The Lucha Underground episode preview says Marty will send a message for his “Ultima Lucha” opponent (Pentagon Dark.) Nothing that beyond the matches.
AAA’s Twitch show is Sunday. It’s 6 pm on the poster, so probably a 6:30 pm start. The card has a couple of interesting matches.
CMLL Azteca has been avoiding the Kl4N/Guerreros feud like the plague so far.
Recapped: 09/24/2018
Matches:
El Hijo De Centella Roja & Millenium beat Ares & Rey Apocalipsis
(11:48 [4:21, 3:09, 4:18], 1/3, n/r, VideosOficialesCMLL)
Lestat, Pegasso, Rey Samuray beat El Malayo, King Jaguar, Sangre Azteca
(15:57 [8:51, 3:35, 3:31], 2/3, n/r, VideosOficialesCMLL)
Kawato San, Máscara Año 2000, Universo 2000 Jr. beat Esfinge, Flyer, Tritón
(15:58 [8:36, 1:56, 5:26], 1/3, n/r, VideosOficialesCMLL)
Felino, Shocker, Terrible beat Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Volcano
(21:05 [9:00, 3:40, 8:25], 1/3, n/r, VideosOficialesCMLL)
Cavernario, Diamante Azul, Rush beat Atlantis, Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero in a relevos increíbles match
(9:03 [2:47, 2:32, 3:44], 1/3, ok, VideosOficialesCMLL)
I scanned thru most of this show, only stopping for the main. I was rewarded with a short mostly aimless match. The unique sides really didn’t become interesting, with both Atlantis and Diamante Azul just wrestling like normal members of those teams. Atlantis insisted on going thru his normal offense on a show where most people didn’t. Diamante Azul and Gran Guerrero looked not so great to end the match.
There was no news on this show outside of Flyer suffering a leg injury in his match, but eventually returning to it. The main event didn’t set up anything. The second match seemed the most watchable match on the show, though still off at points. The third fall all cradle finish would’ve been good with some better timing, instead of Sangre Azteca walking and then standing in place until he got beat. Rey Samuray’s performance waking up a sleepy if packed crowd. I wonder how much help he’s getting with his flying; he hasn’t gotten the refinement he ends but is obviously talented.
CMLL announced the full 10/05 Gran Prix teams yesterday
Rest of the World: David Finlay, Mark Briscoe, Jay Briscoe, Dark Magic, Flip Gordon, Michael Elgin, Okumura, Gilbert el Boricua, Matt Taven
Mexico: Sanson, Cuatrero, Ultimo Guerrero, Diamante Azul, Caristico, Hechicero, Euforia, Terrible, Voldaor Jr.
The match was originally announced as 8v8. Taven & Volador were added a few minutes after the rest of the lineup was announced. It did come off as a authentic last minute decision; CMLL had art announcing four of the people being added, but just a screen shot of Informa for Taven & Volador.
Rush took to Twitter to make it clear he was upset about not being included. It does seem odd the two people who won the Aniversario match are not involved. On the other hand, Rush got himself DQed last year.
I did some more googling on Dark Magic to try and find anything about the mystery guy who’s going to be in this Gran Prix. His US indie name appears to be CG Supreme, though some places have “GG Supreme” as a typo. He was wrestling in the Midwest, mainly showing up in Michigan. He doesn’t show up in cagematch’s database, though his name pops up in some lineups. WrestlingData has a profile but no matches. I don’t know how old he is, though there are matches of him on YouTube going back to at least 2013, and he’s old enough to have a MySpace page. JCR mentioned Dark Magic wrestling in WWE and ROH, which seemed odd. It might be accurate, if only barely. This page mentions Supreme wrestling on 10/15/2016 ROH show, a tag loss to Cheeseburger and Will Ferrara that was a dark match, wasn’t on the DVD and is so obscure that neither cagematch nor wrestlingdata mention him by name. (This was one of the shows Angel de Oro worked, if you need a lucha connection.) I’m guessing his WWE stuff was either dark match or enhancement work under a one night name. He was part of a tag team in 2015 & 2016, and I can’t find much past that. His IWRG stint lasted one two three matches, and one match from Tlalnepantla has turned up. There’s a luchadora who is also using the “Dark Magic” name, which makes tracking his matches a little harder; I’m not sure if the person working second matches in small Naucalpan shows recently is him or someone else. Dark Magic will be on Informa next week, so we’ll get CMLL’s version of his story then. He debuts on Monday ni Puebla
Michael Elgin replaces Volcano on Monday in Puebla.
This headline says “LA Park has decided when the date he’s going to retire.” He’s not really decisive if you read the article, literally saying “I do not know when I will retire, only God knows.” The date the headline is pointing towards is “two years”, but even then he’s just going to see how he’s doing by then. He could go longer, he could go shorter if he gets hurt. “Two Years” is the standard lucha libre length of time that seems close enough to be real but far enough away that you don’t have to actually do anything about it.
That article also includes LA Park taking credit for business going up this year in CMLL & AAA and saying business would go up if more talent could go back and forth. I think he’s right in the short term, but wrong in the long term. There’d be no long term planning, everyone would just be running thru the ready made big matches, and then there’d be less interest than ever when those matches are exhausted. The article also has interviews with Rush & Psycho Clown, and had a great design in the newspaper version.
Alberto says wrestling is not serious enough now, with too much interference in title matches. He praises Dr. Wagner Jr. and LA Park as those who maintain the respect of wrestling. No one does more interference and shenanigans in title matches and all matches than Dr. Wagner Jr. and LA Park.
Tirantes explained the great conspiracy against himself and the wrestling fans of Xalapa is Arena Xalapa raised the rent after their first show. Tirantes was going to promote four shows in Xalapa with CMLL talent. He ran one, it went well, and then the owners of the building (listed as Martinez Aguilar family) raised the rent “four fold.” A lawyer representing the family says they had agreed to the amount in a contract and they had not signed one for the second and third dates. Tirantes says he still wants to run the shows and the project – despite not having a building or firm dates – is more alive than ever. If you know of a building Xalapa which wants to host CMLL events, his number is listed in the article.
The La Planchitas column not only reveals Bengala & Lady Shani are a couple, but says they’re planning to get married soon.
CMLL looks back to Apolo Dantes winning the 1998 Gran Prix. Apolo Dantes with hair looks odd.
Hechicero was the guest on the weekly Marca lucha libre interview segment, talking about how wrestling is an art of improvisation.
AAA will be participating in an international book fair for children in November.
Leo Riano complains about not enough Dave the Clown on AAA TV, saying Dave the Clown is one of AAA wrestlers doing the best.
Voice of Wrestling has an article about the differences in visiting Arena Mexico at the Aniversario show.
Lucha Talk has a new episode of the podcast.
Lineups
CMLL (TUE) 10/02/2018 Arena México
1) Acero & Aéreo vs Mercurio & Pequeño Violencia
2) Pegasso, Príncipe Diamante, Súper Astro Jr. vs Cancerbero, Nitro, Sangre Azteca
3) Black Panther, Blue Panther, Blue Panther Jr. vs Felino, Misterioso Jr., Tiger
4) Ángel de Oro, Audaz, Niebla Roja vs Dragón Rojo Jr., Luciferno, Pólvora
5) Mistico, Stuka Jr., Volador Jr. vs Ephesto, Mephisto, Negro Casas
6) Carístico vs Gran Guerrero [NWA MIDDLE]
1st defense
The main event should at least be fun.
Tiger and Blue Panther Jr. are going back and forth on Twitter, which is good since they seem stuck facing each other once a week with zero resolution for the next decade.
Raziel will go at least 112 days without a match. It has to be a serious injury or a retirement, but I’ve dropped him off the active CMLL roster at this point because he’s definitely not active.
CMLL (TUE) 10/02/2018 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) El Divino, Luminoso, Mr. Samurai vs Demonio Maya, Maléfico, Thunder Boy
2) Angelito, Micro, Shockercito vs Pequeño Nitro, Pequeño Olímpico, Relámpago Azul
3) Kráneo, Michael Elgin, Valiente vs Rey Bucanero, Shocker, Terrible
4) Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón © vs Esfinge, Soberano Jr., Tritón [MEX TRIOS]
6th defense
5) Atlantis vs Último Guerrero
Instead of getting one of the two feuds, Guadalajara is getting both. Which makes the boring Mexico City cards stand out more.
Guadalajara has a “(Guerrero) Samurai” but never a Mr. Samurai. New person or typo, it’s a coin toss.
Recapped: 09/08/2018
All matches were attempted to air live on Auditorio de Tijuana, Tijuana, Baja California on 09/08/2018. The links have timestamps, but Facebook doesn’t always pick up on them.
Matches:
Star Boy, Viento, Zarco beat Audaz, Torito Negro, Xperia
(9:19, middle rope styles crash on Torito Negro, ok, thecrash.luchalibre)
Princesa Sugehit beat Tessa Blanchard
(9:59, Princesa Sugehit pendulum backbreaker, below average, thecrash.luchalibre)
Hechicero (CMLL) beat Daga
(19:15, Magia Negra, great, thecrash.luchalibre)
CIMA & T-Hawk beat Rey Horus & Soberano Jr.
(~14:00, CIMA Meteora Soberano, good, thecrash.luchalibre)
Bestia 666, Fatu, Mecha Wolf beat Cuatrero, Forastero (CMLL), Sansón
(9:57, 450 jumping spinning DDT Sansón, great,thecrash.luchalibre)
Carístico & Volador Jr. beat Penta Zero M &The King
(12:12, Volador pin Penta, ok,thecrash.luchalibre)
What happened:
Daga invited himself to be Penta’s partner, replacing Fenix (who was not mentioned by the name.) Penta knew something was wrong and did not like this idea. Daga attacked Penta with a chair to give Volador the win, then unmasked Penta after. Volador took Caristico’s mask. Volador took Caristico’s mask for good measure.
Garza was special referee of the semimain, and of course favored his friends. He maintained he was important after the match.
La Rebelion Amarilla introduced Fatu as a new member. He had teamed with them previously.
Daga challenged Hechicero to a rematch.
The announcers were under the impression Sugehit & Blanchard was for a title, but it didn’t appear to be the case. Sugehit instead challenged Blanchard for a title match, though that didn’t appear to be coming soon.
Thoughts:
The main event was the second worse match of the show. Daga working twice after a long match didn’t help, but there wasn’t a lot of energy by the other guys either. It was match headed to a turn from the get-go, and took some shortcuts with crowd brawling for a while. The action in the ring was fine but rarely something special; the Caristico/Penta stuff was the belt. Volador wasn’t much better than he was Friday night, and his half-hearted effort caught up to him on a terrible dive screwup. This wasn’t tragic but the main event guys seem the least motivated ones on the show – even Tessa & Sugehit were trying more, it just wasn’t working.
The Rebelion/NGD match was a good meeting of the two rudo factions. The NGD adapted some of what they do and made a good impression with their efforts in a different ring. I haven’t seen a lot of the Yellow Rebellion this year, and not all of Fatu. Fatu seemed like he was specifically showcased here, and came thru big with his double slam and his dive near the end. Bestia & Mecha Wolf did well in their spots, especially the DDT on the end. I was expecting some sort of angle with Garza, but he just acted as a normal evil referee would. This felt like just a taste of what these two teams could do and even just that was really good.
StrongHearts vs Horuz/Soberano was good as long as it lasted on the stream. It died in the last couple of minutes. The La Poesia version has most of the missing material, though there’s a big obvious. It’s a fun match that doesn’t feel totally essentially. Soberano & Horus are showcased well before the OWE team puts them down, and it’s worth your time if you’re into these guys. CIMA & T-Hawk were better for me here than they were a week later at PWG. Maybe they’re just a better fit in tag formats than singles.
Hechicero brought out the best performance in Daga in some time. The early portion mat wrestling of the match was so good that it was a disappoint they stopped it out to go outside and strike, but they eventually made that work when they came back inside too. They had the crowd into the near falls for a long time, with everyone freaking out with Daga’s corner dropkick didn’t work. Daga was a more complete wrestler, and a sharper one, than he’s looked elsewhere this year. Hechicero going long is as good as anyone in Mexico at it, and it was nice to get a bonus version of him doing it in a little different style than CMLL ones usually do. This had peaks and valleys nicely, and less a reliance on dives than you might happen in Arena Mexico.
The women’s match wasn’t good. They had trouble working their different styles together, so we didn’t see the best of either woman. What they tried went wrong way too often, with some obvious messed up spots. It was a slow-paced match that wasn’t really exciting even when they were hitting their moves. Tessa storming out after the match did not seem a professional reaction but you could kind of see where she was coming from.
I’m missing notes on the opener, but it was the classic Tijuana spot fest opener. It felt too all over the place and spotty for me, but might be for you if you want moves on top of moves.
Matanza beat Jack Evans
(1:23, Wrath of the Gods, n/r)
Kobra Moon, Daga, Jeremiah Crane (c) beat Joey Ryan, Ivelisse, XO Lishus to keep the Lucha Underground Trios Championship
(5:23, Daga submit Joey Ryan, ok)
Drago & Aerostar vs Jack Swagger in a nunchuck matchJake Strong b Drago & Aerostar
(8:27, anklelock on Drago, ok)
Pentagon Dark beat Mil Muertes, Dragon Azteca, King Cuerno to earn a Lucha Underground championship match at Ultima Lucha 4
(5:10, Mexican Destroyer on Mil Muertes ok)
Champion: Marty the Moth (0 defenses)
Gift of the Gods: Vacant.
Trios Champions: Reptile Tribe (Kobra Moon, Daga, Jeremiah Snake) (2 defenses)
Died This Season (15): Jeremiah Crane (casket), Fenix (casket/lifeforce absorbed), Mr. Pec-tacular (sacrificed), Cortez Castro (sacrificed), Máscarita Sagrada (murdered by Rabbits), Vinnie Massaro (sacrificed), Pizza Guy (sacrificed), Vibora (beheaded), Mala Suerte (sacrificed) , Saltador (sacrificed), Benji the Agent (murdered by Ricky), Angelico (implied to have been murdered by Ricky), Catrina (fell off a roof), Joey Wrestling (sacrificed), Jack Evans
Resurrected (2): Jeremiah Crane/Snake, Fenix
Pentagon Dark earned himself a Lucha Underground championship match at Ultima Lucha by winning a four-way match. He beat Mil Muertes, who had already taken two stunners from the returning The Mack. Mack hung around to challenge Muertes to a death match at Ultima Lucha 4, declaring he was no longer scared of Muertes. Dragon Azteca Jr. was also in the match but got into a fight with Fenix after the zombie grabbed Melissa again. King Cuerno also participated. Marty will appear on the next episode to talk about this match.
The four-way match itself was set up by a long and verbose Antonio Cueto letter, which seemed peculiar. Antonio Cueto was around and could’ve just set up the match himself. He did set up one later. When Jack Evans complains about XO Lishus being allowed in the Temple including an aside about how Jack would’ve taken care of Matanza if he was at the wedding, Cueto gave Jack a chance for it to happen tonight. Jack tried to run from Matanza, but could not escape. He could land the 630 senton, but couldn’t put away Matanza and was the latest sacrifice. These wins are progressively becoming more competitive for Matanza once again, though this still lasted less than two minutes.
The trios title match did include a brief reference to the Ivelisse/Crane issue. (It happened in the midst of a long bit of redone Matt Striker audio where Vamprio was not heard – given what they leave in of Vampiro, what could they possibly be taking out?) The story that really overshadowed the match was the arrival of Rabbit Tribe 2.0. We’ve been introduced to El Bunny and The White Rabbit in those vignettes, but this was the first time the crowd saw them. They stayed out of the match, with London & Bunny attacking the losing challengers after the match. The White Rabbit seemed to inform Joey Ryan that he would be their first target.
Jake Strong overcame two on one offense, mist, and lots of nunchucks to submit Aerostar. Drago attacked afterward and got his ankle broken.
Official
Likely (or in the preceding few episodes)
Another episode where none of the matches were great – the trios title was closest to being good, though it never got to a high gear. Most everything was short shifted, with the promise that eventually we’ll get blowoff matches and this will all be worth it. I don’t know.
In a situation where anyone beyond the most diehard Lucha Underground fans was still watching this show, people would be up in arms about how Drago & Aerostar were booked on this show. On this season, really: Drago got to be a slave for a while, got to do nothing to free himself, said he was leaving for a while, came back one week later, and engaged in a feud with Jake Strong that ended with Drago’s ankle getting broken. Aerostar should’ve let Drago remain a slave, Drago would be a trios champion with two working feet right now.
This match made Jake Strong look like his last name, which is really good if you care about Jake Strong at all. I do not. He’s just a guy who wins a lot with a mild catchphrase, just about the same character development than Big Bad Steve has gotten. He’s probably been disadvantage greatly because Lucha Underground just isn’t doing many vignettes this year (remember when Kobra Moon got a jewelry thief intro that’s gone nowhere?) but he’s just really being presented as Jack Swagger with a new name. If you didn’t care about Jake Swagger already and weren’t sympathetic to his lack of opportunity in WWE, he’s just a guy who wins a whole lot. Jake Swagger doesn’t fit the Lucha Underground mold, and it was going to take some work to convince viewers that he belongs. They’ve done none of the work.
It’s not even like the flipping the result would’ve been better. Aerostar & Drago doing everything they could to just barely beat Strong would not have looked much better. It still would’ve been demoting cult favorites to enhancement talent level. They were aware enough about how this finish would look to make sure to give Aerostar & Drago many big spots, but it had the effect of Aerostar & Drago doing everything they could do and still losing totally clean.
LU really awkwardly put together the Joey Ryan/XO Lishus/Ivelisse trio to have them lose in their first match and then get destroyed. Joey Ryan getting targeted by the new Rabbit Tribe looks like a direction past that. The show has done a little work on Ryan’s técnico turn, but it’s an odd one of the three to pick. El Bunny looked good.
I’ll miss Jack Evans. He didn’t have as much bad luck as Angelico, but it wasn’t far off. He got himself over without every really winning all that much. He was great at light comedy on a show that tends to take itself very seriously. I tend to believe all these sacrifices are going to be reversed, and maybe he’ll reverse his own beliefs on coming back for another season.
The main event was billed as a dream match, a PPV quality match, that went about five minutes of TV time. About one minute of that was on Fenix/Azteca and Mack/Muertes. It didn’t quite become a PPV match. The usage of King Cuerno this season remains bizarre. Mack/Muertes seemed pretty definitely over last time. Mack being scared didn’t seem to play into the result. The fans seemed really into Mack so it’ll be fine, but this didn’t feel like the direction they were headed after that cage match. The idea of a deathmatch meaning something important and unique in a season where 1/3rd of the roster has been killed off (and some have come back to life) is an even tougher sell.
shows watched
The great match roundup has no great matches and is not particularly timely. It’s a failure all around as I try to dig out the latest hole I’ve dug for myself.
The AAA Twitch shows have generally good stuff – even the OK stuff was perfectly watchable. I know people are inclined not to pay for lucha libre because free has been the market price for so long, but the channel is worth the money if you’re not around to watch AAA shows live.
Recommended Matches
| rating | matches | TV Show | taped |
| good | Draztick Boy vs Arez, Belial, Último Maldito  |
AAA on Twitch: 2018-09-02 | 2018-09-02 |
| good | Rey Escorpión & Texano Jr. © vs Mamba & Máximo and Aerostar & Drago and Jack Evans & Teddy Hart for the AAA World Tag Team Championship |
AAA on Twitch: 2018-09-02 | 2018-09-02 |
| good | Psycho Clown vs LA Park, Hijo del Fantasma |
AAA on Twitch: 2018-09-02 | 2018-09-02 |
| good | Rey Cometa vs Tiger in a lightning match  |
CMLL YouTube: 2018-09-04 | 2018-09-04 |
| good | Lady Maravilla, Lady Shani, Vanilla vs Keyra, La Hiedra, Scarlett Bordeaux |
AAA on Twitch: 2018-09-07 | 2018-09-07 |
| good | Fénix & Psycho Clown vs Brian Cage & Hijo del Fantasma |
AAA on Twitch: 2018-09-07 | 2018-09-07 |
| good | El Gallito, Guapito, Microman vs Chamuel, Mije, Perico Zacarías  |
CMLL on ClaroSports.com: 2018-09-07 | 2018-09-07 |
Other Matches
| rating | matches | TV Show | taped |
| ok | Faby Apache vs Lady Shani |
AAA on Twitch: 2018-09-02 | 2018-09-02 |
| ok | Hijo de LA Park, Hijo Del Vikingo, Joe Lider vs Carta Brava Jr., Mocho Cota Jr., Tito Santana |
AAA on Twitch: 2018-09-02 | 2018-09-02 |
| ok | El Audaz, Fuego, Stigma vs Cancerbero, Disturbio, Virus |
CMLL YouTube: 2018-09-03 | 2018-09-03 |
| ok | Kráneo, Stuka Jr., Volcano vs Ephesto, Luciferno, Mephisto |
CMLL YouTube: 2018-09-03 | 2018-09-03 |
| ok | Gran Guerrero & Último Guerrero vs Flyer & Volador Jr. in a tournament semifinal match |
CMLL YouTube: 2018-09-03 | 2018-09-03 |
| ok | Mistico & Rush vs Cuatrero & Sansón in a tournament semifinal match |
CMLL YouTube: 2018-09-03 | 2018-09-03 |
| ok | Gran Guerrero & Último Guerrero vs Mistico & Rush in a tournament final match |
CMLL YouTube: 2018-09-03 | 2018-09-03 |
| ok | Matanza vs Joey Wrestling | Lucha Underground: 2018-09-05 | 2018-03-03 |
| ok | Killshot vs Big Bad Steve | Lucha Underground: 2018-09-05 | 2018-03-09 |
| ok | Pentagón Dark © vs Hernandez [LU CHAMP] | Lucha Underground: 2018-09-05 | 2018-03-09 |
| ok | Angelikal, Australian Suicide, Hijo Del Vikingo vs Carta Brava Jr., Mocho Cota Jr., Tito Santana |
AAA on Twitch: 2018-09-07 | 2018-09-07 |
| ok | Laredo Kid & Sammy Guevara vs Golden Magic & Jack Evans |
AAA on Twitch: 2018-09-07 | 2018-09-07 |
| ok | Aerostar, Máximo, Pagano vs La Máscara, Rey Escorpión, Texano Jr. |
AAA on Twitch: 2018-09-07 | 2018-09-07 |
| ok | Pegasso & Príncipe Diamante vs Hijo del Signo & Metálico |
CMLL on ClaroSports.com: 2018-09-07 | 2018-09-07 |
| ok | Dalys vs Reyna Isis in a lightning match |
CMLL on ClaroSports.com: 2018-09-07 | 2018-09-07 |
| ok | Esfinge, Soberano Jr., Tritón vs Dragón Rojo Jr., Hechicero, Templario |
CMLL on ClaroSports.com: 2018-09-07 | 2018-09-07 |
| ok | Gilbert El Boricua, Mephisto, Negro Casas vs Atlantis, L.A. Park, Mistico |
CMLL on ClaroSports.com: 2018-09-07 | 2018-09-07 |
| below average | Dr. Wagner Jr., La Parka, Murder Clown vs Jeff Jarrett, Killer Kross, Taurus [no DQ] |
AAA on Twitch: 2018-09-02 | 2018-09-02 |
| below average | Carístico, Matt Taven, Volador Jr. vs Cavernario, La Bestia Del Ring, Rush in a relevos increíbles match |
CMLL on ClaroSports.com: 2018-09-07 | 2018-09-07 |
| not rated | Arkalis, Black Tiger, Tigre Rojo Jr. vs Policeman, Rey Apocalipsis, Toro Bill Jr. |
CMLL YouTube: 2018-09-03 | 2018-09-03 |
| not rated | Cuatrero & Mistico vs Flyer & Gran Guerrero in a seeding battle royal match |
CMLL YouTube: 2018-09-03 | 2018-09-03 |
| not rated | Sangre Imperial & Sonic vs Apocalipsis & Camorra |
CMLL YouTube: 2018-09-04 | 2018-09-04 |
| not rated | Astral, Eléctrico, Star Jr. vs Akuma, Espanto Jr., Espíritu Negro |
CMLL YouTube: 2018-09-04 | 2018-09-04 |
| not rated | Lluvia, Marcela, Princesa Sugehit vs Amapola, La Comandante, Metálica |
CMLL YouTube: 2018-09-04 | 2018-09-04 |
| not rated | Ángel de Oro, Guerrero Maya Jr., Niebla Roja vs Felino, Rey Bucanero, Shocker |
CMLL YouTube: 2018-09-04 | 2018-09-04 |
| not rated | Diamante Azul, Valiente, Volador Jr. vs Cavernario, Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero |
CMLL YouTube: 2018-09-04 | 2018-09-04 |
