Month: April 2019

CMLL (TUE) 04/16/2019 Arena México [CMLL, Lucha Central]
1) Príncipe Diamante & Robin b Apocalipsis & Inquisidor 
tecnicos took 2/3
2) Pegasso, Star Jr., Stigma b Akuma, Espanto Jr., Espíritu Negro 
tecnicos took 2/3
3) Dark Magic, Kawato San, Pólvora b Blue Panther, Fuego, Guerrero Maya Jr. 
rudos took 2/3
4) Templario b Flyer [lightning] 
7:01
5) Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Hechicero b Soberano Jr., Stuka Jr., Valiente 
Straight falls. Clean win, though Hechicero unmasked Stuka after.
6) Mr. Niebla, Negro Casas, Último Guerrero b Carístico, Místico, Titán 
Rudos took 1/3, UG snuck in a mask pull on Caristico.

Akuma, Espanto and Espiritu Negro were so thrilled by their, uh, loss that they cut a promo asking to be a trio. Between this and the Stuka/Hechicero stuff, there’s a fair amount of people publicly pitching storylines while CMLL is not really interested in doing them. Things are happening are Templario picking up another win and Ultimo Guerrero brags about his win. Caristico versus Ultimo Guerrero seems an ideal 04/30 main event.

CMLL (TUE) 04/16/2019 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [CMLL]
1) Magnum, Metatrón, Mr. Samurai b Gran Kenut, León Blanco, Paymon
rudos took 1/3
2) Angelito, Micro, Shockercito b Pequeño Nitro, Pequeño Olímpico, Relámpago Azul
tecnicos took 2/3
3) Black Panther, Blue Panther Jr., Drone b Tiger, Universo 2000 Jr., Virus
tecnicos took 1/3
4) Cavernario, Ephesto, Mephisto b Esfinge, Kráneo, Volcano
rudos took 1/3.
5) La Bestia Del Ring, Rush, Terrible b Ángel de Oro, Atlantis, Valiente
Valiente replaced Diamante Azul (injury). Los Ingobernables took falls 1/3.

No sign of anything being set up here.

G21 (TUE) 04/16/2019 Arena Querétaro [+LuchaTV]
1) Ciclón Negro Jr. & Galáctico Dragón b Iracundo & Lucifer 
2) Gremlin, Negro García Jr., Speed Demon b Alas de Acero, Eterno (IWRG), Lunatik Xtreme 
3) Dragón de Oriente I, Lady Flammer, Princesa Guerrera b Diosa Quetzal, Halcón Negro Jr., Medussa 
Quetzal & Flammer fought after the match
4) Kastigador, Metaleón, Murciélago Plateado Jr. b Arez, Belial, Impulso 
very good match
5) Bandido (Indie) b Vengador, Homicida 
Homicida added himself to the match a couple of minutes in, to the great displeasure of the crowd. Bandido won via 21-Plex on both men, pinning Vengador. Good match.
6) Hijo de LA Park & La Park Jr. b Galeno Del Mal & Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. 
money thrown in
7) LA Park b Dr. Wagner Jr., Blue Demon 
so many mask pulls and ref bumps before Wagner pinned an unmasked LA Park

+LuchaTV did this as a surprise stream. I saw the 4th/5th matches before turning out for the night. The fourth match was good if a few things looked off. Bandido’s match was good too but also hilarious. The crowd was so upset when Homicida added himself to the match that it seemed to disturb him a bit. I don’t know if the idea was to get two people in to redo the 21 Plex spot from Ring of Honor this weekend or if the promoter just thought they needed a third person, but more is not always better.

Seemed like a good crowd in Queretaro. Their show Monday night in Leon drew a reported 2,500. Angeluz Fly needed 28 stitches after a badly designed spot. +LuchaTV went over the G21 card for Naucalpan this weekend, listing Diamante Azul as if he’s still wrestling. I doubt he is so that probably means G21 haven’t worked out a sub yet.

The new Lucha Azteca AAA announcer is El Tirantes. He was announced as the new third man on Azteca’s Los Protagonistas last night. Tirantes told MedioTiempo he planned to take a year off only to later decide he couldn’t pass up this chance. Tirantes was presented as an Azteca employee and announcer only, though he did say he was open to returning to the ring as an AAA referee if a deal is made. It would be odd for Tirantes to be commentating on a match he’s officiating. Still, he’s an evil referee in close proximity to AAA, it is likely they’ll have an idea to use him at some point.

Taking a step back, it sure looks like Tirantes had this job in hand when he left CMLL. The timing lines up well. It fits alongside Konnan talking positively about Tirantes on his podcast last week; he would’ve known Tirantes was coming on Azteca to replace him. It does mean it was Tirantes choice to leave a referee job for a few days a week plus a management role in Arena Puebla for doing announcing once a week, which might say something about how CMLL pay is for those roles. I know there was unhappiness within CMLL for Tirantes recent issues and Tirantes may have been looking for an escape path when this job offer came up.

The full Battle of Naucalpan card was announced last night.

Lucha Memes, Mexa (WED) 05/01/2019 Arena Naucalpan
1) Silueta vs Lady Flammer
2) Audaz (CMLL) & Último Maldito vs Templario & The Tiger and Black Dragón & Torito Negro and Alas de Acero & Iron Kid
3) Aeroboy vs Negro Casas, El Diablo Fly Star, Komander, Metaleón, Séptimo Dragón, Murciélago Plateado
4) Jonathan Gresham vs Virus
5) El Bandido vs Último Guerrero
6) Aramis vs Flamita [Battle of Naucalpan, quarterfinal]
7) Laredo Kid vs Arkángel Divino [Battle of Naucalpan, quarterfinal]
8) Arez vs Puma King [Battle of Naucalpan, quarterfinal]
9) Steve Pain vs Rey Horus [Battle of Naucalpan, quarterfinal]
10) ? vs ?? [Battle of Naucalpan, semifinal]
11) ? vs ?? [Battle of Naucalpan, semifinal]
12) ? vs ?? [Battle of Naucalpan, final]

They did end up doing a tournament, as part of the homage to PWG’s Battle of Los Angeles. The tournament could be fantastic. They could split this card in two, the tournament on one show and the rest of the matches on another, and it would be two of the stronger indie cards this year. The tickets are more expensive than usual but – assuming everything delivers as it should – they might be underpriced for the level of the show they’re doing.

A few days ago, MexaWrestling mentioned in a Facebook post that this show will not be taped by anyone, including themselves. LuchaMemes also shot down an idea this would broadcast on Twitch. They are 100% doing it as a hard sell for the tickets – you have to be there, you can’t assume you’ll be able to find it on Face or YouTube. It is a hard concept to sell; anyone who is able but unwilling to pay for a show is still going to assume there will be a video of it until the first show where it doesn’t turn up. At best, they’ll educate people for next time, but it won’t sell any tickets for this time. They’re probably going to sell out and it is going to have nothing to do with the recording ban.

MexaWrestling cited the Voices of Wrestling top matches of the year list as a promotional bit today. They noted they and Lucha Memes had two matches on the 2018 list and said they expect three matches to make it on the list this year. That probably won’t happen if they’re serious about this show not being recorded. The voting panel changes every year, but I’m thinking maybe two people from last year’s group will be in Arena Naucalpan for this show. It took two really high votes for a match to crack the top 100 this past year, so either those two people have to love the show more than anything else they watch or MexaWrestling & Memes will be out of luck.

The VOW top 100 list isn’t the be all, but take a look at that top 10. There were six matches from NJPW, which almost none of the panel saw live and instead paid a subscription fee to watch. There were two matches from NXT, which most of the panel didn’t see live and instead paid a subscription fee to watch. There were one match each from Big Japan Pro Wrestling and Ireland’s Over The Top, both of which have about the same crowds as Lucha Memes & MexaWrestling will have for 05/01, and both have subscriptions services. The industry standard is everything is available behind a paywall, everywhere but Mexico. As a fan, I want to see these matches and most of some janky phone from the third row. As a person who follows the business, it seems insane that people in Mexico are passing up a revenue stream that is working in every other country that has wrestling out what seems like pure stubbornness.

This is the same thing as with The Crash the other day when I was literally offering them real money for putting up their show and the closest I got was Bestia 666 saying it was a good idea. I’m not flying to Tijuana for this one but I’d rather give the airline money to The Crash directly if they gave me a choice, and they don’t even give me that choice. This is maddening.

I don’t know if the market for pay lucha libre content is nearly as big as other markets – don’t think DTU did much on their one try on iPPV, I do know RIOT cashed a payment off their Pivotshare – but I also think that’s because it took years for other places to develop their market to the point where it can be a big deal and no one’s really tried that long in Mexico. Maybe there’s a reason no one’s tried.  Maybe there’s some great revenue split going with +LuchaTV that we will never understand but is making everyone happy. Otherwise, I don’t understand this.

I think this all hits me personally because part of the goal of this blog is to bridge the gap between lucha libre and the people, make it easier for people to watch and follow, and now this is a point where people really want to follow and the promotions have decided to respond by throwing a big barrier in the way. I feel like I’m pounding my head into the same wall over and over. Sometimes, it may just be better to move on.

(PS 1: They probably should announce the alternate for when Steve Pain can’t make it. No offense to Mr. Pain, it just seems like a 50/50 bet most of the time.)

(PS 2: I’m going to go with the idea that the reason the draft happened was just a way to announce people on the card before announcing matches and then think no more of it.)

05/04 The Crash

• Lucha Brothers (c) vs Mexablood for The Crash Tag Team Championship
• Austin Theory (c) vs Rey Horus vs MJF vs Adam Brooks for The Crash Heavyweight Championship

Feels like at least one title change is happening.

RIOT 05/04 (Chicles) in Arena LLF

• Simbolo vs Black Terry
• Caifan II vs Low Rider
• Mr. Iguana vs Madness – new

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
• Aereo, Draego, Proximo vs Flystar, Cobre, Diablo Jr. – new

LuchaWorld has the latest news update.

Segunda Caida experienced Volador versus Low-Ki.

CMLL (MON) 04/15/2019 Arena Puebla [CMLL, Lucha Central]
1) El Malayo, Toro Bill Jr., Tyson La Bestia b Asturiano, Oro Jr., Rey Samuray
rudos took 2/3.
2) La Comandante, La Seductora, Metálica b Lluvia, Marcela, Princesa Sugehit
Rudas took 2/3, leading to Metalica challenging Marcela for a title match.
3) El Perverso, Policeman, Virus b King Jaguar, Magnus, Stigma
straight fall by the rudos. Police Man snuck in a foul on King Jaguar, setting up a hair match between the two.
4) Carístico, Místico, Soberano Jr. b Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón
tecnicos took 2/3
5) Último Guerrero © b Valiente [CMLL HEAVY]
UG took 2/3 for his third defense.

No video for this show if you haven’t seen it already. The show was blocked overnight due to an SME copyright claim. It is honestly amazing that doesn’t happen more often with CMLL shows given their use of music which they don’t seem to have cleared for internet use. I didn’t grab a copy before it happened so we’re out of luck for now. It will air on 52MX if you’re desperate to see it, though it’s always possible CMLL could reupload it as they have with other copyright issues.

Lucha Central’s review of the show suggests you didn’t miss anything except a good version of the expected main event. I caught up about two minutes of the show entirely. The hair match seemed like it was set up for next week, though it is possible it or the women’s title match will be held over for 04/29 as a pre-Kids Day special show. Not sure the Kids are going to be very excited to see King Jaguar and Policeman throw down but CMLL is weird.

There’s nothing obviously important on tonight’s CMLL Arena Mexico show. However, Kid’s Day is two weeks away. CMLL will want to have something big for that. They might pluck it out of nowhere, or they might start it tonight. Caristico, Mistico, Titan versus Mr. Miebla, Negro Casas and Ultimo Guerrero headline tonight. Anyone of those rudos could make a challenge for Caristico’s NWA championship, even if Negro Casas is the only one who comes close to being a middleweight. It should be a suitably entertaining main event for the tourists.

The semi-main doesn’t look bad either, with Hechicero teaming with Euforia & Gran Guerrero against Soberano, Stuka, and Valiente. Templario and Flyer have both been in lightning matches lately and this time face each other. Blue Panther, Fuego, and Guerrero Maya face the diabolic trio of Dark Magic, Kawato and Polvora. Nothing much exciting in the first two matches.

The CMLL stream starts at 7:30 pm on YouTube. It usually takes a little time for a copyright claim to come up. (It probably won’t happen again.)

I never put up the Tuesday Guadalajara lineup. It is not much of a lineup.

Rey Bucanero replaced Forastero on Friday’s show. Bucanero and Hechicero being on the show means Televisa9 needs to find a new wrestler announcer again: Shocker?

I’m not sure if you’ll be able to see that Televisa9 show this week in the US. It debuted last Thursday/Friday night. It is not on my DVR’s listings for this week. It is showing up on some online ones, and I’m not sure which ones are wrong. It is as possible Univision Deportes just has bad schedule date as it is CMLL was just one week and done. CMLL and Univision Deportes never promoted the airing.

Over on El Rey, Lucha Underground is finishing their early morning airs of season 1 of Lucha Underground Wednesday morning. They’re moving right along to season 2 on Thursday. If they’re airing all four seasons, it should run thru mid-September. El Rey has not aired Lucha Underground out of season until now. The only reason you air something like this at 5 AM ET is for contractual reasons, but I have no idea what those reasons would be or mean. Meanwhile, El Rey announced new programming coming in May, the first new programming in a while.

Lucha Azteca AAA is teasing a new announcer, so Konnan & Vampiro being off the show wasn’t just a one week WrestleMania weekend thing. It looks to be a permanent thing. It might not have been a performance thing; with AAA’s busy upcoming schedule, they probably would’ve had to miss more weeks. Something would’ve had to be figured out for TripleMania too, especially if Konnan & Vampiro are still having a match. I have a wild theory that Tirantes might be the new announcer – his timing of leaving CMLL lines up well – but that is a shot in the dark. This is probably tied to whatever Azteca Deportes teased as announcing tonight so we’ll know soon.

It is has been four days since AAA & Elite has announced the 05/02 Gladiatores: Liga de Campones de Lucha Libre show with MLW, Impact, and AroLucha. There has been no explanation of what is going on with this show, which is now about two weeks away. Tickets are now on sale anyway, running from 220 to 715 MXP for ringside, $12 to $38 on USD.

Lucky for us, the topic came up on +LuchaTV’s EN+carados podcast. You can jump to the 1:10:00 mark to hear the discussion or double check my translation. The plan is for five shows, one every two weeks (“fifteen days”.) There will be tournaments in four divisions: heavyweight, light heavyweight, middleweight and tag team. No women’s tournament was mentioned; I am dumb for not noticing there are no women on the poster. The shows will be held at both Fronton Mexico and Pepsi Center venue from the first AAA taping this year.

If they’re running every two weeks, that means tapings on 05/02, 05/16, 05/30, 06/13, and a final on 06/27 if they stick to the schedule. It seems a little risky to be running so often in Mexico City before TripleMania. Also, needing to fly people back in every couple weeks guarantees that these tournaments will fall apart in some way – someone’s going to miss a flight, someone’s going to have something else to do. Running these on Thursdays will help but Lucha Capital was held on Wednesdays and it still was incoherent by the end.

Funcion Estelar writes about the debut of Pachuca’s Lucha Libre Vanguardia promotion, which turns out to be a limited run promotion (three more weeks) fronted by Ciclope, Miedo Extremo and Draztick Boy. They’re doing traditional shows, not the extreme matches you might expect from those guys, and using guys they’ve been training. Black Terry is in this weekend.

Okumura was honored by his hometown. (There’s a longer Japanese version.)

The Sun has a Cholitas of Bolivia story.

 

Lineups

CMLL (SUN) 04/21/2019 Arena México
1) Acero & Aéreo vs Mercurio & Pierrothito
2) Oro Jr., Retro, Súper Astro Jr. vs Cancerbero, Príncipe Odín Jr., Raziel
3) Guerrero Maya Jr., Magia Blanca, Rey Cometa vs Misterioso Jr., Tiger, Universo 2000 Jr.
4) Atlantis, Atlantis Jr., Místico vs Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón
5) Ángel de Oro, Carístico, Niebla Roja vs La Bestia Del Ring, Rush, Terrible [Relevos Increíbles]

Magia Blanca seems to have returned on the Rey Cometa level, which is not great but much better than one match below. There’s a chance you could have a good match at that spot.

Lucha Libre Real (SUN) 04/28/2019 Arena Azteca Budokan, Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl, Estado de México
1) Dark Boy & Luna Divina vs Backter & Sexy Dang
2) Lunatik Fly & Lunatik Xtreme vs Mexica & Warrior Jr.
3) Lilith Dark & Reyna Obscura vs Lady Pink & Reina Dorada
4) Felino & Xendu vs Akuma & Drako
5) Metaleón, Mr. Leo, Tiger vs Epitafio, Leviatham, Tormento
6) El Bandido vs Hijo del Fantasma

The Dia del Nino shows seem to be running from the 04/27 weekend to 04/30 this year. This main event is first time ever.

DTU (SUN) 04/28/2019 Arena Neza
1) Aero Panther & Fight Panther vs Samuray Jr.
2 vs 1
2) Kunay & Mandala vs Steell Incrible Dragón & Vengador Radioactivo
3) Hard Boy, Kevin, Pesadilla vs Estudiante Jr., Fly Danger, Kalibus
4) Demente Extreme & Tóxico vs Disturbio & Príncipe Cometa and Hijo De Dr. Pólux Jr. & Tiburón
5) Anthony Greene vs Jimmy, Camuflaje, Kaleth
6) G-Raver & Orin Veidt vs Crazy Boy & Halloween and El Diablo Fly Star & Paranoiko

DTU hasn’t been coming this close to Mexico City. I seem to recall past shows at this venue which didn’t draw well, so it is for good reason. Still, that means this will probably turn up and you’ll get to the see the GCW guys.

I think the fourth match Disturbio is the Tampico one and not the CMLL one.

 

Lucha Libre REAL (SUN) 04/14/2019 Arena Azteca Budokan, Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl, Estado de México [+LuchaTV, Black Terry Jr., Estrellas del Ring, Lucha Central]
1) Dark Boy & Sexy Danger b Bakler & Luna Divina 
2) Criss Stone Jr. & Syrus b Sádico & Yoruba and Lunatik Fly & Lunatik Xtreme 
3) Dulce Gardenia, Redentor, Rossy Moreno DQ Demasiado, Fulgor, Reyna Obscura 
Baronessa attacked Rossy Moreno to set up a title match
4) Robin © b Warrior Jr., Imposible [LLR OMEGA] 
Warrior Jr. replaced Halcon 78.
5) Metaleón & Tiger b Demus & Eterno and Troyano & Último Gladiador 
Demus & Eterno replaced Karaoui & Zumbi. Challenges for a trios match followed.
6) Cuervo b Fresero Jr. [bull terrier] 
a polemica lucha, set up a tag title match
7) Trauma I & Trauma II b Gran Guerrero & Último Guerrero 
a lot of cheating

The only Lucha Libre Real storyline I care about is if Robin got a real belt. Looks like he got a real belt! Also looks like Demus was going to take that one too.

IWRG (SUN) 04/14/2019 Arena Naucalpan [+LuchaTV, The Gladiatores]
1) Black Shadow II, Dinámico, Spider Boy b Canival, Cosmic, Vortex 
2) Biosfera, Cheff Benito, Latino b Guerrero 2000, Matrix Jr., Power Bull 
3) Alas de Acero, Holocausto, Rey Gato b Ángel Drago, Galactus, Güero Palma 
Holocausto replaced Manchas
4) Hijo de Canis Lupus COR Máscara Año 2000 Jr. © [IWRG IC HEAVY] 
Mascara 2000 was counted out and lost the title in his first defense.
5) Divino, Hausser, Ninja de Fuego b Erigor, Gallito, Neza Kid 
6) Ángel Del Amor, Canibal Jr., Dragón Fly, Einar El Vikingo, Guerrero Olímpico, Historico, Maradó, Ragnar El Vikingo b Auzter, Black Dragón, Chicanito, Death Metal, Dinamic Black, Puma de Oro, Shadow Boy, Toto [Copa Higher Power]
Team FILL vs Team Argentina (Hip Hop Man). Dragon Fly (returning) was the mystery wrestler for Team Argentina and got the win with a pinfall over Black Dragon.

Dragon Fly hasn’t been in Arena Naucalpan in about a year and hasn’t been wrestling much since (but did wrestle with Hip Hop Man’s crew.) You never know with IWRG but this was played up like the start of something.

A title changing hands with no one getting pinned is very IWRG.

ROH last night in Columbus

• Rush beat Soberano Jr.
• Bandido beat PJ Black in a match with Caristico & Flip Gordon

The Rush/Soberano match was a short squash, which seems like will be the way of all Rush singles matches from now until he gets into a title program. The four-way had some moments that didn’t go well but was overall pretty fun. Flip Gordon went a long way on a dive to a balcony (not from a balcony); whatever he says, he seems to have a lot of confidence in his knee.

They taped TV the day before, with both the Briscoes vs Caristico/Soberano and The Kingdom vs Rush/Cobb/Lethal said to be good. I believe the trios match is airing on ROH’s 400th episode (May 17th), and the tag match sometime prior. ROH is off until the May War of the World tour, though the April Crockett Cup will air on their streaming service. AAA is still the weirdest schedule but ROH is not far off.

I watched some of ROH while actually being at GALLI last night. They said goodbye to the swap meet in November, they’re back in the swap meet (in a new area) in April. I didn’t write down usable results. I thought the show was better than usual, though I may have been distracted during some of the more questionable parts. These shows are good for seeing random midwest wrestlers I haven’t heard of who have some promise to be something sometime down the line; this time it was Kyle Pro (out of Wisconsin?), who was doing well with a Sonny Kiss/XO Liscious sort of character in the opener.  I have not seen Air Wolf, I heard good things about Air Wolf, Air Wolf did a cool dive and seemed OK the rest of his match. Maybe I need to see other matches to see more.

Everyone was trying very hard to make DJZ’s last match for the promotion good. The five other guys in the match are all guys he’d worked with a lot (in the ring and/or in the training) over his last few years in the promotion. It felt like maybe they were trying too hard early on, but they settled down and it worked out to a fun match. It was one totally worth the trip and the reason most people had made it to GALLI on an unusually snowy April night. (It wasn’t just the fans; many of the wrestlers who worked the show or those who had worked past ones were hanging out watching DJZ’s final match here.) DJZ seemed sincerely appreciative to the fans and to the promotion for how they’d helped him along his path. He’s got a few more matches away from Chicago before he goes to NXT, and you should check him out while you can.

Tonight’s Arena Puebla show has Ultimo Guerrero defending the CMLL World Heavyweight championship against Valiente. That seems likely to be a very Ultimo Guerrero formula match, with the only question being if they’ll do a Guerrero Special in Puebla. A title change seems very unlikely this early in an Ultimo Guerrero title reign.

NGD versus Caristico, Mistico and Soberano has the best chance at a memorable match, depending on how hard they want to go on a Monday night. It also might depend on if Mistico is really there (no matches this month) or who replaces him. King Jaguar, Magnus & Sigma face Perverso, Policeman, and Virus in the tercera. There are a women’s match and a usual opener to start the show. It starts at 9 pm on CMLL’s YouTube channel.

Box Y Lucha 3381 has Dragon Lee & Rush on the cover.

Segunda Caida reviews a July 2018 CMLL trios match.

An interview with Monterrey’s Demonio del Caribe, who has plates in an arm after a break.

Lineups

CMLL (SAT) 04/20/2019 Arena Coliseo
1) Bengala & Sonic vs Camorra & Cholo
2) Astral, Eléctrico, Sangre Imperial vs Hijo del Signo, Sangre Azteca, Yago
3) Blue Panther Jr., Drone, Fuego vs Nitro, Olímpico, Sagrado
4) Disturbio vs Metálico [lightning]
5) Soberano Jr., Stuka Jr., Titán vs Felino, Mephisto, Shocker
6) Atlantis, Atlantis Jr., Carístico vs Cavernario, Hijo del Villano III, Villano IV

Villano IV has been off since late February. At his age, it could’ve been an injury. This doesn’t look like an appealing card.