Bestia de la Ring & Rush in Copa Dinastia, AAA on Twitch Sunday, more AAA vs Octagon, Austin Theory to CMLL

Oro Jr.

CMLL (FRI) 06/07/2019 Arena México [CMLL, Lucha CentralMarcaOvacionesRecordthecubsfan]
1) El Coyote & Grako b Eléctrico & Oro Jr. LUCHA LIBRE VIERNES ESPECTACULAR DE ARENA MEXICO 7 DE JUNIO DE 2019 FUNCION COMPLETA (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
12:19. Rudos took 1/3.
2) Black Panther, Blue Panther, Blue Panther Jr. b Disturbio, Kawato San, Virus LUCHA LIBRE VIERNES ESPECTACULAR DE ARENA MEXICO 7 DE JUNIO DE 2019 FUNCION COMPLETA (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
16:29. Tecnicos took 1/3.
3) Audaz, Stuka Jr., Valiente b Ephesto, Mephisto, Rey Bucanero LUCHA LIBRE VIERNES ESPECTACULAR DE ARENA MEXICO 7 DE JUNIO DE 2019 FUNCION COMPLETA (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
11:07. Tecicos took 1/3.
4) Cavernario b Templario [lightningLUCHA LIBRE VIERNES ESPECTACULAR DE ARENA MEXICO 7 DE JUNIO DE 2019 FUNCION COMPLETA (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
9:45, via cavernaria.
5) Gilbert el Boricua, Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero b Ángel de Oro, Carístico, Niebla Roja LUCHA LIBRE VIERNES ESPECTACULAR DE ARENA MEXICO 7 DE JUNIO DE 2019 FUNCION COMPLETA (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
13:57. Rudos took 1/3.
6) La Bestia Del Ring & Soberano Jr. b Felino & Flyer [Copa Dinastia, battle royalLUCHA LIBRE VIERNES ESPECTACULAR DE ARENA MEXICO 7 DE JUNIO DE 2019 FUNCION COMPLETA (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
1:24
7) Flyer & Volador Jr. b Felino & Negro Casas [Copa Dinastia, semifinalLUCHA LIBRE VIERNES ESPECTACULAR DE ARENA MEXICO 7 DE JUNIO DE 2019 FUNCION COMPLETA (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
6:34
8) La Bestia Del Ring & Rush b Euforia & Soberano Jr. [Copa Dinastia, semifinalLUCHA LIBRE VIERNES ESPECTACULAR DE ARENA MEXICO 7 DE JUNIO DE 2019 FUNCION COMPLETA (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
7:10
9) La Bestia Del Ring & Rush b Flyer & Volador Jr. [Copa Dinastia, finalLUCHA LIBRE VIERNES ESPECTACULAR DE ARENA MEXICO 7 DE JUNIO DE 2019 FUNCION COMPLETA (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
5:36. Bestia del Ring and Rush advance to the 06/21 final.

The first half of the show was good for a Friday show, all the way thru the Cavernario/Templario match. And then it fell off. Copa Dinastia disappointed in these matches and disappointed in what it meant for the rest of the tournament. Dragon Lee & Mistico are almost certainly not going to the final with their family members there. We’ll be treated to a three fall Bestia match instead.

Kawato/Black Panther was very much downplayed from last week. Not much happened that mattered going forward outside of the tournament.

If there is a big show coming this month, it sounded more likely to be the Father’s Day show on 06/16 rather than anything on a Friday. No Friday show was pushed and the announcers plugged the Father’s Day show all night.

CMLL Promos: Cavernario (wants a longer match with Templario), Caristico trying to form a trio again, Gilbert & Ultimo Guerrero still teasing a match, Los Ingobernables.

Media interviews: Templario wants a title match with Cavernario, Cavernario praises Templario, the Panthers want bigger matchesCaristico & friends and Rush & Bestia, who say they’d be OK facing Mistico & Dragon Lee in the final.

AAA is back streaming on Twitch this Sunday. The time on the poster is 6:30 pm, AAA is already saying the stream will start at 6:45 pm, so plan on a late start and later ending. AAA lineups are pretty much worthless, but they have been pushing the idea of Jack Evans and Hijo del Vikingo challenging for the AAA Cruiserweight Championship on this show so perhaps that match will actually occur. Can’t really hazard a guess at the rest. Most of the people will be there but in whatever combination AAA feels like doing that day, possibly to build up Verano de Escandalo. The one person most questionable is Sammy Guevara, who has repeatedly been listed on taping he didn’t wrestle on (and may have never intended or agreed to work on.) AAA is still mentioning Sammy Guevara as appearing, but they’re also mentioning the matches on the card as if they’re happening and I hardly believe that either. Guevara being there or not being there doesn’t make a huge difference, AAA’s never used him in a difference-making role, but Sammy is a guy under AEW contract and it might say something about how the AEW/AAA relationship is going or how interested people under AEW contracts are going to be about working AAA. It also could just be an isolated thing.

Late Saturday night/early Sunday is also NJPW’s Dominion, where Dragon Lee defends the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against Will Ospreay. Dragon Lee is almost certainly going to lose. Dragon Lee & Hiromu Takahashi is still happening at some point, but they don’t need the belt for it and NJPW usually has wrestlers coming back from injury fight their way back into getting a title match rather than getting into one immediately. That should wrap up Dragon Lee in NJPW for a while. The next two tours are a short one and then the long G1 tour which wouldn’t include Dragon Lee. The tour after that runs thru the usual CMLL Aniversario period, so it is possible Dragon Lee will stay in Mexico (and the US) until October.

Being rejected by the supreme court would be enough for most people. Not for AAA. AAA sent out a statement, written by a lawyer, insisted that Octagon had not actually won the rights to their name or character and this thing is still ongoing. Their understanding of the ruling is AAA’s artistic rights to the name were canceled but those rights were not granted to (the wrestler known as) Octagon. AAA’s lawyer says that name can’t be granted to that person, because artistic rights can only be granted to an artist or musical performer and a luchador is neither of those things. That appears to be the next step in the legal battle, some decision on whether luchadors can be considered artists. AAA also argues that all the other aspects if Octagon – the look and the character – are still copyrighted by AAA. So this will continue to go on forever.

AAA may be right on all of this, though how it matters all that much to their business is beyond me. I wish AAA was as determined as they are on any other aspect of their actual business. They’d have an online store and visas for everyone. They’d be promoting this MSG show stronger than one twitter post a week and random unfocused mentions on streams.

MexaWrestling runs tonight with God Level, featuring Los Traumas vs Golden Boy & Simbolo and Rey Horus vs Steve Pain. Jack Evans is also booked and while it would be amusing for him to miss the AAA show to wrestle in Arena San Juan, I don’t think that’s happening. IAW has Negro Casas & Rey Cometa vs Iron Kid & Latigo, which sounds a lot of fun. There’s also the closest lucha libre show to me all year but I don’t think I’m going. Sunday has LA Park & Rush in Guatemala & Rey Cometa vs Pegasso in Arena Mexico, both of which I’ll try to record next week. IWRG has a multiman match for a belt I don’t understand.

Lucha Central will stream the Lucha Pittsburgh show on Thursday night. That’s the show with Sam Adonis & Bestia 666 vs Super Crazy & Facade and Templario versus Soberano.

Last night in Mazatlan, Joe Lider & Pagano lost a cage match which was said to set up a hair match between them on August 16th in the same city.

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 – new
  • 08/23 non-tournament match: UnMexicans (Byron & Kaientai) vs El Cartel de los Culichis (Mr. Iguana & Fresero Jr.)

LuchaWorld has the latest edition of the podcast.

Lineup

CMLL (FRI) 06/14/2019 Arena México
1) Magia Blanca & Star Jr. vs Akuma & Espanto Jr.
2) Esfinge, Rey Cometa, Tritón vs Kawato San, Pólvora, Tiger
3) Atlantis Jr., Soberano Jr., Valiente vs Cuatrero, Forastero, Hijo del Villano III
4) Rey Bucanero vs Euforia [lightning]
5) Dragón Lee & Místico vs Ángel de Oro & Niebla Roja and Gran Guerrero & Último Guerrero and Máscara Año 2000 & Sansón [Copa Dinastia, seeding battle royal]
6) ? & ?? vs ??? & ??? [Copa Dinastia, quarterfinal]
7) ? & ?? vs ??? & ??? [Copa Dinastia, quarterfinal]
8) ? & ?? vs ??? & ??? [Copa Dinastia, semifinal]
9) Austin Theory, Carístico, Volador Jr. vs Cavernario, Negro Casas, Rush

Austin Theory in on the CMLL/Crash exchange program. If CMLL is doing a bigger show on June 21st, he could stick around to have a singles match with Rush or Cavernario.

Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja fit as opponents for Rush & La Bestia del Ring the best – it is a close rematch to Homenaje a Dos Leyendas. Can’t ever rule out Los Guerreros.

Kawato is now fully separated from Black Panther so perhaps that idea has been dropped or changed. Cometa would fit as an opponent as a person with hair against a person with hair but that seems like a more challenging match.

CMLL on Marca: 2019-06-07

Templario impresses

Recapped: 06/07/2019

Matches:

El Coyote & Grako beat Eléctrico & Oro Jr.
(12:19 [4:36, 3:35, 4:08], 1/3, ok, 00:01:10)

Black Panther, Blue Panther, Blue Panther Jr. beat Disturbio, Kawato San, Virus
(16:29 [6:22, 1:28, 8:39], 1/3, good, 00:21:22)

Audaz, Stuka Jr., Valiente beat Ephesto, Mephisto, Rey Bucanero
(11:07 [3:44, 3:15, 4:08], 1/3, ok, 00:46:35)

Cavernario beat Templario in a lightning match
(9:45, Cavernaria, great, 01:06:19)

Gilbert el Boricua, Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero beat Ángel de Oro, Carístico, Niebla Roja
(13:57 [5:22, 2:16, 6:19], 1/3, ok, 01:20:13)

The dumb battle royal went 1:24

Flyer & Volador Jr. beat Felino & Negro Casas in a Copa Dinastia quarterfinal
(6:34, ok, VideosOficialesCMLL)

La Bestia Del Ring & Rush beat Euforia & Soberano Jr. in a Copa Dinastia quarterfinal
(7:10, ok, VideosOficialesCMLL)

La Bestia Del Ring & Rush beat Flyer & Volador Jr. in a Copa Dinastia semifinal
(5:36, ok, VideosOficialesCMLL)

What happened:

I don’t know why he went for a pin

Rush & La Bestia del Ring won this block of Copa Dinastia.

Kawato attacked Black Panther before their match officially started, but the feud wasn’t much of the match.

Thoughts:

Copa Dinastia was worse the sum of the matches. Euforia & Soberano were the most interesting team and the most interested team and were dismissed after one match. Rush & Bestia treated this as a normal Tuesday match. Volador treated this like Puebla. They saw it as just another miscellaneous CMLL tournament not worth getting excited for, and a final with La Bestia del Ring does not seem like something many will be excited to see. All the matches were OK at best, but stopping watching this show at the Templario/Cavernario match is really best.

I came into this show more tired than usual and I’m not sure if that’s why the matches didn’t seem to connect with me than usual. The last trios match of the night was all the usual bigger match spots from these wrestlers but it felt more like going thru those motions than something that came together as exciting. Gilbert got re-established as a big guy who can slap around the likes of Angel de Oro, but just slipping him in place doing Guerrero team spots felt off. Ultimo Guerrero’s superpower to reverse everyone’s finisher into a cradle remains strong.

Panther tope

Templario & Cavernario turned into an unexpected dive exhibition for an extended part of the middle of the match. The dives looked really cool, Templario nailed his while coming like an inch from hitting his head on the apron. This was overall Templario’s best performance in one of these so far, showing good offense and feeding into Cavernario’s counters. The crowd loves Cavernario at this point and they should, and his way into the cavernaria at the end was excellent. They probably have a better match in them if they’re not rushing to get done in 10 minutes.

The third match didn’t come together fully. Audaz got in a slightly higher spot than usual and had a hard night. Some of it was his fault, some of it was the rudos not giving proper help, some of it was production not showing the moves well. It didn’t add up to a great presentation. He still got the win but it is not a positively memorable performance. The rudos weren’t great in general, though that is about what is expected out of them.

I didn’t think much of the Panther match for the first two falls, outside of Virus being awesome in submitting Blue Sr. quickly to win the second fall. (Blue Panther doesn’t protect himself much in the layout of these matches nowadays.) The third fall was a lot of fun, since Blue Panther Jr. has a lot of impressive looking power moves he can do now that are different from the rest of the show. I am not sure why Black Panther is doing a train horn pull motion before his dropkick but at least he’s doing something. This was the most effective the brothers have looked in a while.

The opener was a regular level match that went a little bit crazy in the last couple of minutes. The crowd had loudly turned on the match a fall and a half earlier and it didn’t win them back but the thought was nice. Too much people standing around waiting to get hit and Electricochecking behind himself before finishing a springboard. Grako doing an elbow drop to the floor and covering was great comedy.

Cavernario gets a reversal at the last second