Rush held his promised press conference yesterday, talking about his departure from CMLL. Dragon Lee attended and spoke as well. +LuchaTV has the video. I’m leaning a bit on notes taking by MicromanFever & therealfredo, who also has a recap in the LuchaWorld.
Rush said he’d decided to leave CMLL after two meetings with Chavo Lutteroth failed to reach an agreement. Rush credits winning the ROH Heavyweight championship giving him the confidence to make this move. Rush says he regularly got in trouble with CMLL for breaking the rules, but he was not interested in changing. He was also bored in CMLL of late. Rush wanted new challenges, new opponents, and not to be told by CMLL who he could and could not wrestle. LA Park is the first person who comes up in that list; Rush says he’d be willing to do the long-awaited apuesta match, but it would have to take place in front of a big crowd. (Understand that as “both men expected to be paid a lot for it.”) Those possible new opponents include AAA wrestlers. Konnan sent Rush a message of support on Twitter. Rush says he can’t say anything bad about Konnan, noting Konnan got him into the US. (That was AroLucha.) Rush would like to face the top AAA stars but doesn’t feel they have many. Rush says he and Bestia will appear on The Crash show this weekend. Rush wants to keep his independence; he will not sign a contract with anyone in Mexico right now. Rush remains on a two year exclusive US deal with Ring of Honor. Rush was asked about having to change his name or being unable to use Los Ingobernables and responded that everyone knows who he is and who the original Ingobernables were.
Many of the top AAA wrestlers – Blue Demon, Dr. Wagner, Fenix, Penta among them – appear to be freelance wrestlers not signed to the promotion. AAA has seemed surprisingly comfortable with that arrangement. I’d suspect they would be satisfied with bringing in Rush as a non-contracted wrestler as well. He may not often work in AAA, but I think a few dates are possible, even while still with Ring of Honor.
Dragon Lee says CMLL hurt him by how they handled the situation and he still does not understand why they fired him. It was not how he wanted to leave, but he’s decided not to say anything terrible about CMLL and instead thanked Paco Alonso and the programming department. Dragon Lee says many promotions and wrestlers from NJPW, ROH, and WWE (Andrade) contacted him about his plans. Dragon Lee says he wants to continue wants to use his mask and his name because he likes what he’s done with it so far. Dragon Lee promised a surprise in the future. Rush mentioned promoters have asked for himself and Dragon Lee as a team, but it may only happen a few times – Dragon Lee may not be wrestling much in Mexico.
Dragon Lee’s desire to keep his mask and name seem to rule out WWE. Nothing should be completely ruled out in the current environment though, WWE is more willing to make those sorts of compromises because of the competitive market. Signing with AEW or ROH would seem to leave Dragon Lee still with plenty of time to wrestle in Mexico. The clues suggest Dragon Lee will be going to NJPW full time, maybe even announced as soon as the 10/14 King of Pro Wrestling show, but it’s open enough for other possibilities.
La Bestia del Ring said he felt he didn’t get enough chances in CMLL, felt like he was punished because they couldn’t take it out on his sons. Bestia again said he’d be much a better wrestler now that he was out of CMLL. Rush felt that maybe Mistico would do better now out of their shadow and on their own, a sentiment voiced on by CMLL on CMLL Informa as well. CMLL put out a statement to make it clear Mistico had not left the promotion. Mistico said he talked to Chavo Lutteroth about staying. Rush brought him up too, which quietly confirms that while Sofia may have the title, it’s Chavo who has the power in CMLL at the moment. Sofia was listed as Director Comerical as part of a promotion this morning (pointed out by Wally), which is CMLL seemingly confirming she’s no longer president of CMLL.
La Mascara appeared at the press conference to talk about teaming with Rush & Bestia going forward. It’ll be the latest version of Los Ingobernables, though it’s unclear if they’ll use that name. La Mascara is engaging in another fashion: CMLL filed for a trademark on La Mascara way back in 2010 but it remains not approved. He’s been able to keep using it, even while on AAA TV. The same is true of the Dragon Lee name; CMLL filed for it, but the trademark office has never listed as approved. Some wrestlers used those names much before the current versions, which may play a part. I’m not a copyright lawyer, so I don’t know how significant the difference is, but I do know La Mascara seemed to be able to use the name in AAA, and perhaps that means Dragon Lee will be allowed wherever he wants to use it. (Rush’s trademark does look like it was approved.)
Terrible was doing interviews on Wednesday to promote the Gran Alternativa. He didn’t talk about Los Ingonernables.
On Informa, Ultimo Guerrero and Julio Cesar Rivera shot down rumors that Guerrero is head of the luchador union, part of the programming department, and gets a cut of the money from any Laugneros booked. All those things may be right, and it also may true that he has a definite influence on what CMLL is, even just by being the top pushed guy and the head trainer.
A rumor going around on Facebook – here’s a link on Zona Ruda, but I saw it other places and I don’t see a source for it – has CMLL deciding to shut their doors to outsiders, and no longer booking the CL4N (Ciber, Scharly, Chris) and Gilbert el Boricua as a result. They’d also limit their luchadors ability to work outside shows. I’m not sure if this is true – Gilbert is booked on Sunday – but there is no point in the CL4N in CMLL with Ciber/UG not happening any time soon. They also haven’t done almost anything with Gilbert. The fear is CMLL is instead pulling up the drawbridge and closing off the outside world in response to losing Dragon Lee & Rush as if the reason they left was the bad influence outside and not the problems on the outside. If CMLL does restrict the outside work the top stars can take without making up for it, they will end up having fewer top stars.
Both Dragon Lee and the promotion were under the impression he was wrestling tonight in Aguascalientes. That is no longer the case; Dragon Lee says CMLL has vetoed him from working the show. The show was likely booked through CMLL, giving them the option of pulling their own wrestlers if the local promoter doesn’t go along. It does make Saturday’s The Crash show confusing. Soberano, Cavernario, Angel de Oro, and Niebla Roja are scheduled on the show in addition to Dragon Lee. The Crash has also added Rush & La Bestia del Ring after Rush quit CMLL. CMLL may allow them all to work, CMLL may pull their guys. I’d have a back-up plan ready if I was The Crash.
On +LuchaTV’s podcast, Jose Manuel Guillen mentioned CMLL was looking at bringing in someone from The Crash. A commenter here said Mecha Wolf gave a farewell speech and told people he was heading into CMLL recently, so that matches up.
Reporte Indigo asked Roberto Figueroa, Miguel Reducindo, and Leo Riano, who might take the place of Dragon Lee & Rush in CMLL. They suggested NGD, Cavernario, and Titan, while noting it more depends on who the company decides to support. Riano makes the point that a guy like Atlantis Jr. might have been better off coming in under a different name, as a section of the fans will always believe he’s in a high position because he’s an Atlantis and not because of his ability.
AAA’s InvadingLA show is officially postponed. It may be canceled. Ticketmaster informed ticket holders last night that the AAA InvadingLA 10/13 show of the postponement. The email, first posted by John Pollock, says an announcement about the rescheduled date will come later. Earlier in the week, I had heard the conventional PPV was postponed until 2020. AAA has said nothing about the postponement. They’ve posted nothing about this show in over a week. There have been rumors about the show not happening that date for at least that long. AAA’s quietness is unsurprising but still not great.
SoCalUncensored goes as far as saying the show is canceled. They also mention about 3,000 tickets had been sold so far.
If the AAA LA show is postponed, your tickets are still good later. You will get a refund if the show is moved from being postponed to canceled. I’d ask for a refund anyway; the issue here was not enough tickets sold, so there’s no danger in missing out if you need to rebuy later. There had been little to no promotion of the show from the moment it was announced.
The big focus for these AAA US shows has been Cain Velasquez. The UFC fighter committed to working both the New York & Los Angeles shows. The difference between the show being canceled and postponed might mean a lot to him, the deal over versus the deal in limbo. It’s always possible AAA could just let Velasquez out of the deal to preserve the relationship. Cain Velasquez is as demand a free agent as Dragon Lee. Velasquez would be expected to sign a wrestling deal soon – assuming his UFC deal allows it.
(What do I do with the LA show in luchadb? Do I leave it up forever as a tombstone? Do I delete it, so people aren’t confused when doing searches? Do I move it to 12/31/2020 on the idea that it is being postponed? Never sure how to preserve these things.)
With the AAA show off 10/13, the El Rey airing of the InvadingNY show has been moved to that day. El Rey’s schedule lists it now at 8 pm CT, which would’ve been running directly against the PPV. I don’t think that’s a mistake. I believe the original air date was to promote the LA show, now it exists to replace it, but they just knew about the postponement before the ticket holders.
Penta & Fenix appeared on the debut AEW Dynamite show. They also were part of a match after the show went off the air. I’m not sure if that match will turn up anywhere. All appearances on the show were that Fenix & Penta were full AEW roster members. They continue to be on the indie shows that the fellow AEW wrestlers finished up this past week. I don’t know what it all means, but it’ll probably make sense eventually. I guess it’s also possible that whatever agreement Fenix & Penta made to work the AAA shows prevented them from signing from AEW until after the LA show was over, but that’s a total guess.
CMLL was part of a promotion for Mexico’s lottery. Magnus is in the group, so he must be back around.
Indie rock band The Ruse attended Tuesday’s CMLL show.
The Crash’s show on Friday is starting a half-hour early, at 8:00 pm. It’s going to be a very long show with eight matches as part of the MLW cross-promotion.
RIOT 420 on 11/02 Arena LLF
- Kill Korton vs Madness
- Oro Negro vs Mr. Iguana vs Charro Negro
- Aramis vs Arez (c) for the RIOT Championship
The story of the main event is Aramis was one of two people not pinned in the tournament. The semifinals were three-way single fall matches, with both Aramis & Douki not figuring in the decisions. Douki probably has something to do in November, so Aramis gets the shot. That should be a great match.
Ruben Prieto, who was most recently wrestling as Batman, passed away yesterday.
LuchaTalk has the latest edition of their podcast.
Leon luchador family Ciclope Sr., Hijo de Ciclope, and CIclope Jr. lost their maks this weekend. It wasn’t in a match: someone stole their gear from their car.
Lineups
indy (SUN) 10/13/2019 Arena Coliseo Monterrey
1) Dr. Monsther & Rey Sultan vs Amun & Black Tron
2) Azrael, Optimus, Sexy Piscis vs Ameprio, Orquidea, Vasco Jr.
3) Diana La Cazadora vs Princesa Maya, Lady Flammer
4) ? & Divo vs Diluvio Negro II & Sergio Romo
5) Hijo de LA Park & La Bestia Del Ring vs Caifan & Caifan II
6) Rush vs LA Park [super libre]
That main event didn’t take long.
DTU (THU) 10/24/2019 Arena Aficion
1) Aero Panther, Fight Panther, Vengador Radioactivo vs Dark Power, Dragón Suicida, Samuray Jr.
2) Brazo Celestial & Brazo Cibernetico vs Blue Panther Jr. & Cachorro Lagunero
3) Arez & Pesadilla vs Calibus & Rayo (Us) and Drolux & Moria
4) Crazy Boy, Crazy King, Hardy Boy, Hijo De Dr. Pólux vs Alex Ocean, El Diablo Fly Star, Halloween, Mch Body
5) Ricky Marvin vs Jitsu, Brian Johnson, Exótico, Brazo De Oro Jr.
6) Dante Caballero vs Camuflaje vs Puma King
The next visit to DTU’s home base. The names you may recognize are from Ring of Honor’s school Future of Honor.
It’s a shame AAA had to postpone. Maybe they should have done LA first because that’s the market where they have the best chance at doing a good house.
Cain may not even be available to them much longer(based on reports he’s hablando con WWE).
I feel bad for AAA because they got another shot at big market big arena run, but didn’t have the tv or internet buzz in place to make it work. I though LA could do 8,000 off the brand name AAA, ethnic novelty, Cain, the draw of a prestigious venue, and big marketing budget.
I don’t feel bad at all. They continue to shoot for unrealistic goals. Aaa should not be doing building’s over 3000 seats in the US. The US is not Mexico plain and simple.
They should focus on Central and South America where they have television and probably would do extremely well.
@Lakersfan I don’t think AAA decides on the venues. I think they were solicited. “Sold show” or “money mark” agreement.
There is a major arena war taking place between Staples/Barclays vs. MSG/Forum.
MSG/Forum are trying to develop relationships to increase revenues, event days, so they don’t have to rely on WWE, which has not been a good partner in recent years. They are trying to establish relationships with companies they see as viable. I can understand why AAA would seem like a worthy risk.
AAA still has a high level of brand awareness and they probably could do much better in LA than NYC, which is not nearly as Mexican-American as LA. The LA Forum should have been the first as it would have done about 8,000 because LA will do better than NYC.
“La Bestia del Ring said he felt he didn’t get enough chances in CMLL“
I hope there was a collective laugh in the room after he said that.