Month: April 2016

CMLL (TUE) 04/26/2016 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [CMLL]
1) Carlo Roggi & Ráfaga b Explosivo & Metatrón
2) Hijo del Signo, Maléfico, Metálico b Reyko, Robin, Soberano Jr.
Metalico beat Soberano for the win.
3) El Cuatrero, Sansón, Skándalo b Hombre Bala Jr., Pegasso, Súper Halcón Jr.
Rudos took 2/3. Sanson defeated Hombre Bala.
4) Blue Panther Jr., Fuego, Gallo, Omar Brunetti, The Panther b Bobby Z, Disturbio, Tiger, Vangellys, Virus [cibernetico]
Omar replaced Triton (moved to Mexico). Omar was first out to Disturbio. Vangellys beat Gallo for the win.
5) Marco Corleone, Máximo Sexy, Rey Escorpión b Atlantis, Euforia, Kráneo [Relevos Increíbles]
Team Maximo took 1/3, Maximo defeating Atlantis in the third.

Nothing on this show appears relevant to the next show.

ELITE (WED) 04/27/2016 Arena México [+LuchaTV, CMLL, KronoSport, Lucha Libre Elite]
1) Astral & Último Dragóncito b Pequeño Olímpico & Pierrothito
CMLL results have Electrico in for Dragoncito, but it looks like Dragoncito in a promo.
2) Hijo De Dos Caras, Hombre Bala Jr., Tritón b Eterno, Fresero Jr., Imposible
3) Black Warrior & Blue Panther b Hechicero & Solar I
Team Panther took 1/3. Solar & Panther double pinned before the finish and Warrior beat Hechiero. Money thrown in.
4) Volador Jr. b Máscara Dorada [Liga Elite]
Very good match. Volador won with a Volador Spiral. Volador is 1-1 (3), Dorada is now 2-1 (6)
5) El Hijo De La Park, LA Park, Súper Parka b Pierroth, Rush, Toscano
Toscano replaced La Mascara (double booked in SLP). Rush & Park feuded, Rush sneaking in a foul but the other Parks fouled Rush to give LA Park the win
6) Último Guerrero b Bobby Lashley [Liga Elite]
Guerrero won with a Puplo Guerrero. Both are 1-1 (3)

You can find updated Liga Elite standings here, but it’s still very early. Ultimo Guerrero being the person who beats Lashley did not surprise me, but they probably should’ve kept it later. Then again, it doesn’t seem like he was a big draw; attendance seems about the same as last year. This format or this date or some combination of both is just not connecting with paying crowd, even with the TV slot.

It feels like they’re building these shows around Park versus Los Ingobernables, and they’re the three doing the worst in the actual tournament so far. It also just might be about who was available for matches this week. The semifinal definitely seems like a tease to LA Park versus Rush next week.

Yesterday was the actual 60th anniversary of the building, though they’re celebrating it Friday. CMLL’s rolled out the same history piece they always write for the occasion.

IWRG (WED) 04/27/2016 Arena Naucalpan [+LuchaTV, The Gladiatores]
1) Aramis, Fireman, Kanon b Adrenalina, Galaxy, Keshin Black
2) Felinito & Piratita Morgan b Aguilita Solitaria & Bracito de Oro
3) Cerebro Negro, Trauma I, Trauma II b Hijo del Alebrije, Pantera I, Rafy
Rafy replaced Suicida
4) Imposible © b Freelance [IWRG IC Light]
Very good match. Imposible wins again, making his 12th defense. Freelance wants another shot.
5) Máscara Año 2000 Jr. © b Canis Lupus [IWRG IC HEAVY]
first defense. Both men bled, and Mascara used a mask pull on Canis Lupus to win. Trauma I showed up to challenge both to an apuesta match.

Impossible has defended the title against Golden Magic, Douki, Dragon Celestial/Diablo Jr. I (2), Emperador Azteca, Hip Hop Man, Metaleon (2), Leo, Hijo del Pantera, Pantera I, and Freelance. He’s working his way thru the Panteras of late (Freelance being ex-Panterita.) He’s at a 33 month title reign so far.

AAA’s launched their new website – it has English & Spanish versions and looks nice. Octagon Jr. is not in the profile section; they’re missing a few people, but I think that’s the closest to AAA acknowledging he’s gone.

AAA’s also posted a Rey Mysterio returns teaser video.

Hijo del Fantasma says he’s undergoing surgery today for the problems which have kept him out of the ring. That’s really vague and I’ve not heard any mention of a specific injury before. If it’s actual literal surgery, he must not be close to returning.

DTU’s teasing a surprise luchador for the 05/01 show which looks a lot like Flamita. The lineup with a mystery person main event was announced as far back as this weekend. Perhaps they didn’t have a mystery person set at that point, but the Flamita deal has been in the works for a while.

Ultimo Dragon announced the annual DragonMania show will be on May 28th, which is a little later than usual. The main is Ultimo Dragon, Octagon and Caristico versus Ultimo Guerrero, Fuerza Guerrera and Tiger Ali. The poster shows Jun Akiyama, who previously said he’d be on these shows.

Kamaitachi said goodbye to Mexico. WON reported he’s going to be a regular in ROH now.

I have no idea why, but Raijin and Fujin haven’t been on a CMLL TV taping since the first week of April. They showed up in Guadalajara a couple weeks ago, Raijin worked Elite once, and they have been working indie dates, but they were booked quite frequently at first and haven’t been on as much of late.

Caristico & Mistico are being added to NJPW’s card game, as part of their Best of Super Juniors card set. Don’t read too much into that, because Kamaitachi is in that set and he’s not in the BOSJ. Caristico, Mistico, and the La Mistica cards figure to sell well. Mistico is listed as Grade 5 and Carisitco is listed as Grade 4, and I have no idea what that means. (You don’t have to explain it to me.) They’re both listed as from CMLL, interestingly enough.

+LuchaTV has a new issue of Esto es Lucha with Mascara Dorada and CaraLucha promoter Viral.

LuchaWorld has KrisZ’s news report and this week’s top 10 rankings.

Liger Fever has a translation of Super Pinocho’s interview on Divinas de la Lucha: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4

Eric has a tribute to Zeuxis and a preview of tomorrow’s shows.

The luchador best known as Flamita announced on his personal Facebook today he was returning to being an independent. He stated he was giving up the Octagon Jr. identity and his association with AAA, and returning to his own name.

The bulk of the short post was about the recent incident of Octagon unmasking then Octagon Jr. at an autograph signing. It’s the first time he’s talked about it publicly Flamita says he respects Octagon, but Octagon’s problems were with AAA and should’ve stayed that way. Flamita understood the consequences of his actions (taking on the Octagon Jr. name) but feels himself and his fans deserved respect. Flamita goes onto say he believes he has the talent to make it on his own name in lucha libre, and so is returning to his old name and leaving AAA.

Flamita thanks AAA for giving him the opportunity and wishes them success in the future. Flamita says he’s independent as of today, which suggest he may not be going thru with the rest of his AAA bookings. He’s currently listed on shows all the way thru May 27th, though Friday’s TV taping is not on the list. Octagon Jr. was not involved in any AAA storylines. Octagon Jr. had a reasonable chance of being included in the Lucha World Cup in some fashion as a way to spotlight the new character – we have no idea how much of that was already decided, but maybe it’ll need to be changed. AAA has said nothing about the situation. My (limited) information is there had been some meetings between Flamita & AAA leading up to this – I think this is Flamita getting out of his AAA deal with AAA’s knowledge and not just unexpectedly quitting, but no one’s confirmed that to me.

This reads like it’s more about Flamita wanting freedom and the benefits of not being tied to a promotion. He’s a very rare young luchador who’s got some name value without being a regular on TV, and it’s may be that he was doing better for himself as Flamita than on an AAA schedule as Octagon Jr. The controversy over the Octagon Jr. name seems to have played a part in his decision, but it comes off as if Flamita would’ve just rather been Flamita than Octagon Jr. all along. It made sense for AAA to want an Octagon Jr. and Flamita was as good a choice as any – Octagon (Jr.) is easier to sell to promoters aiming at casual fans, which means AAA makes more money off using him – but AAA had not used Octagon Jr. in any meaningful way since his debut. Flamita had meaningless TV roles in second and third matches, Octagon Jr. was used in TV meaningless roles in fourth and fifth (and an PPV opener), and the consistent part was the meaningless of it all. They were adding any value to him. Flamita wasn’t a young guy who was getting his first real shot, he’s a young guy who was getting big spots (in smaller promotions, and one that is at least around the same size) and has been around enough to know the difference.

There had been recent hints in social media that something was up between AAA and Octagon Jr. It’s very possible the Octagon unmasking moment started everything rolling, but the relationship between AAA & Flamita has been challenging all along. AAA had tried to bring Flamita back in as long as ago as 2014 before finally getting him in 2015, and even then it seemed like it took a while for everyone to agree on deal for Flamita to come in full time. Flamita doesn’t turn 22 until November, so his and AAA’s paths are likely to merge again if he continues in lucha libre long enough. (AAA’s surely very unhappy about how this all went down, but have shown the willingness to get those feelings if the deal is right.) Hopefully it’ll go smoother next time, though next time may be a long time away.

Flamita included a photo with the Dragon Gate Open the Brave Gate championship and hinted he’d be going back to his Japan home with a hashtag. He probably will be going back – he likely knew he could, and that opportunity played into his decision to leave AAA. (As far as I’ve noticed, Dragon Gate’s never said anything about Flamita since he’s been going, positive or negative. He wasn’t even brought up when the group he was with lost a match where they were forced to break up. The closest acknowledgement was the recent Ciclon Ramirez Jr. tryout, where it was mentioned there aren’t any foreigners regularly coming in.)

In Mexico, Flamita will immediately start working for CaraLucha. They’ve announced him as part of the 05/21 Anniversary show. There’s a decent chance he’s meant to be Mascara Dorada’s opponent for that show. I expect ever Mexico indie will try to use him, just as they did before he signed with AAA. US booking of lucha libre talent has picked up in the last year and there’s a good chance he’ll turn up there as well. Flamita also makes sense as independent luchador on ELITE shows – though if AAA has any ability to stop him from working places, that would be the place they’d pick.

There is also going to be guessing about Flamita being involved in WWE’s Global Cruiserweight Series. Flamita’s goals of being independent and tease of going to Japan suggest that’s not his plan, but this story has taken so many twists and turns that it’s hard to rule anything out at this point. There’d be a great irony of one Octagon Jr. following the same path as the original Octagon Jr. if it happened, but I don’t think that’s what is going on here.

The original Octagon is declaring total victory, congratulating Flamita for seeing the errors of his ways. That’s not exactly what Flamita is saying, but Octagon is getting everything he wants and will chalk this up as a victory. That’s a depressing part. (Octagon and Flamita now inevitably meeting at an indie show will be the interesting part.) It may be a short lived one. AAA seemingly stuck someone new in the Bengala outfit just to prove some point and keep the character alive. There’s a good chance we’ll see an Octagon Jr. III before long. The reasons for AAA to have the character remain the same, and it doesn’t require a super luchador given how if he’s just going to be used the same way as Flamita. There’s going to be no shortage of people who would take the character Flamita didn’t want, no matter how it makes Octagon feel. The fight between AAA and Octagon is not over, it just may go quiet for a while.

There’s one more aspect to this, but I’ve left it to last because it is a Lucha Underground spoiler. You may want to turn away, but it’d be silly not to talk about. This turns into a digression too, so you may best to avoid it.

Flamita debuts near the very end of Season 2 of Lucha Underground as Night Claw. Flamita was around in dark matches for a few tapings before he appeared, so it’s possible he taped vignettes and will show up on many episodes. (The name showed up as a recent trademark filling, and those seem to get done a few weeks before the episodes air – he’s probably still not on the show until late, but it’s possible he’ll show up at any time.)

Lucha Underground wrestlers are typically required to sign contracts with the promotion that forbid them leaving for many seasons. It’s why King Cuerno is still in Mexico City and not Orlando. Flamita surely had to sign a similar contract, but he appears not bound the same way. Maybe more will come out this later, but I’m tempted to believe Flamita isn’t still under LU contract, past whatever end of season no-compete there may be. Night Claw has not appeared on any season 3 tapings, and Flamita hasn’t been in dark matches. That character might have been written out already in some way we don’t yet know – they’ve certainly treated him like he doesn’t exist in this set of tapings.

(There does seem to be a trend of the AAA midcarder/jobber types not being used in Season 3. I’ve been wondering if it’s a sign of a relationship problem between the AAA & LU, but it could also easily be a way to save money. Paying a good LA local guy to drive in is a lot cheaper than flying in Argenis or Super Fly for a short match. Maybe Night Claw just became an expense they had to cut to get Season 3 done the way they wanted, but it has been disappointing me not to see as many of my AAA favorites in the Season 3 results. The top guys are still there and the other local guys sound good, but my favorites are my favorites. At least I’ll get to see more of this favorite elsewhere now.)

CMLL (TUE) 04/26/2016 Arena México [thecubsfan]
1) Mercurio & Pequeño Nitro b Aéreo & Stukita
18:03. Rudos took 1/3.
2) Akuma & Espíritu Negro COR Leono & Sensei
13:46. Added on Saturday, with Leono & Sensei being bumped down from the previous match. Rudos took 1/3, including an odd finish where Leono was counted out after his own dive.
3) Arkángel de la Muerte, Nitro, Sangre Azteca b Magnus, Oro Jr., Stigma
17:52. Magnus, Stigma and Oro Jr. replaced Leono, Sensei and Starman on Saturday. Rudos took 2/3.
4) Zeuxis b Lluvia, Marcela, Princesa Sugehit, La Vaquerita, Skadi, Dalys, Reyna Isis, La Seductora, La Comandante [cibernetico]
28:35. Arena Mexico 60th Anniversary cibernetico. Lluvia replaced Silueta (still in Japan.) Eliminations went Isis (by Lluvia), Vaquerita (Comandante), Seductora (Sugehit), Lluvia (Dalys), Comandante (Skadi), Skadi (Zeuxis), Sugehit (Dalys), Dalys (Marcela), Zeuxis (Marcela) leaving Zeuxis as the winner.
5) Ephesto, Luciferno, Sagrado b Guerrero Maya Jr., Stuka Jr., Tritón
10:38. Rudos took 2/3. Triton replaced Dragon Lee on Monday.
6) Mephisto b Máscara Dorada
12:08. Mephisto casually pulled off Dorada’s mask in the first fall, then won the second with a powerbomb. Dorada made a big comeback in the third fall but was put down via Devil’s Wings in the third. Mephisto asked for (another) title match next week and Dorada accepted.

I didn’t realize it was an al rudo night until putting together the results. It was a very long show – shows don’t feel long when the matches are good, and the matches in the undercard weren’t very good. I didn’t understand why they added a sixth match to this show and it was less clear when the main event didn’t start until about 2 hours and 15 minutes into the show. Main event was good, and parts of the ciberentico were good.

Lucha Underground tonight is episode 14 of the season, “Cage in a Cage”. The two matches advertised for the show are

• Cage versus Mundo in a cage for an Aztec Medallion
• Ivelisse & Angelico & Son of Havoc (c) versus Cortez Castro & Mr. Cisco & Joey Ryan versus Rey Mysterio & Prince Puma & Dragon Azteca Jr. versus Fenix & Jack Evans & PJ Black for the Lucha Underground Trios championship

As best I can tell, those are the only two matches which will air on tonight’s show. Expect them both to go long, and maybe some rare commercial breaks during matches (especially during those eliminations.)

Eric has a preview of tonight’ show.

We’re all kind of waiting for info on May’s Lucha Underground tapings, which wrap up Season 3. The tapings were reported to be on May 7th & 8th and May 14th and 15th. Those last two dates have been mentioned in some of the ticket contest giveaways they’re doing as well, though LU still hasn’t announced them. I’ve actually been hoping to get tickets to the latter ones for a while – I think I can get to LA that weekend, and thought those shows are probably Ultima Lucha 3 – so I’ve been more focused on the tickets than usual. The tickets are usually offered by a couple weeks before the show and it’s a little strange they’re being held back. This is yet another ‘maybe it’s nothing’ thing, but I was reminded yesterday there’s also a date conflict: May 14th is also the AAA taping in Orizaba, which has been pushed on TV for months and the poster includes people who would be expected to be in Los Angeles at the same time. Maybe either LU or AAA has to move, or some fancy planning has to be done to get people in the right place on the right day and that’s the hold up.

Pentagon Jr. & Fenix are also listed as wrestling on May 13th in Texas; LU often has guys come in a day ahead of time for their tapings so that’s unusual.

Speaking of date conflicts, CaraLucha announced their 2nd year anniversary show will take place on May 21st. Mascara Dorada is the first luchador announced for the show. The full card will be announced next week.

That announcement has the unintentionally effect of confirming Mascara Dorada will not be participating in NJPW’s Best of Super Juniors tournament, because it also starts on May 21. Dorada had said for quite a while that he had not heard from NJPW when/if he’d be returning, but I kept assuming he was either not telling the whole story or NJPW would just be getting to him before the tournament. Guess not. In his regular podcast, KUSHIDA also confirmed Kamaitachi would not be part of the tournament this year. (Kamaitachi’s busy in ROH instead.) Dragon Lee does appear to be going – he said many months ago that he had big news he couldn’t talk about – but it’s unclear if CMLL will continue to have two representatives (Cavernario?) or just the one spot this year. The tournament will probably be announced on NJPW’s 05/03 show.

Today’s two Liga Elite matches are Lashley (1-0) versus Ultimo Guerrero (0-1) and Volador Jr. (0-1) versus Mascara Dorada (2-0). Guessing Lashely strong as the outsider, and Volador stops Dorada’s win streak. The semimain is the Parks (Hijo, Super, LA) versus Ingobernables (La Mascara, Pierroth, Rush), in a match which will make me regret watching this show ‘live’ late Friday night. Black Warrior & Blue Panther versus Solar I & Hechicero sounds like a good match which will be condensed to about 20 seconds on TV.

Video of the famous Brazos versus Villanos triple mask match has turned up on YouTube. The video degrades to more of a slideshow at times, but it’s the first time the entire match has made it online as far as I know.

LuchaWorld has the latest edition of their podcast.

RobViper has a music video of 09/20/15 AAA.

I’m thinking of going to this lucha show in Milwaukee Saturday. It’s a 100 minute drive, but Bestia 666 versus Rey Horuz sounds great. This is also the first lucha show I have in the database from Wisconsin, which means I’m missing a few.

The Atlantic has a video feature on La Luchadora, the documentary on Luna Magica.

Faby Apache is happy to team with her sister again.

Avispon took Despiadado’s hair in Arena Aficion.

Lineups

IWRG (WED) 04/27/2016 Arena Naucalpan
1) Aramis, Fireman, Kanon vs Adrenalina, Galaxy, Keshin Black
2) Felinito & Piratita Morgan vs Aguilita Solitaria & Bracito de Oro
3) Imposible © vs Freelance [IWRG IC Light]
Imposible 12th defense
4) Hijo del Alebrije, Pantera I, Suicida vs Cerebro Negro, Trauma I, Trauma II
5) Máscara Año 2000 Jr. © vs Canis Lupus [IWRG IC HEAVY]
first defense

The lineup got up about 24 hours before the show. Oh well.

As usual, it’s children going to wrestling show season, so minis are back in IWRG.

Really hoping Impossible/Freelance turns up.

CMLL (MON) 05/02/2016 Arena Puebla
1) Black Tiger & Meyer vs Ares & Guerrero Espacial
2) Oro Jr., Pegasso, Soberano Jr. vs Espíritu Maligno, Rey Apocalipsis, Toro Bill Jr.
3) Estrellita vs Dalys [lightning]
4) Ángel de Oro, Stigma, Stuka Jr. vs Ephesto, Luciferno, Mephisto
5) Cavernario, Felino, Negro Casas vs Rey Bucanero, Terrible, Vangellys
6) Carístico vs La Máscara

They had this match once at the end of the Domingo Elite shows, with Caristico winning. Caristico’s been pretty good, and it’s a test of how well Mascara can do as a rudo. Semimain is the rematch of the rudo/rudo trios last week. Second match might be good.

CMLL (TUE) 05/03/2016 Arena México
1) Acero & Aéreo vs Pequeño Nitro & Pequeño Universo 2000
2) Magnus, Robin, Sensei vs Akuma, Canelo Casas, Metálico
3) Soberano Jr., Star Jr., Stigma vs Raziel, Sangre Azteca, Virus
4) Marcela, Princesa Sugehit, Skadi vs La Seductora, Tiffany, Zeuxis
5) Stuka Jr., Súper Porky, The Panther vs Bobby Z, Ephesto, Luciferno
6) Máscara Dorada © vs Mephisto [CMLL WELTER]
Dorada fourth defense

It’s a little strange they’re repeating this title match so quickly. Dorada always wins the title match over Mephisto, but maybe this time it’ll be different.

The women’s match in the fourth spot is higher than usual, but it’s more a case of having a bonus opener again.

CMLL (TUE) 05/03/2016 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Mágico & Magnum vs Joker & Sádico
2) Astral, Eléctrico, Stukita vs Mercurio, Pequeño Olímpico, Pierrothito
3) Esfinge, Fuego, Tritón vs Misterioso Jr., Pierroth, Sagrado
4) Blue Panther, Rey Cometa, Valiente vs Cavernario, Dragón Rojo Jr., Rey Escorpión
5) La Máscara, Rush, Volador Jr. vs Shocker, Terrible, Vangellys

This is the second time Shocker’s been advertised here, and he’ll actually be able to at some point. Elite’s heavily pushed Rush versus Shocker, which is odd since that happened already and it didn’t go well for Shocker, but who knows. Cometa and Cavernario run into each other in the semifinal.