Noches de Campeones, Dragon Lee to WWE, Chavez brothers close the year out strong, Sin Salida

Site Notes

the (end of) 2022 Tapatia awards is now open for voting. You can now vote up to your top five wrestlers. I’ve also added a small poll at the end. You can vote through January; voting closes 12:01 AM on February 1st.

This post ends the 20th year of this blog. I have lots of thoughts about that, but also I have a post that’s a day and half overdue. Let’s do that instead.

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 12/30/2022 Arena México [CMLL, ESTOExcelsiorKaiser SportsPublimetoR de Rudo, thecubsfan]
1) Angelito, Kaligua, Último Dragóncito b Mercurio, Minos, Pierrothito Angelito, Kaligua y Último Dragoncito salen con la mano en alto ante Pierrothito, Minos y Mercurio (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre) CMLL - KALIGUA- ANGELITO - ÚLTIMO DRAGONCITO VS MINOS-PEQ. PIERROTH - MERCURIO/ARENA MEXICO/30-12-22 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
2) La Jarochita, La Vaquerita, Princesa Sugehit b Dalys, Olympia, Reyna Isis Princesa Sugehit, Vaquerita y Jarochita derrotan a Dalys, Reyna 1sis y Olymp1a (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
17:51. Olympia replaced Hera a few hours before the show
3) Esfinge, Fugaz, Star Black b El Coyote, Hijo del Villano III, Pólvora CMLL - FUGAZ - STAR BLACK - ESFINGE VS H. DEL VILLANO III - COYOTE -- PÓLVORA/ARENA MEXICO /30-12-22 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) Fugaz, Esfinge y Star Black derrotaron a los rudos Pólvora, Hijo del Villano III y Coyote (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
4) Atlantis, Negro Casas, Soberano Jr. b Hechicero, Mephisto, Yota Atlantis, Negro Casas y Soberano Jr. logran venir de atrás para vencer a Hechicero, Mephisto y Yota (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
12:53
5) Ángel de Oro & Niebla Roja © b Titán & Volador Jr. [CMLL TAGÁngel de Oro y Niebla Roja retuvieron el Campeonato Mundial de Parejas contra Volador Jr  y Titán (posted by mluchatv) Ángel de Oro y Niebla Roja derrotan a Volador Jr. y Titán (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre) CMLL - TITÁN  - VOLADOR JR.  VS  NIEBLA ROJA - ÁNGEL DE ORO / ARENA MEXICO / 30-12-22 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
20:15. 7th defense

The tag title match started at top speed and kept going that way for about twenty minutes. It didn’t give much room to build, but those two teams can do a lot and they had plenty of ideas to fill the time. The Cbavez Brothers seem like unsung heroes even instead of CMLL, and it was good to see them get a big win to end the year. It was a great match.

Not a lot to go out of your way to see elsewise. The minis continue to work hard. Soberano is very over. Turnout was strong for this type of show, as shows have ben all week.

CMLL didn’t acknowledge Hera’s absence but it’s said to be another COVID positives. We’re not as bad off as we were two years or even one year ago, but maybe this is just going to be a December/January issue for a long time to come.

CMLL has Sin Salida on Sunday. It has both the first Faby/Marcela singles match and the 12 person cage match. Mask loser pools:

  • seem safe: Difunto, Zandokan Jr., Neón, Oro Jr., Valiente Jr.
  • you can’t totally rule it out I guess but doesn’t seem the right fit: Nitro, Inquisidor, Millenium, Retro
  • no one’s going to be surprised if it happens: Apocalipsis, Príncipe Odín Jr., Bengala

I’ve been thinking it’s Apocalipsis all along, guess we’ll see if I’m right. This is on Ticketmaster Live. Start time on Sundays is 5 pm CT.

CMLL (MON) 01/02/2023 Arena Puebla
1) Micro Gemelo Diablo I, Micro Gemelo Diablo II, Micro Sagrado vs Átomo, Chamuel, Periquito Sacaryas
2) Millenium, Oro Jr., Rey Samuray vs Apocalipsis, Inquisidor, Siky Ozama
3) Guerrero Maya Jr., Pegasso, Stigma vs Leo (Jalisco), Omar Brunetti, Vaquero Jr. (Jalisco)
rematch
4) Esfinge, Fugaz, Místico vs Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Yota
5) Titán © vs Negro Casas [CMLL WELTER]
6th defense

CMLL (TUE) 01/03/2023 Arena México
1) Micro Gemelo Diablo I, Micro Gemelo Diablo II, Micro Sagrado vs Átomo, Chamuel, Periquito Sacaryas
2) Bengala, Eléctrico, Neón vs Apocalipsis, Cholo, Nitro
3) La Jarochita, La Magnifica, Marcela vs Amapola, Dalys, Tiffany
4) Esfinge, Fugaz, Star Black vs El Coyote, Felino, Felino Jr.
5) Atlantis Jr., Valiente, Volador Jr. vs El Hijo del Villano III, Gran Guerrero, Templario

Villano III in a main event is unusual but otherwise nothing jumps out on this card. Apocalipsis is working Monday and Tuesday next week, which is unusual for him.

CMLL (FRI) 01/06/2023 Arena México
1) Mercurio vs Angelito
rematch from 2022-05-27 (minis title match)
2) Dark Panther, Panterita del Ring, Panterita del Ring Jr. vs Cancerbero, Luciferno, Virus
rematch from 2022-11-25
3) Ángel de Oro & Niebla Roja vs Guerrero Maya Jr. & Titán
rematch from 2022-01-23 (CMLL tag title change); Maya replacing Volador Jr.
4) Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II, Sagrado vs Euforia, Hechicero, Mephisto
rematch from 2022-09-30 (then a trios title match)
5) Soberano Jr. vs Templario
rematch from 2022-07-29 (Leyenda de Plata final)

This is the first part of two Best of 2022 shows. They’re the same matches as announced a few weeks ago. All of these are non-title matches. Soberano and Templario might end up back on the 2023 list.

Ultimo Dragoncito posted a photo from micros training with both MicroAngel and Micro Sagrado, so they’re different people (or someone went through a lot of effort to fake it.) That’s good news for the Micros, who could use more participants.

Difunto rates his career so far as an 8 out of 10 and hopes to be a full time Mexico City wrestler in 2023.

Zandokan Jr. says he was inspired by Emilio Charles Jr. and Bestia Salvaje, who both trained under his grandfather. Saying you were inspired by talented rudos from the two decades ago is a great way to win hearts. Zandokan claims he’s staying into the cage until the end.

Dragon Lee & AAA

Actually serious though it sounds like a joke: if WWE wants to conquer the Latin American market, they got to understand it enough not to announce a big signing on the Dia de Inocentes. Wednesday night was full of confused Mexican fans (and one English-speaking announcer) thinking Dragon Lee must be pulling a weird prank by announcing a ‘fake’ WWE deal. Mas Lucha had even posted that exact “signed by WWE” joke a few hours earlier with Tonalli. I’m sure there are people who woke up Thursday morning still confused about what the deal was with Dragon Lee. He is truly signed with WWE.

ESPN’s story on Dragon Lee’s differed a bit from what I had heard, includes some additional details and had WWE quotes. That report has a Dragon Lee start day in January. (I had heard February.) Finn Balor is credited with reaching out to Dragon Lee a few months to start the process. It’s often a fellow wrestler who reaches out from the WWE to a wrestler in these situations; it’s useful to include a friendly voice and there’s less of a worry about contract tampering that way. Dragon Lee said he always wanted to go to WWE, even after appearing on AEW TV. It’s the only thing he can say in this situation, but it also just may be true. WWE talks about this Dragon Lee signing as part of looking more globally again and trying to make in-roads into Latin America.

It was time for Dragon Lee to move on. He didn’t have much left to do in Mexico and it didn’t look like NJPW would be taking him back. ROH was good for him, but that went away and may have alerted him that these US chances are not forever. Dragon Lee and AEW could’ve done cool things together, but his better chances might reasonably be in  WWE at the moment. (Dragon Lee and Bandido, good friends getting signed around the same time, are going to be compared to each other for the next few years.) CMLL’s not bringing Dragon Lee back and Dragon Lee wouldn’t have been happy there if he did. AAA’s not pushing Dragon Lee past Hijo del Vikingo and I don’t know that would’ve been enough if he did. There was nothing left for him out here and his skills would’ve atrophied just doing the same things with the same people. I have the same skepticism as everyone else has for a Mexican wrestler in a WWE environment, and maybe more concern about what mental condition he’ll return to the outside world in if he doesn’t work out there, but it’s still worth taking the risk over doing nothing.

AAA was aware both FTR and Dragon Lee were done in AAA after Noche de Campeones. Others knew as well, and spent the last few days speculating how AAA was going to get out of it – would Rush step it for Dragon Lee? would AAA add another team to win the belts? AAA did the simplest thing for them, going with their originally planned finish and vacating the titles. AAA’s championships have booked their championships into meaning very little anyway, and there was no established AAA pair that would’ve taken much from a win from FTR. Hermanos Lee winning the belts and immediately vacating them was a defensible move, only because of the mistakes AAA had already made.

AAA used the win to celebrate Dragon Lee going to WWE, in a similar way that CMLL did with Mascara Dorada many years ago. The only clip they posted on YouTube was Dragon Lee signing, also got their belt shown on WWE social media, “Lucha Libre AAA” was mentioned in every WWE announcement about Dragon Lee’s signing. Dorian Roldan’s only Twitter post of the night was praising Dragon Lee for going to WWE. A WWE person was on hand at the AAA show to record the moment, though WWE ended up using the AAA footage instead. This came off like AAA trying to take advantage of the Dragon Lee deal to get themselves a little closer to WWE, or at least hope to get a little attention for themselves from the spotlight. (The popular reaction instead seemed to be ‘why would AAA make someone champion who is just leaving, that makes no sense’, but that didn’t seem to matter.) There was a recent discussion about which (if any) company WWE would be more interested in working with after “NXT Mexico” came up again. It’s clear AAA would be eager to work with WWE if given the chance.

The flip side is AAA’s relationship with AEW seems like it’s changing, if not totally going away. Dave Meltzer, in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, says AAA will no longer book AEW wrestlers to win champions because they just can’t reliably get dates on them. The WON notes Sammy Guevara & Tay Melo weren’t actually scheduled to lose their titles on Noches de Campeones, because AAA had planned on doing a surprise title change back in Madero (which they also missed.) Abismo Negro Jr. & Flammer would’ve won the belts a few days earlier under that plan. Konnan’s speech stripping Melo & Guevara of the tag team titles got attention because Konnan said the AEW couple had made ridiculous demands, and people not watching the show failed to understand that was a storyline bit. Konnan also said Guevara & Melo had missed three shows, specifically not two. That didn’t seem to be a storyline, but I’m not sure what that third show would’ve been.

We also don’t know how many shows FTR were scheduled to be at, but for sure the plan couldn’t have been for them to disappear between March and December. It’s certainly felt like AAA couldn’t switch the titles off of them until AEW had their ROH title change, though I don’t know that’s a fact. FTR still could’ve come back and defended them against random teams, same as NGD, and there are no answers given as to why that didn’t happen. The WON notes Kenny Omega is an exception as a title holder for AAA, feeling that he’s so valuable that they’d put the megachampionship on him if he was interested and just deal with the consequences. The report is also clear that AAA remain interested in bringing AEW wrestlers outside of title matches (and maybe just for one offs), like they did with the Young Bucks in Monterrey and tried to do with the Hardys in Tijuana.

Putting AAA championships on AEW was a miserable failure. It’s great AAA has realized that and will stop doing that. They’ve also got to look at it just not being an AEW issue. Flammer’s probably a mixed tag team champion in part because Taya’s not around to do her title match with Flammer. AAA had similar problems getting dates when Deonna Purrazzo was champion. AAA probably doesn’t consider Fenix or Penta ‘AEW’ wrestlers, but they couldn’t get Fenix in for his last title defense. AAA is not a big deal outside of Mexico, it’s not a place where a foreign star can become a bigger star, and so either AAA’s go to go for people who don’t have as many options in the US (like CMLL’s sort of done) or just focus on people based in Mexico.

AEW pulling people off a NJPW PPV would have the internet up in arms. AEW pulling people off an AAA PPV had the internet shrugging their shoulders and hoping AEW would just switch to working with CMLL instead. It’s part AAA presenting themselves as a mess often, so most figure this must be AAA’s fault somehow, and part just disinterest.

AAA Noche de Campeones

This seemed like a big deal in the moment and feels totally forgotten by the time I’m writing about this on Saturday.

AAA TV (WED) 12/28/2022 Arena GNP, Acapulco, Guerrero [@Fanzine97, AAA, thecubsfan]
1) Arcano b El EngañosoGran MazoPicadura LetalLeyenda America [MLL CHAMP]
not shown on the PPV
2) Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón © b Aramis, Myzteziz, Willie Mack [AAA TRIOS]
3rd defense (2nd when announced). Hijo del Mascara 2000 Jr. interfered to help his cousins win.
3) Abismo Negro Jr. & Flammer b Lady Shani & Octagón Jr. and Komander & Sexy Star [AAA MIXED TAG]
Scheduled to be Sammy & Tay defending, they worked AEW instead. Konnan announced the titles as vacant. (Physical belts were still in AEW.) Flammer & Abismo Negro Jr. were replacements and won the titles.
4) Vampiro b Dave The ClownPanic ClownMurder ClownPaganoAerostarBlue Demon Jr.Niño HamburguesaMr. IguanaDiva SalvajeJessy VenturaParka Negra [Copa Mundo Imperial]
Everyone started in the ring, with eliminations by pinfalls/submissions/over the top. Pagano threw Vampiro out.
5) Arez b TaurusVillano III Jr. [AAA DEMON]
New title, said to be defended once a year. Arez beat V3 Jr. and Blue Demon Jr. presented him the title.
6) Dragón Lee & Dralistico b Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood © [AAA TAG]
fifth defense. FTR demanded Tirantes as referee, Konnan allowed it but said Tirantes would be suspended if he helped FTR. Tirantes helped FTR anyway. Konnan pulled out Tirantes during a pinfall and ejected him, with Piero replacing him after a delay. Dragon Lee hit the knee on Dax, Dralistico landed his senton for the win. Dragon Lee announced post-match that this was the end of his time in Mexico and he had signed with WWE. Titles presumably vacant.
7) Hijo Del Vikingo © b Bandido [AAA MEGA]
Eighth defense, third on TV. Vikingo retained.

Vikingo/Bandido was a great match. There’s other stuff to talk about on this card, but Vikingo/Bandido being a great match shouldn’t get lost in the shuffle. It was a great match despite some clear problems with the ropes and both guys giving up on spots halfway through. (It seems more likely to be an issue with the ropes than an issue with them because Taurus was having issues earlier.) That just meant they did 6 incredible things instead of 10, and that was more than plenty. Vikingo’s dragon poison rana was the spot of the night, the best and most natural-looking version he’s done of it so far. Bandido’s reverse press slam was impressive too, a much harder move to do in that fashion. This was totally worthwhile as a main event, and I think Vikingo and Bandido have an even better match in them if they go back to it.

Vikingo says he’s still looking for Kenny Omega. It’s hard to believe he’s getting Omega, but what else is Vikingo going to talk about? There’s no next opponent. There’s no feud. There’s a good chance we’ll have no idea who he’s facing next until the Rey de Reyes lineup is suddenly announced because AAA won’t do anything to build to that moment.  Maybe it’ll finally be Gringo, but he didn’t come up here. (He, Septimo Dragon, Flamita and Yutani were wrestling in GLEAT this week.)

The rest of the show was just there. People worked hard, the atmosphere came off as terrible on video, and it took a lot of work to get invested in the match. I suspect the FTR/Hermanos Lee match was the second-best match live with the heat – you could see people reacting well. Arez, Taurus and Villano III Jr. had the better action and came off better on the stream. Both the trios title match and the mixed title match were “everyone did stuff, none of it sank it” AAA standards. The Copa was a Copa that they tried to make meaningful by Pagano beating Vamprio at the end. The main event was great. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with it if you pay $23 to watch it after the fact, but you might as well just wait until it turns up on YouTube at this point.

I’ve got a lot of complaints about how this AAA show came off on a stream, but it’s worth keeping in mind that AAA wants to be about the live experience, about the vibes of attending a show. That live experience looked terrible too. It was a big stadium, AAA didn’t sell 2/3rds of it, and struggled to settle the rest. Maybe the financial loss wasn’t as bad as it seemed, since the local promoter is also the building owner, but it came off as a failure. There were still plenty of empty seats in ringside areas, and the lights were turned so low as to hide areas farther back. It was a turnout that would’ve looked strong in a 2,000-seat building, but this show doesn’t happen unless it’s happening in this building. AAA and the local promoters presented this show as the first of an annual tradition. I would be genuinely surprised if AAA runs this arena on this date next year. They’ve got to try a weekend day if they’re even going to try it again.

You expect disorganization and poor quality on AAA shows, and AAA delivered once again. The start time was moved from 7 pm to 6:15 pm, then slowly pushed almost all the way back to 7:00. It seemed like they moved up the time to air the Marvel Lucha Libre match, then decided not to air it, and failed to communicate that. The crowd was inaudible for most of the show, killing the atmosphere of the matches. They may have tried adding in fake crowd noise as a solution at times. (Iit’s a promotion where the head booker is laser-focused on getting as much heat as possible and a production style where you can’t hear any of those reactions.) It wasn’t just the crowd mic either, as the ring mic left Konnan and Lady Shani barely audible during a talkative early portion of the show. AAA continued to switch cameras at a manic pace, making it hard to follow the action and often choosing angles that exposed the empty building. These are the same issues that have been there for every show AAA’s run this year and AAA’s unwilling to do things a normal promotion would do to fix them. They’re right, we’re wrong for disagreeing with them. The difference on this show was the presentation quality was less than most TV shows. It was nice not to be staring at a giant advertising board for three hours, but the entrance set being just a black curtain was strange, and maybe a sign of cutbacks due to the poor turnout.

It was also clear that, even with Konnan definitely in the building, no one in AAA was informing the English announcers what was going on. They weren’t told Hijo del Mascara 2000 was coming out with NGD, or even informed who he was. They (and the Spanish announcers) were told the mixed tag titles were vacant before Konnan did his speech to vacate them. I can only guess that Abismo Negro Jr. walked out to wave a US flag during the tag title match because AAA was concerned the match wasn’t getting enough heat and sent him out on the fly, because the announcers clearly didn’t know. Those announcers were prepped on what was on the card and adequately handled AAA doing unexplained things, because they’re no longer rookies and have some experience with the strangeness of the product. I hope (and expect) Joe & Larry are back in 2023 so there are not new people to get onboarded next year. AAA does not give announcers a lot to work with – they were falling back on talking about bio information a lot in the first two matches because there was simply no story to discuss – but the English announcers knew the AAA wrestlers, knew who they teamed with, knew who they had fought on past shows. That’s a step forward and I don’t want to go back to square 1.

Two matches included a moment where Piero counted three when he was not supposed to count three. Marty Elias was not used on this show.

AAA is off until January 212st in Queretaro. I presume the suspended Hijo del Tirantes will be back refereeing by that show. AAA on Space this week is Best of Show.

An amazing footnote to last night was Mas Lucha deciding to debut Big Lucha’s most recent show on the same night. That meant fans had a choice between paying $23 for a (live) show headlined by Bandido/Vikingo or paying $0 for a (taped) show headlined by Bandido/Vikingo. AAA is a bigger name and I don’t think they lost that many people. However,  there was no reason Mas Lucha needed to put up the Big Lucha show on Wednesday, it could’ve just as easily gone up Thursday or another week. Jose Manuel Guillen is both AAA’s Spanish PBP announcer and one of the people who run Mas Lucha, and I would’ve been furious about an AAA person taking away from AAA show like that if I was in AAA’s shoes. There’s nothing about this situation that makes sense from a US perspective – that Big Lucha was allowed to run the same match a few days before AAA, and that Mas Lucha thought it was a good idea to put it on against the AAA show. Maybe the simple answer is AAA doesn’t understand video content, and so things that seem like a big deal to video content is an important thing to English-speaking video just doesn’t matter to AAA.

The good news is you can see the Big Lucha Bandido/Hijo del Vikingo match now, and it is really good. I found the AAA one better (though not 23 USD better), but they are different matches. The Big Lucha wasn’t a rehearsal, it has different spots and action than the AAA match, and they’re both worth watching.

Other News

LuchaWorld has the latest Lucha Report.

Ayako Hamada held a press Friday to announce the opening of Dojo Dinastia Hamada, a Mexico City gym/training center. She’s doing a contest where the best student of a four month training session will win a trip to Japan. Hamada also announced she’ll open an OnlyFans next week.

Terror Negro I took Tackle Jr.’s mask in Arena Olimpico Laguna on Thursday. Tackle Jr is Fernando Flores, 26 years old, 11 years a wrestler.

Also on Thursday, in Mazatlan, Furia Negra took the mask of Aero Dragon (Alejandor Flores), Rynox took the mask of Tigre del Norte (Christian Padilla) and and Mamba took the hair of Sexy Luna

First Wrestling (Minneapolis) has Arez vs ASF vs Gringo Loco vs Komander for their 01/13 show.

El Mago appears for GCW’s Jersey Championship Wrestling sub-brand on 01/01.

the full 02/26 KAOZ/Robles/The Crash show

KAOZ (SUN) 02/26/2023 Explanada Estadio Mobil Super, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon
1) Big Mami & Iron Kid (Estado de México) vs Baby Xtreme & Estrellita Lagunera and Baronessa & Bendito and Baby Love & Cronic
2) Ayako Hamada, Jimmy, Microman, Pimpinela Escarlata vs ?, Dinámico, Guapito, Mamba
3) Faby Apache, Flip Gordon, Mecha Wolf vs Alpha Wolf, Daga, Natalia Marakova
4) ASF, Dragón Bane, Komander vs Dark Cuervo, Dark Ozz, Dark Scoria
5) Dralistico, La Bestia Del Ring, Rush vs Ej Nduka, Enzo Amore, Erick Redbeard
6) Konnan Big, Marty Scurll, The Tiger vs Cibernético, Emperador Azteca, Loco Arreloa

Putting aside the people booked – and I know that’s hard for variety of reasons – the format of these KAOZ shows remains strange. They believe what fans want to pay to see is various stars in random combinations of trios and atomicos matches. There’s no real reason to any of these matches (unless “Wolf vs Wolf” gets you), and most of them don’t even have a real reason to be tag matches. Everywhere else, the thing that draws is big personal feuds in singles match or maybe 2v2s. KAOZ – and other groups as well – feel like they’re booking a wrestling convention rather than a wrestling card.

RIOT has finally uploaded their 2021-11-27 “Mark Tank” show, with Erik Oritz vs Hechiceor as the main event.

El Sol de Zamora has a nice piece on local promotion SCW.

Segunda Caida watches some Panamaian LA Park.

Dragon Lee has signed with WWE, to start in February

Former CMLL, NJPW, and AAA luchador Dragon Lee has signed with WWE, according to ESPN. I had previously been told Dragon Lee would start in February; ESPN’s report says January. WWE’s begun producing introductory videos. 

WWE has been aware of Dragon Lee for a while but made no recent move to sign him until he appeared on the August 17th AEW Dynamite. (Dragon Lee appeared as part of a ‘House of Dragon’ promotion, which may have meant more for him than it did that show.) WWE reached out to bring Dragon Lee and his older brother Dralistico in for a tryout quickly after that appearance. WWE passed on Dralistico (see note below),  brought Dragon Lee back for a second tryout, and offered him a deal. Dragon Lee accepted, and the deal was official earlier this month.

(Edit: After posting the story, an additional source contacted me to disagree that Dralistico had a WWE tryout, saying they believed it was only Dragon Lee who tried out recently.)

Dragon Lee was not under an AEW contract for his Dynamite appearance. I believe he worked with AAA as a non-contracted freelancer, which is common in Mexico. Dragon Lee’s most recent contract was with Ring of Honor, which expired at the end of 2021.

AEW never continued up on the Dragon Lee/LFI storyline and has yet to mention Dragon Lee much recently despite his two brothers teaming there. Dragon Lee last wrestled in on the 12/02 Arena Neza show and has no known bookings past tonight’s AAA Noche de Campeones show. KAOZ Lucha Libre, where Dragon Lee and Dralistico are champions, is advertising Dralistico and only Dralistico for their February show

Dragon Lee notified AAA of his status well in advance of this show. FTR was also finishing up with AAA on this show, so AAA went with Hermanos Lee getting the win and immediately vacating the belts.

(I have no information on if Dragon Lee will continue to wrestle masked or what name he’ll wrestle under.)

Dralistico’s recent AEW appearances appear connected to Dragon Lee’s WWE deal. Dralistico left CMLL in 2021 with a plan of teaming with his brothers, mostly Dragon Lee. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter previously quoted an AAA source saying Dralistico asked out of a singles tournament because he only wanted to do matches where he teamed with his family. WWE accepting Dragon Lee and not Dralistico ended that plan. Dralistico joining LFI in Mexico and AEW appears to be his new idea. Rush convinced AEW to give Dralistico a tryout, and both brothers have heavily hinted on social media that AEW’s signed Dralistico. AEW hasn’t confirmed that story as accurate.

AAA Noche de Campeones tonight, CMLL Sin Salida to air on TM Live, IWRG all cage match show

Today is Dia de Inocentes in Mexico (and much of the Spanish speaking world), a day media sites like to put out fake stories as joke. The ones I’ve seen so far are Mas Lucha joking about Tonalli going to WWE and Mr. Iguana appearing on CMLL Informa, but be careful believing out there today

CMLL

CMLL (MON) 12/26/2022 Arena Puebla [Arena Puebla, Porra Fresa]
1) Black Tiger & Hijo de Centella Roja b Dark Soul & Espíritu Maligno
2) Centella Roja & Rey Samuray b Rey Apocalipsis & Siky Ozama Facebook video (posted by )
Rey Samuray replaced Milenium (moved up)
3) Astral, El Suicida, Fuego, Milenium b Disturbio, El Perverso, Prayer, Raider Facebook video (posted by )
Milenium replaced Valiente Jr
4) Guerrero Maya Jr., Pegasso, Stigma b Leo (Jalisco), Omar Brunetti, Vaquero Jr. (Jalisco) Facebook video (posted by )
Vaquero pulled Maya’s mask to pin him
5) Atlantis Jr., Místico, Negro Casas b Soberano Jr., Titán, Valiente Facebook video (posted by )
Soberano replaced Volador (COVID) on Friday. Negro Casas beat Titan for the win, setting up a title match for next week.

Another good crowd for the new start time; Porra Fresa believes it was very close to a sell out.

CMLL (TUE) 12/27/2022 Arena México [CMLL, Kaiser Sports]
1) Acero, Aéreo, Shockercito b Full Metal, Pequeño Olímpico, Pequeño Violencia CONSEJO MUNDIAL DE LUCHA LIBRE PRESENTA FUNCION DE MARTES DE ARENA MEXICO CON STREAMING GRATUITO (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
2) Flyer, Fuego, Volcano b Enfermero Jr., Kráneo, Okumura CONSEJO MUNDIAL DE LUCHA LIBRE PRESENTA FUNCION DE MARTES DE ARENA MEXICO CON STREAMING GRATUITO (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
tecnicos took 2/3
3) Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido b Akuma, Dark Magic, Raider CONSEJO MUNDIAL DE LUCHA LIBRE PRESENTA FUNCION DE MARTES DE ARENA MEXICO CON STREAMING GRATUITO (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
Depredadores took 1/3
4) Felino, Felino Jr., Rey Bucanero b Guerrero Maya Jr., Pegasso, Stigma CONSEJO MUNDIAL DE LUCHA LIBRE PRESENTA FUNCION DE MARTES DE ARENA MEXICO CON STREAMING GRATUITO (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
Rudos took 2/3.
5) Euforia, Místico, Soberano Jr. b Hechicero, Templario, Valiente [Relevos IncreíblesCONSEJO MUNDIAL DE LUCHA LIBRE PRESENTA FUNCION DE MARTES DE ARENA MEXICO CON STREAMING GRATUITO (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
Team Mistico took 2/3.

Just a normal show. Attendance was notable stronger than usual for a Tuesday show, which might be a holiday effect. Guadalajara saw a strong turnout as well.

CMLL (TUE) 12/27/2022 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [CMLL, Fuego en el RIng]
1) Destello, Destructor, Minotauro b Bello Antuan, Mortis, Tigre Blanco Transmisión en vivo de Arena Coliseo, MARTES DE GLAMOUR 27 DICIEMBRE 2022 (posted by Martes de Glamour Oficial )
2) Estrella de Jalisco I, Estrella de Jalisco II, Obelisk b Carlo Roggi, Raven, Temerario Transmisión en vivo de Arena Coliseo, MARTES DE GLAMOUR 27 DICIEMBRE 2022 (posted by Martes de Glamour Oficial)
3) Ángel Rebelde, Draego, Omega b Furia Roja, Guerrero de la Muerte, Ráfaga Transmisión en vivo de Arena Coliseo, MARTES DE GLAMOUR 27 DICIEMBRE 2022 (posted by Martes de Glamour Oficial)
4) Cachorro, Hijo De Stuka Jr., Rey Insólito DQ Barboza, Difunto, Persa Transmisión en vivo de Arena Coliseo, MARTES DE GLAMOUR 27 DICIEMBRE 2022 (posted by Martes de Glamour Oficial)
mask removal DQ
5) Adrenalina, Explosivo, Fantástico b Bárbaro Cavernario, Demonio Maya, Principe Daniel © [OCCIDENTE TRIOSTransmisión en vivo de Arena Coliseo, MARTES DE GLAMOUR 27 DICIEMBRE 2022 (posted by Martes de Glamour Oficial)
2nd defense, first since January. Title change
6) Blue Panther & Dark Panther b Atlantis & Atlantis Jr. and Gran Guerrero & Zandokan Jr. and Bestia Negra & Satánico Transmisión en vivo de Arena Coliseo, MARTES DE GLAMOUR 27 DICIEMBRE 2022 (posted by Martes de Glamour Oficial)
Dark Panther submitted Atlantis JR. for the surprise win

Lots of changes to this lineup. Ultimo Guerrero skipped out on the main event. Mafioso & Epydemius were at the show, but didn’t wrestle for unknown reasons. Rey Espectro didn’t appear at all.

Dark Panther beating the likes of Atlantis Jr. is unlikely, even in the venue where unlikely things seem to happen. Hope that means they’re doing something with him.

They started at 9 pm and opened this show with a boxing match, which meant this went into Wednesday morning.

CMLL (SUN) 01/01/2023 Arena México
1) Dulce Gardenia, Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa vs Cancerbero, Okumura, Virus
2) Marcela vs Faby
3) Cavernario, Místico, Templario vs Averno, Gran Guerrero, Titán [Relevos Increíbles]
4) Difunto vs ApocalipsisZandokan Jr.Príncipe Odín Jr.NitroInquisidor, BengalaNeónMilleniumOro Jr.Valiente Jr.Retro [cage, mask]

This is the Sin Salida card. CMLL didn’t announce a lineup for this one when they did all the other December/January cards, because they were waiting to set up the women’s match. The diehards are very into that match as a historic deal and CMLL’s positioning it as something that will draw fans. I expect Marcela is winning.

CMLL will air this Sunday show on TicketmasterLive for the regular 99 pesos Fridays price. They put a Sunday Dia del Muertos shows on PPV in 2021, and none in 2022.

CMLL Informa has Marcela and Faby to talk about that match, Los Micros Malditos to introduce that team, Neon, Bengala and Oro Jr. to talk about Sin Salida, and Angelito and Mercurio to talk about their rematch on 01/06.

NJPW uploaded the full November 18, 2022 CMLL show to their YouTube channel. It’s the full show as it aired on Ticketmaster Live, so it includes a women’s match that isn’t in CMLL’s own YouTube upload. NJPW briefly made it available worlwide and now seems to have restricted it to Japan only. If you’re one of the (few) people who still upload CMLL content to YouTube, you now have to dodge not only a CMLL copryight strike (seems to be done infrequently) but also a NJPW one (seems to be very frequent.)

AAA

Noche de Campeones is tonight. If you’re someone who’s already watching AAA weekly, you’ll probably find something to like. If you’re someone who only tunes it for TripleManias or have other interests, you probably haven’t even considered watching this.

AAA TV (WED) 12/28/2022 Arena GNP, Acapulco, Guerrero
1) Arcano vs El EngañosoGran MazoPicadura LetalLeyenda America [MLL CHAMP]
2) Sammy Guevara & Tay Melo © vs Lady Shani & Octagón Jr. and Komander & Sexy Star [AAA MIXED TAG]
3rd defense, 1st in AAA vacant championships
3) Aramis, Myzteziz, Willie Mack vs Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón © [AAA TRIOS]
3rd defense (2nd when announced)
4) Dave The Clown vs Panic ClownMurder ClownVampiroPaganoAerostarBlue Demon Jr.Niño HamburguesaMr. IguanaDiva SalvajeJessy VenturaParka Negra [Copa Mundo Imperial]
5) Arez vs TaurusVillano III Jr. [AAA DEMON]
new title
6) Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood © vs Dragón Lee & Dralistico [AAA TAG]
fifth defense
7) Hijo Del Vikingo © vs Bandido [AAA MEGA]
Eighth defense, third on TV

I have a long preview on Voices of Wrestling. It is amazing AAA has a ~90-minute TV show each week and hasn’t done anything more than 30 seconds promos to build up most of these matches. They’re still building up another set of matches which may or may not ever happen. If you can handle AAA, the main event should be a classic, and a couple of other things on the show should pop. The best thing AAA has going for it is it’s talent recruitment because they can just throw random stuff out there and it’ll be good enough for diehards.

It’s a good show, $23 is a bit much for it, but only the diehards are going to buy it. Joe & Larry (who is back) might be able to say hi to each of us who ordered individually. FITE lists the starting time at 6:15 pm CT (45 minutes before Dynamite). They had 7 pm listed until this week, so that could mean the show is starting early or we’ll all kill time for 45 minutes.

Vikingo’s a heavy favorite to retain over Bandido, but both are good enoguh to make people believe otherwise. The funniest scoop of the week was Fightful’s Patreon reporting “wrestlers inside AAA think FTR are losing the titles tonight”, because anyone watches AAA knows FTR is losing the titles and leaving town tonight. Ares vs Taurus vs Villano III Jr. should be very good, and another big chance for Villano to demonstrate he’s on the same level as the other two – I’m sure he’d like to get some of the US booking they get. No one cares about the Copa. NGD are obviously going to win and it doesn’t matter who wins the mixed tag title matches or the Marvel one, but they all could be good. AAA is doing well at having ‘good matches’ and they really need to improve ‘giving people a real reason to care about their good matches’ in 2023.

I was worried about ticket sales last week, but it looks like they’ve picked up big. It’s still a very big stadium and AAA was only planning on selling a fraction of the tickets, but the show exists only because the people who own the big building wanted to put a show there.

This show is not airing on Space, which is strange for a major AAA show. Space/WBD sent out a press release promoting it’s Mexico offerings on Wednesday and AAA was mentioned as airing on Space, so it’s no change in the relationship. AAA hasn’t returned to Azteca since the World Cup, but they did promote this show on social media.

It’s an AAA show, so matches are going to change. One has already changed.

AAA Mixed Tag Titles are vacant

The Wrestling Observer reported on Monday that Tay Melo and Sammy Guevara would not be coming to Acapulco and the AAA Mixed Tag Team championships are vacant. The story is the AEW Melo & Anna Jay match against Ruby Soho & Willow Nightengale was originally scheduled to be taped this past Wednesday, but one of the participants was ill, and the match got pushed back a week. AEW pulled Melo off the AAA show in effect. Soho & Nightengale wrestled on Dark Elevation at that taping, Melo & Jay did not appear as far as I can tell and recall. AAA, as always in these situations (and there sure have been a lot of these situations), stopped promoting the specific match but has made no update of the lineup or acknowledgment of the issue. The match is still listed on FITE’s preview, which seems to be maintained by FITE and not AAA.

I had about five paragraphs written about this, but I decided none of this matters. No one’s going to change their actions.

  • Is it cheating their customers for AAA to advertise a match that isn’t happening? Yes, but AAA’s not going to stop doing that – or at least this won’t be the one changes their mind on it.
  • Is it unfriendly of AEW to pull Melo from AAA’s PPV? Yes, but AAA’s still going to work with them.
  • Do Sammy Guevara & Tay Melo look terrible for winning the belts and never returning? Yes, but they don’t care – they got to say they were tag team champions together, and they don’t care about looking into a bad place they were never planning on working again.
  • Should AAA stop putting championships on foreigners who never end up losing them in the ring? Yes, but AAA’s will keep seeing those outsiders as people who will elevate their own wrestlers, even if that never happens.
  • Does this make AAA look bad? No, because everyone already sees AAA as a place that has good wrestlers but is constantly doing things that make itself look foolish and not worth investing in, so this is nothing new.

Everyone’s going to keep on keeping on. AAA will never change.

Even More AAA

On Konnan’s podcast, Cain Velasquez said he and Daniel Cormier had talked about doing a match for AAA. It reads like a ‘wouldn’t that be fun’ idea, not something that’s firmly happening.

Hijo del Vikingo faces Joey Janela on the GCW 12/31 show. I presume Vikingo’s match is not airing. Vikingo’s match in DEFY against Nick Wayne did air on their streaming service, but they have a situation unique to them.

IWRG

No show on Thursday.

IWRG (SUN) 01/01/2023 Arena Naucalpan
1) Rosel vs Baby StarLegadoPequeño JockerTiger FlyCometa BoyTroyanoLimboPasionGenexRey EclipseKenji [cage, hair, mask]
2) Mr. Leo vs ImposibleRey HalcónPaymonSpider FlyJohn Tito [Cofre del Pirata Moreno, cage]
3) Rey Espectro vs Hijo del AlebrijeRokamboleCerebro Negro Jr.Máscara Sagrada Jr.Villano V Jr.Gran PandemóniumRocky Casas [IWRG JUNIOR, #1 Contenders, cage]
4) Dick Angelo 3G vs ? [Ladder, cage]
5) Aramis vs Hell BoyHijo De Canis LupusPuma de OroNoisy Boy [mask, hair, IWRG MEXICO, IWRG REY DEL AIRE, cage]

This is the Guerreros de Acero show, with every match as a cage match. The first and the last are last one in loses something, the middle three are first ones out win something. Cofre del Pirata Moreno is their Money in the Bank suitcase. This is as Mas Lucha Premium show.

Other News

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

KAOZ announced Konnan Big, Marty Scurll, The Tiger versus Loco Arreola, Cibernetico, and Emperador Azteca as their 02/26 main event. That main event was Rush, Dralistico, and Bestia del Ring versus Enzo Amore, Marty Scurll, and EJ Nduka a few days ago. The other five people are now in a match with Erick Redbeard. Arreola is a local popular MMA fighting. Konnan Big retired on the last KAOZ show; there’s no angle explaining why he’s back, he’s just back.

Vampiro says he’s filming his own reality show over the next two years. He also says he signed an AAA contract for exactly two years and will retire at the end. “Two years” remains a mythical unit of lucha libre time.

RIOT says their next show will be 02/04, one of their usual “Tonto Evento Sorpresa” events where every match is a surprise. RIOT will end the year without releasing a single show on VOD, which means I probably should stop covering them because it’s useless for me to write anything about them.

The San Pedro Museo de Arte in Puebla has a lucha libre poster exhibit, up until March.

A year in review with Toluca luchador Fuego Jr.

Mini Escoria taught a self-defense course for women in Orizaba.

Panterita del Ring wins Gran Alternativa, AAA Mixed Tag Title match off?, IWRG ruleta de la muerte

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 12/23/2022 Arena México [CMLL, Estrellas del RingKaiser SportsR de RudoThe GladiatoresThe Gladiatores (video), thecubsfan]
1) Full Metal b Pequeño Magía [lightningCMLL | Full Metal se lleva la victoria sobre Pequeño Magia (posted by mluchatv) Full Metal da cuenta de Pequeño Magia en la batalla inicial del CMLL (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
6:19.
2) Valiente Jr. DQ Oro Jr.NeónBengalaRetroMilenium (Puebla)Zandokan Jr.ApocalipsisDifuntoNitroInquisidorPríncipe Odín Jr. [ciberneticoCMLL - TORNEO CIBERNÉTICO  CON LOS PARTICIPANTES DE (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) CMLL | Zandokan Jr. se va descalificado tras arrancarle la máscara a Valiente Jr. (posted by mluchatv) Por fin frente a frente, Marcela y Faby en el ring sagrado de la Arena México del CMLL (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
26:56. Order of elimination: Odin (via Milenium), Retro (Zandokan), Inquisidor (Valiente; Inquisidor appeared to suffer a shoulder injury on the finish), Bengala (Difunto), Milenium (Nitro), Apocalipsis (Oro Jr.), Difunto (Neon), Neon (Nitro), Nitro (Valiente), Oro Jr. (Zandokan) and Zandoakn was DQed for removing Valiente Jr.’s mask.
3) Dalys, Faby, Princesa Sugehit DQ Marcela, Reyna Isis, Stephanie Vaquer [Relevos IncreíblesCMLL - REYNA ISIS-STEPHANIE VAQUER -MARCELA VS DALYS - PRINCESA SUGEHIT - FABY/ARENA MEXICO/23-12-22 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) CMLL | Hay reto en mano a mano entre Faby y Marcela: ¡Faby se lleva la lucha en dos al hilo! (posted by mluchatv) Valiente Jr. se lleva el Torneo Cibernético para lo que será la lucha en jaula Sin Salida (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
14:31. Straight falls, the second when Marcela was DQed for accidentally missile dropkicking referee Edgar (and got a visual pin while Edgar was down.) Marcela asked for a rematch, Faby suggested instead a singles match on 01/01. Marcela accepted
4) Negro Casas, Soberano Jr., Titán b Averno, Templario, Yota CMLL | Soberano Jr., Titán y Negro Casas vencen a Yota, Averno y Templario (posted by mluchatv) Soberano Jr., Negro Casas y Titán se llevan la victoria sobre Yota, Templario y Averno (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
17:47. Negro Casas replaced Mistico (moved up) on Friday
5) Místico & Panterita del Ring Jr. b Gran Guerrero & Raider [Gran Alternativa, finalCMLL - MÍSTICO - PANTERITA DEL RING JR. VS GRAN GUERRERO - RAIDER/ARENA MEXICO/23-12-22 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) CMLL | ¡Panterita del Ring Jr. y Místico ganan la Gran Alternativa 2022! (posted by mluchatv) Mistico y Panterita del Ring Jr. se llevan la Gran Alternativa derrotando a Raider y Gran Guerrero (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
19:29. Mistico replaced Volador (COVID) on Friday; Panterita del Ring Jr. becomes first Gran Alternativa winner to have two different partners.

Panterita del Ring and Raider did great in the main event. Panterita seemed like he got slightly hurt early on, decided that wasn’t going to stop him from doing pretty much everything, and pulled it off. Raider helped save Panterita a couple of times. Mistico and Gran Guerrero worked hard and deferred to their younger partners at the right time. It came off exactly as CMLL must’ve hoped to win; a success at making someone a new star.

Panterita (and Mistico) made a point that the win was also for Volador for helping him get there.

This was a strong night for the future of CMLL. The promotion is still not hot and isn’t drawing big crowd – maybe around 5,000 people for this show – but there are encouraging signs. CMLL’s big problem in recent years was lack of depth (made worse by Munoz and NGD departure) and lack of fresh matchups. The big 2022 project was moving Atlantis Jr. up. You can see more people coming. Zandokan looks very promising, so much in that he should win the cage match to lend it extra credibility if they’re going to keep running it every New Year’s Day. Difunto and Neon looked great, the guys in the main event looked great. (I’d put Stephanie Vaquer in that list too, but I’m certain she’s going to get picked up by someone in the US or Japan before CMLL is ready to push her.) CMLL still lacks that one great feud or popular act to take get hot again, and that’s probably what 2023 will be about. If they can find it, 2022 will go down as a success in setting it up.

No Saturday show this week.

CMLL (SUN) 12/25/2022 Arena México [CMLL, Kaiser Sports]
1) Mercurio, Minos, Pierrothito vs Angelito, Shockercito, Último Dragóncito
2) Micro Gemelo Diablo I, Micro Gemelo Diablo II, Micro Sagrado b Átomo, Chamuel, Periquito Sacaryas
debut of Micro Sagrado. Los Micro Malditos took 2/3.
3) Hijo del Villano III, Sagrado, Yota b Esfinge, Fugaz, Star Black
rudos took 1/3
4) Cavernario, Gran Guerrero, Templario b Atlantis, Hijo de Octagón, Octagón
Rudos took 2/3, Gran Guerrero unmasking and cradling Atlantis in the third.
5) Atlantis Jr., Místico, Volador Jr. b Euforia, Hechicero, Mephisto
Tecnicos took 2/3

I’m still assuming Micro Sagrado is the former Micro Angel. I don’t have that confirmed so I haven’t put in the database yet, but there’s almost no one else it can be – they don’t have more Micros.

CMLL (TUE) 12/27/2022 Arena México
1) Acero, Aéreo, Shockercito vs Full Metal, Pequeño Olímpico, Pequeño Violencia
2) Flyer, Fuego, Volcano vs Enfermero Jr., Kráneo, Okumura
3) Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido vs Akuma, Dark Magic, Raider
4) Guerrero Maya Jr., Pegasso, Stigma vs Felino, Felino Jr., Rey Bucanero
5) Euforia, Místico, Soberano Jr. vs Hechicero, Templario, Valiente [Relevos Increíbles]

Raider does get moved up after his Gran Alternativa semifinal, though there’s a lot of people in the second match who usually go a little bit higher. Flyer is back in Mexico City after a month in the penalty box. Enfermero Jr. is also back for the first time in about 4 weeks; he continues to disappear for random stretches.

CMLL (FRI) 12/30/2022 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Estrella de Jalisco I, Estrella de Jalisco II, Obelisk, Último Ángel vs Persa, Ponzoña Jr., Raven, Temerario
2) Micro Gemelo Diablo I, Micro Gemelo Diablo II, Micro Sagrado vs Átomo, Chamuel, Perico Zakarías
3) La Magnifica, Náutica, Princesa Tiger, Sexy Sol vs Maligna, Nexy, Stephanie Vaquer, Valkiria
4) Ángel Rebelde, Draego, Optimus, Trono vs Cris Skin, Furia Roja, Guerrero de la Muerte, Ráfaga
5) Barboza, Bestia Negra, Difunto, JKR vs Leo, Omar Brunetti, Omega, Vaquero Jr.
6) Dark Panther, Dulce Gardenia, Místico vs Averno, Felino Jr., Zandokan Jr.

A random Guadalajara show.

CMLL (FRI) 12/30/2022 Arena México
1) Angelito, Kaligua, Último Dragóncito vs Mercurio, Minos, Pierrothito
2) La Jarochita, La Vaquerita, Princesa Sugehit vs Dalys, Hera, Reyna Isis
3) Esfinge, Fugaz, Star Black vs El Coyote, Hijo del Villano III, Pólvora
4) Atlantis, Negro Casas, Soberano Jr. vs Hechicero, Mephisto, Yota
5) Ángel de Oro & Niebla Roja © vs Titán & Volador Jr. [CMLL TAG]
7th defense

It’s strange to advertise Volador as appearing while he’s being pulled off other shows. Soberano replaces Volador tonight in Puebla, so maybe he’s the standby tag challenger. Either way, that could be on one of the best matches of the year on the last CMLL show of the year.

The previous Chavez vs Volador/Titan match in January won the match of the month voting. CMLL announced they would repeat it on 01/06 with Guerrero Maya in Volador’s spot (because Volador was unavailable). Now I wonder if this is meant to be that rematch and if something else will go on 01/06.

CMLL clearly thinks Yota is Good by the way they position him, though it’d be nice if they gave him at least one spotlight match while he’s still around. He’s listed as wrestling in Germany next month, so it may not be much of a longer stay.

Many odds and ends for a Friday night card, with some familiar names not around. Panterita Jr. is back in Torreon for the week, so no follow-up there.

AAA

Tay Melo and Sammy Guevara are likely off Wednesday’s Noche de Campeones show; she’s announced for a match on Dynamite and has made it clear on Twitter thats’ the show she’s working. Melo had previously said they missed the Ciudad Madero show due to visa issues but would definitely appear on 12/28. The second half of that story appears now false, and it’s hard to believe the first part either. AAA’s fully aware the AAA Mixed Team Champions will not be appearing on their show but has not acknowledged the issue. AEW had proceeded as if nothing is strange is going on. I tend to believe eit’s an AAA issue, because it always ends up being an AAA issue.

It would probably be best if Guevara & Melo just handed those tag belts over to someone to take back to AAA for them. I do not expect them to return to AAA any time soon. The counter is I don’t think AAA cares about these mixed tag team belts anyway; they seem to exist as just a way to squeeze more people onto the show in an early match. The titles are only useful in that the wrestlers themselves seem to care about it, but the mixed titles could go the way of the Minis championship (quietly shelved) and it wouldn’t make much of a difference.

AAA aired Best of 2022 material this week and next. I had trouble recording the show anyway, but there wasn’t anything that people needed to see before Wednesday’s show.

IWRG

IWRG (SUN) 12/25/2022 Arena Naucalpan [Mas Lucha]
1) Baby Star & Kenji b Jhon Tito & Rey Minos ¡La primera victoria de la noche es para Baby Star Jr. y Kenji! (posted by mluchatv) IWRG LUCHA LIBRE EN VIVO (posted by IWRG tv)
2) Cerebro Negro b Hell Boy Cerebro Negro derrota a Hellboy en mano a mano sangriento y hay reto de cabelleras (posted by mluchatv) IWRG LUCHA LIBRE EN VIVO (posted by IWRG tv)
hair match challenges followed
3) Puma de Oro b Spider Fly ¡La primera lucha de Puma de Oro sin MÁSCARA en IWRG! (posted by mluchatv) IWRG LUCHA LIBRE EN VIVO (posted by IWRG tv)
bonus match
4) Tonalli b Jessy Ventura © [IWRG IC WELTERMEMBRESÍA | LIVE  (posted by mluchatv) Tonalli es el nuevo Campeón Intercontinental de Peso Welter tras destronar a Jessy Ventura (posted by mluchatv)
4th defense. Title change. Tonalli had previous said he was finished up with IWRG.
5) Paymon L Gran PandemóniumPandemónium Jr.Cerebro Negro Jr.Rocky CasasVaquero FantasmaYorvakCerebro NegroSpider FlyJhon TitoHell BoyBlack FuryLolitaHijo de PandemóniumRey LeónHijo del AlebrijeHijo De Canis LupisPuma de OroOficial AK47Oficial 911 [ruleta de la muerte, mask, hair¡Paymon perdiò su cabellera en la Ruleta de la Muerte ante Mario Ak-47! (posted by mluchatv) MEMBRESÍA | LIVE (posted by mluchatv)
Wrestlers sorted into four groups, set into an order, and groups were selected randomly selected to send a wrestler in once one got a win for 1v1 matches (including group members facing each other.) Cerebro Negro replaced Diva Salvaje, Jhon Tito replaced Keyra, Hell Boy replaced Mamba. Order of escape: Gran Pandemonium (beat Pandemonium Jr., who insisted on being pinned), Pandemonium Jr. (Rocky Casas), Cerebro Negro Jr. (Rocky Casas), Rocky Casas (Vaquero Fantasma), Vaquero Fantasma (Spider Fly), Yorvak (Spider Fly), Cerbero Negro (Spider Fly), Spider Fly (Jhon Tito), Jhon Tito (Black Fury), Hell Boy (Black Fury), Black Fury (Lolita, who clearly kicked out early), Rey Leon (Lolita), Hijo del Pandemonium (Rey Leon), Rey Leon (Hijo del Alebrije), Hijo del Alebrije (Hijo de Canis Lupus), Hijo de Canis Lupus (Puma de Oro), Puma de Oro (Paymon), Oficial 911 (faked a foul from Paymon), Oficial AK-47 (Paymon) leaving Paymon as the loser

I watched the whole Ruleta de la Muerte. You do not need to watch the Ruleta de la Muerte unless you too are looking to figure out the results. (And the substitutions; you can tell it’s back to normal because there were subs all over the place when people couldn’t make their second or third bookings of the night.) It was a 40 minute match but it was really mostly a series of under 3 minute matches, feeling like the section of a cibernetico where everyone takes turns beating the last person. There was no obvious advantage to the format outside of getting to do a light show to show who was coming in next. The Oficials have only turned up in IWRG the last few years to lose (or to run their own angles) so it was a genuine surprise AK-47 beat Paymon. It still didn’t get much of a reaction.

If you’re confused about Tonalli, so I am. He still is promising big news in 2023.

IWRG , RGR (SUN) 02/05/2023 Arena Naucalpan
1) Noisy Boy & Spider Fly vs Jhon Tito & Rey Halcón
2) Big Mami & Diosa Quetzal vs Goya Kong & Keyra [Copa Femenil RGR]
3) Coronel Vip & Galeno del Mal vs Hijo De Canis Lupus & Rey León
4) Jessy Ventura vs Diva SalvajeMambaMáximoPaymonPimpinela EscarlataBugambiliaZoy Raymunda [RGR EXOTICO]
5) Hijo del Pirata Morgan, Pirata Morgan, Pirata Morgan Jr., Rey Bucanero vs Pig Decapitador, Pig Destroyer, Pig Destructor, Pig Pool
6) Hijo de LA Park, LA Park, LA Park Jr. vs Diamante Azul (Indie), Hijo del Fishman, Rey Espectro

This is far into the future but RGR seems excited about it; it’s their second-anniversary show. Rey Espectro is back here for the first time after vacating his heavyweight title in a situation that never made complete sense. Rey Bucanero’s match here would be his first since 2006, because CMLL wrestlers generally aren’t allowed to wrestle on Arena Naucalpan shows. This is listed as a Mas Lucha premium show.

Big Lucha

AAA , Big Lucha (SUN) 12/25/2022 Centro Civico Nueva Aragon, Ecatepec, Estado de México [Big Lucha, Mas Lucha]
1) Metal Shadow & Night Fury b Diamante Rojo & Uzumaki
2) Carito, Sexy Star, Sussy Love b Goya Kong, Nix, Reina Dorada
3) Cometa Maya, Éxtasis, Radioactivo b Action Jackson, Black Skayde, Forneo
4) Argenis, Carta Brava Jr., Iku, Vengador b Elipse, Niño Hamburguesa, Orbita, Panic Clown
Ditto betrayed the AAA wrestlers costing them the match. Elipse and Orbita appear to be part of Los Locos Evans now.
5) Gravity, Pagano, Rey Horus b Bendito, Elemental, Emperador and Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón
6) Bandido © b Hijo Del Vikingo [Big Lucha CHAMP]
said to be a great match. 3rd defense.

This didn’t stream live. It was (probably) taped but it may be a while before anyone sees it. They usually don’t do much meaningful on these outside shows, so Orbita & Elipse joining a faction is surprising

Other News

Box y Lucha 3533 has Panterita del Ring Jr. and Scott Steiner. They’re not publishing again until 01/16.

A wrestling tattoo competition was won by a tattoo of El Hijo del Perro Aguayo. A KeMonito tattoo came in second.

Segunda Caida watches some Solar & Canek.

Panteirita/Raider Gran Alternativa final tonight, Marvel Lucha Libre MIA, Christmas

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 12/23/2022 Arena México
1) Pequeño Magía vs Full Metal [lightning]
2) Oro Jr. vs NeónBengalaRetroValiente Jr.Milenium (Puebla)Zandokan Jr.ApocalipsisDifuntoNitroInquisidorPríncipe Odín Jr. [cibernetico]
3) Dalys, Faby, Princesa Sugehit vs Marcela, Reyna Isis, Stephanie Vaquer [Relevos Increíbles]
4) Místico Negro Casas, Soberano Jr., Titán vs Averno, Templario, Yota
5) Panterita del Ring Jr. & Volador Jr. Mistico vs Gran Guerrero & Raider [Gran Alternativa, final]

CMLL is still regularly testing their wrestlers for COVID. Volador Jr. came up positive in the most recent test and will sit on tonight’s show. Mistico will move up to the main event to team with Panterita, while Negro Casas is added to the semi-main.

The main event should still be the crowning moment for Panterita del Ring Jr., a boost to a career that’s expected to join the list of the more famous winners of this tournament. Tonight’s match might be a little bit better with Volador instead of Mistico, but Mistico might make it feel bigger if he uses his spotlight to defer to his junior partner at the end of the match. Anyway, I’ve written incessantly about Panterita Jr. being the next big star for CMLL the last few months, today’s just mostly about making that case to the more causal CMLL viewer.

This is a good looking card otherwise. Faby and Marcela is a big deal to a certain audience. The ciberentico should have some good energy going into the cage match. Both the opener and the trios could be fun. If you are willing to dip into TicketmasterLive CMLL shows for cards beyond the big shows, this looks like one worth the 99 pesos.

CMLL (MON) 12/26/2022 Arena Puebla
1) Black Tiger & Hijo de Centella Roja vs Dark Soul & Espíritu Maligno
2) Centella Roja & Millenium vs Rey Apocalipsis & Siky Ozama
3) Astral, El Suicida, Fuego, Valiente Jr. vs Disturbio, El Perverso, Prayer, Raider
4) Guerrero Maya Jr., Pegasso, Stigma vs Leo (Jalisco), Omar Brunetti, Vaquero Jr. (Jalisco)
5) Atlantis Jr., Místico, Negro Casas vs Titán, Valiente, Volador Jr.

Mistico and Volador keep messing with each other in the main. Arena Coliseo Guadalajara’s La Mafia debuts in Puebla to face Fuerza Poblana. CMLL needed to make up the numbers with a lot of people on holiday break, but there’s probably a reason they were used instead of more prelim guys or local wrestlers.

CMLL (TUE) 12/27/2022 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Bello Antuan, Logan, Tigre Blanco vs Destello, Destructor, Minotauro
2) Estrella de Jalisco I, Estrella de Jalisco II, Omega vs Carlo Roggi, Raven, Temerario
3) Cachorro, Hijo De Stuka Jr., Rey Insólito (Laguna) vs Barboza, Difunto, Persa
4) El Mafioso, El Rey, Epydemius vs Furia Roja, Guerrero de la Muerte, Ráfaga
5) Bárbaro Cavernario, Demonio Maya, Principe Daniel © vs Adrenalina, Explosivo, Fantástico [OCCIDENTE TRIOS]
2nd defense, first since January
6) Atlantis & Atlantis Jr. vs Gran Guerrero & Último Guerrero and Blue Panther & Dark Panther and Bestia Negra & Satánico

The Laguna guys wrestling in Guadalajara and not Mexico City is strange. The Monterrey (Lucha Time) guys coming in is strange. Someday we’re going to find out what’s actually going on with this venue and CMLL and perhaps things will make more sense.

El Rey is the wrestler most recently known as Rey Espectro. A Jalisco wrestler claims ownership of the name Espectro so maybe that’s the reason for the change. Yet, they have someone on the show named “Sexy Sol” and they didn’t ask a woman named “Sol” to change her name.  I presume this is the Rey Insólito from Torreon who just won a mask match.

Nitro, who’s career started in 1984, believes he’s going to catch his second wind in 2023 and go up to the main events. I haven’t had Nitro down for losing his mask in the cage match but that kind of magical thinking shoots him higher on my list.

Averno & Templario threw out a half dozen ideas in a media session. Facing each other, facing their rivals, teaming with Cavernario, and more things that aren’t likely to happen.

CMLL’s Televisa on Televisa moves to 10:30 AM on Saturday due to holiday programming. This is a rare bit of CMLL acknowledging they have TV. This week’s episode should be the Gran Alternativa 1st/2nd round.

CMLL posted an announcement I didn’t really understand, urging people to pick up their tickets from Ticketmaster at least one day in advance or they may be canceled. In Mexico, it’s still common to print tickets at stores, and maybe the warning is “don’t wait until Christmas to get your ticket printed because the store may be closed.”

AAA

Back at TripleMania Mexico City, AAA and Marvel announced that “Marvel Lucha Libre Edition: El Origen de la Máscara” would debut on Disney+ would debut on December 21st. Marvel made their announcement and posted the trailer a few days later. There’s been no news about the series since that time. December 21st came and went, and the show did not go up on Disney+ as scheduled. Neither Disney nor AAA has talked about the situation. Franco Escamilla, a comedian and the only actor promoted by name for the series in his role as narrator, hasn’t talked about the situation on social media as far as I can find. (He also does have a podcast and I’ve drawn the line at listening to all of them to figure this out.) Whatever happened was probably not just a last-minute decision – everyone knew enough to stop promoting it after their trailer came out. I have no idea what happened. I’d guess this is a Disney/Marvel issue and not an AAA one but beyond that, who knows.

The Marvel Lucha Libre title match on next Wednesday’s Noche de Campeoens was supposed to be the lead out from that series. That is still on. FITE lists Arcano, El Enganosa, Gran Mazo, Leyenda America, and Picadura Letal. Back at TripleMania, Terror Purpura was also a winner in the elimination and should’ve advanced. I believe FITE grabs the AAA lineups from one of the (German) wrestling databases – that’d explain why the spelling “Vakant” appears instead of “Vacante” or “Vacant” – and so it may just be the database if off.

Larry Dallas is going to rehab and is of off the Night of Champions show, according to the WON. No mention of a replacement.

It sure looked like Defy was recording the Hijo del Vikingo and Nick Wayne match this past weekend. Sure enough, it’s on the Defy OnDemand service and went live Thursday. (The service is $17/month and has a free 7 day trial.) There’s a clip here.

Still no idea if AAA is airing a new episode tomorrow.

Taya retained the MLW Women’s Featherweight Championship over Flammer on MLW Fusion last night. This is the second promotion that’s run the Taya/Flammer match since AAA announced (and never got around to) running their own title match between them.

Other News 

At the moment, I have 41 Mexico shows in the database for Christmas Day. (Also, 2 in Guatemala.)  I need to look up the numbers, but I guess that’s actually low for a Sunday Christmas; there are a bunch of smaller venues taking the day off. CMLL and AAA/Big Lucha have special shows, but neither has been mentioned as airing live. IWRG’s ruleta de la muerte is airing live.

Black Taurus will rematch with Trey Miguel for the Impact X Division Championship on their Hard to Kill PPV, on January 13th. This is a $40 PPV, not one of the cheaper YouTube shows. A Kenny King promo from Arena Mexico aired on today’s CMLL show, and King made a point of showing he was in CMLL for it. It probably doesn’t mean anything bigger than that; CMLL ignored it.

An interview with Sexy Violeta.

CMLL early week results, kids get in Noche de Campeones free, IWRG ruleta de la muerte

other content

I did a video talking about the big stories of 2022 in lucha libre

I still don’t know if I’m streaming new AAA on Saturday.

At some point I may have to make a MOTYC list.

CMLL

CMLL (MON) 12/19/2022 Arena Puebla [El Sol del Puebla, Porra Fresa]
1) Rey Apocalipsis & Siki Ozama Jr. b Black Tiger & Espíritu Maligno
2) Fuego, Halcón Suriano Jr., Príncipe Odín Jr. b El Perverso, Millenium, Prayer
Odin and Millenium feuded going into their 01/01 mask match. Odin got the win.
3) Princesa Sugehit © b Marcela [CMLL WOMEN]
6th defense. Stephania Vaquer scheduled as challenger announced off the show a few hours earlier due to health. Marcela replaced.
4) Hijo de Octagón, Stigma, Valiente b Cavernario, Templario, Yota Facebook video (posted by )
5) Ángel de Oro & Volador Jr. DQ Místico & Último Guerrero [Relevos IncreíblesFacebook video (posted by ) Facebook video (posted by )
Volador faked a foul. Challenges followed.

The first 8 pm start time show drew very well. There are other factors (cheap tickets for kids all month long, increased promotion for this show because of the time change), but the first result was a positive sign. It also drew well despite a Puebla state order Monday morning requiring everyone attending the show to resume wearing face masks. These policies have long seemed to be only enforced upon entering the building; it’s hard to tell anything was different just by looking at photos. I think you’re better off wearing a face mask whenever you go to large public gatherings this winter but that seems a minority view.

Vaquer was still promoting a meet and greet on Friday after missing this show, so whatever kept her off doesn’t appear to be COVID or something else that’ll keep her sidelined for a while.

CMLL (TUE) 12/20/2022 Arena México [CMLL, Kaiser Sports]
1) Acero, Aéreo, Kaligua b Pequeño Olímpico, Pequeño Polvora, Pequeño Violencia CONSEJO MUNDIAL DE LUCHA LIBRE PRESENTA FUNCION DE MARTES CON STREAMING GRATUITO EN LA ARENA MEXICO (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
2) Astral, El Suicida, Eléctrico b Disturbio, Dr. Karonte I, Dr. Karonte II CONSEJO MUNDIAL DE LUCHA LIBRE PRESENTA FUNCION DE MARTES CON STREAMING GRATUITO EN LA ARENA MEXICO (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
3) Guerrero Maya Jr., Halcón Suriano Jr., Hombre Bala Jr. b El Coyote, Okumura, Pólvora CONSEJO MUNDIAL DE LUCHA LIBRE PRESENTA FUNCION DE MARTES CON STREAMING GRATUITO EN LA ARENA MEXICO (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
Both Polvora (took a Bala tope) and Suriano (hurt leg on moonsault?) left the match with medical help
4) Esfinge & Fugaz © b Cancerbero & Virus [MEX TAGCONSEJO MUNDIAL DE LUCHA LIBRE PRESENTA FUNCION DE MARTES CON STREAMING GRATUITO EN LA ARENA MEXICO (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
4th defense
5) Místico, Negro Casas, Titán b Euforia, Hechicero, Mephisto CONSEJO MUNDIAL DE LUCHA LIBRE PRESENTA FUNCION DE MARTES CON STREAMING GRATUITO EN LA ARENA MEXICO (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)

This streamed on YouTube with no major problems. The tag title match was fine; they didn’t really go for anything bit but also Fugaz didn’t have as terrible a day as he did last tag title defense. Otherwise, just an average Tuesday show.

CMLL’s YouTube Tuesday stream seems a bit to market attending Arena Mexico shows to casual fans. They had a minor league baseball-like filter on between matches, encouraging people to put on mask to get on screen. They also showcased some of the stands and atmosphere outside of Arena Mexico in a pre-show video. That’s good and helpful content to have. I think they’re still missing portion of the audience by being only thinking of ticket sales. The end of the show could use more information/encouragement for their Ticketmaster Live offerings, for the many people who might want to pay for more but aren’t close enough to do go in person.

CMLL (TUE) 12/20/2022 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [Arena Coliseo Guadalajara]
1) Atilius, Maximus, Rey Urano b Black Boy, Estrella Oriental Jr., Mortis Transmisión en vivo de Arena Coliseo, MARTES DE GLAMOUR 20 DICIEMBRE 2022 (posted by Martes de Glamour Oficial )
Team Maximus (all from Ocotlan) got the win.
2) Cris Skin, Destructor, Javier Cruz Jr. b Luminoso, Minotauro, Tigre Blanco Transmisión en vivo de Arena Coliseo, MARTES DE GLAMOUR 20 DICIEMBRE 2022 (posted by Martes de Glamour Oficial)
Tigre Blanco replaced Quka, Destructor replaced Gallero (moved up)
3) Lluvia, Náutica, Princesa Tiger, Sexy Sol b La Magnifica, Nexy, Sol (Jalisco), Valkyira Transmisión en vivo de Arena Coliseo, MARTES DE GLAMOUR 20 DICIEMBRE 2022 (posted by Martes de Glamour Oficial)
Lluvia replaced Luna on Tuesday morning (debut?)
4) Draego, Gallero, Optimus, Trono b Barboza, Persa, Temerario, Vaquero Fantasma Transmisión en vivo de Arena Coliseo, MARTES DE GLAMOUR 20 DICIEMBRE 2022 (posted by Martes de Glamour Oficial)
Vaquero Fantasma replaced JKR. Gallero replaced Angel Rebelde Jr. (moved up) Announcers mentioned the fourth Nuevos Coliseno/Queretaro luchador Halcon Negro Jr. is out due to health issues.
5) Bárbaro Cavernario, Canalla, Demonio Maya, Principe Daniel b Adrenalina, El Divino, Explosivo, Fantástico Transmisión en vivo de Arena Coliseo, MARTES DE GLAMOUR 20 DICIEMBRE 2022 (posted by Martes de Glamour Oficial)
Cavernario used the ropes to win. Challenges followed.
6) JKR, Rey Bucanero, Último Guerrero, Zandokan Jr. b Ángel Rebelde, Dulce Gardenia, Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa Transmisión en vivo de Arena Coliseo, MARTES DE GLAMOUR 20 DICIEMBRE 2022 (posted by Martes de Glamour Oficial)
Rey Bucanero replaced Gran Guerrero on Tuesday morning. JKR and Angel Rebelde added to the match for unclear reasons.

Two CMLL shows streaming on YouTube at the same time was something. the changes here were weird. They added more people to the show at the last second, not like big names, just local guys.

Silueta recently appeared with the local wrestlers and with no visible knee brace. Maybe she’ll be back soon.

CMLL Informa has the Octagons (Christmas show), Raider & Panterita (Gran Alternativa finalists) and Zandokan, Difunto and Millenium (non-CDMX Sin Salida participants). Octagon was pushing the idea of himself versus Fuerza Guerrera as the CMLL 90th Aniversario main event. That probably can’t be all of it, and it would take one of those two men being actual willing to lose, but it’s not out of the question.

Neon believes the cage match structure helps him. He believes that if he and Apocalipsis had a singles mask match instead, Apocalipsis’ great experience advantage would make him the odds on favorite. He still wants to face his rival at the end of the cage match.

Oro Jr. says he wants revenge on Nitro and Zandokan in the cage match and would like to go to the final with either of them. However, if they escape, he is getting right out of that cage and not risking his mask against anyone else.

Halcon Suriano Jr. feels like just facing the big names of CMLL in the Gran Alternativa was a victory for him.

AAA

Kids now get in free to next week’s Noche de Campeones show in Acapulco. 1 free kid per 1 paying adult, and those free tickets can only be acquired starting Friday. The current ticket sold situation is about what you’d expect for that news: they’ve cut down the areas where they’re selling tickets, and there are a lot of unsold tickets even in the open areas.

AAA announced a 01/21 taping in Queretaro and said it’ll be the first taping of the year. An AAA taping announcement lately means tickets have already gone on sale; they run from 255 to 1155 for this event. Of note, Hijo del Vikingo and Sam Adonis are scheduled to wrestle in South Bend for Warrior Wrestling on the same day of this taping.

Lineups for both Rey de Reyes and Queretaro started floating around Whatsapp and Facebook Tuesday. The local promoter called the lineup “completely fake.” AAA has said the same. The graphics contain spelling errors, poorly photoshopped images, and it just generally doesn’t seem reasonable that AAA has a definitive card for February at this point.

IWRG

IWRG says they’re taking Thursday off. They’re back Sunday:

IWRG (SUN) 12/25/2022 Arena Naucalpan
1) Jhon Tito & Rey Minos vs Baby Star & Kenji
2) Cerebro Negro vs Hell Boy
3) Jessy Ventura © vs Tonalli [IWRG IC WELTER]
4th defense
4) Cerebro Negro Jr., Diva Salvaje, Hijo de Pandemónium, Oficial 911, Rey León vs Keyra, Pandemónium Jr., Paymon, Puma de Oro, Spider Fly and Black Fury, Gran Pandemónium, Mamba, Oficial AK47, Vaquero Fantasma and Hijo De Canis Lupis, Hijo del Alebrije, Lolita, Rocky Casas, Yorvak [ruleta de la muerte]

I’ve got the 20-person main event listed as teams, but it’s not really teams in the conventional sense. Maybe closer to pools or groups. One person from each of the four pool will start in the ring, anyone getting a pin or submission escapes the match, and someone else from their pool takes over their spot. The last person left in the match loses their hair or mask. The Oficials and Rocky Casas seem like suspects. Black Fury is a masked woman who doesn’t appear here often. I’m not sure if there are three Vaquero Fantasmas running around (California, Guadalajara, this one) or just one guy who is on a Rey Leon-like traveling schedule.

Tonalli, after having his last ever match in IWRG on last Friday, is back on Sunday. Mexican wrestling.

If you want even more Naucalpan apuesta matches, they’re also running a cage match on 01/01. It is a Mas Lucha premium show.

Other News

Mascara Dorada & Lince Dorado are on NJPW Strong’s airing this week.

LuchaWorld has this week’s Poster-Mania.

Box y Lucha 3532 has Panterita del Ring Jr. & Raider on the cover.