Recapped: January 2020
What Is It:
Lucha Madre is a pandemic-birthed promotion. This is the third event; the last two were relatively normal no fans shows at CAR The Crash. (The Arez/Tromba match on the previous show was the most notable match so far.) Lucha Madre seems to be distinguishing itself by leaning more heavily into gimmicks, playing up the existing personalities more than they appear in most indie shows. The more notable ones include
- Shere Khan, previously the youngest member of the Lions Club (with Leon Dorado Jr. & Mr. Leo), gets talked into joining drunk punks Jerry & Glenn Calavera early on
- Yoruba, previously a Rastafarian, now seems to be a cannibal
- Tromba and Cobre are space aliens
- Killer (Tio) Korton is fully embracing his weirdo monster bit
- Camuflaje, always military-themed, is now going as far as marching knee smashes and such during matches.
This concept tournament, Fuego Nuevo, also goes into the supernatural bit. Each luchador is summoned and travels through a mystical green tunnel for their match. Many of the matches have (randomly) assigned stipulations. The winner of the tournament gets a Cubo Madre – a Marvel cosmic cube, an all-powerful wish giving device – though that’s not really pushed until the final.
It’s really just a sixteen-person single-elimination tournament with some gimmick matches. It aired in 2021, the videos are labeled in 2020, so I assume it was taped in December. All the matches are in a Mas Lucha playlist. They’re asking for donations; their Paypal is luchamadremx
What’s Worth Watching:
Ciclon Ramirez versus Killer Korton in a bull terrier match is the best outing of the tournament. Lucha libre chain matches are typically fun counting exercises for the audience and not interesting to watch. These two sidestepped the repeated corner touching bits to use the chain as a weapon. Ciclon Ramirez didn’t miss a moment to wrap it around his fist or foot, trying to cut down the bigger Korton. “Tio” can come off as too silly in this character usually, but came across as menacing in the context of this match. They both had plenty of ideas on how to make the chain work outside the usual one bit everyone does; the only flaw here is they went a little too long going through all those ideas. Still, it was a great surprise and a cut above everything else.
I’m still the biggest sucker for good Belial matches (which are all Belial matches), but his opening match with Yoruba also did a good job of showcasing his new canibal character. Yoruba’s been around for years around the same level; the new look and style changes make him come off like a star. He also brings the aggressiveness he needs for this character. Their match stip – falls count anywhere – ends up being a useful excuse to do a lot of dangerous moves off the apron. It’s a solid reintroduction. Yoruba comes off so strong in this that it was disappointed they nerfed him a bit in later matches; his new cheating spot shouldn’t have failed him so soon.
Leon Dorado (ex-Metaleon) has been every high profile Mexico City indie for years. Thunder Storm generally works barely visible small shows with other CMLL trainees (or those who’ve given up getting through their school); turning up on the ChinampaLuchas shows was the equivalent of a high profile gig for him. Thunder Storm looked just about as good as Leon Dorado in their chairs match. Maybe he was going all out, taking a few crazy bumps, to get a call back in place like this. Maybe Thunder Storm was always good but doing in shows no one saw. The chair-related mayhem was generally the lesser parts of the match; Dorada and Storm’s normal sections brought out the best in both. The finish in this one was especially brutal.
Rey Quetzal vs Glenn Calavera is a lesser version of that same match. Quetzal has no discernible personality and a plain character (especially for this promotion), but is a totally solid wrestler who showed himself to be useful if put into the right role.
Leon Dorado and Ciclon Ramirez’ second-round match is more the traditional big move lucha libre indie match. It’s complete with a sequence where Ciclon looked terrible for ten seconds and then immediately superb for forty. The two had good chemistry and the match would’ve worked well even outside the context of a tournament. It might have been better; Dorado seemed to be pacing himself a bit.
What’s Worth Skipping:
The final’s not particularly good and ending a long tournament with a stun gun bit feels like they’ve wasted the viewer’s time. It’s not done without reason, it is done as the kickoff to the larger storyline that may lead to something better, but Lucha Madre is so new that it hasn’t earned the sort of trust that they’ll make it to the payoff.
I feel like I’ve written enough about Cobre’s moonsault. I just can’t get over the aspect of doing it in minute two of a match and then just went and did a normal match. It’s the least thought out thing. Cobre actually wrestled impressively the rest of the match, but it’s hard to care. It also feels notable that no one – not Lucha Madre, not Mas Lucha – didn’t seem to be making a big deal out of the moonsault off the roof. It wasn’t promoted or especially mentioned. I can’t tell if that’s bad advertising or having second thoughts about the stunt.
Cobre’s earlier match with Glenn Calavera is a barely one, ending quickly and then getting into nonsense.
Jerry Calavera and Chavin had a first-round match where the winner would be the first to land thirty strikes. It’s an interesting concept for a match, but a concept they mostly ignored. They wrestled a normal match, hitting each other (and trying to avoid being hit) no more than usual, and ending with a Big Move that wasn’t a strike because that’s what they’re used to doing. It was not helped by the wrestlers, the announcers, and the on-screen scoreboard all on different counts. Or by Chavin accidentally winning the match by striking too many times.
The three fall Mimo and Chavin match goes too long. The winner seems to be worn out from it in their next match. Jerry Calavera and Camuflaje have a table match without a table (a makeshift board and chairs are used instead.) Both work each other over submissions and Jerry goes for pinfalls that aren’t counted, neither man making an attempt to win until the actual finish.
You’ve got to fix those banners that fell out of place or take them down. There’s a lot of time and energy on special effects here undermined by a few bits of plastic-looking sloppy.
What Happened:
Yutani, said to be a Japanese kid who came to Mexico to train under Ricky Marvin, debuts in the opening match. He loses to Tromba, who’s then said to be injured (though he appears fine in a tournament ending bit.) Instead of putting Yutani back in the tournament, Cobre is inserted in Tromba’s spot. Cobre is on all the promotional material and in a big banner hanging above the ring before he’s even in the tournament, making it appear as he was always planned to be included. (It also seems like they tape one of Cobre’s match out of order. I’m not sure what happened here but it feels as though something did)
Blaze, not otherwise in the tournament, shows up as Camuflaje’s second in the final against Leon Dorado. Blaze helps Camuflaje change his mask twice during the tournament, then passes him a stun gun to shock Dorado behind the referee’s back to win. (It’s unclear how the referee didn’t hear the loud buzzing noise we were treated to in post-production.) The tournament had been interference-free to that point.
Leon Dorado is awarded the Cubo Madre and uses it to open a green portal to summon a battalion of wrestlers to stand beside him and Blaze. (I’m not certain if we were supposed to recognize them; some may have been wearing the other masks Camuflaje had on during the final, others may have been guys like Chavin and Thunder Storm.) The rest of the Lucha Madre roster come to the ring to confront the army, only for Korton to betray them. Korton beats up the Lucha Madre roster and tosses Pirana to the army guys, but doesn’t appear to be with them – he and Yoruba sneak out the back while the others are fighting. The army kidnaps Pirana and leaves through the portal before the Lucha Madre wrestlers can stop them, and the show ends there. No next show announced.
Match ratings for dumb completeness:
- Tromba vs Yutani: OK
- Belial vs Yoruba: GOOD
- El Mimo vs Shere Khan: OK
- Jerry Calavera vs Chavin: BELOW AVERAGE
- León Dorado vs Thunder Storm: GOOD
- Glenn Calavera vs Rey Quetzal: GOOD
- Camuflaje vs Piraña: OK
- Ciclón Ramírez vs Tio Korton: GREAT
- Yoruba vs Mimo: OK
- León Dorado vs Ciclón Ramírez: GOOD
- Camuflaje vs Jerry Calavera: OK
- Cobre vs Glenn Calavera: BELOW AVERAGE
- León Dorado Jr. vs Yoruba: OK
- Camuflaje vs Cobre: WHATEVER
- León Dorado Jr. vs Camuflaje: OK
What’s Next:
Nothing’s announced. The angle at the end hints at a new show, but no exact idea when we’ll see it. These shows seem to take a little bit longer to put together, so it may be a while.