Volador & Cairstico meet tonight for the Leyenda de Plata. It was surprising to me to realize Volador leads their series 7-4 all time. If it’s just cut down to Arena Mexico matches:
2010-02-05: Volador Jr. b Mistico
2010-02-12: Volador Jr. b Mistico for the Mexican Light Heavyweight Championship
2010-05-02: Volador Jr. b Mistico
2010-09-17: Volador Jr. b Mistico for the Copa Bicentenario
2016-04-06: Caristico b Volador Jr. in a Liga Elite Match
That last match was a ELITE match obviously, so Caristico has never actually beaten Volador Jr. in a CMLL match in Arena Mexico. (He has won in Puebla & GDL.) 2010 was a strange CMLL year in the moment and remains a pretty pivotal one. Volador Jr. beating Mistico those two straight weeks was part of Mistico’s rudo run. CMLL got cold feet on that one in record time, but Volador still beat him against as a tecnico and again after Volador himself turned rudo. Caristico’s never said it, but it seems likely those booking decisions played a role in Mistico deciding he ought to leave and go to WWE – something Volador has been trashing Caristico about this week, saying he betrayed CMLL. Volador’s said the Mexican people are forgiving, but he’s not. In reality, Volador might want to be a little forgiving. Volador’s wins over Mistico were the final piece of elevating Volador into a top star, Volador being forced to turn rudo led to his best character work, and Mistico leaving opened up even more space for Volador. These two guys are going to be linked forever in the history of CMLL regardless of what happens tonight.
What happens tonight is a big question mark. If someone looks at that list up there it sure seems like it’s time for Caristico to actually win one of these. CMLL could argue Volador’s already got his big win for the year with the Universal championship and give this one to someone else. Or, CMLL could still be reluctant to go all the way with Caristico and have Volador win anyway. The best thing CMLL could do is run some big angle out of this, follow up on the idea of Mistico siding with Volador, maybe put people on Caristico’s side and start running a longer feud, but CMLL has a disappointing history of teasing big ideas and then going nowhere with them. A handshake is as likely as a foul. The one thing to be sure about is the match quality. Their ELITE match was really fun, and this should be no different. It’ll be very much in the usual Volador style, which hasn’t been for everyone, but it’ll have plenty of big moves.
The only other big matches on the show is the fourth match. Pierroth, Rush and Sam Adonis versus Negro Casas, Rey Bucanero and Terrible doesn’t seem like a big match, but it’s probably time to set a date for the Adonis/Casas match. They should be doing in ring promos by this point and maybe we’ll find out if it’s happening for the Dia de Muertos show.
The semimain has the other Sky Team members, Mistico & Valiente, teaming with Diamante Azul against Ultimo Guerrero, Gran Guerrero and Mephisto. NGD take on Angel de Oro, Niebla Roja and Soberano Jr. The second match is Maya, Pegasso and Cometa vs Misterioso, Polvora and Sagrado, and the show opens with Oro and soon-to-NJPW Star taking on Sangre Azteca and soon-to-NJPW Disturbio.
The show airs on Claro at 8:30pm, and will be up on YouTube later. Later is probably how I’m going to watch it tonight.
On Informa, JCR said there would be another Best of 2017 show at some point. That’s a sequel to the shows they ran on 01/06, with rematches of some of the best matches of the previous year.
AAA tonight has a taping in Metepec, the first taping in Mexico in about three weeks. AAA is advertising Dr. Wagner & Psycho Clown versus Kevin Kross & Rey Escorpion. Many a 2017 AAA main event has changed, and this one is joining the list. The WON mentioned Kevin Kross had quit AAA, and Kevin Kross himself said he did so on Konnan’s Keepin it 100 podcast. (It’s about 45 minutes in.) Kross has nothing bad to say about AAA, like the wrestlers and the fans, but they kept cutting back his bookings and it sounds like he just wanted the freedom to work some place which would book him more regularly.
“I was confirmed for dates, and dates kept falling thru…how do you have a job if you don’t have a job?”
Kross says he would’ve been willing to go to Mexico for an extended period of time, and AAA told him they’d have a discussion about it, but they just never did. Kross also says he was told he’d be on the AAA Japan shows. Kross also noted there wasn’t a strong direction for him, and then there was no direction at all. AAA was very obviously building to some bit where Kross would turn on Mundo and replace him as champion, or a swerve of that going into something else, but it instead got dropped cold. It doesn’t seem like Kross has any better idea of what happened than we do. Konnan teases the possibility of Kross working The Crash. (Garza teased a big/tall new Yellow Rebellion member on +Lucha’s podcast, and Kross would fit the bill.) Kross says he’s got big things coming up between now and January. Kross is believed to be under Lucha Underground contract, but I don’t know for sure.
most important thing: I want all the time AAA spent on that briefcase back. ALL OF IT.
It’s AAA, so we never really know what the card will be. The semimain of the show has the trio of Texano, Pagano and Hijo del Fantasma teaming up against a mystery team, which might be the set up for something taped for Impact. Impact seems to have a plan (or at least knows plans what footage they need and can’t go with it out), so that match is likely to occur. The unnamed Aerostar, Ratpor and Drago team are scheduled to take on OGT. The tag title feud is back, as is the Llaves de la Gloria guys. And the opener is supposed to be Big Mami & Nino Hamburguesa, the current mixed tag team champions even though I totally forgot about that until I was writing this sentence, taking on Australian Suicide & La Hiedra. The show is scheduled to start at 9pm local, so figure on results on AAA’s social media around 9:40.
Chris DeJoseph talked about the Lucha Underground finale on the Midweek War show. He confirmed Dario was calling his father at the end of the episode; the caption that said “Puma” was a mistake. Puma jumped out in another way. DeJoseph says he’s got more in mind for the Prince Puma story. Puma leaving his mask behind seemed like a setup for someone else picking it up and maybe that’s direction. The hosts asked about what would become of Sexy Star, and DeJoseph said the people who decide who works and doesn’t work on the show are pay grades above him, but they try to finish every story they start and they’d find some way to resolve the spider bit whatever happens. They ask DeJoseph a couple times about people he might be interested in using in the future. He talked about US guys, and mentioned there’s veterans as well as young guy in Mexico he really likes: he’s high on Averno and Rey Escorpion. There’s much more LU talk in the podcast and it’s worth your time (and it’d be nice if both the WON and the people who copy from the WON mentioned the podcast this came from when this turns up there next Wednesday.)
Vampiro whined on Facebook. Don’t do that. It was a bad look.
Lucha Memes has a press conference in Puebla to hype their show in Sunday. +Lucha posted a lot of promos: Rey Apocalipsis, Arkalis, Multifacetico, Corsario Negro Jr. & Drako, Siki Osama Jr., Rey Samuray & King Rocker, Guerrero Maya, Sexy Alexander, Centella de Oro and Virus.
Bernado Guzman is critical of the Mexico City lucha commission for taking four years to bring back the heavyweight title. Fantasma and the commission have been very hands off with all the titles (no one’s asking Octagon to defend the middleweight one, or finding out where the cruiserweight one is.) It makes me think this is a CMLL driven decision, with Fantasma shrugging his shoulders and going along with it like he does with every (just as) wacky thing that happens at TripleMania. That might mean CMLL just created a new physical belt instead of getting the one from the Garza family.
A year ago, a group calling itself Lucha Ilimitado ran a debut show in Seattle, bringing in familiar lucha names and familiar indie names. Jeff Hardy versus Rey Mysterio was the main event, but the expensive looking show seemed to draw poorly and they’ve never turned up again. Lucha Ilimitado said they were taping the show for TV, but that also seemed unlikely to go anywhere. Today, the first episode of a Lucha Ilimitado show popped up on YouTube, with the Fenix vs Jeff Cobb vs Sonjay Dutt vs Jonathan Gresham match from that show. They’re a real lucha promotion: the matches are just up on YouTube with not a lot of promotion.
Speaking of random lucha libre matches on YouTube: Laredo Kid vs Ricochet from Denver.
CultIcon and TKD write about the final S3 Lucha Underground episode.
Lucha Sorpresa has picks for recent great matches. More recommendations are good.
Segunda Caida watches Guerrero Negro Jr. vs Chavo Lomeli of all the things. The world luchador in that En Busca de un Idolo was actually Super Halcon. In the class awards, Guerrero Negro turned out to be the most likely to get shot.
Wrestling Omakse has a really good discussion with JR Goldberg about the WON lucha libre HOF candidates.
Hoy Los Angeles has an interview with El Matematico.
Psycho Clown, Ricochet, Matt Sydal and Brian Cage are working in Peru on 11/12.
Sam Adonis and Mistico are announced for a show in Florida on 11/26. Adonis had been hinted about a lucha show in Florida coming up.
Hijo del Santo talks about getting licensed to wrestle.