Month: December 2021

CMLL

Mas Lucha points out a Soberano Jr. Instagram post proclaiming himself, Templario and Atlantis as the new faces of CMLL and says Volador & Mistico’s time is over. (Negro Casas, the sixth person in the match, didn’t come up.) A generation battle could work but it doesn’t quite fit with the current CMLL nostalgia focus. Mas Lucha reports Soberano’s team won by DQ.

CMLL (TUE) 12/28/2021 Arena México [Box y Lucha, CMLL]
1) Fantasy & Último Dragóncito b Mercurio & Pequeño Violencia 
Pequeno Violencia needed medical help
2) Eléctrico, Robin, Sonic b Apocalipsis, Cholo, Inquisidor 
tecnicos took 2/3
3) La Vaquerita, Marcela, Skadi b Amapola, Metálica, Tiffany 
4) Felino Jr., Hijo del Villano III, Pólvora b El Audaz, Esfinge, Fugaz 
Rudos took 1/3.
5) Atlantis, Star Jr., Titán b Felino, Negro Casas, Rey Bucanero 

Not a lot of news, as normal for this time of year. Pequeno Violencia took an elbow to the head on a Ultimo Dragoncito tope con giro late in the third fall and was bleeding significantly from the head  – they didn’t give it a good look on the stream. Mercurio got pinned, Pequeno Violencia half came in, and Olimpico called off the match before he got in. I think the elbow may have given Pequeno Violencia concussion-like symptoms and he made the call to take himself out; his effort to get in seemed more to talk to Olimpico than to continue the match.

CMLL drew an impressive crowd for a Tuesday Arena Mexico show. It would’ve been a good turnout for a Tuesday show even prior to the pandemic. Last week’s show was said to draw about 600; this one looks like three to four thousand. I can’t put a finger on why; maybe just people looking for something to do during the holidays. It at least suggests good things for Saturday.

CMLL (TUE) 12/28/2021 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [Mas Lucha]
1) Avispón Negro Jr., Capitán Cobra, Temerario b Destello, Destructor, Thunder Boy 
2) Gallito Tapatío, Micro Gemelo Diablo I, Micro Gemelo Diablo II b Átomo, Chamuel, Perico Zacarías 
3) Flash, Omega, Star Black b Mr. Trueno, Rey Trueno, Zandokan Jr. 
4) Stephanie Vaquer & Valkiria b Náutica & Sexy Sol 
Valkiria pulled Natuica’s mask to pin her.
5) Furia Roja, Guerrero de la Muerte, Ráfaga b Bárbaro Cavernario, Demonio Maya, Principe Daniel 
6) Dulce Gardenia, Místico, Soberano Jr. b Averno, Black Warrior, Mephisto 

The Micro Gemelo Diablos started in December and have now wrestled seven matches in CMLL arenas in 2021. Microman, who was in CMLL most of the year, wrestled six matches. In the past, CMLL (and/or the wrestler union) has had limits about how often new luchadors were allowed to wrestle. I wonder if the Micro Gemelo Diablos were brought in from another line of athletic activity, that’s why they quickly got the highspots (and not a lot else) and the tradeoff for getting them was promising them a lot of work. It’s just a guess, I don’t know anything but that’s a strange stat.

That ends the 2021 year for CMLL. There are more indie shows for Wednesday and Thursday, but nothing big and nothing at all on Friday.

CMLL (SAT) 01/01/2022 Arena México
1) Halcón Suriano Jr. vs Sonic [lightning]
2) Dark Panther, Guerrero Maya Jr., Rey Cometa vs Cancerbero, Espanto Jr., Virus
3) Princesa Sugehit © vs La Jarochita [CMLL WOMEN]
4) Místico, Soberano Jr., Volador Jr. vs Atlantis Jr., Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero [Relevos Increíbles]
5) El Audaz vs Pólvora, Dulce Gardenia, Okumura, Sangre Imperial, El Coyote, Espíritu Negro, Disturbio, Stigma, Akuma, Pegasso, Nitro [mask, hair, cage]

This is a Ticketmaster Live show for 230 pesos/11.18 USD.

There’s no real favorite to lose their hair in the cage match. In a matter of speaking, CMLL’s played this well in giving a lot of possible options. I just don’t know that anyone’s that excited to see any of those outcomes. It’s probably a hair, with only Nitro really having a chance of losing his mask this way if CMLL doesn’t believe his body could handle a singles match. Nitro’s union leadership deal probably means he’s getting a big payoff at some point, so there’s a chance this is it. Dulce & Okumura could get singles matches of their own, so the loser is likely coming out of Disturbio, Espiritu Negro, and Akuma. I’d guess Disturbio if I had to guess someone, but I don’t feel strongly about it.

Atlantis Jr. back to teaming with the Guerreros. Jarochita/Sugehit could be good, as could the first two matches. Raziel is still missing, believed out with COVID for quite a while. Suriano/Sonic could be an action opener. I’m not particularly excited about the main event but this looks like a good card.

CMLL (SUN) 01/02/2022 Arena México
1) Acero & Aéreo vs Angelito & Shockercito
2) Diamond, Magia Blanca, Magnus vs Dark Magic, Enfermero Jr., Espanto Jr.
3) La Jarochita, Lluvia, Reyna Isis vs Dalys, Princesa Sugehit, Stephanie Vaquer [Relevos Increíbles]
4) Hombre Bala Jr., Kráneo, Volcano vs Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II, Sagrado
5) Soberano Jr., Titán, Volador Jr. vs Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Terrible

Not sure why only the tercera is a relevos increibles match. That could set up a tag title match.

CMLL (SUN) 01/02/2022 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Atilius & Rey Urano vs Aurelius & Maxiums
2) Adrenalina, Estrella Oriental, Minotauro vs Destrucción, Onix, Sombra Dorada
Coliseo vs Jalisco
3) Bestia Negra, Difunto, Omega vs Draego, Reggae Boy, Reycko
Coliseo vs Jalisco
4) Explosivo, Fantástico, Gallo vs Makabre, Rey Tritón, Sniper
Coliseo vs Jalisco
5) Blue Panther & Cachorro Lagunero vs All Carrillo & Zandokan Jr.
6) Bárbaro Cavernario, Demonio Maya, Principe Daniel vs Furia Roja, Guerrero de la Muerte, Ráfaga [super libre]

The return of CMLL Sunday Guadalajara shows includes a lot of Arena Jalisco names, including ex-CMLL star (Rey) Triton. This is his first match here since quitting CMLL in September 2019; it seems longer. The Furia Roja team beat the Cavernario team last night to set up that main event. These shows are meant to be weekly from here on it; the week starting January 2nd will be the first full CMLL schedule since March 2020.

CMLL announcer Roberto Lopez Olvera announced he’d beaten COVID on Twitter. I don’t usually follow him on social media, but apparently, he’s been deal with it for the last two weeks based on previous posts. CMLL had Hechicero as a fill-in announcer for the Christmas Day show, which also could’ve been because Miguel Linares’ mother (and Mickey Linare’s grandmother) passed away.

CMLL Informa has Coyote & Euforia to talk about the Gran Alternativa and Polvora, Audaz, Okumura to talk about the cage match and Sonic for some reason. Sonic is scheduled to work the opener on 01/01 but that usually doesn’t mean an Informa appearance, so maybe something additional is happening.

AAA

AAA TV (SUN) 01/30/2022 Polifrum Zamna, Mérida, Yucatan
1) ? & ?? vs ??? & ????
2) Komander, Mr. Iguana, Niño Hamburguesa vs DMT Azul, Puma King, Sam Adonis
3) Dulce Canela, Faby Apache, Pimpinela Escarlata vs Diva Salvaje, Jessy, Mamba
4) Laredo Kid © vs Willie Mack, ?, Dragón Lee [AAA CRUISER]
11th defense, first since May
5) La Hiedra, Rey Escorpión, Villano III Jr. © vs Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón and Carta Brava Jr., Mocho Cota Jr., Tito Santana [AAA TRIOS]
third defense
6) Hijo Del Vikingo, Octagón Jr., Pagano vs Abismo Negro Jr., Cibernético, Látigo
7) Fénix & Pentagón Jr. vs Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood © [AAA TAG]

AAA officially announced this lineup Tuesday night. There’s changes, with Aramis & Taurus most notably removed from two title matches. PWG’S BOLA is 01/29 and 01/30; it would’ve been technically possible for them to get from Los Angeles to Merida for an early afternoon taping but it would’ve been a stretch (and it would’ve been a spoiler for how they did in the tournament.) La Hiedra got moved up from the women’s match, which may end up as making up the bonus match. Aramis’ spot in the cruiserweight title match remains empty at the moment. I hope they give Parka Negra the spot.

AAA also said this would be the first taping of the year, so they’re off for a month more. The Mexico City tapings will probably air 01/22 and 01/29, and this show the week after. AAA’s given no indication they’re going back to airing these live. We actually don’t even know if they’re staying with the same TV partners; those deals usually come up at the end of the year and AAA keeps any news regarding them quiet.

Other News

I’m not sure if there will be a normal update on Friday; I can write it, not sure anything’s going to happen worth writng about. I do have the Tapatia awards ready to go so maybe I’ll roll them out. (Any suggestions/changes are welcome.) I also have a bunch of recaps I never posted.

IWRG (SAT) 01/01/2022 Arena Naucalpan
1) 1 vs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 [cage]
wrestlers from Lucha Time, MexaWrestling and GALLI
2) Aster Boy vs Freelance, Puma de Oro, Billy Jones, Sol, Legendario [cage, IWRG REY DEL AIRE, #1 Contenders]
3) Jessy Ventura vs Toxin [IWRG MEXICO]
belt will be hanging like a ladder match
4) Hijo del Espectro vs Dick Angelo 3G, Hijo De Dos Caras, Hijo del Fishman, Canek Jr., Súper Nova [cage, IWRG JUNIORS, #1 Contenders]
the first person who escapes (after 10 minutes) wins a title shot on 01/08 against Hijo del Alebrije
5) Dragón Bane © vs ? [IWRG REY DEL AIRE, cage]
6) Satania vs Bugambilia, Benga Lee, Hijo del Alebrije, Alpha Wolf, Diva Salvaje, Cerebro Negro, Tortuga Leo, Akbal, Oficial AK47 [hair, mask, cage]
last person left loses their hair

This is another Mas Lucha subscription show. I think there are more losing suspects in the IWRG cage match; Alebrije, Wolf, Diva are the only ones who feel totally safe. Jessy Ventura seems a lock to finally win the IWRG Mexico title from Toxico.

El Siglo de Torreon has a report on Andrade’s return to Arena Olimpico Laguna, an arena he first wrestled in when he was 13. I don’t know what the capacity is of that building is, but I’m pretty sure they exceeded it.

The Lucha Brothers will team with Jungle Boy, Luchasaurus and Christian Cage against FTR, Matt Hardy and Private Party on tonight’s AEW Dynamite. AEW’s been circling around a Lucha Brothers/Jurassic Express tag title match for a while, and it might get set up here for next week.

RIOT’s 02/11-12 La Rina participants

1. Blake Christian
2. Demonio del Aire
3. El Mago
4. Jimmy
5. Mr. Iguana
6. Erik Ortiz
7. Aeroboy
8. King Rex
9. Komander
10. Tromba
11. Rey Horus – new
12. Alex Zayne – new

Notable Dia de Inocentes prank stories

• IWRG announcing a show with CMLL and AAA wrestlers for 02/29
• El Exotico going to WWE
• RIOT announced Phillip Five Skulls for La Rina
• KAOZ announced they were bringing in Randy Orton
• Big Lucha announced a Demonic Flamita versus Bandido mask match.

The luchadoras of Lucha Libre Femenil, led by Diana la Cazadora and Nahomi, held a press conference to bring attention to their show being shut down back on the 17th. Their focus is on the behavior of lucha libre commissioner Gerardo Cortez Orozco, who also wrestled as Pegasso (not the CMLL one); they’re angry about him coming into the dressing room, demanding the women change clothes while he’s there, and making rude comments while they changed. The women of LLF feel the commissioner shut down their show out of spite for them pushing back on his treatment, and not for legitimate reasons. They want him and the head of the commission removed, with women put in those places. They’re also looking for all wrestling licenses to be renewed immediately at no cost (they’ve been unable to renew them at all during the pandemic), the government to assist in getting and paying for immediate attention in case of injury, and that commissioner’s respect human dignity going forward. Monterrey promotions LLF, LLU, RIOT, Kaos, Rompiendo Madres, Arena Jaguar and Lucha Time are supporting these requests – that’s most of the groups that run in Monterrey. KAOZ has since said they didn’t actually sign on to this. Cazadora noted they’ve been ignored by government officials so far and plan to have a protest next if they’re not heard.

Lunathor Jr., a luchador who appears based in Mexico City, announced he’s changing his name to Baby Daddy. For whatever reason, there are a lot more Mexican wrestlers with names that sound unappealing in English than English-speaking wrestlers with names that are unappealing in Spanish. Maybe this was a Dia de Inocentes joke I didn’t get.

MedioTiempo points out a recent Arturo Rivera YouTube interview where he talks about his start in lucha libre announcing. He was drafted into covering a show with no previous knowledge, which seems like the story of most everyone who ended up calling the shows on Televisa. It’s impressive that the 90s CMLL/AAA announcers are as well-liked as they are, because announcers without experience usually end up loathed by the diehards. It probably helped that Rivera, Alfonso Morales, and Leobardo Magadan (who’ve all told similar origin stories) seem to have gotten those first shows when lucha libre wasn’t allowed to air on TV in Mexico City; they got a chance to improve when fewer people saw them. Rivera also said Morales couldn’t stand Rivera’s style at first and claims he’s currently vetoed by AAA for working with Robles. Rivera’s said different things about his relationship with AAA in the past and AAA hadn’t used him in a significant role for years.

LuchaWorld has the latest Poster-Mania and the latest Lucha Report.

CMLL

CMLL (SAT) 12/25/2021 Arena México [CMLL, ESPN, ESTO, Estrellas del Ring, Kaiser Sports, PubliMetro, R de Rudo, The Gladiatores, thecubsfan]
1) Átomo, Chamuel, Mije b Gallito, Micro Gemelo Diablo I, Micro Gemelo Diablo II   
15:02. One fall. Mije replaced Gallito, who switched sides to replaced Zacarias (but they still played Gallito’s video)
2) La Jarochita, Marcela, Reyna Isis b Dalys, Princesa Sugehit, Stephanie Vaquer [Relevos Increíbles]   
20:14. Team Jarochita took 2/3, leading to Jarochita to challenge Sugehit to a CMLL WOMEN title match next week.
3) Fugaz, Soberano Jr., Volador Jr. b Cavernario, Negro Casas, Templario    
13:12. Tecnicos took 2/3.
4) El Coyote & Euforia b Atlantis Jr. & Sangre Imperial [Gran Alternativa]    
18:20, one fall. Coyote & Euforia win the 2021 tournament.
5) Místico © b Averno [NWA MIDDLE]    
16:41. One fall. Mistico challenge Averno to a hair match.

Mistico and Averno “agreed” to a hair match, just as Mistico and Ultimo Guerrero “agreed” to one after their last match. Averno would’ve won the title if that match was actually a firm plan.

This was a fine enough show, definitely for free. The tournament final and the main event were Good. I think there was an effort to do new stuff in the Mistico/Averno match so it wouldn’t feel dated, even if all of the stuff (Averno doing the big dive) didn’t quite fit. It gave enough of what people were looking for from the old rivalry that I think people probably went home satisfied. Sangre Imperial & Coyote were outshone by Atlantis Jr. in the Gran Alternativa. Euforia is going to look better than the two rookies as well. Imperial & Coyote were steady in a big spot and broke out a few new moves for a bigger match but not memorable. Coyote should get in a higher position for a time, CMLL needs younger rudos, and the howling bit has gotten noticed, but I don’t see a great upside for him. This year’s Gran Alternativa tournament felt like CMLL thought they needed a tournament for December, wanted to do this one, but didn’t have any great idea for who should win it. It’s like most every other tournament CMLL’s run of late in that way.

The Gran Alternativa is now the third tournament in the last few months where Atlantis Jr. has gotten to the final but not won. It should be a story at this point.

The men’s trios felt thrown together to get to the big high spots, and almost resulted in Fugaz’s broken neck when he and Templario weren’t on the same page with one high spot. The last few minutes of the women’s match were good but it took a while – and a too-long ruda beatdown section – to get there. No CMLL trios match with no stakes needs to go over 15 minutes, but there’s also no one in CMLL who’s going to hold people back from going as long as they want. (The hard two-hour show limit due to COVID rules seems to have been quietly dropped a few weeks back, with the two Gran Alterantaiva shows going past it with no rush to finish up.) Jarochito/Sugehit could be interesting, feels like the right sort of secondary match under the cage match.

This must’ve been the first full match I’ve seen of the Micro Gemelos Diablos. They have the wrong gimmicks – they should be Micro Fugaz and Micro Star Jr., or two other flyers. They have the Gemelo Diablo gimmick maybe because they’re actually twins and probably because CMLL loves nostalgia (useful and not), but they don’t fit those characters at all – their big moments were a series of highspots to close out the match. They work best as tecnicos opposite Chamuel, which means the micros will be forever in relevos increibles format until someone turns.

CMLL’s Friday show also moves to Saturday next week, but this time it’ll be a 230 peso Ticketmaster Live show. CMLL aired this Christmas Day show on a few hour delay; post-March 2020 CMLL has taken the view that live & free access to their shows on YouTube was hurting their attendance and the bottom line, so fans who didn’t go to the show had to wait to air about three hours. (CMLL is getting paid by Marca for those Tuesday shows, so they can still air live.) This CMLL strategy doesn’t seem to have helped the turnout as of yet; attendance was OK but nothing special, seemingly less than CMLL did on the 2019 Christmas Day show. There are much bigger issues with CMLL than how they’ve changed their YouTube approach in 2021, but there’s also no sign this new strategy is helping in anyway.

CMLL (SUN) 12/26/2021 Arena México [CMLL, Kaiser Sports]
1) Disturbio, Pegasso, Stigma DQ Espíritu Negro, Nitro, Sangre Imperial [Relevos Increíbles]
Disturbo unmasked Pegasso, Stigma and Sangre Imperial
2) Okumura, Pólvora, Virus b Dulce Gardenia, El Audaz, Hombre Bala Jr.
rudos took 2/3, Okumura beating Dulce
3) Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II, Sagrado b Esfinge, Fugaz, Star Jr.
Rudos took 1/3.
4) Titán b Negro Casas
Titan took 1/3.
5) Atlantis Jr., Místico, Volador Jr. b Euforia, Hechicero, Mephisto
Tencicos took 2/3. Rudos DQed in the second, Mistico beat Euforia in the third. Volador and Mistico wrestled each other in a “bonus” fall after the main event, no mention of how it went.

Casas/Titan was a three fall match after all, the recap makes it sound good. It’ll air on 01/07. I’m looking forward not exactly to the cage match, but to the week after it when everyone who has intensely feuding quickly forgets all about it.

Today’s Puebla show seems like it’s setting up Mistico/Templario, or maybe Mistico/Atlantis.

CMLL (TUE) 12/28/2021 Arena México
1) Fantasy & Último Dragóncito vs Mercurio & Pequeño Violencia
2) Eléctrico, Robin, Sonic vs Apocalipsis, Cholo, Inquisidor
3) La Vaquerita, Marcela, Skadi vs Amapola, Metálica, Tiffany
4) El Audaz, Esfinge, Fugaz vs Felino Jr., Hijo del Villano III, Pólvora
5) Atlantis, Star Jr., Titán vs Felino, Negro Casas, Rey Bucanero

Nothing pops out as notable. Felino Jr. & Polvora get paired up a lot since they’ve become a tag team champs, which seems like a normal thing but isn’t always. Electrico & Cholo are in the 01/01 cage match.

Black Terry Jr. posted a handheld of Averno versus Mistico from Coliseo Coacalco.

Other News

While the US, Canada, and other countries have seen effects from the Omicron COVID-19 variant, Mexico seems to be so far unchanged. Few cases have been reported. That’s probably because Mexico is testing far less, but that’s also a feature and not a bug – Mexico’s government seems totally focused on getting their economy going. The chance of reapply restrictions, needed or not, seems small at this point.

There were many Christmas weekend shows – a return after largely being off last year – but there’s not a lot of news from most of them.

Trauma I won Toxico’s hair in a cage match in Arena Lopez Mateos on Christmas. Toxico is a masked wrestler, they had announced prior that the loser would lose only their hair even if masked.

Pentagon Jr. won the new Robles championship on their Christmas Day show. He pinned Texano, which led to challenges after. Peter John Ramos debuted as The Beast, a masked man with fake hair, and looked about what you’d expect out of a seven-foot basketball player with only a handful of matches. (I wouldn’t list a masked man’s name, except everyone else keeps doing it so maybe it’s not meant to be a secret?) He was eliminated by slowly chasing Electroshock to the back. Robles announced plans to return in February with a Joe Lider/Maximo hair match after Lider beat Maximo to win a multi-man match. Maximo will be the heavy favorite.

The Robles show had the lights turned down low to hide the typically poor attendance. The fans we can see on media photos all seem to be grouped together in a few sections to look fuller. (You can see it’s empty in other areas.) Robles definitely wants the fiction of being of being a successful wrestling promotion, and I guess I can only hope they’re trying to work someone else instead of themselves about it.

Mocho Cota took Carta Brava Jr.’s hair in Orizaba on Sunday. This is the same venue as Heroes Inmortales and it looks about half full, though they have more areas than they did back in October (no capacity limitations now.) The show also started late due to travel issues. There was a report briefly after Heroes Inmortales saying TripleMania Regia would be moved to this venue, and I now wonder if it was just confusion over this show.

Hijo del Espectro jr. is said to have suffered a concussion in Arena San Juan on Christmas and was out at least the rest of the weekend.

Flamita was scheduled to work DTU’s show on Sunday; MasLucha was posting results and dipped out before his main event. If he did work the show, it’d be his first DTU appearance since 2017, though his Twitter handle remains @flamita_dtu.

Angel el Elegante del Ring has video of Andrade versus Pagano versus Dr. Wagner Jr., a few days before Christmas It’s a house show match where the biggest anticipation is waiting the ten minutes between when a table is setup and when it’s finally used, but it’s cool to see Andrade back home in front of a totally packed crowd.

Box y Lucha 3497D has Mistico and Averno on the cover, teasing the hair/mask match.

CMLL

CMLL (SAT) 12/25/2021 Arena México
1) El Gallito, Micro Gemelo Diablo I, Micro Gemelo Diablo II vs Átomo, Chamuel, Perico Zacarías
2) Dalys, Princesa Sugehit, Stephanie Vaquer vs La Jarochita, Marcela, Reyna Isis [Relevos Increíbles]
3) Fugaz, Soberano Jr., Volador Jr. vs Cavernario, Negro Casas, Templario
4) El Coyote & Euforia vs Atlantis Jr. & Sangre Imperial [Gran Alternativa]
5) Místico © vs Averno [NWA MIDDLE]

In media interviews leading into Saturday’s show, Gran Alternativa finalist Sangre Imperial said he believed he might not be in the tournament at all this year after he wasn’t included in the first bracket. It was a realistic impression; Sangre Imperial just never has been important until this year’s tournament, would’ve been an easy name to skip over if CMLL had more “young guys” to choose from. He’ll be just as easy to ignore if this final doesn’t work out for him. Same for Coyote. This is one of dozens of tournaments Eufora & Atlantis Jr. will be in, but it’s also definitely the most important match in both Coyote and Sangre Imperial’s life. I don’t think they should be in this match and it doesn’t say much for CMLL to put them there, but these guys are unknown to most of CMLL’s audience. They’ve got a chance to make a big impression if they can find something we haven’t seen from them so far.

A very narrow change: CMLL’s poster removed the “NWA” name from Averno/Mistico match. It’s just the Historic Middleweight Championship on the poster as of Wednesday afternoon. Over in Arena Neza, “NWA Mexico” is starting their tag team title tournament on Christmas, and maybe there’s a new round of arguing about who owns the NWA name in Mexico.

CMLL’s big Christmas Eve surprise is a KeMonito video. I still suspect the Christmas Day show will be a surprise stream, though I would plan your day around it. If they’re not airing it for free and they’re not doing it on PPV, CMLL’s giving away money. Can’t put it past them.

CMLL (MON) 12/27/2021 Arena Puebla
1) Astro vs Rencor
2) Asturiano & Oro Jr. vs Espíritu Maligno & Toro Bill Jr.
3) Pegasso & Valiente Jr. vs Dark Magic & Okumura
4) Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa, Stigma vs Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II, Sagrado
5) Místico, Negro Casas, Volador Jr. vs Atlantis Jr., Soberano Jr., Templario [Relevos Increíbles]

An “old” versus young feud is not the worst idea – it’s better than the constant nostalgia. But that’s probably not what it is.

Valiente hasn’t wrestled since getting hurt on a missed armdrag to the floor back in November. He underwent surgery late Wednesday according to his daughter. I didn’t find words as to his exact injury. Valiente Jr. showing up on CMLL cards may be connected; not exactly getting his father’s bookings but getting some work to help out the family.

CMLL (FRI) 01/07/2022 Arena México
1) Panterita del Ring Jr. vs Eléctrico
2) Dalys, La Jarochita, Lluvia vs Dark Silueta, Marcela, Stephanie Vaquer [Relevos Increíbles]
3) Hechicero vs Bárbaro Cavernario
4) Atlantis Jr. vs Terrible
5) Místico, Titán, Volador Jr. vs Gran Guerrero, Templario, Último Guerrero

This is the best of 2021 show. Panteitra/Electrico look good in the highlights but no one’s seen it unless they were there. Hechicero/Cavernario might be the best CMLL singles match among the people who are still working in CMLL. Atlantis/Terrible was good but not particularly memorable, that and the trios are what they have to reach for this year. It should be a good card. It’ll also be the fourth of five straight Friday/Saturdays as a Ticketmaster Live PPV.

CMLL Guadalajara Facebook page advertised Travis Banks for next Tuesday’s card on Friday morning around 10 CT central. The post was up for a few hours, deleted, and then reposted with Black Warrior in Banks’ spot. (You can see both posters here.) There’s no explanation as to the change.

There’s a hard-to-explain nuance here: it doesn’t mean CMLL’s main office is booking Banks at this point. The Guadalajara group seems to have the freedom to bring in a few indie wrestlers each show, maybe to make up for fewer being sent from Mexico City. It’s how Averno was working in Guadalajara for months before he came back on the main roster, and Warrior replacing Banks suggests it’s that sort of spot. It does seem like CMLL Mexico City may have some veto power over which indie wrestlers are allowed to work, and perhaps that’s why Banks isn’t on the show, though it could be plenty of other reasons. Warrior’s going to mean a lot more to that match, even if he’s basically a retired wrestler right now.

It didn’t feel shocking to see Banks listed on the Guadalajara show, it felt like a thing that inevitably was going to happen. I think that if we get through 2022 with no Travis Banks on a AAA or CMLL card, it would be a pleasant surprise.

Felino Jr. & Polvora retained the Mexican National Tag Team championships in Puebla on Monday. It remains incredible that CMLL doesn’t care about reporting the results of their title matches.

CMLL is selling some match worn masks through the MatchWornShirt website. Masks were worn in the first couple of Fridays of December. I’ve never bought worn masks. People have definitely told me how much they have paid and I’ve been unable to retain any of the information, but my impression is that’s a little bit on the high side. The idea of the site is this merchandise is being sold for charity; CMLL’s pages don’t list a charity.

Heraldo Mexico has an interview with the Atlantis family. Atlantis Sr. noted he got simple gifts while his son was asking for presents from the US and Japan. Atlantis Jr. finished his digital art degree during the pandemic and wants to launch comics or photos in 2022.

AAA

AAA (SUN) 01/30/2022 Polifrum Zamna, Mérida, Yucatan
1) Drago Kid & Komander vs Chik Tormenta & Látigo
2) Big Mami, Lady Shani, Sexy Star vs Flammer, La Hiedra, Maravilla
3) Mr. Iguana, Niño Hamburguesa, Octagón Jr. vs DMT Azul, Puma King, Sam Adonis
4) Dulce Canela, Faby Apache, Pimpinela Escarlata vs Diva Salvaje, Jessy, Mamba
5) Laredo Kid © vs Willie Mack, Aramis, Dragón Lee [AAA CRUISER]
11th defense, first since May
6) Rey Escorpión, Taurus, Villano III Jr. © vs Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón and Carta Brava Jr., Mocho Cota Jr., Tito Santana [AAA TRIOS]
third defense
7) Fénix & Pentagón Jr. vs Cash Wheeler & Dax Hardwood © [AAA TAG]

This is not officially announced; Sam Adonis posted it on his Twitter and others have mentioned they’re on the show. This is probably going to be a busy show; all three titles could change hands.

My guess is the Lucha Brothers win the tag titles back here and the Rey de Reyes match with Dragon Lee & Dralistico is made a tag title match. This is mostly fueled by my belief there’s nothing else to do with the FTR in AAA beyond face the Lucha Brothers, and I may be mistaken since AAA seems much higher on the idea.

NGD won a trios title shot back at TripleMania Regia. Poder del Norte did not, but it’s AAA so they’re getting a match anyway. NGD should win the trios titles at this point, Los Mercenarios barely exist as a unit and haven’t done much since TripleMania, and NGD are completely treated like the unbeatable team in the booking. It’s possible this leads to their trios match at Rey de Reyes also being for the trios titles.

There’s not as a great reason for Laredo Kid to lose, but every promotion likes loading Dragon Lee up with belts and that fourway is ripe for Aramis or Mack to get pinned to set up the one-on-one between Dragon Lee & Laredo Kid later on. AAA actually booking a 1v1 match is a risky proposition but they do like acting as if one might happen.

Mamba’s team may be a re-working of the dropped El Imperio stable idea, using Las Shotas this time since they got over in Naucalpan. Empresa probably pick up another win, the destination remains unknown. AAA previously mentioned the surprise woman in the Rey de Reyes match will appear here, so that’s likely the climax of the women’s match. There’s a good chance Drago Kid getting over in GCW got him brought back to AAA TV after not being used for a while, though that’s a strange thing to think about.

It’s possible this is the first AAA TV taping of the year; AAA would normally have a show around the 16th, but we’d should’ve heard about it by now. It’s unclear if AAA will return to airing these shows live in 2022 or keep these as taped. AAA airs three matches a week so something’s getting left out if it’s just TV, though it could turn up on YouTube as a bonus. That’s the same situation as Rey de Reyes. I’m not entirely confident AAA’s thought about that yet.

Other Notes

The 01/16 Terminus (Atlanta) debut show will include Baron Black vs Bandido for the ROH World Championship. Black and Jonathan Gresham are running Terminus, Gresham’s apparently calling his version of the ROH World Pure Championship but he’s obviously ok with Bandido still calling himself champion too since it’s happening on his show. (Bandido had teased this on Twitter the day before.) Everyone assumed there’d be a big Bandido/Gresham match to make up for Bandido missing Final Battle at some point and this seemed like the logical place, but I guess it’s not happening quite yet.

RIOT’s 02/11-12 La Rina participants

1. Blake Christian
2. Demonio del Aire
3. El Mago
4. Jimmy
5. Mr. Iguana
6. Erik Ortiz
7. Aeroboy
8. King Rex
9. Komander
10. Tromba – new

Rey Horus was announced for the Battle of Los Angeles.

Tijuana’s EMW says they’ll return in February.

LuchaWorld has the latest Lucha Report.

CMLL

CMLL (TUE) 12/21/2021 Arena México [CMLL, Cronica, De Lucha TV, Estrellas del Ring, Kasier Sports, Mas Lucha]
1) Mercurio, Pequeño Olímpico, Pequeño Violencia b Acero, Aéreo, Último Dragóncito   
2) Halcón Suriano Jr., Inquisidor, Robin b Arkalis, Grako, Oro Jr. [Relevos Increíbles]  
Oro Jr. replaced Electrico. Team Inquisidor took 1/3.
3) Dark Magic, Misterioso Jr., Okumura b Diamond, Guerrero Maya Jr., Magia Blanca  
Rudos took 1/3
4) Dark Panther, Místico, Titán b Ángel de Oro, Hechicero, Terrible [Relevos Increíbles]   
Tecnicos took 2/3.
5) Stuka Jr. © b Mephisto [NWA LH]   
6th defense

Cronica’s recap puts the attendance at “over 600” people. That sounds about normal for a Tuesday Arena Mexico show, unfortunately.

I haven’t watched this show, just flipped through a little bit to see if my recording came out OK. It seems like MarcaClaro has mostly finished the audio lag issue. The new bit is the announcers only coming through on the right side of the audio; if you watch this show with just a left earbud plugged in, it’s just the crowd/ring sound.

CMLL (TUE) 12/21/2021 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [Arena Coliseo Guadalajara, Fuego en el Ring, Mas Lucha]
1) Destello, Persa, Ponzoña Jr. b Estrella Del Jalisco I, Estrella Del Jalisco II, Obelisk 
2) Crixus, Optimus, Trono b Ángel Rebelde, Estrella Oriental, Halcón Negro Jr. 
Halcon Negro & Crixus continue to feud.
3) Adrenalina, Omega, Valiente Jr. b Bestia Negra, Difunto, Zandokan Jr. 
debut of Valinete Jr. here. Zandokan ended up hurt, left the match early.
4) Explosivo, Fantástico, Gallo b Bárbaro Cavernario, Demonio Maya, Principe Daniel 
5) Atlantis, Felino, Negro Casas b Al Carrillo, Rey Bucanero, Satánico 

The semimain got money thrown in. Al (“All”) Carrillo is a long time Jalisco indie luchador; a local legend counterpoint to the CMLL names. The luchadb has matches for Carrillo back to 2013 but he’s clearly been along for decades prior. This is the only time we have him as wrestling in Arena Coliseo Guadalajara but again I think we’re just missing information.

CMLL (SAT) 12/25/2021 Arena México
1) El Gallito, Micro Gemelo Diablo I, Micro Gemelo Diablo II vs Átomo, Chamuel, Perico Zacarías
2) Dalys, Princesa Sugehit, Stephanie Vaquer vs La Jarochita, Marcela, Reyna Isis [Relevos Increíbles]
3) Fugaz, Soberano Jr., Volador Jr. vs Cavernario, Negro Casas, Templario
4) El Coyote & Euforia vs Atlantis Jr. & Sangre Imperial [Gran Alternativa]
5) Místico © vs Averno [NWA MIDDLE]

This show should be OK. This is the first Mistico/Averno match in Arena Mexico since 2010, since before Mistico left to WWE. Averno’s actually won the last two. It would be a good idea for Averno to win if they’ve got long-term plans; CMLL usually does not.

CMLL isn’t advertising this show for TicketmasterLive streaming. Maybe it’s an oversight that’ll be fixed later. It’s possible they’re streaming this on YouTube or Twitch as a Christmas surprise, but then they will probably not mention that fact until the stream starts. It’s also possible CMLL is bizarrely not streaming this at all while choosing not to tell anyone so people won’t get angry with them. They’ve done both before. It’ll turn up on TV on 01/08 at any rate.

CMLL (SUN) 12/26/2021 Arena México
1) Disturbio, Pegasso, Stigma vs Espíritu Negro, Nitro, Sangre Imperial [Relevos Increíbles]
2) Dulce Gardenia, El Audaz, Hombre Bala Jr. vs Okumura, Pólvora, Virus
3) Esfinge, Fugaz, Star Jr. vs Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II, Sagrado
4) Titán vs Negro Casas
5) Euforia, Hechicero, Mephisto vs Atlantis Jr., Místico, Volador Jr.

Sangre Imperial is in the opener because that’s part of the cage build, but it isn’t a good sign if he’s in the opener the day after he’s in the Gran Alternativa final.

I hope Titan/Casas is one fall, Casas works better that way.

CMLL Informa only has Averno and the two Gran Alternativa finalists as guests. That probably means there’s a surprise coming. CMLL is teasing a surprise on Thursday Friday, though it comes off as a humble offering, not some big news.

AAA

In a surprise, AAA announced the full lineup for Rey de Reyes at a press conference Wednesday.

AAA TV (SAT) 02/19/2022 Estadio Universitario Beto Ávila, Veracruz, Veracruz
1) La Hiedra & Villano III Jr. vs Octagón Jr. & Sexy Star II and Arez & Chik Tormenta
2) Abismo Negro Jr., Látigo, Psicosis II vs Mr. Iguana, Niño Hamburguesa, Willie Mack
3) Maravilla vs Lady Shani, Flammer, ? [#1 Contenders, Reina de Reina]
4) Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón vs Hijo de LA Park, LA Park, LA Park Jr. and DMT Azul, Puma King, Sam Adonis
5) Laredo Kid vs Bandido, Cibernético, ?, Psycho Clown [Rey de Reyes]
6) Dragón Lee & Dralistico vs Fénix & Pentagón Jr.
7) John Hennigan vs Hijo Del Vikingo © [AAA MEGA]
first defense

Tickets go on sale tomorrow, so that’s why this was announced today. LA Park & Hijo del Vikingo were in attendance. Veracruz is the site of AAA first show, so it made sense AAA would run a major show on their 30th Anniversary; it’s more surprising they’d run it in February, but that avoids baseball conflicts. AAA rarely has big shows in February, so that may be about spacing out events. As always, the events of the TV show have little to nothing to do with the big shows.

John Hennigan was called Johnny Mundo at the press conference and set in a promo with the idea that Vikingo is a prodigy who’s done well but not on former champion Mundo’s level. I wouldn’t read too much into the name bit; it could just be AAA being weird. Kenny Omega came up during the press conference so they’re still keeping the carrot of that match with Vikingo still happening sometime down the road.

Dragon Lee & Dralistico posted a promo a few days ago teasing the match with the Lucha Brothers happening soon, so the surprise is it happens in AAA and not an indie show. (That promo has since disappeared.) I think the chances of a clean pin in that match are close to zero.

Cibernetico is an odd fit in the fifth match but he’s going to be in a top position as long as he’s booked. He actually should win if he’s going to be pushed in a major way. Given who else is coming back on this show, there’s a decent chance the mystery person is Killer Kross, who would also be a favorite to win.

I guess NGD and La Empresa aren’t friends now? Who can say.

Dorian Roldan explained no Deonna Purrazzo because of travels issues with Canada, which doesn’t seem to make sense because she’s American and I think she lives in the US. Maybe she’s working a show in Canada and can’t make it to Mexico? Something wasn’t explained clearly or doesn’t make sense. At any rate, the fourway is for a future title match. Roldan says the mystery woman will appear on a 01/30 taping in Merida. That’s the first we’ve heard of any other taping in 2022. Everyone assumes the mystery person is Taya, and she’ll probably win if she’s the person.

No one seemed to ask why FTR weren’t appearing.

Willie Mack is back after doing well at TripleMania Regia. The opener includes the current mixed tag title champs (Chik Tormenta & Arez) but wasn’t said to be a title match.

I presume this will be a FITE PPV show. It would be foolish to believe the problems from the past show will be addressed. They never are. I think this is an overall better card than TripleMania Regia, and one where there are more matches which are intended to be good rather than just be setups for other stories (that still haven’t really been told.)

Parka Negra says he’s doing fine after appearing knocked out two weekends ago, says the doctors called it a head injury.

Other

Aramis was announced for PWG’s Battle of Los Angeles.

RIOT’s 02/11-12 La Rina participants

1. Blake Christian
2. Demonio del Aire
3. El Mago
4. Jimmy
5. Mr. Iguana
6. Erik Ortiz
7. Aeroboy – new
8. King Rex – new
9. Komander – new

I believe there are 12 spots.

Aro Lucha announced Starlight Runner would be another new partner for the promotion, following announcing Pencilish Animation back on December 9th. AroLucha mentions Starlight Runner working on many projects, including Lucha Underground. This blog is older than dirt, which is only good in that I can easily find and point you back to a 2013 Los Angeles Times article about AAA & Starlight Runner working together. That story had Starlight Runner creating a show bible for AAA, but what it actually turned to be were the concepts for Lucha Underground – coming up with the new characters and general show ideas, including doing research to make it feel authentic. It’s a safe guess that many of those ideas eventually ended modified as more people got involved in the process of getting them to screen, but what this announcement is really saying is AroLucha is investing money in developing a concept. The previous AroLucha concept just seemed to be “here’s an indie lucha show with whichever Mexican wrestlers could get themselves across the border”, this is a bit more developed than that.

I suspect the end result of all these AroLucha announcements is another round of crowd-funding, with the idea of building up credibility by announcing these working agreements first. Arolucha hasn’t hinted in that direction yet, but there’s no real point in doing periodic announcements unless you’re trying to build buzz for something, and these aren’t the sort of announcements to make if they’re just running another TV taping. (They’re also not teasing a next show date.) They’re selling themselves to someone and since it keeps going to their fan mailing list, they’re hoping those fans contribute something.

Alberto el Patron claimed Nacion Lucha Libre will tape their TV shows at the Pepsi Center as well as run shows every other week at the Carpa Astro venue. He also says they’re planning to run the interior of Mexico (outside of Mexico City) in February and they’ll have a full calendar of events in January. The track record is some of these things will start off this way but then quietly get dropped. La Mascara says Nacion Lucha Libre and Robles Promotions are friendsworking for the common benefit of lucha libre. I think we’re going to find out if that’s true if/when they both start promoting shows at the same time.

LuchaWorld has the latest Lucha Report and this week’s Poster-Mania.

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 12/17/2021 Arena México [CMLL, Estrellas del Ring, Publimetro, R de Rudo, The Gladiatores, thecubsfan]
1) Grako & Nitro b Oro Jr. & Robin 
10:34.
2) Dulce Gardenia, Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa b Cancerbero, Hijo del Villano III, Okumura 
15:01. Tecnicos took 2/3. Dulce pinned Okumura with a distraction from Espiritu, build to the cage match.
3) Diamond & Espanto Jr. b Disturbio, Eléctrico, Halcón Suriano Jr., Inquisidor, Magnus, Sangre Imperial [Gran Alternativa, seeding battle royal]
2:31
4) Magnus & Terrible b Dragón Rojo Jr. & Inquisidor [Gran Alternativa, 8f]
6:17
5) Atlantis Jr. & Sangre Imperial b Ángel de Oro & Halcón Suriano Jr. [Gran Alternativa, 8f]
6:25
6) Disturbio & Último Guerrero b Atlantis & Eléctrico [Gran Alternativa, 8f]
6:46. UG blatantly unmasked Atlantis but the referee missed it somehow
7) Espanto Jr. & Hechicero b Diamond & Titán [Gran Alternativa, 8f]
3:12
8) Atlantis Jr. & Sangre Imperial b Magnus & Terrible [Gran Alternativa, quarterfinal]
4:11
9) Disturbio & Último Guerrero b Espanto Jr. & Hechicero [Gran Alternativa, quarterfinal]
4:14
10) Atlantis Jr. & Sangre Imperial b Disturbio & Último Guerrero [Gran Alternativa, semifinal]  
8:00
11) Averno, Cavernario, Templario b Místico, Soberano Jr., Volador Jr.  
15:44. Rudos took 1/3, Averno cleanly submitting Mistico to set up a title match next week.

Sangre Imperial advancing to the finals of the Gran Alternativa is an indictment of CMLL. There’s no point where Sangre Imperial has looked like a future star; he’s instead looked like someone who barely belongs in the promotion, and likely wouldn’t if he wasn’t Sangre Chicana’s son. That’s also probably the reason he won – the idea of an Atlantis and a Sangre Chicana teaming is too tempting to a promotion focusing on its past – but there was no moment in this run where Imperial looked better than the below-average wrestler he’s always been. No one in this group really demanded to be in the final, that was a problem with both the design of this block and the idea to this tournament, but CMLL putting a guy they’ve never pushed and never looked deserving a push into a final is a sign the cupboard is empty. Either Imperial or Coyote is going to have quickly improve or this is going to go down as one of the least impressive Gran Alternativa winners.

The main event may be worth a look when it turns up on YouTube but there’s nothing important otherwise. Next Friday’s show is a Saturday show at 5 pm. The 01/01 show remains listed as a PPV, the 12/25 show is not.

I don’t have full results for the Lucha Memes show, but results don’t really matter with Lucha Memes. Aeroboy/Negro Casas and Volador/Ricky Marvin were said to be the best two matches. Negro Navarro/Mistico was short and Mistico got thoroughly booed even as he won the match. The photos show the first few rows full on both levels, though it appears to be very empty past that. That still seems better than Memes has done in Coacalco in the recent past. I’d say we would know if Memes considered it a success if they run it again, but it is CMLL and they could just decide not to allow anyone to run again for mystery reasons.

The Memes show may be the final Arena Coliseo show until 01/08, since CMLL is running Saturday Arena Mexico shows the next two weekends.

CMLL (SUN) 12/19/2021 Arena México [CMLL, Kaiser Sports]
1) Leono & Retro b Apocalipsis & Cholo
2) Arkalis & Panterita del Ring Jr. b Eléctrico & Halcón Suriano Jr.
Team Panterita took 2/3
3) Luciferno, Misterioso Jr., Okumura b Cachorro, Espíritu Negro, Hombre Bala Jr.
Rudos took 2/3, more cage match set challenges followed
4) Felino Jr., Pólvora, Rey Bucanero b Guerrero Maya Jr., Panterita del Ring, Volcano
Rudos took 1/3
5) Dragón Rojo Jr., Felino, Negro Casas b Ángel de Oro, Soberano Jr., Titán
Rudos took 2/3, Negro Casas beating Titan and challenging him to a match

CMLL didn’t phrase it as a title match – Titan is CMLL Welterweight Champion – but that also doesn’t matter much. Titan/Casas usually is good, and a match that may benefit from the one fall focus.

Today’s Arena Puebla show has Felino Jr. & Polvora defending the Mexican National Tag Team titles against Audaz & Esfinge.

CMLL (TUE) 12/21/2021 Arena México
1) Acero, Aéreo, Último Dragóncito vs Mercurio, Pequeño Olímpico, Pequeño Violencia
2) Arkalis, Eléctrico, Grako vs Halcón Suriano Jr., Inquisidor, Robin [Relevos Increíbles]
3) Diamond, Guerrero Maya Jr., Magia Blanca vs Dark Magic, Misterioso Jr., Okumura
4) Dark Panther, Místico, Titán vs Ángel de Oro, Hechicero, Terrible [Relevos Increíbles]
5) Stuka Jr. © vs Mephisto [NWA LH]
6th defense

If Mephisto won, he might become the oldest person to ever hold this belt (but I’m not doing the research.) It seems unlikely he’ll win but this title isn’t all that important.

CMLL (TUE) 12/21/2021 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Estrella Del Jalisco I, Estrella Del Jalisco II, Obelisk vs Destello, Persa, Ponzoña Jr.
2) Crixus, Optimus, Trono vs Ángel Rebelde, Estrella Oriental, Halcón Negro Jr.
3) Adrenalina, Omega, Valiente Jr. vs Bestia Negra, Difunto, Zandokan Jr.
4) Explosivo, Fantástico, Gallo vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Demonio Maya, Principe Daniel
5) Atlantis, Felino, Negro Casas vs Al Carrillo, Rey Bucanero, Satánico

That’s a very old main event. I presume Blue Panther is already back home for the holidays so Rey Bucanero has to fill is a young spry 40+ year old.

CMLL announced they’d start carrying some NJPW merchandise in their store. It’d been notable lately how few interactions CMLL gets on Twitter nowadays; the Gran Alternativa final results tweet got 40 likes and 6 RTs. This Friday’s lineup got 70 likes and 16 RTs, which is pretty high for them. The CMLL Twitter post announcing NJPW merchandise had 203 likes and 43 RT when I checked this morning.

AAA

the bonus TV taping aired on the 19th.

AAA TV (SUN) 12/19/2021 Pepsi Center WTC, Benito Juárez, Distrito Federal [@DONDEIRweb, ESTO, Record]
1) La Parkita & Octagoncito b La Parkita Negra & Mini Gronda
Empresa beat up the tecnicos, Dave & Murder made the save
2) Goya Kong & Pimpinela Escarlata b Big Mami & Faby Apache and Keyra & Lady Maravilla
Pimpinela beat Goya
3) Argenis b Myzteziz Jr.
Keyra helped Argenis win
4) DMT Azul & Puma King b Dave The Clown & Murder Clown
Empresa took the Clowns masks
5) Aramis & Laredo Kid b Arez & Látigo
Arez replaced Toxin (injury)
6) Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón b Carta Brava Jr., Mocho Cota Jr., Tito Santana
La Empresa and the tecnicos ran in after

Just a generic taping: some tecnicos get beat up, other tecnicos make the save, those tecnicos lose as well. Keyra betraying her significant other is also standard AAA bits. Fith match was said to be very good. I think Goya Kong might actually be a tencico if she’s teaming with Pimpinela and Poder del Norte are tecnicos, but I dunno for sure. This taping probably won’t air before January 8th and it may be even longer; there’s no point in restarting new shows until they have a next taping scheduled, and there’s no sign of one of those yet.

Pimpinela apparently got busted open trying to kiss someone, wrestled the match with a bandage on.

There’s footage of an injury Parka Negra suffered back on 12/10 in Xalapa on Facebook and it’s a freak-looking thing. Parka Negra was doing a routine backward leap out of the corner over a charging opponent, where he intended to backward roll on the mat into the next spot. Parka Negra falls on his back for the roll and just doesn’t get up, like he’s knocked out. Maybe he banged his head, maybe something else was going on. He’s wrestled since. Hopefully he’s fine.

Other News

IWRG (SUN) 12/19/2021 Arena Naucalpan [Cronista del Ring, Mas Lucha]
1) Shalom b Spider Fly 
2) Artemiz & Sagitarius b Hija Del Vikingo & Satania 
3) Hell Boy, Legendario, Rasputín b Black Dragón, Fly Warrior, Fulgor I 
Hell Boy & Black Dragon continue to feud
4) Akbal, Diva Salvaje, Hijo De Dos Caras b Heddi Karaoui, Kb6, Sweet Daddy Soul 
5) Alpha Wolf, Dragón Bane, Freelance b Gran Pandemónium, Hijo Del Pandemónium, Pandemónium Jr. 
6) Jessy Ventura b Cerebro Negro [IWRG IC WELTER] 
advertised as Ventura challenging Toxin for the IWRG MEXICO, but Toxin was already listed for the AAA taping the same day by the time this show was announced (and didn’t wrestle in either)

The IWRG description for the live stream had Toxin/Jessy Ventura on it, so someone thought that match was still happening when the show started. My understanding is Toxin was injured after his appearance on Thursday’s show and it may have been a late decision if he was going to be able to wrestle on this show. Cerebro Negro would’ve been around to watch his son (Shalom) wrestlers he’s an easy sub. Maybe they’ll do Toxin/Ventura in January.

It’s weird to announce on Friday that the last show of the year is Sunday but that’s how IWRG seems to work right now. There’s a AAA spot show on Christmas Day in Arena Naucalpan. IWRG will be running another Tryout series of shows in early 2022.

Alberto held a press conference in Mexico City Monday afternoon claiming an investigation proved he was totally innocent of all charges filed by his ex-fiance in the recently concluded kidnapped case. To be clear, he didn’t provide an investigation, his story appears to be that the government investigated it. (If the government had such an investigation, they probably wouldn’t have charged him.) This part of his latest image rehab campaign; his appearance on Lucha Libre Online included Alberto again threatening to release footage that would get other ex-significant other WWE Paige fired if she talked about him again. Again, either Alberto has incredibly poor luck in relationships or is actually the cause of those issues; everyone probably knows where they stands on that already, and press conferences like this just exist to give a shield for those who are already committed to booking him.

Alberto also claimed he would work for one of the three biggest promotions in the US in 2022. A popular twitter discussion topic is “what’s the third biggest US promotion now?” (or “is GCW the third biggest US promotion”.) The reality is there is one giant promotion, one strong secondary group, and everyone else is so far behind that they’re not a competition to the first two and arguing the third is fun meaningless game.  That’s the game here too; if Alberto was going to WWE or AEW, he wouldn’t be talking about a third group. People in my mentions guessed MLW as Alberto’s destination quite often, which I would be offended about if i was MLW, but also seems like a good guess. It’s Alberto, so he could just as easily spin Robles or no one else at all; he’s about keeping his name in the news above all else. In slightly more grounded news, Alberto claimed Nacion Lucha Libre would be returning in March.

The last show at Monterrey’s Arena Feminil got attention for not having adequate medical personal at the show after the fact. It should’ve been no surprise that the next show at the arena was going to get a visit from the commission, no matter who was promoting it, and indeed it did. Home promotion’s Lucha Libre Femenil show on Friday was shut down by the Monterrey lucha libre commission after it too had no ambulance or medical personal. The promoter said they’d never been asked for a doctor and an ambulance by a commission in the 20 years of running LLF, and the nurse they scheduled to have on hand was running late. LLF also criticized the commissioner for going into the women’s locker room while they were training, on the auspicious of checking the wrestler’s licenses. LLF feels they should’ve been fined and allowed to continue the show, not shut down, and SuperLuchas makes the case the show should’ve been allowed to go on. Still, it should’ve been obvious that the next people in that venue were going to going to be examed closely for the mistakes Rompiendo Madre’s made so the commission could show they have a reason to exist – they were going to show up if only to check there was an ambulance and a doctor and they were going to shut LLF down if they didn’t have one.

International Mara defeated Payaso Purasanta in a mask match to close out Welcome to Mi Barrio’s year. Payaso Purasanta is Alejandro García, 39, 22 years a wrestler.

Sunday’s Big Lucha show ended with the Demonic Flamita team defeating the tecnicos in a main event cage match. Gravity seems to have replaced Bandido in the match, but Bandido made a run-in to save his brother at some point. (Bandido announced earlier in the weekend that he had tested negative for COVID.) The rudos – Demonic Flamita, Emperador Azteca, Yutani, Elemental, and Bendito – destroyed Bandido and declared they were taking over the Big Lucha Gym under the name “Black Generacion.”

Septimo Dragon, who suffered a life-threatening motorcycle accident, says he plans to return to wrestling in January 2022 though he doesn’t have an exact date yet.

90/00/10ss Mexico City area Super Colt passed away on Friday. He’d been sick for a while; there were recent benefit shows. Super Colt’s highest-profile work came in mid-00s IWRG, and he worked at least one CMLL show (2008-07-20 at Arena Coliseo.) He’d worked as a trainer as well in more recent times.

Box y Lucha reports Baja California luchador Fily Nava (Fernando Nava Alferez, 73) passed away on Friday. He also worked in the Mexicali Box y Lucha commission.

Kurt Brown put up found public domain footage of a 1953 lucha libre match.

Box y Lucha 3496 has Silueta 7 Mephisto on the cover amongst many other issues.

Segunda Caida review some Panamanian lucha libre.

CMLL

Last week’s CMLL Friday night Ticketmaster Live show was a great value: Averno’s return and a title match. The show costs exactly the same tonight, with none of that novelty. It’s really only for completists only. If this show was free, it probably still wouldn’t be worth most people’s time.

The only bit of interest is the Gran Alternativa block, but even that’s not that interesting. It’s not a great group of names and the matchups are restricted. CMLL secret rules prevent fathers and sons from wrestling. They’ve also seemed to stay away from the Deperadores facing each other in matches. That limits the possibilities in this tournament. I’ll take a guess, with the idea Ultimo Guerrero will want to last to the end. An early DQ to get out of there is probably just as likely.

Diamond & Titán b Dragón Rojo Jr. & Inquisidor
Espanto Jr. & Hechicero b Atlantis Jr. & Sangre Imperial
Ángel de Oro & Halcón Suriano Jr b Magnus & Terrible
Disturbio & Último Guerrero b Atlantis & Eléctrico

Diamond & Titán b Espanto Jr. & Hechicero
Disturbio & Último Guerrero b Ángel de Oro & Halcón Suriano

Diamond & Titán b Disturbio & Último Guerrero

A Coliseo Coacalco show with Averno versus Mistico in a singles match scheduled for this Sunday was bumped back to 12/26. Perhaps that change was made to make sure Arena Mexico would get to run that show first on Christmas Day; that seems to be the likely outcome from tonight’s trios main event.

Lucha Memes (SAT) 12/18/2021 Arena Coliseo
1) Rey Apocalipsis & Toro Bill Jr. vs Astrolux & Jack Cartwheel and Alas de Acero & Iron Kid and Calibus & Miike and Corsario Negro Jr. & Drako [rumble]
2) Cancerbero & Raziel vs Avisman & Black Terry
3) Makabre vs Templario
4) Solar I vs Okumura
5) Perro de Guerra Jr. vs Freelance [hair]
6) Negro Casas vs Aeroboy
7) Último Guerrero vs Virus
8) Ricky Marvin vs Volador Jr.
9) Negro Navarro vs Místico

Lucha Memes will hold their Universal event Saturday night in Arena Coliseo. Other promotions have run Arena Coliseo in the past, Ultimo Dragon’s Toryumon Mexico most often. It’s a big achievement for Memes to reach that venue, one they should be proud of accomplishing. The challenge now is selling enough tickets to make it worthwhile; Memes hasn’t been a strong draw in Coliseo Coacalco and this is a bigger venue at much higher prices. It’s also a far more loaded card than some of the recent shows and CMLL’s given it some nice support. Lucha Memes also may just be happy to reach this bucket list goal no matter how many people show up to witness it. Recent Lucha Memes shows have turned up on IWTV in about three weeks time, so this may be available to watch early next year.

CMLL (SUN) 12/19/2021 Arena Coliseo
1) Leono & Retro vs Apocalipsis & Cholo
2) Arkalis & Panterita del Ring Jr. vs Eléctrico & Halcón Suriano Jr.
3) Cachorro, Espíritu Negro, Hombre Bala Jr. vs Luciferno, Misterioso Jr., Okumura
4) Guerrero Maya Jr., Panterita del Ring, Volcano vs Felino Jr., Pólvora, Rey Bucanero
5) Ángel de Oro, Soberano Jr., Titán vs Dragón Rojo Jr., Felino, Negro Casas

Now that Niebla Roja is back, he’ll never team with Angel de Oro.

CMLL (MON) 12/20/2021 Arena Puebla
1) Asturiano & Fénix So vs Espíritu Maligno & Sombra Diabólica
2) Chamuel & Micro Ángel vs Micro Gemelo Diablo I & Micro Gemelo Diablo II
3) Halcón Suriano Jr. & Stigma vs Misterioso Jr. & Okumura
4) Felino Jr. & Pólvora © vs El Audaz & Esfinge [MEX TAG]
first defense
5) Ángel de Oro, Místico, Terrible vs Atlantis Jr., Templario, Último Guerrero [Relevos Increíbles]

Both 2/4 are rematches from last week. Felino & Polvora seemto get booked here a lot.

CMLL aired highlights of Panterita del Ring Jr. winning the lightweight title from Electrico on CMLL Informa. It’s about three minutes of single-camera clips. The match looks interesting, more technical than usual.

CMLL announced the 01/01 show will be a TicketMaster Live streaming show. No price yet. I presume the Christmas Day show will also be streaming but it’s not advertised yet.

Atlantis has been added to the Jalisco sports hall of fame, one of 9 selected from a list of 17. The induction ceremony is scheduled for February.

AAA

An AAA Twitter post noted the promotion’s first show was in Veracruz and they plan to start a new chapter in Veracruz again. The post was quote tweeted by Veracruz’s baseball team, who have about an 8,000 seat stadium. Dorian Roldan had previously talked about running an important show on the anniversary of AAA’s founding, May 15th, which lines up on a Sunday this year. Best guess this is a setup for a Veracruz baseball stadium show on that day.

The next defense of the AAA Reina de Reinas championship looks to be January 8th. Thursday’s Impact TV show mentioned the Deonna Purrazzo versus Rok-C AAA vs ROH title match set up last weekend at Final Battle will air their television show after their 01/07 Hard to Kill PPV. Those tapings are Dallas, so that’s a logical time to do it. Purrzzo is likely to keep the AAA title and win the ROH title if there’s an actual title change hands; a draw where both women walk away with their titles is plausible. Purrazzo hasn’t defended the AAA title since winning it at August’s TripleMania. Taya challenged her in a video airing on TripleMania Regia, though we have no idea if/when that match will happen.

Laredo Kid lost to Chris Bey earlier on the show. It was a good match. It was also an AAA vs NJPW match, a true rarity. I think it’s the first time it’s happened in Impact; Taurus has teamed with Bey and faced the Good Brothers, though it was before they were officially associated with NJPW, and neither Taurus nor Laredo Kid have wrestled Juice Robinson or David Finlay. Chris Bey’s been added to the Bullet Club on Impact and has appeared on NJPW US shows since, though he’s not appeared in Japan for the promotion. Still, it’s usually something NJPW asks to avoid in deference to CMLL and I was surprised it slipped through when I realized it happened. Impact didn’t emphasize that multiple promotion bit in the commentary.

AAA’s show on Space is still airing. I have no idea what they’ll air this week; it’s probably repeats and I probably won’t stream it. It’s scheduled to air at 5:30 this week, an hour early than usual.

AAA has a taping in Mexico City on Sunday. Every taping in front of fans has streamed live this year, though I don’t think that’ll be the case for this one. AAA’s made no announcement and the plans for this show came together at the last minute. I do expect it to be on all the usual YouTube channels by Monday unless AAA explicitly tells people not to film it, and those YouTube channels are not geoblocked.

Other News

IWRG (THU) 12/16/2021 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG, Lucha Central, Mas Lucha]
Moreno Family 59th Anniversary show
1) Limbo & Shalom b Hell Boy & Rey Halcón
2) Benga Lee, Diosa Quetzal, Noisy Boy b Fly Warrior, Lolita, Satania
Bengalee, recently back from injury, dove off the first floor during the match
3) Gran Pandemónium, Hijo Del Pandemónium, Pandemónium b Aster Boy, Rasputín, Sick Boy
Freelance had a bad scare on a head injury, but appeared fine later. Sick Boy finished up his IWRG run with this match.
4) Arez, Látigo, Toxin b Oficial 911, Oficial AK47, Oficial Fierro
Jessy Ventura challenged Toxin to another IWRG Mexico title match, got attacked by the Vipers.
5) Big Mami, Hijo del Alebrije, Niño Hamburguesa b Big Boy, Big Chico Che, Big Mike
Black Terry was honored after the match.
6) Alpha Wolf & Dragón Bane b Aster Boy & Demonic Flamita
Return of Los Golepadors to IWRG
7) Hijo de LA Park, LA Park, LA Park Jr. b Hijo del Espectro Jr., Jessy Ventura, Psycho Clown

Wolf/Bane vs Aster/Flamita was said to be great, maybe worth the price of the subscription alone. I’d guess Los Golepadors are around for at least the holidays, but they didn’t say anything for sure. No mention of a Sunday show; this might have been a Thursday one to make sure everyone was available, but moving away from that AAA TV taping probably helped. It looked like a good turnout. Toxin/Ventura is probably happening before the end of the year.

RIOT’s 02/11-12 La Rina participants

1. Blake Christian
2. Demonio del Aire
3. El Mago
4. Jimmy
5. Mr. Iguana
6. Erik Ortiz – new

Ricky Marvin held a press conference Thursday for a Cueva del Dragon show he’s holding in his home town of Veracruz on Friday. As part of the press conference, Mini Histeria unmasked himself as Rocky Marvin, one of Ricky’s brothers. It was previously known that Rocky was playing the AAA mini character, which has barely appeared in AAA since 2018. It was a little more surprising that he was also the Mini Clown mascot who accompanied the Psycho Clown for a few years.

That show has a Ricky Marvin/Virus main event, playing off their old rivalry. It also includes Travis Banks, who Marvin has books regularly.

Super Crazy wrestling for AJPW this last few seemed notable mostly for a new foreigner making into Japan, which has been infamously difficult since the start of the pandemic. It became more notable Thursday when Super Crazy surprisingly won AJPW’s World Junior Championship, defeating Izanagi. Super Crazy has not wrestled in Mexico this year, but he’ll be wrestling a bit more in Japan. He’ll defend his newly won title against SUGI on 01/03, a challenger picked by Super Crazy. I’m not sure how long Crazy is going to be champion, but AJPW has a relationship with MLW and Super Crazy seems to tick a few of MLW’s boxes (ex-ECW name, lucha talent.)

GCW announced Arez vs Gringo Loco vs Ninja Mack vs Jimmy Lloyd vs Jack Cartwheel vs Matt Vandagriff for their show tonight, airing on FITE. The promotion says Negro Casas would’ve faced Jonathan Gresham on the show; that might have been for the ROH Championship since the replacement match will have it on the line.

PWG announced Bandido for the Battle of Los Angeles tournament.

Blue Demon Jr. put up another video disavowing all family members and anyone who sells Blue Demon merchandise except for him personally. I don’t know what’s going on there but it doesn’t seem good. In lighter (?) Blue Demon Jr. news, he talked to Record about how he hasn’t put up a Christmas tree for years because it reminds him of his father passing away. It reads like he’s put up a tree recently.

Hidalgo luchador El Exotico was awards a Hidalgo sports award.

LuchaWorld has the latest Lucha Report.