Barbaro Cavernario is off the CMLL Anniversary due to injury, CMLL announced on a special Facebook video stream Monday night. Box Y Lucha quotes the injury as “luxofractura de la base en articulación proximal de primer metatarsiano”, which Google tells me is a badly dislocated toe and also an image I wish I didn’t see. Cavernario believes he suffered the injury on his springboard plancha, feeling foot and knee pain after landing. The match was briefly stopped between falls for the doctor to check on him, though Cavernario was allowed to finish the match and didn’t appear to be badly injured. Cavernario said he would not know exactly how long he’ll be out until after the surgery, though it was estimated as “some months.”
The team of Cavernario, Hechicero, and Terrible was likely going to challenge Los Guerreros for the CMLL World Trios Championship on the Anniversary show. The poll is still open, but that trio is leading the closest contender by 40 percentage points. CMLL will replace Barbaro Cavernario in that team with another poll. Templario, Vangellys, and Dark Magic are the choices to replace him in a replacement poll which will conclude on Wednesday by Informa. It appears like CMLL just picked pick candidates they’d knew would assure a Templario victory. CMLL comes at things so differently, than I understand that I’m not completely sure, but Dark Magic and Vangellys are not pushed as much as Templario and don’t have much popularity. Templario had nearly 70% of the vote last I checked.
Templario is the fourth/alternate member of Los Guerreros, so this sets up an odd dynamic of him trying to dethrone his usual teammates. Assuming they’re there even all there. The other Los Guerreros unspoken storyline is Ultimo Guerrero is strangely missing from the CMLL return cards. He was pulled off the 09/04 show and he’s not on the 09/11 show, he didn’t even appear on the government show. This comes after Ultimo Guerrero was also pulled off multiple indie dates. Maybe he’s dealing with an injury? Maybe something else is going on?
CMLL also announced the CMLL World Tag Team poll had gotten the most votes so far. That means the CMLL Aniversario main event is currently Caristico & Mistico defending against Espiritu Negro & Rey Cometa. It’s a bit of a surprise because all that poll isn’t all competitive even though it has four teams. It is possible fans of Caristico & Mistico realized they need to vote in that poll to get their guys into the main event, but those two luchadors haven’t pushed that concept hard as far as I’ve seen. As silly as it may sound, I think that poll might also be helped because it’s near the top of the page and a few people will get bored with voting before reaching the end.
The Cavernario replacement poll closes this Wednesday by the start of Informa, where the winner will be announced. The Aniversario challengers polls will all close next Wednesday, also with the matches to be announced on Informa. CMLL said that multiple times on Friday and I guess my brain is just set to zone out the in-between match segments.
CMLL also revealed the 09/11 lineup
CMLL (FRI) 09/11/2020 Arena México
1) Oro Jr. vs El Coyote
2) La Jarochita vs Reina Isis
3) Cancerbero & Raziel vs Espíritu Negro & Rey Cometa
4) Soberano Jr. & Titán vs Templario & Tiger
5) El Bandido, Flyer, Volador Jr. vs Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Sansón
The semi-main could be very good, but this week’s main event looked like it could be very good and was not last week. I’m curious if we’ll see a more motivated Raziel & Cancerbero in their first appearance after doing well in their poll.
During the CMLL Facebook live, the hosts responded to some alternate suggestions for luchadors to replace Cavernario. Mesias/Gilbert el Boricua was the one outside name who got as far as being mentioned on the stream. Julio Cesar Rivera explained CMLL is focusing on giving work to as many of the current roster as possible and so will not be bringing in outside talent. (JCR later stated Bandido was on the CMLL roster when that discrepancy was brought up.) Half of the people on this show are people who also worked on 09/04. Reina Isis & Jarochita aren’t among that count, but they also worked the government show. I have no problem with Coyote as a wrestler, it’s just hard to understand a policy of spreading out work while having the same opening match rudo back to back weeks.
CMLL stated there’d be news soon about plans for October. That seems likely to be the same run of normal Friday shows and Dia de los Muertos as a more expensive show at the end of the month. They’re also still hoping to get fans in the building and seem dependent on the health color changing from Orange to Yellow. The next update of that color map is Friday.
The “Nail in the Coffin: The Fall and Rise of Vampiro” documentary is available on streaming starting today. It’s a $5 rental on Apple/Vudu and cheaper than that on Amazon if you’re subscribed to prime. The reviews of the movie have generally been positive.
EMW has a poster out for the 09/15 Autolucha show, though no matches or location. Bestia 666 and MechaWolf are joined by Damian 666, Daga, Tessa Blanchard, Nicho, and Extreme Tiger among others.
Lucha Libre Vanguardia is happening on 09/19 but airing as a PPV on 09/27
- Draztick Boy vs Oriental vs Arez vs Falcon Fire for the Black Mask Lucha Libre Cruiserweight Championship
- Gasparin & Simbolo Azteca vs Drolux & Moria for the Black Mask Lucha Libre Tag Team Championship
I didn’t understand that one date was for the live event and one date is for the PPV until the promotion explained it to me. It still took a while for me to get it. I hope everyone else gets it easier.
DTU announced a #1 contenders tournament for their Alto Impacto title. There will be three four-way matches (two on their next show) were the winners the advance to a tournament final. The people who finish second place will get in a last chance match and the winner of that will also go to the final. This is all leading to the idea of Ace Austin returning to Mexico “in a few months”, which I guess could be a thing that is possible to happen.
Mas Lucha has a new edition of En+carados.
Jack Evans is out with a broken face, a very Jack Evans injury.
Aeroboy mentioned his parents are now free of COVID after a 55 day battle with the virus.