CMLL (TUE) 04/09/2019 Arena México [CMLL, Lucha Central, Ovaciones]
1) Astral & Eddie Moreau b El Guerrillero & Espíritu Negro 
Moreau (Belgium) and Guerrillero (Ecuador by way of France) replaced Electrico and Hijo del Signo.
2) Átomo, El Gallito, Microman b Chamuel, Mije, Perico Zacarías
tecnicos took 2/3
3) Blue Panther Jr., El Audaz, Tritón b Kawato San, Tiger, Universo 2000 Jr.
tecnicos took 1/3
4) Flyer DQ Felino [lightning]
Felino fouled Flyer, though he argued it was a totally legal uppercut to the thigh
5) Atlantis, Diamante Azul, Titán DQ Ephesto, Luciferno, Mephisto
Tecnicos took 2/3. Mephisto unmasked Atlantis, which might have been a way to just get out of the match. Diamante Azul suffered a muscle strain or tear in the second fall.
6) Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón © b Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Soberano Jr.[MEX TRIOS]
NGD took falls 2/3 in an outstanding match. 10th defense
You should go out of your way to watch the title match. It lived up to promise of those involved. NGD talked about their win, while the tecnicos told the press they will not rest until they find a way to beat those Dinamtias. Felino & Flyer have promos about their ending. Microman & Gallito talk about their match, which was said to be not at their usual level.
Diamante Azul is getting an MRI for an injury, though I’m not sure what body part he actually hit.
CMLL (TUE) 04/09/2019 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [CMLL]
1) Carlo Roggi, El Chakal, Mr. Apolo b Black Sugar, El Alteño, Mágico
rudos took 2/3
2) Disturbio, Guerrero de la Muerte, Sangre Azteca b Magnus, Príncipe Diamante, Vaquero Jr.
Rudos took 2/3
3) Misterioso Jr., Sagrado, Virus b Drone, Esfinge, Rey Cometa
Rudos took 1/3
4) Dragón Lee, Rush, Volador Jr. b Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero
Volador replaced Mistico. Tecnicos took 2/3.
5) Carístico © b Cavernario [NWA MIDDLE]
Caristico took 1/3, the last with a cavernaria! 2nd defense.
Hopefully the main airs Saturday. Mistico’s been missing from the ring for over a week, though he did post a lineup for the 13th as if he’s still on it.
Aerostar did not quit AAA after all. The story is he’s taking over control of his international bookings, but will still be booked by AAA. Lucha Central says Aerostar was upset about an international booking being canceled and changed his status. He’ll still be booked in AAA, though he’s not on any AAA TV at the moment.
There’s an odd difference between Daga & Aerostar. I started writing this yesterday, got distracted, and am pretty sure I’ve written version fo this before. But it’s stuck in my head. They were both in that Progress Super Strong Style tournament but, up until yesterday, they’re treated differently by AAA. There appears to be about three different classes of AAA people at the moment.
- Luchadors who are apparently not under contract brought in to work almost only TV where generally pushed big but remain free to make their own schedule and work whenever they want. This includes people like Fenix, Penta, Laredo Kid, Daga and Puma King who show up in the US indies. It also seems to apply to those along the lines of Blue Demon & Dr. Wagner who work a lot of indie shows in Mexico. For whatever reason, even CMLL is willing to go with the idea that they’re indie wrestlers and generally doesn’t block them from working shows or even matches with CMLL wrestlers.
- Luchadors who are on contract with AAA, work the spot shows and many of the TVs, and are seen as totally AAA workers. Some are pushed but, with the possible exception of Psycho Clown, they’re always secondary to top guys in the first group. Everywhere they work has to go thru AAA and they have no freedom to work on shows with CMLL wrestlers.
- Luchadors who may have been under contract to AAA or have some sort of verbal agreement with AAA, but almost never work TV and mainly appear on spot shows. They’re not pushed at all, but they seem to have the freedom to book whatever dates they can find on the indies as long as they’re not using an AAA gimmick. (Super Nova can’t be Bengala without AAA getting a cut, not that being Bengala is really going to be a difference maker.) They appear to be able to cut their own international deals without AAA, if Goya Kong’s trip to Stardom worked like how I figure. They might be able to get on shows with CMLL wrestlers, though the name value here is lower enough that it may not be an option.
Daga & Aerostar are about at the same level in AAA at the moment, but Daga was definitely in that first group of people and Aerostar was in the second group until at least yesterday. The second group, the group of people AAA really thinks about being in AAA, seems like the least free group to be part of. Maybe some of the last group of people would take getting a few more regular bookings, but being part of that core AAA group doesn’t seem to guarantee that – that’s why Arkangel Divino & Ultimo Maldito are back working indies. There also seems to be a definite glass ceiling for the second group, like AAA is never going to see anyone they have as a true top star unless they have the leverage to work somewhere else if they’re not treated well. Aerostar hasn’t quit AAA, but there’s some game theory here that the best move for someone in his spot would be to leave for a year, try to make a name on his own, and then see if that gives him an advantage in dealing with AAA a year from now. It’s no sure thing: it obviously worked for Fenix & Penta, it hasn’t really worked for Daga – but he’s no worse off than when he left. But most people (Aerostar) aren’t going to do, because AAA is what they know and what they’re comfortable with.
Forbes Mexico has a story about AAA’s transition from Televisa to TV Azteca. El Planchitas had said this was a one year deal, but an Azteca Deportes official (Rodolfo Ramirez, Executing Director of Azteca Deportes) is quoted here as saying it is a two year deal with an option for two more. Dorian Roldan says AAA was doing around 1.1 million viewers on Televisa at the end of the run. Now they reach “almost 6 million viewers.” That number might include everything – not just Azteca, but also Space, Multimedios, Twitch and YouTube – though I’m not sure it adds up. 1.1 million is interesting because that’s about what Lucha Central has been reporting CMLL getting now. Maybe CMLL is doing as well as could be expected in that slot.
Roldan explains that one of the key points of the switch is they felt Azteca7 had a bigger reach than Televisa9, which is termed “seminational.” Alejandro Montes is listed as the VP Marketing Comerical for AAA. He and Roldan talk about the move from Saturdays to Friday afternoon and explain it was a bet that following cartoons and kid’s program will help them draw. Roldan says 30% of their audience were children. Roldan also says 30% of AAA’s revenue comes from “the sale of content” – TV/streaming deals – and they’ve focued more on that area. Specifically, the Psycho/Wagner TripleMania show did 90,000 viewers on Twitch and earned them the full-time contract going forward with the streaming platform.
The Lucha Memes/MexaWrestling “Battle of Naucalpan 1” show is officially taking place on Wednesday, May 1st at 4:30 pm. (May 1st is a Labor Day holiday in Mexico.) Lucha Memes and MexaWrestling are still picking one wrestler per night:
| Round | Lucha Memes | MexaWrestling |
| 1 | Arez | Arkangel Divino |
| 2 | Komander | Septimo Dragon |
| 3 | Audaz | Templario |
| 4 | Ultimo Maldito | Lady Flammer |
| 5 | Silueta | Bandido |
| 6 | Laredo Kid |
Some value picks last here. People had (fair) criticisms of the indie lucha draft I and others did a few years ago but I feel like we did a better job. I may be biased. There are 18 rounds scheduled for this.
The talk about this show has less been about the picks and more about the ticket prices that were announced. First row tickets are scaled at 480 pesos, and that may be a slight pre-sale discount. First row tickets for other indie shows in Arena Naucalpan go for 300 to 350 pesos, so that’s a significant jump. The rest of the ticket prices have not been publically announced. Rising ticket prices in the US, especially those targeted at the first few rows, have not seemed to hurt attendance. This show may discover if it’ll be the same in Mexico.
Lucha Azteca would like to know if you have seen Konnan or Vampiro. I think that show tapes a week in advance. They’re setting up someone replacing them for the episode airing this upcoming week since they were both in New York.
Dulce Garica is doing a media tour this week telling her version of her story (“super talented and popular wrestler who was wrongly blamed for injuring an American wrestler, suffered depression, and found herself in boxing/MMA”.) It tells you how much the people writing these stories are doing on them that they keep calling Rosemary American (she’s from Canada); here’s the Marca version.
ROH in Pittsburgh on 04/13 (TV)
ROH in Columbus on 04/14 (Honor Club)
That’s the Honor Club streaming show. Caristico and PJ Black have a poor history together. ROH tapes TV the day before, and not sure if they’ll announce matches beforehand.
NWA’s Crockett Cup on 04/27 (Concord, North Carolina) has Stuka Jr. & Guerrero Maya Jr. facing Flip Gordon & Bandido in the first round of the tournament. That sounds fun It’ll stream on ROH’s Honor Club.
05/19 ChilangaMask 6th Anniversary show in Coliseo Coacalco
- Makabre vs Trauma II
- Silueta vs La Magnifica
- Ciclope & Miedo Extremo vs LOTUS (Gavin Quinn & Junati)
- Mr. Maldito, The Platino, Wotan vs Difunto I, Hijo de Espectro, Cerebro Negro
LuchaWorld has this week’s Lucha Report.
Lineups
IWRG (SUN) 04/14/2019 Arena Naucalpan
1) Black Shadow Jr., Dinámico, Spider Boy vs Canival, Cosmic, Vortex
2) Bisofera, Cheff Benito, Latino vs Guerrero 2000, Matrix Jr., Power Bull
3) Alas de Acero, Manchas, Rey Gato vs Ángel Drago, Galactus, Güero Palma
4) Divino, Hausser, Ninja de Fuego vs Erigor, Gallito, Neza Kid
5) Máscara Año 2000 Jr. © vs Hijo de Canis Lupus [IWRG IC HEAVY]
first defense
6) Auzter, Black Dragón, Chicanito, Death Metal, Dinamic Black, Puma de Oro, Shadow Boy, Toto vs ?, Ángel Del Amor, Canibal Jr., Einar El Vikingo, Guerrero Olímpico, Historico, Marado, Ragnar El Vikingo [Copa Higher Power]
Team FILL vs Team Argentina (Hip Hop Man)
The Hip Hop Man benefit show in IWRG is tonight. Sunday, he leads a team of people he’s helped train against an IWRG team.
Hello, just a quick clarification for Tuesday Arena Mexico opener. “El Guerrillero” is just a nickname, the real wrestler name of the Ecuador guy is “Hugo Perez”. No information for “Eddie Moreau” but no one uses this name in Belgium. This guy probably changed it for the CMLL show. a photo coud be helpful.