CMLL (SAT) 01/18/2020 Arena Coliseo [CMLL]
1) Angelito & Fantasy b Pequeño Olímpico & Pequeño Universo 2000
2) El Coyote, Príncipe Odín Jr., Yago b Arkalis, Halcón Suriano Jr., Magia Blanca
Magia Blanca return from injury. Rudos took 1/3.
3) Cancerbero, Raziel, Virus b Eléctrico, Oro Jr., Súper Astro Jr.
Rudos took 2/3
4) Black Panther, Blue Panther, Blue Panther Jr. b Misterioso, Sagrado, Universo 2000 Jr.
tecnicos took 1/3
5) Atlantis Jr., Místico, Valiente b Felino, Rey Bucanero, Vangellys
tecnicos took 2/3.
6) Volador Jr. b Mephisto
Volador took 2/3.
Volador brags about a coin from fans being worth more than five stars. Definitely true, but definitely not something happening at Arena Mexico now.
CMLL , NJPW (SUN) 01/19/2020 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan [CMLL, NJPW, thecubsfan]
Attendance: 1601
1) Luciferno & Namajague b El Audaz & Tsuji
7:48. Namajague beat Tsuji with a German suplex
2) Flyer, Guerrero Maya Jr., Soberano Jr. b Douki, Kanemaru, Tiger
7:29. Soberano Fire Driver DOUKI
3) Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Titán b Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón
12:26. Angel de Oro mecedora on Sanson before the title match
4) Stuka Jr. b Okumura [NWA LH]
10:25. Made a title match the night before. Stuka landed the torpedo splash for the win. 4th defense.
5) Bushi, EVIL, Takagi b Dulce Gardenia, Fuego, Ryusuke Taguchi
12:01. Bushi pinned Fuego.
6) Último Guerrero © b Kojima [CMLL HEAVY]
13:05. Guerrero Special. 7th defense
7) Carístico, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tiger Mask b Bárbaro Cavernario, Euforia, Negro Casas
11:23. Tanahashi defeated Casas with the High Fly Flow. Kuroneko tribute match. Panico (Juan Manuel Mar) & Skandalo appeared.
Promos: Ultimo Guerrero (would be willing to face Kojima again), Caristico.
UG/Kojima was good, the main event was fun. Some of the other stuff on the undercard was enjoyable. The best was the NGD match, but they should be topping it tomorrow morning.
FantasticaMania wraps up the tour, and the tenth year, on Monday morning. The show has two more title matches: Caristico defends against Barbaro Cavernario and NGD against Angel de Oro, Niebla Roja, and Titan. Either title changing hands would be big news and seems very unlikely to occur. Both should be pretty good matches; the trios title match seems a safe bet to be the best match of the tour. Tiger faces Tiger Mask in a bonus early singles match. The show streams at 3:30 AM.
The turnout of 1601 is the highest recorded number for a FantasticaMania show since at least 2016. (NJPW wasn’t publicizing real attendance numbers prior.) The outside-Tokyo shows were all slightly down, but the Tokyo numbers have been strong. NJPW moving one of those outside shows to Korakuen Hall will result in a tour attendance record. (They just 1,515 to reach the high, they average 1,580 on the final night.) This tour has not captivated regular CMLL viewers so far but the business behind it remains good.
CMLL (SUN) 01/19/2020 Arena México [+LuchaTV, CMLL]
1) Apocalipsis & Cholo b Sangre Imperial & Sonic
2) La Comandante, La Infernal, Reyna Isis b La Vaquerita, Lluvia, Skadi
3) Diamond, Drone, Stigma b Disturbio, Olímpico, Pólvora
Principe Diamante debuted his new Diamond idenity.
4) Blue Panther, Kráneo, Volcano b Ephesto, Felino, Rey Bucanero
5) Místico, Valiente, Volador Jr. b Hechicero, Mephisto, Templario
Tecnicos took 2/3
6) Diamante Azul b Gran Guerrero
Azul took 1/3.
Promos by Diamannte Azul, Gran Guerrero, and Reina Isis & La Infernal.
Diamond won his debut, a modest surprise for CMLL. They didn’t back off the Santo suit. If he’s still working third matches a month from now, it’s a lot of getting people angry for no benefit.
The Crash (SAT) 01/18/2020 Auditorio de Tijuana, Tijuana, Baja California [The Crash, Zona Ruda]
1) Baby Extreme b Dinámico
Baby Extreme immediately challenged Terror Azteca for the Crash Junior championship.
2) Terror Azteca © b Baby Xtreme [The Crash JUNIOR]
immediate title match. Azteca retained. First defense.
3) Christi Jaynes & Lady Flammer b Baronessa & Hija De Gatubela
Alex Garcia was scheduled, didn’t appear. Gatubela & Baronessa added to make it a tag match instead.
4) Torito Negro b the Tiger (Tamaulipas)
5) Black Danger, D Luxe, Geluz b Demencia, Próximo, Silver Star
Geluz was the new mystery person. Proximo replaced Animal.
6) El Mesías b Angélico, CIMA, Ryu Lee
Mesias was helped by Orcaulo and masked men, setting up a new group.
7) Flamita & Oráculo b El Lindaman & T-Hawk
8) Bestia 666, Damián 666, Mecha Wolf b Negro Navarro, Trauma I, Trauma II
Mesias attacked Mecha Wolf after the show
I haven’t gotten to link it yet, but video looks to be going up in the usual places. Zona Ruda’s recap has the opener as the best match, surprisingly. The main event teased a cage match, while the Mesias/Mecha Wolf feud is also back (Mecha refused to join the Mesias Puerto Rico army.) That’s also a criticism Zona Ruda had: there’s a lot of matches teased in this promotion that don’t seem to go anywhere, and they’d rather see an existing Rebelion issue paid off rather than a new feud with the Navarros.
Geluz did a dive that looked a lot like Aereo from Juarez.
Garcia appears to have missed the show due to travel issues.
Jay Lethal, Bandido, Jonathan Gresham, Ryu Lee, Brazo de Oro Jr., Hijo del Mascara Sagrada, and Hijo de Octagon were announced for the next 02/22 show.
If you that perhaps a day of reflection would cause Psicosis II/Ripper to reevaluate his actions, well, nope. Pasala talked to the second Psicosis, who confirmed it wasn’t personal. This Psicosis thinks Konnan has it out for him solely because Konnan feels Nicho Psicosis is the only true one. Psicosis Ripper tells the reporter to ask him how many former and current AAA wrestlers have told him thanks for slapping Konnan, for putting him in his place. Psicosis complains Konnan’s humiliated his fellow wrestlers and treated them poorly, but everyone’s afraid to speak up about him.
A lot of the same Psicosis quotes also appear in an interview he did with YouTube channel President XL., which makes me a little suspicious Pasala just watched that video. One additional note is Psicosis Ripper claims CMLL offered him a job after hearing about the slap.
The second day of Impact tapings on Saturday seemed to back track a little bit on what had been set up the day before – or there were parts missing to those Friday night results. Taya went from challenging Tessa for the Impact title to losing her own Knockouts championship. Vikingo lost to TJP, who seems to be replacing him in the tag title feud with the North. Vikingo was said to have impressed both days. A match taped for Xplosion with the Rascalz vs Draztick Boy, Dinastia and Iron Boy sounds fun, though those matches don’t get a lot of time generally.
The Gladiatores has a few of the press interviews with AAA wrestlers at Impact. The one that sticks out to me is Pagano saying Sin Cara/Incognito is a friend, but the true “Cinta de Oro” is dead and the name should stay that way. It sounds like Pagano and Cinta/Cara haven’t talked about it yet.
The Toluca futbol club honored La Parka with a message on their sleeves and a pre-match team photo where everyone wore La Parka masks. La Parka was a fan of the team and had appeared at games previously. La Parka’s daughter and Electroshock appeared at the game as part of the ceremony.
The only notable thing from Saturday’s MexaWrestling show was what appeared to be low turnout. The promotion seems positive about the matches and mentions they actually sold more tickets then they were expecting, which is surprising given how it looks in photos. That’s the main event; it looked dire early.
WrestleCon announced Cavernario vs Caveman Ugg for their 04/03 WrestleCon World Wide show. That match may have happened at PWG had CMLL not pulled Cavernario (which is a reason I’m hoping the match happens, but I am holding my breath until it actually happens.)
Bryce Benjamin & Marshe Rockett are still the IWRG Tag Team Champions, defeating Hijo del Impostor & Dragon for them in Berwyn Sunday night. That match was supposed to include Dragon Bane & Hijo de Canis Lupus, who evidently did not appear.
As suspected, Bandido lost the ECCW title after one night.
Lineups
CMLL (FRI) 01/24/2020 Arena México
1) Halcón Suriano Jr. & Magia Blanca vs Akuma & Espanto Jr.
2) Drone, Fuego, Guerrero Maya Jr. vs Olímpico, Tiger, Virus
3) Soberano Jr., Star Jr., Titán vs Rey Bucanero, Shocker, Terrible
4) Ángel de Oro, Diamante Azul, Niebla Roja vs Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón
5) Místico vs Gran Guerrero
6) Carístico, Cavernario, Valiente vs Felino, Último Guerrero, Volador Jr. [Relevos Increíbles]
This is the Mr. Niebla tribute show. There’s no way you can tell from that lineup; it’s just as generic as possible. The Pesta Negra members are fighting, not teaming, which feels borderline offensive. Negro Casas isn’t present – he might still be in Japan with Dalys for a few days past FantasticaMania – but it seems like CMLL could wait for him to be there to run a proper show. This show doesn’t feel worthy of honoring Mr. Niebla.
The only reason I can think of to do that main event as a Relevos Increibles is if CMLL’s going for another round of Caristico versus Volador.
Lucha Memes (MON) 02/03/2020 Coliseo Coacalco, Coacalco, Estado de México
1) Astrolux, Black Metal, Perro de Guerra vs Lady Cat, Lilith Dark, Zika
2) Garrobo Punk & Gremlin vs Fly Warrior & Príncipe Aéreo
3) Rey Apocalipsis & Toro Bill Jr. vs Centurion & Metaleón
4) Black Terry & Judas el Traidor vs El Mimo & Toro Negro
5) Alas de Acero, Iron Kid, Lunatik Fly vs Atomic Star, Baby Star Jr., Fly Star
6) Jimmy vs Toxin
7) Arez vs Lady Flammer
8) Aramis vs Látigo
Top three matches on this show look promising. Batillon de la Muerte versus Centvrion & Metaleon is the battle of two teams I liked but haven’t gotten to do much interesting stuff in the last year or so.