Misterioso leaves CMLL, Templario/Flip, Latin Lover, Cinco de Mayo

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 05/03/2024 Arena México [CMLL, Esquina Cal, ESTO, Kaiser Sports, The Gladiatores, The Gladiatores (Text), thecubsfan]
1) Draego & Persa b Astro Boy Jr. & Rayo Metálico  
7:32
2) El Audaz, Legendario, Max Star b Alom, Crixus, Infarto   
12:12
3) Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido b Hijo de Stuka Jr., Hijo del Villano III, Villano III Jr.   
15:12
4) Hechicero b Zandokan Jr. [lightning]   
9:00
5) Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr., Último Guerrero b Averno, Euforia, Mephisto   
11:48.
6) Ángel de Oro, Flip Gordon, Niebla Roja b Máscara Dorada, Místico, Templario [Relevos Increíbles]   
20:55. Flip beat Templario, setting up a title match between them next week.

There’s a small group of people who are watching these shows on YouTube and a smaller set who are talking much about them on Twitter. The opinions on the shows are usually in the same ballpark in that group but were more varied this time. I liked this show; 2, 3, 4 and 6 were all good. The Villanos continue to go all out in their matches. The tall trio of Alom, Crixu and Infarto was unusual for CMLL and for an ealry match; big guys usually get moved up quick.

CMLL (SAT) 05/04/2024 Arena Coliseo [CMLL, thecubsfan]
1) Pequeño Polvora & Pequeño Violencia b Aéreo & Fantasy
9:28
2) Diamond, Eléctrico, Leono b Dragón de Fuego, Hunter, Inquisidor
15:32. Tecnicos took 2/3.
3) Amapola, Hera, Metálica b La Maligna, Sanely, Tabata
13:57. Rudas took 2/3.
4) Fugaz, Star Black, Volcano b Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II, Kráneo
16:32
5) Euforia b Esfinge
11:29
6) Místico, Neón, Star Jr. b Ángel de Oro, Hechicero, Niebla Roja
18:20

Nothing great on this show. The main event was the best match without being anything extraordinary. Esfinge/Euforia played out a lot like Flip/Euforia, down to the finish. There were two different matches (2/4) that ended with someone breaking up the pinfall at 3.2 and referee Bestia Negra ignoring it. Not sure if they were meant to break up the pin in either case.

There was a sponsored show in Arena Mexico in the afternoon. The ring announcer for that show was supposed to make it to this one, but didn’t show up until match 3. Some random person was doing their best to fake their way through it for two matches. They had the voice but didn’t have intros down; talking about the great international career of Pequeno Violencia clued me in that something was up.

CMLL (SUN) 05/05/2024 Arena México [CMLL]
1) Shockercito b Galaxy [lightning]
2) Astral & Valiente Jr. b Nitro & Sangre Imperial
3) Guerrero Maya Jr., Pegasso, Stigma b Cancerbero, Luciferno, Virus
Fureza Poblana defeat the forces of Hell (not France) on Cinco de Mayo
4) Difunto, Rey Bucanero, Sagrado b Espíritu Negro, Hombre Bala Jr., Rey Cometa
5) Hijo del Villano III, Mephisto, Villano III Jr. b Blue Panther Jr., Dark Panther, Hijo de Blue Panther
6) Titán, Valiente, Volador Jr. b Bárbaro Cavernario, Dragón Rojo Jr., Terrible

Nothing notable inside. Outside, there was a fight before the show that made the news.

CMLL (TUE) 05/07/2024 Arena México
1) Acero & Aéreo vs Minos & Pequeño Violencia
2) Astral, Eléctrico, Robin vs Enfermero Jr., Inquisidor, Sangre Imperial
3) Futuro, Hombre Bala Jr., Max Star vs Cancerbero, Luciferno, Pólvora
4) Kira & Skadi © vs Hera & Olympia [MEX WOMEN TAG]
5) Blue Panther Jr., Dark Panther, El Hijo De Blue Panther vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Dragón Rojo Jr., Terrible
6) Atlantis, Atlantis Jr., Octagón vs Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr., Último Guerrero

Kira & Skadi and Hera & Olympia seem likely to have many tag team title matches, as two of the three set women’s tag teams.

CMLL (TUE) 05/07/2024 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Eclipse Jr., Prince Drago, Último Ángel vs Fúnebre, Mortis, Ponzoña Jr.
2) Chamuel, Kemalito, Tengu vs Micro Gemelo Diablo I, Micro Gemelo Diablo II, Micro Sagrado
3) Dulce Gardenia, Fuego, Guerrero Maya Jr. vs Ángel Rebelde, Halcón Negro Jr., Nitro
4) Adira, Náutica, Sanely vs Sexy Sol, Valkiria, Zeuxis
5) Arlequín, El Gallero, Zandokan Jr. vs Leo, Omar Brunetti, Vaquero Jr.
6) Brillante Jr., Máscara Dorada, Místico vs Averno, Euforia, Soberano Jr.

A bigger name main event than usual for Guadalajara, as well as KeMalito’s debut. Prince Drago was in the Guadalajara Gran Alternativa back in February and is returning here.

CMLL (FRI) 05/10/2024 Arena México
1) Emperador Jr. & Platino Kid vs Calavera Jr. I & Calavera Jr. II
2) Arkalis, Pegasso, Stigma vs Difunto, El Coyote, Felino Jr.
3) Lluvia vs Reyna Isis [lightning]
4) Neón, Star Black, Valiente vs Akuma, Soberano Jr., Zandokan Jr.
5) Templario © vs Flip Gordon [CMLL MIDDLE]
2nd defense
6) Esfinge, Máscara Dorada, Volador Jr. vs Ángel de Oro, Hechicero, Niebla Roja

Beyond the title match, the notable thing here is Sobearno’s first Arena Mexico appearance since the incredible pairs final. It’s a little bit lower position than normal for him, doesn’t totally make sense unless something’s coming out of his match (or something’s coming out of Hechicero being in the main.) The title match should be good, and everything else seem fine or better.

Misterioso Jr. announced Friday he was leaving CMLL. He’d been in CMLL since 2004. His last match was March 16th in Arena Mexico. He had also been advertised for the 04/23 Arena Mexico show but did not appear.

That last non-appearance is part of the story. Misterioso was a guy averaging two matches a week pre-pandemic, then found that cut in half from 2021 on. He was firmly in the pool of veteran names with Felino and Rey Bucanero where CMLL is going to keep giving them some work for a long time to come, but not a lot of work and no push. The difference between them is Felino and Bucanero live in Mexico City, Misterioso moved back to Torreon, and it’s not worth making the trip for one midcard booking a week. Misterioso seemed content to bear with it as long as CMLL was giving his sons (Misterio Negro & Misterio Blanco) work; he was really just wrestling to help get them work at this point. The death of on his daughter Zulema in 2019 sent Misterioso into a depression, one he’s talked about publicly since, and his two sons and other daughter getting into wrestling was the one thing that pulled him out of it. CMLL seemed to stop using the kids after this year’s Torneo de Escuelas, which meant the father didn’t have much of a reason to stay. If CMLL’s not going to book him here, he was obviously going to use what name value he has to go get them booked on indie dates.

Misterioso Jr. was a promising newcomer, later a good rudo and then eventually a guy who spent the back half of his career not doing much. CMLL’s a great place to work because you can have a job for life if you make it through the first few years and obey their (sometimes confusing) rules. Having a job for life doesn’t meant CMLL will actually do anything with you, and Misterioso found himself on the midcard treadmill. He became so lazy that his gimmick itself became of a lazy wrestler; he spent a lot of years dropping falls via surprise cradles. Misterioso had lost weight and was in a better condition in 2023, motivated by his children, and even got put in a title match. There was still no chance CMLL would do much more with him. Misterioso’ time had passed. Misterioso is probably is still well remembered enough that he can get Robles Promotions-level bookings if that’s what he’s looking for (and if they’ll take his son too), but he wouldn’t be a great fit in something like AAA. He’ll be a perfect candidate to lose his mask some promotion with a lot of money; he’s a recognizable name that can make a lineup look like a major league one.

The bigger picture issue is CMLL adding luchadors – through the Torneo de Escuelas, the increased focus on women, and other pickups. That’s good news for CMLL viewers, who are generally going to get hungrier people in the spots that had been going to Misterioso (or Tiffany or Halcon Suriano Jr.) It’s bad news for the veterans, who are going to get squeezed into smaller schedule and are less likely to be awed by just having a CMLL spot as younger wrestlers. As long as CMLL keeps bringing more people in, there probably will be more people leaving.

AAA

Reminder that the TripleMania Tijuana press conference is Wednesday at 11 AM local (or sometime later.) The next news post will be after that lineup is revealed.

AAA TV had part of TripleMania Monterrey. No Copa TripleMania, so they’ll stretch it over a third week. As usual, there were a bunch of videos that didn’t air on the PPV itself:

• Dr. Wagner Jr. previewed his tag match with Negro Casas
• Dalys and Faby Apache fought backstage
• Cibernetico, Ozz and Cuervo made vague threats towards Mesias, Escoria and Espiritu
• Bestia 666 talked to a Mystery Person about challenging for the tag titles. NGD mocked him, and distracted Bestia from seeing Mecha Wolf clock Bestia with a traffic cone. Mecha Wolf taunted Bestia and brought up their cage match in The Crash (on 05/17)
• Konnan and Latin Lover had a face off; video stopped before they did anything

Couldn’t get the vibe if Bestia and whomever (NGD suggested it was Damian) are really challenging for the tag titles or if that was just a way to have NGD be involved with the skit. Something physical with Bestia and Mecha to make people understand they’ve broken up with necessary. I don’t know that AAA fans are paying attention to The Crash cage matches.

Latin Lover sat down with Lucha Por Lucha to talk about TripleMania and AAA. Latin Lover’s story now is he never thought he was going to take Konnan’s job away from him by being creative director, and he absolutely wasn’t going to come to AAA to take someone’s job. I can believe both Latin Lover didn’t want the full responsibility that come with that sort of job and that Dorian Roldan pitched it as coming to help and not take over. Still, adding someone who would be above Konnan in the org chart would inevitably lead to issues with Konnan. (It’s instructive that when Konnan talked about this situation on his podcast, his ideas for utilizing Latin Lover are non-creative roles.)

At any rate, the Latin Lover/Konnan stuff is being also used as an onscreen angle. There was the vignette at the end of the TV show to push in that direction. Latin said everyone will know where he stands on the upcoming Mexico City taping.

Hijo del Tirantes was notably missing from TripleMania Monterrey. In an interview with La Tijera, Hijo del Tirantes seems that was punishment from AAA for some offense. No explanation of what Tirantes got in trouble for. There were people who hated that show much more than even I did, but imagine if that show also had Hijo del Tirantes doing Hijo del Tirnates things on it.

IWRG

IWRG (SUN) 05/05/2024 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG]
1) Príncipe Centauro & Rey Aztaroth b Sacro & Sky Man
2) Multifacetico Jr. © vs Rey Halcón [IWRG IC WELTER]
Random Match
3) Cerebro Negro & Cerebro Negro Jr. DQ Látigo & Toxin
unmasking DQ
4) Vangellys b Kiki Roberts, Vudu Max, Shocko, Soy Raymunda, Abigor, Pandemónium Jr., Danessa, Gran Pandemónium, Tornado, Hijo de Pandemónium, Spider Fly, Águila Roja, Bengalee, Sol, Freelance, Luka, Ivan Rokov, Tony Rivera, Veneno, Noisy Boy, Hijo de Canis Lupus, Máscara Sagrada Jr., Estrella Divina, Jessy Queen, Imposible, Caballero de Plata, Axel, Cerebro Negro Jr., Sangre Azteca [Rey del Ring]
Ivan Rokov helped Vangellys win. DMT Azul showed up, setting up a feud between Azul & Lupus and Rokov & Vangellys

True story: this match started around 7:30 my time, I really had to get to sleep at 8:30 (this week is bad), so I watched the Rey del Ring to jot down all 30 people and then I turned off the stream before they finished it. I do not feel I made the wrong choice missing out on a big Vangellys win.

Luka seemed like he came from the wrong side of the ring or he ran in on the match, but I wrote him down and it added up to 30.

If you’re wondering when Multifacetico Jr. won the title, he didn’t – Dr. Cerebro Jr. did, and then changed gimmick.

Big Lucha

Big Lucha (SAT) 05/04/2024 Arena Big Lucha, Iztapalapa, Distrito Federal [thecubsfan]
1) Helios, Nordico, Wisin El Dog b Golden Dragón (Illinois), Ryu Orochi, Sangre Nueva
9:55
2) Marishika & Sairley b Diosa Nix & Sussy Love
14:15. Members of the WWS roster helped Marishika win, taunted la Brava for nto showing up.
3) Auzter, Borgdan Klimov, M2R b Cósmico, La Bomba, Reiyel
13:26
4) El Brujo, Limbo, Torito Negro Jr. b Caballero de Plata, El Potro de Oro, Mr. Win
6:31. Chaman Jr. accompanied the rudos and interfered a lot. Sol helped the rudos, who said they were the Heel Flyers. Potro wanted a super libre rematch for the next show.
5) Atómico Jr., Elipse, Iku b El Mexicano, Orbita, Viajero
17:01. Mexicano replaced Big Tao Tao (health issue), though he only turned up after the rudos attacked Mr. Big. Elipse got the win this time.
6) Ricky Marvin b Australian Suicide
13:14. Marvin and Suicide praised each other post match.
7) Cometa Maya & Radioactivo b Súper Nova & Texano Jr. © [BIG LUCHA MIXA]
18:42. Maya & Radioactivo are the third champions, champ for a second time.

Didn’t feel strongly about show, where the first five matches all changed. The main event was the best match, something more than Sangre Texana style than the Big Lucha huge moves, and it did feel like a big moment when the titles changes hands. Australian Suicide was the same Australian Suicide, just a little bit older, a little bit rusty and with a few more tattoos. A pivot or new ideas to freshen up would’ve been helpful; he’s just bald and doing a lot of what other people are doing here.

The Heel Flyers wore the red and black of Black Generation but were also very clear they were the Heel Flyers; they were added to the Black Generation a couple of shows back, and that seems like a u-turn. Wisin, a luchador in a dog sports mascot offense, has gotten over as a Mexico City area act over the last few months. He hasn’t figured out how to rig his gear without needing to constantly need to hold his head in place.

I didn’t understand the WWS angle at all but – Diosa Nix is WWS champion and she was on the Big Lucha side? Nix & Sussy worked that match as rudas too, and the people who ran in just complained about the non-present La Brava. I didn’t help that I couldn’t really hear the announcers or the fans in the first match, and then I could hear the announcers but not the fans later on.

Other News

The saga of “will Fenix make the 05/05 House of Glory show” ended with Fenix not making the show – not wrestling, not appearing. It’s the second time this has happened with Fenix and House of Glory. This time, Laredo Kid was shuffled around to face and lose to Penta in Fenix’s place. It was not a banner Cinco de Mayo all around; Gravity missed GCW, and Arez and Laredo only made one of their two scheduled bookings.

Both House of Glory and GCW used Cinco de Mayo to bring in Mexican wrestlers as novelty, and to have them lose to their regular talent whenever possible. On the HOG show, Mexican wrestlers went 0-3 in HOG versus outsiders matches – and probably only that “good” because Laredo got moved out of a likely loss to KC Navarro. On the GCW, Mexican talent went 0-5 against GCW talent. (Cole Radrick beating Demus is the one that stands out the most as an odd choice; maybe there’s some long term booking thing with Radrick that explains why that finish couldn’t be flipped but it seems a strange choice to a non-watch.)

Both shows ended with a Mexican wrestler winning, in matches including other Mexican wrestlers, so the shows could end on a ‘happy’ note. Mostly the Mexicans were there so they could call it a Cinco de Mayo show and be a novelty; there doesn’t seem to be more investment than that. This is not an issue limited to these two promotions by any means. This may be a ME problem and not one for everyone; the other takes on saw on both shows were fairly positive. The GCW main event between Gringo Loco & Arez and Jack Cartwheel & Aramis sounds like it was the best of the bunch.

05/04 NOAH

• Kaito Kioyomiya defeated Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. to win the GHC Championship
• Daga beat Alejandro to retain the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship
• Tadauke & YO-HEY beat Alpha Wolf & Dragon Bane and Shuji Kondo & YASSHI to retain the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship

Wagner’s title run comes to an end. It sounds like he generally did well as far as match quality for this reign. Wagner made the most of his unexpected title run and did the best he could to position himself for another one. Los Golpedores have gotten continued strong reviews this year. Daga too; NOAH set up a next title defense against Starboy Charlie.

Dragon Bane coming up here reminded me of the TripleMania 2019 pre-show match. It was a trios match where the idea of putting six young guys to do an incredible match, showcasing the future of the promotion. AAA did a great job of identifying people who would be great then and (mostly) would get better in future years. The problem is that five of them – Dragon Bane, Arkangel Divino, Aramis, Arez, Toxin – never progressed in AAA and left for better opportunity elsewhere. The sixth was Astrolux/Mini Drago, who still works AAA spots but has been used twice on TV in the last year.

Segunda Caida watches more early 90s Monterrey.

ESTO talks to elephant luchador Bumbu.