rey Mysterio & Bobby Lashley defeated MVP & Mesias in the main event of the MysterioMania show in Santiago, Chile. The show was said to draw about 5,000 fans.

Lucha Libre World – the Hijo del Santo one of the two lucha libre shows last year – says they’re returning on July 1st and July 2nd this year.

Segunda Caida reviews La Sombra versus Negro Casas