CMLL Martes de Nuevo Valores: 2017-08-29 

sequences are good

Recapped: 09/13/2017

All matches aired live from Arena México.

Matches: 

Fiero & Sangre Imperial beat Grako & Templario
(10:28 [4:34, 3:02, 2:52], 2/3, good, via
VideosOficialesCMLL)

Arkángel de la Muerte, Nitro, Sangre Azteca beat Astral, Pegasso, Stigma
(21:48 [10:48, 3:28, 7:32], 1/3, n/r, via
VideosOficialesCMLL)

Drone, Fuego, Guerrero Maya Jr. beat Puma, Tiger, Virus
(16:14 [6:51, 3:46, 5:37], 2/3, good, via
VideosOficialesCMLL)

Pólvora beat Titán in a lightning match
(8:02, Inquisidor Storm, good, via
VideosOficialesCMLL)

Ephesto, Luciferno, Rey Bucanero beat Dragón Lee, Rey Cometa, Stuka Jr.
(10:03 [3:50, 3:27, 2:46], 1/3, ok, via VideosOficialesCMLL)

Ángel de Oro, Carístico, Diamante Azul beat Gran Guerrero, Pierroth, Rush
(10:40 [1:54, 4:24, 4:22], 2/3 DQ, n/r, via  VideosOficialesCMLL)

What happened: 

this was also good

Rush fouled Diamante Azul and unmasked the técnicos to end the main event.

The second match really was 21 minutes long.

When setting up for a finishing spot in the opener, Fiero instead slipped and fell from the top rope all the way to the floor. He was shaken up but appeared to be OK, and returns to wrestle the following week.

Thoughts: 

Fiero makes moving out of the way exciting

Rey Bucanero wanted to do a lot of things, which meant no one was really doing a lot of things. Bucanero fighting with Dragon Lee meant Lee was defeated by a poor looking submission in fall and dragged around by his mask for most of all of the second fall. It’s really depressing to think about all our memories of great Rey Bucanero being slowly replaced by a years of Bucanero being a guy you didn’t want to see in a match. The técnicos briefly sped up the action at time, but this was not their night.

This lightning match fit the category of nothing extraordinary but really solid wrestling action between two people who know each other well. They counter each other well, with Pólvora ready to cut down everything Titan normally tries to do and Titan just surviving for a while. Pólvora won pretty dominant given how Titan’s booked higher than him in the card, but it scarcely matters. (And Polvora did make the Anniversary show while Titan did not, so maybe booking higher is wrong.)

Polvora is a jerk

The tercera was the best match of the night in the usual style. Tiger & Puma push the pace and switch things up – Drone going for his headstand knee smash was nicely counted to set up the rudo sprinting into a first fall win. Puma & Tiger may be stagnating by being in these matches forever, but I think they’ve helped Drone work a little smarter and more creatively, and less like a guy checking off moves. Fuego’s entry into the sunset flip looked really cool. Virus is kind of disappearing in these matches.

The opener was a lot easier to watch once you know Fiero didn’t kill himself a half minute before the finish, and one of the the best opening matches CMLl’s had this year. Flyer (MIA?), Robin, even Bengala can do some things from a tecnico side in the openers, but these rudos are sso much better than the Camorra/Apocalispis/Espanto crew of guys. These rudos are not polished at all – Templario almost dies before Fiero does in this match – but they haven’t had the life beaten out of them yet and they’re excited for the matches. Sangre Imperial looks halfway decent in a CMLL match for the first time, and I don’t think it he suddenly got a lot better. Everyone, even the announcers, have figured out Fiero has something great but he can’t do it working with the usual slugs they have here. Actual novato openers on the novato show is big for everyone.

he survived

Fenix defeats Flamita at The Crash in SLP, Ruben Juarez passes away

Rey Fenix defeated Flamita last night on the Crash show in San Luis Potosi. (There’s handheld video here.) The main event was La Mascara betraying Maximo to give Penta & Daga a win in a match also including Rush & Pierroth. This was a much smaller building than they ran month in San Luis Potosi, and it looks like they drew poorly.

Ruben Juarez passed away yesterday, who was one of the more well traveled Mexican wrestlers of his time. SuperLuchas has a thorough obit talking about his career. Among other highlights, he took Espanto II’s mask in the main event of the 1963 EMLL Anniversario show, only to lose his hair to older bother Espanto I a few weeks later.

ESTO has an article hyping up this year’s Anniversario show, mostly talking to people who aren’t actually risking their masks. Those four are busy, making a lot of media appearances the last few days. CMLL also has an article hyping up the NGD making their first (of many) Anniversario appearances. Diamante Azul is still listed as one of their opponents.

Super Fly was doing press in Morelia for an upcoming show there, and was totally on AAA message: wrestlers from around the world come to Mexico to learn the best wrestling, AAA’s going worldwide, AAA is actually better with having a smaller roster (“60-70”) than the bigger one (“200”) they had a few years ago, and those people who struggling to find work. Super Fly mentions Europe, England, Colombia (which was announced but they never went), Japan for the World Cup (which AAA itself isn’t mention but seems to be happening) and Lucha Underground (which he says will be taping in November – might have been the plan, but it would’ve had to be announced months ago to be ready to happen by then) as the international destinations.

AAA is helping today with a Red Cross supply drive for those affected by the earthquake in Oaxaca and Chiapas.

Zack Sabre Jr. is announced for a 10/01 MDA show in Arena Coliseo Monterrey.

Lucha Memes announced a 10/01 show for Coliseo Coacalco

That sounds like a match that’ll be fun to see.

TKD and Culticon review last week’s Lucha Underground.

CultIcon continues his history of CMLL.

LuchaWorld has the latest news update.

+LuchaTV has an interview with Zeuxis.

Lineups

Rockstar Pro (FRI) 09/15/2017 Rockstar Pro Arena, Dayton, Ohio
1) Clayton Jackson vs Mojo Mcqueen
2) Pompano Joe vs Fly Star
3) Nate Wings vs Drastik Boy
4) Zachary Wentz vs Guerrero Maya Jr.
5) Alex Colon & Dustin Rayz © vs Hijo del Solar & Solar I [Rockstar PRO TAG]
billed as the last match for this title, which will be replaced by a trios title
6) Trey Miguel © vs Aeroboy [Rockstar Pro CHAMP]

This is billed as a co-promotion with ChilangaMask and +Lucha (so at least some clips should turn up.) I never imagined Zachary Wentz vs Guerrero Maya but that sounds interesting. If the Solars end up with the tag team titles and they turn up in Mexico forever, I’ll – probably sigh deeply and work on adding something the wiki.

CMLL (SUN) 09/24/2017 Arena Puebla
1) Centella Roja & Hijo de Centella Roja vs King Jaguar & Sombra Diabólika
2) Black Tiger & Espíritu Maligno vs Canelo Casas & Disturbio
3) Marcela, Princesa Sugehit, Skadi vs Dalys, La Comandante, Zeuxis
4) Esfinge, Stigma, Stuka Jr. vs Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón
5) Carístico, Dragón Lee, Soberano Jr. vs Kojima, Mr. Niebla, Negro Casas
6) Niebla Roja vs Gran Guerrero

Niebla Roja is booked back to appearing regularly after the mask match – but then they have Skadi on this lineup, and she’s definitely not appearing. Canelo’s been MIA himself.

CMLL Puebla: 2017-08-28 

grande Mike

Recapped: 09/12/2017

All matches aired live from Arena Puebla.

Matches: 

Asturiano & Meyer beat Ares & Joker
(11:22 [4:31, 4:22, 2:29], 2/3, ok, via
VideosOficialesCMLL)

El Malayo & King Jaguar beat Millenium & Rey Samuray  
(15:03 [7:45, 3:42, 3:36], 2/3, ok, via
VideosOficialesCMLL)

Misterioso Jr. & Sagrado beat Drone & Guerrero Maya Jr.  
(14:24 [5:49, 3:07, 5:28], 1/3, ok, via
VideosOficialesCMLL)

Ángel de Oro, Dragón Lee, Mistico beat Cavernario, Mephisto, Negro Casas
(10:31 [2:04, 2:22, 6:05], 2/3, ok, via
VideosOficialesCMLL)

Millenium

Volador Jr. won a 12 man cibernetico over Diamante Azul, Euforia, Rush, Último Guerrero, Valiente, Johnny Idol, Juice Robinson, Marco Corleone, Matt Taven, Michael Elgin, Sam Adonis
(27:03, Volador reverse huracanrana Elgin, good, via VideosOficialesCMLL)

  1. Último Guerrero pulpo Guerrero Johnny Idol (9:16)
  2. Sam Adonis Michinoku Driver Valiente (12:07)
  3. Marco Corleone plancha Euforia (12:51)
  4. Rush corner dropkick Sam Adonis (14:43)
  5. Diamante Azul escuedo Marco Corleone (15:50)
  6. Michael Elgin sit down powerbomb Rush (18:30)
  7. Volador backcracker Juice Robinson (19:29)
  8. Último Guerrero pin Matt Taven (20:27)
  9. Matt Taven pin Último Guerrero (20:27)
  10. Michael Elgin spinning back fist Diamante Azul (22:29)
  11. Volador reverse rana Michael Elgin (27:30)
MIstico superkick

The main event was more of a traditional cibernetico than the Gran Prix. It had the teased big brawls as the Friday match (plus Rush checking out on the brawl to pose in the ring instead), but it had the more normal speed elimination period. It was fun enough, but it’s inescapable to compare this (and the GDL one) to the Gran Prix and the Gran Prix was much better and more memorable. This is a good preview of the Gran Prix if you saw it before it happened, and of no great value after it happened. Of everyone, Elgin seemed most into doing stuff, though Diamante Azul had no idea how to take his backfist.

The undercard wasn’t much. I gave attempts to watch a lot of them, because it seemed like names were interesting. On closer inspection, the tecnicos are the interesting ones and there’s not enough rudos to make it work. Asturiano’s occasional appearance is better than this. Millenium and really Rey Samuray can move, but need rudos who are motivated and capable than the two here. Even the all CMLL 2v2 match wasn’t as good as usual and there’s nothing to write about the 3v3 match.

 

Lucha Underground 3×35: Cien

Azteca tornillo

Matches

Johnny Mundo, Taya, PJ Black and Marty Martinez beat Prince Puma, Sexy Star, Cage, Fenix (5:36, Johnny Mundo fin de Mundo Prince Puma, OK)

Pentagon Dark beat Dragon Azteca for an Aztec Medallion (6:33, package piledriver, good)

Matanza beat Rey Mysterio (10:46, wrath of the gods, good)

Developments

Matanza ended Rey Mysterio. Mysterio fought, never gave up, and made some rallies, but Matanza physically dominated him for most of the match. Mysterio did not even really come close, there was never a moment where it felt like he was really going to win. Matanza looked as invulnerable as in his first appearances. Striker did try to explain Dario’s last big appearance with Rey, pushing the idea that Dario was jealous Rey was a bigger lucha libre star than he. (It still doesn’t explain why he would’ve put him in that match if he felt that way, but it’s something to run with.) Mysterio may have gotten his foot on the ropes if not for Dario shoving it away, but it might have been a favor to save Mysterio from more fruitless fighting. It didn’t save Mysterio from more destruction, with Dario directing Matanza to use a chair and the post to destroy Rey’s throat. Matanza carried Rey off at the end, and that might be the last we ever see of him.

Marty’s head is no longer attached to his body

Dragon Azteca might have attempted to make the save, if Matanza didn’t destroy him minutes earlier. Pentagon beat Azteca cleanly to win the final Aztec Medallion, then went to break Azteca’s arm once again. Matanza interrupted, leading to a tense situation with Pentagon. Pentagon bumped shoulders with Matanza while leaving, and Dario got Matanza to calm down enough to attack Azteca again. Pentagon moves onto the Gift of the Gods match. Azteca might move onto avenging his mentor, though that would seem like a totally foolish thing to do.

Speaking of foolish things to do, Prince Puma picked Cage, Sexy Star, and Fenix as his partners for the atomicos match. Picking Fenix led Johnny to bench Ricky Mandell (who’s changed his name to Ricky Mundo to unsuccessfully impress Worldwide Underground) for Marty Martinez. Sexy Star as a bad idea is obvious, and she spent most of the match with Taya. Cage had no rival on the opposite side, but was far more interested in his gauntlet than this match. Striker attempted to explain Cage was on the team because he hated Johnny Mundo too, but Cage didn’t seem to have any thoughts outside of his power glove. That became a problem when Jeremiah Crane snuck to ringside to steal the gauntlet. Cage took off after him, and the superior teamwork of the Worldwide Underground got Mundo one more win over Puma before the Ultima Lucha 3 match.

Melissa made her own foolish act, going nuts on crazy Marty with slaps after he got too close to her once again. Fenix fought Marty off after the match, but it only led to more danger next week. Dario decided Melissa will have her first match next week, teaming with Fenix to face Mariposa & Marty.

Crane stealing the gauntlet also seemed like a foolish idea. He did it to impress Catrina (which felt like we missed something; how did he know she wanted it?) Catrina acted impressed just long enough for Mil Muertes to attack Crane from behind. Catrina had the gauntlet but only for a moment before Cage grabbed her. Catrina dropped the gauntlet and watched the three men all brawl. Someone else did not: Dario Cueto snuck in and took the gauntlet back for himself.

Rest of The Season guide
announced matches; w/minor spoilers to tell you which episode has what

episode 101 (September 20):

  • Mariposa & Marty the Martinez vs Fenix & Melissa Santos

episode 102 (September 27, Ultima Lucha Week 1)

  • nothing announced yet

episode 103 (October 4, Ultima Lucha Week 2)

  • Fenix vs Marty the Moth, mask vs hair

episode 104 (October 11, Ultima Lucha Week 3)

  • Taya vs Sexy Star, falls count anywhere

episode 105 (October 18, Ultima Lucha Week 4, the end?)

  • Johnny Mundo (c) vs Prince Puma, title versus career for the Lucha Underground championship

Matches teased but not Dario official:

  • Gift of the Gods match (Paul London, Mala Suerte, Saltador, Son of Havoc, Cortez Castro, The Mack, Pentagon Dark)
  • Ivelisse vs Catrina – announced at the start, not mentioned since Ivelisse was injured
  • Mil Muertes vs Cage vs Jeremiah Crane, probably for the gauntlet
  • Killshot vs Dante Fox
  • the Mack and partners vs the Reptile Tribe for the Trios championship??
  • that Famous B/Texano story is probably still happening
  • Dario’s probably going to book Matanza

Thoughts

this does not seem like a fun ride

Nothing super this week, but pretty good for a show that is mostly moving people into place for the big show. I think the Anniversary number talked them into giving a bigger show than we might have otherwise gotten at this point in the cycle.

That really was the end of Rey Mysterio. There may yet be a vignette next week, Matanza carrying Rey off felt like a more definite send off might still appear. It’d be a send off though: this was the last match Rey Mysterio had in this bunch of tapings, and he wasn’t around for the next. Mundo beat Rey with a bunch of shenanigans, but it was Pentagon Dark (long ago this season) and Matanza who got the big wins over him. And this was a big win; Rey got rag dolled for most of this match, and Matanza looked more dominant against him than he did against the Rabbit Tribe. It was so one sided that I didn’t actually enjoy as much as the more competitive matches, but they told the story they wanted really well. Long conversations about how much Rey meant to this show and if he’ll be missed in a season 4 (if there is a season 4) are for another day; he was really selfless at what he needed to do in this one.

Pentagon Dark/Dragon Azteca felt like Pentagon Dark/Prince Puma, where it was warming into a really good match but never really got there before it suddenly ended. Even as Pentagon was landing the package piledriver, I was thinking about how odd they’d burn a finisher kickout there and then it turned out there was no kickout at all. I think it’s less surprising it ended up this way given how Azteca has been used on this show – and the Twitter would’ve melted down if Pentagon took another loss – but left a lot more for another match another day. The Gift of the Gods match is pretty straight forward: the Rabbit Tribe aren’t winning, Cortez isn’t winning, and if the Mack is really involved in the trios title, it leaves only Son of Havoc and Pentagon. Penta, with his threat of winning a title or breaking Dario’s arm, seems like the favorite, but that old plot thread and Son of Havoc having the chance to main event Ultima Lucha 3 and losing it is still hanging out there.

pretty sure Rey’s training of Dragon Azteca involved teaching headscissors and fancy DDTs

The Atomicos match leading into Ultima Lucha is a staple, but I remember the two previous ones more fondly than this one. It wasn’t just the Sexy Star thing, it was just not given a lot of time to development until the storylines took over the match. The Worldwide Underground haven’t gotten to be a team as much the second half of the tournament because of the focus on singles match, but Mundo & PJ had some good team spots and I would like to see that PJ Black/Fenix match some day. The Cage/Mil/Crane stuff all flows together, but the suddenness of Crane being bolted on this feels like maybe they were keeping him in the waiting room for some other issue that we never saw develop.

 

AAA TripleMania: 2017-08-26 

moves!

Recapped: 09/10-11/17

All matches aired live from Arena Ciudad de México and then were replayed in various forms.

Matches: 

Ashley, Dragón Solar, Pardux, Solaris beat Bronco González Jr., Chicano, Fetiche, Hahastary in a La Llave a la Gloria match
(6:41, Dragon Solar torito into inside cradle Fetiche below average, via luchalibreaaatv)

The referee gave these guys the signal the start the match, and then they stood facing each other for another five seconds until he gave it to them again; they were so crazy nervous. It showed in the match, which was clearly laid out and practiced beforehand, because they blow spots left and right and just keep on going because they’ve got a schedule to stay on. Even though the wrestlers have run thru the match, the camera people clearly have not and start missing shots from the opening moments of this match all the way thru the night. The sound is also a mess; the only mic that seems on is the one on the mat, so the only noise is the patter of feet running and the thumps of people landing. Ashley’s legs hit the ropes 10 seconds into the match on a dive and it’s a long night for her after that. Pardux look good in his run and the rudos generally seemed to be holding it together as best they could. The técnico side was just kind of a mess, with Dragon Solar having lot of problems and Fetiche getting hurt. This didn’t seem as much a total disaster as it came off live, though it still would’ve been a bad indie match. The judging bit is exposed as a work by talent evaluator Vampiro wandering around at ringside with his back to the ring. All the judges got blank no forms to use, but Faby seemed to write about one sentence and La Parka seems to vanish.

hahastary has a nice german suplex

Angelikal, Hijo Del Vikingo, The Tigger beat Ángel Mortal Jr., Tiger Boy, Villano III Jr. in a La Llave a La Gloria match
(7:28, everyone did moves one everyone else, great, via
luchalibreaaatv )

Review: [great] A crazy exciting spotfest, with Hijo del Vikingo coming off as the star but everyone looking good. The rudos are sharp and look good in their brief control, but this more about them in the right place and these three técnicos hitting things much better than the guys in the last match. Vikingo’s diving headscissors to the floor would’ve been enough to make his name in most matches but he comes back in and does a bunch more craziness.

This is peak annoying AAA camerawork, as Angelikal does a crazy dive that gets a loud reaction from the crowd, it’s missed live, and it’s missed again in replays. Announcing doesn’t start working until pre-match.

I’m so excited (to see how they won’t come up with anything for him to do for at least three years)

Hernandez, La Hiedra, Mamba, Mini Psycho Clown beat Big Mami, Dinastía, Estrella Divina, Máscara de Bronce
(6:42, Mamba pin Big Mami, good, via  luchalibreaaatv )

The relevos match felt exciting live, and is more just a better version of the usual match. They’re going all out in a way not normal to the match, but it peaks with the dive train and then just finishes up for a few moments. This comes off as much less a Big Mami showcase on the Spanish commentary, since they were just less fascinated by her existence. Hernandez powerbombing Mascara de Bronce on the stage shouldn’t have been missed by the cameras, but it also seems poorly laid out. They really needed the action to stop in the ring for a moment to keep the focus on the spot on the outside. No matter what camera shot we got on TV, the crowd was still going to be looking at Big Mami doing a matrix spot over whatever was happening in the dark with Hernandez and Bronce at the same time.

Destello Bronce?
of course he died

Sexy Star © defeated Lady ShaniAyako HamadaRosemary  for the AAA’s Reina de Reinas championship
(9:44, Sexy Star cross armbreaker Rosemary, bad, via luchalibreaaatv, )

No.

Monsther Clown & Murder Clown beat Dark Cuervo & Dark Scoria vs Aerostar & Drago  and Andrew Everett & DJZ for the AAA World Tag Team Championship
(13:23, Murder Clown splash Cuervo & Scoria, good, via luchalibreaaatv )Arena

Insane the first time thru, and though not as exciting interesting on the rewatch when it’s more obvious how many crazy things don’t go anywhere. You can see how they packed it with action and then switched to a bunch of Clown focused run-ins when it came down to actually do finishes. It’s weird how long it turns into a La Secta versus a million Clowns match at the end. Raptor, Drago, Aerostar, DJZ and Everret all do their dives and then cease existing for about two minutes.

I’m kind of two minds on the Aerostar dive. It was incredible. It totally distracted from the rest of the match for the time (2:51) he was up there. Some of that is on the camera people not knowing the cue, but people were going to be paying attention to him no matter where the camera was shooting. It was also the big eye catching moment this match needed. It had a ton of cool spots, so many that they collapsed on each in memory, but it wasn’t building toward s a moment otherwise.

I like how Poder del Norte decided to wait until everyone was dead and couldn’t really do anything to attack. It’s good thing Dave the Clown’s interference was so ineffective or Marty would’ve never had a chance to also join the clowns.

they cut the front half of this dive
they cut the back half of this dive

La Parka won Torneo Triplemania
(26:17, Parka inside cradle Averno, bad, via  luchalibreaaatv)

  • 00:00: Lanzelot IN
  • 00:00: Heavy Metal IN
  • 00:00: Ricky Marvin IN
  • 00:00: Faby Apache IN
  • 00:00: Australian Suicide IN
  • 00:00: Pimpinela IN
  • 01:05: Super Fly IN
  • 01:05: Averno IN
  • 01:05: Chessman IN
  • 02:42: Psicosis II IN
  • 02:42: Histeria II IN
  • 02:42: Maniaco IN
  • 04:18: Scorpio Jr. IN
  • 04:18: Zumbido IN
  • 04:18: Decnnis IN
  • 05:38: Ricky Marvin OUT (thrown out)
  • 05:41: X-Fly IN
  • 05:41: Halloween IN
  • 05:41: Mr. Aguila IN
  • 06:10: Decnnis OUT (Faby Apache cradle)
  • 06:24: Lanzelot OUT (quit when Perros come in)
  • 06:24: Heavy Metal OUT (quit when Perros come in)
  • 06:24: Faby Apache OUT (Averno Devil’s Wings)
  • 06:24: Australian Suicide OUT (quit following Faby being pinned)
  • 06:24: Pimpinela OUT (quit followed Faby being pinned)
  • 06:24: Scorpio Jr. OUT (quit a while after Decnnis gets pinned)
  • 06:24: Zumbido OUT (quit a while after Decnnis gets pinned)
  • 07:34: Joe Lider IN
  • 07:34: Niño Hamburguesa IN
  • 07:34: Crazy Boy IN
  • 08:54: La Parka IN
  • 08:54: Argenis IN
  • 08:54: Bengala IN
  • 08:57: Niño Hamburguesa OUT (pinned by Perros del Mal)
  • 08:57: Crazy Boy OUT (quit match)
  • 09:43: X-Fly OUT (poses on apron and leave)
  • 09:43: Halloween OUT (poses on apron and leave)
  • 09:43: Mr. Aguila OUT (poses on apron and leave)
  • 09:43: Joe Lider OUT (poses on apron and leave)
  • 10:35: Histeria II OUT (Argenis face crusher)
  • 10:35: Maniaco OUT (Bengala back cracker)
  • 10:35: Psicosis II OUT (left when his partners were pinned)
  • 10:42: Pirata Morgan IN
  • 10:42: Blue Demon IN
  • 10:42: El Cobrade IN
  • 12:58: Bobby Lashley IN
  • 15:40: Moose IN
  • 17:14: Jeff Jarrett IN
  • 17:57: Bobby Lashley OUT (dropkicked out by Moose)
  • 17:57: Moose OUT (pulled out under the bottom rope)
  • 22:50: Jeff Jarrett OUT (Parka DDT)
  • 23:16: Pirata Morgan OUT (Super Fly casita)
  • 23:16: Blue Demon OUT (quits)
  • 23:16: El Cobrade OUT (quits)
  • 23:53: Bengala OUT (Averno dropkicks out)
  • 24:11: Argenis OUT (Super Fly & Chessman toss)
  • 24:55: Super Fly OUT (shoved out by Chessman)
  • 25:50: Chessman OUT (foul by Averno)
  • 26:14: Averno OUT (La Parka cradle)

This match, especially the strange way AAA had decided to do it, requires a lot of attention to detail. AAA is brutal at attention to detail, always has been terrible at it and shows no sign of ever getting better. I think the idea of doing trios was to get people in the match quicker and keep it moving. They definitely succeeded at getting people in, but they needed to get people out too. They didn’t. Ricky Marvin is the first person out after the ring already has 12 people, there’s 17 people in the match by the time Decnnis is gone. The camera guys are missing shots left and right, but it’s also an unfilmable disaster with that many people, and impossible for the people in the match to navigate. What actually happens is Faby gets pinned too, then the Perros make it to the ring, they sweep a bunch of teams under the bottom rope, and those people just walk out and don’t come back. Whoever put this together the first part seemed to be working on the idea that the entire team is out when one person is being pinned, and about half the eliminations are people just leaving as if that’s the rule. It couldn’t have been the rule, because the final sequence is all about La Parka surviving 3 on 1, and he shouldn’t have been in the match as soon as Bengala was knocked from the ring. Jeff Jarrett should’ve never come to the ring, because Moose dropkicking Lashley out should’ve eliminated the lot of them.

Jeff Jarrett should’ve also never come to the ring for the very obvious visual reasons. The match is a lesser concern, but it really suffers for him into it. He takes two and half minutes to make it to the ring, longer than some people were in. The match itself stops for longer, as Jarrett punches and fouls everyone in the match. And then Jarrett punches and fouls everyone again. It came off like he missed a cue or someone was supposed to cut him off, but who knows what was going thru his mind. They really should’ve made it the finish, and maybe it was in some iteration of the match, because the rest of the match has to cease existing for seven minutes – any time gained by speeding things up earlier is totally lost, and so is the match. You can tell the actual finish was put together by the people involved, since it’s carefully booked in way that makes sense, a courtesy they couldn’t extend to something else.

(The communication is so bad here that the lumberjacks also walk out of the match early. It’s seems a fair guess the bit with the GFW guys coming out separate was a last minute call – a favor to GFW to make a bad match worse so they could run their Lashley/Moose break up with the least bit of interference – because Polvo rounds up the lumberjacks and gets them out of there after Lashley enters, ‘knowing’ that team is supposed to be the final team.)

This was a terrible match. It’s worse than the Reina match, because at least AAA’s taken the minimum possible step (no Sexy Star, for now) to make sure that won’t repeat itself. AAA’s going to run a couple of these type of multiman matches next month and there’s no reason to believe they’ll try any harder. The sections with the people in charge will make sense, but only after enough dumb stuff that everyone’s stopped caring.

Pagano and El Mesías street fight ended in a no-contest
(16:14, ref stop?, below average, via luchalibreaaatv)

I guess the question here is if AAA had already decided to do the death match on the next show (likely) and then decided that they could get by without blood on this show. That would’ve been a poor decision (but also an unlikely one, since restraint never seems like something AAA is big on.) The days where Mesias can carry a long match without at least a bit of smoke and mirrors seem to be long gone. Pagano never had those days. Their feud had been built on a barbed wire bad and heavy amounts of blood, and they delivered one bat hot and no blood. Pagano’s popular but not sympathetic, can’t sell and isn’t really that interested in it anyway. Those big Mesias matches were built on both men surviving big moves, but there’s no sense of surviving, it’s just tings that happened until the next thing that happens, and a lot of punches to the face that don’t seem to budge either man inch. The crowd is bored by the time they get to near falls. The injury looks like a work on rewatch, mostly because AAA is never so quick to send someone down when someone is truly hurt, and the AAA doctor would’ve had to be standing right next to the entrance set to get down as quick as he did. It just doesn’t make any sense, like Rey Escorpion’s run in and the rest of the match.

Mesias charges towards nothing

Johnny Mundo © defeated  Texano Jr. and Hijo del Fantasma in a TLC Championship to keep the AAA Trichampionship
(22:04, belt grab, good, via luchalibreaaatv)

More of a coherent story wrapped around the spots than any other matches, though it’s noticeable how much the story doesn’t move at all. This was the time to pull the trigger on something. Bronce getting more involved than a simple run-in, the Fantasma/Texano dynamic changing, Kross betraying Mundo – and it would’ve been the same thing they’ve done on TV for months if not for the ladder stip. Maybe more blood there too, though the blood is so much and so early that it seems like not a big deal by the end. They do make a whole lot of use of the ladder and the tables, taking big bumps to make the stipulation meaningful, and Fantasma’s leap over the ladder for a forearm was really well done. This did a much better job of living up to the idea of the match Pagano/Mesias and it held together as good as anything on the undercard.

Mundo does something crazy (1)
Mundo does something crazy (2)
Mundo does something crazy (3), when he knows it doesn’t matter in the least

Psycho Clown  beat Dr. Wagner Jr. in a mask vs mask match
(28:42, code red, good, via  luchalibreaaatv

I was kind of bored rewatching this, which should not be the case if it’s a legendary must see match. I’d have it as Great live and was just not as interested in it. There’s a bigger problem here than my short attention span.

Psycho is pretty much exactly as good as good as he’s been since he was still regularly part of the trio. He hasn’t grown much over the last three years. This match had the same long rudo section followed by a comeback as the Texano match had, as the Pagano match had. Psycho Clown is probably better than La Parka was at his peak, but he’s already figured out his formula. It’s hard to believe his TripleMania (or general big) matches will ever be better than this, and the ceiling is not really that high. He’s not the only one not showing growth – neither Fantasma nor Texano have shown a lot of growth over the last few years – but Psycho’s the one who the company has hitched the next decade around and it shapes up to ten years of limited matches.

There was never any choice between, say, Fenix and Psycho, but part of me wonders if maybe there’d be a higher ceiling, a much more interesting promotion if AAA had made different choices about who to hitch their wagon to. The rest of me realizes 2017 Fenix wouldn’t be 2017 Fenix if he had spent the last year wrestling in AAA than the rest of the world, and maybe the problem isn’t as much with Psycho Clown as AAA.

as seen in the Texano match

Microman & Gallito keep winning, LU #100

photo by CMLL

CMLL (TUE) 09/12/2017 Arena México [CMLL]
1) Templario & Yago b Retro & Sangre Imperial LUCHA LIBRE MARTES DE NUEVOS VALORES EN LA ARENA MEXICO 12 DE SEPTIEMBRE DEL 2017 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
2) La Vaquerita, Marcela, Sanely b La Comandante, La Seductora, Metálica LUCHA LIBRE MARTES DE NUEVOS VALORES EN LA ARENA MEXICO 12 DE SEPTIEMBRE DEL 2017 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
Marcela replaced Skadi (injury). Tecnicas took 2/3.
3) El Gallito & Microman b Chamuel & Mije LUCHA LIBRE MARTES DE NUEVOS VALORES EN LA ARENA MEXICO 12 DE SEPTIEMBRE DEL 2017 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
Chamuel’s Arena Mexico win. Microman & Gallito have not been beaten in Arena Mexico.
4) Luciferno, Tiger, Virus b Esfinge, Fuego, Pegasso LUCHA LIBRE MARTES DE NUEVOS VALORES EN LA ARENA MEXICO 12 DE SEPTIEMBRE DEL 2017 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
Pegasso replaced Drone (moved up) on Saturday. Rudos took 1/3.
5) Rey Bucanero, Terrible, Vangellys b Drone, Johnny Idol, Titán LUCHA LIBRE MARTES DE NUEVOS VALORES EN LA ARENA MEXICO 12 DE SEPTIEMBRE DEL 2017 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
Drone replaced Dragon Lee (moved up) on Saturday. Rudos took 2/3.
6) Dragón Lee, Stuka Jr., Valiente DQ Cavernario, Negro Casas, Shocker LUCHA LIBRE MARTES DE NUEVOS VALORES EN LA ARENA MEXICO 12 DE SEPTIEMBRE DEL 2017 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
Diamante Azul removed from the lineup on 09/07. Dragon Lee announced as his replacement on 09/09. Shocker fouled Negro Casas.

Flip Gordon says it’s an honor to debut in Arena Mexico. CMLL worries Gran Guerrero’s team losing on Monday to Octagon is a bad omen for him in the mask match.

Today’s Lucha Underground episode is their 100th one, named “Cien”. Matches on the show:

  • Matanza vs Rey Mysterio – video clip
  • Pentagon Dark vs Dragon Azteca Jr. for the final Aztec Medallion
  • Johnny Mundo, Taya, PJ Black and Ricky Mandel vs Prince Puma and three partners.

There will be stuff to talk about after this show. There should be some matches set for Ultima Lucha 3. There’s only one episode between this and those special shows, though they might be more focused on the episode number this week.

It’s the smallest of spoilers, but Sexy Star is obviously one of Prince Puma’s partners. You’ve got to get thru this match, and a UL match with Taya and that’s it for this season.

CultIcon previews this show.

The Crash is in San Luis Potosi today.

Remember those FULL shows with Alberto, Jack Swagger, the UK Hooligans, Latin Lover and others back in May? Alberto says it was a group called XL actually responsible for promoting them (though it was presented as FULL to the public), and all the Mexican stars didn’t get paid. He’s threatening a lawsuit. Those shows seemed like they did terribly, whihc might be why theyre was no money to pay the wrestlers.

Martinez Entertainment says they have a DVD to sell. They don’t mention which show it is (looks like this one), how much it costs, or how to actually purchase it. There’s no more details on Facebook.

10/21 Lucha Libre y Pasion in Arena San Juan

That match should be good, but would be better if Flamita & Pain were on opposite teams.

AAA held a press conference for Heroes Inmortales. This lineup didn’t change again (yet).

Luchadors in Tabasco say wrestling is struggling there because the main arena costs too much, the national stars cost too much, and they barely get paid if they get paid at all.

+LuchaTV talks to Octagon.

Dr. Wagner was on this week’s Zona Ruda.

SuperLuchas looks back at La Fiera, seven years after his death.

A new episode of LuchaTalk is up.

CultIcon continues his look back at the history of CMLL.

Lineups

CMLL (TUE) 09/19/2017 Arena México
1) Acero & Aéreo vs Pequeño Universo 2000 & Pequeño Violencia
2) Fiero, Metatrón, Oro Jr. vs Metálico, Nitro, Raziel
3) Blue Panther Jr., The Panther, Titán vs Dragón Rojo Jr., Hechicero, Pólvora
4) Blue Panther vs Virus [lightning]
5) Diamante Azul, Stuka Jr., Valiente vs Negro Casas, Shocker, Vangellys
6) Carístico, Mistico, Volador Jr. vs Mr. Niebla, Rey Bucanero, Terrible

This is the second Panther/Virus lightning match. They had one back in 2013 (Terra version, 52MX version) which went to a time limit draw. We all wanted to see it again and longer, and they’re getting to one of those four years later.

All start tecnico team versus maybe not the greatest rudo team to face them. The maybe Shocker/Casas vs Azul/Stuka thing goes on in the semimain, though they’ve still not gotten all the people in the same place at the same time. Third match could be good. Fiero gets a bump up into the second match, which will actually make things much worse for him.

CMLL (TUE) 09/19/2017 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Omar Brunetti & Vaquero Jr. vs Exterminador & Joker
2) Magia Blanca, Príncipe Diamante, Starman vs Arkángel de la Muerte, Espanto Jr., Hijo del Signo
3) Esfinge, Guerrero Maya Jr., Rey Cometa vs Puma, Sagrado, Tiger
4) Ángel de Oro, Flip Gordon, Niebla Roja vs Gran Guerrero, Kojima, Último Guerrero
5) Marco Corleone © vs Euforia [CMLL HEAVY]
4th defense

The title match was set up the last few weeks. CMLL goes in waves of focusing on one belt or another, and they’re really doing a lot with the heavyweight title right now. Kojima is surprisingly still around after the Anniversary show.

(You haven’t missed a lineup for Puebla; CMLL hasn’t put one up yet.)

LLB (SAT) 10/07/2017 Arena Lopez Mateos
1) Aguilita Solitaria, Dragón Solar, Pinochito vs Bracito De Plata, La Parkita, Pentagoncito
2) Ram El Carnero & Shadow vs Atomic Star & Dragón Bane
3) Suicida vs Cerebro NegroFreelanceBelialEternoCarta Brava Jr. (IWL)ImpulsoLow RiderSádicoPanteraFandango [TLC]
4) Cíclope & Miedo Extremo vs Ángel o Demonio & Ovett and Azteca Warrior & Rico Rodríguez and Demente Extreme & La Sádica and ? & X-Fly
5) Fantasma de la Ópera vs Fresero Jr. [hair]
6) Carístico, Fuerza Guerrera, Volador Jr. vs Mistico II, Negro Casas, Octagón [Relevos Increíbles]

3rd Anniversary show for Lucha Libre Boom, though this general thing has been going on since the IWL days. Fantasma de la Opera is the guy running this, and he’s in a hair match with Fresero.