lucha TV preview for weekend of October 19th, 2018

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I’ve got the AAA on Twitch taping on the right day now! This’ll be a usual AAA/CMLL Friday night head to head, where AAA’s show gets going around the time the second CMLL match finishes. I think this might be a night where CMLL has the better show, though three ciberneticos in about three weeks is pushing it.

AAA also is taking advantage of YouTube’s new scheduling features to list this week’s AAA TV episode as debuting at 8:30 AM on Saturday. Judging from the rest of the videos coming on next week, this includes the main event. That means it’s just a two-part show, like most tapings.

Stukita changing to Halcon Suriano Jr. and advancing to the main division, Maya & Stuka to ROH

Stukita will change his name to Halcon Suriano Jr. starting this Friday. He’ll appear to present the trophy for the cibernetico honoring his grandfather. Stukita’s father has been wrestling as Halcon Suriano Jr., so this promises to be confusing for me. It appears Stukita/Halcon Suirano Jr. talked about this change in media interviews on Wednesday. El Grafico is the first to post an article, with Halcon Suriano Jr. confirming he’ll be joining the main division, and his father will be switching to Hijo del Halcon Suirano. Stukita/Suirano mentions he’s been looking for this change for a while and is looking forward to taking what he’s learned against new opponents. He also mentions Stukita concept will not be going away: he’s going to help choose a new person for that character, who will replace him as a CMLL mini.

Stukita always has seemed wasted in the minis division but it’s not hard to look at the completely forgettable years Astral & Electrico have had since moving up and project about the same for him. Those two will be better off slightly, they’ll no longer be the lowest men on the totem pole, but all are going to be stuck in the second/third match abyss.

Guerrero Maya Jr. and Stuka Jr. will return to Ring of Honor on 11/04 as part of their Survival of the Fittest show. It’ll air live on ROH iPPV, and they’ll both be in the one-night tournament. It’s nice to get CMLL people in ROH. There hasn’t been anyone from CMLL in since June 2nd. Maya & Stuka are solid, but it’s still a bit disappointing not to get people who feel like bigger or more vital stars in CMLL. The timing is an issue – ROH couldn’t use Soberano or Volador since they’ll still be in Japan, and Dragon Lee may very well still be in the Dominican Republic then – but when MLW is bringing in a guy on top of CMLL like Rush and ROH is bringing in two people who are definitely not on top of CMLL, it doesn’t look great for ROH. Even if people like Rush & Mistico are not available or not in the budget, people would’ve been more excited if (theoretically easier to get) Cavernario was making his ROH debut on these shows, or if one of the Dinamitas were going.

Blue Panther will wear his mask for his 40th Anniversary match. I hope the commission knows. CMLL puts Panther’s mask wins over Black Man & Avispon Negro as #4 on his list.

CMLL put up it’s annual Dia de Muertos teaser.

AAA posted a promo of Lady Shani from immediately after the mask versus hair match. (Or it aired on SpaceTV one week ago and is on the YouTube show if I thought to look thru all of it, maybe.)

In a recent +LuchaTV promo, Murder Clown mentions he started in Arena Naucalpan. His pre-AAA identity (identities?) have never been disclosed, and you’d think a really tall guy wrestling in mid-2000s IWRG would be memorable.

El Grafico notes Caifan is making his return to the Mexico City area this weekend after his “retirement” last December, though the interview doesn’t really talk about that retirement. If the Hechicero debut goes very well on Friday, I want someone to talk PWG into running Caifan versus Hechicero again. It’ll be good, but it’ll also be amusing.

Ultimo Ninja, who joined NXT a while ago now, was officially announced as being in NXT today. So was Chelsea Green, who’s currently on Lucha Underground as Reklusa but obviously won’t be past the end of this season.

Cuernavaca luchador/referee Kaliman is retiring. He’s 74.

Lucha Talk has this week’s episode.

Lineups

IWRG (SUN) 10/21/2018 Arena Naucalpan
1) Ángel Estrella Jr. & Chef Benito vs Giro Gallo & Guerrero 2000
2) Death Metal & Power Bull vs Chicanito & Toto
3) Black Shadow II & Shaolin vs Diablo Jr. & Rasha-Ta
4) Dragón Bane vs MikeDemonio InfernalShil-KhaLunatik Xtreme
5) Aliado de Dios, Danny Casas, Metaleón vs Capo del Norte, Capo del Sur, Pitbull
6) Hijo del Alebrije, Imposible, Relámpago vs Hijo de Canis Lupus, Rayan, Spector
7) Hechicero & Hijo De Dos Caras vs Cuervo (Puerto Rico) & Hijo de Pirata Morgan

Hechicero has a busy weekend. Cuervo has been listed a few times, mostly in June, and hasn’t quite appeared all of the times. Five match fighters is back in the fourth.

IWRG has announced Relampago, Ludark Shaitan, Shil-Kah, Hijo de Canis Lupus, and Diosa Atenea for the Castillo del Terror cage mask match. I think they’re putting 10 in there, so five more to go.

CMLL (MON) 10/22/2018 Arena Puebla
1) Astro & Black Tiger vs El Perverso & King Rocker
2) Oro Jr. & Súper Astro Jr. vs El Malayo & Toro Bill Jr.
3) Marcela vs Tiffany [lightning]
4) Audaz, Titán, Tritón vs Templario, Tiger, Virus
5) Ángel de Oro, Diamante Azul, Niebla Roja vs Ephesto, Luciferno, Mephisto
6) Carístico, Mistico, Rush vs Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero

Titan returns, take 2. Main event could be fun, and semimain continues whatever they were doing with Diamante Azul & Mephisto.

AAA TV (SUN) 11/18/2018 Gimnasio Municipal Josué Neri Santos, Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua
1) ?, ??, Aéreo vs ???, ????, Villano III Jr.
2) Keyra, Lady Maravilla, Scarlett vs Lady Shani, Starfire, Vanilla
3) Angelikal, Hijo Del Vikingo, Laredo Kid vs Carta Brava Jr., Mocho Cota Jr., Tito Santana
4) Joe Lider & Pagano vs ? & ??
5) Mamba, Máximo, Murder Clown vs La Máscara, Monsther Clown, Rey Escorpión
6) Brian Cage, Hijo del Fantasma, Texano Jr. vs Blue Demon, La Parka, Psycho Clown

This is fourth TV tapings down the line. Rest assured, nothing important seems to be happening between now and then, because this lineup could also basically happen tomorrow. I don’t know why you fly in Brian Cage to have him wrestle a tecnico side where Psycho Clown is his best opponent. Easy payday for Cage anyway. Scarlett will probably get more out of her appearance. The women’s match and the third look like the best of this lot.

The luchadors in the openers are locals. Aereo & Villano III have been feuding on the spot shows here and there’s no guarantee it’ll air. The mystery luchadors against Lider & Pagano, since they’ve specifically made the challenges for the match and it’s the kind of showcase match you’d give Pagano in his home city. It’s less clear why they won’t just say it’s Miedo Extremo & Ciclope if it’s them.

Lucha Underground 4×19: Savagery

Jake Strong embraces the spirit of Lucha Underground

Matches

Jake Strong won a Gift of the Gods seven-man battle royal (3:07, ok)
0:56 Big Bad Steve OUT (via Aerostar)
1:12 Hernandez OUT (PJ Black & King Cuerno)
1:51 PJ Black & King Cuerno OUT (Jake Strong
2:09 Aerostar OUT (Jake Strong)
3:07 Dante Fox OUT (Jake Strong)

Willie Mack beat Killshot
(2:57, n/r, DQ for Mil running in)

Jake Strong beat Johnny Mundo
(13:05, ankle lock, good)

Status Check

Champion: Marty the Moth (1 defense)
Gift of the Gods: will be one of Jake Strong, Big Bad Steve, Hernandez, PJ Black, King Cuerno, Aerostar, and Dante Fox
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 (sacrificed)
Resurrected (2): Jeremiah Crane/Snake, Fenix

Developments

these two are destined to do headscissors spot together forever

With all the major players accounted for on Ultima Lucha already, Lucha Underground focused on the one person they’ve been treating like a big deal who has nothing to do: Jake Strong. Strong got two matches, two wins, and one vignette. We learned Strong didn’t want to be handed a title opportunity but was fine with being handed a Medalion. (Antonio awarded picked all 7 Medalion holders, as Dario has done for select people in the past.) We learned Strong is so determined to prove himself that he made a dumb decision not to eliminate anyone from a match. We learned he may be working with the Cuetos to soften up Johnny Mundo before the Ultima Lucha match. And we learned Strong may be demonically possessed, based on the weird way his voice changed while talking to Cueto.

Antonio announced the Aztec Medalions would work a lot like the last cycle. There was a surprise battle royal, where the winner would get to eliminate someone before next week. Dante Fox made his first appearance in the battle royal. The announcers noted Fox had been missing. There was no explanation of where he’d been on this show. Fox did make it the longest before being thrown out by Strong. After Strong refused to eliminate anyone – he wanted to prove he deserved the shot by beating everyone – Antonio announced next week’s match would be a seven-way elimination match. That seemed to render this week’s match completely moot, though it did inspire Antonio to give Strong more of a challenge by putting him against Johnny Mundo in the main event.

there was no point to this but it was kind of cool

Mundo battled Strong for a while, coming close to winning a couple times. He also seemed intimated by Strong during the match, and desperate in moments. The announcers suggested Mundo wasn’t 100% from the wedding attack, which is the closest thing he got to an out for losing clean. Strong went to break Mundo’s ankle after the match, only to be surprisingly confronted by Matanza. Matanza and Strong were going to have their own face off, only for Strong to back off, leaving Matanza to his Ultima Lucha opponent. There was a suggestion here that Strong & Matanza were working together, though that wasn’t really set up in the vignette of Strong & Antonio that started the show. At any rate, Matanza bashed and bloodied Johnny, and took out Taya when she tried to make the save.

One more Ultima Lucha match was made, though not exactly how it was expected. Ivelisse & XO Liscious had a rare in-ring promo, something that clearly would’ve been a vignette in past seasons. They explained there was a challenge for the Reptile Tribe to defend the trios titles against the Rabbit Tribe and Ivelisse/Liscious/Joey Ryan, only Ryan was injured by the White Rabbit’s mandible claw and he won’t be back in time for the match. They introduced their replacement partner: the returning Sammy Guevera. Guevera didn’t get anywhere before Famous B interrupted, having suffered no ill effects from last week’s beating. B pointed out that Guevara had signed a contract Infamous Inc – an inescapable seven-year contract, wink wink. The only way Guevera would be competing in a trios match at Ultima Lucha is on a Famous B team. (Famous offered to get Texano & Wagner pulled off a Tijuana house show to help out.) Guevera threw the contract in the trash, threw the trash on Famous B, and then superkicked Famous B. Those seven-year contracts don’t seem as binding as hyped.

The only other piece of business was not a long one. Old friends The Mack & Killshot had a one on one match. As long as it lasted, the ideas were The Mack was going into the Mil Muertes match more focused than ever, and Son of Havoc was doing the same sort of watching from a sniper perch that Killshot has been known to do. It didn’t last long, with Mil Muertes attacking The Mack and laying out of Havoc when he tried to make the save.

Ultima Lucha 4/Remaining Matches

4×20 (next week):
7 way elimination match for the Gift of the Gods
(Perhaps other matches, but they haven’t done the “one match, one hour” episode yet this season, and there’s not much else left to do.)

4×21 (Ultima Lucha 4 week 1/Halloween)
three way trios title match
Taya Mundo vs Ricky Mundo
Son of Havoc vs Killshot in a mask versus mask match

4×22 (Ultima Lucha 4 week 2/two hour special)
Dragon Azteca Jr. vs Fenix in a 2 out of 3 falls match
Mil Muertes vs the Mack in a death match
Johnny Mundo vs Matanza Cueto
Pentagon Dark vs Marty the Moth Martinez in a Cero Miedo match for the Lucha Underground Championship

Thoughts

good they have a bigger ring than most indies

Jack Strong/Johnny Mundo was Strong’s best match on the show. It still was missing something. Strong plays a vicious character, breaking people’s ankles regularly. Matanza seemed so much more dangerous in the minute he was beating up Mundo, even beyond the blood. Strong throwing Mundo around looked impressive, and Mundo showing fear towards him helped his character, but it still left me thinking about how I’d be a little more interested in seeing Mundo/Muertes again. Neither Strong nor Mundo are visually that much different than their WWE incarnations, but Mundo feels distanced from it and Strong still feels right of WWE TV. Wherever they’re going with that demonic voice, I wish they had started it a lot sooner and paid it off this season.

The rest of the show really wasn’t much. It’s nice they came up with an explanation for Sammy Guevera on the team (and I’d rather see him than Joey Ryan), but that skit felt like something the Lucha Underground of the last 3 seasons wouldn’t have done. Not the 7-year contract part – Son of Havoc used the same reference way back in episode 3! – but it would’ve been a cool vignette. The Mack versus Killshot made a lot of narrative sense as a match, though I couldn’t figure out how they were going to get an ending until they just didn’t have one. I guess, in a 2018 meta way, having a bad finish there made me surprised when they just ended the main event clean. The battle royal was better than the last time they did it, but utterly pointless by the outcome (outside of the fun Aerostar/Steve spots, I guess.)

Ultimo Guerrero once again CMLL heavyweight champion, Ayako in Mexico, LU

photo by CMLL

CMLL (TUE) 10/16/2018 Arena México [CMLL]
1) Acero & Aéreo b Mercurio & Pequeño Universo 2000 LUCHA LIBRE MARTES DE NUEVOS VALORES DE ARENA MEXICO 16 DE OCTUBRE DE 2018 FUNCION COMPLETA (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
2) Espanto Jr., Inquisidor, Metálico b Oro Jr., Príncipe Diamante, Robin LUCHA LIBRE MARTES DE NUEVOS VALORES DE ARENA MEXICO 16 DE OCTUBRE DE 2018 FUNCION COMPLETA (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
Rudos took 2/3
3) Black Panther, Blue Panther Jr., Fuego DQ Kawato San, Tiger, Universo 2000 Jr. LUCHA LIBRE MARTES DE NUEVOS VALORES DE ARENA MEXICO 16 DE OCTUBRE DE 2018 FUNCION COMPLETA (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
straight falls when Unvierso 2000 unmasked Blue Panther Jr.
4) Audaz, Esfinge, Tritón b Misterioso Jr., Sagrado, Virus LUCHA LIBRE MARTES DE NUEVOS VALORES DE ARENA MEXICO 16 DE OCTUBRE DE 2018 FUNCION COMPLETA (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
Tecnicos took 1/3, with Misterioso and Sagrado stumbling into defeat once again. Virus seemed annoyed with his partners.
5) Euforia, Nitro, Rey Bucanero b Mistico, Niebla Roja, Stuka Jr. LUCHA LIBRE MARTES DE NUEVOS VALORES DE ARENA MEXICO 16 DE OCTUBRE DE 2018 FUNCION COMPLETA (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
Nitro replaced Shocker. Rudos took 1/3.
6) Último Guerrero b Diamante Azul [CMLL HEAVYLUCHA LIBRE MARTES DE NUEVOS VALORES DE ARENA MEXICO 16 DE OCTUBRE DE 2018 FUNCION COMPLETA (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
Battle for vacant title (Marco Corleone.) UG took falls 2/3 to win the championship for a second time.

Ultimo Guerrero did a promo for CMLL’s YouTube, and then general media ones (The Gladiatores, Box Y Lucha). He will also be on Informa. Guerrero said he’d like to defend the title first against Gilbert. It’s no real surprise Ultimo Guerrero won a singles title; he’s usually has one in CMLL. The flip side is an Ultimo Guerrero versus Diamante Azul heavyweight match seemed to draw no better than usual, and perhaps worse

If that match isn’t going to draw on Tuesday, it’s hard to understand why CMLL won’t give guys like Fuego a try in a big match. It can’t draw worse than what they’re already doing. Maybe they’ll get lucky and hit on something. Maybe the experience will be better. I’m not sure if the Universo/Blue Jr. thing is setting up a match, but it also should absolutely set up a match. Why not?

A large portion of this show was unwatchable live due to YouTube having issues. It doesn’t seem to have affected the stream, which is up in full like normal.

CMLL (TUE) 10/16/2018 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [CMLL]
1) Black Sugar, Magnum, Star Black b Bobby Black, Difunto, Ráfaga
2) La Guerrera, La Vaquerita, Princesa Sugehit b La Seductora, Metálica, Reyna Isis
tecnicas took 1/3.
3) Dragón Rojo Jr., Felino, Pólvora b Drone, Guerrero Maya Jr., Rey Cometa
rudos took 2/3.
4) Blue Panther, Kráneo, Volcano b Dark Magic, Gran Guerrero, Mephisto
Tecnicos took 1/3
5) La Bestia Del Ring, Rush, Terrible b Atlantis, Carístico, David Finlay
Ingobernables took 1/3.

The search for the Finlay feud goes on.

Soberano Jr. & Volador Jr. took the loss to Jushin Lyger & Tiger Mask in their second Super Junior Tag League. Soberano took the pin, which probably will be happening a lot for the next few weeks.

CMLL luchadors visited the Mexico national anthropology museum, as part of a co-promotion for the Dia de Muertos shows.

Lucha Underground 4×19 is titled “Savagery”

It does not appear they’re going the normal Medalion route to determine a new Gift of the Gods winner. There doesn’t appear to be enough time, and there also doesn’t appear to be enough people left alive and not already in feuds to have 14 people compete for seven Medalions.

This is episode 19. Including it, there are four episodes and five hours of Lucha Underground left this season. I was looking back at the post I did on the Season 4 trailer, and there’s a fair bit of stuff left that hasn’t been shown. The Dragon Azteca/King Cuerno/Aerostar meeting is the one that’s come up a lot, but there’s other stuff (and at least one character) we haven’t seen yet. Rey Mysterio Jr. returning to WWE last night reminds me we still haven’t gotten the explanation of his status this season; they eventually got to writing on Sexy Star, so it seems safe they’ve got something planned for Rey. I figure some of this stuff might even be saved until the end of the season but, with Ultima Lucha 4 nearly already set, they might have time for other things tonight.

+Lucha had Ayako Hamada on as a guest last night, and they were joined by lots of her friends. When Hamada was last in the news just a few months ago, it appeared she was going to jail for a while after drug charges in Japan. It’s unclear how she is in Mexico now; she was evasive when asked about the situation, giving no details that might explain what’s going on now. The interview seemed to turn more into talk about her career in general and growing up in wrestling. However she’s come to be in Mexico, Ayako sounds like she plans on resuming her career after taking a break to recover. I hope she’s well.

LuchaWorld has the latest Lucha Report.

Segunda Caida reviews Lucha Underground episode 4×8.

new CMLL heavyweight champion tonight, Volador & Soberano pick up a win in NJPW

CMLL

CMLL (MON) 10/15/2018 Arena Puebla [CMLL, Lucha Central]
1) Arkalis, Rey Samuray, Tigre Rojo Jr. b King Jaguar, King Rocker Jr., Toro Bill Jr. LA MEJOR LUCHA LIBRE EN VIVO DESDE LA ARENA PUEBLA 15 DE OCTUBRE DE 2018 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
tecnicos took 1/3
2) Avispa Dorada, Lluvia, Marcela b Amapola, Dalys, Tiffany LA MEJOR LUCHA LIBRE EN VIVO DESDE LA ARENA PUEBLA 15 DE OCTUBRE DE 2018 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
Avispa Dorada replaced Sanely. Tecnicas took 2/3.
3) Kawato San, Okumura, Templario b El Audaz, Stigma, Tritón LA MEJOR LUCHA LIBRE EN VIVO DESDE LA ARENA PUEBLA 15 DE OCTUBRE DE 2018 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
Rudos took 1/3.
4) Ángel de Oro, Diamante Azul, Niebla Roja DQ Ephesto, Luciferno, Mephisto LA MEJOR LUCHA LIBRE EN VIVO DESDE LA ARENA PUEBLA 15 DE OCTUBRE DE 2018 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
Tecnicos took 1/3, the last when Mephisto unmasked Diamante Azul.
5) Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero b Carístico, David Finlay, Mistico LA MEJOR LUCHA LIBRE EN VIVO DESDE LA ARENA PUEBLA 15 DE OCTUBRE DE 2018 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
Rudos took 1/3.

Show sounded like it was OK.

Tonight’s CMLL show will crown a new CMLL Heavyweight Championship, with Ultimo Guerrero and Diamante Azul facing for the vacant championship. UG is looking to become a two-time champion, while Diamante Azul attempts to become a world solo champion for the first time. Guerrero just lost the NWA Middleweight Championship a couple months ago, and he usually has a singles title. Having a double champion (Guerrero is a trios champion) helps the Universal math, though it’s unclear when/if that thing is happening this year. It’ll also be tough for Ultimo Guerrero to have as good a match as he did Friday, this time with Diamante Azul, but he’ll deserve a lot of credit if he comes close.

There’s not a lot on the rest of the card. Mistico, Niebla Roja and Stuka draw Rey Bucanero, Euforia, and Shocker, which sounds like a few good spots in an average match. Audaz, Esfinge, and Triton face Virus, Sagrado, and Misterioso, which could be good but probably won’t be. Fuego continues to be in midcard purgatory, teaming with the Panthers against Tiger, Universo, and Kawato. The opening matches aren’t much.

The show will start at 7:30pm on CMLL’s YouTube channel.

Los Ingobernables take on Atlantis, Caristico and Dave Finlay in Guadalajara.

Volador Jr. & Soberano won their opening match in the NJPW Junior Tag League over ACH & Ryusuke Taguchi. As a rule, the CMLL rep must win the first match of the league, get off to a good start, and then band things happen. The show is up on NJPW World in English and Japanese.

CMLL will hold a press conference for the Dia de Muertos shows on Friday night, at 6:30 (two hours before the Friday night show.) I assume this will be streamed by I may assume wrong. The Dia de Muertos press conferences tend to talk more about the art and artists involved than announcing any matches.

Unspecified CMLL talent was mentioned as coming back to ROH soon on Friday’s PPV, according to this tweet.

The #5 moment of Blue Panther’s career, according to CMLL, is winning the Toreno Leyenda Azul in 2000 and being given the trophy by Blue Demon himself.

Lucha Central is doing a week of Blue Panther content, including a look back at his career and his feud with Love Machine.

DTU is opening a school in Pachuca. Negro Casas, Miedo Extremo, Ciclope, Pesadilla, Paranoiko, and Crazy Boy will appear at the opening.

AAA TV in Juarez

Demon betraying Psycho Clown in his last appearance and teaming with him in a month is why it’s hard to care all that much about AAA stories. Total waste of bringing in Cage to have him work with those tecnicos. You can see the top of the lineup poster here; Pagano, Joe Lider, Laredo Kid, Hijo del Vikingo, Carta Brava Jr., and Mocho Cota are pictured without yet being announced in the match. No LA Park, Fenix or Penta.

El Hijo del Santo has been promoting his new documentary, which is in theatres last week and this week only. AAA’s Arturo Rivera accused Santo of living off his father’s name and wasting his career. AAA people are still very unhappy with Hijo del Santo after the lawsuit between them, and Santo usually trashes AAA in these interviews. Santo called Arturo Rivera a bitter alcoholic on drugs. Hugs all around.

The Mascarita Sagrada return was said to be because he was part of a sponsor’s commercial campaign. You can now see the commercial, and see Sagrada is a small part of it. (They just needed someone small, and AAA doesn’t have any mascots right now.) The focus is really on Chessman vs Guardian del Emperador, the mascot of the Emperador cookie brand.

Space has put up the first episode of its Por La Mascara lucha libre drama up on YouTube for free. Some familiar names work as extra characters on the show.

MexaWrestling will return on 12/08. This is billed as the start of their second season. They had announced they would be taking a break after the August show.

Over at Pro Wrestling Only, JR Goldberg writes about Caifan vs Karonte.

LuchaWorld has this week’s Poster-Mania.

+LuchaTV has this week’s podcast.

Criterio Hidalgo interviews local Pachuca luchador Sangre Azul Jr.

Lineups

CMLL (SAT) 10/20/2018 Arena Coliseo
1) Bengala & Leono vs El Coyote & Grako
2) Astral, Eléctrico, Súper Astro Jr. vs Cancerbero, Hijo del Signo, Sangre Azteca
3) Pegasso vs Tiger [lightning]
4) Esfinge, Rey Cometa, Tritón vs Misterioso Jr., Sagrado, Universo 2000 Jr.
5) Kráneo, Stuka Jr., Volcano vs Máscara Año 2000, Okumura, Rey Bucanero
6) Atlantis, Carístico, Diamante Azul vs Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero

This is Tiger’s fifth lightning match since the start of September.

CMLL (SUN) 10/21/2018 Arena México
1) Arkalis & Sonic vs Apocalipsis & Cholo
2) Shockercito, Stukita, Último Dragóncito vs Pequeño Nitro, Pequeño Olímpico, Pequeño Violencia
3) Audaz, Drone, Fuego vs Disturbio, Kawato San, Tiger
4) Guerrero Maya Jr. vs Dragón Rojo Jr. [lightning]
5) Ángel de Oro, Kráneo, Volcano vs Mephisto, Rey Bucanero, Shocker
6) Atlantis, Diamante Azul, Valiente vs Dark Magic, Euforia, Terrible

Dark Magic gets to be in a main-event. It mostly seems like he’s working with Diamante Azul, and Azul is in the main event.

Stukia is back for the first time since July. He missed some CMLL bookings to work elsewhere, which might be why he wasn’t getting any more CMLL bookings. Stukita is Halcon Suriano’s grandson, so it’s noticable he’s not part of that Blue Panther show so far.

CMLL Martes: 2018-10-02 

this doesn’t seem fun in a CMLL ring

Recapped: 10/02/2018

Matches: 

Mercurio & Pequeño Violencia beat Acero & Aéreo 
(12:52 [5:30, 3:57, 3:25], 2/3, n/r, 
VideosOficialesCMLL)

Cancerbero, Nitro, Sangre Azteca beat Pegasso, Príncipe Diamante, Súper Astro Jr.  
(8:15 [4:41, 3:34], 1/2, n/r, 
VideosOficialesCMLL)

Felino, Misterioso Jr., Tiger beat Black Panther, Blue Panther, Blue Panther Jr.  
(14:09 [4:51, 2:43, 6:35], 2/3, n/r,
VideosOficialesCMLL)

Ángel de Oro, Audaz, Niebla Roja beat Dragón Rojo Jr., Luciferno, Pólvora
(17:11 [4:43, 5:11, 7:17], 2/3, n/r,
VideosOficialesCMLL)

Mistico, Stuka Jr., Volador Jr. beat Ephesto, Mephisto, Negro Casas
(8:22 [1:49, 3:34, 2:59], 1/3, good, 
VideosOficialesCMLL)

Carístico beat Gran Guerrero for the NWA World Middleweight Championship
(18:58 [5:21, 1:39, 11:58], 1/3, great,
VideosOficialesCMLL)

  1. Carístico cradle (5:21)

  2. Pulpo Guerrero (1:39)

  3. La Caristica (11:58)

What happened: 

Nitro is now wearing pants that match Cancerbero, instead of his old Tuareg gear. The rudos win straight falls easily.

Thoughts: 

Maestro Caristico

The title match was very much a Guerrero style championship match, which used to be a Carístico/Mistico style match when he had a lot of them here. They didn’t break any new group, but put together something that was pretty dramatic. There’s still something in Carístico for the diehards who are diehard enough to show up on a Tuesday show, and these two worked a match with a lot of near falls sucked them in. Gran Guerrero held his end as a base, keeping up with Caristico’s offense – the top rope headscissors at the end was the only shaky moment to me, and that was more about the ropes being shaky. Carístico took much more high impact than he really had to here, but it made Gran Guerrero come off as a worthy contender. Given their positions in CMLL, I suspect this won’t be the only time we see this matchup, but it’s hard to imagine it going much better than it did here.

I didn’t have much to write about the undercard, but 3/4/5 did all seem like they had more life than usual. The Blue Panther match was as different as usual but they worked well with what they did. The Chavez brothers had a solid match. I thought the Mistico trios match was the best of them all, with a Friday night level effort. I didn’t grasp how short it was – almost as short as the two fall match – until I went to figure it out later. They tried for as long as they were out there.