Mexico announced its plan for reducing social distancing into a new normal today. 269 municipalities, where no COVID-19 cases have been found there or nearby, will be allowed to ease restrictions starting Monday. Starting June 1st, each state will be graded on a red/orange/yellow/green color list. Public events, such as lucha libre shows, would be allowed with limited attendance when a state has been given a yellow light and would be fully permitted under a green light. Interstate traffic will also be opened wider starting June 1st.
The colors for each state will be updated weekly. Some lucha libre locations of note (using this map):
- Chihuahua is green with cases falling, the best possible situation
- Nuevo Leon, Coahuila, and Jalisco are green but cases are rising
- Veracruz is orange and rising.
- Puebla is orange and stable.
- Mexico State, Ciudad de Mexico, and Baja California are red but cases going down.
- Hidalgo is red and rising.
This plan is advisory and voluntary. Individual cities and municipalities will be allowed to conform to it or ignore it as they choose and there will be no legal ramifications. Different areas are going to react differently. There are going to be wrestling shows in states under a red light if people there want to run shows. People have been running shows on low levels as it is.
The Mexico State and Ciudad de Mexico heads of government spoke about working in concert with each other on reducing restrictions, noting it’d be nonsense to have rules that would apply to one side of the street and not the other in some locations. They’re currently on the same color but probably will remain that way.
Those red colors make it hard (though not impossible) for CMLL to run in most of their locations, though Arena Coliseo Guadalajara could currently reopen on June 1st. AAA will likely spend the next few weeks feeling out venues in green states to judge the logic (health and economic) of running events in safer regions of Mexico.
Dr. Landru reported IWRG has tentative plans to run empty arena shows on Sundays in June, with the hope of allowing fans back in July or August. That was said before the restrictions plans was released.
Lluvia, Tiffany, Espanto, Electrico, Yago, and Magia Blanca will appear on CMLL Informa today. Electrico seems there to talk about his 2019 title match with Virus, so that’s likely airing on TV this week. Perhaps the Yago/Espanto match will be airing as week.
There was nothing notable in CMLL’s report about the Tiger versus Drone match on the February 15 show. There’s a bit about them having a frenetic start and Tiger praising Drone after in the interview typically done after a lightning match. No one outside of CMLL covers Arena Coliseo shows – CMLL appears to currently be a promotion with no hardcore fans who go to shows and write about their experiences, and no media – so it went into the record book as just another match. The reality of the situation was slightly different. Two videos posted to TikTok show four people storming the ring during the match in a premeditated act. A fifth is filming the entire thing (and a sixth seemed to change his mind about participating.) They’re only in the ring for a second before security descends on them and pulls them away. A second video shows some of the people being carried out of the building and dropped on the street outside; a message on a video says they were all later arrested. This incident happened three months ago but only came to light in the last couple of days when the TikTok videos started getting reposted on other social media platforms in the last couple of days.
Blue Panther says he’s continued to work in his acupuncture business, hoping to strengthen the immune system of his patients to better fight COVID-19.
Voices of Wrestling has a roundup of the empty arena shows so far. That Mi Sagarda Lucha Libre show is sitting on my DVR to watch next.
There will be an empty arena show streaming from Mazatlan on Saturday. There’s an article on it.
Rey Fenix will be in AEW’s Casino Ladder match on 05/23. The winner gets a title match and the show airs on PPV. AEW’s been slowly revealing names but Fenix’s involvement seemed highly likely from the moment they announced the ladder match (and since he’s got nothing else to do with his tag partners locked out of the country.)
R de Rudo has an interview with Hijo del Abismo Negro, who appears to be about 15 years.
RobViper looks back at matches from May 11th.
+LuchaTV has this week’s podcast. There’s also a column laying out the argument for an AAA training center.
LuchaTalk finishes their series of looking at the top 15 luchadors of the 2010s.
DTU is launching a radio show tonight.
Intocable wants to work with Strippers Big.
A profile of Morelos’ Sexy Flama.