Today’s CMLL lineup
CMLL (FRI) 10/09/2020 Arena México
1) Robin vs Disturbio
2) Black Panther & Blue Panther Jr. vs Ephesto & Mephisto
3) Estrellita & Mystique vs Dalys & Stephanie Vaquer and Princesa Sugehit & Sanely and La Jarochita & Lluvia and La Guerrera & La Vaquerita [MEX WOMEN TAG, semifinal]
4) ? vs ?? [MEX WOMEN TAG, 8F]
5) ? vs ?? [MEX WOMEN TAG, 8F]
6) ? vs ?? [MEX WOMEN TAG, quarterfinal]
7) ? vs ?? [MEX WOMEN TAG, semifinal]
8) Euforia vs Forastero
9) Carístico & El Bandido vs Gran Guerrero & Negro Casas
CMLL announced all four people revealed to have positive tests (Princesa Sugehit, Lluvia, Bandido, Ultimo Guerrero) have now tested negative. In the US, the CDC guidelines advise isolating until 10 days after symptoms, 24 hours after any fever has been reduced, and other most other symptoms have diminished. All four tested positive more than 10 days ago. Sugehit never had symptoms. Bandido seems like he’s more than 24 hours past his last ones. Lluvia & Ultimo Guerrero haven’t been public about their situations, but their videos (working out or at the beach) suggest they’re feeling OK.
This still seems a rapid return, especially for Bandido, given his rough experience with COVID and his discussed weight loss. The protocols given to CMLL require the wrestlers to pass COVID and temperature testing to wrestle. CMLL made it clear with the Aniversario that they will stick to the letter of those rules and not go a step beyond. As long as Bandido wants to wrestle, CMLL is going to clear him to wrestle. It would be better if the promotions protected the wrestlers, but it wouldn’t be the first time CMLL’s failed to do so for a person who may not be healthy enough to wrestle.
Stephanie Vaquer is a replacement for La Infernal, who is hospitalized with blood pressure issues. CMLL stated it’s not COVID related. Vaquer explained she’s a legal Mexican resident, has all the papers included. Vaquer probably should’ve been in this tournament, to begin with, if she was allowed to be. The teams of Estrellita & Mystique and La Vaquerita & La Guerrera did virtual interviews to promote the show.
This seems around the same level of card as last week. Euforia/Forastero has a shot at being good. Bandido & Gran Guerrero didn’t mesh previously, so the main event looks to be a tougher match. The women’s tournament depends on who advances, and I continue to have no idea prediction or feel for those outcomes. The opening matches on these shows haven’t been much. CMLL did some morning TV work to promote these shows, so maybe people otherwise unaware might tune in for the first time. Everyone else has either probably decided; there’s nothing here as an impulse buy.
Maybe I don’t need to wait for next week’s CMLL lineup before posting next Wednesday. CMLL has already said it’ll have this tournament final (Amapola & Metalica versus the winner of this block.) It’ll include the missing Volador versus Bandido match from Aniversario. I think there’s a good chance one of the missing women’s title matches (Lluvia/Isis or Sugehit/Marcela) will happen next week as well for logistical reasons, but CMLL can’t announce that until after this block plays out.
CMLL/TicketmasterLive Issues
There have been complaints about the Ticketmaster service not working correctly. Ticketmaster’s process is to send an email with a link to watch the shows when you place your order and then a second email with a link just for that show a few hours before the event. Purchasers are either not getting one of those emails, or the link they get will not work. Contacting Ticketmaster on Twitter (@ServicioTM) seems to be the best bet to get it fixed, but it may take a while. If that means missing matches, there’s no way to go back and watch them later.
(This goes with the “no VOD” bit where Ticketmaster doesn’t follow standard practice for streaming shows. Most other services like this would involve using your already established Ticketmaster login info to get access to the link each week instead of risking an email getting blocked or dumped in a spam account. They’re making a quick pivot to doing something they don’t do, and obvious problems are cropping up.)
These issues are running people off from buying CMLL shows. It’s impossible to know from the outside how big a percentage it is, but it’s been loud enough to get CMLL to bring it up on Informa and mention a Whatsapp line if you can’t get connected. The Whatsapp line is not active on Friday nights, which is the only time you’d need help to get connected.
CMLL also absurdly ran a Reyna Isis hosted commercial explaining how to buy the Ticketmaster PPV on the PPVs themselves, anyone who would’ve seen that already knew how to do it. That’s the kind of stuff that needs to air on the regular CMLL TV shows instead. I can tell you for the fact that CMLL is not advertising the PPVs in any form on their TV shows; the Reyna Isis commercial doesn’t air, and there’s no mention those additional shows exist at all. I can’t even link to the Reyna Isis commercial because CMLL hasn’t even put it on PPV. It’s complete incompetence in promoting these events.
If you are someone buying these shows, I would advise you to keep all emails and log in as soon as possible. You can log in as early as 8 pm CT, maybe sooner, to give yourself plenty of time to reach help. Try any link sent you via a Ticketmaster email. If nothing works, you’ll need to give your order number and email address to the Ticketmaster Twitter support account (@ServicioTM). They’ll DM you with a link if it works out, so you may want to follow to make sure you can get their DMs. Do not send messages to CMLL accounts; they’ll be ignored as always.
AAA AutoLuchas
AAA officially announced they’d continue running shows at the car race track on October 17th and 18th. Nissan had previously said AutoLuchas would be all four weeks of October. I’d presume we’ll get the 24th/25th announcement next week if tickets sell well.
It’s possible those second two weeks might not be TV tapings. These first two weeks will last AAA the rest of the year, enough time for more tapings in other venues. They’ll have to film the shows anyway to put them on the big screen, but they may not have Hugo Savonivich around for four weeks to call a lot of matches they won’t have space to air.
Daga seems to be teasing showing up on the 17th & 18th. Daga also teases a lot of things on Twitter for fun so let’s not hold him to this.
The lineups for the 10th should appear later today on AAA’s social media; they came out about 24 hours ahead of time last week. AAA is not streaming any of the shows this weekend at the last word.
AAA will start to air the AutoLuchas show on Space TV tonight. New episodes could start to turn up on YouTube as soon as next week, though it may be the episode that was streamed (and is slowly going up on YouTube a match at a time.)
Other Notes
Mexico City will allow bowling alleys, clubs, and casinos to open at 30% capacity starting Monday. They’ve been closed since the start of the pandemic. They’re not supposed to be open until Mexico City reaches Yellow health status. Mexico City will remain in Orange for the next two weeks, but they’re just going to open them anyway. Patrons are limited to one hour in each club, which seems like a giant pain to enforce (and so it’ll probably be lax.) It probably also means people go from club to club all night, exposing everyone to more people. The time limit makes it tricky for wrestling shows to ask for the same permission, but the trend is towards opening up. I think there’s a good chance the CMLL 10/30 Dia del Muertos show will include fans in attendance.
The full health map is scheduled to be released tonight. Mexico State has been close to reaching Yellow the last four weeks, though I’m not sure if they’ll be allowed to be Yellow if Mexico City is still Orange.
Expo Lucha Virtual is this weekend, starting Saturday at noon CT. They’re showing unreleased matches from last year’s Expo. They’ve also hyped a Konnan interview with the Masks, Mats & Mayhem podcast about Lucha Underground; it sounds like Konnan is going to hold nothing back as far as his thought about how that show was run, and there’ll be some stories out of it.
Lucha Memes first show with IWTV is now up, the 09/16 show from Arena Lopez Mateos with Arez vs Ricky Marvin and Aramis vs. Baby Extreme. They’re using LUCHAMEMES as a code to get a free five day trial for new users. Getting an indy lucha libre show up on a streaming site in less than a month is miraculous for anyone not named Mas Lucha.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports AAA believes they’ll use Villano III Jr. while he’s an independent and that he’ll rejoin them once they can go back to running full time. That sounds like it’s a money issue.
Vikingo and his partner had their new daughter earlier this week. So did The Tiger & Lady Flammer.
Blue Demon posted an image on Instagram suggesting he’s filming for his upcoming Disney show. The last we heard about it, they were still looking to cast the female teenage star and hadn’t gotten picked up. TV studios are canceling previously announced shows, so any sign the Blue Demon project is still alive is important.
The Vanguardia 4×4 title has gone from Santy Hernandez to Dayami, then Dayami to Rey Dragon and then NOT to Santy Hernandez, who ended up with a bucket instead. “What is more important, the Vanguardia 4×4 title or a bucket” is an existential question this blog is not equipped to handle.
Alberto el Patron has been indicted on one count of kidnapping and four counts of sexual assault. This stems back to an ugly incident in May. No trial date has been set.
Luchaworld has the latest Lucha Report.
The Tepic Box and Lucha Libre commission say they believe they’ll be able to authorize shows restarting shortly in that city, though everyone will have to abide by health protocols. Three lucha shows are awaiting approval.
El Sol de Tampico has a profile of local Asesino Negro, one of many using this name. This one says he wrestled in both Arena Mexico and El Toreo around 1973.
Lineups
Legend (SUN) 11/01/2020 Holiday Inn Plaza Universidad, Benito Juárez, Distrito Federal
1) Raptor (AAA) vs Arashi
2) Lilith Dark © vs Zuzu Divine [WWS WORLD]
3) Galeno del Mal vs Pablo Marquez, Camuflaje
4) Epitafio, Levitham, Tormento vs Hijo Del Payaso Purasanta, Payaso Purasanta, Payaso Purasanta Jr.
5) Dr. Wagner Jr. & Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. vs Súper Crazy & Vinicious The Brazilian
This is part of a (delayed) annual lucha expo around Mexico City. They usually have more foreign names than this, but that’s the way of the world right now. Pablo Marquez, Super Crazy, and the mystery Brazilian are in from Flordia’s CCW promotion. The poster I saw was small enough that I thought they were still listed as from ECW. There’s also an early show with luchadoras from the WWS promotion.
Mexa Wrestling (SAT) 10/17/2020 Arena San Juan Pantitlan, Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl, Estado de México
1) Lady Egipcia, Satania, Therius vs Amazonika, Cisne Star, Dehyna
2) Alex Black, Mr. Puma, Toro Negro Jr. vs Atomic Star, Baby Star, Fulgor II
3) Príncipe Aéreo & Puma de Oro vs El Dragón (Chihuahua) & Hijo Del Impostor and Brazo De Oro Jr. & Redimido
4) Centvrión & León Dorado vs Rey Apocalipsis & Toro Bill Sr.
5) Hijo Del Espectro (Nuevo Leon) vs Baby Xtreme, Toxin, Villano III Jr., Aramis
6) Fly Warrior & Fulgor vs Demonio Infernal & Fresero Jr.
7) El Diablo Fly Star, Lunatik Xtreme, Sobredosis vs Cíclope (Indie), Joe Lider, Miedo Extremo
Villano III Jr. is front and center in the poster. There are 37 people on the show, and it’s like a Where’s Waldo puzzle to find him. The reduced wrestling schedule has meant more luchadors are available for a show like this. That seems to be a problem, with MexaWrestling (and others) going with the impulse of booking everyone they can rather than the people they actually need. They’re not getting much out of Villano III Jr.’s first match outside of AAA, but they’re not getting much out of anyone here. The matches should be good but they feel like more with a less crowded lineup. The guys in the main event are the last match because they’re going to destroy the ring and everything close to it, but it’s also just a lot of matches. Maybe it doesn’t really matter; if you’re going to wrestling shows right now, you probably just want a fun night out and don’t really care about the matches anyway, but maybe that’s all the reason more not to book such crowded cards.
Alex Black & Baby Star are flying in from Monterrey to work a segunda. Impostor & Dragon are coming all the way from Juarez to be in a three-way tag. The assumption is their promotions are paying some of the fees, but it’s hard to understand the point of all of this. No one’s going to benefit, working the first couple of matches over an overstuffed card.
ELL (SUN) 10/18/2020 Distrito Federal
1) Amnesia Jr. & Rey Furia vs Anubis & Dark King
2) Andressa & Baby Star vs Tira Fly & Yoruba
3) Estrella Divina & Raptor vs Dizzy & Jesse Ventura
4) Mirage, Unicornio (Baja California), X-Torm (Baja California) vs Torito, Toxin, Tromba
5) Miranda Alize & Ricky Marvin vs Ayako Hamada & Súper Nova
Evolucion Lucha Libre is a Tijuana group. They can’t run in Tijuana without COVID testing, and they’re coming to Mexico City. Or nearby; there’s no location listed, just a Whataspp number for info. In theory, they’d still have to do COVID testing if they ran in Mexico City or Mexico State. There’s no sense in coming to the Mexico City area for the same rules, so either they’ve found a place where they can run outlaw without getting caught or really want to run in Mexico City with no logic. This looks to be taped for Mas Lucha.
This is not to be confused with the Lucha Libre Real show the same day, an event happening in the Mexico City area taped by Mas Lucha where the only way to buy tickets or get location is to contact a WhatsApp number.
I wish Mexican wrestling didn’t feel so dirty. This main event should be good.