Month: October 2020

CMLL (FRI) 10/30/2020 Arena México
1) Chamuel & El Guapito b Átomo & Microman
12:24. Rudos took 1/3.
2) El Audaz, Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa b Dark Magic, Okumura, Vangellys
13:37. Magic, Okumura and Vangellys, now known as the Embajadores del Mal, lost in their debut match. Tecnicos took 2/3.
3) Reyna Isis © b Lluvia [MEX WOMEN]
16:12. Reyna Isis took 2/3. First defense.
4) Ángel de Oro, Forastero, Niebla Roja b Negro Casas, Soberano Jr., Titán [Relevos Increíbles]
24:09. Chavez/Forastero took 1/3, the last when Angel de Oro stole the pin from Forastero. Forastero didn’t want to share a corner with them, but worked together on team moves. Chavez worked as rudos and suggested they’d be ones going forward.
5) Terrible b Euforia [Rey del Inframundo]
19:31. Terrible took 1/3.

This was a cold empty show in a cold empty building. None of the matches were great, some were very much not good. I think the main event was good, but the bar might have been lowered by tedious action earlier. One of many issues is CMLL is dedicated to having the shows to as long as usual with fewer people and fewer matches, which meant the semi-main went about ten minutes longer than it needed.

I’d like to think about what it means for the Chavez Brothers to be rudo (shouldn’t you save that for when there are fans to boo them?) but it’s hard to feel like anything matters. I wasn’t looking forward to seeing the new Vangellys led rudo trio – the tecnicos were limited because there’s no one on that team who can take half their moves – but there’s no logic in to hyping them up for three days and having them lose. There’s no logic in setting up a Euforia/Ultimo Guerrero match and then immediately having Euforia lose his next big match. It’s 50/50 if they’ll just ignore and run UG/Euforia anyway. The strongest narrative of post-pandemic CMLL is CMLL is capable of telling stories. They will occasionally stumble onto a good match to book, but they appear bereft of week to week planning at a time where that’s their only hope for survival.

The stage wasn’t as dressed up as usual for Dia del Muertos and the wrestlers were dragged back to the entrance (presumably to keep them away from the staff), but they try to dress up the empty areas where people might normally be. It wasn’t as good as usual but it was low on the list of issues.

CMLL’s only promotion for November was the Leyenda de Azul will happen at some point. CMLL’s promotion for October was two tournaments (women’s tag, Rey del Inframundo) plus the Dia del Muertos themed show. There seemed to be a little bit more activity this week than the last couple, but it doesn’t seem like they’re attracting much attention.

CMLL has a Niebla Roja/Felino match airing on Televisa today. CMLL had Niebla Roja doing a virtual media session for it but did not mention it themselves until about forty minutes before the show. Last week’s CMLL TV, which will debut on YouTube tomorrow, does not include Niebla Roja or Felino. It does have Shocker’s first aired match since the pandemic.

Clocks switch in the US (and some other places) on Sunday, so all times go back to normal. Unless you’re in a place where the clock never switched.

Weekend shows include

• Lucha Libre Boom has the Parks versus Joe Lider and TBA in Arena Lopez Mateos. This has a Mas Lucha logo on it.
  • Joe Lider is also working the main event at CAR The Crash.
• DTU has two shows Saturday night/early Sunday morning; the earlier one will now be an iPPV next week
• Martinez has Caristico & Mascara Purpura vs Ultimo Guerrero & Gringo Loco, in shows which usually turn up on Mas Lucha.
• Lucha Memes has two shows in Coliseo Coacalco. They’ve been showing up on IWTV on about 3-4 week delay.
• IWRG has its Castillo of Terror show. This is a Mas Lucha Premium show. No idea if AYM will stream it anyway, wouldn’t count on it.
• Wrestling Resureccion has a show at their dojo with Latigo versus Freelance. That should eventually air on Mas Lucha.
• AAA will stream their final AutoLuchas show of this run on Sunday at 8:30 pm. This will be on their Facebook page for free and will be available to watch later on. No lineup has been released yet.

Dave the Clown is a big fan of It. Might have been able to tell already.

Lineups

Kriminal (SAT) 11/07/2020 Arena San Juan Pantitlan, Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl, Estado de México
1) Alkimia, Dark Panter, Death Dragón, Power Kid vs Blue Monster Jr., Dhambla, Torito, Yin Dragón
2) Hijo del Alebrije & Miss Delicious vs Asesino Peruano & Tyra Fly and Efecto & Lady Lee
3) Mike Segura & Tromba vs Arandu & Iron Kid
4) Terremoto vs Impulso, Fulgor, Mr. Leo, Corsario Negro, Belial, Yoruba
5) Toxin vs Divo
6) Demonio Infernal & Fresero Jr. vs Jessy Ventura & Pasion Kristal
7) Dinámico & Mecha Wolf vs Arez & Steve Pain

Toxin debuts his promotion with a show that could be any other group in Arena San Juan. They’re going to do everything everyone else does in the hopes of doing a little bit better.

A rare appearance for Steve Pain, who’s appears momentarily blacklisted from the US indy scenes over allegations of money and sexual wrongdoing. Still a place for him in Mexico.

This appears to a Mas Lucha show. There’s also an AULL show the same night with Villano III Jr. and Dragon Bane.

Bello (SAT) 11/14/2020 Arena San Juan Pantitlan, Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl, Estado de México
1) Baronessa & Hija de Gatubela vs Diosa Quetzal & Lady Pink
2) Corsario De Fuego & Rey Infierno vs Calibus & Torito Negro and Atomik Star & Baby Star
3) As Charro Ng & Súper Nova vs Alas de Oro & Alas De Plata
4) Laredo Kid vs Último Legendario
5) Flamita & Puma King vs Canis Lupus & Dragón Bane
6) Hijo del Fishman & Wotan vs Demus & Romano García [Relevos Increíbles]

Bello is the group which originally was going to run Fishman & Wotan in Veracruz, that show got canceled due the pandemic, they announced a makeup show in Xalapa, that show also got canceled due the pandemic. Mexico State is the Mexico of Mexico, so they can still find a way to run a show in Arena San Juan.

CMLLL runs its Dia del Muertos show tonight. These shows have been sold on the novelty of seeing Arena Mexico dressed up in a Dia del Muertos set, with demons of various sizes hanging around the stage and the losers of the matches being dragged to hell. The 2020 version of this show seems to be sold on the same thing – the card is not strong – but it is unclear if it’ll be the same feeling. An empty Arena Mexico definitely feels spooky, but last week’s show had no special set despite being billed as a Dia del Muertos show. That’ll likely be better tonight, but can people mill on the stage to scare the wrestlers right now? Is it safe to drag people to hell? Can you drag people there hell if we’re already there?

The main event tonight calls back to a tournament eight years ago. The 2012 Gran Alternativa final saw Atlantis & Triton lose to the team of Euforia & Terrible. That win solidified Euforia as an upper-level rudo who’s existed mostly to help the very top guys have good matches. Terrible has been in the same position for even longer. Terrible tends to get the heavier guys, and more high profile matches since he has hair to lose, while Euforia’s skills work better with flyers but in the same spot on the show. They’re two guys who fulfill the same role, rarely are the story’s stars, and seldom wrestle with each other. It’s a rarely seen match but not a much anticipated one; there’s not a great story here beyond that long ago tournament win. Both guys have had strong matches in the past, but the combination doesn’t necessarily imply one. This match, this tournament itself, seems to exist to get Euforia a big win leading into his feud with Ultimo Guerrero. Euforia might not have been the star of the show since that 2012 match, but he will be tonight.

CMLL fan voting earned Lluvia a Mexican national title match back on the Aniversario show, which she then missed due to a COVID-19 positive test. She’ll get her title match tonight. Lluvia originally was to face Metalica, who lost to replacement challenge Reyna Isis instead. I would’ve picked Lluvia to win the Aniversario title match, yet she’s unlikely to do it now. CMLL loves spreading the title belts out, Lluvia is now a tag champ, so Reyna Isis probably gets to keep this belt. It’s possible this could be good, but we haven’t seen Lluvia in singles all that much. Reyna Isis has appeared to be better of late, but not so much that she’s going to have a good match on their own.

The rest of the show is random tag matches, the CMLL staple. In a relevos increibles match for no obvious reason, Angel de Oro, Niebla Roja, and Forastero face Negro Casas, Soberano, and Titan. CMLL appeared to make a significant mistake last month by giving fans who bought the September shows nothing on the Aniversario show to build to October. CMLL will presumably still be on TicketmasterLive in November, and that semi-main trios match seems like an obvious place to set up something for the next show. The debuting Los Embajadoes del Mal, perhaps the 50th different unit CMLL has named “del Mal” since Los Perros, face Rey Cometa, Espiritu Negro, and Audaz. Okumura, Vangellys, and Dark Magic are a dreadful trio who provide little upside out of bad GIFs. Atomo & Microman take on Guapito & Chamuel in an opener; Atomo’s also looked out of his depth in previous appearances.

You can buy the show on Ticketmaster for 288 pesos (13.50 USD). Reminder: this is the fall Daylight Savings Time gap week. If you are in the US or someplace else who hasn’t switched their clocks, the show is one hour later than usual. It’s only that way this week. (If this is confusing, you can see the start time here.)

CMLL had virtual media day interviews with La Catrina (edecan Gaby Bau, who says Paco Alonso personally picked her for the role) and Terrible.

AAA & TripleMania

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter mentions talent has been told the planned date for TripleMania is currently December 5th.

AAA is only running TripleMania with fans in the building, which will only happen if the entire state’s health regulations change or AAA gets a specific rule change from the government. CMLL and the Mexico lucha libre commission has so far been stopped when asking for that rule change. The Mexico health regulation status updates every two weeks, with announcements scheduled for November 6th, 20th, December 4th, and the 18th. That 11/20 date looks like the latest AAA can get a thumbs up and still run on 12/05. They could push it back two weeks, with 12/04 as the last day where Mexico City could switch from orange to yellow and allow AAA to run a fan attended show. Keep in mind that all these rules have changed many times during the pandemic.

TAO (Queretaro) Lucha Libre announced a 12/04 AutoLuchas show with AAA wrestlers on a video show last night. Dorian Roldan called that false on Twitter. That fits if AAA plans to run TripleMania 12/05; AAA wrestlers are usually needed at Arena Ciudad de Mexico for run-throughs the night before.

On his podcast, Konnan mentioned AAA had been taking with Marvel for months and originally planned on introducing their characters in November at TripleMania Regia II. That’s not happening this year, so it’s moved to the normal TripleMania. Konnan didn’t say who’d be playing the characters but did explain them in a way where it sounds like top guys will be under the masks. The WON adds that they’ll “all be well-known talent,” some AAA wrestler, and some US talent, which may include signed US talent.

Konnan specifically mentioned Terror Purpura – the Thanos character – “will be the biggest and the baddest.” I don’t know any of the names. I think a guy like Brian Cage might fit size wise and he’s also a guy who’s publicly a big Marvel fan, but that’s just throwing a name as an idea. It seems counter-intuitive that versions of Marvel heroes aimed for the Latin American market would be people from the US, but maybe that’s what Marvel wants. Konnan talked about how detailed oriented Marvel is, down to knowing exactly how the Marvel wrestlers will walk to the ring. If they want to know that, it’s a safe assumption Marvel already knows who will be each character, and those deals are already done. Konnan mentioned the possibility of a Marvel Wrestling League if it goes well; it’s an AAA Big Plan, so the only reaction is to say it sounds cool but not to put too much thought into it.

Marvel announced a partnership with fashion designer Vero Solis for lucha libre superhero-themed clothing. I know nothing about fashion, but I’m told this is an important person who makes high-end outfits. You can buy the fashions here. They streamed a fashion show on Thursday. This seems more a bit to show Marvel can be high fashion too; there’s going to be plenty of t-shirts.

Konnan also said the last AutoLuchas show – Sunday night, 8:30 pm CT – would again stream on Facebook Live. AAA has not yet announced this yet but I’ve been told this is indeed the plan.

Aerostar says he’ll miss this weekend’s AutoLuchas shows due to his neck injury but believes he’ll be fine for December.

Other News

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter also mentions Ring of Honor is planning their next taping on 12/11 and 12/12, and hope to bring in Dragon Lee & Rush. No word on any other Mexican luchadors. Dragon Lee appearing is dependent on if he’s in Best of Super Juniors since dates conflict (but if they’re even talking about this, it suggests he’s not.) Those seem like they’d be the last dates on their current ROH contracts, though I still expect they’ll be here in 2021.

Lucha Libre Real announced they’re suspending running shows in a Facebook post that turns into strangely lecturing their wrestlers. I am missing something there.

Zona 23’s card announcement Wednesday was a bit strange; their Facebook post mentions a match “too controversial to announce.” It is hard to imagine what could be too controversial for a promotion that sells itself on being outlaw lucha libre. IWRG subsequently posted a promo from El Cuervo de Puerto Rico, teasing a return to Mexico. That suggests an exact horrible idea. My mind went right to Zona 23 running am Angel o Demonio/El Cuervo match. I do not know it’s happening as a fact, but that fits something Zona 23 would book but not want to announce. The entirety of Mexican wrestling will look terrible if it happens.

Border Lucha had an interview with Damian 666, where he mentioned a plan to retire in two years (when he reaches forty years of wrestling.)

Monterrey promoter Oscar Devilla passed away from a heart attack on Tuesday.

Tijuana’s boxing, wrestling, and MMA commission will hold a meeting to see how lucha libre can be restarted.

Halloween says he got his start in WCW when they were short a man for a lucha libre match and was at the show visiting. (That story doesn’t seem entirely accurate.) He feels the Mexican wrestlers revolutionized US wrestling. The US wrestlers got jealous and treated him in racist and xenophobic ways, where he felt more comfortable changing clothes in the bathroom.

Puma King’s got a video this afternoon teasing quitting lucha libre. It doesn’t go up until after this post, but I don’t think he’s quitting lucha libre.

Verzal won Welcome to Mi Barrio’s twenty-four man tournament. He had not impressed me in the tournament matches I’d watched, but maybe I’ll find the final better when I see it. The big news from the final to me is ring announcer Tania Niebla got to stand somewhere other than the same spot she’d been shown for the last two months.

KAOZ Lucha Libre is hyping an El Rey del Monterrey tournament for December, mentioning 13 promotions being involved. The “[X] amount of promotions” stuff seems really over to promoters, but I’m not sure more people are invested in logos they have no emotion about. There’s no date announced, and lucha libre is currently illegal in Monterrey, so this will likely be quietly taped in “Arena Lucha Time” some point soon.

CMLL’s card for TicketMaster Live on Friday (an hour later than usual if you haven’t changed your clock yet)

CMLL (FRI) 10/30/2020 Arena México
1) Átomo & Microman vs Chamuel & El Guapito
2) El Audaz, Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa vs Dark Magic, Okumura, Vangellys
3) Reyna Isis © vs Lluvia [MEX WOMEN]
first defense
4) Ángel de Oro, Forastero, Niebla Roja vs Negro Casas, Soberano Jr., Titán [Relevos Increíbles]
5) Euforia vs Terrible [Rey del Inframundo]

Maybe the Dia del Muertos set will look really cool. There’s no much here otherwise, and this is certainly not a 250 pesos card. It’s not better than last week’s card.

Euforia & Terrible and even Reyna Isis & Lluvia are interesting matches for people deep in CMLL but neither is likely to get someone to buy the show. Relevos Increibles matches mean little; those guys could have a good match but the stipulation doesn’t hide that it’s just a random match. These are never sold on the opening two matches but there’s not much an effort. Dark Magic has looked like one of the world’s worst professional wrestlers since the restart. Okumura & Vangellys are problematic themselves, but Dark Magic is outstanding in the field of terrible GIF moments. Atomo’s not really good either, but there are not a hundred other micros CMLL could use. CMLL putting together Dark Magic, Okumura, and Vangellys a rudo trio for a major show is an indictment of the CMLL programming department.

There are many recaps of the AAA press conference, but not much new. There would normally be additional post-press conference individual interviews, but that’s not possible right now. (All the questions were written to keep mouths closed, which was a smart move I haven’t seen much and also cut down on the thirty-second preambles.) Record, which tends to have an inside line to AAA, seems positive that TripleMania is a matter of when not if. They’re expecting a 30% capacity, which would be around 6,500 people.

The Marvel/AAA stuff got a ton of attention from the media as a big corporate partnership, though the existing lucha libre fans seem a bit more skeptical of the characters and how it’ll actually work. There’s an additional press conference from Marvel scheduled for Thursday in Monterrey.

Draztick Boy is Draztick Boy no more. He’ll now be wrestling as El Mago, apparently having premiered the new name and look on the Vanguardia show this weekend (which will stream on 11/08). He’s been Draztick Boy for 12 years, but also he’s 28 and it’s rough to be stuck with a “Boy” name forever. I would’ve guessed Draztick Boy as someone AAA might be re-gimmick, but that seems unlikely if he’s invested in creating a new character for himself.

Changing a name is a tough choice because it’ll take time for people to realize El Mago is Draztick Boy and he’d already but up Draztick Boy by working in AAA, Dragon Gate, and US groups. I think the “Boy/Kid” names don’t translate well, especially once a wrestler gets into his 20s, and aren’t as distinctive. It’s the same with the many women who have Lady/Princesa/Reina names; you can tell them apart if you follow them closely, but most of the world does not. “Toxin” is better than “Toxin Boy.” I would’ve guessed Draztick Boy would’ve also just dropped the Boy at some point, or been regimmicked by AAA but that seems unlikely if he’s spent money on a new look.

I was going to say I only have room for one El Mago in my heart but then I remembered I have no heart so it’s OK.

Los Traumas are in the finals of IWRG’s number 1 contenders tag team tournament. Los Traumas may also be out of IWRG for the time being. Mas Lucha points out the Traumas Instagram message, saying they’re not going to be in Castillo del Terror as originally announced or any other IWRG shows. IWRG announced a new poster with Hijo del Alebrije & Emperador Azteca in their spots. There were only a few hours between the two cards announced, but there’s a lot of unhappy Trauma fans in the comments of IWRG announcing the change. IWRG was doing discounted pre-sales on tickets too, so some of that is people expecting to pay for a bigger card.

Trauma II had an incident with a fan a couple of weeks ago that looked like it could turn into something and didn’t, and incidents between the Traumas and the fans are a normal event. I don’t know if that had anything to do with it. There was no chance they were losing the Castillo del Terror match. Maybe they expected to win, but I’m not sure if they’d be told ahead of time. This situation comes up on Mas Lucha’s podcast and they reach the same conclusion: no one knows for sure what is guessing, everyone is guessing it is a money issue, but neither side is confirming that and no one’s reporting it.

Legend had a Lucha Libre Expo with wrestling shows on Sunday. The wrestler show portion of the event has been canceled, citing health conditions not allowing it. Health conditions in Mexico haven’t changed that much in the last couple of weeks; maybe they were hoping something would improve. The convention portion is still currently scheduled. It’s hard to make a health argument why conventions are ok and wrestling shows are not; it really just comes down to wrestling shows being regulated and conventions not.

Hijo del Santo is main eventing a show in Aguascalientes on Thursday. Santo barely wrestles now even in good times, there have been no shows of any note in Aguascalientes since the pandemic started, so this is surprising. There is a logo indicating governmental approval and Santo mentions the show will air on (local) canal 26, so they likely got special approval. That TV channel does have an internet feed, though it was not loading when I checked Wednesday morning. The Thursday show takes place around 7 pm local, 8 pm US CT if looking.

Ovaciones has a long interview with Dr. Wagner Jr. as a preview to appearing on IWRG’s show Sunday. Not much news. He says he’s independent who’s open to working with either CMLL or AAA. Cronistas del Ring interviews Omar Reyes about facing Wagner, working with the police, and a back injury.

Box Y Lucha 3445 talks about Oro’s death among other issues. They’re also selling 10 books of magazines from the late 70s to the early 80s. They’re $326 for a book (around 25 issues) or $2325 for all 10 books. That is US Dollars; it’s about $13 USD per magazine. That’s a little bit more than they were charging back in the day, but they did this again back in 2015 and those did get sold. I’m kind of thinking of getting one but I haven’t even asked about shipping costs yet. My ideal situation is would be to split it with someone in Mexico who could send it off to get scanned and then send the scans to me because I don’t actually care about the physical copies, but I don’t know how to make that happen. Box Y Lucha has indicated plans in the past to make older magazines available digitally, but we have no timeline on when that could be (and, like everything could always change.)

Box Y Lucha also announced its annual holiday awards party is canceled due to the pandemic. I’ve never attended that but the one good thing about the pandemic are holiday parties I no longer am obligated to attend.

There’s a drive-in show in San Luis Potosi on Friday. Motorcycles are welcome, but only two people on a motorcycle.

Ultimo Guerrero, Caristico, Forastero, and Soberano are among those working a Martinez show on Halloween near Dallas. Chicago’s Gringo Loco and Bandolero are listed on the show too. Bandolero is super talented but also infamously not fond of working shows far from home so I was surprised to see his name. Maybe it’s a different Bandolero?

Kriminal Lucha Libre (Toxin) debut show Deluxe on 11/07 Arena San Juan

• Tyra Fly, Asesino Peruano vs Lady Lee, Efecto vs Miss Delicious, Hijo del Alebrije
• Toxin vs el Divo
• Terremoto vs impulso vs Fulgor vs Mr. Leo vs Corsario Negro vs Belial vs Yoruba
• Steve Pain & Arez vs Mecha Wolf & Dinamico

Fly Star indicated he’s working behind the scenes with this promotion even though he’s retired for the ring and will help out MexaWrestling if ever asked.

Mexico City area luchador Coco Bronce (Enrique Ruiz) passed away Tuesday, reportedly after a battle with COVID-19. He wrestled as La Mancha in the Pavillon Azteca/AWWA promotion in the late 80s.

Bandido posted his memories of Principe Aereo on Instagram.

Hijo de Fishman, Pagano, and Maximo appeared in a music video.

Mas Lucha has a new edition of their En+Carados podcast.

LuchaWorld has the latest Lucha Report.

AAA still hopes to run TripleMania this year, if only just. The current plan, announced at a press conference this afternoon, is to run the show originally scheduled for August in December. It will remain in Arena Ciudad de Mexico. The show is dependent on the Mexico City health traffic color improving for the current orange status and/or permission granted by the local government. There are no assurances of either happening by December.

AAA did not announce commit to a day. TripleMania is generally on a Saturday, so they’re looking at the 5th, 12th, 19th, or 26th. The traffic light health update is scheduled for November 6th and takes place every two weeks. I’m guessing AAA needs at least two-week notice to declare a date, which means they’ve got to get approval by the November 20th announcement to run in early December. December 4th is probably the make or break point for TripleMania to happen this year, though they could just continue to push it back into January. Dorian Roldan said there are no plans for running an empty arena show. Fans who bought tickets for the August show (and who haven’t gotten a refund) will retain their seats as long as it meets whatever health protocols set down by the government.

(The most recent health update indicated COVID-19 cases are back on the way up in Mexico. I’d love to see Mexico City reach yellow health conditions by December for many reasons, but it does not seem like something I’d bet on. On the other hand, all it takes is one well-placed government official to say “yes, we’ll let you run anyway” and they’ll be able to run. AAA has been working with the Ministry of Culture on the AutoLuchas shows, so they have a connection. AAA could very well have inside info we don’t know, but it seems like a coin toss from the outside.)

Three matches were announced for what is now a seven-match card.

• Laredo Kid challenges Kenny Omega for the AAA (o)Mega Championship
• Pagano challenges Chessman in a hair versus hair match
• Aracno and Leyenda Americana vs Terror Púrpura and Venenoide

Laredo Kid and Kenny Omega is the match originally scheduled for Rey del Reyes. Laredo seemed likely to have a great match but not win. AEW seems to be telling a story of newly motivated and unbeatable Omega, which will likely carry into AAA.

Pagano & Chessman have kept their feud going over Lucha Fighter and AutoLuchas. It certainly appears people have seen a lineup where that match is a falls count anywhere match, but it has not been formally announced. It’s Pagano & Chessman in an apuesta match on a big show, so we know no disqualification will be called and it’s just a question of if they do pinfalls outside the ring. Keeping distance between the wrestlers and the fans may be a health issue, but someone could still fall off a stage.

Aracno, Leyenda Americana, Terror Púrpura, Venenoide are part of a tie-up between AAA and Marvel Latin America. Those four are the first of a group of Marvel characters to show up in AAA. They’re all Latin American themed versions of existing Marvel characters. Aracno & Venenoide are Spider-Man and Venom, Leyenda Americana is the Capitan America, and Terror Púrpura looks to be Thanos. (Why would you make a Latin America USA hero? Weird.) The press conference mentioned talks about the tie-up going back to February, and the characters were unveiled in comic books and FunkoPops already. I wonder if the timing got messed up by the pandemic, that these concepts were scheduled to debut in August at TripleMania before the merchandise came out. It’s unclear who will be portraying these wrestlers – my first guess is any of the indie guys in the opening matches who’ve signed deals, but the preview video suggests larger sized people. The idea is we’ll be seeing these characters going forward in AAA.

Roldan said the AAA/Marvel match would be the third match on the card, which suggests AAA has a full card laid out already. There’s only four matches left and a lot of regular names missing. Maybe the annual mixed tag match to figure out the new mixed tag champs, a Copa TripleMania, something involved the Lucha Brothers (or Fenix/Daga), and a Reina de Reinas (Taya/Shani) match to fill it out? That’s going to leave a lot of people on the side. I would prefer a shorter, slimmer TripleMania compared to recent years but I don’t have to keep luchadors happy.

The mask match tournament (Aerostar/Drago vs Lucha Brothers vs Parka Negra/Dave the Clown vs Octagon Jr./Myzteziz Jr.) leading into a TripleMania was not brought up, so it may be now off. Dorian Roldan generally talked up the card as the TripleMania level event AAA usually provides to counter fears it may be scaled down a lot, but I’d still expect it to be scaled down some. Dorian Roldan told fans and media to follow AAA’s social media networks for more news about the card in the upcoming weeks. He was asked about LA Park & Rush’s status and said they were independents but he was interested in using them. He brought up their recent promos on each other and is intrigued about doing that match, but made no firm commitment. Questions about Cinta de Oro or other foreign wrestlers also got opened ended answers. It’s possible a lot of these questions can only be answered if/when AAA has some idea about how many tickets they’re allowed to sell.

TripleMania will be aired live but Roldan was not ready to specify how. There will be an internet stream and they’re talking to their usual TV partners (Azteca, Space, and Multimedios) about it. Everything’s tied together and there may be no answer on how it’ll air until it’s known when it can take place.

La Parka will be added to the AAA Hall of Fame at TripleMania. AAA also promoted the AutoLuchas shows for 11/01 heavily. There was no mention of any additional events between then and TripleMania.

IWRG (SUN) 10/25/2020 Arena Naucalpan [Mas Lucha]
1) Mexica b Atomic Star  
2) The Tiger b Toxin  
The Tiger wants a title shot.
3) Big Chico Che, Big Mike, Big Ovett b Apolo Estrada Jr., Oficial AK47, Oficial Fierro  
4) Jessy Ventura & Pasion Kristal b Estrella Divina & Tiago  
5) Hijo de Canis Lupus, Súper Nova, Veneno b Cerebro Negro, Eragón, Freelance  
6) Dragón Bane b Demonio Infernal © [IWRG IC MIDDLE]  
first defense (Demonio won it back on New Year’s Day)

I thought Dragon Bane was going to win because he was currently without a singles title, Demonio Infernal also has Rey del Ring title, and balancing the belts is what lucha promotions love to do. I was right but for the wrong reasons: Dragon Bane’s celebratory photo includes him also holding the IWRG Rey del Aire championship. Dragon Bane lost that title to Baby Extreme back at the September Mexa Wrestling show. I have no idea how he got it back; maybe something taped for Lucha Time which hasn’t aired yet? I was told this Dragon Bane/Demonio Infernal match was interesting but I haven’t yet watched it.

Next week’s show is the Castillo del Terror show. It’s on Mas Lucha Premium. Not sure if AYM/InterneTV will stream it as well.

IWRG (SUN) 11/01/2020 Arena Naucalpan
1) Diosa Quetzal & Lady Cat vs Diosa Atenea & Hija De Gatubela
2) Jessy Ventura & Pasion Kristal vs Oficial 911 & Oficial AK47
3) Dragón Bane & Hijo de Canis Lupus vs Demonio Infernal & Fresero Jr.
4) Dr. Wagner Jr. & Hijo De Dos Caras vs Capo Mayor & Súper Beast
5) Trauma I vs Capo del Norte, Capo del Sur, Galeno del Mal, The Tiger, Trauma II, Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr., Hijo del Espectro (Laguna), Toxin, Eragón [cage, mask]

Last person loses their mask. They may be doing the final two to a pinfall/submission instead of escape as in recent years. Eragon is not pushed at all, which makes it feel like a bigger deal if/when one of the Capos gets unmasked instead. I don’t know that any of them are a big deal.

Super Beast is a North California big guy, so they’ve brought other Big Guys to have a Big Guy match.

The Arena Neza Principe Aereo show raised 18,500 pesos for his family. (Tickets were 100/200 pesos, so you can estimate the turnout.) The promotions paid for COVID testing, would’ve been massive for a show with at least 55 luchadors. Principe Aereo’s mother was in attendance, thanking the wrestlers & promotions for the support and for showing her that her son was loved by so many friends.

WWE filed new US trademarks on Sin Cara, according to Fightful. Both Sin Cara Caristico and Sin Cara Cinta de Oro have been referred to as “Sin Cara” on the occasional poster, and this probably exists to prevent that from happening in the future.