Month: June 2019

CMLL (SAT) 06/29/2019 Arena Coliseo [CMLL]
1) Cholo & Yago DQ Black Panther & Sonic
Black Panther replaced Arkalis and was DQed in the third for something with referee Metalico. Rudos took 1/3.
2) La Guerrera, Marcela, Skadi b Amapola, La Seductora, Metálica
tecnicos took 1/3
3) Dark Magic, Sagrado, Universo 2000 Jr. b Cancerbero, Star Jr., Stigma
Cancerbero replaced Pegasso and behaved as a tecnico. Rudos took 1/3.
4) Audaz, Drone, Esfinge b Hijo del Villano III, Kawato San, Templario
tecnicos took 2/3, Kawato fouling and unmasking Audaz
5) Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Stuka Jr. b Hechicero, La Bestia Del Ring, Rey Bucanero
tecnicos took 2/3
6) Volador Jr. b Forastero
Volador took 2/3 in front of a divided crowd

Volador talked about his win.

CMLL (SUN) 06/30/2019 Arena México [CMLL]
1) Pequeño Violencia & Pierrothito b Fantasy & Kaligua
Rudos took 1/3.
2) Espíritu Negro, Grako, Sangre Azteca b Leono, Príncipe Diamante, Sangre Imperial
rudos took 1/3
3) Disturbio, Olímpico, Vangellys b Black Panther, Drone, Star Jr.
rudos took 2/3
4) Kawato San b El Audaz [CMLL SL]
Kawato took 1/3 to win the vacant. Title left vacant by Dragon Lee, these were the finalists from last week
5) Atlantis, Atlantis Jr., Blue Panther b Ephesto, Luciferno, Mephisto
tecnicos took 2/3
6) Stuka Jr., Valiente, Volador Jr. b Cavernario, La Bestia Del Ring, Terrible
tecnicos took 2/3, the second by DQ (Terrible unmasking Valiente), setting up a Valiente/Terrible Heavyweight title match next week.

Promos: Valiente (bizarrely in an Audaz mask) & Terrible talk about their title match, Kawato talks about his title win.

Kawato winning suggests a longer feud with Audaz. They didn’t seem to do anything with the finish to definitely require a rematch, so not a rematch. It does put Kawato in play for an apuesta match for Aniversario; this is like the beginning of a bigger story.

Had Audaz won, he would’ve been the first person from Oaxaca to win a CMLL world title. El Signo has many world titles of his own.

Triton & Esfinge kept the Arena Coliseo Tag Team championship in Guadalajara over Furia Roja & Guerrero de la Muerte. Carlo Roggi beat El Yaqui in a hair match.

Lucha Memes, TWE, Mexa Wr (SAT) 06/29/2019 Arena San Juan Pantitlan, Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl, Estado de México [+LuchaTV]
1) Aramis b Rey Cometa
2) Lunatik Extreme & Lunatik Fly b Alas de Acero & Iron Kid
Fly Star attacked Lunatik Extreme
3) Multy b Prayer
4) Lady Lee, Pegazus, Skalibur (Baja California) b Hija De Gatubela, Príncipe Aéreo, Torito Negro
5) Rayo Star & Sky Man b King Rocker (Puebla) & Rey Samuray (Puebla)
Rayo Star & Sky Man back
6) Virus b Fly Star
7) Jonathan b Lunatik Extreme
Templario didn’t make the show, Jonathan issued an open challenge, Lunatik Extreme accepted.

This got the dreaded “+LuchaTV only takes pictures of people backstage” treatment for when a show didn’t draw well. The photos I saw showed it about the usual range for a MexaWrestling show, maybe a little bit less. Templario sent a video explaining he missed the show due to travel issues. The Caifans were listed for the Virus match and didn’t appear – I think I got all the results and they just missed the show but I’m never 100% sure. MexaWrestling mentions Toxin made a big return and his name doesn’t ever show up in the results +LuchaTV’s fault. This is where I get annoyed the promotions can’t just post results of shows themselves. Hip Hop Man mentioned he was doing the announcing for this show, so it should turn up at some point.

Lucha Memes says their next show is 07/20 in Gimnasio Hercules with a tag team tournament. MexaWrestling will be part of the 07/14 Arena Naucalpan show.

The MDA show that took Lucha Memes’ place in Arena Naucalpan looks like a full house. The whole circumstances of this break up are still not really clear to me but the end result seems to have worked out fine for PALL.

AULL (SAT) 06/29/2019 Arena Lopez Mateos [+LuchaTV, R de Rudo]
1) Alas de Oro, Alas De Plata, Mexica b Euro, Sobredosis, Tormento 
Euro & Sobredosis replaced Yoruba & Guerrero Batar.
2) Leviatham b Terry 2000, Sádico, Dante, Freelance, Yakuza, Centella Oriental [Copa Anniversario] 
Leviatham replaced Sadico
3) Carta Brava Jr. (LLB), Cerebro Negro, Fantasma de la Ópera b Gallego, Rocky Santana, Romano García [AULL TRIOS] 
4) Chik Tormenta © b Lolita [AULL WOMEN] 
5) Atlantis Jr. & Hijo De Octagon b Hijo de LA Park & Hijo de Pirata Morgan © and Canek Jr. & Hijo De Dos Caras [UWE TAG] 
Atlantis Jr. & Hijo de Octagon won the title.s
6) Alberto el Patrón & LA Park b Atlantis & Rey Bucanero and Bárbaro Cavernario & Negro Casas [Copa Universo]  
Rey Bucanero replaced Diamante Azul. La Mascara showed up post match to challenge LA Park & Alberto to a tag match (presumably with Rush as partner.)

This was a good weekend for Alberto. This Anniversary show drew very well, ending with he and Park jovially talking about becoming a regular team and Alberto explaining to the press how absurd AAA & CMLL wouldn’t put aside their TV deals to have their talent work his shows. Alberto & Lucha Time drew well this time in Monterrey as well. That and the rest of the Sunday shows tomorrow.

At IWA’s show at CAR the Crash, Latigo won a multi-man match to get a 1v1 against Negro Casas at a future show. The Eterno/Arana de Plata vs Ciclope/Miedo Extremo went to a DDQ, but was said to be pretty good.

Los Traumas took a rare loss to Dark Cuervo & Dark Scoria in Lucha Libre Real though mask pulling was involved. Masks vs hair challenges followed and actually doesn’t seem out of the question there.

Canek & Rayo de Jalisco made mask match challenges in 2019. Arena Neza didn’t draw great for the nostalgia show, though there’s been much worse Neza shows of the years.

Keyra would like to defend her Reina de Reinas championship against Faby Apache or Taya in a singles match. AAA booking a one on one women’s title match has proven to be incredibly unlikely.

Brazo de Plata says he’s both wealthy – in friends and experiences he’s made – and poor – in that he needs people to buy some t-shirts or pay him to attend parties so he can continue to feed himself. Brazo de Plata believes the only one of his children who fights like him and has the same amount of charisma is Goya Kong.

Pro Wrestling Revolution/All Pro Wresting’s King of the Indies has Laredo Kid vs Dragon Lee as a first-round match in their eight-man tournament this Friday. Not sure about it streaming; neither promotion is big in that. Laredo has the very normal San Luis Potosi, San Francisco, Guadalajara triple shot next week. Psycho Clown (and others) has a San Luis Potosi, Naucalpan, Chiapas, Guadalajara four day stretch, and probably has to be at a press conference in Mexico City the day before that.

Chicago’s Golden Magic mentioned he’ll be on the 07/28 Lucha Libre Boom/NOBA show in Arena Naucalpan, as part of the GAW/PALL deal.

DTU has an interview with (Dr.) Polux Jr., who is a third generation luchador.

LuchaWorld has the latest Lucha Report.

Lineups

CMLL (TUE) 07/02/2019 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Avispón Negro Jr., Joker, Mágico vs Carlo Roggi, Maléfico, Paymon
2) Dulce Gardenia, Magia Blanca, Magnum vs Disturbio, Espíritu Negro, Guerrero de la Muerte
3) Black Panther, Blue Panther Jr., Fuego vs Pólvora, Sagrado, Tiger
4) Místico, Soberano Jr., Valiente vs Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón
5) Niebla Roja vs Gran Guerrero

Tuesday lineup on Sunday night is better then all the Saturday/Sunday/Monday lineups I’m just now finding, I supposed. Niebla Roja vs Gran Guerrero is a fmous rematch. Weird to see Dulce in the second match but I’m not sure which tecnico you’d move down (yet.)

CMLL (FRI) 06/28/2019 Arena México [CMLL, ESTO, Lucha Central, Marca, The Gladiatores]
1) Inquisidor & Nitro b Eléctrico & Oro Jr. 
rudos took 1/3
2) Amapola, La Comandante, Tiffany b Avispa Dorada, La Maligna, Lluvia 
rudas took 2/3
3) Dulce Gardenia b Disturbio 
Dulce Gardenia was given a big introduction and a trophy as part of LBGT+ celebrations
4) Esfinge, Titán, Tritón b Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón 
tecnicos took 2/3 and issued a title challenge
5) Stuka Jr. b Mephisto [lightning] 
torpedo splash
6) Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero b Ciber the Main Man, Sharlie Rockstar, The Chris 
straight falls. The CL4N were DQed in the first (weapon usage) and UG used a foul to win the second.
7) Carístico, Valiente, Volador Jr. b Cavernario, Mr. Niebla, Negro Casas 
tecnicos took 1/3

CMLL Promos: Los Guerreros, the CL4N, Dulce Gardenia, OneAtos Style, and Stuka,

Press room interviews: Peste Negra (Box Y Lucha +LuchaTV), CL4N (Box Y Lucha, the Gladiatores, +LuchaTV), Dulce Gardenia (Box Y Lucha, the Gladiatores, +LuchaTV), NGD (+LuchaTV), OneAtos Style (+LuchaTV)

I haven’t watched this show in full yet. It sounds like Dulce Gardenia’s debut went very well and the OneAtos Style/NGD match was the other good match on the show. They played up Dulce Gardenia’s debut – a dance number, an in-ring ceremony, a big trophy for no particular reason, Sofia Alonso endorsing him – like he was intended to be the new Mistico. He probably won’t end up up that high on the card but it is a strong endorsement for a new wrestler.

CMLL aired a slice of the Dulce Gardenia interview from Informa instead of a dance number. The removal of the dance numbers remains annoying and counter-productive, but the other part has to happen more often. No one but the most dedicated loyal CMLL fans are watching the two hour (plus!) CMLL Informa show. Everyone else in the world is much more likely to watch a 30-90 second highlight from the show. AAA’s figured this out, and are posting short clips of their interview show on Twitter even as the show is happening. CMLL’s got to find a way to get the most interesting parts of their bloated show out there so that even the casual fans can see it. Putting short clips of wrestlers on Informa explaining the story of the match fans on Friday are about to see is a really good place to start.

In yet another Dulce Gardenia interview, he mentions he was Bandido offered Gardenia a place to stay when he first came to Mexico City. When he got on his feet, he moved to apartments owned by Rossy Moreno & Hijo del Dr. Wagner. He trains Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursday, and Fridays with Ultimo Guerrero and has an additional training session Wednesdays.

Ultimo Guerrero & Ciber set up a match in two weeks. No idea where Ultimo Guerrero is at next week, but I assume he’s got a booking. Edit: It’s the match in France! I knew this. Oh well.

Ring of Honor went as expected for the Mexican wrestling contingent. Rush defeated Flip Gordon (who had a busy night) and Dalton Castle defeated Dragon Lee, with Castle and Rush on a course for a rematch sometime in the next few months. Bandido did not win the TV title but may have gotten new rivals. Dragon Lee & Rush face Los Hermanos Briscoe today at the ROH TV tapings. Bandido’s match is yet to be revealed.

This is another weekend with no AAA taping. They’ll be back next week. There’s plenty of other notable shows going on.

on Saturday

• Let’s take care of AEW show first, since it’s the most notable one even it has the least to do directly with lucha libre. Fyter Fest streams live on Bleacher Report Live in the US for free, and internationally on FITE.tv for $10. Laredo Kid teams with the Lucha Brothers to face the Elite trio of the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega. Lucha Central wrote about Laredo Kid, I wrote about Laredo Kid over on Voices of Wrestling. Laredo Kid is very good and he’s been excellent in AAA this year. If he’s ever going to break thru in the United States, it’s probably happening tonight.
• Back in Mexico, Lucha Memes has a relocated show in Arena San Juan. This was date that was originally scheduled for Arena Naucalpan and the circumstances around it led to Memes and PALL splitting. It’s a co-promoted show with MexaWrestling & Tijuana’s TWE, both of which seem to be staying with PALL, so there might be some awkwardness there. Aramis & Rey Cometa and Templario & Jonathan are the most interesting matches on paper to me. With Battle of Naucalpan never turning up, this show might end up being remembered more for the issues surrounding to it than any matches on it.
• Aramis is also supposed to be on an IAW show at CAR The Crash, which is headlined by Ciclope & Miedo Extremo against Eterno & Arana de Plata.
• Arena Neza has a legends show, with Mascara Sagrada, Octagon, and Rayo de Jalisco Jr. versus Canek, Pirata Morgan and Villano IV. Nostalgia tinted glasses should probably be handed out at the door for this one.
• Arena Lopez Mateos might be the biggest in name value of all these shows, with the 52nd Anniversario celebration of the building. Alberto & LA Park are scheduled to team against Atlantis & Diamante Azul and Cavernario & Casas, though I’d imagine that gets changed a bit.
• Cavernario is also supposed to work the main event of a Lucha Libre Real show in Mexico City itself, teaming with Terrible against Hijo del Fantasma and Xtreme Tiger, in his Mexico City return.
• Volador Jr. and Forastero headlines Arena Coliseo.

on Sunday

• The MDA slow which displaced the Memes show has Mascara Sagrada & Octagon vs Canek & Villano IV vs Fuerza Guerrera & Pirata Morgan vs Black Terry & Black Warrior.
• The Lucha Brothers, Dragon Lee, Daga, Soberano Jr., and Septimo Dragon are at Mucha Lucha Atlanta.
• Alberto headlines a show in Monterrey, teaming with Fantasma & LA Park vs Carlito, Mesias, and MVP. That sounds a lot like Nacion Lucha Libre, probably has the same person putting it together, and will be an interesting test to see how that’s going to do. It won’t be definite because Monterrey has their own issues but hopefully, it’ll do better than the last Alberto in Monterey match.
• Audaz & Kawato battle for the vacant Super Lightweight Championship in Arena Mexico. Again, Kawato should win if this is the start of a feud and Audaz should win if there’s no follow up plan.
• Esfinge & Triton have a likely to be successful Coliseo Tag Title defense against Furia Roja & Guerrero de la Muerte in Guadalajara. There’s a locals hair match on the show.

Audaz and Kawato both say they’re ready if nervous for Sunday’s title match. Kawato’s goal is the win the title, defend it once in Arena Mexico, and then defend it in NJPW. There can be large breaks between title defenses in Mexico but that sounds like Kawato is guessing the same timeline on his return to Japan (late 2019, early 2020) as everyone else.

AEW made their TV debut yesterday. Sort of. The AAA tag title match from Double or Nothing between the Young Bucks and the Lucha Brothers aired on AAA’s Azteca TV show yesterday afternoon. This didn’t seem like it was pushed ahead of time by AAA (but the TV is never pushed a lot ahead of time.) Azteca produces its own version of AAA TV but AAA had to provide the match to Azteca, so it is possible this will turn up on the regular version of the show. This week of TV should hit YouTube in a couple of weeks. (The official version of Vikingo/Laredo should be on YouTube next weekend.)

I keep forgetting to mention it, but while I’m on TV: the US airing on CMLL’s Televisa show has disappeared from the schedule. It might just be a knockoff effect of soccer coverage Univision Deportes but I don’t count on seeing it.

Marisela Pena was given a Women for Equality medal.

Pagano hyped the 07/04 Arena Naucalpan show. Pagano tells it that Pentagon said (thru Rey Escorpion) that he wanted a hardcore match with Pagano, then forgot, but Pagano thinks Penta just got scared. Pagano wants a cage or stretcher match in CMLL

Ovaciones has an interview that it hypes as El Hijo del Santo‘s first on Silver King. He doesn’t say anything notable here he hasn’t said elsewhere: the death was sad and scary that it could happen so sudden. There’s no deeper examination of what happened. Hijo del Santo has no retirement plans, just the general ‘few more years’ bit and wanting to wrestle with his son.

Baja Wrestling, the new Tijuana group, actually has their own YouTube channel where they posted matches from their show, including Rush vs LA Park. While having a YouTube channel and posing content is a normal thing and has been for about a decade in the US, an indie promotion doing this in Mexico is unusual.

Thing I didn’t know: Benjamin Mora Jr., son of a famed Tijuana wrestling promoter is a soccer coach. After not finding success in Mexico, he ended up in Malaysia and his team just won their league for the third year in a row.

RIOT’s La Riña En El Cerro de La Silla (08/23 & 08/24) participants:

1. Douki
2. Latigo
3. Erik Ortiz
4. Aramis
5. Belial
6. Madness
7. Iron Kid
8. Arez
9. Tony Rodriguez
10. Demonio del Aire
11. Fuego del Sol
12. Dralion – new

• 08/23 non-tournament match: UnMexicans (Byron & Kaientai) vs El Cartel de Los Culichis (Mr. Iguana & Fresero Jr.)
• 08/23 non-tournament match: Los Mismos de Siempre (Kamikaze & Kratoz vs Los Guanatos Brothers (Willy Banderas & Bryan Villa)

RIOT has a full tournament!

Lineups

CMLL (FRI) 07/05/2019 Arena México
1) Robin & Súper Astro Jr. vs Espanto Jr. & Hijo del Signo
2) Pegasso, Rey Cometa, Star Jr. vs Okumura, Pólvora, Virus
3) Atlantis Jr. vs Hijo del Villano III [lightning]
4) Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón © vs Esfinge, Titán, Tritón [MEX TRIOS]
11th defense
5) Ciber the Main Man, Místico, Rey Bucanero vs Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Soberano Jr. [Relevos Increíbles]
6) Carístico, Valiente, Volador Jr. vs Gilbert el Boricua, La Bestia Del Ring, Terrible

I don’t know about the main event. I do know the semi-main is the weirdest looking match CMLL has run this year.

OneAtos Style and NGD had a Great match back in March in Guadalajara. It’s a good matching of skills. A title change seems very unlikely.

Atlantis Jr. versus Hijo del Villano III seemed bound to happen soon. Hope it’s a good idea. Hijo del Villano III will have more singles matches in his under a year CMLL run than Villano III Jr. has had in AAA. That’s the only way you can put the CMLL guy ahead of the AAA guy.

Okumura returns in the second match.

CMLL’s Friday night show has unusually gone thru three lineups this week. This appears to be the final version. It’s a rare show with seven matches and two different singles matches, with ideas being obviously added at the last minute.

The match CMLL is promoting hardest for tonight is the one they added last. Dulce Gardenia faces Disturbio in a  CMLL LBGT+ celebration. There will also be a dance number. This is in partnership with the Mexico Tourism Department. CMLL’s posted hype promos with Dulce Gardenia & Disturbio, something CMLL doesn’t often do. CMLL throws themselves into these cross-promotions whenever they come up, so that’s part of it. The other part is Dulce Gardenia seemingly showed whatever CMLL needed to see from him in his debut and they’re getting strongly behind him. Gardenia is being programmed middle of the card to start and likely will be moving up from there; this is CMLL trying to make him a star in the first moment most people will see him. Disturbio was picked to be a good opponent for him in a match CMLL wants to work.

I think it probably will. I have a lot more hope for that match than the other matches CMLL desperately wants to happen, Guerreros versus CL4N. I don’t know how CMLL expects it to work; it didn’t much last week, it hasn’t in the past, and Sharly Rockstar replacing Gilbert is not an upgrade. This is all to set up a Ciber/Ultimo Guerrero match, which was not good when they did it two years ago. Neither guy is better now. Ciber is also not nearly as big a deal as he was even two years ago. And on it goes.

The actual main event is Caristico, Valiente, and Volador versus the Peste Negra union of Cavernario, Negro Casas and Mr. Niebla. There’s a 50/50 chance Caristico declares the tecnicos should form a team going forward. Stuka and Mephisto meet in a lightning match that should be fine, though fills out of place with the other singles match being added. NGD take on Los OneAtos Style, a match which has produced good results in other occasions. Lluvia, Avispa Dorada, and La Maligna are an unusual tecnicas trio for a Friday night who have little chance to defeat Amapola, La Comandante, and Tiffany. Electrico & Oro Jr. face Inquisidor & Nitro in an opener which may suggest tuning in late.

This show starts at 8:30 pm CT. Marca will stream this show on their YouTube channel and their webpage. I intend to stream this on my YouTube channel but I’m taking a break from watching a wrestling show on a screen by watching a wrestling show in real life. Things may not work as well this week.

Lucha Central has a preview of the show.

The Chavez Brothers mentioned that the Gran Prix was coming up on Informa. That would make sense as August’s big CMLL show. Lyger in July, Gran Prix in August, Aniversario in September, Dia de Muerte in October sounds about right.

Tiffany took Diva Salvaje’s hair back on the 16th in Tihuatlan, Veracruz. It was the final of a relevos suicidas.

ROH has their Best of the World show tonight. The show starts at 7:30 pm CT (one how before CMLL) and it’ll start with Rush versus Flip Gordon as a match free for all on Facebook and other platforms. A lot of people were/are upset about Rush/Gordon being moved to what is essentially the pre-show. WWE’s stigmatized the free portion of a PPV as unimportant matches with people who aren’t stars and Rush seems like one of the guys ROH who actually could be a star if positioned well. My guess is ROH sees the pre-show differently: they see Rush & Gordon as people who might at least get different fanbases to check out the free stream in a moment where they’re struggling to get any attention at all.

Dragon Lee versus Dalton Castle and Bandido challenging Shane Taylor for the ROH TV title are on the PPV itself. Rush will probably win his match to remain undefeated. The other two luchadors don’t seem likely to fare as well. Taylor has been doing promos setting him up as a long term champion, and it would kill his character if he lost in the first defense. (It has been generally disappointing that, after a hot star, Bandido has mostly been used in ROH as the b-side to other people’s stories.) This is Castle’s first match since his heel turn and ROH’s still pointing towards a rematch between him and Rush. Dragon Lee isn’t likely to win unless they’ve diverted from that plan.

Laredo Kid pops up on Impact tonight in a trios match teaming with LAX against the Rascalz. This was taped a bit back. It sounded like it went pretty well. We’re going to know a lot more about Laredo Kid’s future in US promotions after the Saturday trios match. I suspect though, that since Flamita has been talked about coming into Impact, that means Laredo Kid might be in as a one and done again. There shouldn’t be one spot for talent Mexicans but that’s often the case.

There’s promo art listing a TripleMania press event this coming Tuesday. AAA hasn’t announced it themselves – that seems to be the pattern – but that would fit as the card announcement that was mentioned a couple of days ago. No time is listed.

Lady Shani is confident she’ll win the Reina de Reinas title back. One of the reasons I thought she’d keep the title at Verano de Escandalo is AAA had Taya & Shani talk about how they were going to face each in another title match on multiple occasions. It never quite happened.

Demasiado talks about his career in wrestling as an exotico. He feels the luchadors themselves are less prejudiced than they were when he started but the promoters themselves see the exoticos as something that can be an opening act only, never in main events.

AAA has a cartoon explaining how Chessman got into lucha libre.

A July 28th Arena Coliseo show – with the weird main event of Fenix & Penta vs Cibernetico & Zorro – lists Diamante Azul in the semi-main. That’s the first mention of him returning from his injury/surgery.

RIOT’s La Riña En El Cerro de La Silla (08/23 & 08/24) participants:

1. Douki
2. Latigo
3. Erik Ortiz
4. Aramis
5. Belial
6. Madness
7. Iron Kid
8. Arez
9. Tony Rodriguez
10. Demonio del Aire
11. Fuego del Sol
12. TBA

• 08/23 non-tournament match: UnMexicans (Byron & Kaientai) vs El Cartel de Los Culichis (Mr. Iguana & Fresero Jr.)
• 08/23 non-tournament match: Los Mismos de Siempre (Kamikaze & Kratoz vs Los Guanatos Brothers (Willy Banderas & Bryan Villa)

True story: We were prepared to do a podcast last Wednesday. And then we had the bright idea that we should just wait until #12 in this tournament was announced so we could talk about it in full and figure it out. And then it’s 10 days later and the #12 hasn’t been announced. I don’t know who #12 is but I do know something came up with whoever it was supposed to be and now it is not clear if they’ll be #12.

Bestia 666 makes his MLW debut on July 6th against Mance Warner in Cicero, Illinois.

Ice Killer is being celebrated this weekend with a show.

An interview with DTU’s Hard Boy reveals his trainers Paranoiko and Hormiga gave him that name.

There will be a lucha libre shows at a Cancun restaurant on Thursday nights as a plan to appeal to tourists.

Quadratin has a profile of Rayo de Plata.

LuchaWorld has the latest Lucha Report.

Lineups

CMLL (MON) 07/01/2019 Arena Puebla
1) Rey Samuray, Robin, Sonic vs Espíritu Maligno, Joker, Rey Apocalipsis
2) Arkalis, King Jaguar, Tigre Rojo Jr. vs El Malayo, El Perverso, Toro Bill Jr.
3) Drone, Dulce Gardenia, Stigma vs Tyson La Bestia, Universo 2000 Jr., Virus
4) Místico, Soberano Jr., Titán vs Cavernario, Felino, Negro Casas
5) La Bestia Del Ring, Mr. Niebla, Terrible vs Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón

There were no Volador/Sanson challenges because the whole thing was being dropped, it seems. That is for the best for Volador. The fourth match might be good but the rest of the card is not promising.

CMLL (TUE) 07/02/2019 Arena México
1) Retro & Sangre Imperial vs Akuma & Rider
2) La Jarochita, Marcela, Sanely vs Dalys, Metálica, Reyna Isis
3) Misterioso Jr. vs Universo 2000 Jr. [lightning]
4) Audaz, Blue Panther, Guerrero Maya Jr. vs Hechicero, Kawato San, Vangellys
5) Atlantis, Flyer, Stuka Jr. vs Felino, Mephisto, Templario
6) Ángel de Oro, Dragón Lee, Niebla Roja vs Cavernario, Mr. Niebla, Negro Casas

Nothing special here. Main event falls in the “could be good” range. Audaz & Kawato are matched up again after the title match. Dalys & Marcela working the second match on a Tuesday show is something they probably should be upset with but also makes the most sense given this card. It is heavy on the midcard men.

Rider is a debut. Rider turns up a bit in Tinieblas’ FULL shows; he’s got a Ghost Rider mask. There are TV matches from 2012 and 2015, which I point out not to get you to watch them but to point out he’s been around for a while. I wonder how many of those years have included training (and paying for training) in CMLL’s school to get to this one match in Arena Mexico – where he faces two of the least impressive tecnicos.

(Camorra has barely appeared this year; perhaps this is his spot.)

IWRG (SUN) 07/07/2019 Arena Naucalpan
1) Auzter vs Neza Kid
2) Atomic Star & Brazo De Oro Jr. vs Canibal Jr. & Death Metal
3) Black Dragón, Dinamic Black, Hijo del Alebrije vs Dragón Fly, La Mosca, Marado
4) Fulgor I & Fulgor II vs Cerebro Negro & Dr. Cerebro and Centurion & Fly Warrior
5) Herodes Jr., Hijo de Pirata Morgan, Sangre Chicana Jr. vs Demonio Infernal, Eterno, Lunatik Xtreme
6) Óscar El Hermoso vs Miss Gaviota, Demasiado, Soy Raymunda, Lolita, Diva Salvaje, Pasion Kristal, Lilith Dark, Diosa Atenea, Jessy Ventura [cage, hair, mask]

This is the annual Jaula Los Locas cage match, usually an exoticos betting their hair or mask. They’ve included some women this year. The match has, at times, included people who no one’s ever heard of who end up losing their mask and hair and then are never heard of again. This one is all known people – except Diva Salvaje just lost her hair two weeks ago, so either is growing it back very quick or being replaced by who knows.

The Herodes side on the semi-main is the Los Masters Juniors unit that’s been popping up on Lucha en mi Barrio and other places.

AAA , EMW (FRI) 07/12/2019 Auditorio de Tijuana, Tijuana, Baja California
1) Adrian Quest, Drake, Fantastik vs Griff, Kamikaze, Xcalibur
2) Big Mami, Rayo Star, Tony Casanova vs Genio del Aire, Keyra, Lady Maravilla
3) Hijo Del Vikingo & Laredo Kid vs Arkángel Divino & Black Boy and Douglas James & Jake Atlas
4) Mamba, Máximo, Niño Hamburguesa, Willie Mack vs Eddie Edwards, El Hijo del Medico Asesino, Gringo Loco (Illinois), Jonathan
5) Pagano vs Joe Lider, Psicosis I, Nick Gage
6) Drago, Lady Shani, Puma King vs La Hiedra, Rey Escorpión, Texano Jr.
7) Psycho Clown vs Michael Elgin, Murder Clown, Taurus [EMW HEAVY]

The full lineup with a lot of outside people in. Mil Muertes was the EMW Heavyweight Champion but is long gone.

CMLL added a Dulce Gardenia versus Disturbio lightning one fall match to Friday’s show. The match will be Gardenia’s Arena Mexico debut. This part of International LBGT+ Day (though a couple of days late) and being done in coordination with the Mexican Secretary of Tourism. The previously scheduled Stuka/Mephisto lightning match remains on the card; it’s just going to be a strange 7 match card.

MedioTiempo talked to Dulce Gardenia, who talks about how tough it has been at times to deal with insults and discrimination for playing an exotico character. I think it probably is even tougher for a person in LBGT+ community, which Gardenia notes he is not. (To the best my knowledge, Disturbio is not either.)

There are probably others who can handle this with more nuance to explain why this is a little off, but it just feels not quite right to me. Increased corporate celebrations of Pride month and this day have come up on some of the podcasts I’ve been listening to lately. Businesses and governments have gotten involved this celebration stronger than have in the past but often more to enhance their brand rather than embracing the messages behind it. This strikes me as the same. This is definitely a branding exercise for both Mexico tourism and CMLL – “LBGT+ people, this is a safe space, we will equally take your money too!” – and I’m not sure if the same actually applies to the workplace of CMLL. As far as I know, and I’m not prying into personal lives enough to know this as fact, the only Out wrestler is Angelito. There’s never been a LBGT+ female wrestler in CMLL to my knowledge. No one’s under any obligation to publicly proclaim their sexuality, but the percentages suggest there’s plenty of people who’ve decided to keep it quiet and there are usually reasons for that. A culture where the “aaaaaay puto” chant is still very popular is unlikely to feel safe for LBGT+ people, even it is never meant seriously. CMLL is business, so they’re almost always going to publicly expose values they don’t actually practice in private, this is not that special. We just shouldn’t ignore what they’re doing.

The other unsettled feeling about this is the match to celebrate the LBGT+ community is likely to be built to gay panic kissing spots. I don’t how it feels in Mexico but I know it feels out of date in the US. I’ve read countless stories about Casandro and other exoticos who’ve consistently spoken about how important it was for them to see any representation of their community included at a point in history where they were excluded. Today, it feels like the rest of the world has caught up to and passed lucha libre in LBGT+ representation and they’ve been stuck in place.

CMLL announced Jushin Thunder Lyger’s farewell match will be the first-ever Relevo CMLL match. Lyger will be joined by Ultimo Guerrero, Negro Casas, and Caristico in the match. The rules of Relevo CMLL is two people in the ring at a time, they can tag out to either of the two people on the apron, and the first person to get a pinfall wins. This sounds like a four-way match to me. It also sounded like a four-way match to Caristico, who attempted to point that out to Julio Cesar Rivera. JCR insisted that this match type, a common one in most every other promotion in the world, was a new invention of CMLL. It was weird.

It is at least a different way of getting all those luchadors a final match with Lyger. CMLL’s done “retirement matches’ before where a wrestler has had a series of singles matches against different wrestlers, and this concept seems a better way of accomplishing those same goals. I know people wanted to see Lyger have some sort of big singles match, but I’m not sure Lyger wants to do that at this point. Perhaps calling it “Relevo CMLL” means it’ll happen more often as part of CMLL added variety to their match types. We’ve never seen a Super Libre Plus match again though.

CMLL additionally announced Gilbert el Boricua will be back in CMLL on 07/05 show. That means the Nacion Lucha Libre & CMLL agreements seem to be able to work together without issue, though maybe we need to wait until the Nacion show happens to be confident.

UWA/Legend has announced Jushin Thunder Lyger will also be working a special Arena Lopez Mateos show on 07/18. Lyger is now scheduled for Lopez Mateos on Thursday, CMLL on Friday, Lucha Libre Real on Saturday and I believe there’s a Sunday show to be announced.

Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja are dreaming of more international opportunities.

El Planchitas has an unsurprising news story: CMLL luchadors aren’t happy with the new “don’t throw coins in the ring” rule.

Last night’s AAA Sin Mascaras show on Twitch was dedicated to having the chat room book the AAA show at MSG. The idea is the TripleMania card is set even if we don’t know it so this is a future card they could have fun with. (AAA’s Oscar Manuel popped in to mention that TripleMania card would be announced “very very very soon” – maybe next week then?) The MSG card the chat room collectively put together was, charitably, not great. It is what you’d expect when you see a collective of fans put together a card; everyone’s favorites are included and so many people involved means there’s no coherent vision. Twitch Plays AAA was not quite as successful as Twitch Plays Pokemon as a draw either; there were only about the usual 100 live viewers for the bit.

I did take a couple of things out of it. The 100 or so people participating are not totally representative of the entire AAA fanbase, but you have to be a pretty dedicated fan of the product to be watching a wrestling Twitch channel where there is no wrestling going on. Except, the stories that have been a big part of a product in recent months – say, Maravilla/Hamburguesa/Mami or Psycho Clown versus Rey Escorpion – weren’t a big deal to the denizens of the chat room. The process wasn’t perfect for figuring these things out, but there was a moment where the hosts polled the fans if they’d rather see Murder Clown versus Killer Kross or Puma King versus Killer Kross, and the fans went away from the rivalry that’s been a constant part of TV to just see two big guys rumble. AAA’s big shows tend to be booked like few of the ongoing storylines matter, which seems like it’d be frustrating to people who actually watch the TV. At least for the fans in the chat room last night, having a disconnect card like that is no problem. It doesn’t say a lot for those AAA storylines.

The other deal is – at the suggestion of Adrian, one of the hosts – the main event included Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks. AEW’s Kylie Rae was also included on the card. It would be really fun to see those people on AAA show Madison Square Garden. AEW’s been very clear to their usual sources that they are absolutely not working that show or the LA one. (They may not be legally able; AAA’s expecting to get a TV deal for this show, and AEW’s TV deal perhaps might prohibit them from wrestling on another network.) AAA’s definitely suggested to their fans that AEW wrestlers will be there anyway. AAA may even believe that’ll eventually happen. (I definitely do not believe that’ll actually happen.) I’m not sure if it’s a selling point to a lot of fans – they haven’t sold out the show like NJPW & ROH did when people thought the not-yet-AEW guys would be there – but I’m sure there are who have been led to believe there’s a good chance of AEW people will be on those AAA shows. I hope they’re still happy with the AAA show with the AEW guys. It’d be better for AAA to stop even teasing AEW people being on their US shows, but I also don’t expect them to do that.

AAA will have karaoke night on Twitch tonight at 6:30 pm CT, which sounds amusing. The participants are all a surprise and I believe the songs will be picked by the Twitch chat. They’re also going to give away 10 AAA Twitch subscriptions. Many of you like who like AAA still aren’t eager to actually pay for AAA. This is a chance to get the VOD for free so you Americans can spend your July 3rd however you want and watch AAA later.

Killer Kross is among the many people interviewed on this week’s Keepin’ It 100. Konnan gets Kross to reveal one of the mysteries leading into TripleMania – what’s going on with Cain Velasquez? As it turns out, he’s been training in Las Vegas with Kross and Disco Infierno at the Future Stars of Wrestling school.

Kross: “[The training] went very very well. I hadn’t said a word to anyone about it for obvious reasons. He’s picking it up very quickly. He’s legit, he’s 100% legit. His entire life he’s been an amateur wrestler from my understanding. His footwork is there. Everything is there, his footwork, his striking, all his transitions, ground mobility. If he gets into a pro-wrestling, he will 100% be a draw and he’ll be able to carry the hype.”

Disco is also high on Velasquez, praising his ability to pick up things very quickly. Kross laughed at Konnan’s suggestion that he’d be a trainer at Vampiro’s yet to open school. Apparently, Vampiro came to the FSW and told the owner he had a lot of big money investors who wanted to buy it, and all he just had to do was fire everyone who worked there. Vampiro’s offer was declined.

Pagano says a story that he was looking to leave AAA wasn’t true. He’s fed into that with some social media posts and does seem to be taking outside dates, but it wouldn’t make sense to bail before TripleMania. I tend to believe the TripleMania isn’t like in the ballpark as WWE people get for WrestleMania but it’s a good way to keep in the public eye.

AAA’s put up vignettes that have recently aired on TV but on Twitch, including a Hamburguesa & Lady Maravilla segment and Pagano challenging Chessman in a very loud backstage area.

Ex-AAA luchador Elegido is in the news! The news isn’t good. It is a bit funny. Elegido was among a group of Monterrey luchadors hired to wrestle at a birthday party. That went fine. After the match, Elegido brought some of the young moms in the ring to do his dancing/stripping routine. That was a bit out of place at a children’s birthday party and people were scandalized. The video is good but not as good as I’d dream.

A lucha libre show with a Guns N’ Roses cover band playing took place. (There is no video.)

There is a Facebook argument going on between DTU and Lucha Libre Boom, who feels DTU shouldn’t be running Arena Naucalpan & Arena Lopez Mateos. The consensus on Facebook is this is a story to build up a combined show.

Lucha Talk has a new episode of their podcast.

Segunda Caida watches some recent lucha, including Blue Panther in Alabama.

Lineups

Expo Lucha (SUN) 08/18/2019 Harry West Gymnasium, San Diego, California
1) Aerostar & Drago (AAA) vs Rey Horus & Séptimo Dragón
2) Daga & La Máscara vs Danny Limelight & Joey Ryan
3) Christi Jaynes, Taya Valkyrie, Viva Van vs Simone Sherie, Tessa Blanchard, Zada Zang
4) Flamita, Laredo Kid, Puma King vs Adrian Quest, Douglas James, Jake Atlas
5) Jack Evans, Juventud Guerrera, Psychosis vs Brian Pillman Jr., Davey Boy Smith Jr., Teddy Hart
6) Mr. Águila, Penta Zero M, Rey Fénix (Indie) vs Brian Cage, Jack Evans, TJ Perkins

This is the Sunday show for the San Diego Lucha Libre Expo; there’s a Saturday show as well. Lineup order is probably not exactly right; 2-5 are together as Mexico vs the World matches. You can get into this just show for $25 adult or the full day for $50 – more info @ expolucha.com

CMLL (TUE) 06/25/2019 Arena México [CMLL, Lucha Central, Notimex, R de Rudo]
1) Mercurio & Pequeño Olímpico b Acero & Aéreo 
Rudos took 1/3.
2) Cancerbero, Nitro, Raziel b Magnus, Retro, Robin 
Rudos too k1/3
3) Súper Astro Jr. b Halcón Suriano Jr. [lightning] 
8:33.
4) Pólvora, Vangellys, Virus b Black Panther, Blue Panther Jr., Fuego 
Rudos took 1/3.
5) Felino, Hechicero, Templario b Audaz, Flyer, Rey Cometa 
Rudos took 1/3.
6) Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón b Místico, Soberano Jr., Valiente 
Rudos took 2/3.

There are promos from NGD and Super Astro Jr. I half paid attention the lightning match, but not enough to see Super Astro Jr. take a header until later on. It seems like it had good spots but didn’t totally hold up as a match. Those two are two guys who are probably better facing rudos at this point. There sure were a lot of rudo wins this show.

CMLL (TUE) 06/25/2019 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [CMLL]
1) Explosivo, Magnum, Vaquero Jr. b Gran Kenut, Paymon, Ráfaga
Magnum replaced Star Black (moved up). Tecnicos took 1/3.
2) Magia Blanca, Oro Jr., Príncipe Diamante b Difunto, Furia Roja, Guerrero de la Muerte
Tecnicos took 2/3.
3) Ephesto, Luciferno, Mephisto b Esfinge, Titán, Tritón
rudos took 1/3.
4) Ángel de Oro, Kráneo, Star Black b La Bestia Del Ring, Rush, Terrible
Star Black replaced Niebla Roja (moved up.) Rudos took 1/3.
5) Carístico, Dragón Lee, Niebla Roja DQ Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero
Niebla Roja replaced Volador Jr. Tecnicos took 2/3, the last when Gran Guerrero fouled Niebla Roja.

I assume Volador skipped the show to avoid being drawn into yet another singles match. He just wants to wrestle and watch his super hero movies and those rudos just won’t leave him alone.

CMLL announced Sharlie Rockstar (Charly Manson) would be making his CMLL return Friday. He takes the place of Gilbert el Boricua in the semi-final. CMLL’s story is Gilbert will continue to team with the CL4N are in atomicos matches. There’s actually space here for an atomicos – Los Guerreros are four people deep too – but CMLL very rarely schedules 4v4 matches.

That was the only upcoming match Gilbert had in CMLL. As El Mesias, he’s booked on the debut of the Nacion Lucha Libre card. These two things are probably related. The AAA wrestlers pulled off the NLL card because that TV deal conflicted with the AAA TV deal. There’s the same conflict between CMLL and NLL’s TV deal, only Mesias seems to have picked Nacion over CMLL. That seems like a funny thought but it may actually make worth for him. The AAA guys were people who are getting pushed or at least have hope of it. Gilbert has been in and out of CMLL the last couple of years and they don’t seem to have much interest in doing anything with him. Maybe Nacion will do something with Mesias, or maybe it falls apart and the door will be open for him to return to CMLL. CMLL mentioning him in the card change suggests the door is still open.

Dulce Gardenia talked to Reporte Indigo and revealed he was supposed to be one of Silver King’s last opponents in the UK. Gardenia’s story is he was going to be the luchador listed as “Charro del Mysterio” on the shows. That wrestler was intended to have a singles match with Ramses (Silver King) on the early show and then return later. Gardenia says both he and Silver King missed their original flight because of issues with their travel papers. Silver King told Gardenia the next day that the promoter had bought an additional flight for him but not for Gardenia and gave him a speech saying better days would come for him. Gardenia is a single father of three kids, though it sounds like those children are living back in Torreon right now.

Rush beat LA Park in their cage match in Tijuana this past weekend. Well, Rush escaped when four people ran in and one person pulled LA Park’s mask off, but those are just details. The building looks decently full, which is better than I thought would be for the debut show of a new promotion in a busy market.

I can’t remember if I wrote Vaquero Jr. took Malefico’s hair at Sunday’s Arena Coliseo Guadalajara show. The tecnico winning was the expected outcome.

Chamaco Valaguez, as head of the Cuernavaca lucha libre commission, met with El Fantasma, as the head of the Mexico City lucha libre commission, about ways they can work together.

Rob is relaunching his YouTube channel after this old one got striked out of existence for never explained reasons earlier this year.

LuchaWorld has the latest News Update.