Bandido wins BOLA, CMLL weekend results

CMLL (SAT) 09/21/2019 Arena Coliseo [CMLL]
1) Acero & Aéreo b Pequeño Olímpico & Pequeño Universo 2000
2) Espanto Jr., Hijo del Signo, Inquisidor b Eléctrico, Halcón Suriano Jr., Robin
rudos took 2/3, then unmasked the tecnicos
3) Dark Magic, Disturbio, Nitro b Fuego, Magia Blanca, Pegasso
rudos took 1/3
4) Marcela b Reyna Isis [lightning]
win via tapatia
5) Diamante Azul, Kráneo, Volcano b Máscara Año 2000, Rey Bucanero, Terrible
Mascara 2000 replaced Bestia del Ring. Tecnicos took 2/3.
6) Carístico, Místico, Titán b Mephisto, Mr. Niebla, Negro Casas
tecnicos took 2/3.

La Bestia del Ring seems to be off of cards at the moment. I’m not if that has anything to do with other thing going on.

CMLL (SUN) 09/22/2019 Arena México [CMLL]
1) Arkalis & Bengala b Apocalipsis & Príncipe Odín Jr.
tecnicos took 2/3
2) Amapola, La Infernal, La Seductora b La Guerrera, Reina Isis, Silueta
Reina Isus replaced Princesa Sugehit, presumably not cleared after all. Rudas took 2/3.
3) Dark Magic, Universo 2000 Jr., Vangellys b Black Panther, Blue Panther Jr., Rey Cometa
rudos took 2/3.
4) Luciferno DQ Stuka Jr. [lightning]
Stuka accidentally unmasked Luciferno
5) Ephesto, Mr. Niebla, Templario b Soberano Jr., Titán, Valiente
Rudos took 1/3, when Templario was eliminated but illegally cost Soberano the match. Challenges followed.
6) Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón b Ángel de Oro, Diamante Azul, Niebla Roja
NGD took 1/3.

Princesa Sugehit was just on CMLL Informa talking about her return, so it’s strange she ended up not wrestling and on so short notice that Reina Isis ended up in her spot. She hasn’t said anything on Twitter about it.

Puebla is coming up by the time you read this, so no sense in previewing it. Caristico vs Negro Casas is the scheduled main event.

An article on luchadors and their injuries mentioned KeMonito arriving to Arena Mexico in a wheelchair. He can walk but is trying to reduce the impact on his knees as much as possible.

Night 2 and Night 3 of this year’s PWG Battle of Los Angeles since the last update. Bandido won the tournament after finishing as the runner-up. The tournament was full of lots of great matches, as it is every year. Last year’s seemed a bit better than this one though. The story of Bandido’s meteoric run thru the tournament was something that could not be replicated this year. People still very much wanted Bandido to win this year, but they also knew he could win. Bandido showing he was capable of so much made last year’s tournament a bit more special. The inevitable and inescapable talent drain is also a factor, even just year on year. It’s created openings for new people, but those new people are typically much earlier in their development than in past years. Aramis was great and got stronger reviews, yet he’d still be probably two or three years from making this sort of tournament in a pre-AEW and pre-NXT world.

Aramis also made this tournament specifically because Barbaro Cavernario did not. At the time, there were two stories going around: that CMLL needed him for the Aniversario and that CMLL had put pressure on both Barbaro Cavernario and Dragon Lee to not participated based on AAA affiliated wrestlers (and specifically Penta & Fenix) being on the same show. Cavernario did end up pulled into the Aniversario mix. The second part seems like it may also be accurate. Dragon Lee’s decision to work PWG’s BOLA appears to have frozen him out for CMLL for the moment. Not one outside of CMLL management, not even Dragon Lee himself, has been told why Dragon Lee was pulled off the Aniversario show. Everyone assumes CMLL pulled him for working these shows without approval. (It is possible he’ll now end up on ROH’s PPV Friday night, but that was not something Dragon Lee knew was happening when his name was off the Aniversario card.) Dragon Lee is expected to be in the NJPW Super Junior Tag League next month and had previously scheduled time off at the end of the year for personal reasons, so he might have not been around Arena Mexico much the rest of the year anyway. Things like this tend to blow over in time, and Dragon Lee’s had chances to leave CMLL in the past that he’s passed on. Those options are still out there though.

(Dragon Lee never did face Penta & Fenix. PWG was careful about that. Meanwhile, an actual CMLL vs AAA encounter took place in Mexico City on Sunday without anyone noticing.)

This could also be a chilling effect on future CMLL wrestlers in PWG – or maybe not since Penta & Fenix appeared to finish up in the promotion last night. The fans certainly believed they were done and the Lucha Brothers accepted that reaction. Their contractual status still remains murky to me. The farewells were a common theme on this show; Janela had one too and I think the wrestlers were trying to spark a Thank You bit for Jungle Boy but the fans didn’t pick up on it. Or didn’t want to say goodbye a fourth time. Excalibur did not appear to be finishing up. Neither did Rich Knox.

Stray thoughts

• Aramis will return. This is not a reported news item but an obvious fact.
• Jake Atlas was the MVP of people who only had two matches. He had great matches with Jungle Boy and Dragon Lee. They stood out on their own, and even more so with the emotion of their own. Atlas/Jungle was two California guys trying to have signature singles match in PWG, in what was going to be Jungle Boy’s last try. I’m uncertain how many people knew the backstory to Dragon Lee vs Jake Atlas – Atlas was designed to win this year’s King of the Indies, Dragon Lee decided he was not losing, and here Atlas was dealing with that guy again – but maybe Jake Atlas’ shined thru anyway. The emotions felt authentic, Atlas challenging his anger into the fight while not letting it detract from his performance. Some people may have pouted and tanked the match, Atlas set up to show he was just as good as Dragon Lee. I think he pulled it off.
• I saw Tony Deppen at GCW and didn’t really get him. I think I get him now.
• I have questions about Lucky Boy’s entire deal. (This is not a negative.)
• Darby Allin didn’t seem to get a farewell, not one that I recall. It might be because the David Starr/Allin semifinal felt more like David Starr/referee Aubrey Edwards, an effort to build heat for Starr going into the main event. This is the first I’ve seen Edwards on an indie show, and it felt too much like seeing face Hijo del Tirantes for those who go back far enough with AAA. I don’t really want to have opinions on wrestling referee, I’d prefer they be something close to invisible. Edwards goes a different direction; she’s very good at what she’s attempting to get across, though it means she’s sometimes noisy in the match that’s going on. Others seem to think she’s more additive and the PWG fans definitely reacted to her like a star when she came out for her match. Maybe I’ll get used to it, but and maybe the long argument and shoving bit in the Starr match was more to give Starr a breather before going into the final, but that’s one you can skip on the DVD.
• don’t skip the ten-man tag on Night 3.

There’s more to say but this seems like a heavy digression in a lucha libre text. If you are a lucha libre fan, there is stuff worth checking out on night 1 (MexaBlood/Lucha Brothers) and night 2 (Aramis/Fenix most of all) in addition to the final. You’ll get your money’s worth if you get all three DVDs.

Results elsewhere

• Cibernetico won the three-way match with Michael Elgin & Ultimo Guerrero in Lucha Libre Real. KAOZ also created some women’s tag team championships on the show so Sexy Star would have a belt again, I guess.
• Satanico won via foul in his return to action in Arena Coliseo Guadalajara.
• Negro Casas replaced Mr. Niebla in DTU. Joe Lider also filled in for Crazy Boy, and it can’t be good if Crazy Boy is unable to wrestle on his own show.
• Ultimo Dragon won on the Ultimo Dragon show.
• Team Mexico defeated Team Foreigners in IWRG
• The big angle on the Pro Wrestling Mexico show was a Konnan/Vampiro fight.

LuchaWorld has the latest news update and this week’s Poster-Mania.

RIOT announced their next show is 11/02. It’s named “420” because it’s their 20th show in their 4th year, and surely for no other reason besides that. RIOT champion Arez should be back from China by then.

An article bringing up the story of Audaz choosing between lucha libre and a soccer team points out the soccer team has since been relegated out of Mexico’s first division. I think CMLL is still a first division wrestling promotion.

In an interview hyping his mask match, Chamuel mentions he owns the current design. Maybe he didn’t own the clown version?

Ciber has gotten himself involved in a celebrity fight in a way I don’t have the patience to understand today.

The Mexico City police department brought in El Fantasma to teach a class, which was the source of derision for an article.

A national lucha libre celebration was held in Oaxaca. And in Morelos. A Veracruz history of lucha libre includes an Intocable but not that Intocable. An article about the history of the Laguna luchadors.

“Yeye”, a documentary on Chica Yeye, airs as part of a Queretaro film festival.

Elegido made a surprise appearance at a lucha libre photography exhibit.

A story about Juarez luchador Johnny Rey.

An interview with Chef Benito.

Lineup

CMLL (SAT) 09/28/2019 Arena Coliseo
1) Fantasy & Kaligua vs Pequeño Nitro & Pequeño Violencia
2) Eléctrico, Príncipe Diamante, Súper Astro Jr. vs Espanto Jr., Espíritu Negro, Grako
3) Oro Jr. vs Hijo del Signo [lightning]
4) Black Panther, Fuego, Guerrero Maya Jr. vs Disturbio, Olímpico, Sagrado
5) Flyer, Kráneo, Stuka Jr. vs Felino, Pólvora, Rey Bucanero
6) Ángel de Oro, Diamante Azul, Niebla Roja vs Ephesto, Mephisto, Terrible

A show.

CMLL (SUN) 09/29/2019 Arena México
1) Arkalis & Sonic vs El Coyote & Inquisidor
2) Fantasy, Shockercito, Último Dragóncito vs Pequeño Olímpico, Pequeño Universo 2000, Pierrothito
3) Audaz, Drone, Flyer vs Dark Magic, Luciferno, Vangellys
4) Dulce Gardenia vs Tiger [lightning]
5) Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Soberano Jr. vs Ephesto, Hechicero, Templario
6) Carístico, Diamante Azul, Volador Jr. vs Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón

Templario & Soberano on opposite sides, so the singles rematch may be coming on a Sunday.

CMLL (SUN) 09/29/2019 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Javier Cruz Jr., Leo, Omar Brunetti vs Guerrero de la Muerte, Joker, Sádico
2) Reina Dorada vs Dark Silueta [lightning]
3) Gallo, Hijo del Solar, Star Black vs Exterminador, Maléfico, Ráfaga
4) Solar I vs Satánico
5) Gran Kenut & León Blanco © vs Neutrón & Rayman [OCCIDENTE TAG]
6) Ciber the Main Man, Scharly Rock Star, The Christ vs Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero

An oddly loaded up card and a new name spelling for Zorro. Maybe Dark Silueta is Silueta but a ruda? I dunno.