The CMLL Anniversary show, which seems ages ago now, was a Saturday show so it’s part of next week’s group of matches. This AAA TV week was the first of two on TripleMania and I’ve already done those (and haven’t added them to TV chart yet.)
As I’m writing this, 1AM on Monday, I’ve caught up with all the TV, just short one more indie catch up post. It’s not a lot to catch up with, given how many shows were not around, or had recaps I’ve already posted. It goes roundup->recap->roundup->recap->roundup this week, if I can bother to finish things off.
This will start airing two weekends from now. The paper had the building as 75% full, which is where I’m guessing the number. It looks about right from the photos.
It sounded like the cruiserweight match was good, but no sense on much else. Aerostar really needs to stop doing those falls. The idea of the main event was 100% to make up for the TripleMania match being lackluster, but there’s nothing besides the blood to show what they did. AAA had said prior to TripleMania that HOF inductions would be happening at this show. AAA says lots of things.
Do you remember how the Best of Five series started? Poder del Norte beat Raptor, Drago and Aerostar via foul, and Vampiro declared there would be seriousness in title match going forward and so they’d have a serious best of five. The serious best of five ended with Poder del Norte winning because someone else cheated for them. Vampiro came out, did nothing. Vampiro – the on screen character of Vampiro – comes out of this looking really dumb and ineffectual. He should have a talk with whoever’s writing his bits.
Poder del Norte won match 4 with foul too, which didn’t seem to be a problem. And the heavyweight championship changed hands on a bad referee call. If you’re looking for logic or any consistency with storytelling, AAA’s definitely not the right place for you.
If you are looking for Johnny Mundo to make guest appearances every few months, AAA is right for you. Mundo’s not in Metepec, and not on the Xalapa poster right now. Unless he shows up in Ciudad Juarez, he’s probably not going to be part of this cycle of TV either but will remain champ until then. It’s hard to figure who’s going to beat him. They dropped the Kross turn cold. Psycho seems paired off with Rey Escorpion away from this. If Wagner was going to win, he probably should’ve won here (but that doesn’t mean he won’t.) Pagano? I would hope they wouldn’t book Vampiro to win the heavyweight champion but I can hear you saying they would.
The dome cage finish is a terrible bait and switch, the worst of AAA booking. The original two teams, plus La Parka, had been feuding all summer, they did a very bloody angle on TV last week, and the payoff was – nothing at all? believe us them when they promise to really do it next time? part of a long term issue with trusting this promotion that led to Wagner/Psycho not doing as well as they hoped? the norm? Probably just the norm. AAA is obviously trying to borrow a lot from Lucha Underground, but I don’t remember many LU feuds ending with one team winning the big match and then losing to the same team an hour later. It works so much better when someone really wins and someone really loses, not when all the wins are split so no one’s better than anyone else.
EC3 and Eddie Edwards not being there probably meant little to the fans, given how little AAA’s tried to explain who these people are, but was also AAA advertising people they had known or decided wouldn’t be there. Edwards was long ago announced as being in NOAH at a date that would make appearing here impossible, and Vamp gave the impression he didn’t EC3 want back on the Ring and RockstAAArs show. AAA knew this ahead of time well enough not to mention either of them in their preview of the Copa Antonio Pena, so I don’t think this necessarily says anything about their relationship with Impact. It’s probably more a statement about AAA’s perennial disorganization, which led them to teasing a Twitch stream they weren’t going to do. No one’s less concerned with living up to their words than AAA.
Lucha Memes (SUN) 10/01/2017Coliseo Coacalco, Coacalco, Estado de México [+LuchaTV, Black Terry Jr., R de Rudo]
1) Notoryus Fly & Psycho Kid b Ciclón Infernal & Súper Dragons
2) Aramis b Sansón Aramis asked for a (trios?) title shot.
3) Titán (CMLL) b Imposible a rainstorm hit the show during this match
4) Tiger b Impulso [falls count anywhere] Tiger submitted Impulso on the outside (the first fall attempted anywhere beyond the ring) for the win.
5) El Bandido DCOR Soberano Jr. Not the title match had been advertised – Soberano didn’t bring his title, claimed he’d come back to defend it some other time – and both men battled outside for the non-finish. Soberano cut up a hand during the match and needed it patched up during (and after) the match.
6) Caifan b 19 Y 1/2, Gato De Ecatepec, Fresero Jr., Garrobo Punk, Homriga Atomic, Tortuguillo Ninja, Súper Panda, Skarlet, Golden and 10 other people [Memes Rumble] Caifan returned to win.
This show got savaged by rain that hit during the Titan/Imposible match and turned the ringside area into a mudpit. Everyone likes Coacalo but I think a 300~ seat indoor arena in the Mexico City area that anyone could use would be of great use. Also would be great use would be the CMLL talent being more interested in working these matches; the effort level was said not to be great this time around, and the attempts at trying to mix things up with different stipulations seems to be mostly ignored by the luchadors.
I’m not there, and I can’t watch these shows because they’ve decided to make them not available, but there’s an unmissable lesser amount of enthusiasm around these shows compared to a year ago, both from the wrestlers and the fans. I totally goofed by forgetting to list this show among the weekend shows, it definitely belongs there as much as the other indies shows, but no one else noticed and brought it up to me. That probably says more about the number of people are actually reading this site and how closely they pay attention to any of it, but last year I would’ve gotten questions about when it was happening, the chances of it turning on YouTube, and so on. I’m not getting those this year. You can make money without having buzz, but the buzz – at least on this side of the border – has escaped Lucha Memes’ reach at the moment.
I wrote trios for Aramis’ title shot, but I guess it could be the Coliseo Tag Titles too.
Lucha Memes announced matches for 10/22 in Puebla’s Arena La Loma
IWRG’s Castle of Terror, a cage match of masked wrestlers where one will be back, is coming up at the end of the month. That makes it a little interesting the masked Comando Elite have shown up here. I am not interested in Mascara’s storyline.
Long time Monterrey wrestler Karonte (no relation to the Caristico family) lost his mask in a three way to Difunto I in a three way match Diluvio Negro. His name is Isidro Marquez Estrada. They ran this as opposition to the Santo show, and didn’t draw well
CMLL starts to return to normal tonight in Arena Puebla. All the shows are back to the days and places you expect them starting tonight, and the Monday, Tuesday and Friday streams are back as usual.
Tonight starts off in Puebla, the usual 9pm CT show on YouTube. The big match is scheduled to be Cavernario challenging Soberano for the Mexican Welterweight Championship. Caverarnio lost this title to Rey Cometa in March, CMLL never booked a rematch while Cometa was champ, but Cavernario will get a rematch against the new champ. Last week’s canceled show would’ve had Cavernaio & Soberano facing off in trios, so they’re running this match even though they didn’t run the angle to build it up. Or at least the plan is to run this match; the hand injury Soberano picked up last night has a chance of changing those plans.
The main event is Euforia, Marco Corleone, Ultimo Guerrero versus Flip Gordon, Pierroth and Rush in an incredible partners match. This will be Flip’s last streaming appearance, as he’s back in Guadalajara for his final day tomorrow. Cuatrero, Sanson and Virus face Angel de Oro, Esfinge and Stigma, which would be the third straight week Esfinge & Stigma would’ve faced the Arena Coliseo Tag Team Champions if not for the cancellation. Likewise, Sugehit & Sanely face Dalys & Zeuxis for what would be the third straight show if last week’s show happened. It’s easy to come up with title matches out of all three of those setups, but it’s no more than one is likely to happen.
Local vampire Lestat teams with Principe Diamante & Star Jr. against Hijo del Signo, King Jaguar and El Malayo, while Arkalis, Black Tiger and the returning Flyer (last stream July 18th) take on Fuerza Chicago, Guerrero Espacial and the returning Policeman (last stream June 19th) in the opener.
Lineups
CMLL (SAT) 10/07/2017Arena Coliseo
1) Bengala & Sensei vs Camorra & Espíritu Negro
2) Fiero, Magia Blanca, Retro vs Artillero, Espanto Jr., Inquisidor
3) El Gallito, El Guapito, Microman vs Chamuel, Mije, Perico Zakarías
4) Lady Maravilla, Marcela, Sanely vs Amapola, Dalys, Reyna Isis
5) Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Soberano Jr. vs Rey Bucanero, Sam Adonis, Shocker
6) Dragón Lee, Valiente, Volador Jr. vs Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero
Back to Arena Coliseo. Guapito makes his wrestling debut, which makes me question his impartiality.
CMLL (SUN) 10/08/2017Arena México
1) Bengala & Magnus vs Apocalipsis & Cholo
2) Pegasso, Robin, Stigma vs Cancerbero, Raziel, Sangre Azteca
3) Drone, Guerrero Maya Jr., Rey Cometa vs Disturbio, Puma, Tiger
4) Marco Corleone, Stuka Jr., Valiente vs Kráneo, Olímpico, Pólvora
5) Ángel de Oro, Mistico, Niebla Roja vs Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero
Niebla Roja & Gran Guerrero meet here. These are pretty much normal cards.
All matches took place at Auditorio de Tijuana, Tijuana, Baja California on June 23rd.
Long review short: had this aired on TV (or iPPV or whatever), this would been seen as one of the better lucha shows of the year. It’s missing the one breakout match, but the semimain isn’t far off. Everything but the cage match is good, and the cage match at least has big spots.
Matches:
Oráculo beat Black Danger (6:58, Canadian Destroyer, good, via MegaKakashi619)
Lots of action match. This match is a brawl on the opposite side of the side of the ring from MegaKakashi, so his handheld isn’t really useful for the first half of the match. The best option is 126f’s edited video, but of course it’s edited video.
Oraculo tries a lot of spectacular stuff but it doesn’t come off clean. His opening tope con giro is short, there’s a high knee later where the clapping motion he does to create sound is more obvious than the impact of the knee. The moonsault he does later looks good. Oraculo is much more the moves guy of the two. Black Danger is fine at setting him up and tossing Oraculo around, but doesn’t show a lot of emotional or come across as a personality at all. The most you get out of him is holding his head after a near fall.
A really great all action match, with the three outsiders (including the one heading to WWE not long after this), all giving full effort for a spot fest. Horuz is obviously going to win from the start as the only regular here, but a common thread of Crash shows is how hard the outsiders generally work on these shows. That’s not the norm for foreigners visiting Mexico, but Rush, Sydal and Callihan are going full speed the whole way. Lio Rush sticks out the most, with the big frogsplash at the end super impressive, but the others aren’t far behind. This would be an easier recommendation with a professional camera version available, since a lot of action isn’t really watchable thru the only full version available. It’s also a match that people who follow the US indies may see as covering familiar ground and less interesting as a result.
I had this noted as “Sami clothesline” but it’s really Sydal being a nutcasepizza DDT
Douglas James, Jack Evans, Joey Ryanbeat Bestia 666, Hijo de Pirata Morgan, Mr. 450 (18:24, Evans bridging backslide Bestia 666, good, via MegaKakashi619)
Fine enough trios match that seemed to go on for a long time, longer than it needed to be. Action was generally strong, and it’s one of those matches where enough was done that I left obligated to call it good even though nothing about it strongly appealed to me personally. Joey Ryan doesn’t fit in the match much, especially on what turns out to be the técnico side, but this is also a crowd that wants to see famous pots and he’s definitely got one of those. Mr 450 nearly pulled a Rey Escorpión, almost throwing Jack to the floor on a corner powerbomb.
always stay aleart in the front rowJack gets a better hold of the ropes than Dorada did
Jeff Cobb & Keith Leebeat Brian Cage & Willie Mack (15:48, Cobb German suplex Brian Cage, good, via MegaKakashi619)
The all heavyweight spectacular didn’t seem to be getting over to the crowd early on (and maybe not as much as hoped by the end.) They were doing impressive stuff, but the crowd just seemed to see it as stuff, and no really defined rudo/tecnico sides made it a tougher sell. The dive sequence, or really Keith Lee waiting to let people think about the dive he was about to do, seemed to pick up things and the fans got into it for the next few minutes. Still, this seemed like something that would’ve gotten over better elsewhere. Props to the teams for color coordinating.
Lee does itsomehow even the GIF has an edit
Penta Zero M & The Kingbeat La Máscara & M-ximo (13:00, Fenix top rope double stomp/Penta package piledriver on La Mascara, great, via MegaKakashi619)
Notes: Rey Escorpion debuts, running into help Maximo & La Mascara. It doesn’t work, but they beat up Penta & Fenix after the match.
Review: La Mascara & Máximo worked so hard in their first match here outside of CMLL, harder than either man worked in Arena Mexico outside of the biggest matches, and they’re still completely outclassed by Fenix & Penta in this match. Those guys own freelance journies have made them as sharp as a blade’s edge, with Fenix especially having the confidence to try big moves I’m not sure he would’ve done before. This is still a workable matchup and a very watchable match, and Mascara & Máximo are over enough that it doesn’t matter if they’re not on the other guys levels. This is a hot start to this feud, enough here to make people want to see more. I’m not a fan of the “one team wins, other team beats them up anyway after” 50/50 finish normally, but I did really like Fenix kicking out after Rey Escorpión had helped Máximo & La Mascara get the edge. That kind of survival and the win that follows is something that top guys should get, and those two are clearly the top guys. There’s no real choice but to have the Ingober-indys attack them after to avoid killing off the feud after one night, and I’ll deal with the 50/50 in exchange for that kickout.
two for oneMaximo tried to meet them halfwaybad place to be
Nicho el Millionario lost to Daga, Garza Jr., Damián 666in a cage match, losing his hair (24:42, ok, via MegaKakashi619)
Damian escapes (9:01)
Garza escapes (11:38)
Daga escapes (24:42)
Notes: Garza and Daga repeatedly have problems in the cage match. Garza cowardly hides on the apron and refuses to help while Nicho & Damian beat up Daga. Later, Daga accidentally this Garza with a chair. Daga regrets that and tries to encourage a disoriented Garza to climb out with him and leave Nicho behind. Garza insists on staying, then fouls Daga and betrays him while still being out of it. Garza fulls Nicho too, and takes out the ref for no reason reason before escaping. Nicho can barely move on one leg but Daga tries to give the win to him, but Nicho won’t accept it. They battle it out until Nicho falls into one weapon pit too much and Daga escapes.
Garza attacks Daga afterwards, which is the setup to the Rebellion being split into Red (tecnico) and Yellow (rudo) factions. Escorpion, Maximo and Mascara also join in, with Penta & Fenix eventually running them off.
Review: This is a lucha cage match. It’s not especially interesting. This one is really slow at times, especially when Nicho decides to spend a few minutes building contraptions instead of trying to win. It’s really more a long angle to set up the Rebellion turn that also happens to give Nicho a payoff. The bit of Garza betraying Daga gives this a story these matches don’t normally have, but the massive amounts of dead time for setting things up makes this a chore at times. This is available in 42 minute and 12 minute versions, and that’s a good impression of how much you can miss.
not Daga’s best planprobably also not Daga’s best plan but at least it worked
