Esfinge & Triton advance in Arena Coliseo tournament, AAA in Apizaco, Elite to return next week? with Cage??

CMLL (SAT) 02/24/2018 Arena Coliseo [CMLL]
1) Cholo & Grako b Bengala & Sangre Imperial
Rudos took 1/3.
2) La Vaquerita, Princesa Sugehit, Sanely b La Seductora, Metálica, Tiffany
Sanely replaced Kayo Kobayashi. tencicos took 1/3.
3) Audaz, Pegasso, Puma, Tiger b Akuma, Cancerbero, Esfinge, Fuego, Magia Blanca, Nitro, Oro Jr., Raziel, Sangre Azteca, Star Jr., Templario, Tritón [Arena Coliseo TAG, battle royal]
4) Cancerbero & Raziel b Magia Blanca & Oro Jr. [Arena Coliseo TAG, 8f]
5) Esfinge & Tritón b Nitro & Sangre Azteca [Arena Coliseo TAG, 8f]
6) Fuego & Star Jr. b Akuma & Templario [Arena Coliseo TAG, 8f]
7) Puma & Tiger b Audaz & Pegasso [Arena Coliseo TAG, 8f]
8) Esfinge & Tritón b Cancerbero & Raziel [Arena Coliseo TAG, quarterfinal]
9) Puma & Tiger b Fuego & Star Jr. [Arena Coliseo TAG, quarterfinal]
10) Esfinge & Tritón b Puma & Tiger [Arena Coliseo TAG, semifinal]
11) Euforia, Kráneo, Shocker b Ángel de Oro, Diamante Azul, Rush
Euforia snuck in a foul on Rush, setting up a singles match.

Triton & Esfinge celebrated with the money thrown in. CMLL announced next week’s eight teams will be Flyer & The Panther, Stigma & Astral, Magnus & Sensei, Principe Diamante & Robin, Virus & Disturbio, Misterioso & Sagrado, Hijo del Signo & Metalico and Arkángel & Espanto. It’s got to be a rudo team, so Misterioso & Sagrado are the obvious favorites with Virus & Disturbio as the dark horse choices. Even if they wanted to go with the tecnico surprise, these are strong batches of tecnico teams.

Tiger & Puma not winning here is vastly disappointing. It’s hard to find a path for them to go anywhere in CMLL right now.

CMLL (SUN) 02/25/2018 Arena México
1) Camorra & Yago b Príncipe Diamante & Retro
rudos took 2/3.
2) Mercurio, Pequeño Olímpico, Pierrothito b Angelito, Shockercito, Stukita
Shockercito replaced Ultimo Dragon on Tuesday. Rudos took 1/3.
3) Blue Panther, Fuego, Rey Cometa b Disturbio, Misterioso Jr., Universo 2000 Jr.
Disturbio & Universo 2000 Jr. replaced Puma & Tiger. Tecnicos took 1/3.
4) Ángel de Oro, Mistico, Niebla Roja b Ephesto, Luciferno, Mephisto
Tecnicos took falls 2/3, though Mistico was hurt in the third.
5) Cavernario, Pierroth, Último Guerrero DQ Atlantis, Diamante Azul, Dragón Lee
Pierroth replaced Gran Guerrero on Tuesday. Cavernario fouled Dragon Lee, then hair versus mask challenges followed.

That’s a bit escalation of challenges for two people who aren’t feuding. Probably more likely a singles match – but maybe they won’t even be back next week because ELITE will be in this spot anyway. Keep reading.

CMLL announced they’ll be running Homenaje a Dos Leyendas shows in the provincial arenas this year. Arena Puebla will get a big show on 03/19 where El Egipcio will be honored, while Guadalajara will have a similar show on 03/27 where Cien Caras will be honored. Cien Caras in Guadalajara should do a really good crowd. Caras was honored on the main H2L show in 2014. Egipcio has not been. He started his career in Puebla.

PWR ended up running Titan vs Dragon Lee as a singles match. It was great, definitely worth watching.

Miguel Reducino announced on Facebook that he’s left CMLL. He worked in the press department, was part of CMLL Informa for a time, and did announcing occasionally, including being the Spanish language announcer for the last three FantasticaMania shows. Reducino posted a long farewell statement, complimentary to ownership, the wrestlers, and those working the less high profile jobs around the company, but critical of unnamed people who abuse their power or are threatened by new ideas.

AAA TV (SUN) 02/25/2018 Plaza de Toros Rodolfo Rodriguez el Pana, Apizaco, Tlaxcala [AAA, thecubsfan]
1) Dinastía, Pimpinela Escarlata, Venum b Chicano, Mamba, Villano III Jr. [Rey de Reyes, qualifying]  (posted by Lucha Libre AAA (Twitch))
8:55, Pimpi kiss cradle on Chicano. Mamba left the match with an injury, returned post match to stop the rudos from attacking Pimpi and form an alliance with her long time rival.
2) Ángel Mortal Jr. & Máscara de Bronce b Raptor & Tiger Boy [Rey de Reyes, qualifying]  (posted by Lucha Libre AAA (Twitch))
4:53, maybe cut short after Tiger Boy suffered an injury on a dive. Mascara de Bronce pinned Raptor with a 450 after a brief 2 on 1. A rainstorm started affecting the show from here the rest of the night.
3) Dave The Clown & La Parka b Monsther Clown & Murder Clown [Rey de Reyes, qualifying]  (posted by Lucha Libre AAA (Twitch))
13:20, Parka bodyslammed Monster. Dave & Parka worked together fine, won, and then Dave attacked Parka. Cuervo & Scoria made the save.
4) Angelikal & Bengala b Histeria & Psicosis [Rey de Reyes, qualifying]  (posted by Lucha Libre AAA (Twitch))
11:21, Bengala headscissors on Psicosis. Hijo del Tirantes refused to count three for the tecnicos until he finally did. Texano give Bengala a piledriver after the match.
5) Dark Cuervo, Dark Scoria, Hijo Del Vikingo b Averno, Chessman, Súper Fly [Rey de Reyes, qualifying]  (posted by Lucha Libre AAA (Twitch))
9:15. The Traidor Clowns attacked Cuervo & Scoria, only for La Parka to clear out all the rudos and set up Averno for a Hijo del Vikingo reverse 450 splash.
6) La Máscara, Máximo, Psycho Clown b Hernandez, Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr., Rey Escorpión  (posted by Lucha Libre AAA (Twitch))
20:47. Dr. Wagner (with the debuting Samaono) made the save for the tecnicos in the main event after a ref bump, and the tecnicos pinned all the rudos.

If you missed this show, that’s OK. It was quick and not the worst way to spend two hours, but there’s no great reason to go back and watch the matches. I have no expectation that these Rey de Reyes qualifying matches will amount to much. AAA could easily skip airing this TV show and not lose anything beyond the new Mamba/Pimpi alliance.

This must’ve been a paid admission show, because there were plenty of seats on the floor left empty, while people were sitting in the half full main section or the upper covered section. Those upper people might have been the smartest of all to avoid the rain. These TV tapings are generally sold show to whoever’s promoting locally, so AAA isn’t directly hurt by the disappointing turnout. It’s still a second taping in a row which didn’t look good.

Tony Iron, Rayder Boy, Tyger Fly, Tyger Boy, Fantasmin, and Altis won a tryout, which is supposed to get them to on the Rey de Reyes Puebla card next Sunday. We’ll see what the deal is with these. That card should be out on soon.

The production team for the upcoming Ultima Caida TV show says the show will be released in September. Principal production is done, but there’s additional scenes to do and so they’re not yet sure the exact date or episode count, just that they think September is the right (patriotic) month for it.

I have stuff I’d like to write about Lucha Underground, but my clock is showing under ten minutes left until deadline and I’d rather the time to do it correct. The important bit for today is the Instagram story I was worried about on Saturday seems to be nothing to worry about. If you are worried about someone you’ve seen on a Lucha Underground taping result, maybe you should worry less as well: it looks like it’s a going to be a train station of a season, with a lot of people passing thru for a short period of time. Don’t get too hung up on people who showed up one night, because a lot of them are just going to be in for one night.

PleuSports on 03/11 in Arena Azteca Budokan has Diamante Azul vs Hechicero.

Chilanga Mask returns on 05/20 in Coliseo Coacalco

Octagon says he’s not dead. I had not heard of the rumor of Octagon being dead until Octagon announced he had not died. The denails got a lot more attention than the rumor.

MicroManFever translated +Lucha’s interview with Cibernetico.

LuchaWorld has the latest news update.

Pushing Upwards writes about the Club Apolo ruleta de la muerte from 02/18.

Lineups

CMLL ELITE (SUN) 03/04/2018 Arena México
1) Astral & Flyer vs Canibal & Saru
2) Magia Blanca & Magnus vs Metal & Mr. Leo
3) Gladiador Jr., Karonte Jr., Villano V Jr. vs Heddi Karaoui, Imposible, Templario
4) Puma & Tiger vs Trauma I & Trauma II
5) Diamante Azul & Hijo De Dos Caras vs Johnny Idol & Sam Adonis
6) Titán & Volador Jr. vs Dragón Lee & Golden Magic
7) Rush vs Cibernético vs Último Guerrero vs Brian Cage

This was printed in Box Y Lucha. That does mean the plan is for ELITE to return this week, but nothing’s official until it’s official.

Brian Cage was long ago supposed to be in ELITE, part of the Liga Elite tournament. He got redirected to another few months in AAA. I do not know how that’s going to work out this time.

The semimain will be something if we can see it. And I’m pretty sure Adonis & Idol are the good guys in the fifth match.

IWRG (SUN) 03/04/2018 Arena Naucalpan
1) Celestial Boy & Seiya vs Full Contact & Power Bull
2) Lilith Dark & Luna Mágica vs Cristal & Dulce Luna
3) Relámpago & Súper Brazo Jr. vs Demonio Infernal & Eterno
4) Rokambole Jr. & Villano V Jr. vs Black Warrior & Warrior Jr.
5) Ricky Marvin vs Dr. Cerebro
6) Capo Del Norte, Capo Del Sur, Máscara Año 2000 Jr. vs Liderk, Spartan, Spector [super libre]
7) Ovett, Trauma I, Trauma II vs Aramis, Hijo del Pantera, Internacional Pantera [seconds hair]
Referee Capu & Baby Richard’s hair on the line

Ricky Marvin post-AAA tour comes to IWRG. Fourth match might now be a title match.

Lucha Memes (SUN) 03/11/2018 Coliseo Coacalco, Coacalco, Estado de México
1) Máscara Aerea vs Alfa
2) Keyra vs Kaho Kobayashi
3) Fresero Jr. & Mr. Iguana vs Corsario Negro Jr. & Drako
4) Toxin vs Zumbi
5) Virus vs Arez
6) Ricky Marvin vs Kawato
7) Soberano Jr. vs Sky Man
8) Negro Casas vs Aramis

if you’ve missed a recent attempt to help the wrestling world (and/or be an idiot on Twitter), I asked Lucha Memes & +LuchaTV if there was any way this entire show, making it clear I was willing to pay for it. +LuchaTV isn’t reacting to me on Twitter nowadays. Lucha Memes said sure, something can be done. What ended up being done is Lucha Memes will release one match for free, as they do with most of these Coacalco shows, but it’ll be me who’s picking it.

I wasn’t really looking for responsibility. I also don’t want to complain about getting free things. I still want to see the entire card, still willing to pay. (I’ve come into some money lately!) I don’t like being in the middle of things. Please take my Twitter account away.

(I would rank the matches Casas/Aramis, Viruz/Arez, Marvin/Kawato, Soberano/SKy Man, Keyra/Kaho, tag match, Aerea/Alfa and Toxin/Zumbi as what I would want to see going in without knowing which guys are working double shots and might be taking it easy. I think I have to pick the Kawato match for the people.)

DTU GALA (FRI) 03/16/2018 Centro Cultural Olympis, Cuernavaca, Morelos
1) Mini Flash vs Ángel Negro (Veracruz)
2) Fly Danger vs AlfaBilly GamerDevitt Rodríguez
3) Pesadilla vs Máscara AereaAdrenalinaDraztick BoyTiburónCobre
4) Moria © vs Lokillo [DTU AI]
5) G-Raver & Jimmy Lloyd vs Cíclope & Miedo Extremo
6) Violento Jack vs Kenji FukimotoEric Ryan [deathmatch]
7) Crazy King © vs Halloween [DTU]

This part of a March run of shows with GCW wrestlers and FREEDOM’s Kenji Fukimoto. DTU usually saves the big matches for Hidalgo. That stop is getting the King of Freedom’s title matches, so Cuernavaca gets the two DTU title matches instead.

AAA on Twitch: 2018-02-25 

brillo tornillo de Angelikal

Recapped: 02/25/2018

All matches aired live from Plaza de Toros Rodolfo Rodriguez el Pana, Apizaco, Tlaxcala on Twitch. It’s available for Twitch subscribers. It will go up on YouTube, probably a month from now.

Matches:

Dinastía, Pimpinela Escarlata, Venum vs Chicano, Mamba, Villano III Jr. in a AAA’s Rey de Reyes qualifying match
(8:55, Pimpinela kiss cradle on Chicano, ok, via Lucha Libre AAA (Twitch) )

Ángel Mortal Jr. & Máscara de Bronce beat Raptor & Tiger Boy in a AAA’s Rey de Reyes qualifying match
(4:53, Mascara de Bronce 450 splash Raptor, ok, Lucha Libre AAA (Twitch))

Dave The Clown & La Parka beat Monsther Clown & Murder Clown in a AAA’s Rey de Reyes qualifying match
(13:20, Parka bodyslam Monster, below average, Lucha Libre AAA (Twitch))

Angelikal & Bengala beat Histeria & Psicosis in a AAA’s Rey de Reyes qualifying match
(11:21, Bengala top rope headscissors Psicosis, ok, via Lucha Libre AAA (Twitch) )

Dark Cuervo, Dark Scoria, Hijo Del Vikingo beat Averno, Chessman, Súper Fly in a AAA’s Rey de Reyes qualifying match
(9:15, Hijo del Vikingo reverse 450 splash, ok, Lucha Libre AAA (Twitch))

La Máscara, Máximo, Psycho Clown beat Hernandez, Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr., Rey Escorpión
(20:47, triple pin, OK, via Lucha Libre AAA (Twitch) )

What happened:

Hernandez didn’t take it easy on this powerbomb

It rained. It was dry for the opener, then rained heavily during portions of the next couple of matches. It rained on and off until the show ended. No one seemed to slip because of the rain, but it did seem as though wrestlers were taking it easy because of the rain.

Both of the main event and the semimain featured the same trope of a top técnico running in to make a surprise save with their music playing. Dr. Wagner made a surprise appearance to help out the Alvardos in the main event, with ex-Elite luchador Samoano with him for no obvious reason. Samoano is now wearing a mask. The Alvarados were confused by the help but Wagner ended up kissing Máximo. Escorpión suffered an elbow injury at some point during the match, and it was swelling up noticably.

La Parka was the técnico making the save in the semifinal. Cuervo & Scoria had first run into save La Parka from a three on one beatdown after the tercera, and the three Traidor Clowns tried for some revenge later on. Murder & Monster also signaled they’d like the tag title belts back. Parka cleared house on everyone, dropped Averno with a quebradora to set up Vikingo’s finish, and threw the referee back in to count the pin.

get the Dinasita GIFs while you can

Hijo del Tirantes refused to make the three count for Angelikal & Bengala until he just did for the finish. Psicosis wasn’t kicking out even after a long pause, so the idea is Tirantes had no choice. Texano made a surprise appearance to piledriver Bengala, who put on a stretcher. Argenis, also not on the show, ran Texano off for before he could do more. Argenis was moving a lot better than a couple weeks ago.

Tiger Boy suffered an injury on a bad dive in the second match.

Mamba had a worked injury spot in the opener, leaving the match down to 3v2. The técnicos won soon after. Chicano & Villano III Jr. attacked after the match. Mamba returned and surprisingly saved Pimpinela, forming an alliance with her long time rival.

By winning their matches, Cuervo, Scoria, Hijo Del Vikingo, Dinastía, Pimpinela Escarlata, Venum, Ángel Mortal Jr., Máscara de Bronce, Dave The Clown, La Parka, Angelikal, Bengala have qualified for Rey de Reyes. Though we’re not at all sure what that means.

Angel Mortal Jr. appears to be back to being Angel Mortal Jr. (and will apparently be so in Puebla), so likely it was just a one deal as Parka Negra.

Thoughts:

Wagner wanted no part of these kicks

AAA ran a lot of angles on this show, but nothing really that important. The matches didn’t look like they were going to be that great coming in, and the rain didn’t help any thing.

The main event was the standard AAA main event. The técnicos were over, but the match was a simple beatdown and comeback before the interference. La Mascara & Máximo got their big spots in for the crowd, Hijo de Wagner get to hang around with the main eventers to continue to convince people he is one, and everyone got out in one piece. It went longer than it needed to go and they really shouldn’t have pinned Hijo del Wagner here, but it didn’t feel like it mattered.

The semimain turned into a way to give La Parka revenge for a fight he already won, so that wasn’t optimum. OGT really took most of the match to set up for the técnico comeback, but that técnico lasted about a minute before the interference came in. AAA did try a lot to get Vikingo over, with the cool entrance, the big spots in the comeback, and the win, so that was good to see. The match itself is better in clips than in full.

The fourth match was a frustrating AAA match. The rudos weren’t good but also weren’t supposed to be good. The rudos were intended to get pinned a lot so Tirantes would get the choose not to count three a lot of times. That’s all the match was. Bengala & Angelikal were good on offense, but this is exactly the kind of AAA match I’m not interested in at all.

 

flying dino

The Clowns vs Dave/Parka match tried to adjust to the rain by not doing much, but they can’t even do that well. Their mat stuff early on wasn’t much good, Parka looked either more hurt or more clumsy than usual, but they worked hard on dives and big moves in the final part. They might as well have just ended early instead going for all those dives, but at least everyone made it thru in once piece. I’m tempted to give this OK just for the effort, but parts of it were really not good.

The second match was so brief that they’d really have to nail it to make an impact. There were sloppy parts even beyond the bad dive. Those guys got the start of the rain story, so I wouldn’t write them off based on this, but it also wasn’t a point in their favor. Angel Mortal looked the best of the bunch and Mascara de Bronce was all over the place.

The opener was the usual Pimpinela & Mamba match. The other people didn’t look great – Venum had a headscissors spot that didn’t look good – but it’s also tough for them to stand out in this match. That makes Mamba & Pimpinela being friends the best news possible, even with no idea where they’re going with this. Dinastia got in some in his return, but you wouldn’t have known what the big deal was if you’ve only seen this match.