IWRG results, Guadalajara lineup

IWRG (SUN) 05/30/2021 Arena Naucalpan [Mas Lucha, The Gladiatores]
1) Voltrex b Noicy Boy Sangre Texana vs Negociantes IWRG (posted by Más Lucha)
2) Lunatik Extreme & Sobredosis b Delta Jr. (Colorado) & Hijo Del Ángel Sangre Texana vs Negociantes IWRG (posted by mluchatv)
3) Hellboy, Puma de Oro, Veneno b Black Terry, Rey Halcón, Tonalli Sangre Texana vs Negociantes IWRG (posted by mluchatv)
4) Rey León (Colorado) & The Provider b Emperador Azteca & Mexica and Fly Warrior & Fulgor Sangre Texana vs Negociantes IWRG (posted by mluchatv)
5) Diva Salvaje, Jessy Ventura, Pasion Kristal b Canek Jr., Hijo del Fishman, Máscara Sagrada Jr. [EdM Trios, semifinal] Sangre Texana vs Negociantes IWRG (posted by mluchatv)
6) Demonio Infernal & Fresero Jr. DQ Súper Nova & Texano Jr. Sangre Texana vs Negociantes IWRG (posted by Más Lucha) Sangre Texana vs Negociantes TEXANO JR y SUPER NOVA vs FRESEO JR y DEMONIO INFERNAL IWRG (posted by Estrellas del Ring)

Los Shotas move on to face the winner of Hip Hop Man’s Los Sencillos and Demonio Infernal, Fresero Jr. and Fulgor. There was a little dustup after the third match where the post-match interview either blanked on Fulgor & Fly Warrior’s name or struggled to get to them in his intro, and the wrestlers strongly let the interviewer know how they felt about that. Both teams got visual pins in the main event and Texano had Fresero submitted when the referee called the DQ for an earlier referee bump. The IWC/Denver guys did not do especially well.

No sign of CMLL’s card for Friday yet; it could show up at any moment. They don’t seem to be waiting for Informa on those. Ticketmaster says they’re already almost out of tickets, so that should be another 500 ticket sellout. There seems to be much more available for Tuesday June 8th so far.

Guadalajara has a local trios champs versus NGD rematch. They’re also teasing the Gemelo Diablos debuting there soon. That’s notable because there’s a Jalisco tag team that’s been using the names for a while, as noted by Mas Lucha.

Add Brazo de Oro Jr. to the Copa Federacion match. Brazo de Oro Jr. is on his way up but probably isn’t working this show without another more famous Brazo also being booked.

A story on Psycho Clown wrestling in Tijuana mentions his TripleMania opponent as Texano Jr. Oops.

Vanguardia’s next show is June 12.

Psycho Clown, DMT Azul, Sam Adonis, and Mr. Iguana are listed in New Jersey on July 17th. Vanilla Vargas is listed; I don’t think she’s wrestled last year’s empty arena Lucha Fighter tournament (and taking time off to have a child.)

Box y Lucha 3734 has a Huracan Ramirez cover.

Segunda Caida watches Freelance vs Comando Negro.

Panthers win Copa Dinastias, other Friday results

CMLL , Ticketmaster (FRI) 05/28/2021 Arena México [CMLLMas LuchaR de RudoSuperLuchasThe Gladiatores, thecubsfan]
Attendance: 500
1) Virus b Guerrero Maya Jr. [lightningCMLL - GUERRERO MAYA JR. VS VIRUS  EN MATCH RELÁMPAGO  /   ARENA MEXICO 28 DE MAYO (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) Copa Dinastías CMLL | Virus derrota a Guerrero Maya Jr (posted by Más Lucha)
9:30. Virus won by submission.
2) Atlantis & Último Guerrero b Black PantherFelino Jr.CachorroGemelo Diablo IForasteroFlyerPanterita del RingRey Cometa [Copa Dinastias, seeding battle royal]
3:58
3) Black Panther & Blue Panther Jr. b Felino & Felino Jr. [Copa Dinastias, 8f]
5:28
4) Gemelo Diablo I & Gemelo Diablo II b Blue Panther & Cachorro [Copa Dinastias, 8f]
9:22.
5) Forastero & Sansón b Flyer & Volador Jr. [Copa Dinastias, 8f]
5:43.
6) Espíritu Negro & Rey Cometa b Panterita del Ring & Panterita del Ring Jr. [Copa Dinastias, 8f]
4:17.
7) Atlantis & Atlantis Jr. b Gran Guerrero & Último Guerrero [Copa Dinastias, 8f]
2:25.
8) Volador Jr. b FelinoBlue PantherPanterita del RingGran Guerrero [Copa Dinastias, second chance battle royal]
3:04. Volador pinned Gran Guerrero to get back in the tournament.
9) Black Panther & Blue Panther Jr. b Gemelo Diablo I & Gemelo Diablo II [Copa Dinastias, quarterfinal]
2:19
10) Forastero & Sansón b Espíritu Negro & Rey Cometa [Copa Dinastias, quarterfinal]
3:00
11) Flyer & Volador Jr. b Atlantis & Atlantis Jr. [Copa Dinastias, quarterfinal]
2:51.
12) Gemelo Diablo I b Atlantis Jr.Espíritu Negro [Copa Dinastias, third chance]
0:57, two pinfalls in less than a minute (with Olimpico refusing to countthe last one because Atlantis Jr. wasn’t down with both shoulders.)
13) Black Panther & Blue Panther Jr. DQ Forastero & Sansón [Copa Dinastias, semifinal]
6:35. Rudos purposefully unmasked the Panthers.
14) Flyer & Volador Jr. b Gemelo Diablo I & Gemelo Diablo II [Copa Dinastias, semifinal]
3:14.
15) Cavernario, Dragón Rojo Jr., Hechicero b Fugaz, Stuka Jr., Titán CMLL - FUGAZ - STUKA JR. - TITÁN VS DRAGÓN ROJO JR. - HECHICERO - CAVERNARIO/ARENA MEXICO 28 DE MAYO (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) Copa Dinastías CMLL: Hechicero le quita la máscara a Stuka Jr (posted by mluchatv)
One fall. 10:02. Hechicero submitted Stuka, then unmasked him after.
16) Black Panther & Blue Panther Jr. b Flyer & Volador Jr. [Copa Dinastias, finalBlue Panther Jr y Black Panther ganan la Copa Dinastías CMLL (posted by mluchatv) CMLL - TORNEO (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
5:46. Crowd booed the result, which frustrated the Panthers.

The tournament didn’t work. This was meant to be a crowning moment for Blue Panther Jr. & Black Panther. They ended up booed by the small crowd instead, with Blue Jr. unable to hide how upset he was with the situation. (He referenced it again on Instagram.) Cuatrero & Forastero seemed to be the crowd favorites, so the Panthers beating them seemed to make the Panthers the enemies of those fans. (The Panthers won via an underwhelming mask pull DQ, so it’s not like the win helped them either.) The final coming down to Blue Panther Jr. versus Flyer logically set up the Panthers challenging Flyer & Atlantis Jr. for the national tag titles, but it’s unexciting pair and just strange to Volador incidentally eliminated before the finish.

None of the matches were good, few were even OK. The “losers get back into the tournament” matches were so quick that the announcers hardly even had a chance to explain what was meant to be on the line. They did play out as meaningful – Volador & Flyer got back into the tournament and made the final – but it added to the feel of short nothing matches. I suspect the Blue Panther Sr./Cachorro versus Gemelos Diablos match was not meant to go nine minutes and CMLL was hurrying to make up time, though it’s not like spreading four extra minutes around most of those matches were going to make them worthwhile. (CMLL hurried enough that they ended about the same time as the last show.) There are going to be a lot of useless brief matches anytime CMLL does ten matches on a 2:15 show, and they did sixteen here. It was no surprise.

The debut Panterita del Ring Jr. was a positive on this show. It’s technically his CMLL debut – he did appear on a Rey Bucanero show back in April – but he made a strong impression the first time 99% of people saw him. Panterita Jr. and his father talked about his international amateur wrestling success, so Panterita showing off an aerial style his debut was surprising. He only got in about five moves in a four-minute match, it’s too little to make big judgments. Still, it’s was a good four minutes. Panterita Jr.’s issue is going to be his size; he’s small by CMLL standards and similar guys (Halcon Suriano Jr./Sonic) have been stuck in the first half of the card for that reason. Maybe it’ll go better for Panterita because of his family connections.

The match of the night was the trios match. It got shuffled to the semi-main apparently so they cut down the time as need be. (It was also one fall.) They seemed a little rushed to get everything in, but they seemed to keep everything in. It was a ton of action and better thought out sequences than most anything in the tournament itself. Hechicero seems to be completely back, as does his feud with Stuka Jr. Titan and Cavernario matched up as well as usual. Whoever thought up this match figured out the best way to make Fugaz; he may not be able to do a lot more than a few flashy highspots but they place them well. I wouldn’t say it was worth the entire cost of the PPV, it just was the best thing. (The opening Virus/Maya match, on the other hand, was a disappointment – they never got out of first gear until time ran out on them.)

CMLL mentioned they’d be back on TicketmasterLive on June 25th. That sounds like the live shows will be back to being free the rest of the time. No specific concept was announced.

The two notable Mexico State indie shows both ended without a finish in the main event. Arena Lopez Mateos’ match was DMT Azul, Puma King, and surprise (?) Hijo de Espectro versus Demonio Infernal, Fresero Jr., and Blue Demon, only Los Negociantes got annoyed with Demon and all five guys ended up attacking Demon. There were Demon/Azul challenges again. Los Negociantes made it over to Arena San Juan for MexaWrestling’s main event, where they went to a double countout with Corsario Negro Jr. & Drako.

IWRG’s Jaula de las Locas is next weekend. That’ll be the first Mas Lucha Premium show in a while.

Texano Jr. says today’s match in IWRG is his final one he’s allowed on the indies. Maybe AAA wrestlers had June 1st as a cut-off date and not May 1st? Or maybe it varied by wrestlers. Texano is listed as wrestling at Bandido’s Gym in June, maybe that’s considered an AAA spot show.

Mobile video game PUBG is teasing a bit with KeMonito. They have (had?) been working with AAA prior.

Mexicali luchador Bobby Martinez (Roberto Martinez Ruiz, 82) passed away Saurday. Box y Lucha’s obit mentions he was trainer at Arena Coliseo Mexicali for twenty years and is in the Mexicali sports hall of fame. They also say Martinez was national lightweight champion having beat Mishima Ota in Guadalajara. Ota’s reign is infamous – he was a Japanese-born wrestler and shouldn’t have been allowed to challenge for a national title by the rules of the time. Ota was eventually stripped of the title but appeared to keep defending it; I don’t have a record of Martinez winning the belt but it’s possible it happened somewhere in there.

Segunda Caida’s latest reviews include a 1994 AAA match.

CMLL Copa Dinastias tonight, weekend TV lineups, GCW/Mexico

CMLL back on PPV for Ticketmaster

CMLL , Ticketmaster (FRI) 05/28/2021 Arena México
1) Guerrero Maya Jr. vs Virus [lightning]
2) Cavernario, Dragón Rojo Jr., Hechicero vs Fugaz, Stuka Jr., Titán
3) Atlantis & Atlantis Jr. vs Flyer & Volador Jr. and Gran Guerrero & Último Guerrero and Forastero & Sansón and Espíritu Negro & Rey Cometa and Gemelo Diablo I & Gemelo Diablo II and Felino & Felino Jr. and Black Panther & Blue Panther Jr. and Blue Panther & Cachorro and Panterita Del Ring & Panterita Del Ring Jr. and Flyer & Volador Jr. [Copa Dinasitas]
debut of Panterita del Ring (19); Mexico City debut of Cachorro

The show will air live only on Ticketmaster at the normal start time of 8:30. It’s up to 230 MXN ($11.50 USD) if you’re buying it today.

CMLL Copa Dinastias is a ten-team tournament with a structure so complex that it requires a flow chart to explain. A team can lose twice and still win the tournament, though that’s unlikely to happen. I recorded a four-minute video explaining it and there are still subtleties I didn’t get right. (The second battle royal ends in a single fall match and has to include the people who weren’t in the first battle royal.) A shorter version is a ‘normal’ ten team would include nine matches plus the initial seeding battle royal. This structure will have thirteen plus that battle royal. It’s going to be a very long show with short matches. Maybe it’ll play out better than it sounds but I can not get in the mindset of why CMLL would decide to do this.

Forastero replaces Cuatrero in the tournament. Julio Cesar Rivera, on CMLL Informa, explained Cuatrero and Angel de Oro missed this past Friday’s show due to COVID issues. Cuatrero tested positive, though he’s said to be doing fine. Angel de Oro had close contact with someone who tested positive; he hasn’t tested positive himself but he’s still sidelined by their protocols. There had been a strange rumor of Angel de Oro leaving CMLL – the tease of Federacion Wrestling having one more Ingobernables and general gossip – though the only place I had heard it was Mas Lucha’s show shooting it down. Cesar Rivera nodded it on Informa to also shoot it down. (It’s a rumor that would’ve never existed if CMLL announced the reason for those replacements last Friday rather than wait most of a week.)

Julio Cesar Rivera mentioned the Angel de Oro absence in the context of why the Chavez brothers were excluded from Copa Dinasita. It seemed at one point Cesar Rivera was going to update on Niebla Roja’s mysterious situation but got off track. (Given how long Roja’s already been said to be in the US, there’s a decent chance Niebla Roja’s trying to establish US residency similar to Daga. Don’t know that for sure though.) Cesar Rivera also explained Soberano & Euforia weren’t entered because Soberano is out due to an injury Soberano had been trying to work through. Soberano had indicated the same on Instagram a while back, which hadn’t stopped people speculating he had left as well.

The two preliminary matches look strong if they get the time. I guess that’s more likely early in the show; the later part of the tournament is more likely to be hurried. It’s hard to care about who’s going to win when none of these things matter. It’ll probably be one of the Atlantis, Guerrero or Volador family. Ultimo Guerrero wins too much but that’s the only team of those I’d like to see in four matches.

CMLL will resume running Tuesday shows starting June 8th. Tickets for both the June 4th show and the June 8th Tuesday return went on sale Thursday. They’re under the same limitation as the other shows so far: 500 tickets, only through Ticketmaster, fans have to wear face masks. It’s surprising for CMLL to bring back Tuesday shows before Sundays; the Tuesday shows seemed to be mostly tourists, who aren’t likely to be back yet. The demand for tickets and the limited amount available is such that any day of the week is likely to do well at first. It is at least possible they’re bringing back Sunday the same week and haven’t announced it yet. The Tuesday tickets are running from 180-300, compared to 300-480 for Friday tickets.

No idea if either these will air on YouTube or continue to be on TicketmasterLive. Two shows a week should be enough to eliminate the need for the empty arena tapings, though CMLL has always been taping more matches than they need. They could continue to do so.

TV lineups

05/28 CMLL AMX

  • Acero vs Mercurio
  • Magia Blanca & Drone vs Akuma, Espanto Jr.
  • Volcano & Guerrero Maya Jr. vs Vangellys & Dark Magic

The main event is at least a two-alarm fire

05/29 CMLL MVS

  • Oro Jr. vs Robin
  • Angel de Oro, Titan, Terrible versus Euforia, Templario, Soberano Jr.

Two match MVS shows means both matches got a lot of time. That actually might be a good thing for the main event; I’m looking forward to seeing it. Angel de Oro wrestling on TV must be vastly confusing to the people who both know he’s out with COVID and don’t know about CMLL taping in advance, but I’m not sure there’s much overlap there.

05/29 CMLL Televisa

  • Halcon Suriano Jr. & Sonic vs Nitro & Yago
  • Audaz & Stigma vs Polvora & Okumura
  • Lluvia, Jarochita (c) vs Dalys, Stephanie Vaquer [MEX WOMEN TAG]
  • Rey Cometa, Espiritu Negro, Flyer vs Virus, Raziel, Cancerbero

Both the opener and the main event are one person away from being exciting matches, which is above average for pandemic era CMLL. The women’s tag match was probably taped before Lluvia  Jarochita defended those titles in Cuernavaca. The Mistico/NGD program here seems to have gone missing (with the Templario/Bandido one, though I suspect for different reasons.)

05/29 CMLL HT

  • Titan & Atlantis Jr. vs Hechicero, Hijo del Villano III

I’ve found some grey market sites which allow you to pay for Mexican TV channels – about $15 USD/month. I’ve been thinking about paying up them because it would be in theory higher quality and more reliable than the Twitch thing we’ve been trying, but that’s only in theory – these are resellers, who knows how well they work or when they’ll get wiped off the face of the earth. Those channel packages include Televisa and Space but if they also included Heraldo Television on a week with a Heraldo show, I’d have to consider it. I don’t think they do, though.

05/29 AAA

  • Latigo vs Aramis vs Arez (02/04)
  • Dinastia vs Drago Kid vs La Parkita [AAA MINI] (03/20)
  • Argenis, Chik Tormenta, Mamba vs Drago, Octagon Jr., Pimpinela Escarlata (02/07)
  • Taurus & Rey Escorpion vs Psycho Clown & Laredo Kid (03/11)

These are all unaired matches from previous tapings. Or on Space they haven’t aired; at least the first two have aired on the Azteca cut of the show. It’s wild to think AAA had an unaired match with TripleMania main eventers Psycho Clown and Rey Escorpion was taped and didn’t make air until now. AAA likely has enough leftover matches to do at least one more of these filler episodes, maybe two.

AAA’s taping the next set of TV soon, so they may not need another filler episode.

IWRG

IWRG (THU) 05/27/2021 Arena Naucalpan [Mas Lucha]
1) Black Shadow II & Kenji b Águila Oriental & Spider Fly Black Shadow II y Kenji vs Spider Fly y Águila Oriental desde la Arena Naucalpan (posted by Estrellas del Ring) Revancha: Empresa vs Negociantes | IWRG (posted by Más Lucha)
2) Anemix & Diosa Quetzal b Lalya & Sussy Love Diosa Quetzal y Anemix vs Sussy Love y Layla desde la Arena Naucalpan     IWRG (posted by Estrellas del Ring) IWRG- LUCHA LIBRE (posted by Internetv Deportes) Revancha: Empresa vs Negociantes | IWRG (posted by mluchatv)
Diosa & Sussy want to be added the the Jaula de las Locas cage match
3) Mini Raider, Mini Rey Misterio, Virtual b Blackgoncito, Mini Canis Lupus, Mini Spirit Lucha Libre IWRG (posted by Internetv Deportes) Mini Rey Misterio, Mini Raider y Virtual vs Mini Spirit, Mini Canis Lupus y Blackgoncito       IWRG (posted by Estrellas del Ring) Revancha: Empresa vs Negociantes | IWRG (posted by mluchatv)
4) Dragón Fly, Hip Hop Man, Maradó b Guadalajara, Monterrey, Sinaloa [EdM Trios, quarterfinal] Hip Hop Man, Dragón Fly y Marado vs Monterrey, Guadalajara y Sinaloa desde la Arena Naucalpan IWRG (posted by Estrellas del Ring) Lucha Libre IWRG (posted by Internetv Deportes) Revancha: Empresa vs Negociantes | IWRG (posted by mluchatv)
Los Sencillitos were the surprise team.
5) Hijo del Fishman b Hijo del Espectro © [IWRG JUNIORS] Hijo del Espectro Jr (c) vs Hijo de Fishman (r) CAMPEONATO JÚNIOR DE JUNIORS en la Arena Naucalpan (posted by Estrellas del Ring) Lucha Libre IWRG (posted by Internetv Deportes) Revancha: Empresa vs Negociantes | IWRG (posted by mluchatv)
first defense
6) Demonio Infernal & Fresero Jr. NC DMT Azul & Puma King [super libre] Los Negociantes vs La Empresa Puma King y DMT Azul vs Fresero Jr y Demonio Infernal  IWRG (posted by Estrellas del Ring) Lucha Libre IWRG (posted by Internetv Deportes) Revancha: Empresa vs Negociantes | IWRG (posted by mluchatv)
brawl got out of control and match ended without a finish

The main event went out of control in a usual La Empresa faction. For an CMLL team, they sure do a lot of the crowd brawling that would be frowned upon there (but it works for this gimmick

Sunday’s show has Los Negociantes versus Texano & Super Nova. The semimain continues the Mexico State Trios tournament; the other semifinal is Hip Hop Man’s crew against Demonio Infernal, Fresero Jr., and Fulgor.

Shows of note this weekend

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Other Notes

Federacion Wrestling announced Shane Taylor and Extreme Tiger for their Copa Federacion. LA Park showing up in Federacion Wrestling seems a logical outcome, though he said on Twitter that he’s not going because they were disrespectful to him. (Credit to Zona Ruda for noticing this exchange.) It’s LA Park so they can probably just offer him more and he’ll show up. Federacion Wrestling also announced you can email them to find out where they might be running a show. Maybe that’s a normal way of building up a mailing list but it’s also what every indie was doing this year when they were running secret shows.

GCW announced Sadika versus Nick Gage for a 07/09 show in Houston. Sadika has Twitter fans because she looks like she’s really hurting people in GIFs. Her trick to make it look real is she’s actually hurting people. I have no idea how a match with Nick Gage is going to work but it does feel like a GCW match.

GCW will also participate on the June 16th (Friday) NGX show in Monterrey and the July 17th (Saturday) Vanguardia show. No names announced. Ciclope & Miedo Extremo remain GCW Tag Team Champions, which seems like a plot point. July 18th is the previously announced GCW/Zona 23 show.

Vanguardia’s Anniversary show is now scheduled to air Saturday at 7 pm.

GALLI announced they’re part of PALL and wrestlers from GALLI will go to Naucalpan in September.

LuchaWorld has the latest Lucha Report.

El Sol de Tampico has an interview with Hijo del Jaque Mate.

AAA in SLP, more Andrade indie dates, DMT Azul out of Federacion

AAA (spot) show with fans today

There’s an AAA show with fans today. Psycho Clown & Octagon Jr. face Texano Jr. & Chessman in San Luis Potosi. It’s a local promoter show using AAA talent, not being put on by AAA themselves, but I believe it’s the first all AAA staffed show with fans since start of the pandemic. (There are been shows with AAA main events in recent weeks and this isn’t a show AAA is promoting themselves, so a little splitting here.) Yesterday’s press conference to talk about the show seems like it was more about safety procedures. They’re running the 11,000 seat indoor building at 30% capacity among other measures.

AAA will return to Toluca on July 2nd (Friday) at 9 pm. DigitalMex quotes Dorian Roldan repeatedly about the show; it reads like it’s a TV taping but those words are not specifically stated. They’re running the (outdoor) bullring at 35% capacity.

Andrade versus Santo (sorta)

The Saturday June 12 “Andrade versus Santo” match in Anaheim turns out to be Hijo del Santo, California’s Misterioso and Rey Leon versus Andrade, California’s Piloto Suicida, and (apparently everywhere’s) Samuray VIP. That match is cut down to 2v2 for a Sunday show in Los Angeles. (Mas Lucha seems to think the first show has moved to the second date, but they’re being promoted as two listed as shows at the moment as far as I can tell.)

Tickets are $65 up to $120 for ringside for the Anaheim show. Even at those prices, it’s hard to see how the promotion will make money bringing those guys into a small building. Santo’s expensive, Andrade is super expensive. The (unlisted) promotion is also may be in a small bit of trouble once someone notices that picture of Andrade with the NXT match.

Mucha Lucha Atlanta has also announced Andrade versus Caristico on 07/11, via Andrade’s Twitter.

Andrade’s post-WWE decisions have been underwhelming outside of the Omega match. Andrade versus Santo would be an intriguing match in the right situation; a trios and tag match is just a cash-in. Mucha Lucha Atlanta puts on successful shows so it’s hard to argue with Caristico, though that’s another old friend from CMLL being helped out. The Alberto del Rio match and the Federacion stuff are working shows that should be beneath him also to help out friends, not stuff that’s going to help his value. Andrade’s said to have no 90 day compete and that appears to be true – the Santo matches are before the 90 days would be up – but he really hasn’t used it outside of sitting in a chair and talking. The matches he’s taking aren’t really challenging himself either. The Omega match (if people can see it easily) will reset his value to some extent but he hasn’t taken advantage of the buzz of his departure in any significant way, or faced people outside of the sphere he could’ve faced before WWE.

Einar el Vikingo

The publicity of Einar el Vikingo throwing a small boy to the ground rose to the point the Attorney General of Mexico City addressed it at a regular press conference. Einar is not currently being held since the boy’s injuries were found to be minor (“will heal in two weeks or less”), though the office continues to investigate for charges.

The Mexico City lucha libre commission held a press conference Wednesday to talk about the Einar situation. They said the promoter of the show where the incident took place didn’t have a license to promote and Einar didn’t have a Mexico City license to wrestle. A Mexico State commission also appeared to say Einar wasn’t licensed there. They warned wrestlers and promoters to stop running unlicensed shows and threatened punishment for people who work on them. Einar or people have claimed the young boy’s mother said she forgave him; she appeared to say that definitely wasn’t the case. A big thrust of the press conference was revealing that the boy’s was related to (60s) luchador Raffles; I’m not sure how that made things better, but everyone seemed convinced it did. The family said they’d take him to a lucha libre show again and everyone put as best a face as they could on the decision.

It was a lot of empty talk. The commission held a similar press conference last month about the Coliseo Morelos shows, which got them to stop for about a week before resuming and no one was punished.  The commissions saying Einar doesn’t have a license meant their previous statement that they were suspended Einar’s license makes no sense: how could you suspend someone who doesn’t have a license? (I’d guess the Mexico City commission’s primary way of knowing who has a license is a paper list in the office somewhere, no one has immediate access to it, so they just said he was suspended without checking to cover their bases.) The press conference did imply Einar has a license from some state or city but did not say which one. It’s possible he went somewhere else to acquire/purchase a license, but it seems more likely he never had one. It would look bad for the commission if Einar was unlicensed since Einar has definitely worked some shows where a commission should’ve been present and checking to see if wrestler’s are actually licensed.

Unless Einar is charged with a crime, this is probably the end of it for a while. Einar will disappear for a while – maybe months, likely weeks – and resurface on the same small shows he was working before this all happened. People might notice the first time but not much after that.

CMLL Title Defense in Cuernavaca

Ultimo Guerrero successfully defended the CMLL Heavyweight Championship against local wrestler Corcel Maldito in Cuernavaca on Sunday. La Jarochita & Lluvia also defended the Mexican National Women’s Championship against Lady Egipcia and Valkiria (who I believe was a local wrestler and not the person with the same name who’s appeared on CMLL Guadalajara shows.) It came up with Diamante Azul that CMLL generally holds onto their title belts to make sure wrestlers don’t leave the promotion with them. That obviously isn’t the case always if these title defenses can be made. Azul’s Mexican National Heavyweight championship hasn’t appeared since he left CMLL.

CMLL Informa will have Altantis & Atlantis Jr., Rey Cometa & Espiritu Negro to preview the Copa Dinastia, plus Euforia & Dragon Rojo Junior. I like Atrapasuenos but there’s a good chance they’re on Informa talking about this tournament longer than the last in the tournament.

The TuriLuchas bus seems to be back running this Friday. The Arena Mexico restaurant surely is going to be among the last things to come back.

Other Notes

IWRG Thursday has Demonio Infernal & Fresero Jr. versus DMT Azul & Puma King in a super libre match as the main event. Hijo del Espectro defends the IWRG Juniors championship for the first time against Hijo del Fishman. Minis make a rare appearance in IWRG. The Mexico State trios tournament, which has turned up occasionally since April, wraps up the quarterfinals with Bello Ciao mystery masked trio of Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Sinaloa facing a TBA team.

IWRG announced they gave food to the wrestlers on their roster through a program with the Naucalpan government for the third month in a row. I’m not sure if it totally counts as altruism if you post it on Facebook and then include “#altrusim” as a hashtag but the food is nice. Marcos Moreno also traveled with Dragon Bane & Hijo de Canis Lupus to the GALLI & IWRG shows this past weekend and said they’d be working on more interchange of talent in September.

I noted it was surprising to see DMT Azul listed in Copa Federacion; he seemed like he would’ve been in the main event of the promotion’s first show based on the initial teases. Perhaps he thought it was surprising too. For whatever reason, DMT Azul is now off the June 19th show according to the promotion. They say they’ll announce someone of equal value later on in a boilerplate fashion. The idea of picking up work in Federacion Wrestling was one of the reasons DMT Azul was said to leave CMLL in the first place, and there were rumors of him talking with others to come with him. I’d say this raises a red flag on Federacion Wrestling but it’s Federacion Wrestling, they might as well use a red flag as a logo.

Federacion Wrestling also announced that they’ll announce where they’re running, the cost of the tickets, and how to buy those tickets at some indeterminate point in the future. Allowing Rush to announce they’d be selling tickets without having that prepared is another one of those not ready to go moments.

Ring of Honor announced the return of the Survival of the Fittest tournament after a couple of years off. It’s six singles matches where the winners all meet in an elimination match for a world title shot. That typically happens all in one night; this year it will apparently air over weeks of TV shows. Qualifying matches include Flamita versus Rey Horus and Bandido versus Bateman. The matches will start in two weeks, no info yet on when those specific matches will air. I suspect Flamita & Bandido are wrestling on the upcoming July 11th Best in the World show, either as part of the final of Survival of the Fittest or in a stand-alone singles match.

Pagano and the Morena party candidate for Ciudad Juarez president (mayor) announced an alliance. It’s always a bit weird: Pagano in AAA who occasionally makes poor life choices and portrays an unsavory character but, back home in Ciudad Juarez, he’s considered a successful international sportsman and an important person representing the community.

Arena Neza has Dragon Lee versus Bandido vs Emperador Azteca on June 5th.

Bandido’s Gym hosts the owner teaming with Pentagon against Super Nova & Texano Jr. on June 12th. Komander showing up in the undercard suggest he’ll be back around Mexico City that weekend.

Angel o Demonio is now on a ventilator, according to a Facebook post by his family.

DTU announced Crazy Boy’s condition has improved; “he was discharged by his doctor” sounds like he was hospitalized. Their 05/28 show will stream live on Facebook. Crazy Boy was scheduled to headline it, then announced as being replaced though no replacement ever been announced. I wouldn’t put it past him appearing but it would be a poor idea for him to wrestle.

Mas Lucha points out IWRG’s Blue Monster Jr. is now wrestling as El Bendito.

Pagano is supporting the Morena party candidate for president of Ciudad Juarez.

Monclova’s Arena Tigre Padilla was approved to reopen for 250 people, of a 900 capacity.

LuchaWorld has this week’s PosterMania.

IWRG results, CMLL title match set up, Andrade/Santo

IWRG (SUN) 05/23/2021 Arena Naucalpan [Mas Lucha, the Gladiatores]
1) Guerrero Olímpico b Spider Fly Triangular de Locura| IWRG (posted by Más Lucha)
2) Black Dragón & Death Metal b Hellboy & Hijo Del Ángel Triangular de Locura| IWRG (posted by Más Lucha)
3) Dick Angelo 3G, Rey Halcón, Tonalli b Aster Boy, Freelance, Puma de Oro Triangular de Locura| IWRG (posted by Más Lucha)
4) Estrella Divina, Zorayita, Zoy Raymunda b Diva Salvaje, Jessy Ventura, Pasion Kristal Triangular de Locura| IWRG (posted by Más Lucha)
5) Guadalajara, Máscara Sagarda Jr., Monterrey b Emperador Azteca, Hijo De Dos Caras, Veneno Triangular de Locura| IWRG (posted by Más Lucha)
6) As Charro & Súper Nova DQ Demonio Infernal & Fresero Jr. and Canek Jr. & Hijo del Fishman Triangular de Locura| IWRG (posted by Más Lucha)

The main event was a bloody mess where Demonio Infernal & Fresero Jr. eventually ended up with the masks of both teams. The exoticos keep feuding towards their cage match, which might be this weekend. Or it might not! The third match sounds like it was the best on the show.

CMLL’s Televisa show set up Dalys & Stephanie Vaquer challenging Lluvia & Jarochita for the National Tag Team championships next week. They also seem headed to a Mistico/Sanson singles match. Sanson lost to Caristico on the Herlado Television show. Angel de Oro was DQed in his singles match with Cavernario on AMX.

Tomorrow’s Guadalajara show was probably meant to have the new Occidente Trios Champions (Explosivo, Fantastico, Star Black) face most recent champions NGD. It may have been the plan for over a year to end up with something like that match; the arena started a #1 contenders tournament to face NGD last March, but only got through one day before everything was canceled. It might have been than NGD was going to win the resulting title match and then vacate the titles anyway. It’s still not happening Cuatrero is missing (presumed injured) and Hijo de Mascara 2000 has been placed in his spot. I presume the main roster team is still winning, but there’s an obvious out there without the full NGD trio and it’d mean a lot for the local team to win.

Hijo del Santo versus Andrade is announced for June 12 in Anaheim. That appears to be Andrade first post-WWE match, though something else always could surface between now and then. Mas Lucha mentioned it, so maybe it’ll turn up here or on Hijo del Santo’s Patreon. Santo was out of CMLL before La Sombra was an important enough guy to face him. The full poster includes Stephanie Vaquer & Lluvia. CMLL wrestlers have been blocked from working on the same shows as Santo in the past, though that hasn’t been as strictly enforced for US shows.

 

Dave the Clown and Monster Clown met with the small child who was thrown by a wrestler over video (spotted by Furia de Titanes); they mention the kid only has bruises and scrapes, which is lucky. Cibernetico also contacted the child. Einar el Vikingo was apparently arrested and released, as noted by SuperLuchas. He may have been arrested in part because putting him behind bars was the easiest way to make sure no one would enact their own justice on him in the short term. The investigation remains open.

Sunday’s Lucha Memes show has Solar vs Villano III Junior as the main event. It’s the curse of Lucha Inedita; that’s definitely a match that’s never been done but for good reason. Villano lately wants to have a match with all the crazy bumps, Solar would prefer no bumps at all. I hope it works, it’s just hard to see how it will. Astrolux & Black Metal versus Cobre & Tromba looks promising.

GALLI has Laredo Kid, Taurus, Arez, and Aramis on June 6th. That’s the day after they appear Warrior Wrestling.

Angel o Demonio announced his COVID has gotten so bad that he’s checked himself into a hospital.

KSAT has an interview with local wrestler/deputy Lemus II.

A story about a lucha libre class for kids in Orizaba.

CMLL returns to fans (with a normal show), Federacion debut show to have fans, unfortunate viral videos

CMLL , Ticketmaster (FRI) 05/21/2021 Arena México [CMLLDe Lucha TVFuria de TitanesLucha CentralMas LuchaR de RudoThe Gladiatores, thecubsfan]
Attendance: 500
1) Flyer & Stuka Jr. b Hijo del Villano III & Templario CMLL  FLYER - STUKA JR. VS HIJO DEL VILLANO III - TEMPLARIO        ARENA MEXICO 21 DE MAYO (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) Reapertura Arena México | Templario e Hijo de Villano III derrotan a Flyer y Stuka Jr (posted by Más Lucha)
15:23, one fall match. Templario replaced Felino Jr. and Stuka Jr. replaced Atlantis Jr. (booked elsewhere) around May 12th.
2) La Jarochita & Lluvia b Princesa Sugehit & Reina Isis [Relevos IncreíblesCMLL  JAROCHITA - LLUVIA  VS REYNA ISIS - PRINCESA SUGEHIT      ARENA MEXICO 21 DE MAYO LUCHA 02 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) Reapertura Arena México | Lluvia y Jarochita vencen a Reyna Isis y Princesa Sugehit (posted by mluchatv)
16:01, one fall match.
3) Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II, Hechicero b Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa, Titán CMLL LOS ATRAPA SUEÑOS Y TITÁN VS HECHICERO Y  LOS GEMELOS DIABLO I Y II  -  ARENA MEXICO 21 DE MAYO (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) Reapertura Arena México | Hechicero y Gemelos Diablo derrotan a Titán, Rey Cometa y Espíritu Negro (posted by mluchatv)
19:59, rudos took 1/3.
4) Atlantis, Cavernario, Terrible b Forastero, Negro Casas, Sansón [Relevos IncreíblesCMLL  B. CAVERNARIO - TERRIBLE - ATLANTIS VS NEGRO CASAS - FORASTERO - SANSÓN ARENA MEXICO 21 DE MAY (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) Reapertura Arena México: Atlantis, Terrible y Cavernario derrotan a Sansón, Forastero y Negro Casas (posted by Más Lucha)
18:24, Team Atlantis took 2/3. Atlantis replaced Angel de Oro & Negro Casas replaced Cuatrero.
5) Carístico, Euforia, Místico b Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero, Volador Jr. [Relevos IncreíblesCMLL EUFORIA - CARÍSTICO-MÍSTICO VS VOLADOR  - G. GUERRERO - ÚLTIMO GUERRERO ARENA MEXICO 21 DE MAYO (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) Reapertura Arena México: ¡Último Guerrero le quita la máscara a Euforia! (posted by Más Lucha)
14:38. Team Caristico took 2/3. Guerrero fouled Euforia in the third.

CMLL opened the return to fans show by talking about the start of a new era. It felt like the continuation of the ongoing one, with the big return ending with a mask pull, no future matches being announced, and wrestlers being falsely advertised. Negro Casas & Atlantis were star power upgrades over Angel de Oro & Cuatrero, but as happy as CMLL was to have fans back, they still don’t respect those fans enough to be honest with them.

Hechicero and Gemelo Diablos versus AtrapaSuenos & Titan as the best match to the night, great creativity and energy. Hechicero looked back, both from the injury that’s had him out and also in better condition than when he first returned from the pandemic in September. Rey Cometa and Titan looked great although Cometa may need to cut down on the times he yells to do a move and immediately gets taken out. Gemelo Diablos didn’t stand out. They’re about the same as they were in Gemelo Panteras.

The main event has an issue where those tecnicos try to make have a spectacular close of the main event, but they do everything the same way and in the same order every single time. Mistico’s Operacion Dragon is an incredible dive heavily mitigated by knowing exactly when it’s coming a minute ahead of time and that it absolutely has to happen because there’s never a deviation in the sequence setting it up. It’s the inherent problem with the current CMLL style; spectacular stuff done the same way so it looks polished and amazing for the tourists and repetitive for the people who watch every week. There are no tourists. They need to change. They will not change.

CMLL has started to make the first two matches one fall, going back to the last PPV. The matches aren’t being wrestled much differently – they’re getting the same amount of time as they always do, and just working through what would’ve been the two fall breaks. (The match times are actually longer as a result; they’d be better shorter.) There’s no stated reason for the change, and it’s likely to stay just a prelim change.

Euforia challenged Ultimo Guerrero to another heavyweight title match, though they’re also feuding like two guys hoping to main event a major show. It could be an Aniversario show match in a normal year, though CMLL seems committed first to doing the Felino/Cavernario match whenever they can fill up a building. Euforia wrestled as a tecnico and is good at working against his type, though it’d be a shame for him not to be basing for tecnicos.

Flyer is so bad right now. CMLL has to see he’s drowning and they keep rolling him out there. I don’t think anyone who was unrelated to a top wrestler would keep getting the chances he’s getting. Flyer will be back next week.

I’d go below average, ok, good, ok and ok to the show. The third match was close to great with a little more by the Diablos. The main event had one good fall. This was overall more tolerable to watch with fans.

CMLL removed the “ROH” logo for the rating video board ads. You can now tell how old the TV footage is by the shows where the ROH logo is still shown. On the Mas Lucha Radio show (1h25m), Miguel Reducindo mentions CMLL is talking with other US promotions to replace the Ring of Honor relationship, though did not way once. (Please credit Mas Lucha and Miguel Reducindo on that.) That’s potentially good news for CMLL and their wrestlers, though I fear what CMLL will consider an adequate replacement given their limited knowledge of the US landscape and most major league promotions already being aligned with WWE; it’ll probably be whomever offers the most Okumura matches.

CMLL also had the Televisa-only annoucners as part of their welcome back in-ring introduction; it seem likely this show will turn up on TV eventually.

Barbaro Cavernario said he wants Negro Casas’ hair after he defeats Felino. That would be a great match and relentlessly mocked because Casas has lost too many hair matches.

Caristico opened a souvenir shop on the same block as Arena Mexico Friday. He called a pre-inauguration; apparently, they weren’t planning to open this early but it made sense with Arena Mexico running with fans. The block Arena Mexico is on includes various non-wrestling small retail stores and it’s always a bit surprising there are not more permanent lucha libre places. Caristico’s store seems like it’s on the opposite side of the block as Blue Demon’s store.

I’m mildly surprised that Mas Lucha got permission to film even highlights of a CMLL show. They’re associated with AAA and hosted the Federacion Wrestling debut press conference, I’d think CMLL would just reflexively ban the from the building if they knew they were there. (They shouldn’t, it does CMLL no harm, but that’s how CMLL tneds to act.)

Luchador attacks small child

At a politician-sponsored outdoor show in Mexico City, luchador Einar el Vikingo violently threw a child to the ground outside the ring after a match. The child was taken to the hospital to check for injuries as part of the investigation; it reads like he was released without anything major being found A short clip was captured on video and went viral; it cuts off as various adults are about to him. In perhaps the least thought out response possible, Einar’s partner Baby Angelita explained the child was saying mean things to Einar as justification. Einar was questioned by the police but has not yet charged with a crime.

(I don’t know that there’s a great solution, but every news site being thirsty for a couple of views off a video of child abuse was a not great day. The original video is here, though I’m not who it first. Furia de Titanes noted a second video of the incident where you can see the child’s apparent parents encourage to go to the luchador, though you can’t make it out what’s happened unless you’ve seen the first video.)

Einar wrestles in Mexico City and neighboring Mexico State towns. I’ve got records of him wrestling as far back as 2017, though he’s probably for longer than that – it’s that I only started looking for deep indie lineups, and that’s the shows he generally works. His highest profile booking would’ve been a trainee show in Arena Naucalpan in 2019 as a Hip Hop Man trainee in a Copa Higher Power. Einar is one of hundreds of people in and around Mexico City who are working tiny shows, likely for no pay and with no license, simply for the glory of getting to call themselves a luchador. Einar is not related to HIjo del Vikingo or most any viking luchador you likely know, though he often wrestles with a Raknar el Vikingo who may be related. The show seems put together by luchador Ojo de Tigre for the local government candidate, one of many lucha libre shows happening the next few weeks before the June 6th election.

CMLL is getting some blowback because Einar’s Facebook bio lists him as working for CMLL. It’s possible he trained at Arena Mexico at some point; thousands of wrestlers have, it’s a class the trainees are paying to take, few of those wrestler graduate to the higher level classes and fewer to actual CMLL shows. (It’s not a select group who train at CMLL’s school, it’s closer to anyone who’s willing to give them money without being a medical risk.) It’s also possible he just added it to his bio for laughs, same as anyone else on Facebook.

The Mexico City commission announced Einar was indefinitely suspended. The announcement was made on one of the commissioner’s personal Facebook accounts  (picked up by Mas Lucha) because the commission is run all by old men who can’t figure out how to open an official Facebook account. The statement encourages other commissions to follow the behavior. This means nothing. The commission has been powerless to stop wrestlers and promoters from running shows for months. The show where the incident happened appeared to be unsanctioned show. Einar wrestled mostly in Mexico State, which has it’s own commission and does not automatically enforce the Mexico City suspensions (when it enforces anything at all.) The Mexico City Commission’s current role seems to be to take angry calls for other parts of the government when a wrestling clip goes viral, put out a statement assuring everyone they’re taking care of it, and then to wait for it to blow over. It’s not an envionable position but it’s also one that’s hard to take seriously.

Revelacion Lucha LIbre Iztapalapa, a small Mexico City group who’s appeared on Mas Lucha’s channel during the period where no one else was running, apparently put out a statement saying they would no longer use Einar and his family on their shows. You can see it on Mas Lucha’s page; it’s either deleted or Friendly only on their Facebook. Recently criminal acts in the guise of a wrestling match have led to both Angel o Demonio and Juarez’s Black Skeller benefiting from their crimes with additional bookings. It’d be great if others followed RLLI and shunned Einar, even just for a time. I fully expect the opposite will happen, others using the fact that “Einar el Vikingo” was mentioned in a thousand articles to start using him. I understand most people are upset and angry but the way these situations are handled have tended to backfire for lucha libre.

Cibernetico and Sharlie Rockstar are among wrestlers trying to reach out to the child and his family to assure him not all wrestlers are like that.

Tinieblas

Tinieblas was included in a Venustiano Carranza mayoral debate. He had the viral moment of the night; Tinibelas was asked what policies he’d pass for the inclusion of the LBGT+ community and completely froze, seemingly not knowing what those letters meant. He eventually talked about helping women, which is nice if not what the question was asking.

R de Rudo wrote that Tinieblas claims his mask and other sound problems prevented him from hearing the question. Tinieblas later explained his plan is to create a special prosecutor focused on crimes affecting the LBGT+ community among other related projects for the community, consistent with his party’s platform.

The impression I’ve had was that Tinieblas and the other celebrity RSP candidates were non-serious candidates just there to build brand awareness for the new party; they’re just trying to get their name out there for serious runs later. Tinieblas gaff in the debate probably doesn’t hurt his candidacy only because he wasn’t a serious candidate anyway. Tinieblas has been exposed – both in his name/face and his lack of seriousness – in such fashion that it was incredibly wise for Caristico & Blue Demon to disappear from their mayoral races before officially becoming candidates.

Federacion Wrestling

Rush, in an appearance at his restaurant, announced the June 19th show would have fans in attendance. Nothing was said about a location specifically beyond Mexico City. It also may mean just outside of Mexico City; Mexico City is unlikely to allow a full capacity show in a month from now, while many Mexico State appears to be fully unregulated.

Rush also announced Kenny King as the fifth participant for Copa Federacion. He teased one more member of Los Ingobernables, with the idea it won’t be announced until the day of the show. That’s expected to be La Mascara, though it hasn’t been officially announced as such and would be anticlimatic.

Prices for the PPV of the show go up starting June 1st. It may good, it may a disaster, maybe don’t wait until the last minute to pay extra if you’re going to get it anyway. They don’t know if the show will be available on VOD. Some day, Mexican wrestling promotions will grow up and use the PPV and payment standards as the rest of the world, but June 19th is not that day.

Other Notes

Congrats to The Gladiatores for reaching 15 years of continuous publication.

Puebla and Mexico City went from Orange to Yellow health code at the same time. The difference is every state seems to have some power to decide the details of what those health cards mean. In Puebla, an article from April explains Puebla has allowed outdoor sports but not indoor ones. Those rules last through May 31st, so there’s likely an update coming this week.

At a show in Matamoros (Kingdom Promotions), Hijo del Santo and Hijo del Fishman wrestled in a main event trios and teased a mask match. Santo later said he believed he was in his last few matches and would be retiring soon. There’s probably one last mask match in him; it’s seemed like that spot was reserved for Hijo del Solitario, but he hasn’t been around much of late. Hijo del Fishman also seemed to be helping promote the show, so that could’ve been all the reason he was working with Santo and it won’t mean much beyond this show. The Kingdom wrestlers are appearing on a 05/29 MexaWrestling show, so they’ll probably be in IWRG that week.

Chamaco Maravilla (Margarito Torres Silva, 59 or 60) passed away Friday according to Box y Lucha. They have him as an 80s/90s Monterrey luchador, which is woefully underrecorded. (I would pay to have access to the UNAM digital library so I could look through those newspaper archives, but that’s another subject.) Maravilla’s brothers wrestled as Raul Silva and Robocop, and his son wrestled as Genocida. Monterrey’s Arena el Jaguar has a note up, which is where I got the age.

Maria del Carmen Medina Salamanca, the wife of CMLL’s Manuel Robles (Jan Manuel Mar Hernandez), passed away Saturday. Manuel Robles was in charge of Arena Puebla; their son Benjamin Mar has that position now while other son Jan Manuel Mar is CMLL booker Panico.

Keyra appeared on Mas Lucha’s radio show Saturday. Keyra hasn’t wrestled since last April. AAA’s hinted on TV she’s left due to pregnancy and it’s an open secret. In this interview, Keyra said she’s been out due to injury but AAA has been supporting her and she’s looking for a date to return. It’s not the only ongoing current situation; I’m not sure if it’d be even worth mentioning if it wasn’t mentioned on the TV show.

Peru’s Rayo sent out a press release announcing he’d had a WWE tryout. Take note: this is absolutely the last thing you should if you want to actually get signed by WWE. They don’t want anyone to know about who auditions for them; keeping it quiet is a test to see if you’ll stay quiet while working with them. Maybe Rayo knows he’s not getting signed and is just using the publicity to boost the “IOWC Championship” he’s trying to get over as a touring title but it seems a bad idea

Dr. Wagner’s weekly column in Milenio is mostly about how he’s happy to see Andrade get a shot at Kenny Omega on TripleMania. He briefly talks about the other matches and surprisingly says he doesn’t have an opinion on the women’s match because he doesn’t believe women should fight. Wagner states he’s not being sexist, just that his father taught him women should be delicate. He does acknowledge times have changed and hopes the best woman wins. I presumed this was a ghost written article but obviously not, no one’s putting those words in someone’s mouth without their approval.  Wagner was married to Rossy Moreno, who is from a family of (female) lucahdors), so you’d think he’d have different views.