3 title changes on CMLL Night of Champions, Vikingo/AAA, Mistico back to NJPW

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 09/27/2024 Arena México [CMLL, GradaGraficoKaiser SportsTelediarioThe Gladiatores, thecubsfan, thegladiatores.comVavel]
1) Averno, Euforia, Mephisto b Máscara Dorada, Neón, Star Jr. © [CMLL TRIOSCMLL | Averno, Mephisto y Euforia son nuevos Campeones Mundiales de Tríos (posted by mluchatv) CMLL PRESENTA NOCHE DE CAMPEONES VIERNES 27 DE SEPTIEMBRE 2024 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) Reporte CMLL: Euforia, Averno y Mephisto Vs Neón, Máscara Dorada y Star Jr. (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
14:16. Champions fall on 1st defense. Los Infernales become 37th champions and won the title shot over Los Guerreros Laguneros and Atlantis, Blue Panther and Octagon.
2) Último Dragóncito © b Pierrothito [CMLL MINICMLL | Último Dragoncito retiene el Campeonato de Pequeñas Estrellas ante Pequeño Pierroth (posted by mluchatv) CMLL PRESENTA NOCHE DE CAMPEONES VIERNES 27 DE SEPTIEMBRE 2024 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) Reporte CMLL: ¡Hay campeón! En intensa batalla Último Dragoncito da cuenta de Pierrothito (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
10:44. 2nd defense. Pierrothito won shot over Angelito & Mercurio.
3) Magnus & Rugido © b Hijo del Villano III & Villano III Jr. [MEX TAGCMLL - VILLANO III JR. - HIJO DEL VILLANO III VS RUGIDO - MAGNUS /ARENA MÉXICO / 27-09-24 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) CMLL | Magnus y Rugido retienen los Campeonatos Nacionales de Parejas ante Los Villanos III'ros (posted by mluchatv) CMLL PRESENTA NOCHE DE CAMPEONES VIERNES 27 DE SEPTIEMBRE 2024 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) Reporte CMLL: Los monarcas Rugido y Magnus derrotan al Hijo del Villano III y Villano III Jr (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
11:02. 6th defense. Villanos won shot over Dark Panther/Hijo de Blue Panther and Difunto/Zandokan.
4) Sanely b Reyna Isis © [MEX WOMENCMLL - SANELY VS REYNA ISIS /. ARENA MÉXICO / 27-09-24 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) CMLL | Sanely derrota a Reyna Isis y es nueva Campeona Nacional Femenil (posted by mluchatv) CMLL PRESENTA NOCHE DE CAMPEONES VIERNES 27 DE SEPTIEMBRE 2024 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) Reporte CMLL: Hay nueva campeona nacional femenil, Sanely derrota Reyna Isis (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
12:48. 6th defense. Sanely won the vote over Hera & Princesa Sugehit. Seconds were Niebla Roja (Isis) and Mano Negra (Sanely.)
5) Templario © b Volador Jr. [CMLL MIDDLECMLL - VOLADOR JR. VS TEMPLARIO / ARENA MÉXICO / 27-09-24 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) CMLL | Templario retiene el Campeonato Mundial Medio ante Volador Jr. (posted by mluchatv) CMLL PRESENTA NOCHE DE CAMPEONES VIERNES 27 DE SEPTIEMBRE 2024 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) Reporte CMLL: ¡Guerrero León de oro! Templario Campeón Mundial Medio al vencer a Volador Jr (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
13:11. 2nd defense. Volador Jr. won the vote ahead of Dragon Rojo & Flip Gordon. Seconds were KeMalito and Magnus.
6) Atlantis Jr. © b Soberano Jr. [NWA LHCMLL - SOBERANO JR. VS ATLANTIS JR. / ARENA MÉXICO / 27-09-24 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) CMLL | Atlantis Jr. retiene el Campeonato Mundial Histórico Semicompleto ante Soberano Jr. (posted by mluchatv) CMLL PRESENTA NOCHE DE CAMPEONES VIERNES 27 DE SEPTIEMBRE 2024 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) Reporte CMLL: Atlantis Jr sigue como Campeón Mundial Histórico Semicompleto al vencer a Soberano Jr (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
12:20. 2nd defense. Soberano Jr. won over Akuma & Barbaro Cavernario. Seconds were Atlantis and Euforia.
7) Rayo Metálico b Futuro © [MEX LIGHTCMLL - RAYO METÁLICO VS FUTURO / ARENA MÉXICO / 27-09-24 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) CMLL | Rayo Metálico se corona como nuevo Campeón Nacional Ligero venciendo a Futuro (posted by mluchatv) CMLL PRESENTA NOCHE DE CAMPEONES VIERNES 27 DE SEPTIEMBRE 2024 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) Reporte CMLL: Rayo Metálico se vuelve el nuevo Campeón Nacional Ligero derrotando a Futuro (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
11:24. Futuro falls on 2nd defense. Rayo Metalico won the shot over Calavera Jr. I and Electrico. Seconds were Volador (Futuro) and Averno (Rayo Metalico.)

This was an overall successful and enjoyable show. There were some genuine surprises and most everything was entertaining. Nothing rose to the best match of the year level, but everything besides the minis match was at least pretty good. The minis match was two guys who’ve wrestled for 30 years deciding to wing it, and it not going well. It stood out harshly again the other matches. Matches 4 and 7 went the other way; those four wrestlers had seemingly worked very hard at working out their match from the moment they knew it was going to happen and the work showed. Reyna Isis has come through this way a few times now: she’s a mostly forgettable trios wrestler who can deliver a great match if it’s a big occasion and there’s some time to prepare for it.

Rayo Metalico and Futuro had the highest difficulty. The people who vote in CMLL’s fans – the people who vote in most any online poll – are always going to be small percentage of the overall fanbase. Most of the people in Arena Mexico had no idea why these guys were main eventing or even who they were. The match got whistles from the start, which seemed absurd – if you didn’t want to see the match, why wouldn’t you just treat it like the show was over and leave – but they were able to pull the fans in a few times. Rayo Metalico is about the level of a generic high flyer, there is still nothing he does that defines him as Rayo Metalico as opposed to dozens of other guys, but he had a really good night and a mostly clean one. I thought Futuro looked superb, just spectacular in his big moves and felt like the guy making the match work. It was his spots that got the most positive reaction in the match. (Volador and Averno being seconds seemed like a strong hint they may have had a role in putting this together; both Futuro & Metalico train in Volador’s classes.) Metalico winning was a genuine shock; there’s little chances he would’ve held a belt as historically important as the national lightweight championship at this point in his career without winning that fan vote. It’s also a belt that CMLL (and EMLL) historically hasn’t had much use for, so giving it to Metalico makes sense. It’s no real loss if CMLL forgets about it, and it solves the problem of CMLL having few lightweights rudos who would credibly beat Futuro for the title. Futuro should be moving up to bigger things in the welterweight division.

The other two title changes felt important. I’ve got theories about the trios title match (check the Sunday results.) Mano Negra doesn’t appear in Arena Mexico often, so him showing up to second his daughter Sanely was a signal she was winning the belt. I’m still not sold on Sanely as a pushed ruda but her variation of the dragon sleeper looked good as a new finish. That trios match was great, as was Atlantis/Soberano. And the women’s match so overachieved that it made my recommended list. Templario/Volador dragged early, picked up a lot midway through, but they’ve got better in them. Depredaores/Villanos was good but easily could’ve used more time. With seven matches all for titles, it seemed like CMLL just told everyone they had 12 minutes to work with – it was right for some and not exactly right for others.

Rayo Metalico said everything you’d expect about his win—it was the most significant moment of his career. He’d like to defend the lightweight title everywhere, and he will do his best to do so. Euforia emphasized that this wasn’t his win after his mask loss but a Los Inferanels win. The team was good enough to win the trios titles at any time; they finally got the chance. Sanely was as happy as I ever remember seeing her, static. She lived up to her promise of winning this title and taking it home as a prize to her father, who she said was even more excited than her about the win.

Toni Storm will be La Catalina’s opponent on 10/11. CMLL aired a clip of Storm from AEW, though no promo. Catalina and Storm’s stints in NXT overlapped in 2019/2020. They never wrestled but it’s at least possible they’ve gotten in the ring together before this match. (They’re also two people who were very unhappy at the end of their time in WWE, so there might also be a bond there.) Both are using a butt smash as a trademark move. I think Catalina is fine if she loses to Toni Storm; it’s just the overall balance of wins and losses between AEW and CMLL that’ll be a bit concerning. Still, CMLL’s likely to get another win on 10/25.

CMLL seems to favor AEW wrestlers with big personalities who can get over immediately with a casual audience. MJF fits that, PAC does, and Storm does as well. (Fletcher really did not, but CMLL got a title win, so that’s good enough.) I think CMLL will give Toni Storm the full black-and-white Timeless presentation if they can pull it off because that’s why they want her there. I wonder if Timeless Toni Storm ever did a movie with Pedro Infante.

CMLL (SAT) 09/28/2024 Arena Coliseo [CMLL]
1) Acero & Aéreo b Full Metal & Pequeño Polvora CMLL - ARENA COLISEO 28 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2024 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
11:00. Pequeno Polvora snuck in a foul on Aereo. Aereo demanded a singles match next week.
2) Astral, Eléctrico, Emperador Jr. b Dr. Karonte I, Dr. Karonte II, Enfermero Jr. CMLL - ARENA COLISEO 28 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2024 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
16:06.
3) Reyna Isis b India Sioux [lightningCMLL - ARENA COLISEO 28 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2024 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
8:19.
4) Barboza, Crixus, Rey Bucanero b Guerrero Maya Jr., Pegasso, Xelhua CMLL - ARENA COLISEO 28 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2024 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
15:44. Straight falls for the rudos, after Xelhua and Guerrero Maya had issues. Maya appeared to be the more rudo of the two.
5) Explosivo, Fugaz, Star Black b Akuma, Dragón Rojo Jr., Valiente CMLL - ARENA COLISEO 28 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2024 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
13:09
6) Esfinge, Místico, Star Jr. b Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero, Zandokan Jr. CMLL - ARENA COLISEO 28 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2024 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
15:23. Zandokan replaced Stuka Jr. on Tuesday. Mistico hit his close of third fall dive, rolled off screen, and seemingly just left through the front door to make this his next stop as the match finished. His team did win.

Those are some deep-cut angles. Guerrero Maya versus Xelhua is a match I’ve wanted to see since Xelhua became a thing but didn’t see how they were actually going to see it. Maya’s reaction was a lot like Valiente’s before he turned. His post-match promo came off as he still thought of himself as a tecnico, even while saying some rudo things towards Xelhua. Aereo and Pequeno Polvora are good but almost never ever pushed. CMLL does have that “World Short People Day” torneo coming up, and it’s almost about time for them to start building the New Year’s Day match. I don’t know that Aereo/Polvora is certain to be it but that’s about the range of stars usually included.

This show itself is an easy skip. Nothing moved past OK for me.

Mistico’s exit was the most mysterious but he probably didn’t have the toughest travel day. Barboza worked match 4 here, then must’ve gotten on a bus for six hours to get back to Guadalajara to main event the Sunday afternoon charity show there, and then probably got right back on a bus to get to Mexico City to train and wrestle on Tuesday. A rough schedule. The Guadalajara charity show was said to have drawn 2,000 people and raised 20,000 pesos for the children’s medical fun.

CMLL (SUN) 09/29/2024 Arena México [CMLL]
1) Diamond & Leono b Inquisidor & Sangre Imperial
2) El Audaz, Hijo del Pantera, Retro b El Coyote, Okumura, Pólvora
3) Cancerbero, Luciferno, Virus b Hombre Bala Jr., Max Star, Volcano
4) Kira, Skadi, Tessa Blanchard b Dark Silueta, Hera, Sanely
5) Dragón Rojo Jr. b Terrible
6) Atlantis Jr., Máscara Dorada, Titán b Ángel de Oro, Euforia, Niebla Roja

The Dragon Rojo stuff continues to play out like a Los Barbaros breakup angle happened, but we’ve never seen one on screen. Dragon Rojo talked post-match about not caring if he was a tecnico or rudo and taking out Terrible before going after Barbaro Cavernario. It sure seems like the programming department had split them up; they lost the belts, teamed once more, and then haven’t teamed on CMLL-booked shows since then. It comes off as CMLL decided they were breaking up Los Barbaros immediately, the tecnico team happened to be available to be champions, and the plan was always that they’d get them back on a rudo team at the first opportunity. (Los Infernales just happened to win the fan vote, it was a lucky coincidence Euforia got a big win after his bigger loss.) It’s totally unclear why CMLL decided it had to break up the trio and why they didn’t do an actual break up angle if they’re now wrestling each other.

Sunday, in a backstage promo at NJPW’s Destruction in Kobe’s show, Hiromu Takahashi demanded/begged for a match with Mistico to take place on NJPW’s 10/14 King of Pro Wrestling show in Ryōgoku Kokugika (Sumo Hall). Takahashi’s claim is that he always loses to La Mistica and he needs to beat Mistico. CMLL put out an emoji tweet Sunday night teasing the match, and then NJPW confirmed it was happening early Monday morning. This is the 20th Anniversary Mistico appearance in NJPW mentioned two weeks back on CMLL Informa. NJPW seems to be trying to load up that King of Pro Wrestling show even beyond a special Mistico guest appearance, especially to get international attention. Mistico/Takahashi is the opener, a rare position for both men. Takahashi would likely win a NJPW match over a CMLL wrestler in a vacuum, but NJPW does have that multi-promotion Wrestle Dynasty show on 01/05/2025 and Mistico figures to be a prominent part of that show.

Mistico will be on NJPW’s tour prior to King of Pro Wrestling. He’ll work four shows starting on 10/08. He’s working the same basic match on all the shows: Mistico & Ryusuke Taguchi versus Hiromu Takahashi & either BUSHI or Yota Tsuji. None of those shows are listed as airing on NJPW World.

The next big NJPW/CMLL announcement would be the teams for the Super Junior Tag League, which runs from 10/24 to 11/02. Titan will work those shows and it’s unclear if a full CMLL duo will be in the tournament. NJPW may not announce the teams until that 10/14 show.

I posted CMLL on Televisa Puebla Monday morning on DailyMotion, but they’re all stuck in the processing purgatory. I’ll re-encode and re-post them later, but none of the matches were all that interesting. No AMX uploads this week or next; CMLL streamed those matches live.

CMLL (TUE) 10/01/2024 Arena México
1) Leono vs Inquisidor
2) Capitán Suicida, Dragón de Fuego, Valiente Jr. vs Enfermero Jr., Grako, Nitro
3) India Sioux & Tabata vs Dark Silueta & Valkiria
4) Explosivo, Fugaz, Star Black vs Barboza, Difunto, Zandokan Jr.
5) Princesa Sugehit, Skadi, Tessa Blanchard vs Persephone, Reyna Isis, Zeuxis
6) Máscara Dorada, Místico, Neón vs Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr., Último Guerrero

The calendar turns to October, and CMLL’s card changes from (sometimes) 16.66% women’s matches to 33.33% women’s matches. The Guerreros were runners-up in the Noches de Champions fan poll and face the kind of ex-trios champions a few days later. Explosivo and Barboza seem to be sticking around for the moment.

CMLL (TUE) 10/01/2024 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Lince De Baijo & Prince Drago vs Obek & Ray
2) Candela, Centinela, Hatanna, Magia Azul vs Sakura, Universys, Venus (Chihuahua), Zafiro
GDL/CDMX vs Juarez
3) Draego & Persa vs Leo & Omar Brunetti
4) Diablita Roja (Puebla), Lady Amazona, Lady Metal vs Lady Shadow, Llamarada, Miss Guerrera
Puebla versus Comarca Lagunera
5) Dark Magic, Espanto Jr., Raider vs Bestia Negra, Guerrero de la Muerte, Ráfaga
6) Atlantis Jr., Dulce Gardenia, Flip Gordon vs Averno, Bárbaro Cavernario, Euforia

The CMLL/Alto Voltaje Arena Monterrey show on Sunday drew the expected weak crowd; seemed less than 1,500 based on photos (with a lot of variance on that number.) Hechicero surprisingly beat Mistico in the main event. They teased as mask match for the 92th Aniversario; that will not happen. Alto Voltaje had flyers for an 11/02 date with Octagon, Flip Gordon, Barbaro Cavernario, La Catalina, Templario, and Tabata, They’re running Gimnasio Municipal Jose Navarro in the Monterrey suburbs for that one, a much smaller building.

CMLL (TUE) 10/01/2024 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Lince De Baijo & Prince Drago vs Obek & Ray
2) Candela, Centinela, Hatanna, Magia Azul vs Sakura, Universys, Venus (Chihuahua), Zafiro
GDL/CDMX vs Juarez
3) Draego & Persa vs Leo & Omar Brunetti
4) Diablita Roja (Puebla), Lady Amazona, Lady Metal vs Lady Shadow, Llamarada, Miss Guerrera
Puebla versus Comarca Lagunera
5) Dark Magic, Espanto Jr., Raider vs Bestia Negra, Guerrero de la Muerte, Ráfaga
6) Atlantis Jr., Dulce Gardenia, Flip Gordon vs Averno, Bárbaro Cavernario, Euforia

Guadalajara is running an all-women’s show sometime this month. It’s probably the Tuesday before the Grand Prix, as always, 10/22. Makes sense to bring in some new names to help fill out that show. Universys (sometimes Universis) was in Arena Coliseo Guadalajara last October. The rest of the Ciudad Juarez crew is making their debut. Zafiro was being pushed as a CDMX indie star for a moment – it seemed like it was for her look; promoters insisted she could wrestle too, and then you’d see her matches, and it was definitely for her look. She didn’t stick, retired for a bit, and came back. Sakura and Venus worked the dark match on the AAA TV taping; I guess they won’t be doing that in November. You might remember Venus losing her mask to Lady Shani on an AAA TV taping. Mas Lucha gave Sakura a lot of hype the year she was in Tornea Suprema and then I thought she was just OK. Maybe we’ll see more here. Or you will, I won’t get around to watching Guadalajara.

CMLL (FRI) 10/04/2024 Arena México
1) Angelito, Kaligua, Pequeño Magía vs Mercurio, Pequeño Olímpico, Pequeño Violencia
2) Magia Blanca vs Virus [lightning]
3) Kira, Lluvia, Tessa Blanchard vs Hera, Persephone, Sanely
4) Bárbaro Cavernario, Hechicero, Templario vs Magnus, Rugido, Volador Jr. [Relevos Increíbles]
5) Princesa Sugehit vs La CatalinaZeuxisAmapolaNáuticaIndia SiouxMalignaOlympiaDark SiluetaMetálica [CMLL Universal de Amazonas, semifinal]

La Catalina and Zeuxis were the final two last year and will probably be the final two in this block. Sugehit is the only other person who has an on-paper chance of advancing. (Only in looking at this lineup did it click that India Sioux got La Vaquerita’s spot; CMLL spaced out the announcements to make that less obvious.

Next week’s Universal block has the six names in match three, plus Tabata, Valkiria, Reyna Isis and then I’m not sure. La Guerrera hasn’t worked in CMLL since the all women’s show in March, which suggests she’s out of CMLL. Marcela is still isn’t ready to return. Sexy Sol hasn’t worked in Arena Coliseo Guadalajara since April and showed up an indie Guadalajara show this weekend, so she might be out of CMLL. There’s a lot of Puebla, Guadalajara or Torreon women who could be back in for that spot. I believe Sexy Star II and AAA are on good terms and she is not jumping. I was thinking about asking the question to Twitter to see who I’m blanking on her but I figured I would get no good responses.

The semi-final and the lighting match should be good. The Mini Sky Team is together in the opener.

Atlantis Jr., Sanely, and Salvador Lutteroth were on N+’s Es La Hora de Opinar, hosted by Leo Zukerman. Atlantis Jr. and Sanely do many of these press because they appear engaging and professional and say nothing controversial. Lutteroth did say a few newsworthy things. They pushed CMLL as family-friendly entertainment put on by athletes who train very hard and something that represents Mexico to the world. Lutteroth said 18% of visitors to CMLL are foreigners. That’s lower than the number they usually give for tourists, but “tourists” could include additional domestic travelers. He also talked about wanting to appeal to children, citing success with their contest on Kid’s Day, where the kids dressed up as their favorite luchadors. He noted that the only thing he missed was that the fans didn’t have the creative (and profane) insults they had in the past because it’s such a polite place. (This may have stretched the truth a bit.) Lutteroth said their real competition is against all forms of entertainment, so the wrestlers must be more professional and train harder. Lutteroth also said strengthening its alliances with foreign partners was important for growing CMLL as a global brand. The most amazing part of the conversation was when Lutteroth revealed that La Cavernaria – the 80-year-old CMLL super fan – brings folders of information on foreign wrestlers and upcoming Mexican wrestlers to Arena Mexico. She’s apparently scouting people she thinks CMLL should bring in. I’m not sure even I’ll be doing that if I make it to 80.

GALLI’s 10/06 show with CMLL wrestlers has some significant changes. Templario, Mascara Dorada, Robin, and Neon are off the show. Blue Panther, Felino, Difunto, and Akuma have been added. This is still the effect of the work visa issues back in the spring; GALLI had been advertising those names on the shared hope that new work visas would arrive by now. No such luck.

MLW added Magnus to the announced talent list for their 11/09 show.

AEW put up a video with Chris Jericho talking about his return to CMLL.

AAA

AAA TV (SUN) 09/29/2024 Gimnasio Nuevo León Unido, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon [@Galactic094, AAA]
1) Hijo del Solar & Solar I b Tiger Universitario Jr. & Tigre Universitario
Tiger Universitario was honored after the match. Possibly a dark match.
2) Alan Stone, Bello Stone, Zumbido b Dulce Kanela, Jessy Queen, Pimpinela Escarlata
3) Dinámico b Charro NegroRedimidoTosscanoDrago
Drago was added to the match.
4) Flammer & La Hiedra b Dalys & Natalia Markova and Julissa & Valentina
Masha Slamovich was scheduled to team with Markova, Dalys teamed with her instead and Flammer was added to team with La Hiedra. Toxicas won when Hiedra put Valentina through a table. Hiedra & Julissa had issues with each other (and stopped selling) after the match.
5) Dave The Clown, Murder Clown, Panic Clown b Abismo Negro, El Fiscal, Psicosis
short match with Fiscal being put through a table. Psycho Circus want a trios title match.
6) Hijo Del Vikingo, Laredo Kid, Octagón Jr. b Belcegor, Emperador Azteca, Taurus
Alberto attacked Vikingo prior to the match, and Vikingo joined the match in progress. Laredo pinned Azteca. Mesias and Octagon Jr. brawled earlier in the night and after this match.
7) Alberto el Patrón, El Mesías, Pierroth Jr. b Cibernético, Dark Cuervo, Dark Ozz
Prior to match 4, Konnan, Dorian, KAOZ’s Alonso Botello, Valentina, Julissa, Alberto, Latin Lover and Cibernetico all did a in-ring bit. Alberto is apparently Mesias’s new disciple or maybe Mesias is in Alberto’s group. Alberto beat Ozz.

This taping is actually airing in Mexico after Heroes Inmortales, so the big angles they shot – Mesias/Octagon, the trios title match, maybe Alberto/Vikingo – may be for Guerra de Titanes in Juarez. Or they may never go anywhere at all, because it is AAA. Another way of putting it is Vikingo’s matches in GLEAT will take place well before this airs. This is his in-ring debut, if GLEAT airs on YouTube for free as usual, that’ll be the place most people will see him return. (I have no idea which order it’ll air in the US.)

The taping looked close to full in the carefully curated photo, which probably means it was a little less than that.

In the build-up to this show, Roberto Figueroa and Julissa seem to turn Latin Lover’s comments about AAA women into their own storyline. Figueroa talked about how Julissa was an unknown, a sort of “Mrs. X” for the AAA wrestlers. Julissa said that if she was Mrs. X, then La Hiedra was Mrs. XXXL. I don’t know if that had anything to do with the post-match, but Hiedra & Julissa were hitting each other and not really selling hitting each other in a pro-wrestling way. Julissa has had similar questionable moments with Tiffany in this post-WWE run, which came off as something to build towards matches, but no matches happened.

Masha Slamovich ended up working for Prestige Wrestling on Sunday instead, as a late addition. It’s possible that TNA’s changing schedules messed up plans to get her to Mexico, though it seems like getting to Monterrey shouldn’t have been a problem if she could get to Portland. I don’t know that anyone AAA fan missed her – AAA didn’t promote her outside of listing her name in the lineup – but it’s also strange AAA & KAOZ were bringing in someone who could so easily be missed. It’s also strange that Flammer wasn’t booked originally. AAA has talked a lot about how Las Toxicas are AAA’s most popular act with local promoters, they’re in a lot of demand, and then originally didn’t book two of them (Flammer and Maravilla) in their home town.

The “Lucha Libre AAA Border” Tijuana show on Friday looks like a success, much more than The Crash and EMW recently. I believe it’s the one AAA is behind, though you couldn’t necessarily tell from some of the results. They’re running again on 12/06. AAA being in charge would make some of the appearances notable; Keyra being here may mean she’s not working Todo x el Todo dates and could mean something about Myzteziz Jr.’s status with the promotion. (Myzteziz was scheduled to work Saturday in Puebla, and I haven’t found photos of his match.) Sexy Star worked in Tijuana and Puebla. I’m fairly certain her cryptic “I’m leaving you” Instagram post was actually about a personal relationship and not about AAA. If she just explained that she was now single, she would’ve gotten many more likes (and questionable DMs.)

Photos of an empty-looking building for the AAA show in Puebla are floating around. They are misleading. For whatever reason, people were mostly seated on the bleachers on one side of the ring, and almost no one was sat on the other side, so most of the photos show this vacant-looking building that’s unrepresentative of the turnout. (It’s about the same as some recent US TV tapings.) I looked around on Instagram stories, and I can see that the other side is pretty full. The promoter would probably like it better than 60% full, and it does seem like the Vampiro retirement has cooled down as a draw post-TripleMania Mexico City. Still, 60% is probably enough to get by; the local promotion immediately said they’d be running again in November.

AAA on Space was a filler episode, as expected. It was the sixth episode of AAA TV this year where they just didn’t have anything new to show and instead aired clips of old matches. That’s three TV tapings that AAA typically would’ve made money on, gotten work for their wrestlers, and built matches for the future that didn’t happen for reasons no one is explaining. This should be the final filler episode until the traditional holiday break.

There is no AAA on Space episode next Saturday. Space will air part of Heroes Inmortales live on Sunday, starting at 6 pm. AAA still hasn’t announced the full Heroes Inmortales card. It seemed like AAA would do it match by match, but then they just stopped. Maybe they thought it was too confusing with two tapings going on, but they hadn’t officially announced either title match as of Sunday night. The card probably makes little different to the attendance. They’re going to have a great-looking crowd because it’s a big building where most of the people are getting in free with admission to the fair, and the idea is to run important matches not just to draw but to make the winners look like big stars in front of that audience.

AAA will start Desayunado con Quetzalli (Bulnes) will begin a weekly internet interview show show on October 2nd at 10 AM. She did the same concept for WWE Espanol before she was let go a couple of years ago, and it’s a concept that seems to fit well with AAA. I presume it’s an Instagram show. The commercial for that show must’ve been produced by someone else, because it doesn’t look far more modern than AAA TV (or most wrestling) looks like.

Unimas aired part one of the Showcenter card. That show is two weeks behind Space now but will be one week behind soon; they’ve skipped all the filler episodes.

House of Glory announced Nic Nemeth versus Hijo del Vikingo on 10/18. It’ll air on Triller. I’ve been checking out a lot of AAA/CMLL people elsewhere late but I am good on Nic Nemeth matches for the moment.

Big Lucha

Big Lucha (SAT) 09/28/2024 Arena Big Lucha, Iztapalapa, Distrito Federal [Big Lucha, thecubsfan]
1) Visionario b SkaylerTempo EN VIVO | Big Lucha | Alas de la Independencia 2024 #SomosBigLucha (posted by BIG LUCHA )
Scheduled as Auzter & Skyde vs Platino & Tempo. Skayde quit the promotion on Saturday morning (but probably had already decided he was quitting the promotion since he was in New York at the time.) Skyler & Visionario were introduced as a tag team, but this was a three way match.
2) Iku b Mexicano EN VIVO | Big Lucha | Alas de la Independencia 2024 #SomosBigLucha (posted by BIG LUCHA )
3) Cósmico & Helios b Mil Almas & Platino and Nordico & Reiyel and Bogdan Klimov & El Brujo and Diosa Nix & Marishka and La Bomba & Rey Orochi and Depayseman & Uzumaki and Forneo & Torito Negro [Copa Independecia] EN VIVO | Big Lucha | Alas de la Independencia 2024 #SomosBigLucha (posted by BIG LUCHA )
winner gets a tag title shot. Forneo & Toro returned to Big Lucha as the surprise final team, but were upset by Cosmico & Helios. They earned a tag team title shot later. Forneo said the Hell Flyers were still going after Delta Force.
4) Eli Isom, Kento, Takuma b Cometa Maya, Morfosis, Radioactivo EN VIVO | Big Lucha | Alas de la Independencia 2024 #SomosBigLucha (posted by BIG LUCHA )
Takuma demanded a shot at the BIG LUCHA MIXA champions Cometa Maya & Radiocativo following the win. Cosmico and Helios interrupted to say they had first rights. Radioactivo agreed, but ended up attacking Kento and Takuma. Mr. Big Lucha made it a three way match.
5) Flamita, Mr. Win, Ricky Marvin, Viajero b Big Tao Tao, Black Skayde, Elipse, Limbo EN VIVO | Big Lucha | Alas de la Independencia 2024 #SomosBigLucha (posted by BIG LUCHA )
show kicked with Big Tao Tao & Limbo explaining Tonalli and their scheduled mystery partner not being there; one was in the US and one was in South America, though they then changed it to South America and Africa. Flamita came out with partners to tell the truth: Tonalli was in Veracruz, Emperador Azteca was in Monterrey, and the surprise partner just didn’t want to team with them. Flamita said 4 v 2 is fair, Tao Tao is so big that he counts as 3. Elipse and Black Skayde joined everyone in the ring to criticize the Black Generation but offered to team with them in the main event since they also hated the tecnicos. Tao Tao and Limbo unhappily accepted. Flamita pinned Tao Tao with a 450; Tato Tao seemed shaken up after the match.

I skimmed through most of this show, but I’d say match 4 is worth making time to watch and match 5 is if you just want something to watch. I like seeing Forneo here if he’s going to be bouncing around places and I’m almost amused he never had to stop wearing the same red gear wherever he went.

Big Lucha said they’d be back in October, and announced a special Dia del Muertos show on 11/02 show. The video and the announcement seemed to hint at various wrestlers using old famous gimmicks from the past. I don’t know how it will go over to have someone as a Kato Kung Lee if it’s not specifically endorsed by Kato Kung Lee, to pick one person shown. They also announced a Big Lucha versus Super X show coming at some point; I’m not sure if that’s the October show or some other date.

Earlier Saturday, Skayde announced he’s decided to move on from Big Lucha. His farewell statement cites being unhappy with how he’s been supported (or not) recently. Skayde’s trained at many places and moves on fairly often, but it’s another signal that Big Lucha is a promotion in flux, at best. The Big Lucha announcers were complimentary towards Skayde during the broadcast, so there was no harsh breakup on their side.

Other News

Mas Lucha has their Mas Lucha Suprema on 10/19.

Mas Lucha (SAT) 10/19/2024 Arena Lopez Mateos
1) Sol vs Black Shadow IIShere KhanManiak CopX-DevilSolarisKundraAlfa Jr.Dragón SuicidaVillareal [Torneo INJUVE]
2) Mary Caporal, Nix, Princesa Azul, Satania vs Bengalee, Julissa, Quimera, Zuzu Divine
3) Hijo del Pirata Morgan & Pirata Morgan vs Demonio Infernal & Fresero Jr.
4) Aeroqueen vs Faby ApacheFlammerIndia MazahuaLola GonzálezRenee MichelleSagitariusVanilla Vargas [Torneo Suprema, torneo]

That’s a normal group of people until you get to 65-year-old Lola Gonzalez and US wrestler Renee Michelle. There’s probably an Apache/Flammer final, which might be better than TripleMania or might have even more interference.

The Mole comic convention took place in Mexico City this weekend, with a lot of luchadoras having booths and doing interviews. At the show, Blue Demon Jr. told La Tijera Lucha libre that he was very hurt by El Hijo del Santo calling him a toxic person, saying that he helped El Hijo del Santo with many issues, supported him when Santo got vetoed from CMLL and AAA. Demon is angry about Santo’s comments and calls him toxic and narcissistic Demon mentions he had surgery for a sports hernia in July and is still a while away from returning.

A documentary called “Quien mato a Shocker?” (Who killed Shocker) will debut at film festival DocsMX in on October 12th and 13rd. I believe the last update was Shocker is in rehab and is not dead, though he may be more about the death of their professional career. Shocker was featured in both the Lucha Mexico documentary and the Los Luchadors reality series, both of which would’ve been taped when he was well trapped by his addictions. Lucha Mexico has him talking a little bit about it in one scene if, I recall right, but in a way where you wouldn’t know the serious of the issue unless you came into the movie with prior information. Shocker having addiction issues was well known for many years, but I don’t think anyone (film-makers and Shocker himself) were eager to put it on screen until life forced it to be that way. Shocker’s descent spilled that problem out in the world, and I suspect this documentary goes into more depth on that.

Sabu did make it to Mexico. To stand in the corner and not physically get involved, but that’s till more than I would’ve guessed.

Segunda Caida writes about recently posted early 90s apuesta matches.

El Grafico has an interview with Ojo de Tigre.


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3 thoughts to “3 title changes on CMLL Night of Champions, Vikingo/AAA, Mistico back to NJPW”

  1. Maybe a dumb question but what are AAA’s main streams of revenue? They seem to run so few shows that if it was purely ticket sales it’d be very hard to support its roster.

  2. Dorian Roldan went over this a few months ago and I should look back that up, but it’s a combination of sponsorship, money form live events, and some media deals.

    Money from live event includes ticket sales, but most of what AAA typically makes is kind of like an agent fee for renting their wrestlers out to spot shows. The promoter pays X for each wrestler, AAA passes some of that on to the wrestler and keeps the rest.

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