lucha TV preview for weekend of June 14th, 2019

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There are sure a lot of shows. I’ve decided the more accurate/laziest way to tackle the two Sunday shows is just to list them together. Maybe I’ll get some sense of which matches got where over time but I don’t have one right now.

AAA on Twitch has Verano de Escandalo on Sunday and an entirely different show on Saturday. It’s a lot of wrestling. Hopefully some good wrestling, but a lot of wrestling.

CMLL Claro has the appearance of Austin Theory and the appearance of Dragon Lee, both very rare appearances in CMLL in this moment.

Soberano/Templario streaming tonight, Metalico to be a referee, AAA close to selling out Verano

WrestleRex has a show in Pittsburgh tonight with Bestia 666 & Sam Adonis vs Facade & Super Crazy and Templario vs Soberano. Lucha Central will be streaming the show for free on their site.

AAA says tickets are almost gone for Sunday’s Merida show. Ticket website seems to confirm this isn’t just hype. AAA rarely sells out in advance. This is a near 9,000 seat venue. It is actually smaller than the building they ran last time in Merida. I suspect the building they’re using for Sunday, Poliforum Zamna, is cheaper because it is older but they might have sold a few more tickets.

On his weekly YouTube video, Sammy Guevara explained he missed Monterrey because the company AAA works with for flights didn’t get him or the other foreigners their flights in time. This would explain Kross’ absence as well. Guevara has his flight info for this weekend’s show so he will be coming. On +LuchaTV’s podcast, Jose Manuel Guillen said Guevara actually missed the show due to losing his passport, and Guevara has responded with a photo of his passport and a one finger salute.

Pro Wrestling Mexico has advertised Star Fire, Teddy Hart, Baby Xtreme, Johnny Mundo, Arez, Dragon Bane, Taya, Puma King, and Pagano for their debut show. It now has a date, July 21st, so there’s probably not an AAA taping on that day. No Monterrey venue announced yet.

Add 08/10 in Saltillo to the list of AAA TV tapings. It’s the first AAA TV taping known post-TripleMania (besides MSG.) I still don’t know if I’ve got everything before TripleMania.

Metalico appeared on CMLL Informa to make a surprise announcement: he was becoming a referee. I’ve had a hunch that some active early match luchador was going to retire and become a referee since Tirantes left. Metalico will have to go thru some training and be approved by the Mexico City Lucha Libre commission. He’ll also continue to work as a trainer at Rey Bucanero’s school.

(If I was CMLL, I’d record and put the best parts of the referee training online. Particularly if things like CPR and first aid are involved.)

I can think of two wrestlers who’ve made the transition to referee in recent memory. Angel Azteca did so a little bit after losing his mask at the end of 2003. It didn’t last long, he wrestled on the indies, and he actually passed away due to a heart attack after a tag match with Atlantis in 2007. Adonis Salazar, an indie luchador turned referee in Naucalpan among other places, refereed for CMLL around 2006. It didn’t last long and was only memorable for a segment revealing one of his gimmicks was Super Archie (as in the comic book character.) Once you get tenure with CMLL, you are there for life, but Metalico does have to re-earn that as a referee.

Dulce Gardenia was also on CMLL Informa and talked to YoDeportivo about his debut this Saturday. Gardenia has been training in CMLL since February on the recommendation of Ultimo Guerrero, who thought Gardenia was wasting his talents in Torreon. He’s training with UG in Mexico and has trained with Kain, Aguila Roja, Condor de Oro, Gran Markus, and Halcon Suriano. Dulce Gardenia hands out a flower to a fan before each match.

A question someone could’ve asked as at the AAA press conference was “are you sure the guys working AAA TV can also work for your TV show?” If it was asked, I didn’t see it reported anywhere. The answer, based on an Alberto comment on Instagram, is a hard no. There’s no word on if this affects everyone or just some people. Wagner, Penta, and Fenix all might have more freedom than the rest but is hard to tell. None of the AAA wrestlers were at the press conference and Puma was the only one I saw who mentioned it. I argued that Nacion Lucha Libre should’ve used those guys in higher positions, but maybe they should’ve been so sure before using them at all. It would be nice if Nacion Lucha Libre issued an updated lineup if they’re admitting people have been pulled from the card, but promotions like this usually don’t do that.

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 – new
  10. TBA
  11. TBA
  12. TBA

Dulce Garcia is listed on a boxing show on June 28th in Monterrey. I think she’s boxing, she seemed to suggest she’s boxing, it just doesn’t have an opponent listed and is a charity show so she could just be supporting it.

Segunda Caida watches Metalico vs Disturbio and the Los Haragans match from the May 4th The Crash show.

The full LA Park & Voltron vs Rush & La Bestia del Ring match is now up on YouTube.

Lineups

CMLL (MON) 06/17/2019 Arena Puebla
1) Millenium, Rey Samuray, Sonic vs Black Tiger, Guerrero Espacial, Policeman
2) King Jaguar, Star Jr., Tigre Rojo Jr. vs Corsario De Fuego, El Perverso, Tyson La Bestia
3) Esfinge, Stigma, Tritón vs Felino, Kawato San, Tiger
4) Carístico, Titán, Volador Jr. vs Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón
5) Último Guerrero vs Terrible

Terrible/UG was very not good last time. Semi-main is one of those matches that looks promising and then you remember it is Puebla.

CMLL (TUE) 06/18/2019 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Amperaje, Cosmos, Micro vs Fantástico, Fúnebre, Jabalí
2) Magnus, Sangre Imperial, Star Black vs Cancerbero, Paymon, Raziel
3) Guerrero Maya Jr., Pegasso, Rey Cometa vs Misterioso Jr., Sagrado, Virus
4) Ángel de Oro, Kráneo, Niebla Roja vs La Bestia Del Ring, Negro Casas, Terrible
5) Rush vs Cavernario

Guadalajara spent two weeks building up Rush/Caristico, had them exchange challenges, and then are running Rush/Cavernario. Not sure why they have trouble drawing some guy. If Cavernario gets a great match out of Rush on an off night in Guadalajara, he really is luchador of the year.