A lot of people on this show who haven’t been around lately. Did you know Comando Elite are still Mexico State trios champions? Maybe they’re not, who knows.
Arena Puebla has a bigger show than usual tonight. Tomorrow is officially Día de la Revolución in Mexico, which might be a reason for the bigger shows both yesterday and tonight. The 1910 revolution was about overthrowing an unjustly elected leader. Tonight’s Puebla show is about attempting to overthrow a couple of champions.
Sanson gets his first every chance at the heavyweight championship tonight, facing Ultimo Guerrero for his newly won championship. A title change with no defenses is unlikely, especially when it comes to Ultimo Guerrero, but it did just happen yesterday with Rush & Terrible. Sanson is coming off a strong singles match with Guerrero trainee Templario. It’s a little tougher to get an interesting match out of Guerrero, but it’ll definitely be solid.
The CMLL Women’s championship is also on the line on the show, in a much less unique matchup. Dalys & Marcela have faced many times. It’ll be fine. It like will be good. It’s also very stale. They haven’t done this specific title match since in a year, but these two women have essentially been feuding since late 2013, and are usually the focus of every CMLL women’s match. A title change is possible but wouldn’t seem to change that status quo.
Speaking of people who can’t stop wrestling each other, Fuerza Guerrera and Octagon are in to wrestle in the semi-main. Atlantis, Stuka, Ephesto, and Mephisto round out the match. A Fuerza/Atlantis issue was teased last week. Drone, Fuego, and Stigma face Polvora, Dragon Rojo and Malayo in the tercera, with Malayo again being the local rudo who gets moved up to a higher match. Pegasso & Tigre Rojo take on Metalico & Toro Bill. Centella Rojas face Rey Apocalispis and usual tecnico Black Tiger in the opener.
The show will air on CMLL’s YouTube channel at 9 pm.
Lucha Memes, Lucha Libre Boom and Generacion 21 also have a show in Arena Lopez Mateos. The LA Parks face the Caifans and the strange team of Hechicero & Masada on the hardcore themed show.
All matches aired from Gimnasio Municipal Josué Neri Santos, Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua
Matches:
Mr. Alfa, Centinela, Villano III Jr. beat VIP, Syrus, Rey Puma (6:15, Villano III headstand rope flip moonsault Syrus, ok, 00:17:16)
gif: 1741/2159
Lady Shani, Starfire, Vanilla beat Keyra, Lady Maravilla, Zafiro (8:39, Lady Shani spinning Gori Special Lady Maravilla, ok, 00:33:38)
Angelikal, Hijo Del Vikingo, Laredo Kidbeat Carta Brava Jr., Mocho Cota Jr., Tito Santana (8:57, Hijo del Vikingo reverse 450 splash Tito Santana, good, 01:10:56)
Joe Lider & Paganobeat Cíclope & Miedo Extremo (13:44, Pagano Spanish Fly “thru” a table Ciclope, ok, 01:33:00)
La Máscara, Monsther Clown, Rey Escorpión beat Mamba, Máximo, Murder Clown (9:25, La Mascara fouled Máximo, ok, 02:07:09)
Brian Cage, La Parka, Psycho Clown beat Blue Demon, Hijo del Fantasma, Texano Jr. (11:04, Cage F5 Texano, ok, 02:29:28)
What happened:
After the second match, Psycho Clown & La Parka came out to complain about teaming with the traitor Blue Demon. They were interrupted by Konnan, Fantasma, and Texano. Fantasma also called Drago a midget and said he has no chance against him. Fantasma also said Cage would give him the title after he beat Fenix at Guerra de Titanes. Cage didn’t like that, things escalated quickly, and the other rudos attacked Cage. Parka & Psycho thought about it, made the save, teased attacking Konnan, and were attacked by Blue Demon from him. Cage shook hands with Parka & Psycho afterward. Cage and Demon switched places in the match and Cage wrestled as a técnico.
Los Macizos fouled Lider & Pagano after.
Vampiro appeared to explain Scarlett wasn’t here and Zaifro would replace her. Keyra and Lady Shani each side they’d be the next Reina de Reinas and got into a fight after the match. Keyra and Shani ripped each other’s masks and had to be pulled apart twice.
VIP attacked his partners after the match, giving Syrus a sit-down piledriver. This came across as the wrestlers doing their own angle.
Thoughts:
The main event was an average AAA main event, with the weirdness of Brian Cage doing spots with Blue Demon. Demon looked old and not entirely convincing as a main event heel, though he tried to make it up with aggressive brawling at times. Cage got to throw people around before his title match, and it sure seems like they’re setting him up for more than just a title challenge.
The semi-main was a thoroughly average match which had no change in following the craziness of the last one. The crowd was out of it until Murder Clown did his 619 and splash. The Mascara/Maximo issue has gotten months of build and didn’t come across as any special deal here. The crowd is into Máximo’s comedy, but they were also into Mamba outside of the feud.
The extreme match definitely wasn’t for me – it was extreme spots without meaning or build – but I didn’t think it wasn’t a great exhibition. Pagano was bad in this match, as often. Pagano was taking forever to do spots, and then screwing them up. Pagano did spots about not wanting to get hit by light tubes right after he no sold chair shots to the head (and didn’t sell those light tubes all that much.) Pagano’s clumsiness probably wasn’t responsible for the double suplex going bad, but it sure was a lot to do with the finish not going well. Pagano is willing to do stupid stuff to himself and he was way over so he can continue being bad at wrestling but it doesn’t make it great to watch. The other guys were fine, and Ciclope & Miedo Extremo came across better here than their previous match. But this was only enjoyable to see Pagano be bad.
The tercera was another exciting match between these two teams, if not as clean as their previous ones. The match was rough mostly in terms of guys actually being caught. Poder del Norte whiffed both on Laredo and Angelikal’s dives, and there were some hard landings earlier. There was also a little bit too many two counts where Copetes had to pause counting because someone wasn’t quick enough to break up pins. These are things they can clean up with another try, and at least Poder del Norte was kept to only one chair shot this time. I don’t know what the deal was with the weapon Cota used either though.
The women’s match wasn’t really as the level of the recent ones, though it was still alright. They did a lot more triple spots than normal for these matches, and it kind of got more silly than serious. AAA nearly missed Shani’s finish for a second straight show, which is almost as impressive as Keyra’s unwilling to take it easy on dropkicks. Vanilla maybe needs to get a lot better at the tornillo or stop doing the tornillo, because it was really not good here. The brawl felt more real than usual.
The opener had some good spots and was also pretty rough at times. The early portion of the match, where the rudos setup up flashy técnico spots, looked the best. Though even that was was a bit slow, enough to feel artificial. They were less able to stay on their plan as the match went along, which made some stuff look brutal but also sloppy. It was fine enough as a local match goes. Villano III Jr. had a great senton but his finish didn’t really come that close to hitting.
CMLL (SAT) 11/17/2018Arena Coliseo [CMLL]
1) Akuma & Espanto Jr. b Príncipe Diamante & Robin Rudos took 1/3.
2) Estrellita, La Seductora, Metálica b Avispa Dorada, La Jarochita, La Vaquerita Estrellita replaced Tiffany. Rudas took 2/3.
3) Átomo, Gallito, Microman DQ Chamuel, El Guapito, Perico Zakarías tecnicos took 2/3, the last when Chamuel fouled Microman.
4) Blue Panther, Drone, Volcano b Ephesto, Luciferno, Vangellys Tecnicos took 2/3, with Drone picking up the win hours after his father passed away. Hombre Bala was remembered after the match.
5) Dark Magic, Hechicero, Terrible b Soberano Jr., Stuka Jr., Titán Rudos took 1/3. Terrible pinned Stuka and challenged for a title match.
6) Rush DQ Volador Jr. Rush took 1/3, faking a foul in the third for a DQ.
CMLL put up the moment of applause for Hombre Bala. Stuka & Terrible talked about their pending title match. It’s weird to have the national heavyweight champ challenge for the world light heavyweight title but CMLL is weird. Rush also talked about his win.
This didn’t stream; the only video record of it will be clips on Informa. Niebla Roja beating Rey Bucanero is no surprise. Azul & Valiente winning the tag team titles is a bit of surprise. CMLL did seem very hungry to get a tag team belt on Diamante Azul for years when Shocker & Negro Casas were the champions, so there’s some build to this. I expect the same complaints about CMLL not doing anything with the actual tag teams they have to still be valid since Diamante Azul & Valiente don’t seem more likely to defend the titles. Even the Rush & Terrible team seem like it was underutilized; tag title defenses would’ve been better than most of the Rush singles matches.
There are now 18 champions – or 16 plus Dragon Lee (island) & Electrico (really still a mini) – if CMLL is planning to run the Universal tournament. They’re running out of time.
AAA TV (SUN) 11/18/2018Gimnasio Municipal Josué Neri Santos, Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua [AAA, Lucha Central]
1) Centinela, Mr. Alfa, Villano III Jr. b Rey Puma, Syrus, Vip 6:45. Aereo was scheduled but missed the show due to injury. All others had qualified for the match. Villano III pinned Syrus to win. VIP attacked his partners after the match.
2) Lady Shani, Starfire, Vanilla b Keyra, Lady Maravilla, Zafiro 8:39. Zafiro replaced Scarlett, who Vampiro says did not make the show due to situations out of their control. Lady Shani beat Lady Maravilla with a spinning Gori Special. Keyra and Shani both declared they’d be the next AAA Reina de Reinas champion, then got into a mask pulling brawl that had to be broken up twice.
3) Angelikal, Hijo Del Vikingo, Laredo Kid b Carta Brava Jr., Mocho Cota Jr., Tito Santana 8:57. Hijo del Vikingo beat Tito Santana with an imploding 450 splash.
4) Joe Lider & Pagano b Cíclope & Miedo Extremo 13:44. Pagano beat Ciclope with something like a Spanish Fly into a table on fire. Ciclope & Miedo feigned mutual admiration before attacking Lider & Pagano again.
5) Mamba, Máximo, Murder Clown b La Máscara, Monsther Clown, Rey Escorpión 9:25. La Mascara beat Maximo via foul. Maximo challenged LA Mascara to a hair match in January.
6) Brian Cage, La Parka, Psycho Clown b Blue Demon, Hijo del Fantasma, Texano Jr. 11:04. Earlier in the show, Psycho & Parka protested teaming with Demon. They were interrupted by Fantasma, Texano and Konnan. Fantasma called them unprofessional for not teaming with Demon, said he’d beat Drago at Guerra de Titanes, and said he’d get the mega title after Cage beat Fenix. Cage was not happy with this, and was eventually attacked by the rudos. Psycho & Parka thought about it and made a save. Blue Demon attacked them. Cage & Demon changed sides in the main event and Cage appears to be a tecnico going forward. Cage pinned Texano with a F5 after Demon fouled Psycho. Those two fought to the back after.
Poder del Norte/tecnicos was good, the hardcore match was a spectacle and everything else was alright. The hardcore match seemed to burn out the crowd for a while but they came back in the main event. They didn’t write out Scarlett, but her absence was still strange. The post-match angle in the women’s match felt like it built up Keyra versus Shani stronger than any match. (La Hiedra, Faby Apache and Scarlett are supposed to be in the match.) Maximo specifically asked for a hair match on 01/01. That was understood to mean Juarez, but Maximo also asked for a hair match in Arena Neza Saturday night so who knows for sure. If it is really happening on New Year’s Day, it ought to be announced soon. Cage becoming a tecnico seemed a bit random but might be step one in a bigger plan.
AAA put up this week’s TV show, covering the Merida show. Just like last week’s show from Cancun, it’s the entire taping in one week. Just like last week’s show, one match was cut. Just like last week’s show, it was the match that featured AAA Megachampion Fenix which was cut. It is weird that the mega-champion hasn’t been part of the show since TripleMania – but then I thought to go back and check, and realized the TripleMania title match was cut from TV too. Fenix’s last AAA match to make YouTube, his only AAA match to make that TV show, is the Aguascalientes three-way with Fenix, Flamita, and Bandido. (He did appear on Lucha Capital, and will be in at least two more matches there.) Being cut from one show might just be a weird meaningless choice. Being cut from all the shows can’t be an accident.
After Fenix was skipped on TV last week, it was mentioned to me that AAA might be downplaying Fenix because they were very upset about the dive that took out Marisela Pena at TripleMania. That dive was probably not fun to get hit by, but I dismissed the idea that AAA would put their personal feelings that far ahead of doing business. They did out aside their feelings to bring back Fenix in the first place. Maybe I’m just wrong! Something is obviously wrong. Whatever the problem is, there’s limited use in having Fenix be champion if you’re not going to put him on TV, and the idea of having a champion who will have hot matches doesn’t work if you’re not going to book the champion. This was all in my head before tonight’s show, where Cage was flipped seemingly to feud with Los Mercenarios. Cage being a tecnico makes sense if Cage is going to win the title and do the feud with Fantasma instead of Fenix because AAA’s already soured on Fenix. It’d also explain why Cage is getting that title shot instead of the Laredo Kid match that had been set up, as AAA has always been higher on Cage and he’d make more sense to them as a transitional champion. I do not know that Cage is going to win but it seems suddenly very possible.
AAA (WED) 11/21/2018 Pinche Gringo Barbecue, Miguel Hidalgo, Distrito Federal
1) Hijo Del Vikingo vs Vanilla
2) Máscarita Sagrada vs Killer Kross
3) Puma King vs Pagano
4) Drago vs Keyra
This is the start of phase 2 of the tournament. Puma is headed to DDT before phase 3 starts, so Pagano eliminating him with a second loss seems a safe bet. I don’t think Kross’ undefeated run is going to end at the hands of Mascarita Sagrada. Vikingo has a loss and Vanilla has a win, so there’s a good bet they’ll reverse that so both are 1-1. I wish it was a better bet for that match to be good. Drago & Keyra are both coming off a loss and the loser is probably also done. This is the first show without a sure great match; maybe the main event will be that, but that’s far frome sure.
AAA also officially announced the 12/08 Arena Xalapa taping. There are a couple of changes. Black Danger & Ultimo Maldito replace Dave the Clown & Villano III Jr. in the second match. The OGT/Poder del Norte match is no longer listed for the trios titles. AAA has not yet announced the 12/02 Aguascalientes Guerra de Titanes card, but they did make some references to matches on that show (Drago/Fantasma, Fenix/Cage)
CMLL (FRI) 11/23/2018Arena México
1) Oro Jr. & Súper Astro Jr. vs Akuma & Espanto Jr.
2) Black Panther, Blue Panther Jr., Fuego vs Kawato San, Okumura, Universo 2000 Jr.
3) Soberano Jr., Titán, Tritón vs Dark Magic, Luciferno, Vangellys
4) Carístico, Místico, Volador Jr. vs Ephesto, Mephisto, Penta 0M
5) Cuatrero, Forastero, Máscara Año 2000, Sansón vs Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Templario, Último Guerrero
6) Cavernario vs King Phoenix [Leyenda de Plata]
Cavernario versus Phoenix was good last time. Also, last time, the fans were strongly behind Cavernario.
There are so many people in the Mascara 2000 match that the match might actually be good. Templario is unofficially the fourth Guerrero Lagunero. If only there were still tecnico groups for Audaz to join.
Whoever puts together the cards may be under the impression that Penta & Caristico are still feuding, but has failed to communicate that to those people.
Fuego’s best chance of being pushed? Travel to Michigan and wrestle on low-level indies, I think.
Oro being in the opener is obviously subject to change. There’s been no update, which seems like a good thing in this case.
Mexa Wrestling (SAT) 12/08/2018Arena San Juan Pantitlan, Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl, Estado de México
1) Xtabay vs Reina Dorada
2) Diosa Quetzal, Torito Negro, Toro Negro vs Diablo Jr., El Hijo del Diablo, Lady Flammer
3) Dragón Bane vs Alan Extreme
4) Brian Villa & Willy Banderas vs Metaleón & Mr. Leo and Fresero Jr. & Mr. Iguana
5) Zumbido vs Diva Salvaje
6) Fly Star vs Demus [hardcore]
7) Rey Horuz vs Arez, Último Maldito, Toxin, Arkángel Divino
No changes from the announced card. Lucha Memes & Lucha Libre Boom announced they’re making their debut in this building a day later with a card called “Nueva Era.” I’m sure they’ll be agressively counter promoting this card, as MexaWrestling and Memes have gone back and forth on scoial media.
CMLL (FRI) 11/16/2018Arena México [CMLL, ESTO, Estrelas de La Lucha Libre, Lucha Central, Marca, Ovaciones, The Gladiatores, thecubsfan]
1) Espanto Jr. & Grako b Astral & Eléctrico 13:30. Tecnicos took 1/3.
2) La Guerrera, Lluvia, Marcela b Amapola, Dalys, Tiffany 11:33. Straight falls. Dalys was DQed for refusing to let go of a choke.
3) Misterioso Jr., Okumura, Vangellys b Esfinge, Guerrero Maya Jr., Rey Cometa Rudos took 2/3. Vangellys return from knee injury.
4) Cavernario, El Audaz, Felino, King Phoenix, Tiger, Tritón, Virus, Volador Jr. b Dragón Rojo Jr., Flyer, Kawato San, Mephisto, Místico, Soberano Jr., Templario, Titán [battle royal]
5) Cavernario & King Phoenix b Volador Jr., Titán, Flyer, Místico, Soberano Jr., Tritón, El Audaz, Dragón Rojo Jr., Felino, Virus, Mephisto, Templario, Kawato San, Tiger [Leyenda de Plata] 34:52. Eliminator order Kawato San (by Audaz), Tiger (Templario), Triton (Dragon Rojo), Audaz (Soberano), Flyer (Virus), Titan (Felino), Virus (Mephisto), Dragon Rojo (Cavernario), Felino (Soberano), Templario (Volador), Mephisto (Fenix), Soberano (Cavernario), Mistico (Volador), Volador (Cavernario), leaving Cavernario and King Phoenix as the finalists for next week.
6) Gran Guerrero, Penta 0M, Último Guerrero b Carístico, Diamante Azul, Valiente 9:42. Rudos took 1/3, UG rolling thru La Mistica to cradle Caristico for the win.
I really liked the cibernetico, though it did get a bit iffy for a stretch. The rest of the show is skippable. Fenix/Cavernario next week is going to be outstanding.
AAA (FRI) 11/16/2018 Movistar Arena, Bogota, Colombia [Lucha Libre AAA Colombia]
1) Angelikal & Hijo Del Vikingo b Black Danger & Último Maldito Vikingo & Angelikal replaced Divino & Black Boy when Blue Demon was added to do the card.
2) Faby Apache b Lady Shani
3) Laredo Kid & Máximo b Aerostar & Drago Maximo pinned Aerostar after the kiss. Aerostar earlier dove off a balcony.
4) Psycho Clown b Hijo del Fantasma, Blue Demon Jr. Psycho pinned Fantasma after Fantasma had fouled Blue Demon. Psycho Clown thanked the audience.
This show looked like a strong success: about 70% full crowd that was into everything. It seemed a crowd more specifically excited for having major league Wrestling more than specifically AAA, but they did get into the AAA wrestlers. I saw the last two matches, which were both better than you’d expect on a normal show. The reactions I saw on social media for the show were strongly positive, especially for those people who went to the show; there’s definitely a “now that we proved we’ll support wrestling, WWE will come soon” vibe to some of it, but the people who went to see AAA seemed to enjoy AAA.
This aired live in Colombia on WIN Sports, with Savonvich and Zuniga commentating. WIN was one of the sponsors – it was their logo on the mat – and they did of TV promotion for the show. Nothing more was said about a follow-up show beyond “we hope to return”. It’d be a surprise if they did not return.
Hombre Bala has passed away. Aurelio Ortiz was an 80s/90s start in EMLL, who later wrestled as caveman Cro-Magnon. He had a long stint in AAA as the Monsther, teaming with Chucky to forever feud with Alebrije & Cuije. Hombre Bala is part of the Pirata Morgan family, his son Drone wrestles in CMLL, and his daughter India Sioux is married to Maximo. His wife was a luchadora as well. Hombra Bala had been in poor health for a while.
AAA will definitely be streaming on Sunday. They’ll be on Twitch on Ciudad Juarez, the end of a very busy week for them. The show will start at 5:00 pm CT, with the first match around 5:30 pm. The main event is scheduled to be Blue Demon, La Parka, Psycho Clown versus Texano Jr., Hijo del Fantasma and Brian Cage, which doesn’t sound any good and also doesn’t make much sense. They’ll also have the Joe Lider & Pagano versus Ciclope & Miedo Extremo extreme match, and a rematch of Poder del Norte versus Vikingo, Laredo and Angelikal. The group who worked Ciudad Juarez have a lot of traveling to do this weekend.
I still don’t understand what happened with Ayako Hamada, but she has a new Facebook page and posted something about “a person destroyed her life” but God opened a door for her.
King Phoenixand Cavernario advanced past Titán, Volador Jr, Flyer, Místico, Soberano Jr., Tritón, El Audaz, Dragón Rojo Jr., Felino, Virus, Mephisto, Templario, Kawato San, Tigerin CMLL’s Leyenda de Plata Tournament (34:52, great, 01:16:34)
Audaz springboard headscissors Kawato San (7:56)
Templario frontcracker powerbomb Tiger (9:35)
Dragon Rojo double stomp Triton (12:20)
Soberano front piledriver Audaz (13:28)
Virus motocicleta Flyer (14:51)
Felino superpowerbomb Titan (18:19)
Mephisto super Devils’ Wings Virus (19:20)
Cavernario springboard splash Dragon Rojo (20:43)
Soberano guillotine moonsault Felino (21:27)
Volador reverse rana Templario (23:01)
Fenix springboard dropkick to the face Mephisto (24:24)
Cavernario cavernaria Soberano Jr. (25:25)
Volador Canadian Destroyer Místico (28:50)
Cavernario cavernaria Volador Jr. (34:52)
Gran Guerrero, Penta 0M, Último Guerrero beat Carístico, Diamante Azul, Valiente (9:42 [2:14, 1:29, 5:59], 1/3, ok, 01:56:30)
What happened:
UG turned a La Mistica straight into a crucifix cradle.
Felino might have picked up a hip injury taking Soberano’s moonsault. The final four came down to only Místico left on his team against King Phoenix, Volador and Cavenario. Those last two decided to start fighting Phoenix, and fought the final as a three way leading to the finish. Cavernario & Phoenix advance to next week’s final, a rematch from earlier this year.
Dalys would not let go of a choke – a choke she’s never ever done before and probably will never do again – and she was disqualified without a count. (This was a typically strange way to do a DQ in a women’s match where there’s no mask involved.)
Grako lost Astral on a powerbomb. Instead of picking him up again, he just dropped him badly. Eléctrico was strechered out after taking Grako’s hanging double underhook facebuster, though it was less clear if that was a real injury (brought out by his head being too low) or if he was selling the move.
Thoughts:
The main event seemed liked it was going to be a usual super rush trios match to follow a really strong match for two falls. It slowed down and gave a little bit of time in the third fall, though the action was never really noteworthy. It was more interesting what they didn’t do (Azul/UG dropped) than anything they did do. Penta based well for Carístico but mostly existed as something for Valiente & Diamante Azul to be angry about. They seemed annoyed he’s so over, which is an odd thing to be angry about. The finish was nicely done.
The Leyenda de Plata was easily the best of the recent run of ciberneticos, a borderline great/excellent match. The overall performance level was better than those, and this had an insane section of the match that was just missing from the others. The action was really solid for most of the way – until Fenix’s slip on a springboard felt like it derailed the action and the crowd for a couple of minutes. Fenix got them back with a dive, but it was just long enough where I couldn’t go with the high grade. Fenix looked super throughout the rest of the match, with his best moments coming in the second half of the match. Templario had a great run, carrying a lot of the middle and doing great with whoever he was working with them. Soberano looked really good if also a bit dangerous. Triton & Audaz did well in short runs (while you could’ve replaced Felino with anyone and gotten the same.) Would’ve liked to see more of Titan but they did get to mix it up with other people. This is an easy recommendation.
Vangellys getting a strong showcase win in his return was the purpose of the third match. That’s a strange purpose but I suppose he was fine with it. Rey Cometa did an impressive dive and then Vangellys quickly pinned him. The match was the most professional of the undercard, the standard solid if predictable CMLL midcard trios match.
The women’s match was the same as always, just with a little less crowd reaction than normal. It held all the way to the finish, where no one really bought the finish. This division desperately needs something fresh to happen. This was the opposite, Dalys & Marcela feuding again. I feel like I’ve seen the Amapola dropkick the person on the middle rope spot 1000 times and La Guerrera took the bump differently than everyone else, so that’s something to say for this match. It didn’t go well.
The opener kind of derailed when Grako dropped Astral badly, as tends to happen. The rudos stalled out the second fall to give Astral some time to recover, and openers don’t need any more time to cool down. Grako seemed off the rest of the match, though he hasn’t looked on a lot. Grako trying to take a bump into the corner off an Electrico dropkick and landing on referee Pompin’s feet is about as well as this one went.
IWRG , FLUFENAX (THU) 11/15/2018Arena Naucalpan [+LuchaTV, The Gladiatores]
1) Emperador Brillante b Blue Monsther
2) Francoise Montanez b Dr. Cerebro Took place before the stream started. Cerebro challenged for a mask match.
3) Hijo del Solar & Solar I b Hijo del Fishman & Negro Navarro Billed as Hijo del Solar versus a mystery MMA wrestler, ended up a tag math instead.
4) Blue Panther Jr. & The Panther b Trauma I & Trauma II Good match, mask match challenges followed.
5) Jack Evans b Ricky Marvin A rare loss for Ricky Marvin.
6) Jean Montanez & Pierre Montanez b Heddi Karaoui & Zumbi
7) Charly Rockstar, Ciber the Main Man, Cuervo (Puerto Rico), The Chris b Hijo de LA Park, Lizmark Jr., Mr. Electro, Ramsés Ciber beat Electro to set up a title match.
8) Rush b LA Park, Penta 0M [cage] The rules were the first person to escape would win, and the last two would have a match later. Rush escaped, and Penta & Park will have a singles match on 12/21 as Arena Naucalpan’s Anniversary main event.
I only saw the main event. You don’t need to see the main event. The semi-main went far too long.
Tonight is the Leyenda de Plata. In the old times of the 2000s, it used to be the sort of the tournament to determine the best wrestler in the promotion. It was supplanted by the Universal tournament, but it might as well serve that purpose with no sign of the big red belt this year.
Historically, last year’s winner of the Leyenda de Plata faced the winner of a cibernetico to determine the new champion. It was exactly the same format the Rey del Inframundo just used. That was thrown out last year, because the former champion was La Mascara and La Mascara ceased to exist in CMLL. Volador is the reigning champion, but they’re putting him in the cibernetico instead. That means tonight’s cibernetico will end with two people left in the ring and without a definite winner and loser. That is what happened last night in the IWRG cage match, no one much liked it then, and no one will much like it tonight. It’s a simple to way to set up a singles match, which is what CMLL likes.
I write those “Nopes” even while noting the best recent Leyenda de Plata finals were the 2013 tournament (Negro Casas versus Titan) and 2015 (Negro Casas versus Dragon Lee), where they put a young guy with an experienced guy who would make him look good while still winning. Cavernario versus Audaz or even like King Phoenix versus Tiger would be really helpful for the lesser star, but you can’t actually bet on CMLL doing thoes things.
In an interview with Diario Basta, Mephisto says the Leyenda de Plata is for the smaller weight classes and the Leyenda de Azul is for the heavyweights. The older version of that is Leyenda de Plata was for the best actual wrestlers and the Leyenda de Azul was for the bigger names. There’s a decent amount of overlap in those ideas. Mephisto has been in 11 of the 16 and has won 0 of the 16, but he thinks he’s got a good shot this time.
Mephisto also notes he has 13 defenses of the Welterweight Championship, up from 11 in the last reign (we can only find 8), and he hopes to reach 20 this time. Mephisto explains his winning strategy is to use his big moves late in the match.
The rest of the show is pretty much a nothing special show. Caristico, Diamante Azul and Valiente take on Ultimo Guerrero, Gran Guerrero, and Penta 0M. The Caristicio/Penta program was super over when Penta debuted and CMLL just sort of ran away from it. It’s UG versus Azul that’s probably the focus. Esfinge, Guerrero Maya Jr., and Rey Cometa take on Misterioso Jr., Okumura, and Vangellys in an added match. This will be Vangellys return if he actually is back (and he’s listed on a lot of shows.) The women include Dalys & Marcela fighting for the umpteenth time. Astral & Electrico team up against Espanto Jr. & Grako in the opener.
The show will air at 8:30pm on Marca (currently geoblocked) and Facebook (not geoblocked). I’ll probably stream it as well.
AAA debuts tonight in Colombia. The card has changed a little bit from when it started; an original Hijo del Fantasma vs Psycho Clown main event now includes Blue Demon. Angelikal & Hijo del Vikingo replace Arcangel Divino & Black Boy (who hasn’t been around much) in the undercard. The show is not expected to stream on Twitch, though there’s always a chance it could turn up in other forms.
There are some big-picture questions which might be answered. AAA has wanted to advance northward but hasn’t found sustained success in the US. If they can grow to the south, perhaps that’ll bring in the revune they were expecting from the US. It is also test to see if the new content platforms they’ve been on this year are strong enough to reach fresh markets. This show has been promoted locally, but also by AAA on their Twitch broadcasts and on via their show on Space, which airs in South America. If AAA can grow on the Space deal alone, maybe that changes their relationship with Televisa going forward.
AAA (Dorian Roldan) has done interviews previously suggesting returning to Colombia for a tour of shows in 2019, and even running a satellite promotion in the country that they would train and use to run the smaller cities. These are grand ideas, and AAA grand ideas have a way of not actually turning out. (I wouldn’t be surprised if local wrestlers ended up on tonight’s show; they’ve been used in promotion for this card.) If it anything is going to come of it, it has to start with a good turnout tonight. I just don’t really have a strong idea of what “good” means. The arena holds 14K, but I don’t think they need to fill it out to consider it a success. Hugo Savinovich, who seems to have been a part of promoting this, was doing well with 7K crowd in Chile. Maybe AAA would be happy with the same.
There’s lots of local press for the shows. Blue Demon went in depth about his life with El Tiempo, mentioning he choose to go to a military academy when he was young, and says the lymphatic cancer he was discovered to have in 2000 reached stage 4. Faby Apache is interviewed in ADN.
At least one of the pieces on the show indicate lucha libre was a big deal in Colombia in the 70s/80s, then died out due to people complaining about the violence. A local wrestler, Rayo de Plata, did an audio interview saying Colombia wrestling actually went down to the violence in the country around that time.
That’s the final card, they just don’t have a poster yet. I would like singles matches instead of a fiveway but the five away is probably going ot be very good.
A taping we didn’t even know was coming before the local promoter put up this lineup. I could really use a list of upcoming shows. This comes before the Xalapa taping (a week later, which has Poder del Norte defending these trios titles against OGT, so.) What’s more is the poster bills it as Guerra de Titanes. That would mean AAA will have a (January 2018) Guerra de Titanes and a (December 2018) Guerra de Titanes.
Fenix defends the AAA title for the first time 3.5 months after winning it, and not again the guy who challenged him. Cage did indicate he’d like to get a title shot and maybe they’ll explain it Juarez. Drago & Fantasma was set up on the last taping. Rey Escorpion & Texano are going to regret wandering into the extreme feud. The women’s division continues the “everyone gets a title shot” strategy.
CMLL (TUE) 11/20/2018Arena México
1) Príncipe Diamante & Robin vs El Coyote & Grako
2) Eléctrico, Pegasso, Stigma vs Cancerbero, Disturbio, Raziel
3) Drone, Guerrero Maya Jr., Rey Cometa vs Dragón Rojo Jr., Pólvora, Tiger
4) Titán vs Flyer [lightning]
5) Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Stuka Jr. vs Felino, Hechicero, Rey Bucanero
6) Kráneo, Soberano Jr., Valiente vs Cavernario, La Bestia Del Ring, Terrible
Titan & Flyer is at least a unique match. Raziel might be back, or I might skip through that match so far that I’ll never know.
CMLL (TUE) 11/20/2018Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Avispón Negro Jr., Magnum, Mr. Samurai vs Carlo Roggi, Guerrero de la Muerte, Mr. Apolo
2) Lluvia, Marcela, Princesa Sugehit vs Amapola, Dalys, Reyna Isis
3) Black Panther, El Audaz, Esfinge vs Misterioso Jr., Sagrado, Templario
4) Carístico, Místico, Volador Jr. vs Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero
5) Diamante Azul vs Rush
Diamante Azul/Rush is sometimes alright, and sometimes not very good. Semi-might might be pretty good.