CMLL (SUN) 12/25/2016 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [Arena Coliseo Guadalajara, Domingos Familiares, Fuego en el Ring]
1) Destello & Destructor b Capitán Cobra & Micro
Rudos took 1/3.
2) Fugaz, Sky Kid, Smaker b Linterna, Mr. Brisa, Relámpago
Relampago replaced Mr. Apolo. Tecnicos took 1/3.
3) Gran Kenut, Joker, Mosco X Fly b Javier Cruz Jr., Metatrón, Tritón
Tecnicos took 2/3, Cruz submitting Kenut, setting up a mask vs hair match.
4) Exterminador & Maléfico b Esfinge & Gallo
Rudos took 1/3 to set up a tag title match.
5) Frezzer L Neutrón, León Blanco, Mr. Trueno, Nautilius, Pitbull I, Magnum, Star Black, Infierno, Ráfaga [cage, mask]
Order of escape: Leon Blanco, Nautlius, Pitbull I, Magnum, Rafaga, Neutron, Mr. Trueno, Infierno (who most people thought was going to lose, especially being the last rudo left.) Match came down to tecnicos Star Black & Freezer, with Star Black getting the win via his Estrella Negra. Furia Roja, Freezer’s unmasked brother, came to the ring and attacked Star Black for unmasking his brother, with the winner of cage match actually being unmasked in the scrum. Security finally got Furia Roja to back away, but Furia Roja wouldn’t leave until his brother was unmasked. Freezer is Diego Omar Lemus Pérez, 23 years old, 5 years a wrestler.
That post match bit sounds like a great angle or someone losing their mind. Sometimes it can be both.
CMLL (TUE) 12/27/2016 Arena México [CMLL, ESTO, thecubsfan]
1) Acero & Fantasy b Pequeño Nitro & Pequeño Violencia 
13:45. Tecnicos took 2/3.
2) Magia Blanca, Oro Jr., Stigma b Arkángel de la Muerte, Canelo Casas, Inquisidor
15:55. Tecnicos took 1/3
3) Estrellita, La Vaquerita, Marcela b Amapola, La Comandante, Zeuxis
12:42. Tecnicas took 1/3, Vaquerita defeating Zeuxis.
4) Okumura b Puma [lightning]
Okumura replaced The Panther on Tuesday.
5) Guerrero Maya Jr., Johnny Idol, Rey Cometa b Bobby Z, Sam Adonis, Vangellys
Tecnicos took 2/3.
6) Atlantis, Máximo Sexy, Valiente b Ephesto, Gran Guerrero, Mephisto
Tecnicos took 2/3.
Like in Puebla on Monday, crowd was up for no apparent reason except it being a holiday week where people are off from work and looking for things to do. It wasn’t just more Mexican fans, but it looked like more foreigners too, and felt like one of the louder Tuesday shows in a long while. Adonis came out with his Trump USA flag and got booed very loudly. This is the second straight week where CMLL hasn’t booked an ongoing program.
I’ve watched about half the show (not the whole show no matter what mislabeled recap you saw this morning.) Don’t watch the first two matches. The women’s match was actually good.
This news is a few days late, but we’ve finally got the post match interviews from CMLL’s Friday show. As you’ll recall, the (unofficial) stipulation was that Caristico would get a mask versus hair match with Ultimo Guerrero if he won. Caristico won, and CMLL cut away from the show before either match could talk about that stipulation, and might have not allowed talk at all in front of the crowd. Backstage, the message was clearer. Carsitico said he’d like to have the match at Homenaje a Dos Leyendas. Ultimo Guerrero declared he said he’d do the match if Caristico won, but never said when, just that it’ll happen some day. CMLL has downplayed this entire thing, which very much suggests this is an idea Caristico is pitching CMLL and nothing that’s been confirmed. File it in the back of your head for March, but don’t count on quite yet.
Today’s Lucha Underground episode is “The Gauntlet”, the 17th episode of the season. This sounds like a companion to episode 2, “The Amulet”. Maybe we’ll get a full outfit if the show lasts long enough. Matches announced:
- Cage [2] versus Texano [1], match 4 in their best of five
- Angelico & Son of Havoc versus PJ Black & Jack Evans
- Jeremiah Crane versus Matanza (video of beginning)
There’s at least a fourth match which will also air today, based on the way events progress on the taping. The tag match is notable moment for negative reasons that we can’t talk about until after it airs. The show preview also talks about a luchador returning to the Temple for revenge. Could be Prince Puma. Could be Officer Reyes. Could be Super Fly! (It’s probably not Super Fly.)
Lucha Underground lead writer Chris DeJoseph was on Kocosports’s Lucha Underground video review this past week. It was a good conversation, though no huge revelations. DeJoseph and Van Wagenen seem to try to wait for episodes where they have a good story about to do these sort of interviews. Last week’s LU episode has the bathroom fight between Fenix & Aerostar versus the Snake Tribe. DeJoseph talked about watching them, led by vignette director Skip Chaisson, film the scene for hours, going home, coming back in the next day, and finding them still filming that scene. He estimated the filming of that segment took eight hours over two days. This tells me I do not have the patience to work on a TV show, because that sounds like forever for what seemed to be a three minute scene. Another great random factoid is Kobra Moon’s throne was created “by the guy from GWAR.”
There were some of the usual topics. DeJoseph was asked basically “why Sexy Star?”, and said she has an amazing amount of chemistry, she connected well with her audience, and her character is just cool. He also did the usual defense of women fighting men, though noted he prefered it more when they were doing wrestling moves than men punching women in the face or sexual stuff. When DeJoseph came on board, El Rey had the concept of 7 tribes of luchadors and people representing each tribe, and it was up to him and his staff to fill in anything else. He knows how they’d get back to that idea if they had to end it, but it didn’t sound like he was going to have to do that any time soon. DeJoseph mentioned, in the context of the wrestlers having say in their programs, that Marty and Killshot’s feud was originally going to end in Season 2, but the wrestlers thought they could do more with it and so it lasted to their big Season 3 match instead.
AAA apparently has a TV taping on 02/24 in Queretaro. The last TV runs out at 02/18, so there’s a taping before that still missing. I’m going to have to make that chart already.
There’s a Super Calo Jr. reality show web series on YouTube.
El Sol de Tlaxcala catches up with Templario, who’s said to be the first luchador from that area to make it to Arena Mexico. He’s 23 years old and has been wrestling for 9 years.
Apolo Valdes looks back at the year in lucha libre.
CultIcon goes thru 40 to 31 in his top 50 of the year.
Box Y Lucha notes Villano III won the UWA Welterweight Championship today, which actually conflicts with the information we’ve had before on the first title change for that tile. Box Y Lucha is usually correct. I wish I could get Box Y Lucha to write more in depth about these things instead of just single interesting factoids, but I should be grateful for that alone.
Lineups
CMLL (MON) 01/02/2017 Arena Puebla
1) Asturiano & Zaeta Roja vs Rey Apocalipsis & Toro Bill Jr.
2) Arkalis, Millenium, Tigre Rojo Jr. vs Arkángel de la Muerte, Metálico, Policeman
3) Guerrero Maya Jr., Rey Cometa, Stigma vs Disturbio, Sam Adonis, Skándalo
4) Ángel de Oro, Titán, Valiente vs Rey Bucanero, Terrible, Vangellys
5) Atlantis, Carístico, Máximo Sexy vs Cavernario, Gran Guerrero, Negro Casas
6) Volador Jr. © vs La Máscara [NWA WELTER]
13th defense
Volador/Mascara feels like a feud we’ve seen a lot of, but we haven’t actually seen the singles match all that much in singles matches this year: just the double countout in Liga Elite, and Volador getting the win in the Universal tournament. They just did this match on a Sunday, but most of us didn’t see that, and this is actually the first time Mascara is challenging Volador for this title.
CMLL (TUE) 01/03/2017 Arena México
1) Acero & Aéreo vs Demus 3:16 & Pequeño Universo 2000
2) Estrellita, Sanely, Skadi vs La Seductora, Metálica, Reyna Isis
3) Oro Jr., Pegasso, Star Jr. vs Okumura, Skándalo, Virus
4) Tritón vs Sagrado [lightning]
5) Drone, Guerrero Maya Jr., Johnny Idol vs Ephesto, Hechicero, Ripper
6) Máximo Sexy, Stuka Jr., Volador Jr. vs Euforia, Negro Casas, Rey Bucanero
The usual bit of grab bag ok matches. Nothing in the top four looks for sure promising or a disaster. Sagrado is the best rudo in a lot of matches, and a full match between him and Triton would be interesting. They should have enough time to put something together in a lightning match.
Reyna Isis, who you may have forgotten exists, is back from an extended trip to Japan. Nothing to do with anything but I wonder if Sanely masks eventually replace the Sexy Star masks as the go to mask purchase for casual women fans at Arena Mexico. There were some last night in the crowd and it made me think about the possibilities.
CMLL (TUE) 01/03/2017 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Capitán Cobra & Fugaz vs Destello & Guerrero de la Muerte
2) Robin, Sensei, Star Black vs Cancerbero, Ráfaga, Raziel
3) Blue Panther Jr., Soberano Jr., The Panther vs El Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón
4) Ángel de Oro, Titán, Valiente vs Bobby Z, Pólvora, Vangellys
5) Atlantis, Carístico, Mistico vs Cavernario, Mephisto, Shocker
Caristico & Shocker repeat from last night, so that might be the new feud. Shocker and Caristico have never had a singles match. I’m fascinated by the idea of them trying to have one in 2017.
On the other hand, Dinamitas against Blue Panther Jr. rematch, so maybe there’s a local trios title defense coming.
Cholo de Tijuana (FRI) 01/06/2017 Auditorio de Tijuana, Tijuana, Baja California
1) ? & ?? vs ??? & ????
2) ? & ?? vs ??? & ????
3) Amazona, Clásico, Dinastía Silver, Zaeta vs Cholo De Tijuana II, Furia Salvaje, Lady Lee, Memo Velaquez
4) Arandú, Black Silver, Enigma, TJ Boy vs Destroyer, Iron Boy, Luminoso, Viernes 13
5) Rey Hechicero vs Caifan
6) Hijo de LA Park, Octagoncito, Rey Horus vs Bestia 666, Demus 3:16, Steve Pain
7) LA Park, Máscara Sagrada, Súper Muñeco vs Damián 666, Histeria, Pakal
Cholo de Tijuana shows usually don’t make it out complete anywhere – though Histeria/Caristico did – but I think I’m required to point out any Rey Hechicero/Caifan card. Also, that semimain is weird but good. All the Tijuana promotions seem to be pushing each other for better cards; if you’re the Crash, you probably want to tour because running more shows will help, but also your big shows will stand out more away from TJ.