strong Lucha Capital episode, Dragon Lee in (another) title match

Parkita Negra

AAA , CAPITAL (WED) 11/13/2019 Pinche Gringo Barbecue, Miguel Hidalgo, Distrito Federal [AAA, Furia de TitanesLucha Centralthecubsfan]
1) Laredo Boy b Drago KidParkita Negra Facebook video (posted by luchalibreaaa)
10:18. A non-tournament match. Laredo Boy beat Parkita Negra.
2) Mr. Iguana b MambaVillano III Jr. Facebook video (posted by luchalibreaaa)
7:31. Iguana beat Villano III Jr.
3) Lady Shani b HadesLa Hiedra Facebook video (posted by luchalibreaaa)
11:05. Lady Shani submitted Hiedra
4) Hijo Del Vikingo b FlamitaCarta Brava Jr. Facebook video (posted by luchalibreaaa)
10:40. Vikingo beat Flamita with a 450 splash.
5) Psycho Clown b Súper FlyTaurus Facebook video (posted by luchalibreaaa)
9:41. Psycho Clown beat Super Fly.

This was really good. The Vikingo match seems like the best match of the season so far, with all the matches being good. Laredo Boy & Drago Kid popping up regularly is good news, but Parkita Negra has been just as good as them. There’s a bit of dead time between the matches due to selfies, but this is an easy watch otherwise.

Next week is the final group stage, 11/27 is the semi-finals and 12/04 is the finals. There should be only two semi-finals and one finals, so maybe there’s room for a lot of extra matches.

The concept was three men’s teams and two women’s teams would reach the semi-final. (The final is a battle between the winning team members.) The Faby Apache, Lady Shani, and Big Mami team has 3 wins already and is sure to be in the semi-final. In next week’s match, Vanilla & Lady Maravilla can each advance their teams with a win. Big Mami winning would make for a tie. I assume Maravilla is getting the win.

On the men’s side,

  • The trio of Dinastia, Drago and Psycho Clown are going to the semifinal.
  • Willie Mack & Bengala will get their teams to the semifinal with a win. They may advance even without a win.
  • Aerostar would force a tie with a win (and there’s no telling how AAA will handle a tie)
  • all the other teams are done unless the point system changes, which is always possible.

The easiest solution is WIllie Mack & Bengala win their matches and that’s that. The hangup is the Aerostar team is the one with Octagon Jr. and Hijo del Vikingo, which may be the two reasons to finagle a way for them to advance.

Ciber sent out a video statement (posted here to +Lucha, Box Y Lucha had it too) expressing support for La Parka while also making it clear that AAA has a duty to support Parka; Parka shouldn’t look at it as a favor owed to AAA, but something that AAA owes to him for what he’s done for them. Azteca reported the hope was Parka would be transferred to a Mexico City hospital this week, but there’s been no word if that happened.

The El Planchitas column has mostly been aggregating news bits from English sources and passing them off as his own scoops for the last while – that’s where today’s story about “Sin Cara was going to leave WWE to go to MMA” seems to comes from. That’s not without its use, sometimes it brings to light things that may be forgotten. The second story today is a reminder that spot Puma King got last year in the AAA/ELITE feud was originally going to Diamante Azul; Planchitas adds that Azul was slated for a feud with Blue Demon. Diamante Azul instead backed out, staying with CMLL with the idea he’d get a bigger push. Planchitas point is “look what a bad decision Diamante Azul made” but my thought about it is more “AAA really dodged a bullet that time.” AAA eventually de-emphasized La Mascara in AAA to the point where he got the message to go elsewhere, so maybe Diamante Azulw would’ve done better or eventually left too, but I wouldn’t want to see Azul in the current AAA structure.

Dragon Lee challenges Shane Taylor for the ROH TV Championship on their 12/13 PPV in Baltimore. Lee and Taylor had a face-off back in September to set this up, though it doesn’t feel like it had been followed up much since then. Dragon Lee seems like an underdog in that match. Like with the AAA title match, it’s tough to put a title on Dragon Lee in 2019 when no one (himself perhaps included) quite knows what he’s doing in 2020.

12/06 EMW in Auditorio de Tijuana

Chris Dickinson is listed as “Dickerson”. I wonder if Flash Gordon is Flip Gordon similarly misunderstood. It seems odd to fly people cross country to work segundas but they are trying to compete with The Crash on that front.

Box Y Lucha is holding their award voting via emoji reaction on Facebook.

LuchaTalk has a new episode of their podcast.

Segunda Caida reviews Lucha Underground episode 4×16.

Voices of Wrestling reviews the “Nail in the Coffin” Vampiro documentary.

An interview with long-time Torreon luchador Chamuco Trevino, who is retiring in December at the age of 60.

Lineups

CMLL (SUN) 11/17/2019 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) El Alteño, Logan, Tigre Blanco vs Destructor, Jabalí, Thunder Boy
2) El Divino, Fantástico, Mr. Samurai vs Cris Skin, Fúnebre, Paymon
3) El Rielero, Explosivo, Reycko vs Carlo Roggi, Frenético, Mr. Apolo
4) Bobby Black, Joker, Sádico, Vaquero Jr. vs Difunto, Frezzer, Furia Roja, Guerrero de la Muerte
5) Atlantis Jr., Fugaz, Titán vs Hijo del Villano III, Ráfaga, Shocker

Shocker is officially back here, so he’ll be on the regular shows soon enough.

CMLL (TUE) 11/19/2019 Arena México
1) Bengala & Sangre Imperial vs Apocalipsis & Inquisidor
2) Eléctrico, Halcón Suriano Jr., Oro Jr. vs Espanto Jr., Hijo del Signo, Nitro
3) Blue Panther Jr., Pegasso, Príncipe Diamante vs Cancerbero, Espíritu Negro, Raziel
4) Guerrero Maya Jr. vs Vangellys [lightning]
5) Dulce Gardenia, Kráneo, Rey Cometa vs Ephesto, Kawato San, Luciferno
6) Ángel de Oro, Carístico, Niebla Roja vs Cavernario, Felino, Mephisto

Principe Diamante & Espiritu Negro are higher than usual and matched up against each other, so that’s a real thing. Kawato also seems to be booked higher on his return, though it is a Tuesday show. We are treated to another Vangellys singles match for some reason.

NLL (SUN) 11/24/2019 Domo del Deportivo Plan Sexenal, Distrito Federal
1) Halcón Negro Jr. & Zumbi vs Alas de Oro & Alas De Plata and Fly Warrior & Garra de Águila
2) Baronessa vs Tyra FlyKong Alvarado
3) Emperador Azteca & Sangre Azteca vs Hijo de LA Park & LA Park Jr.
4) Brazo De Oro Jr., Mr. Electro, Sharlie Rockstar vs Apolo (Puerto Rico), Cuervo, Dark Scoria
5) Cibernético, Hijo De Dos Caras, LA Park vs La Bestia Del Ring, La Máscara, Rush

NLL returns to Mexico City. You’re not a real “alternative to CMLL/AAA TV promotion” until you end up running Plan Sexenal. There’s typically more matches on these shows to take up TV time, so maybe something gets added day of the show. Apolo is back for the first time since August.

Tyra Fly appears to be the latest Mexican to be doing a Dragonball gimmick, but that’s not right. It turns out she’s actually the latest Chilean to be doing a Dragonball gimmick, in Mexico.

This is one of two shows in this building on this day; Ultimo Dragon runs in the afternoon.

Lucha Capital: 2019-11-13

Vikingo

Recapped: 11/13/2019

Matches:

Laredo Boy beat Drago Kid and Parkita Negra
(10:18, Laredo Boy top rope huracanrana Parkita, good, 00:07:13)

Mr. Iguana beat Mamba and Villano III Jr.
(7:31, Iguana Chilana Driver Villano III Jr., good, 00:24:01)

Lady Shani beat La Hiedra and Hades
(11:05, Lady Shani submit Hiedra, good, 00:39:47)

Hijo Del Vikingo beat Flamita and Carta Brava Jr.
(10:40, Vikingo 450 splash Flamita, great, 01:01:18)

Psycho Clown beat Taurus and Súper Fly
(9:41, Psycho Clown powerslam Super Fly, ok, 01:22:02)

What happened:

the power of Hiedra

The Laredo Boy/Drago Kid/Parkita Negra was a bonus non-tournament match.

The announcers confirmed next week is the final round of the group stage.

Thoughts: 

This was the strongest show of this Lucha Capital season. Most of the matches were really good, one match was particularly strong, and the main event was fine. It was the one where the three-way structure hurt the flow of the match the most, or maybe the fifth three-way match of the night was the problem. The fans still loved Psycho Clown and they were trying, it just didn’t come together.

It came together in a big way in the Vikingo/Carta/Flamita match, the most must-see match of this year’s tournament so far. Vikingo had a minute run early on that was incredible, and came back later with a springboard move so shocking that the AAA cameras never caught it. Flamita was fully engaged in this one, moving at top speed, and the Poder del Norte wrestlers continue to impress as individuals in this tournament. This was Vikingo’s night and the smoothest one yet on his return.

Carta Brava with a new trick

The women’s match started at high speed. It couldn’t quite keep up the pace, but the action remained solid through. Hades continues to look great since returning, with a couple of cool dives. Hiedra & Shani matched up well in the ending stretch. Tirantes deciding to starts slow counting didn’t help, but this was as complete a women’s match as they’ve had on this season.

Mr. Iguana’s trickier stuff didn’t get enough rudo help but enough other stuff worked to make his match enjoyable. I was skeptical of the Yesca spots in this promotion but they seem to be getting him over to this fanbase. He also survived lots of hard hits from Villano III, including that huge kick to start the match. Villano III Jr. is only lunatic willing to take a flip bump from the top rope to sell a Spanish Fly from a stuffed animal.

Drago Kid & Laredo Boy continue to do well. Parkita Negra did the best, with a great dive and impressive offense. The match stalled a bit after his dive and having all of these go ten minutes isn’t great, but they had enough action to keep the fans interested.