a non-title title match in Puebla, Los Principes, Tiffany, Komander

CMLL

CMLL (MON) 03/25/2024 Arena Puebla [Grada, Porra Fresa]
1) Diablita Roja & Mayahuel b Enigmática & Lady Metal
2) Crixus, Difunto, Raider b El Malayo, El Perverso, Siky Ozama Facebook video (posted by )
CDMX rudos challenged Puebla rudos for their Occidente (GDL) trios championships
3) Tessa Blanchard b Lluvia [lightning]
4) Guerrero Maya Jr., Pegasso, Stigma b Futuro, Max Star, Neón Facebook video (posted by )
5) Soberano Jr., Templario, Último Guerrero b Atlantis Jr., Averno, Volador Jr. [Relevos Increíbles]
Romero ran in for the DQ, leading into the main event
6) Rocky Romero b Máscara Dorada Facebook video (posted by )
Originally a title match, quietly a non-title match and begin out of the semimain post match. Romero got his knees up on Dorada’s SSP and cradled him for the win. Romero challenged Volador to a singles match next week.

So this was weird. There’s an old CMLL trick – an old Mexican wrestling trick either – when they’re not going to deliver on a promoted stipulation. One side of the match interferes in the previous match, then the other side attacks them to go right into their match. It saves the ring announcer from revealing the match isn’t for whatever title it’s supposed to be, and fans might not even notice the champion never brought the belt. They pulled this one here, distracting from the main event by not being a title match by rushing into it.

Only can guess at why it wasn’t a title match. Maybe Romero is busy on the Universal tournament day and no one realized it until it was too late. Maybe the commission threw some wrench. Maybe we’ll see the video someday and they’ll explain it well.

The show did draw well.

CMLL (TUE) 03/26/2024 Arena México [CMLL, thecubsfan]
1) Galaxy, Kaligua, Pequeño Magía b Full Metal, Mercurio, Pequeño Polvora CMLL | Galaxi, Pequeño Magia y Kaligua vencen a Mercurio, Pequeño Pólvora y Full Metal (posted by mluchatv)
9:43
2) Eléctrico, Fuego, Robin b Dr. Karonte I, Enfermero Jr., Inquisidor CMLL | Eléctrico, Robin y Fuego derrotan a El Enfermero Jr., Dr. Karonte I e Inquisidor (posted by mluchatv)
Inquisidor replaced Grako
3) Hera, Olympia, Tessa Blanchard b Lluvia, Marcela, Tabata CMLL | Tessa Blanchard, Hera y Olimpya vencen a Lluvia, Marcela y Tabata. (posted by mluchatv)
16:09
4) Virus b Fugaz [lightningCMLL | Virus derrota a Fugaz en match relámpago (posted by mluchatv)
6:44
5) Atlantis & Octagón b Ángel de Oro & Niebla Roja CMLL | Octagón y Atlantis vencen a Niebla Roja y Ángel de Oro (posted by mluchatv)
11:55
6) Rocky Romero, Soberano Jr., Templario b Flip Gordon, Star Jr., Volador Jr. CMLL | Rocky Romero le da la victoria a Los Príncipes tras quitarle la máscara a Star Jr. (posted by mluchatv)
12:11. Templario was eliminated, came back in to distract the referee, and Romero pulled Star Jr.’s mask to set up a cradle. Star Jr. and Rocky Romero agreed to a singles match

Attendance was much higher than usual for a Tuesday. This might be a holiday week reaction. The crowd that did show up cheered loudly for Octagon and Atlantis. Nothing notable in match quality; at least nothing notable positively. Matches 2/3 had some not good performances.

After the show, Soberano claimed he and Templario no longer wanted to be Mexicans and asked Rocky Romero to help them become Americans. Rocky said they’d fill out a few forms and get it done. Templario asked if they could move Tlaxcala to the US too and Romero suggested it could become part of Texas. (They did not address Monday’s non-title match.)

CMLL (TUE) 03/26/2024 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [CMLL, Mas Lucha]
1) Avispón Negro Jr., Lince Del Bajio, Último Ángel b Eclipse Jr., El Jabalí, Ponzoña Jr.
2) Dulce Kitty, Lady Shadow, Miss Guerrera b Hatanna, Magia Azul, Valkiria
Tabata announced, then replaced by Centinela a few hours later. Valkyria ended up in the spot, and Dulce Kitty replaced Alondra
3) Leo, Omar Brunetti, Vaquero Jr. DDQ Infierno, Mr. Trueno, Rey Trueno
double fouls fouls both ways
4) Andrómeda, Lady Metal, Skadi b Adira, Náutica, Sexy Sol
5) Blue Panther Jr., Dark Panther, Hijo de Blue Panther b Ráfaga, Sagrado, Zandokan Jr.
Rafaga replaced Misterioso
6) Brillante Jr., Máscara Dorada, Titán b Averno, Euforia, Mephisto

That’s two straight missed shows for Misterioso.

CMLL (SAT) 03/30/2024 Arena Coliseo
1) Micro Gemelo Diablo I & Micro Gemelo Diablo II vs Micro Ditto & Mije
2) Rayo Metálico & Xelhua vs Alom & Dragón de Fuego
3) Dark Panther vs Espanto Jr. [lightning]
4) La Catalina, Lluvia, Marcela vs Dark Silueta, Tessa Blanchard, Willow Nightingale
5) Star Black, Valiente, Volcano vs Gemelo Diablo II, Gran Guerrero, Kráneo
6) Atlantis Jr., Místico, Star Jr. vs Rocky Romero, Soberano Jr., Templario

Willow appears to be staying in CMLL for a moment, while BCC are one show and out.

CMLL announced Wheeler Yuta would be unable to wrestle on Friday and Matt Sydal will replace him. Yuta hasn’t wrestled since January 10, 2024. AEW keeps injury information very quiet and I’m not sure what Yuta’s injury has been. Sydal has wrestled three matches against CMLL wrestlers while in AEW, including singles matches with Magnus and Mistico, so it makes sense for him to be used as a replacement. He’s also a former WWE wrestler, and that’s part of the draw here. Mexican reactions were generally positive about the change.

CMLL Informa today has a cast of thousands

  • Tony Salazar (H2L)
  • Mistico, Volador Jr., Blue Panther (vs AEW)
  • Atlantis Jr., Rocky Romero, Soberano, Templario (tournament final)
  • Tessa Blanchard (women’s match)
  • Magnus (tag title match)
  • Villano III, Akuma, Espanto Jr. (04/06 Arena Coliseo Tag Match)

No AEW people. Media people have been told AEW people won’t be available for interviews after Friday’s show.

MLW announced Felino for their 05/11 show, which is notable only in that social media discourse thought Felino might be jumping to AAA to team with Negro Casas as one his TripleMania mystery partners. I guess he still could, seemed unlikely to begin with. AAA never actually said Wagner & Casas would be teaming with family members, but most people are convinced that’s the deal because of how they presented the match.

Box y Lucha 3596 has Homenaje a Dos Leyendas on the cover. I can probably pre-write this same sentence for 3597 next week.

ESTO has a Tony Salazar bio (or, more accurate, a recap of the videos CMLL has been posting.)

AAA

Neither of these are directly AAA but there’s nothing to put in this section today.

Mas Lucha had a 27 minute interview with Komander from the KAOZ show Sunday, minus them time where the KAOZ promoter wanders into the interview to praise him. (I believe the Komander KAOZ->AEW contract move worked out happily for the KAOZ promoter and so he always makes an effort to praise Komander.) Komander’s asked about him, AAA, and their Crusierweight title. Komander notes he recently defended the belt against Action Jackson in Reynosa. He would like to be on AAA shows defended it, AAA wants it, AEW also wants it, but they’ve just had problems all lining up together for dates. Komander would like to also wrestle CMLL wrestlers, though he understands the difficulties behind that. He doesn’t worry about not being able to used on certain (CMLL) shows, but just is focusing on being ready when AEW needs him. Komander says he’d talked to “Senor Villano” (Villano V, I think) earlier in the day and he praised Komander for his work internationally. Komander feels like he gets a lot of criticism in social media (Mexican social by his phrasing) and it helps to here praise from veterans.

Mas Lucha also talked to Tiffany, who says she left CMLL on very good terms, it was just the end of her cycle there, and she wanted to see what it was like to be an independent wrestler. Tiffany popped up on a 05/12 Gran Apache show with a bunch of AAA wrestlers before she left CMLL; her story is Faby asked her to participate, she definitely wanted to be there and thought she could, but hadn’t actually decided to leave CMLL at that point. (At another point, Tiffany talks about a project she wanted to do that CMLL would not allow her, which could be this show.) Eventually, she decided to og. Tiffany talks about getting a lot of messages from fellow CMLL wrestlers, and it sounds like very few of them knew she was leaving in advance. She thanks Paco Alonso for bringing her in, Salvador Lutteroth, Edgar Noriega, Tony Salazar, and Alexis Salazar by name. Tiffany newest retirement timeline is “a year and half at most.” She notes that everyone assumes that she’s now going to be of AAA’s Origenes tour, but she hadn’t talked to anyone in AAA, yet. That “yet” is the important word; she’s clear that she’d like to be part of that and feels like she should be invited.

IWRG

There’s an AAA/Rosales show on Friday, so no show on Thursday. They do have a gym show on Sunday

IWRG (SUN) 03/31/2024 Arena Naucalpan
1) Indra & Silver Hawk vs Fobia & Shura King
2) Drakula, Pequeño Drago, Viral vs Atómico, Hijo de Rey Pantera, Mariachi
ULLO vs Radioactivo
3) Allan Star, Bralzephone, Impacto vs Argus, Hijo De Sparta, Sparta
Gym Mexico vs Lucha Libre Boom
4) Adam Del Castillo, Dardo, Rey Azteca vs Anara Haki, Giako, Gigante Karoshi
Gym Infiero vs Gym 23 de Junio
5) Oficial AK47 & Oficial Fierro vs Multifacetico Jr. & Tornado
Fierro 30th anniversary match
6) Águila Oriental, Águila Roja, Ajolotl, Auzter, Fussion, Rey Astaroth, Rey Halcón, Tornado vs Bumbu, Charly Boy, Dragón Suicida, Emperador Slayer, Energía, Hauzer, Jitsu, Zoom Driver [Copa Higher Power]
FILL vs Gym Lucha MX

These used to be all trainee shows, but there are some names in that main event who are definitely not trainees.

IWRG also announced a Lucha Libre show for next Sunday

IWRG , LLB (SUN) 04/07/2024 Arena Naucalpan
1) Macho I, Macho II, Macho III vs Argus, Demencia, Rocky Bulldog
2) Hijo De Sparta vs Príncipe CentauroGravedad CeroNew LevelThe CrowCorazón GuerreroSpartaKarma I
3) Águila Oriental, Noisy Boy, Spider Fly vs Cometa, Sol, X-Devil
4) Águila Roja, Fandango, Hellboy, Puma de Oro vs Carta Brava, Lunatik Xtreme, Súper Boy, Toto
5) Reina Isis & Shamila vs La Catalina & Mary Caporal
6) Máscara Dorada & Místico vs Soberano Jr. & Templario

That’s a better main event than usual, though these don’t tend to be the hardest working matches.

Other News

ESTO also has an interview with Komander.

Black Taurus says he’d like to go to Japan one day and also face CMLL wrestlers in Mexico.

Here Is Oregon has a profile of Portland Lucha Libre.

Soberano & Atlantis Jr. advance to H2L, Tiffany leaves CMLL, AAA shows up at The Crash

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 03/22/2024 Arena México [CMLL, FDDEKaiser SportsLa Tijera, thecubsfan]
1) Fuego & Hombre Bala Jr. b El Coyote & Pólvora CMLL - PÓLVORA - COYOTE VS HOMBRE BALA JR. - FUEGO / ARENA MÉXICO/22-03-24 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) Pólvora y Coyote demuestra su poder y rudeza ante Fuego y Hombre Bala Jr a quienes derrotan (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
11:07
2) Hijo del Villano III, Villano III Jr., Zandokan Jr. b Esfinge, Fugaz, Star Black CMLL-H. DEL VILLANO III-VILLANO III JR.-ZANDOKAN JR. VS FUGAZ-STARBLACK-ESFINGE/A. MÉXICO/22-03-24 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) CMLL: Zandokan Jr., Villano III Jr. e Hijo del Villano III vencen a Esfinge, Fugaz y Star Black (posted by mluchatv) Hijo de Villano III, Zandokán Jr y Villano III Jr se imponen a Star Black, Fugaz y Esfinge (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
11:25. Zandokan said he’d beat Esfinge next week too, that time for the title.
3) Lluvia, Stephanie Vaquer, Zeuxis b La Catalina, Reyna Isis, Tessa Blanchard [Relevos IncreíblesCMLL-LLUVIA-ZEUXIS-STEPHANIE VAQUER VS LA CATALINA-REYNA ISIS-TESSA BLANCHARD/A. MÉXICO/22-03-24 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) CMLL: Stephanie Vaquer, Zeuxis y Lluvia salen con vs Tessa Blanchard, Reyna Isis y La Catalina (posted by mluchatv) Lluvia, Zeuxis y Stephanie Vaquer dieron cuenta de Tessa Blanchard, Reyna Isis y La Catalina (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
9:25
4) Flip Gordon, Místico, Volador Jr. b Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Rocky Romero CMLL-NIEBLA ROJA-ÁNGEL DE ORO-ROCKY ROMERO VS FLIP GORDON-VOLADOR JR.-MÍSTICO/ARENA MÉXICO/22-03-24 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) Místico, Flip Gordon y Volador Jr logran vencer a Rocky Romero, Ángel de Oro y Niebla Roja (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre) Místico, Volador Jr. y Flip Gordon vs Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja y Rocky Romero (posted by mluchatv)
13:25
5) Stuka Jr. & Templario b Atlantis Jr. & Disturbio [Torneo Incredible de Parejas, battle royal]
6) Atlantis Jr. & Soberano Jr. b Disturbio & Virus [Torneo Incredible de Parejas, quarterfinalAtlantis Jr y Soberano Jr derrotan a Disturbio y Virus en la 2da fase de Torneo Increíble de Parejas (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
8:18
7) Hechicero & Stuka Jr. b Dragón Rojo Jr. & Templario [Torneo Incredible de Parejas, quarterfinalHechicero y Stuka Jr están en la fase final luego de derrotar a Templario y Dragón Rojo Jr (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
6:31
8) Atlantis Jr. & Soberano Jr. b Hechicero & Stuka Jr. [Torneo Incredible de Parejas, semifinalAtlantis Jr y Soberano Jr están en la final del Torneo Increíble de Parejas (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre) CMLL - 2a FASE DEL TORNEO INCREÍBLE DE PAREJAS / ARENA MÉXICO / 22-03-24 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) CMLL: ¡Soberano Jr. y Atlantis Jr. están en la final del Torneo Increíble de Parejas! (posted by mluchatv)
9:19. Atlantis Jr. and Soberano Jr. advance to the final on 03/29

Disturbio & Virus went all out in their brief semifinal, and that made that the most fun match of the night. I thought everything else was profession if not extraordinary, and I didn’t remember a lot about it by Sunday night. The Mistico match was a good Mistico match, the Zandokan & Villano team remains fun if out of control. Next week’s the big one.

Atlantis Jr. & Soberano Jr. fought after the match, though CMLL cameras missed it. They felt like the correct team to advance, as much as Stuka and Hechicero were the better functioning unit. Soberano just has to be on the big show, it would be strange to not have him.

The women’s match had Vaquer & Blanchard trading victories in the first two falls, then not at all factoring into the third fall finish.

Mistico wore a Perros del Mal tribute mask to the ring, as he typically does around the anniversary of Perro Aguayo Jr.’s passing.

The top of CMLL’s barricades had ads for Netbet, the first time they’ve had a gambling sponsor. It looks like a generic gambling site with a sports book; you can not currently bet on CMLL.

CMLL (SAT) 03/23/2024 Arena México [CMLL]
1) Dragón de Fuego b Astro Boy Jr.
2) Astral, Robin, Valiente Jr. b Enfermero Jr., Grako, Inquisidor
3) Raider & Vegas b Capitán Suicida & Diamond
4) Amapola, Dark Silueta, Tessa Blanchard b Andrómeda, Marcela, Skadi
5) Akuma, Dark Magic, Espanto Jr. b Blue Panther Jr., Dark Panther, El Hijo De Blue Panther
Espanto Jr. cheated to beat Dark Panther, setting up a singles match next week
6) Flip Gordon, Místico, Star Jr. b Averno, Euforia, Mephisto

CMLL’s restarting using their building specific Twitter accounts of late; there’s video clips on the long dormant Arena Coliseo and Arena Mexico accounts. It stuck out to me that Arena Coliseo clips were from a video feed of the show – CMLL’s streaming that show somewhere. It’s possible it’s just some internal video feed because and Arena Coliseo doesn’t have a stable enough internet connection to put it on YouTube, but that would be the only thing holding it back. Even with just an internal video feed, it’s typically not hard to chop that video up and put up two (or more) matches on to a YouTube channel in a matter of minutes. There’s no obvious tech issue preventing CMLL from posting those shows, it’s just not a priority.

(Worth pointing out here that CMLL did not put up the Arena Coliseo matches last week, so anyone who was on the 35 USD level wasted their money more than usual this week. They were late in posting the Friday night show, as happens fairly often.

CMLL (SUN) 03/24/2024 Arena México [CMLL]
1) Novato & Rayo Metálico b Hunter & Infarto
2) El Audaz, Eléctrico, Volcano b Inquisidor, Kráneo, Vegas
3) Dulce Gardenia, Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa DQ Cancerbero, Luciferno, Virus
straight falls, Virus getting DQed for excessive violence on Dulce Gardenia in the 2nd fall
4) Persephone & Tessa Blanchard b Hera & Olympia
5) Flip Gordon b Niebla Roja
6) Atlantis Jr., Máscara Dorada, Volador Jr. b Ángel de Oro, Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr.

Maybe CMLL will give a better idea of where that fourway midcard feud is headed after H2L. My best guess still is the Arena Mexico Anniversary show on 04/2.

Tonight is the Mascara Dorada/Rocky Romero title match in Puebla. Porra Fresa often streams matches (from his phone) on Facebook.

CMLL (TUE) 03/26/2024 Arena México
1) Galaxy, Kaligua, Pequeño Magía vs Full Metal, Mercurio, Pequeño Polvora
2) Eléctrico, Fuego, Robin vs Dr. Karonte I, Enfermero Jr., Grako
3) Lluvia, Marcela, Tabata vs Hera, Olympia, Tessa Blanchard
4) Fugaz vs Virus [lightning]
5) Atlantis & Octagón vs Ángel de Oro & Niebla Roja
6) Flip Gordon, Star Jr., Volador Jr. vs Rocky Romero, Soberano Jr., Templario

Tabata was listed on the Tuesday Arena Coliseo Guadalajara, then pulled off that show hours later. Guess she was booked here. Los Principes team up in the main event, the Chavez have to handle the team of Atlantis & Octagon again. Virus has made Fugaz look silly in the past.

That singles loss to Persephone last Sunday was apparently Tiffany’s farewell to the promotion. She made a surprise appearance on the Crash show on Friday night, then announced she left CMLL after 14 years and would be an independent wrestler. This has been in the works for a while; she’ll the mystery woman on a lot of upcoming Robles shows. Tiffany had talked about wanting to wind down her career in a year or so. Wrestlers rarely actually retire when they say they’re going to retire, but, if she believes she’s finishing up, Tiffany leaving CMLL makes a lot of sense. She’s likely to get more bookings and be in better spots in the short term, working with people and in places she hasn’t worked for a while. That effect wears out after time, but that’s not an issue if she’s truly planning on wrestling just a short while longer.

Tiffany at her peak in AAA was a great personality and a good worker. Age was catching up to her on both points by the time she jumped to CMLL. She’s been a poor wrestler for a number of years, and there was little chance CMLL was ever going to push her at this point in her career. Her matches being reallocated to a newer woman is a positive for CMLL. I had heard she had a leadership role within the CMLL women’s division, which always surprised me given she came from outside the system.

Tiffany is married to Kraneo. There’s no word about his status; he doesn’t seem to post on social media much (at least under his wrestling accounts.) He did wrestle Sunday in Arena Mexico, taking the pin.

Halcon Suriano Jr. posted a video statement about his CMLL departure. The overall themes aren’t a surprise: Suriano thought he should be pushed, CMLL’s programming department wasn’t interested in him, he got frustrated. It’s unsaid if he was fired or simply suspended for his previous comments and decided to quit, but it’s clear he had a meeting with someone from that programing department and then was gone from the promotion. Suriano specifically said he was told not to do certain moves or wear outfits because others were doing so, and the programming department just didn’t like him. (He still likes Sr. Lutteroth and believes they’ll work together again.) Suriano seems to cite Astral & Electrico as others in similar situations, their abilities not properly recognized by the promotion. Suriano mentions he was suspended last year for working a Costa Rica promotion (Riot Wrestling Alliance, which is not the Costa Rica Embassy that’s partnered with CMLL.) He plans on working on the independents and proving his value there. It’s almost as hard to change your slotting on independents as in CMLL – everyone seems slotted at the same level and there’s not much movement – but he at least gets a chance to be slotted higher to start.

AEW’s Jose the Assistant posted photos/video of being at Arena Mexico Friday night, and thanked them for the VIP treatment. Dralistico talks in every interview lately about how much he loved his time in CMLL and would enjoy going back. He’s never bad mouthed CMLL, but the idea he’d ever go back was not an idea brought up as recently as the start of the year. The game here is to convince people that LIJ and CMLL are all good. I don’t think CMLL cares about former Elite wrestler Principe Orion/Jose the Assistant one way or the other. Rush is the problem, or CMLL’s dislike of Rush is the problem. Jose tweeting photos doesn’t indicate any of that has changed, just that they’d like it to change and quickly. You’re welcome to guess if this is related to Rush & Dralistico not appearing in AEW lately.

AS Chile has a profile of La Catalina. New detail in here is that AAA approached her about coming in while she was in Mexico (probably around the time of her wrestling in Big Lucha), but she rejected them. She later went to the CMLL offices about coming in and was accepted right away.

Stephanie Vaquer looks to be defending the NJPW Strong title against STARDOM’s AZM next, probably at NJPW’s Windy City Riot.

The Crash 

I try to choose what promotions to cover more closely here based on a few factors

  • The influence they have on the rest of Mexican wrestling.
  • The ease of footage of the promotion that’s both in good quality and timely, so the people I’m sharing this info with (you) can actually check out the thing I’m talking about
  • The presence of something novel or intriguing; maybe it’s just good matches, maybe it’s a different approach

This criteria means I’ll never stop covering AAA. AAA has an immense gravity that affects the rest of Mexican wrestling (and frequently beyond), no matter how interesting or good it is. IWRG goes in waves of quality, but it has some influence and is really easy to find. Big Lucha has some affect on the wider landscape – mostly through it’s own drama – but they’re usually easy to find and are doing things in a different way. Attendance hasn’t been a reason to cover a show or promotion closely for me. There’s Arena Neza or Arena Lopez Mateos shows that draw reasonable well, numbers that would stand out positively if transferred to US or Japanese scenes, but they have no relevance to the rest of the world. The last typically has no relevance to the next; they are events that happened and then are largely immediately forgot.

The Crash has fit into that category the last few years. There was a point where they were doing something novel with the mix of Mexican and foreign talent, and there was enough drama in and out of the ring to make them a source of relevant news. The footage has almost always an issue, but there was a point where it was worth jumping through whatever hoops it took to find out what was happening. The Crash still has been drawing well the last few years – as has it’s forever Tijuana rival EMW – but it’s slipped as relevant without having the same quality of names, and it not doing as much interesting. I’ve putting the results in the luchadb when they come in, but not done much more.

The Crash seems to be changing in ways that handles some of those issues. They streamed a single cam version of Friday’s show on Facbeook, and they’re now uploading full video of those matches on a reactivated YouTube show. The YouTube uploads have gone up for the last couple of shows. The primary way to watch the events prior was through fancams; The Crash says they’re no longer allowing them. The Crash believes they’re about to make money off the videos, or they’ve made some sort of deal already and that’s why all this is happening. There was also a bit on the show that suggested they’ll be a bit more relevant:

The Crash (FRI) 03/22/2024 Auditorio de Tijuana, Tijuana, Baja California [The Crash (stream), thecubsfan, Zona Ruda]
1) Keyra b Julissa ©Jessica RodanAyako HamadaTiffany [THE CRASH WOMEN] AYAKO KAMADA VS KEYRA VS TIFFANY VS JESSICA RODEN VS JULISSA | 22 DE MARZO | CAMPEONATO FEMENIL (posted by )
Tiffany was the surprise wrestler; this was her departure from CMLL. Keyra won thet itle.
2) Ángel Metálico, Mirage, Mr. Maldito b Anubis, Gallo Extreme, Rey Furia REY FURIA, ANUBBIS & GALLO EXTREME VS MIRAGE, ANGEL METALICO & MR. MALDITO |22 DE MARZO| SUPER LIBRE (posted by )
3) Destiny © b TonalliAramisNick WayneBlake Christian [The Crash CRUISER] ARAMIS VS BLAKE CHRISTIAN VS NICK WAYNE VS TONALLI VS DESTINY | 22 MARZO | POR EL CAMPEONATO CRUCERO (posted by )
Destiny retained, the D-Luxe challenged him for a title match. La Rebelion came out and invited D-Luxe to join their group, which he accepted.
4) Alpha Wolf & Dragón Bane © b Noisy Boy & Spider Fly and Bamboo & El Rey [THE CRASH TAG]
5) Bestia 666, Black Taurus, Rey Escorpión (Indie) b Dralistico, Rey Horus, Rush
Moved down a match. Rush threw a drink at Rey Horus for losing, then he and Dralistico walked out before as the post match angle started. The “eye” emoji video from AAA aired after the match (and earlier in the night), and Pagano and Mecha Wolf hit the ring. La Rebelion left the ring. Dorian Roldan appeared on the stage, and called Pagano (and Mecha) to the back. They walked past La Rebelion, who taunted them but otherwise didn’t ineract. La Rebelion came back to the ring to interact.
6) Dr. Wagner Jr. & Galeno del Mal b Bishop Kaun & Toa Linoa
Moved up a spot; though it appeared a significant amount of the crowd left after the main event.

The AAA angle caused a lot of surprise, but also confusion. La Rebelion acted like they didn’t know what was supposed to be happening and didn’t want any part out of it. Black Taurus being out there for it especially stood out; his recent AAA departure left hard feelings on both sides. There were hints earlier in the day, so I some people had to know. Maybe Rush & Dralistico did – maybe that’s why they got out of there quick rather than be part of an AAA angle at time when they’re trying to be friends with CMLL. It didn’t seem like nearly as many people realized it was Dorian Roldan. (It was unclear who it was on the stream, but that was mostly an issue with the quality of the stream.)

The best guess is this is a setup to some EMW/The Crash matches, probably including the TripleMania Tijuana show. Konnan tried to get the two groups to work together back in 2022, and it immediately fell apart (over a El Hijo del Santo booking.) AAA treated The Crash as the enemy as recently as June, when they stopped booking Bandido, Flamita and Emperador Azteca for working The Crash. It is hard to believe they’ll last long working together, but the hope probably is to keep it together at least long enough for that big show. This angle did get some buzz from both promotions, though maybe not as much as hoped – running an angle on a late night on Friday with little notice is difficult.

The “eye” bit doesn’t seem to fit together. It was treated like mystery people invading AAA on the Mexico City taping. It was some signal of AAA people invading another promotion at The Crash. AAA guys showing up on The Crash show is a big deal, but nothing actually happened – no one said anything, no one really did anything. It was enough to get footage on social media, which seemed was the goal, but there was no clear match direction coming out of it.

I caught the last half of this show after CMLL. (Watching a late night Friday show after CMLL is also difficult for me.) The three way tag was overly familiar and not interesting to me, but seemed to get a good reaction. The semimain was a little more creative, though totally overshadowed by the angle. The main event was nothing and couldn’t follow what had happened earlier anyway. Wagner doing his usual promo – and getting distracted by taunts – as the building was clearing out was pretty flat.

Julissa lost her the women’s title here. Two days later, she lost the KAOZ women’s title also to Keyra. That one was one a direct pin, which seems like it was the first direct pin she’s taken since returning to Mexico. Announcers pushed it as a story of Keyra collecting belts. Julissa losing a lot of title belts and taking pinfalls suggests some change in her career. (Julissa and Tiffany later had a long pull apart backstage.)

That KAOZ show seem to fill Gimnasio Nuevo Leon Unido, just like the Konnan Big show did a couple of weeks ago. I thought there’d be more of the AAA/eye angle there, but nope. They were pushing a feud with Robles Promociones instead.

Mas Lucha streamed the show, and avoided all mention of Marty Scurrl. Disgraced baseball pitcher Trevor Bauer also happened to turn up in Mexico this weekend, signing with Mexico City’s Diablo Rojos because they were playing the New York Yankees in an exhibition game and it was his latest stunt to try to get back into MLB because he loves the history of Los Diablos Rojos so much. Coverage of Bauer’s signing stuck to what he could add to the team (for the five games he signed for) and avoided all mention of the scandals that led Bauer to the point. It is a useful reminder the way Mexican wrestling handles people like Marty Scurrl or Travis Banks is not specifically a Mexican wrestling cultural choice, but a larger Mexico cultural deal.

AAA

AAA TV was not much. Laredo/Antifaz was a ten minute version of the generic AAA singles match – a rudo second interfering frequently, a wood panel destroyed in the finish, the tecnico winning but the rudo immediately beating him up to make sure everyone knows Nothing Is Settled (as nothing is ever settled in AAA.) Laredo Kid did good Laredo Kid things but the match didn’t didn’t much for me. Neither did other two. The women/exotico match was only interesting in that Dulce Kanela was working it as if they were supposed to end up in a team with Pimpinela, and Pimpinela was ignoring that storyline.

Laredo and Antifaz once again talked up a mask match. They’re not booked against each other TripleMania Monterrey either.

AAA shows are put to bed well before they air; there was no mention of the Eye storyline because it probably wasn’t a set idea at that point. The next Showcenter event (June 30th) was a set idea but wasn’t mentioned in the Upcoming Events; neither was the Mexico City event. The Upcoming Events is notable because some AAA wrestlers believe the 04/13 AAA EMW Tijuana show is a TV taping, AAA hasn’t mentioned it as such, but it may just be AAA not getting around to mentioning it. It’s possible they’re taping something for this Eye/The Crash angle and lines got crossed.

IWRG

IWRG (SUN) 03/24/2024 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG]
1) Dracula Ng & Xolotl b Arcues & Nival Banks IWRG EN VIVO | ENCADENADOS | HELL BOY VS H CANIS LUPUS (posted by IWRG tv)
2) Príncipe Centauro & Rey Espartano b Golden Power & Sacro IWRG EN VIVO | ENCADENADOS | HELL BOY VS H CANIS LUPUS (posted by IWRG tv)
3) Diosa Quetzal, India Mazahua, Kali b Bengalee, Shamila, Zuzu Divine IWRG EN VIVO | ENCADENADOS | HELL BOY VS H CANIS LUPUS (posted by IWRG tv)
Quetzal and Shamila are feuding.
4) Multifacetico Jr. & Tornado DQ Cerebro Negro & Cerebro Negro Jr. IWRG EN VIVO | ENCADENADOS | HELL BOY VS H CANIS LUPUS (posted by IWRG tv)
excessive violence
5) Gannicus, Ivan Rokov, Vangellys b Jessy Ventura, Noisy Boy, Spider Fly IWRG EN VIVO | ENCADENADOS | HELL BOY VS H CANIS LUPUS (posted by IWRG tv)
Gannicus replaced Puma de Oro
6) Hell Boy b Hijo de Canis Lupus [bull terrierIWRG EN VIVO | ENCADENADOS | HELL BOY VS H CANIS LUPUS (posted by IWRG tv)
Hell Boy and Canis Lupus challenged for a mask match.

Canis Lupus/Hell Boy went a long time and used a lot of weapon. IWRG appears to be building to DMT Azul, Vangellys, Hijo de Canis Lupus, and Hell Boy four way apuesta match but it’s not clear when it’s happening.

It looks like Mas Lucha and IWRG are done for now. Mas Lucha hasn’t been posting new IWRG content since IWRG announced of their shows were exclusive. Not sure what happens next time IWRG runs a big show, since those were going behind the Mas Lucha paywall before. It’s probably a good deal for everyone, since it seems like it’s pushing Mas Lucha to post more content and the IWRG shows are still available on their YouTube channel.

IWRG announced an alliance with Costa Rica’s Riot Wrestling Alliance. The RWA folks are in Mexico doing a tour of shows this weekend. IWRG like to announce these deals and they usually are forgotten in a few months. I am just curious about how many promotions there are in Costa Rica. It’s at least three: there’s the one that works with CMLL (CWE), the one that showed up in Big Lucha (Luchamania) and this group.

Other

Quintana Roo luchador Cachorro Jr. (Marrio Alberto Suaste Mena, 45) passed away Friday.

Mas Lucha is running a benefit show for Nicho & Damian on 03/31. Daisuke Sasaki from DDT is back in Mexico in time for that show.

Azteca has a 18 minute lucha libre video documentray. I didn’t watch the whole thing, it didn’t seem to break any ground over the other 30 lucha libre documentaries.

El Sol de Tulancingo has a history of wrestling in Tulancingo. I liked the story behind El Impostor.

No Big Lucha show this past week, no acknowledgement of it not happening.

Segunda Caida reviews the White Wolf versus Panterita del Ring mask match.

Box y Lucha 251A-252A (January 1957)

These issues are part of Box y Lucha’s Coleccion Diamante. Their issues dip out after the mid January. There’s a real cliffhanger too.

Box y Lucha 251A (January 11th, 1957)

EMLL (FRI) 01/04/1957 Arena Coliseo [Box y Lucha 250A, Box y Lucha 251A]
1) Jaibo García b Taro Hito
2) Memo Rubio DRAW Red Man
return of Red Man
3) Manuel Robles DRAW Sordomudo Rodríguez
return of Rodriguez
4) Karloff Lagarde b Orquídea
rated 7.
5) Rubén Juárez b Teizo Watanabe
25 minute match. Rated a 7.
6) Masahiko Kimura b Carlos Moreno
Rated a 7.5
7) Black Shadow & Blue Demon DQ Cavernario Galindo & Gladiador
Rated a 7.5.

The main event match has some controversy. Eddie Palau called the DQ for Galindo fouling Demon. Box y Lucha admits it happen but feels it was accidental and Palau was overzealous by calling a DQ.

Sunday show‘s show sees El Santo defeating Dorrel Dixon by knockout. Huroki Sito makes his return in the second match, going to a draw with Humberto Garza.

Dr. Castro is off for a “vacation” to his home on Nayarit. Box y Lucha uses the quote marks themselves, though I’m not sure what they’re meant for. Rene Guajardo gets mentioned as working in Monterrey; he was in Arena Mexico in 1955.

Box y Lucha 252A (January 18th, 1957)

EMLL (FRI) 01/11/1957 Arena Coliseo [Box y Lucha 251A, Box y Lucha 252A]
1) Rudy García b Tony Sugar
2) Chico Veloz b Fantomas
3) Memo Rubio TLDRAW Huroki Sito
20 minutes
4) Teizo Watanabe b Verdugo
5) Rubén Juárez b Frankenstein
6) Masahiko Kimura b Bobby Bonales
straight falls in a surprise
7) Black Shadow & Blue Demon b Cavernario Galindo & Gladiador [supre libre]
rated an 8.

Not really much of importance here or on the Sunday show. At least compared to the big news:

El Santo is out of EMLL. An early column says Santo quit, one later in the magazine says it was EMLL who cut ties. It’s the second story that seems to stick. El Santo had been part of EMLL since becoming El Santo 14.5 years ago. He showed up for payday on Monday and was told by the promotion he was done. Salvador Lutteroth Jr. said it was discipline issue and that no one was above the rules. Santo say what the issue was, and Box y Lucha has no idea what happened. Clinch 242’s year in review will say “neither side could agree to the conditions the other wanted”, though there’s no more details than that.

As it turns out, Santo already had tours scheduled to the US and Venezuela (where an Arturo Garcia was wrestling as a fake El Santo), so he’s in no shortage of work. Perhaps control or payment from the outside bookings are the issue?

El Santo is the Mexican Middleweight Championship. Box y Lucha says EMLL demanded the title back from him, then the commission demanded EMLL give it back to Santo. He had to lose in the ring, not by leaving the promotion. That didn’t seem to be the rule a few years prior, so this could be situation that set up rule wrestlers could leave promotions with the national titles.

El Santo is a famous wrestler at this point. He seems to be the top start in EMLL. He’s not the cultural hero El Santo. “Santo contra el Cerebro del Mal”, his first movie, is still a year away. There is no opposition promotion. Santo can find work outside of Mexico and indies (especially away from Mexico City where EMLL has less influence), but this is a big pivot point for his career. EMLL was betting Santo would come back humbled over time. Instead, Santo becomes that movie star and never really needs EMLL again. He’s not back for three years, as best I know.

El Santo is not the first EMLL top star to leave the promotion. They just went through a promotional war. There’s bits and pieces from the 30s and 40s which indicate main event wrestlers leaving at times. El Santo is the ultimate example of the Lutteroth’s belief in themselves and the machine they built: all wrestlers are replacable, even the greatest ones.

That’s it, painfully. I would love to see more reaction to Santo’s departure, but Box y Lucha’s archive dries up until April. Clinch 242’s Year end review adds a few results:

EMLL (FRI) 01/18/1957 Arena Coliseo [Box y Lucha 252A, Clinch 242]
1) Maravilla Enmascarada vs Eskimo Blancarte
2) Carnicero Grimaldo vs Centella Inca
3) El Espectro vs Cavernario GalindoRubén JuárezRay MendozaTarzán LópezEl Caballero [battle royal]
Lagrade & Demon in the battle royal as well
4) Gori Guerrero b Masahiko Kimura
return of Guerero. Kimura is 7th grade judo player.
5) Karloff Lagarde b Blue Demon

EMLL (FRI) 01/25/1957 Arena Coliseo [Box y Lucha 942, Clinch 242]
1) Karloff Lagarde vs Bobby Bonales
2) Sugi Sito b Espectro
return of Sugi Sito (following Santo leaving a couple of weeks earlier)

[Previous December 1956. Next would be February 1957 but I have no issues). Full index]

Torneo Incredible de Parejas Block B, Halcon Suriano leaves CMLL, dreams

CMLL

Tonight’s show.

CMLL (FRI) 03/22/2024 Arena México
1) Fuego & Hombre Bala Jr. vs El Coyote & Pólvora
2) Esfinge, Fugaz, Star Black vs Hijo del Villano III, Villano III Jr., Zandokan Jr.
3) Lluvia, Stephanie Vaquer, Zeuxis vs La Catalina, Reyna Isis, Tessa Blanchard [Relevos Increíbles]
4) Flip Gordon, Místico, Volador Jr. vs Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Rocky Romero
5) Atlantis Jr. & Soberano Jr. vs Dragón Rojo Jr. & Templario and Hechicero & Stuka Jr. and Disturbio & Virus [Torneo Incredible de Parejas, battle royal]

Templario would be a good opponent for Mascara Dorada & Rocky Romero, but so would Soberano. It is inconceivable CMLL is picking Dragon Rojo Jr. over Atlantis Jr. Match 2 and 4 look good, match 3 should be a dry run for next week. Seeing those teams makes me curious when CMLL found our Jarochita was “going on indefinite hitaius”, because it sure feels like Catalina was put in her spot.

CMLL (SAT) 03/23/2024 Arena México
1) Astro Boy Jr. vs Dragón de Fuego
2) Astral, Robin, Valiente Jr. vs Enfermero Jr., Grako, Inquisidor
3) Capitán Suicida & Diamond vs Raider & Vegas
4) Andrómeda, Marcela, Skadi vs Amapola, Dark Silueta, Tessa Blanchard
5) Blue Panther Jr., Dark Panther, El Hijo De Blue Panther vs Akuma, Dark Magic, Espanto Jr.
6) Flip Gordon, Místico, Star Jr. vs Averno, Euforia, Mephisto

I think I would want to see match 3 and match 5 if CMLL uploaded the videos.

CMLL (SUN) 03/24/2024 Arena México
1) Novato & Rayo Metálico vs Hunter & Infarto
2) El Audaz, Eléctrico, Volcano vs Inquisidor, Kráneo, Misterioso Jr.
3) Dulce Gardenia, Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa vs Cancerbero, Luciferno, Virus
4) Persephone & Tessa Blanchard vs Hera & Olympia
5) Flip Gordon vs Niebla Roja
6) Atlantis Jr., Máscara Dorada, Volador Jr. vs Ángel de Oro, Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr.

Flip tries for revenge on Niebla Roja.

CMLL (MON) 03/25/2024 Arena Puebla
1) Enigmática & Lady Metal vs Diablita Roja & Mayahuel
2) El Malayo, El Perverso, Siky Ozama vs Crixus, Difunto, Raider
3) Lluvia vs Tessa Blanchard [lightning]
4) Guerrero Maya Jr., Pegasso, Stigma vs Futuro, Max Star, Neón
5) Atlantis Jr., Averno, Volador Jr. vs Soberano Jr., Templario, Último Guerrero [Relevos Increíbles]
6) Máscara Dorada © vs Rocky Romero [NWA WELTER]

The visa situation for some CMLL wrestlers got a lot of attention in how it affected AEW. It’s really more of an issue for NJPW’s US work. The Rocky/Dorada feud carried over to those shows. Volador, Soberano and Hechicero were all used on those shows recently. Templario figured to be involved sooner or later due to his new team with Romero. All of those guys are off limits in the US for the moment.

Which kind of makes me wonder about this title match – could it have been something scheduled for Windy City Riot at one point? Romero winning the title again on a NJPW show would’ve been a big deal, and it would’ve happened just before the Historic block of the Universal tournament. I think a Mistico, Mascara Dorada and Atlantis Jr. would be a big match and a good match. It also might be the rare CMLL match where they care who wins and don’t won’t to beat anyone. Romero replacing Dorada gives them someone easier to beat, or someone who can cheat in a way where it’s not a real loss. CMLL historically had some sudden title changes prior to the Universal tournament to get the correct people involved, and there hasn’t been any yet tis year. It’s likely I’m overthinking all of this, but this title match seems more noteworthy than the usual Puebla title defense.

CMLL (TUE) 03/26/2024 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Avispón Negro Jr., Lince Del Bajio, Último Ángel vs Eclipse Jr., El Jabalí, Ponzoña Jr.
2) Hatanna, Magia Azul, Tabata vs Alondra, Lady Shadow, Miss Guerrera
3) Leo, Omar Brunetti, Vaquero Jr. vs Infierno, Mr. Trueno, Rey Trueno
4) Andrómeda, Lady Metal, Skadi vs Adira, Náutica, Sexy Sol
5) Blue Panther Jr., Dark Panther, Hijo de Blue Panther vs Misterioso Jr., Sagrado, Zandokan Jr.
6) Brillante Jr., Máscara Dorada, Titán vs Averno, Euforia, Mephisto

Tabata has her first match in a CMLL ring since her Japan tour (though she’s wrestled outside of CMLL.) No follow up from last week’s mask challenges in the undercard.

Edit: CMLL updated the poster to repalce Tabata with Centinela minutes after I posted this.

Halcon Suriano Jr. announced he and CMLL had split ways last Thursday via Instagram Story. He used the same platform out a statement on Friday that didn’t add much detail. I’m not sure if CMLL pushed Suriano out or if Suriano jumped himself, but he seemed to know it was the end prior; he had posted a nostalgic photo of an empty Arena Mexico earlie in the day.

Suriano was one of the wrestlers chosen for the CMLL media day last Thursday (03/14), and he talked a fair bit about his frustration with his current situation. Halcon posted video of that talk on Instagram Stories after his departure. He’s been working in CMLL, first as Stukita and now as Halcon Suriano, for 12 years and was seeing new wrestlers who hadn’t put in the same work move up the card past him. Surano tried to make it clear he had nothing against the new wrestlers, just that he thought he was putting in good work and wasn’t getting the same consideration. CMLL’s programming department has responded harshly to public criticism in the past – infamously Fuego similarly complained about lack of opportunities and was punished in booking for years – though it’s also possible Suriano got frustrated enough to quit on his own.

Halcon Suriano came in to CMLL as Stukita (the mini version of Stuka Jr.) on Christmas 2012, a time where CMLL wasn’t doing a lot with the minis. He moved to the main division in 2018 and took on the Halcon Suriano Jr. name. Suriano seems to still be living in Torreon and has disappeared from CMLL from time to time. (He also missed the empty arena period.) Halcon Suriano, Astral, Electrico and Diamond all started out in the minis division, ‘graduated’ to the main division, and then haven’t done all that much – the moves have been lateral or even downward for their shape of their careers. The dream for minis wrestlers is to leave the division and become a top star. The minis group seems capped at the match 3 level, but those who leave rarely do much better – and more often, they fall back. Demus had the same issues when he also moved up, which led to him losing his way back into the minis division and out of CMLL. Only Virus has been able to overcome that mini stigma due to his superb technical ability, but he still was a 2/3 match guy for most his career and only recently been a 3/4 guy – he’s someone more reversed among diehard fans than booked strong. The others have been treated like unwanted interlopers in the main division. The dream to move to the main division seems like a foolish one; the people who’ve had more happiness are those who’ve just left CMLL entireity.

I didn’t find Halcon Suriano Jr.’s work enjoyable the last few years. He had a fun quality as Stukita that diminished over time. Suriano became the type of wrestler excited to do his own offense and was completely disinserted in anything else, be it what his teammates were doing or what his opponents were trying to do. He didn’t seem to be trying to make the matches better, just show off what he had learned to do. It didn’t appear Halcon’s fellow wrestlers were all that happy with him in his recent matches and he didn’t appear happy either. He’ll probably be happier on the outside.

No sign of this week’s Fan Leyenda exclusive Arena Coliseo matches yet. They’ve gone up on Thursday since the bit started. There was no free match this week. I feel fairly confident next week’s Friday show will be a minor disaster, in terms of getting people to understand it’s only available live on the Fan Leyenda/35 USD level.

CMLL Informa’s only notable announcement was the block scheduling for Universal tournament. Each week is a different elimination match

  • 04/05: all National champions
  • 04/12: all CMLL champions
  • 04/19: all Historical (NWA) champions
  • a three way match with the winners on 04/26

04/05 is WrestleMania weekend Friday, but none of the national champions figure to be on those shows. (They really missed on El Cholo.) Julio Cesar Rivera noted that the participants are as of time of the match; they’ll be replaced if a title changes hands prior. That seemed to come up in relation to the Romero/Dorada title match.

CMLL also announced Copa Bobby Bonales will also be given on out on 04/26. It’s called a Copa but it’s actually a lifetime achievement award chosen by Bonales’ son (and important person in Mexico’s governmental sports structure) Daniel Aceves. There is no strong criteria, just the idea it’ll go to a veteran.

ESTO interviews Tony Salazar about Homenaje a Dos Leyendas.

CMLL not in CMLL

CMLL officially they’re working with MLW on their Azteca Lucha show May 11th. Mistico indicated he’d be there. It was going include CMLL show as soon as they announced it for Cicero and called “Azteca Lucha”, CMLL’s the lucha libre partner right now, but this makes it official. Tickets run from $10-95; I haven’t see $10 tickets for wrestling shows in this area in a long time, it’s cheaper than most lucha shows in that building. MLW’s starting to roll out talent announcements in similar fashion as the RevPro FanasticaMania UK shows; Star Jr. was Friday’s announcement. I’m probably not going to pay too much attention until matches are announced, unless someone unexpected is included.

Yota Tsuji and Tetsuya Naito will meet for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at Sakura Genesis on April 6. CMLL usually doesn’t make much notice of NJPW happenings outside of CMLL direct involvement, but have been pointing this match out on both social media and CMLL Informa. (Titan said he was excited for the match.) Maybe CMLL still just considers Tsuji one of their guys, but it comes off as if they’re setting up something.

AAA

TrillerTV put up the purchase pages for TripleMania Monterrey  ($25) and the three show bundle ($55 USD). The single show price is up from 23 the last two years to 25. The package deal is down 5 USD. The package saving is up from 9 to 20. If you are going to buy TripleMania Monterrey, you should just buy all three. Unless you’re a Dolph Ziggler completist, paying for this TripleMania lineup means you’re going to pay for any TripleMania show, so you might as well buy them all at a discount. Most people watching these shows are going to watch it for free – either on Space, or on YouTube later, or just pirating the thing.

Note that the TrillerTV start time is wrong, as always. It’s a 7 pm Mexico start time, but a 8 pm CDT one. They never get this right on the first try because of daylight savings time and it takes until a few days prior to the show for them to notice it was wrong (but not to create some process to get it right the next time.)

AAA on Space will air the second half of the 02/18 Showcenter taping on Saturday:

  • Belcegor & Toscano vs the Mummy & Ultra
  • Lady Shani, Pimpinela Escarlata, Sexy Star vs Dulce Kanela, Flammer, La Hiedra
  • Laredo Kid vs Antifaz del Norte

On his podcast, Konnan confirmed Hijo del Vikingo is under contract to AAA not not AAA. Konnan also said they were supposed to get a US TV deal “like two years ago”  (2022) but the pandemic (2020) messed it up and they’re back “on the road” to a deal. Konnan says AAA will keep losing people to AEW until they can pay them equally, but that TV deal will be change that and a lot of people that will “come back home because they know they will be used right.”

That is the the long held Konnan dream: AAA will get a big influx of money from a TV deal, AAA will be able to pay close enough wages that every one who’s left to go elsewhere will happily come back, and Konnan will prove to everyone that he’s the guy who knows best on how to book those guys. Everything that is or isn’t happening now in AAA is (to some extent) killing time until that blessed day happens when AAA signs that big TV deal, where we’ll see Konan really show flex his muscle. Every criticism of how someone’s used in AEW is Konnan thinking about how he will use those guys when that big TV deal comes in.

In 2014, El Rey Network, MGM and others gave AAA a big (or at least decent sized) influx of TV money. Konnan believed he would be the creative person in charge; it appears he was promised as much by AAA. Konnan ended up not being the person in charge, in what seems like one of the greatest professional disappointments of his life. A decade out, Konnan (and AAA) are still trying to get undue that decision. The world’s moved on. El Rey is no longer a TV network, just reruns on a ROKU FAST channel. The power of conventional TV networks is diminishing by the day; a glut of content means there’s no need for those channels or streaming providers to pay much for unproven content like a foreign wrestling promotion. The WON’s reported previously (like years ago previously) that AAA’s been offered US TV deals, but not for much money, and AAA’s passed on them. CMLL’s a factor in here; they sold their TV cheaply to stations in the 2010s, and those stations weren’t going to pay dramatically more for AAA.

It’s unlikely AAA is going to see a big money US content deal – one large enough to be competitive for talent – without building up their name greatly in the US or selling a stake in the promotion itself to an interested content provider. And, if AAA did sell, that means another layer of management who may have their own opinions about how AAA creative should work and who should be involved. That is also essentially what happened with Lucha Underground back in 2014. This time, all Konnan is asking is for a strong US content provider to give AAA enough money to compete for talent they want, while also respecting Konnan enough as an auteur to leave him alone. It’s a dream.

All of this ought to be kept in mind when considering Konnan’s comments about Mexicans being used in other wrestling promoters. Konnan voices his opinions because he’s worked in and observed wresting for decades, because he’s looking out for his friends, and because he’s a guy who just likes to chat about anything. He’s also saying these things with a thought in the back of his mind about how he’d use these guys when he gets the chance to do so, as long as he can convince them to leave. I don’t know if it rises to “tampering”, he’s allowed to express his feelings, but AEW may not have been thrilled about a partner doing that.

The other part of this is Konnan is correct; he would use Penta, Fenix, Taya and whomever else if they came better than AEW does, because they’d be his guys and they’d would be the people the AAA audience already knows. AEW’s defense is they also have Bryan Danielson and Will Ospreay and Mercedes Mone and Okada and whoever else you’d like to add on to this list. I’m not going to make you read all the names, they just have a lot of names and not everyone’s going to be featured. The people Konnan wants back would indeed be bigger fish in the smaller pond and inherently be booked as a bigger deal. It’s also just a dream of happeninggg.

LuchaManiaks had a show announced for 05/18 in Laredo, Texas with many AAA wrestlers. La Secta were headling and LuchaManiaks decided to use the Origenes tour logo on their poster. It’s not uncommon for indie promotions to “borrow” the themes of the bigger promotions to no consequences. There were consequences this time; LuchaManiaks said AAA forced them to cancel the show. Maniaks says it was over using the Origenes logo and implying it was an AAA show; it sounds like AAA pulled their wrestlers. LuchaManiaks said they also may be limited to two AAA wrestlers per show going forward. AAA is taking their own trademarks more seriously going forward, though it’s more effective to make these sort of threats in the US (where promoters believe the threats may be followed through) than Mexico (where promoters figure they’re just talk.)

AAA posted the Sting versus Mesias match in celebration of Mesias returning to AAA. They’re a few weeks late to get some Sting attention.

Big Lucha

Big Lucha does not appear to have a show? They announced they moved to Saturday, ran one show against an AAA TV taping and then just said nothing.

IWRG

IWRG (THU) 03/21/2024 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG, La Tijera]
1) Príncipe Centauro & Rey Espartano b Sacro & Sky Man IWRG EN VIVO (posted by IWRG tv)
2) Kali & Sagitarius b Diosa Quetzal & Shamila IWRG EN VIVO (posted by IWRG tv) Problemas en el Paraíso: Diosa Quetzal y Shamila Vs Sagittarisu y Kali en IWRG (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
Quetzal and Shamila had problems leading to their defeat; the other women were critical of Shamila for getting into IWRG through the Tryout and not earning her spot.
3) Brazo De Oro Jr. b Hellboy IWRG EN VIVO (posted by IWRG tv)
Gimmick is the both wrestlers are randomly picked right before the match. Brazo de Oro asked for a title match after the win
4) Látigo & Toxin DQ Noisy Boy & Spider Fly IWRG EN VIVO (posted by IWRG tv)
Mala Fame faked a foul
5) Pig Destroyer, Pig Destructor, Pig Pool b Hijo del Pirata Morgan, Pirata Morgan, Pirata Morgan Jr. IWRG EN VIVO (posted by IWRG tv)
Pigs want a trios title shot.

I understand the idea of a “random match” but IWRG announces these cards about 36 hours ahead of time – most people have no idea what matches are actually booked, they’re all surprise matches to them.

IWRG (SUN) 03/24/2024 Arena Naucalpan
1) Arcues & Nival Banks vs Dracula Ng & Xolotl
2) Golden Power, Sacro, Sky Man vs Gannicus, Príncipe Centauro, Rey Espartano
3) Bengalee, Shamila, Zuzu Divine vs Diosa Quetzal, Kali, Lilith Dark
4) Multifacetico Jr. & Tornado vs Cerebro Negro & Cerebro Negro Jr.
5) Jessy Ventura, Noisy Boy, Spider Fly vs Ivan Rokov, Puma de Oro, Vangellys
6) Hell Boy vs Hijo de Canis Lupus [bull terrier]

The main event is looks like it should be good on paper but there will probably be some weird finish. Ivan Rokov is back to being listed as Special Invitee. The real winners of the IWRG Tryout are the rest of the IWRG “women’s division”; Zuzu Divine and Lilith Dark are likely picking up bookings here just to give Shamila ladies to work with.

El Universal has an interview with Shamila, who mentions she was originally a Valiente trainee. I’d forgotten about it, but Shamila’s first known matches were on those one two three Valiente Team showcases in 2021. Half the Valiente people who’ve made some noise are Valiente family members, but he also turned out Neon, Pequeno Magia and recent Torneo de Escuelas wrestler Alom.

ELITE

Tickets should go on sale today. As of noon, tickets were not available on Ticketmaster and the show is not listed on Fronton Mexico’s website.

El Grafico quoted LA Park and Rush as saying, as much as they hate each other, they’re bonded as great friends with Lucha Libre Elite president Ernesto Santillan. LA Park said he sees Santillan as more of a buddy than a boss. Someone feed that line to the Young Bucks. Park says he’s going to do his best so Lucha Libre Elite can continue to run more dates. Rush calls Ernesto a great teammate and says he’s blessed to work for a company like AEW which allows him to take these sorts of dates.

Speaking of Rush, he has an AEW t-shirt and told fans to buy it to let AEW know you want to see him back on TV. An unusual thing to say if everything’s OK there.

Other News

Gracia Guajardo, the daughter of Rene Guajardo and wife of Villano V, passed away on Wednesday.

Gatopardo has a feature on Zona 23. There’s been quite a few of these at this point, but this seems a good one. They get into the name (police code for someone under the influence) and the location (promoter’s family owns the junkyard.) The promoter, Abel Guerrero, says no one’s ever needed the ambulance or gone to the hospital after the show, just a few stitches. I do not believe that is accurate. It’s a contradiction; the writer talks to fans and wrestlers who enjoy Zona 23 because it feels more real and violent than other Mexican wrestlers, while the promoter is trying to sell it as completely safe.

Republic of Lucha is the store and wrestling promotion owned by Fenix & Penta. They were were located in South Pasadena, California, then left that physical location as their lease came up. The idea was to find another place around the area, but they haven’t had any luck – the rent is too high – and so they’re going online only for now. They’re still looking for a physical location. Republic of Lucha used to run shows once every three or fourth months in the parking lot of that South Pasadena location, and so they also don’t have a place for those now. Their solution, at least for the June 1st show, is to run the the warehouse that was used as the Lucha Underground Temple for the first three seasons of that show. (Tickets go on sale today.)

This warehouse is a situation like the ex-ECW (and current 2300) Arena, where it’s going to be same physical space but will not look the same. The 2300 Arena’s been remodeled. Most of what people saw as the Lucha Underground Temple was a set built for a TV show, and is either now sitting in a (different!) warehouse somewhere or has been otherwise dispersed. Republic of Lucha is surely going to dress it up, but it’s not going to look like Season 5 of Lucha Underground – this is going to look like a wrestling shows in an aging warehouse that wasn’t built to hold a wrestling show. Still, there’s great meaning in going back to the spot that changed the arc of the Lucha Brothers careers, and where a lot of people who will attend the Republic of Lucha shows first discovered them. It’s another chasing off a dream. Republic of Lucha has released/sold their recent shows themselves, though with a very restrictive “you are not allowed to talk about anything that happens on these shows” disclaimer.

A match graphic was floating around Facebook announcing an Alan Stone versus Intocable in a hair match on 05/25 in Orizaba. The full poster came out Thursday and it’s actually Alan Stone & Intocable teaming against Scorpio Jr. & Negro Casas, where the losing team will face off in a hair match. Scorpio Jr. doesn’t have much hair and seems most likely to lose, but it’s not like Alan Stone or Intocable are in demand either. The part that actually stuck out to me is that, as often on wrestling posters, they’ve used photos of Alan Stone and Intocable that are at least a decade out of date. Those guys were body guys and they don’t quite have those bodies nowadays.

Los Principes debut with a win, TripleMania Monterrey

CMLL

CMLL (MON) 03/18/2024 Arena Puebla
1) Acero & Angelito b Pequeño Olímpico & Pierrothito
2) Meyer b Prayer
3) Futuro, Valiente, Xelhua b El Malayo, Multy, Siki Osama Facebook video (posted by )
4) Arkalis, Guerrero Maya Jr., Pegasso b Gemelo Diablo II, Okumura, Sagrado Facebook video (posted by )
5) Rocky Romero, Stigma, Titán b Averno, Máscara Dorada, Volador Jr. [Relevos Increíbles]
Averno replaced Hechicero on Wednesday. Romero unmasked Dorada, pinned him, and demanded a title rematch.
6) Místico b Euforia Facebook video (posted by )
Averno seconded Euforia. Euforia took 1, Mistico had La Mistica in the 2nd but Averno broke it up for the DQ, Mistico got La Mistica in third.

This show was at an early holiday start time. Both that and the main event looked to contribute to a larger than usual crowd; maybe 80% full. The last early start time (02/05) didn’t seem to draw as well, so maybe a little more credit goes to Mistico.

Asturiano spoke to a high school.

CMLL (TUE) 03/19/2024 Arena México [CMLL, thecubsfan]
1) Micro Gemelo Diablo I & Micro Gemelo Diablo II b Micro Dito & Mije
10:30
2) Felino Jr. & Okumura b Legendario & Xelhua
14:29.
3) Acero & Angelito DDQ Pequeño Olímpico & Pierrothito
11:27. Angelito unmasked Pierrothito as Pierrothito fouled Angelito as they head to the four way mask match.
4) Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido b Futuro, Max Star, Neón
5) Atlantis, Blue Panther, Valiente b Bárbaro Cavernario, Dragón Rojo Jr., Terrible
6:11. Tecnicos took 1 (excessive violendce DQ) and 3.
6) Rocky Romero, Soberano Jr., Templario b Máscara Dorada, Místico, Titán
18:44. New rudo trio gets a win in their debut. Dorada/Romero feude

This was a Friday night effort on Tuesday. Match 4 overcame some obvious early issues for a very exciting third fall. Los Depredadores, Neon, Futuro, and whoever is with them that week just go hard against each other every time. Maybe the first match as a trio motivated the main event rudos, though Mascara Dorada was doing as much as anyone. Match 1/2 were worthwhile too.

Romero, Soberano and Templario are going by “Los Principes.” Soberano’s used El Principe as a nickname.

CMLL (TUE) 03/19/2024 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [CMLL, Mas Lucha]
1) Amenaza Negra Jr., Mandala, Obek b La Pesadilla, Rav, Shezmu
2) Adira, Dulce Kitty, Náutica b Diablita Roja, Estrellita Mágica, Lady Metal
3) Calavera Jr. I, Calavera Jr. II, Temerario b Astro Oriental, Gallo Jr., Rafaga Jr.
4) Crixus, Difunto, Vegas DQ Furia Roja, Guerrero de la Muerte, Ráfaga
Rafaga got eliminated, came back in to attack Crixus for the DQ. GDL rudos challenged for a hair/mask match next week, but it didn’t seem set.
5) Arlequín, Gallero, Halcón Negro Jr. b Esfinge, Fugaz, Star Black
Gallero cheated to beat Esfinge, asked for a title match.
6) Atlantis Jr., Flip Gordon, Star Jr. b Hijo del Villano III, Villano III Jr., Zandokan Jr.

Gallero challenging for an Esfinge title match seems like it gives away the finish of the Esfinge/Zandokan title match on H2L.

No Informa lineup (and I’ve waited longer than usual.)

Stardom announced Stephanie Vaquer as appearing on their 04/04 American Dream show in Philadelphia (WrestleMania weekend.) It helps fill out that lineup while the promotion is dealing with some of their current wrestlers becoming ex-wrestlers. Vaquer appearing on this show means she’ll likely turn up on other shows that weekend.

AAA

Some left over TripleMania thoughts:

PostWrestling confirmed with Triller (former FITE) that TripleMania will be streaming there as a stand alone PPV. That means not part of the monthly subscription. It’s not on the website as of yet.

From AAA’s perspective, this Alberto versus Nemeth main event is “the most successful Mexican wrestler ever against a past world title rival”. The fans who still believe in Alberto see that as a really big deal, and Alberto continuously markets himself as the greatest Mexican wrestler ever based on those title runs. (Alberto disqualifies Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero as Mexican American, and Mil Mascaras’ titles as not being as important as his WWE ones, if you’re asking.) This is attempt to play the big star’s greatest hits, in a similar fashion as CMLL has been doing with Mistico for the last couple of years. Mistico in that role has been a draw, has had very good matches, and doesn’t have a lot of disturbing personal baggage. Alberto believes he’s a draw, believes his matches are pretty good, and believe that because he was never sentenced for any crime, he shouldn’t have any baggage. That last part is never going to be fixed, but Alberto’s got his chance to prove the other two right. AAA’s claimed around 14,000 the last two years, we’ll see how this one does. Everyone else’s interest in this match is totally dependent on how much they’re interested in Alberto reliving his greatest moments.

Beyond that, it’s shocking how little of note is happening at this show. Vampiro’s a big deal if you believe Vampiro is truly retiring and if you Vampiro is a big deal for you, but there’s nothing of consequence on the rest of this show. It’s the kind of big show CMLL would’ve done in the past, doing just enough in the main event to get a good house and filling out the rest with trios matches just to get names on the card. AAA brought back Wagner, but they’re not bringing LA Park or Rush this year. They’re also not doing a tournament this time.

I’ve been focused on the AEW/AAA relationship – I believe there’s a story there that hasn’t been fully told – but I whiffed on thinking about the TNA/AAA relationship. It wouldn’t have been worth discussing if Scott D’Amore and Dorian Roldan didn’t do that alliance contract signing bit, and even TNA not doing much with Mexican wrestlers is old news, but TNA wrestlers not showing up on AAA show still is. TNA wrestlers have frequently appeared on AAA big shows, through multiple ownerships, and there’s none of them here after a deal got announced. D’Amore’s gone, and maybe that simple explanation is the accurate one. AAA’s relied on outside talent booking to spruce up these TripleMania cards, and it’s hurt tis lineup to not have TNA or AEW wrestlers. Nemeth seems to be freelance, Matt Cardona – expected in at some point this year – is also freelance, and that may just be the route for now.

Where would’ve Vikingo fit in on this card? There was a decent gap between his injury and the card announcement, so the show probably got shuffled around a bit. AAA had previously talked about Alberto facing one of three people selected in a poll, so his singles match with Nemeth was likely planned. Maybe Vikingo’s match was completely wiped (and that’s why there’s six matches instead of seven right now), maybe he slid into the Laredo/Octagon/Psycho team somehow. It’s possible there were also some plans for the Mala Fama guys, but it seems more likely they were going to be like the rest of Psycho Circus, NGD, and others hoping to slide into the Casas/Wagner match but probably just left off the card. (Remember when Guerra de Titanes featured Texano introducing a new group of Los Mercenarios, and then they and Texano were never seen again? They are doing the act on Ciudad Juarez shows at least.)

Rush and LA Park are already booked in Tijuana on the day of TripleMania. Juventud Guerrera had his Super X show that day already, which is another reason Konnan need not to have even bothered to ask.

The Laredo, Octagon and Psycho versus QT, Adonis and Parker Boudreaux match is the best chance for a good match on the show. It’s also a trial by fire for Boudreaux,  a match where he’s working with some demanding partners in terms of moves . Boudreaux’s usage – a foreigner coming in with no introduction – is exactly the same thing Konnan’s criticized other promotions for doing. The one consistent thing is Konnan does not feel AAA should be held to the same standards as other promotions; they’re super successful when it comes to business, but then a struggling company with few resources when it comes to getting things done.

There are no additional AAA TV tapings between now and TripleMania. The only news left to announce are the missing people in the Casas/Wagner matches and the show officially going on FITE.

Nic Nemeth seems to be defending the IWGP Global Championship against Tomohiro Ishii on their Windy City Riot show on 04/12. That could be the solution for the AAA title match – Nemeth could use lose NJPW’s title, then NJPW won’t care if he loses in AAA – but Ishii is not a guy who normally gets to beat people like Nemeth. I’m coming off as super negative in this whole section, but I also can’t help but think it really doesn’t matter if Alberto doesn’t want to lose and Nemeth can’t lose, AAA will just do some silliness and to get around it. Maybe the people who really want Dark Ozz to be in a title match will get their wish.

AAA posted the mysterious video from Saturday’s TV taping. An invading rudo super group is a well worn play in AAA’s creative team playbook. It also has been one where there’s little follow through beyond the initial launch; the rudos tend just beat up everyone until they fade away with no payoff. There’s no reason to believe this will be any different, or spend any time speculating who it might involve. It will absolutely get a big reaction when it happens and then there will be no substance to it, because the only intent seems to be to do a thing that gets people talking for a day.

IWRG

IWRG (THU) 03/21/2024 Arena Naucalpan
1) Sacro & Sky Man vs Príncipe Centauro & Rey Espartano
2) Diosa Quetzal & Shamila vs Kali & Sagitarius
3) ? vs ??
4) Noisy Boy & Spider Fly vs Látigo & Toxin
5) Hijo del Pirata Morgan & Pirata Morgan vs Pig Destroyer, Pig Destructor, Pig Pool

It’s quite weird I’m not sure if there’s a Thursday IWRG card until Wednesday morning. Match 3 will be a mystery until the names come up on the video board. Match 4 has been good in the past.

Other News

Box y Lucha 3595 has Rocky Romero, Mascara Dorada and Rush on the cover.

Lucha Libre Elite says their tickets will go sale on March 22nd. That’s about a week after their kickoff press conference.

The Morelia Boxing, Lucha Libre and MMA commission says there’s a group passing themselves off as the Michoacan Boxing and Lucha Libre to defraud people.

An interview with Hidalgo’s Kimura.

great match round up, week of 2024-03-12

I’ve got a draft from August, where I started to do this and just never got it done again. No promises it’ll be more than this one. This is mostly an outlet to get my thoughts on the “extra” matches CMLL is putting out now. It’s like a full extra show:

  • 4 matches from Sunday shows (3 airing on AMX/TV Mexiquense, 1 going up as a free match of the week)
  • 2 matches from Coliseo (usually up Thursday nights)

This was not a great week for high end up stuff. I think Akuma/Dulce vs Rocky/Dorada is the match I’d recommend strongest, but it was just a fun 7 minute match rather than something superb. The “extra” matches gave me more to write about.

  • Cancerberos/Ola Negra had far more life than it looks on paper. Cancerberos played really good rudos and Akuma’s power moves played as tecnico spots. You will never hear Espanto Jr. and Dark Magic cheered this loudly again.
  • The Fuerza Tapatia was helped by me expecting everyone to sleep through it, and that not happening. Felino and Gemelo Diablo II had a top rope huracanrana/top rope splash combo finisher, not sure what got into them. Hechicero looked good and the tecnicos seemed motivated.
  • Maya/Difunto did not come across as the MOTYC as hyped live, but I can accept people in the building feeling that way. That Coliseo crowd was super into the match, cheering loudly for Difunto to pull the upset. The match itself was worked like a throwback title match, lots of mat work early and slow build to a finish. A Difunto springboard spot late went badly wrong and I never got to the point where it felt a title change was coming, but those fans sure thought it could happen.
Rating match aired taped
good Cancerbero, Luciferno, Virus vs Akuma, Dark Magic, Espanto Jr. CMLL on TV Mexiquense
2024-03-15
2024-03-03
good Esfinge, Fugaz, Star Black vs Felino, Gemelo Diablo II, Hechicero CMLL on TV Mexiquense
2024-03-15
2024-03-03
good Guerrero Maya Jr. © vs Difunto for the Mexican National Middleweight Championship CMLL: Difunto Vs Guerrero Maya Jr por el Campeonato Nacional Medio (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre) CMLL YouTube
2024-03-14
2024-03-09
good Máscara Dorada & Rocky Romero vs Akuma & Dulce Gardenia [Torneo Increible de Parejas] and in a tournament quarterfinal match Máscara Dorada y Rocky Azúcar Romero avanzan en el Torneo Increíble de Parejas (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre) CMLL YouTube
2024-03-15
2024-03-15
good Akuma & Rocky Romero vs Ángel de Oro & Gran Guerrero [Torneo Increible de Parejas] and in a battle royal match CMLL YouTube
2024-03-15
2024-03-15
good Flamita & Ricky Marvin vs Emperador Azteca & Limbo Flamita vs La Black Generation | Big Lucha World EP. 11 T.4 (posted by BIG LUCHA ) Big Lucha World
2024-03-16
2024-03-16