Day: August 5, 2022

Verano de Escandalo tonight, TripleMania press conference Monday, CMLL Aniversario thoughts

thecubsfan 3 Comments

CMLL

There’s a CMLL show today, though it feels a little lost in the Anniversary news.

CMLL (FRI) 08/05/2022 Arena México
1) Angelito & Último Dragóncito vs Mercurio & Pierrothito
2) La Jarochita, Lluvia, Princesa Sugehit vs Dark Silueta, Metálica, Reyna Isis
3) Esfinge, Fugaz, Star Black vs Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Terrible
4) Atlantis, Atlantis Jr., Soberano Jr. vs Fuerza Guerrera, Stuka Jr., Templario [Relevos Increíbles]
5) Gran Guerrero, Robbie Eagles, Último Guerrero vs Averno, Dragón Rojo Jr., Volador Jr. [Relevos Increíbles]

Robbie Eagles makes his debut. They’ve got him working every show on the loop this week, as they often do with foreigners. An Eagles/Volador singles match might make sense, though CMLL’s got every Aniversario matchup on this show and might go with them instead. Looking at this lineup make me hope Angel de Oro or Niebla Roja gets rewarded with a Copa Independencia final based on the work they’ve put in so far this year.

This is a TicketmasterLive show.

CMLL (SUN) 08/07/2022 Arena México
1) Acero & Aéreo vs Pequeño Olímpico & Pequeño Polvora
2) Cachorro, Oro Jr., Valiente Jr. vs Grako, Inquisidor, Nitro
3) Diamond, Flyer, Magia Blanca vs Akuma, Dark Magic, Espanto Jr.
4) Blue Panther, Dark Panther, Star Jr. vs Cancerbero, Luciferno, Pólvora
5) Negro Casas, Robbie Eagles, Titán vs Cavernario, Euforia, Terrible

Eagles is lined up against Cavernario on both Saturday and Sunday; that’d be a fun singles match. Like Mistico, it seems like Virus is taking a bit longer to return than originally announced and so Polvora is teaming with Cancerbero & Lucifierno on this night. It’d be neat if Virus returned in time face Rocky Romero once again, though I’m not sure if CMLL would book that.

CMLL (MON) 08/08/2022 Arena Puebla
1) Asturiano, Millenium, Rey Samuray vs Black Tiger, El Malayo, Prayer
2) Mercurio © vs Angelito [CMLL MINI]
2nd defense
3) Esfinge, Fugaz, Star Black vs Panterita del Ring, Panterita del Ring Jr., Star Jr.
4) Atlantis vs Fuerza Guerrera
5) Magia Blanca, Robbie Eagles, Rugido, Volador Jr. vs Euforia, Hechicero, Soberano Jr., Stigma

The minis match was the one result that didn’t turn up last week, so of course, it led to a title match. I’m surprised an Altantis/Fuerza Guerrera single match is happening.

CMLL (TUE) 08/09/2022 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Capitán Cobra, Micro, Obelisk vs Gran Kenut, Jabalí, Jhonny Dinamo
2) Optimus & Trono vs Omar Brunetti & Vaquero Jr.
3) Ángel Rebelde & Halcón Negro Jr. vs Huiztil & Sangre Azteca
4) Adrenalina, Explosivo, Fantástico vs Bestia Negra, Difunto, Zandokan Jr.
5) Dulce Gardenia, Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa vs Furia Roja, Guerrero de la Muerte, Joker
6) Euforia, Hijo del Soberano, Soberano Jr. vs Averno, Hijo del Villano III, Robbie Eagles

Guadalajara continues to book some unexpected names. Hijo del Soberano is Euforia’s older brother. He came to Mexico City and CMLL for a while in 2008, wrestled a few times in opening matches (when far fewer matches were televised; nothing of his made TV) and returned to his long run in wrestling in Torreon. There’s a handful of 92/93 UWA matches listed as Soberano Jr., the name Euforia used before Euforia, and I’ve long thought those might actually be this brother instead because he’s been around for so long. It’s very unexpected to see back in Arena Coliseo Guadalajara and a treat for the family to get to be a trios.

Normal roster booking is 2-3 matches a week. Foreigners seem to get booked on every single show possible. This will be the fifth night in a row for Robbie Eagles. No match on Wednesday, though he’ll surely be on Informa.

CMLL Aniversario tickets go on sale on 08/20. CMLL hasn’t announced prices. The last full-capacity Aniversario was in 2019 (cage match) and prices ran from 483 pesos to 2352. The most expensive ticket for an Aniverasrio was the 3724 pesos tickets in 2014 (UG/Atlantis) and 2015 (Sombra/Atlantis.) This year’s TripleMania Mexico City tickets run from 440 to 8030.

The dynamics of the Aniversario main event:

  • Atlantis & Fuerza Guerrera are involved to sell tickets, but not to have the match. CMLL would just have that as announced singles match if they were going to do it, because it would draw an easy sell out. They definitely wouldn’t have those two try to wrestle 2-3 matches on the same night. Most fans attending will know in their head that Atlantis & Fuerza are not having a mask match that day, but they will still be very upset in their heart if it doesn’t happen. Whomever team stops that mask match from happening will become the biggest heels of the night. Atlantis would be the obvious favorite if this match happened and the fans would be happy with him winning, but it’s not happening.
  • Averno & Ultimo Guerrero as a final is the Bad Ending, the one where people who don’t like CMLL (and even those who do) will point out as CMLL cheating their fans. I think CMLL is aware. There is little chance Averno is going to beat Ultimo Guerrero, and it’s someone getting a haircut instead of someone getting unmasked. The energy in this rivalry is more about the personalities than what’s happened in ring because Ultimo Guerrero’s won all the big matches. The Aniversario fans may be more kind to this match-up than the internet ones because these are guys who’ve been around forever and Ultimo Guerrero has that past Aniversario history (and especially with Atlantis.) Still, they’d need to have an incredible singles match to avoid people in attendance calling this a disappointing Aniversario.
  • Templario & Soberano fits the mold of the Volador & Sombra feud from 2013, the one that ‘stole’ the Anniversary main event mask match spot away from Atlantis & Ultimo Guerrero. They’d do their best to have a great match and athletically would have the best match of the foursome. The emotions would be higher with the other matches. The fans who come for just the big shows are only just starting to see this as a top level rivalry and would react just as poorly to it being in the final as they did with that Volador & Sombra match. I feel the same way; this mask match would be great but it feels too soon unless there are outside circumstances we don’t yet know about. CMLL booking patterns say that when one guy (Templario) won the last big match, the other guy (Soberano) wins the mask match. I don’t think this one is happening though.
  • Atlantis Jr. & Stuka Jr. has built all year (perhaps accidentally at first) and is the most heated of these rivalries. They’re also two guys who have one major show main event between them, Stuka & Rey Cometa beating Namajague & Okumura in 2013’s Homenaje a Dos Leyendas. Both guys are now in the top mix, but neither are super over and putting them in an Aniversario main event on their own would be a major test. Supporting the match with a tournament (and making sure it’s not the worse option, the recent CMLL cage match strategy) takes away a lot of that risk. This scenario still would have to be carefully booked to get the fan reaction outcome CMLL wants and maybe the biggest mystery is how CMLL wants Atlantis Jr. to be perceived. Is he the heir to Atlantis’ throne as the gentleman face of the promotion? Is the rudo rebel teaming with Gran Guerrero? He’s been both all year, and this looks like the moment where CMLL will finally have to pick a direction.

The one indistubile fact is whomever denies Atlantis & Fuerza Guerrera of a mask match is going to be hated for the rest of the night, and maybe long after. That team should be Averno & Ultimo Guerrero if Atlantis Jr. is meant to be a face; he can avenge his father in the final round of the tournament before facing (and almost certainly) unmasking Stuka Jr. If CMLL wants Atlantis Jr. to be booed like a heel, the surest path there is defeating his father himself. Atlantis Jr. in interviews Thursday said he would not land a hand on his father, which suggests they’re going to face way: Atlantis & Averno win the battle royal, Atlantis Jr. & Stuka Jr. defeat Soberano & Templario, Averno & UG defeat Atlantis & Fuerza, Atlantis Jr. & Stuka defeat Averno & UG, and Atlantis Jr. beats Stuka Jr. for his mask. That’s just me using logic, not inside knowledge, and Mexican wrestling doesn’t always work on logic.

La Jarochita is a significant but not overwhelming favorite in the women’s mask match. Jarochita & Lluvia are a pair as the masked tag team champions and Jarochita losing her mask would change that dynamic. Reyna Isis saying on Informa “everyone is going to find out which one of them is more beautiful” gave the feel of someone who expects to be losing her mask and is already thinking about her new look. As often, women’s mask matches seem to be more about marketing the loser than boosting the winner.

Octagon says Fuerza Guerrera ducked a mask match with him out of fear, and they let down their fans by never doing the match. Octagon also suggested Fuerza would back out of the match, which is unlikely to happen. CMLL’s decision that Atlantis/Fuerza is the better tease of a mask match than Octagon/Fuerza can be hotly debated. CMLL’s relationship with Atlantis makes it a no brainer choice for them.

I didn’t catch it live, but Box y Lucha’s report has CMLL saying the Aniversario will be a PPV. There have been years where CMLL has not streamed the show at all or only put up on a few hour delay, in an attempt to get a few more people to come to the show. I guess that report specifically doesn’t say this PPV will be live either, but TicketmasterLive can only stream live so we’re probably fine. (I won’t feel totally fine until the purchase link goes live.) I expect it’ll be more than the 99 pesos/$5 USD price they’ve been using all year but we’ll see.

Currently, the Ticketmaster CMLL page has PPV purchase links for 08/05, 08/12 and 08/26, but not for the Gran Prix. That’s likely an oversight, and maybe that’ll also have a higher price when it turns up. CMLL’s waited as long as the Wednesday prior to a Friday show to put up a link, so nothing to worry too much about now. The Gran Prix would be a good show to put on FITE or another streamer more international fans might find it, but that would be out of character for CMLL.

Mistico’s injury was worse than originally let on. The 08/17 Gran Prix show will be his return match, Mistico told the press on Thursday, and he expect he still won’t be 100% at that time. Mistico had a fracture in his left foot and was told he could either put it a cast for 10-12 weeks with no guarantee the bones would heal or get the operation right way. Mistico went with the operation and joked that he’s now half robot after all the operations. Mistico says he was shocked and surprised he was not the included in the Aniversario main event, but talked up all eight wrestlers and he plans on challenging the winner.

Back in November 2021, Mesias told Record he had gained all rights to that name. IMPI doesn’t reflect this, but it fits with CMLL comfortably using that name in his appearances. Mesias has wrestler like his long high impact career has caught up to him whenever I’ve seen him lately, but an 8v8 match may hide some of those weaknesses. Ultimo Guerrero will certainly want to work with him. I hope it’s more towards the start and middle of the match rather than the end as part of a build to another match.

Tiger Mask IV said the Gran Prix would be first time in Mexico since 2009. He wrestled in CMLL in 1996. Tiger Mask I last wrestled in CMLL in 2005. Maybe he came to Mexico on vacation?

AAA

Verano de Escandalo is tonight at 9:30 pm airing on Space. It’s a lot of matches to promote matches at TripleMania Mexico City on October 15th

  • Fenix, Pentagon Jr., and Taya against Chik Tormenta, Hijo del Vikingo, Taurus
    • this officiallyofficial annouce Vikingo/Fenix for 10/15 and to give the La Familia faction an impressive win.
  • Lady Shani vs Hijo del Tirantes, hair vs hair.
    • Lady Shani’s mask is not on the line
    • AAA posted a Tirantes Sr./Hijo del Tirantes vigentte to alert fans that something screwy may happen with this match, but that is the expectation. Hijo del Tirantes is good at doing a couple of spots with the not-present Faby Apache and not so good when he has to do a normal match, so all the help they can get may be needed.
    • It’s possible this is Lady Shani getting a big win to set up her being included in a multi-woman title match at TripleMania
  • Charly Manson, Pagano, Psycho Clown vs Abismo Negro Jr., Cibernetico, Psicosis
    • Cibernetico and Pagano started feuding in February over past AAA vs current AAA, have not progressed at all, and are expected to announce a hair match for 10/15
    • I’m not sure if it’ll be a singles match. It effectively won’t be a singles match, Cibernetico just doesn’t appear physically capable of having a decent singles match in 2022. The rest of the Vipers will get involved, it’s a question of if it’ll be something like “capitan loses their hair” with tag partners, or if the Vipers will just run interference for most of the match.
    • Psycho Clown seemed slated for something with Andrade & Dr. Wagner Jr. last we knew, but Andrade seemed on bad terms with AAA last we heard about that. It seems weird for AAA not to have a big plan for Psycho Clown on TripleMania so maybe something turns up
  • Laredo Kid vs Willie Mack vs Bandido vs Johnny Caballero
    • This is not currently advertised to air live on Space. AAA’s ended up running behind schedule and Space starts when it wants to start. I expect this will end up airing live.
    • Johnny Caballero hasn’t wrestled since the end of June due to injury and it’s unclear if he’ll be healthy for this show. AAA is unlikely to announce his status ahead of time.
    • This match appears to exist just because these guys were already booked, with no reason beyond that. None of them seem to have significant roles for TripleMania either.
  • Cuatrero, Forastero, Sanson vs DMT Azul, Puma King, Sam Adonis for the AAA Trios Championship
    • This is unlikely to air on Space live. It’ll likely air on 08/13.
    • Both trios are undefeated since coming to AAA as heel invaders. Both feel like they haven’t had much of a destination for their win streaks in a while, as acts AAA pushed hard and then either decided weren’t getting over or weren’t interesting. This match being below the match that’s “here are four human beings!” is not a great sign; maybe that gets changed.
    • There’s slightly more upside with NGD and they’re booked main eventing an upcoming TV taping so it makes more sense for them to win the titles. Really AAA’s booked this like it’s unimportant who wins. There’s a decent chance of a trios title defense on TripleMania and it may just end up including both of these teams no matter the decision here for lack of anything else to do with them.
  • Aramis, Mr. Iguana, Niño Hamburguesa vs Diva Salvaje, Dulce Canela, Jessy Ventura
    • This won’t air on Space live unless something bizarre happens. It’ll likely air on 08/13.
    • It’s two teams of “fan favorite characters teaming with a high flyer”; both teams would better with foils but this is just who’s left.
    • AAA openers seem to be just about exposing the characters to the audience and seeing who gets over. It doesn’t matter who wins. These wrestlers are all probably headed to Copa TripleMania.

This show is airing on Space starting at 9:30 pm CT. It is not officially airing internationally. This is not like last year where AAA could not air outside of Mexico, they’ve just made the choice not to put it on FITE. It’s not a strong international lineup. There definitely are non-Mexico people who enjoy AAA being a hot mess, and those people would enjoy Tirantes/Shani. Fenix & Penta would’ve had people checking out the show just to see them interact with Vikingo. I don’t think it would’ve added up to a big number for AAA & FITE, but it feels strange for a named AAA event not to be available internationally. There’s almost no awareness this show is going on because it’s not on FITE, and that’s not an ideal situation for a show that’s seems to be setting the lineup for TripleMania. If AAA wants to grow an international fanbase, it’s got to exist for that audience more than just than day of a TripleMania.

I’m planning on watching the show, so I might as well stream it on Twitch so everyone else can watch along, assuming AAA or Space doesn’t shut me down. A motivated person can easily watch Space without my assistance; you could try googling “canal space libre” or pay for an IPTV service like I do. My IPTV service worked perfectly this past Saturday and terribly last week, and I have almost no control of how it’s going to stream tonight. AAA’s Aguascalientes promoter has streamed spot shows on their Facebook in the past. I think they may be strongly discouraged from doing that this time for the TV portion of the show but it’s possible the local opener may stream.

Azteca announced AAA will hold their 10/15 TripleMania Mexico City lineup press conference on Monday morning. It’ll take place in Arena Ciudad de Mexico, same place as the show. That follows the AAA pattern of a big show, then a big show lineup press conference soon after. No time is announced, guess it’s around 11 AM. Dorian Roldan, in an interview on Thursday I write about later on, said they’d announce “80%” of the names. Maybe figure on some Luchador Sorpresa spot and Copa TripleMania not all announced. The Verano de Escandalo preview was basically going over this lineup, but to repeat the five matches that look set:

  • Pentagon Jr. vs Villano IV in a mask vs mask match
  • Fenix vs Hijo del Vikingo (c) for the AAA Mega Championship
  • Cibernetico vs Pagano (or a team match with them as the focus) in a hair vs hair match
  • Taya defending the Reina de Reinas championship against Thunder Rosa? and/or Flammer? and/or Lady Shani?
  • Copa TripleMania

AAA’s been pretty variable about how many matches they have on these shows, running between 7 and 10 in recent years. Everyone match left to be added is probably either an attempt at getting international fans to buy based on seeing AEW names, repaying some favor to another US promotion or trying to wedge as many people on the TripleMania card as possible. FTR and Sammy/Tay may defend their championships, and those are likely to be 3 or 4 team matches if they happen. Psycho Clown seemed slated for a match with Andrade & Wagner back at TripleMania Monterrey, and I have no idea if that’s still happening. Vampiro and Latin Lover seemed to be doing something with Jeff Jarrett, and I also have no idea if that’s still happening. There’s been no Marvel matches since Monterrey and I’m not sure if we still need to reserve a match for them.

AAA announced a new taping on Wednesday

AAA TV (SAT) 09/03/2022 Auditorio Municipal, Torreón, Coahuila
1) Brazo De Oro Jr. & Komander vs Dinámico & Emperador Azteca
2) Mr. Iguana, Niño Hamburguesa, Sexy Star vs Carta Brava Jr., Crazy Boy, La Hiedra
3) ?, Dave The Clown, Murder Clown vs Rey Escorpión, Taurus, Villano III Jr.
4) Dragón Lee & Dralistico vs Abismo Negro Jr. & Flamita
5) Lady Shani & Pagano vs Chik Tormenta & Cibernético
6) Bandido, Hijo Del Vikingo, Laredo Kid vs Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón

The main event is probably the best NGD match that could happen, and a reason to suspect they’re winning. (La Empresa is nowhere to be found in upcoming tapings.)

AAA aired a lot of vignettes after the Monterrey TripleMania back in April. One teased a Shani/Pagano vs Tormenta/Cibernetico match. It’s finally there.

Abismo Negro Jr. & Flamita don’t make partner sense as far as far as factions but it should make for a good match regardless. Dragon Lee & Dralistico seem positioned for a tag title match with FTR, but there’s been no indication FTR will be on TripleMania so far. They haven’t been on any of them this year so far.

Monster Clown hasn’t been on TV since getting hurt at the end of last year (storyline by La Empresa, a plot point that seems to be long dropped) but he has been working spot shows lately and would make sense as the mystery person.

Crazy Boy as a rudo is odd; he’s teaming with Iguana & Hamburgesa in Saltillo so something may be happening there. Brazo de Oro Jr. makes his AAA TV debut; the openers remain on-screen tryouts and guys waiting to see if a spot opens higher up.

This show looks like it’s going to turn around quick and air 09/10 and 09/17. It’s too boring of an explanation, so take my word that the four announced shows (tonight in Aguascalientes, 08/20 in Saltillo, 09/03 in Torreon and 09/10 at the Hard Rock) might be all of the TV tapings left before TripleMania. They could squeeze in one more

AAA and the Mexico Secretary of Tourism unveiled a lucha libre exhibit on Thursday. The exhibit is in Mexico City and will be open this month. The government tourist side talked about more partnerships to promote tourist cities, as AAA did in 2021, though not with a lot of details. Dorian Roldan later explained that are plans with the Secretary of Tourism for regular lucha libre shows in Cancun aimed at tourists, though it may be more of an AAA spin off than AAA itself. It’s still months away from happening, but they’re also talking about something similar in Acapulco.

AAA people talked about lucha libre and AAA specifically being important to Mexican’s worldwide cultural identity.

That was part of a larger Dorian Roldan interview with Mas Lucha, lasting about 15 minutes about various matters. A key point is Roldan confirms that they’ll be announced “80% of the cast for TripleMania” next week. Maybe that’s everything but Copa TripleMania.

Roldan mentions the last two years were tough for AAA and this year was uncertain as far as restrictions; they would’ve liked to do more special shows but it was hard to be sure if live events were always going to be allowed. Roldan mentioned the economy didn’t allow AAA to sign contracts with wrestlers as they’d like in the last year and is expecting they’ll be able to start signing wrestlers to mutually beneficial exclusive deals starting later this year. (This came up from a discussion of the Lucha Brothers.) He’s very proud of the AAA wrestlers for having the best match at the Ric Flair show and raising the identity of AAA.

He was asked about a Chris Jericho or Kenny Omega on this year’s TripleMania and mentioned talking to their representative Barry Bloom, but nudged towards those particular guys possibly showing up in future years rather than this year.

Roldan mentioned a lucha libre project they’re involved in Cancun that may not actually use the AAA name or even uses AAA wrstlers, but be aimed at the tourists who come to the region, and could be expanded to other beach towns. He was asked about the plans mentioned earlier this year to go to Japan, Columbia and the US. AAA did go to US for the Dallas show and plan to have more shows in the future. The Columbia promoters are still very excited about running an AAA show, but Roldan wasn’t sure if it would happen in Q4 2022 or “in the near future.” AAA has a date in Japan for Korakuen Hall on 10/24, but visa limitations brought on by COVID has made it uncertain if they’ll be able to use the date. It didn’t sound like it was a lost cause yet but they’re just stuck waiting and seeing if the situation gets better.

IWRG

IWRG (THU) 08/04/2022 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG, Mas Lucha]
1) Rey Minos & Spider Fly b Rey Aztaroth & Súper Boy EN VIVO | Triangular explosivo: Laredo Kid VS Aramis VS Aster Boy | Los Oficiales VS Los Cerebros (posted by mluchatv)
2) Destiny & Noisy Boy b Garra Mortal & Vértigo EN VIVO | Triangular explosivo: Laredo Kid VS Aramis VS Aster Boy | Los Oficiales VS Los Cerebros (posted by mluchatv)
this is Tijuana’s Destiny showing up in IWRG for unclear reasons.
3) Fantasy, Mega, Paymon b Avisman, Bombero Infernal, Dr. Karonte EN VIVO | Triangular explosivo: Laredo Kid VS Aramis VS Aster Boy | Los Oficiales VS Los Cerebros (posted by mluchatv)
Retro match, only Paymon replaced Tony Rivera
4) Oficial 911, Oficial AK47, Oficial Fierro DQ Cerebro Negro, Cerebro Negro Jr., Dr. Cerebro EN VIVO | Triangular explosivo: Laredo Kid VS Aramis VS Aster Boy | Los Oficiales VS Los Cerebros (posted by mluchatv)
911 faked a foul
5) Laredo Kid b Aster Boy and Aramis Laredo vs Aramis vs Aster Boy | IWRG (posted by mluchatv)
Aster Boy was pinned by Aramis after Puma de Oro interference, Laredo Kid caught Aramis in a fast cradle. Laredo and Aramis talked about a singles rematch.

The main event was a disappointment watching the stream live. The stream died after a couple of minutes, was down for a while, and then the match was wrapping up not long after they came back. The Puma de Oro interference was lame and perfunctory and Aramis and Laredo Kid wrestled on their own for only a couple of minutes after.

Streaming problems just happen, even with the best of efforts. CMLL’s Aniversario announcement on Wednesday was delayed due to stream issues too. Seeing two straight days of big events getting messed with by streaming issues has me super anxious about trying to stream AAA tonight. Mas Lucha later uploaded the full version of the match quickly and that’s all you can do in that situation. Still, the match wasn’t what it sounded like on paper in the bits that we saw, and it definitely didn’t draw. This was the fourth show in eight days for this venue, but it’s still not a positive sign for the star power of these guys.

The opener is said to be the match of the night, and maybe the one to go back and watch.

Big Lucha 

Participants in Phase 2 of the Big Lucha tournament have been announced

There’s a slight change in the tournament. The 07/29 was pretty much just the phase 1 of the tournament, it didn’t draw, and so they’re not doing that again. The four quarter-final matches will take place on the Wednesday Big Lucha World broadcasts starting next week, with only the semifinal and final on the August main Big Lucha show. We don’t know these brackets yet, but that means something like Komander/Ricky Marvin will be airing on a Wednesday late night show.

Other News

LuchaWorld has the latest Lucha Report.

Monterrey wrestler Erick Snake (Erick Belmares) passed away on Thursday. He mostly wrestled in extreme matches in the 2000s and 2010s, with his most recent match in 2018. He also wrestled in Texas as Chico Latino in less extreme matches. He’d been dealing with an illness for some time.

Fans for a Facebook ad for putting Arena Coliseo Reynosa up for sale, though there doesn’t seem to be an official statement from the people who own the building beyond. It’s possible someone could be pranking people, but locals seem to think it’s real. Arena Coliseo Reynosa has been the local home for lucha libre since the 60s and is about the same size as Arena Lopez Mateos. Panther Promotions has been running the building weekly this year, and was running regularly there before the pandemic. Panther don’t appear to be the same people as running the building, and they’ve not acknowledged any issue. Arena Coliseo Reynsa is old, maintenance on these buildings is expensive (and often not done), and every venue owner lost a lot of money during the worst of the pandemic, so it’s reasonable that owners may want to flip it. It would be very harmful for the local Reynosa scene if it went away.

Flamita is celebrating the opening of his gym on Sunday with a Black Generation/Big Lucha show. He really is opening a gym, but I’m under the impression it’s just a gym and they’re not doing a rival promotion angle or anything like that.

Arena Guatemala Mexico, which sporadically brings in Mexican wrestlers, announced the UWA is coming back and it just so happens to be coming back in Guatemala in October. This group also loves their old titles and UWA titles were defended and changed hands in Guatemala. Astro de Oro won the UWA Junior Light Heavyweight championship from the Killer in 1990, and Promotions Mora/LLI invented a Intercontinental Heavyweight championship basically to be a Guatemala-specific belt. I suspect that’s what coming back. I’m not really sure who owns the UWA trademarks today with

An interview with 17-year-old Pachuca referee el Catrin.