One of the two of us actually went to Mexico and went to shows, so we did a podcast about it. Rob talked about his recent trip to Mexico City, Tijuana, and Monterrey for lucha libre. That was the planned topic before a whole bunch happened, so there’s also talk about the CMLL Universal tournament, AAA on Azteca and recent ongoing there, people who’ve signed with US promotions and people who US promotions would really like to sign if not for a contract with a zombie TV show. No one paid me so there is no list of who should be signed next.
CMLL (FRI) 02/08/2019Arena México [CMLL, Lucha Central, Marca, Ovaciones]
1) Metálico & Nitro b Príncipe Diamante & Robin 15:54. Rudas took 2/3.
2) Kawato San, Misterioso Jr., Universo 2000 Jr. b Black Panther, Drone, Rey Cometa 11:29. Rudas took 2/3.
3) Atlantis, Atlantis Jr., Místico DQ Gran Guerrero, Hijo del Villano III, Villano IV 8:18. Straight falls DQ, the last when Villano III fouled Atlantis
4) Gilbert el Boricua, La Bestia Del Ring, Rush b Ángel de Oro, Carístico, Valiente 14:56. Rudos took 1/3.
5) Sansón & Volador Jr. b Niebla Roja, Diamante Azul, Soberano Jr., Último Guerrero, Mephisto, Cuatrero [CMLL Universal, seeding battle royal] 3:32
6) Último Guerrero b Diamante Azul [CMLL Universal, 8f] 3:14, pulpo guerrero
7) Cuatrero b Soberano Jr. [CMLL Universal, 8f] 4:42. Crucifix powerbomb.
8) Niebla Roja b Mephisto [CMLL Universal, 8f] 3:40, reverse campana
9) Volador Jr. b Sansón [CMLL Universal, 8f] 3:21. Huracanrana.
10) Último Guerrero b Cuatrero [CMLL Universal, quarterfinal] 4:02. Guerrero Special
11) Niebla Roja b Volador Jr. [CMLL Universal, quarterfinal] 5:04. Canadian Destroyer (Kamiatachi style)
12) Niebla Roja b Último Guerrero [CMLL Universal, semifinal] 6:00. Niebla Roja won the block in a shock with a reverse campana. He faces Terrible next week.
Media room interviews: Niebla Roja (talked about making it to the final), Ultimo Guerrero (praised Niebla Roja), Los Ingobernables (teased the idea of Gilbert joining), Atlantis (put down Hijo del Villano III), and the Villanos (vowed to retire Atlantis). Again, no one’s made an apuesta challenge but there’s nothing else being built up besides the Atlantis/Villano feud so that looks like the Homenaje a Dos Leyendas big match. H2L came for the first time on yesterday’s broadcast, but no date was given. Maybe that’ll come up when the Universal tournament final plugs go away.
Usually, when a wrestling promotion says “against all predictions, this man won”, it is a bit of hyperbole. It is not hyperbole with Niebla Roja. I was wrong – loud wrong – picking Diamante Azul to win, but I join the 99% of people who did not have Niebla Roja going to the final of the Universal tournament. This is reminiscent of Valiente going to the final (and winning) in 2016. Valiente’s performances had slipped in the ring at that point and it felt like he was being rewarded more for his enlarged physique, so that wasn’t received well. Niebla Roja is not universally beloved, but he did pick up some votes for best wrestler and most favorite wrestler in the Tapatia awards and I think enough people like him that this is going to be looked at well. Niebla Roja versus Terrible will be a first time match.
ESTO had an article shooting down the idea of CMLL returning to Televisa, insisting there had been no talks between the two companies. This story had first come up in Leo Riano’s column in Record a few days ago, though it’s blamed on “blogs who cover lucha libre.” (Huh.)
It’s a bit odd for a promotion to declare the biggest TV network in the country is definitely not interested in broadcasting you. The article mentions CMLL will continue streaming on Marca and airing on Sundays on Teleformula, a show very people know exist. (I certainly didn’t know Hechicero was one of the announcers. Everyone go vote for Hechicero as best announcer in the WON awards.) The previous CMLL Televisa crew was Leobardo Magadan, Miguel Linares, Dr. Alfonso Morales, and Leo Riano. Morales is no longer doing much announcing, but the other three men were the rumored crew for CMLL returning to Televisa. The current CMLL Marca crew is Leobrado Magadan, Miguel Linares, Julio Cesar Rivera, and sometimes a rotating fourth person. JCR both appears to be the odd man out should CMLL return to Televisa and also the person in charge of CMLL’s TV department. He probably wouldn’t be interested in a deal that would cost him a prime position and may even be a person deciding if it’s going to happen. He sure seems like the source to this story.
The main event was quite the 90s throwback in terms of so much going on. La Mascara put about as much effort into distracting the referee as he does in wrestling nowadays, and it was silly that the match wasn’t stopped at that point. (AAA’s got to pick “referee distractions” or “all matches no DQ”, because doing both back to back is weird.) No one came up with an explanation for why Laredo Kid or Hijo del Vikingo were allowed to add themselves to the main event because there was no real explanation to be had. Hot rising star Vikingo taking the pin in a match he wasn’t in after having his finish kicked out of doesn’t do him any favors, though it came across better than the disaster it must read like. The real problem seems like having Hijo del Vikingo take the pin also earlier when Jack Evans, who has nothing going on, was also available to lose in that match. They tried to push the idea of huge win for Vikingo before he got beat, and it’ll serve a purpose if Vikingo eventually does beat Kross (Mascara de Bronce feud take 2!) but the earlier loss doesn’t really have a purpose. It was a memorable wild scene but I’m not sure it served AAA well. AAA people would rightfully say “scoreboard!” and the scoreboard shows they sold out that arena. So maybe none of this matters.
Show started a half hour later than planned (so a half hour later than the usual half hour late start), which made it run late into the night. Taurus/Laredo was great from what I saw of it. Opener looked good and the crowd was super into Nino Hamburguesa. The fourway was said to be alright but maybe not as good as you’d expect with the names involved and the Aerostar tag was also just fine. Semimain sounded skippable; La Mascara is in the matches but also seems to be skipping them.
Sammy Guevera sent in a video from home talking about a family emergency and saying he’d be back in Morelia to make up the title match. This was followed by Killer Kross interrupting, complaining about no one ever defending their titles in AAA (he’s not going to like the next paragraph) and hoping that Sammy’s family all dies. That seemed harsh. That’s also something that would be a bit over the line if there was a serious family emergency, so it is good that it isn’t really as serious as sounds but Guevera does really have a family thing that’s going on.
Fenix suffered an injury at the end of the AAW show Friday night in Texas which will likely keep him out of action for a short time. It means the heavyweight title scheduled for Sunday is almost definitely not happening (and it’ll be the second straight time he’s had to miss a defense due to injury.) Fenix landed badly taking a cutter in AAW’s main event tag title match, a fall that did not immediately look bad. Fenix was in obviously in pain after and they quickly ended the match (with Penta winning the tag titles.) Fenix was checked out and ruled to have a muscle contusion, a relief considering how seriously everyone had treated the injury at the moment. Fenix & Penta are scheduled for House of Glory in New York tonight before Fenix was to join the AAA crew in Tepic. AAA hasn’t said anything about how the card will shuffle, and likely will not until show time.
MLW announced Fenix & Pentagon will be on their 03/03 show in Chicago (barring injury), which presumably means Penta/Park is still on for the first MLW show WrestleMania weekend. They have not signed with AEW (and can’t until LU is resolved), so they’re still as free to work for MLW when they want. MLW drew a heavy latino audience last time in Cicero so having them on that show is important.
No one seemed to think the Lucha Brothers were leaving MLW until MLW started teasing after their show past weekend and I’m unsure why MLW did a storyline teasing losing more people than they already had. It did not seem to get them any more positive attention and it probably made for a week of people who had bought tickets to those upcoming events less sure they were going to see some of the people they wanted to see. (Being the internet, there are still going to be people who heard MLW’s story about the Lucha Brothers maybe leaving and will not catch the story about them not actually leaving too.) I guess it worked if it was meant to distract from the disappointing match they had.
Impact announced Fenix & Penta will face Rob Van Dam & Sabu on their own WrestleMania weekend show (which starts about an hour after the Thursday night MLW one.) Impact also aired Fenix & Penta winning their tag team titles from their taping in Mexico City, which looked pretty good from what I got to see of it.
One more Lucha Brothers note: on Wrestling Observer Radio, Tony Khan specifically thanked Dorian Roldan/AAA for making the Lucha Brothers available for them. Fenix & Pentagon are competing under their indie names, but I guess that means they had to get permission from LU/AAA to work on those shows. Khan mentioned more luchadors would be on the show but did not want to give many details about this (or a lot of other things.)
AAA is back on Twitch Sunday night. It will be around an 8 pm CT start time counting the time difference and the usual delay. The main event is scheduled to be La Parka, Psycho Clown & Puma King versus Rey Escorpion, Hijo del Fantasma and Killer Kross, but that may change with if they play up the martinete on Parka from Friday. Most of the rest of the card may change: Demon versus Wagner in a street fight seems pretty set and likely for a big announcement, but the rest of the show has to deal with Fenix and Guevera missing. As simple as it would be to just combine some matches, AAA seems set on having six matches for tapings for TV purposes.
Fenix is supposed to defend his title against Laredo Kid and Flamita. I wouldn’t mind seeming a Laredo Kid/Flamita singles match. Aerostar, Maximo, Taya are scheduled to face Faby, Mascara and Monsther Clown. The second match is listed as Hijo del Vikingo & Sammy Guevera versus Jack Evans and Taurus. The opener is the same as Friday, Dianastia, Lady Shani, Nino Hamburgesa against Lady Maravilla, Lanzelot and Villano III Jr., and it might have the same finish.
The Crash runs tonight with Bestia versus Damian in a hardcore cage match. The undercard includes Willie Mack defending the heavyweight title against Barbaro Cavernario & Austin Theory, as well as a six-way with Dragon Bane, Soberano, Titan, Rey Horus, Flamita and Oraculo
Guadalajara’s Difunto makes his debut on the CMLL shows this weekend. A quick interview with El Grafico fills in a blank: he started out in Arena Coliseo Guadalajara as El Diplomatico in 2015 before switching to the Difunto character. I remember Diplomatico for being such an odd name, especially for a rudo.
CMLL (FRI) 02/15/2019Arena México
1) Pegasso & Stigma vs Cancerbero & Raziel
2) Black Panther, Blue Panther Jr., Guerrero Maya Jr. vs Okumura, Tiger, Virus
3) Esfinge, Titán, Tritón vs Pólvora, Templario, Vangellys
4) Ángel de Oro, Soberano Jr., Stuka Jr. vs Ephesto, La Bestia Del Ring, Mephisto
5) Carístico, Místico, Valiente vs Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero
6) Terrible vs Niebla Roja [CMLL Universal]
Top two matches should be good.
The “two main event stars debuting” are missing. My belief was the two wrestlers were Garza Jr. & Bestia 666, who were already announced as appearing the next day in Arena Lopez Mateos. They’re main eventers in the Crash, the Crash works with CMLL, they haven’t wrestled in Arena Mexico and they’re likely were not coming to Mexico City to just for one show. (Garza and MechaWolf are noticeable around the following weekend as well.) But they’re not there, so I’m not sure if that means they got dropped entirely or if they’ll be some sort of surprise.
Último Guerrerobeat Cuatreroin a CMLL Universal quarterfinal (4:02, Guerrero special, ok, 02:01:58)
Niebla Rojabeat Volador Jr.in a CMLL Universal quarterfinal (5:04, Canadian Destroyer, ok, 02:07:32)
Niebla Rojabeat Último Guerreroin a CMLL Universal semifinal (6:00, reverse campana, good, 02:13:39)
What happened:
Hijo del Villano III is out
Niebla Roja won the block to face Terrible next week in the Universal final.
The Villanos jumped Papa Atlantis before the match, and Hijo del Villano III fouled Atlantis Jr. to end it.
Thoughts:
I didn’t give most individual matches of the Universal tournament a strong grade, but it was still good as a package and significantly better than usual. Last week’s final had the better high end matches but everything here was watchable with more thought than usual. It’s also possible I would’ve got more into the individual matches if I wasn’t watching two other sat the same time. Only the Diamante Azul match was the traditional “loser uses up all his offense” tournament match. The Niebla Roja/Mephisto match felt like the opposite, Mephisto just getting in nothing in and taking the loss. Volador/Sanson & Cuatrero/Soberano had good counters out of usual stuff, and both the second round matches felt fresh. Niebla Roja really seemed to have a chance when he made the final and beating Ultimo Guerrero cleanly (after beating Volador cleanly seven minutes before) felt like a big deal. It was an interesting and surprising choice that played better than Valiente’s advancement three years ago.
Mistico headscissors
CMLL continues to put over Gilbert strong, even if he’s not very good at this point and they have no particular direction for him. It’s like they’re waiting for something to come up and just keeping him ready until it does. Rush & Carístico were in the semi-main trios a bit, Carístico definitely so, but there wasn’t much going on around them and this was a very forgettable match. Bestia attempted to use a finish that was very much beyond him; stick with the senton.
The tercera was a vast improvement in energy over the two matches. The Villanos are into the feud and the Atlantis are fighting to survive. Atlantis Jr. & Hijo del Villano III looked better this week until the very obvious slip late in the match. Hijo del Villano at least reacted well. Papa Atlantis and V4 brawled a lot, but it felt like the sons were the focus. Gran Guerrero & Místico were a level above everyone else and are the match I’d like to see, but that was clearly not the plan here.
The segunda was a standard midcard match, maybe a little worse than usual. Okumura coming in hurt the match, not just because it was Okumura. Kawato helps to add my interest in these because there’s a chance he might actually get better. There doesn’t seem to be chances for the rest of this group. A lot of it is people being overexposed, but The Panther feels less exciting than a year ago. The boomerang kick spot went quite bad, the topes aren’t as good and the mat wrestling is gone. Not that I’d expect it with these rudos.
Metalico’s flashy entrance distracts from the fact that he’s often counterproductive once the whistle blows. He seemed to cause Robin to be hurt at the end of the match. Nitro doesn’t have a flashy entrance. He was the better of the two there. Diamante has cool spots that seemed to take a long time to set up. Avoid this match.
I actually got to a watch later post in February. Very proud not to be months behind, at least for now. I think the IWRG FILL cibernetico is the only thing left on my watch list.
This is a weird week where a Pagano match and a CMLL tournament match are the top two. There are more matches from the AAA taping then all the other shows combined. I know paying for wrestling, especially lucha libre, is not something some people want to do, but I think you’re getting good value of a Twitch subscription right now. I hope everything comes thru on YouTube eventually but it’s probably going to be a long wait.
Recommended Matches
rating
matches
TV Show
taped
great
Joe Lider & Pagano vs Cíclope & Miedo Extremo
AAA on Twitch: 2019-01-26
2019-01-26
great
Terrible vs Dragón Leefor the CMLL Universal Championship and in a tournament semifinal match
CMLL on ClaroSports.com: 2019-02-01
2019-02-01
good
Lady Shani, Máscara de Bronce, Raptor vs Chicano, Lady Maravilla, Villano III Jr.
Hijo Del Vikingo, Murder Clown, Myzteziz Jr. vs Averno, Chessman, Súper Fly
AAA on Twitch: 2019-01-26
2019-01-26
good
Aerostar, Dr. Wagner Jr., Psycho Clown vs Hijo del Fantasma, Monsther Clown, Rey Escorpión
AAA on Twitch: 2019-01-26
2019-01-26
good
Súper Astro Jr. vs El Coyotein a lightning match
CMLL YouTube: 2019-01-29
2019-01-29
good
Titán vs Flyer, Tritón, Esfinge, Rey Cometa, Drone, Black Panther, Audaz, Templario, Virus, Sagrado, Pólvora, Kawato San, Vangellys, Tiger, Universo 2000 Jr.in a CMLL’s Reyes del Aire Tournament match
NJPW World: 2019-01-31
2019-01-06
good
Dragón Lee vs Carísticofor the CMLL Universal Championship and in a tournament quarterfinal match
Fuego, Rey Cometa, Tritón vs Kawato San, Misterioso Jr., Sagrado
CMLL YouTube: 2019-01-29
2019-01-29
ok
Blue Panther, Soberano Jr., Titán vs Hechicero, Nitro, Shocker
CMLL YouTube: 2019-01-29
2019-01-29
ok
Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Volador Jr. vs Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón
CMLL YouTube: 2019-01-29
2019-01-29
ok
Carístico, Dragón Lee, Volador Jr. vs Cuatrero, Sansón, Último Guerrero
NJPW World: 2019-01-31
2019-01-06
ok
Robin & Star Jr. vs Akuma & Espanto Jr.
CMLL on ClaroSports.com: 2019-02-01
2019-02-01
ok
Kaho Kobayashi, Lluvia, Princesa Sugehit vs Amapola, Dalys, Reyna Isis
CMLL on ClaroSports.com: 2019-02-01
2019-02-01
ok
Atlantis, Atlantis Jr., Niebla Roja vs Hijo del Villano III, Mephisto, Villano IV
CMLL on ClaroSports.com: 2019-02-01
2019-02-01
ok
Flyer, Místico, Volador Jr. vs Euforia, Templario, Último Guerrero
CMLL on ClaroSports.com: 2019-02-01
2019-02-01
ok
Carístico & Cavernario vs Dragón Lee, Valiente, Stuka Jr., Terrible, Gran Guerrero, Forasterofor the CMLL Universal Championship and in a seeding battle royal match
CMLL on ClaroSports.com: 2019-02-01
2019-02-01
ok
Stuka Jr. vs Terriblefor the CMLL Universal Championship and [8f]
CMLL on ClaroSports.com: 2019-02-01
2019-02-01
ok
Gran Guerrero vs Valientefor the CMLL Universal Championship and [8f]
CMLL on ClaroSports.com: 2019-02-01
2019-02-01
ok
Dragón Lee vs Forasterofor the CMLL Universal Championship and [8f]
CMLL on ClaroSports.com: 2019-02-01
2019-02-01
ok
Carístico vs Cavernariofor the CMLL Universal Championship and [8f]
CMLL on ClaroSports.com: 2019-02-01
2019-02-01
ok
Terrible vs Gran Guerrerofor the CMLL Universal Championship and in a tournament quarterfinal match
CMLL on ClaroSports.com: 2019-02-01
2019-02-01
not rated
Bengala & Sonic vs Apocalipsis & Cholo
CMLL YouTube: 2019-01-29
2019-01-29
not rated
La Guerrera, Mystique, Sanely vs La Seductora, Metálica, Tiffany
CMLL YouTube: 2019-01-29
2019-01-29
not rated
Blue Panther Jr., Guerrero Maya Jr., Stuka Jr. vs Hechicero, Rey Bucanero, Shocker
Last night, I wrote that it was a doubleheader of streaming lucha libre shows last night. It’s really a little bit more than two shows on a busy Friday night.
The first show to kickoff is the usual CMLL show in Arena Puebla Mexico. It’s the second block of a tournament show, which are usually a bit of a struggle. Many times, the winner seems pretty obvious and the drama isn’t there. At least Block A finished strong, to give some hope for good matches out of this block. The hope for the winner isn’t strong. CMLL treats the Universal title like they treat all their titles: either there is a short term idea for a feud, or they’re just giving a top star who doesn’t have anything so they can feel good about it. It’s rarely about someone being the top guy, it’s about spreading the wealth around. In CMLL’s hierarchy, Ultimo Guerrero & Volador are treated as the top guys – UG even called that out this week, noting he’d like to face Voldaor but it really should’ve been in the finals of this tournament – so they would be the favorites to win if this was a tournament to determine the best wrestler. It is a tournament to decide either a Homenaje a Dos Leyendas main event or to reward someone who hasn’t yet won this title. Diamante Azul is the biggest CMLL star who is in this tournament and hasn’t won it, Terrible is the guy Diamante Azul faces all the time in singles matches, that’s a really obvious answer to tonight’s winner. You can make a case for Volador or UG, but only if you want to argue CMLL is interested in one of them facing Terrible in a hair match in a month or so. And there’s been no hint of that.
Volador, Niebla Roja, Diamante Azul, Soberano, Ultimo Guerrero, Sanson, Mephisto, and Cuatrero make up the full field, and there are some interesting matches to be had if things line up. I’d still be surprised if the outcome was anything other than a Diamante Azul win.
The semi-main has Caristico, Angel de Oro and Valiente taking on the heavyweight trio of Gilbert, La Bestia del Ring, and Rush. Gilbert hasn’t had any defined role in his CMLL appearances so far and hasn’t looked great. He seems like a guy who could be good for one big apuesta match in Arena Mexico, but they haven’t had mix up a lot with Ultimo Guerrero, the guy he was teased to face on his way into the promotion. Rush heads off for his first weekend as part of the Ring of Honor roster after this match.
The Villanos/Atlantis feud continues in the tercera, with Mistico & Gran Guerrero along for what might be the best trios match. Villano IV continues to loom as a possibility for H2L, though he only looms – there’s been no great progress since his return and no one’s really brought up the possibility of a mask/mask match in-ring. Drone, Rey Cometa, and Black Panther face Kawato, Misterioso, and Universo in a match legally required to include one Rey Cometa diving off the apron headscissors. Principe Diamante hasn’t been around all that much – this is his first Friday night since November – but he and Robin are stuck facing Metalico and Nitro. Don’t expect much.
Dragon Rojo is undergoing a knee operation today. There’s no mention of which knee or how long he’ll be out. Dragon Rojo has had numerous physical issues the last few years and missed his last couple of matches.
AAA has a two show weekend, starting tonight in Mazatlan. There are good matches on both shows this weekend, though the focus will likely be on out of the ring. These are the first shows with TV Azteca on board. Nothing is supposed to change except the production team, but it seems fair to wonder until it happens. Commentary on Elite (and WWE) seemed to be done in studio voices after the shows so I don’t know if we’ll even see much of a visual difference.
The Mazatlan show has a couple matches that jump out as being interesting. Sammy Guevera makes his first televised defense of the cruiserweight championship against Flamita (who hasn’t been here since Heroes Inmortales) and Hijo del Vikingo. It’s a match with the potential for a lot of craziness if they can work together. Vikingo struggled a bit in singles match this time last year, then showed improvement during Lucha Capital. Sammy showing up in AEW with the AAA cruiserweight belt seemed like a tease for later on, and a reason he might stay champion, but Vikingo getting the shock win is possible given his current momentum.
Jack Evans versus Drago jumps out too because Jack Evans singles matches in AAA are uncommon: the last one he had in AAA was 2012. AAA seems behind Drago with his recent title win and defense and maybe aren’t thrilled with Evans after missing the last taping. Evans winning to set up a title match seems unlikely, but it still should be fun.
Aerostar, Maximo, and Taya against Faby, Monsther, and Taurus should also be fun. AAA Maximo is perfectly fine when far away from La Mascara. Dinastia, Lady Shani and Nino Hamburguesa versus Lady Maravilla, Lanzelot, and Villano III Jr. should be the same.
The top matches in AAA, as always, look the most questionable. The Wagner/Demon feud trudges on, with Laredo Kid, Puma King, La Mascara and working man’s hero Hijo del Fantasma rounding out the match. The main event continues the greatest non-storyline going on AAA right now, Rey Escorpion trying to build up an apuesta match with Psycho Clown without AAA being involved. La Parka & Killer Kross are also there. This does not appear to be the show where AAA finally comes up with a compelling plan with a beginning and end for Killer Kross, which makes it about 18 TV tapings in a row. If you decide to call it a night before the final two matches, it may not be a bad call.
There’s really not much evident storyline material on this show at all beyond the Demon/Wagner stuff – no one’s bothered to come up with a reason for Flamita & Vikingo to get a title shot (or even have them cut promos to build it up) – but that’s probably for the best with AAA.
AAA is scheduled to start at 9 pm CT on Twitch, but that means around 9:35 at the usual pace. If things continue as they’ve been with AAA’s YouTube, this show would start showing up there around March 9th. If I had brought back the show rating bit from earlier this week, this is definitely the better of two streams on match quality (a 3 or a 3.5 to CMLL 2), though CMLL’s show is more relevant because of the Universal tournament (3 to a no one cares about AAA titles 2)
Can I interest you in a fourth option? The Impact show is taped (Puma is not a magical cat who can be on two shows at once), so a reason the Lucha Brothers are not on the AAA taping is that they’re in Austin for AAW against AR Fox & Myron Reed. Tickets are still out there, and the show is streaming on the Highspots network.
The Young Bucks teased another surprise appearance somewhere to get revenge on Fenix & Pentagon for attacking them. The boldest thing is saying they know the Lucha Brothers schedule since no one can seem to keep track of it. It’s always the Bucks could pop into an AAA show as a surprise, though it’d be a long trip just to do an unannounced run-in. Penta & Fenix are in PWG next month, which would be the easiest way to accomplish an angle. I’m sure Impact would bend over backwards to have the Bucks show up there to confront the Lucha Brothers (like most any indie), and it could even be something they plan on stretching out to WrestleMania weekend.
Speaking of WrestleMania weekend, MLW has turned the future of the Lucha Brothers in MLW into an angle, with an announcement teased on tonight’s show. Pentagon Jr. versus LA Park is scheduled to be a main event on one of the two MLW shows that weekend and there’s no sign of a replacement. I think MLW wouldn’t be building around an announcement if the announcement was them leaving the promotion. Nothing appears to have changed on paper with Fenix & Penta’s status in the last week: AEW is just another acronym added to the list of places they’re working, but they’re still bound to LU and still unable to sign an exclusive deal with anyone else until that’s settled. (They’re still taking bookings; AIW announced them for May last night.) It was surprising for MLW to write them out and maybe that was all intended to be a strange angle from the start.
El Hijo del Santo write about his first match as Korak.
Criterio Hidalgo has an interview with Medics I & III. They turn out to be father and son.
Lineups
CMLL (TUE) 02/12/2019Arena México
1) Fantasy & Shockercito vs Pequeño Nitro & Pequeño Olímpico
2) Astral, Eléctrico, Star Jr. vs Difunto, Disturbio, Espanto Jr.
3) Kaho Kobayashi, La Jarochita, Marcela vs Amapola, Dalys, Metálica
4) Flyer vs Pólvora [lightning]
5) Blue Panther, Diamante Azul, Esfinge vs Cavernario, Felino, Luciferno
6) Atlantis, Atlantis Jr., Volador Jr. vs Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón
Difunto looks to be around all week. I’m not sure it means he’s full time; Black Metal and Barbaro Cavernario were once around for a few days as a tryout before being sent back to Guadalajara. Palacio Negro & Metal Blanco had a similar short preview stint before they came in full time. It still says they’re pretty high on Difunto to keep him busy when he’s in Mexico City. I’d guess we might find more on Informa on Wednesday.
I hope Atlantis Jr. is a nice guy to be around because the other luchadors are surely going to be not thrilled with him jumping the line to the main events and he shouldn’t give them any more reason to dislike him. It’s probably the right move but I can’t imagine it’s a popular one. This is a Mistico level push without him quietly working openers for years beforehand.
This is a dueling Friday night, with AAA on Twitch & CMLL Marca overlapping streams. AAA has rare TV tapings in the US Mountain Time zone this weekend, which means those times are a little bit later than usual. CMLL will kick off at 8:30 pm CT, with AAA scheduled to start at 9:00 pm CT but probably not getting in the ring for a half hour after that. You can watch the first two matches of CMLL without a distraction, though you may choose to be distracted.
Likewise, the AAA show on Sunday is listed as 1800 on the poster and is really 7:30 pm CT with the time zone change and the usual AAA opening. Both AAA shows include an impressive three-way title matches. Wagner/Demon may make an impression as well.
CMLL Puebla has a-first ever singles match in Rush versus Cuatrero. CMLL Tuesday doesn’t have an announced card yet.
