CMLL

Tonight’s card:

CMLL (FRI) 04/21/2023 Arena México
1) Diamond & Oro Jr. vs Inquisidor & Raider
2) El Audaz, Star Black, Valiente vs El Hijo del Villano III, Felino, Rey Bucanero
3) Panterita del Ring Jr. vs Templario [lightning]
4) Místico, Stuka Jr., Último Guerrero vs Atlantis Jr., Averno, Volador Jr. [Relevos Increíbles]
5) Gran Guerrero vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Titán, Dragón Rojo Jr., Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Hechicero, Euforia, Stigma, Mephisto [CMLL Universal, semifinal]
CMLL champions block

This is a really solid top 3. The CMLL Champions block has a lot of good names, even if Draogn Rojo seems a heavy favorite. There’s a good mix of names in the semimain. The lightning match is a great test for Kid Panterita. It’s the usual 99 pesos on TicketmasterLive.

CMLL (MON) 04/24/2023 Arena Puebla
1) Astro & Shockercito vs Minos & Pierrothito
2) Asturiano, El Hijo De Centella Roja, Siky Ozama vs Apocalipsis, Cholo, Disturbio
3) Millenium, Pegasso, Volcano vs Kráneo, Raider, Tonalli
4) Dulce Gardenia, Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa vs Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido
5) Averno, Euforia, Hechicero vs Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr., Último Guerrero

The main event is a rematch from last week, pointing towards UG/Averno.

CMLL (TUE) 04/25/2023 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Dulce Kitty, Náutica, Sexy Sol vs Atenea, Nexy, Valkiria
2) Flash, Mágico, Ráfaga vs Exterminador, Javier Cruz Jr., Maléfico
3) La Jarochita, La Maligna, Lluvia vs La Catalina, Stephanie Vaquer, Zeuxis
4) Dulce Gardenia & La Fashion vs Furia Roja & Guerrero de la Muerte
5) Atlantis & Blue Panther vs Rey Bucanero & Satánico
6) Averno & Místico vs Atlantis Jr. & Dark Panther

A normal Guadalajara card. Dark Panther may be a rudo here.

Coyote told MedioTiempo’s Sin Macaras podcast that he stayed (lived) next to a Metro stop  when he was starting out in Mexico City for a few days, and didn’t have even money to eat. He would’ve done it again to make as far as he has.

AAA

AAA TV week this will be air the first part of TripleMania Monterrey (the matches that didn’t air on Space last week)

• the cage match
• Chessman vs Vampiro
• Copa TripleMania

AAA’s YouTube will put up the other matches on Sunday. If you paid to $20 USD to see TripleMania, you just got to see it about seven days ahead of time. AAA has other shows they could put up on YouTube – the rest of the World Cup, the San Luis Potosi taping – and they’re jumping to TripleMania to capture some buzz. It makes sense for them, but it also meant anyone who paid FITE to see the show last week feels like they got a little less value for what they paid. I assume AAA will do the same thing with the TripleMania Tijuana and you should factor that in your choice of paying or not paying.

AAA tapes Saturday night in Tijuana.

AAA TV (SAT) 04/22/2023 Auditorio de Tijuana, Tijuana, Baja California
1) Arkángel Divino, Fantastik, Rayo Star, Último Maldito vs Dinámico, Genio del Aire, Kamik-C, Skalibur
2) Niño Hamburguesa & Willie Mack vs Látigo & Toxin
3) Dalys, Octagón Jr., Persephone vs Chik Tormenta, Flammer, Villano III Jr.
4) Hijo Del Vikingo, Jack Cartwheel, Komander vs Emperador Azteca, Gringo Loco, Puma King
5) Juicy Finau, Negro Casas, Rey Horus vs Forastero, Hijo de Máscara Año 2000, Sansón
6) Laredo Kid, Pentagón Jr., Psycho Clown vs Antifaz del Norte, Sam Adonis, Taurus

I have this airing May 27th and June 3rd, but nothing is for sure that far out. Nothing is for sure about this lineup either. Toxin and Antifaz seem like they’re not appearing due to injury. GCW stopped promoting Komander for their show on this day, so he may be making it to Tijuana after all. (Komander/Vikingo still seems to be on for tonight in Atlanta.)

Still no idea who Persephone is. Jucicy Finau is the latest person to get booked for Tijuana with no obvious plan to use him beyond that.

AAA announced their Morelia card, which is the next taping after Tijuana. It’s not for four weeks. AAA’s so backloaded with taped TV that they could’ve gone even longer.

AAA TV (SAT) 05/20/2023 Palacio del Arte, Morelos, Michoacán
1) Dulce Kanela, Estrellita, Mini Vikingo vs Demus, Látigo, Toxin
2) Lady Shani vs Chik Tormenta [hardcore]
3) Brazo De Oro Jr. & Sexy Star vs Flamita & Villano III Jr.
4) Octagón Jr. & Rey Horus vs Arez & Komander and Jack Evans & Myzteziz [AAA TAG]
vacant titles (Dragon Lee to WWE)
5) Aramis & Negro Casas vs Bestia 666 & Mecha Wolf
6) Hijo Del Vikingo & Pentagón Jr. vs Dralistico & Gringo Loco

I estimate this will air on June 10th and 17th; again, that’s just a guess.

Here’s what I think happened: La Rebelion makes more sense challenging for the tag team titles than in a random tag match, but it wasn’t meant to be a random title match. It was supposed to be the latest Vampiro (& tag partner) versus La Rebelion match, only Vampiro is retiring again. Negro Casas gets dropped in as a substitute. Dalys will be probably be added somewhere; maybe Flamita gets moved around and she ends up in his spot.

None of the three teams competing for the tag vacant team titles has ever been a tag team. Setting up a match with no set teams suggests AAA has no real plans for these tag teams, it’s just a to do item beind checked off. The winners get to be in multimans on upcoming TripleManias. Octagon Jr. and Myzteziz (no Jr. on recent posters) are a regular team. There’s no apparent storyline reason why they’re teaming with Rey Horus and Jack Evans instead; it’s just not important enough to AAA to get correct. I presume Arez & Komander are winning; Komander got over in the US and that’s the point when AAA will finally get behind someone. I’m sure the match will change in some fashion.

Lady Shani and Chik Tormenta set up an extreme match in March, it’ll happen in May and you’ll see it in June. This is a slow promotion but at least they’re actually getting to that one.

AEW officially announced they had signed Komander on Wednesday. Komadner was under contract to KAOZ in Mexico but was allowed out of that contract to sign with AEW. He was not under contract to AAA. The terms of the deal are not known.

Komander was around for years, someone who might show on AAA TV when they went through northern Mexico but wasn’t regularly on TV; he was a part time guy even as recently as 2021. Komander became a full time AAA wrestler when he moved to Mexico City in 2022, and he was able to do that because Bandido’s Gym and Big Lucha existed.  (AAA has talked about building a similar facility for years but has never committed to it.) Through Big Lucha, Komander worked with better wrestlers more often, got new/better training with people Skayde, got more exposure from their regular shows, and got hooked up with Masked Republic for a visa in the US. AAA did give Komander Mexican TV exposure, but that doesn’t mean much in getting people over for US audiences. AAA is many times bigger than Big Lucha is or ever will be, but live & free always gets more eyeballs than delayed/barely promoted. Big Lucha gave more Komander chances for him to do the rope walk and dive spots that went viral, that got him into the GCWs. AAA eventually caught up a bit with the Jack Cartwheel/Komander match, but I’m not doubtful even that would happen if Komander is not getting buzz elsewhere.

AAA deserves credit for identifying Komander should be part of their band of luchadors, but they’re not running a promotion that’s going to turn a young wrestler into an international star right now. They’re great at finding young wrestlers, but they’re always focused on maximizing established stars in the short term, or getting behind whatever outside discovery they’ve made of the moment. (One of the reasons this tag team title match looks so silly is AAA’s spent 2022 getting excited about La Rebelion, FTR and Hermanos Lee; they’d have logical tag team champions if they had the same energy for any two full-time wrestlers.) There’s always going to be a next TripleMania where they’ll lean on the established names to make it through, and stuff like getting young guys over like Komander is always going to be pushed to the back burner. That may even be the best business decision, but it means the full time guys aren’t going escape the midcard unless they go some place else, get over on their own, and AAA starts looking at them the same way they look at the foreign stars. If Komander had stayed in Reynosa, he’d be like Baby Extreme – used whenever AAA goes to Monterrey but no one even remembers he was on TripleMania this past week. iI Komander had come to Mexico City on his own and without Big Lucha, he’d be with Octagon Jr. and Myteziz Jr. as talented guys who are interchangeable masked men to most fans.

(AAA will dispute this telling of history; I’m sure I will be barbecued on a podcast later this week. They know the business of Mexican lucha libre really well. I know what and who non-Mexican wrestling fans care about fans from Mexican wrestling even better. It is literally all I do on this webpage and various other webpages. Neither AAA or CMLL does even an average job of getting their wrestlers over to an international audience.)

I don’t want to overemphasize Big Lucha – it was Komander who took the risk to go to Mexico City, Komander who improved in his in-ring, and Komander who nailed the matches he absolutely had to nail to get an AEW job. Not everyone who went through Big Lucha is going to make it to a big company. Maybe even AAA would’ve figured it out and Masked Republic would’ve gotten Komander on a visa list a different way if not for Big Lucha if it played out differently. But it happened when and how it did because Big Lucha was a puzzle piece.

There’s also a missing piece of context around this discourse. Komander’s another guy who had a falling out with Big Lucha and left the gym and promotion sometime back. It just hasn’t been made public by the promotion. There have been Facebook rumors of discontent around Big Lucha the last week or so. The discontent is real, the reasons for the discontent are almost all fake or more sensational. Like almost every other wrestling fall out, it comes down to money and who gets what share of it. I’m not sure who’s in the right or even if anyone is the wrong, just that there are unhappy feelings on all sides. In a general sense, I think the dream of Big Lucha/Bandido’s Gym was a lot more fun than the reality, the reality has caught up to them in the last few months, and even more changes may be coming. It’s important to note Big Lucha’s role in Komander’s progression just for a more accurate telling of history, but also because Big Lucha had a system that was working and it’s worth the effort of keeping trying to make it work. They had something, and I hope they can figure out a way to keep it going where everyone involved is happy to be part of it.

Adrian Marcelo’s TV show yesterday including some boxing and wrestlers matches in an outdoor ring (in what seemed like the TV stuido’s courtyard.) Marcelo ended up wrestling briefly, chopping local wrestler Mafioso and getting in one headscissors. It looked fine. I hope that’s the conclusion.

Vampiro is still making his AAA dates, wrestling Thursday as part of a Sinaloa loop.

IWRG

IWRG , RGR (THU) 04/20/2023 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG, Mas Lucha, Mas Lucha (Membership)]
1) Noisy Boy & Spider Fly b Kenji & Rey Halcón 
2) Keira & Lolita b Faby Apache & Hades (Indie) 
Hijo del Tirantes helped Keira & Lolita win
3) Diva Salvaje, Jessy Ventura, Mamba b Bugambilia, Cerebro Negro, Shocko 
Pimpinela attacked Jessy Ventura to set up a hiar match. Cerebro Negro replaced Karaoui.
4) Hijo de Canis Lupus b Coronel Vip [RGR HEAVY]
title change
5) Hijo del Pirata Morgan, Pirata Morgan, Pirata Morgan Jr. b Hellboy, Villano III Jr., Villano IV
Hellboy replaced an injured Villano V Jr.
6) Forastero, Hijo de Máscara Año 2000, Máscara Año 2000, Sansón b Pig Decapitador, Pig Destroyer, Pig Destructor, Pig Pool
Mascara 2000 was the mystery person (or replacement for Cuatrero.)

I had no idea this was a Mas Lucha membership show until I went to check results on Friday morning. Maybe they didn’t advertise it well enough, maybe I’m just slipping. Looks like a strong crowd for a night Thursday show; people will show up to Naucalpan if they believe the shows are big enough.

No card for Sunday as I write this; it didn’t come up on their news show either, so maybe they’re not running. IWRG will run Rey de Ring early in May; no one will be announced for their Royal Rumble match. Their upcoming World Lucha Libre Championship looks to have one representative from each country, as there will be an upcoming tournament to determine the Mexican representative.

Other News

LuchaWorld has the latest Poster-Mania.

Super Xolo unasmked Crazy Lobo (Florencio Cortez Aguayo) in Tijuana.

Crazy King will debut for GCW on 05/20. I don’t keep up with Los Macizos as well as other people but you can tell they’re doing well when GCW is bringing in their trios partner to do more with them.

Box y Lucha has released yet another new set of 1971 Box y Luchas, running from 982 to 993. This is the third drop in about a month.

The mayor of Monterrey announced the city would erect a Blue Demon statue at a show honoring the 75th Anniversary of the original’s debut. Blue Demon Jr. won in the main event.

Dark Scoria told the Luchamania Durango program he plans on retiring in two years. No one ever retires in two years.

CMLL

CMLL (MON) 04/17/2023 Arena Puebla [El Sol de Puebla, Porra Fresa]
1) Black Tiger, Brave Star, Rayo Metálico b Dark Soul, El Hijo Del Perverso, Sombra Diabólika
2) Espíritu Maligno, Nitro, Prayer b Astral, Eléctrico, Neón 
3) Stigma b Zandokan Jr. [lightning] 
4) Atlantis Jr., Titán, Valiente b Ángel de Oro, Bárbaro Cavernario, Niebla Roja
5) Averno, Euforia, Hechicero b Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr., Último Guerrero 
Averno got away with a foul on UG. Guerreros wanted a rematch

Ultimo Guerrero might be able to win a feud with Averno.

The Puebla Cathedral turned 374 years old on Tuesday. Fuerza Poblana posted some photos of dramatically posing in front of the cathedral.

CMLL (TUE) 04/18/2023 Arena México [CMLL]
1) Pequeño Olímpico & Pierrothito b Acero & Aéreo 
2) Amapola, Metálica, Reyna Isis b La Guerrera, Sanely, Skadi 
3) Akuma, Dark Magic, Espanto Jr. b Dulce Gardenia, Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa 
4) Yota b Esfinge [lightning] 
Yota made belt motions (and is ineligible to challenge for the Mexican National Tag Team championship)
5) Cancerbero, Luciferno, Virus b Blue Panther, Dark Panther, Panterita del Ring 
6) Ángel de Oro & Niebla Roja © b Atlantis & Octagón [CMLL TAG] 
Octagon submitted Niebla Roja, but Angel de Oro snuck in a foul on Octagon and Niebla Roja (with help from an accidental Octagon distraction) fouled Atlantis to help Angel de Oro get the win. 8th defense.

The title match was no miracle. Octagon seemed to be moving the better of the two (and definitely didn’t seem to gas as bad as Vampiro did on Sunday.) They really protected the veterans with the finishes; you don’t often see two fouls in a CMLL match. Yota/Esfinge was fine and so was the fifth match, but the stuff that came before was not good.

I didn’t realize this was an all rudo night until looking at the results together. The colors do work sometimes.

CMLL (TUE) 04/18/2023 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Estrella de Jalisco II & Último Ángel b Misterio Blanco & Misterio Negro 
2) Barboza, Draego, Persa b Multy (Puebla), Perverso, Rey Samuray 
3) Crixus, Futuro, Neón b Bestia Negra, Cris Skin, Gallero 
4) Arlequín, Furia Roja, Guerrero de la Muerte b Leo, Omar Brunetti, Vaquero Jr. 
5) La Fashion, Misterioso Jr., Tonalli b Demonio Maya, Principe Daniel, Ráfaga 
6) Averno & Místico b Bárbaro Cavernario & Último Guerrero [Relevos Increíbles] 

Nothing jumped out as far as angles as I was scanning through this. They’ve got a private (no tickets) show on Sunday, and those often stream.

CMLL (SAT) 04/22/2023 Arena Coliseo
1) Galaxy & Shockercito vs Pequeño Olímpico & Pierrothito
2) La Vaquerita vs Hera [lightning]
3) El Coyote, Okumura, Pólvora vs Apocalipsis, Cholo, Disturbio
4) Esfinge, Fugaz, Star Black vs Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido
5) Atlantis, Guerrero Maya Jr., Volador Jr. vs Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Yota
6) Atlantis Jr. vs Último Guerrero

UG’s not going to win this one. The two new rudo groups match up in the third.

CMLL returned to Twitch with Octagon’s return match in Arena Coliseo from February. That’s proof the Arena Colieso shows are being taped and broadcast somewhere; I’ve believed they’re probably on HeraldoTV but we didn’t really have proof until now. It’s the same as the Sunday shows: CMLL tapes them, airs them on TV, and almost never uses the footage again. The difference is the channels that air the Sunday shows (AMX, sometimes MVS) have internet streams and HeraldoTV’s internet stream is offline on the weekend. If someone is in Mexico, can record that channel, and wants to share it, I’d be interested in working out a deal.

CMLL (SUN) 04/23/2023 Arena México
1) Leono & Retro vs Bengala & Cachorro
2) Robin, Sangre Imperial, Valiente Jr. vs Dr. Karonte I, Dr. Karonte II, Enfermero Jr.
3) Flyer, Hombre Bala Jr., Pegasso vs Grako, Nitro, Okumura
4) Princesa Sugehit vs La Magnifica [lightning]
5) Dulce Gardenia, Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa vs Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II, Sagrado
6) Titán, Valiente, Volador Jr. vs Euforia, Gran Guerrero, Yota

Main event could be good. Not much going on here.

CMLL Informa has Templario (Universal), Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja (tag title defense, Hechicero and Stigma (Univesal) and La Magnifica (lightning match on Sunday.)

AAA

Antifaz del Norte, on a public Facebook page under his (apparent) real name, says he suffered six fractured ribs from Laredo Kid’s elbow drop. He posted x-rays and ugly bruise photos. His doctor says he’ll need 4-6 weeks to recover but hopes to beat that. Anitfaz joins Toxin (injury) and Komander (GCW) as people AAA continues to advertise for Saturday’s Tijuana show who don’t appear to be wrestling on that event. Local promoter EMW continues to say the show is 100% confirmed.

I don’t have it 100% confirmed, but the general belief is Antifaz suffered an injury prior to TripleMania and the Laredo Kid elbow drop was a way to write him out of the match. Argenis’ unhappiness with the mask loss might have to do with him not originally expecting to lose his mask on that night. There weren’t really any great options.

Media outlets have run with Vampiro’s Facebook post as a retirement announcement. It is not a retirement announcement. The man has been retiring since 1993. He wrote a follow up post where the says he was planning on a three year retirement tour but now it’s going to be sooner and he’ll let everyone know when the official retirement announcement happens. He seems thrilled with the extra attention the ‘retirement’ story was giving him to promote his outside of wrestling plans.

Adrian Marcelo went on the Conversaciones with Bandido Diamante podcast and detailed the background and planning of his feud with Chessman, which means that angle is dead and not coming back. ReporteIndingo has a summary; it’s been talked about on many media outlets. Marcelo’s purpose for doing the podcast was to argue he was the good guy in all of this who wanted to help wrestling and ended up unfairly vilified and bullied by the Monterrey lucha libre commission. He complained they stacked the deck against him for a wrestling license, one he didn’t even want. Marcelo says the plan was for another angle at TripleMania. I’m not sure if maybe Marcelo just doesn’t know the terminology or if that means he wasn’t ever going to wrestle officially. AAA promoted him to wrestle, he still needed the license either way.

Marcelo said he loves lucha libre and would only raise public esteem and attention for it by participating (and also doing a documentary). He accuses old men of lucha libre and the commission of hurting their business by keeping him out of the ring. A non-wrestling talking about how much he was going to help wrestling if just the wrestlers would’ve liked him has unsurprisingly gotten a negative reaction from actual wrestlers, with people from Zorro to Herodes Jr. saying lucha libre didn’t need him, and they’re glad he didn’t wrestle if he couldn’t pass the test. The general sentiment among Mexican luchadors, prior to this, is there are already a lot of unqualified people passing themselves off as luchadors, and they’re not likely to be sympathetic to complaints of wrestling being too hard to get into.

I don’t think the Marcelo angle would’ve done anything much for lucha libre beyond that date. The Marcelo angle was over. It would’ve gotten publicity for one night, people would’ve been upset that a celebrity was wrestling, it would’ve made AAA and Marcelo some money, and it wouldn’t have changed the image of lucha libre all that much. A single match like that is unlikely to change much, especially in Mexico, where the general person on the street is more aware of lucha libre than in most years.

Again, the big news here is that the Marcelo angle looks done – they’re not about to reheat it for Tijuana or Mexico City if Marcelo is spelling out how the slap was planned and talking about training on a podcast it’s just everyone picking over the bones and trying to promote himself as the hero of the story. (Just like the wrestlers ripping him are positioning themselves as the defenders of lucha libre.) Marcelo reads like he was OK with AAA in all of this, so maybe they’ll yet figure out another way to work together. It’ll have to be something different.

The Gringo Loco vs Hijo del Vikingo title match airs Thursday on ROH. Dralistico vs Hijo del Vikingo will air Saturday but will be taped today in Pittsburgh. Komander/Jay White, a real match, will air tonight on AEW Dynamite.

Other News

Thursday’s Arena Naucalpan show is another RGR show with a few more names than usual for an IWRG show. The main event is supposed to be Pigs vs NGD, but NGD is still short one person.

The second half of the Mas Lucha Ruleta Suicida is 04/30 in Arena 2 de Junio. The tournament matches are Dinastia vs Ultimo Legendario and Saruman vs Dante. Again, the results of the match don’t matter, it’ll be up to votes on Facebook to decide which two wrestlers advance to the mask match.

Extreme Tiger got knocked out in a match in NOAH this past Sunday. A Dragon Bane kick to the head seemed to do it, though Japanese wrestler Alejandro also landed a plancha on Tiger without realizing he was out. Dralistico talked to El Planchitas about the situation and said he was scared Tiger was going to pass away by the way he was reacting (and not breathing right.) Tiger hasn’t updated his social media since the injury but Dralistico said Tiger is stable.

Big Lucha announced Action Jackson and Elemntal have officially left the promotion and Black Generation as of April 17th. They really left a month ago, but I think they were keeping it all together until they got down with the Black Generation/GLEAT tour. Extasis also appears to be out of the promotion based on the lineup, but there’s no announcement. It’s also independent lucha libre, everyone goes from friends to enemies to friends again.

Mexico City has a wrestling licensing exam on May 20th.

Box y Luchas 3547 has Texano, Templario and Atlantis & Octagon on the cover.

AAA

AAA TV (SUN) 04/16/2023 Estadio de Béisbol Monterrey, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon [AAA, ABC Noticias, AS, ESPN, Record, thecubsfan]
***TripleMania XXXI Monterrey***
1) Argenis & Myzteziz Jr. L Antifaz del Norte, Octagón Jr., Villano III Jr., Laredo Kid, Aerostar, Parka Negra, Abismo Negro Jr., Taurus [cage, losers advance]
Dralistico was originally announced, then replaced by Abismo Negro Jr. on 03/28. Antifaz and Laredo Kid fought on the outside and Antifaz was stretched out without entering the ring. No evident time minimium before escape. Escape order: Aerostar, Parka Negra, Villano III, Octagon Jr., Laredo Kid, Abismo Negro, Taurua leaving Argenis and Myzteziz Jr. behind.
2) Chessman b Vampiro
8:52. Originally Adrian Marcelo, then Vampiro a mystery person. (Marcelo downplayed in commentary during the match.) Mr. Iguana and La Hiedra were seconds, got involved, Hiedra and Chessman had an argument leading to Vampiro’s win.
3) Baby Extreme, Flammer, Hijo de LA Park, Toscano, Zorro b Arez, Dave The Clown, Látigo, Negro Casas, Niño Hamburguesa [Copa TripleMania]
Hijo de LA Park added to the match on 04/10. Nino Hamburguesa replaced Lady Shani. Babo scheduled to second Toscano but ended up appearing in a separate segment later. Elimination by pinfall, elimination or over the top. Elimination order: Baby Extreme (by Latigo), Latigo (over the top), Dave the Clown (Toscano), Hijo de LA Park (over the top), Nino Hamburgesa (by Flammer with help from Toscano), Zorro (over the top), Arez (Flammer), Flammer (Negro Casas), Toscano (Negro Casas after Nicho interference.) Nicho threatened to send Casas back to CMLL.
4) Alberto el Patrón & Pentagón Jr. b Psycho Clown & Sam Adonis [Guerra de Rivalidades, quarterfinal]
13:35. Adonis spent most of the match working against Psycho Clown, leading to theri loss.
5) Myzteziz Jr. b Argenis [mask]
11:08. Set by mask match. La Hiedra, Lady Maravilla, Dulce Kanela and Sexy Star all got involved. Myzteziz Jr. may just be Myzteziz now. He won with a 450 splash. Argenis unmasked while fighting Myzteziz afterwards, and announced himself as Mirzha Adan Uribe Nava, 36 years old, 22 a wrestler.
6) Blue Demon Jr. & DMT Azul b LA Park & Rush [Guerra de Rivalidades, quarterfinal]
16:05. Rush was originally teaming with Pagano, then Pagano was “injured” on 02/18 and eventually replaced by LA Park on 03/28. Both teams generally got along (or kept out of each other’s way) until the last few moments. LA Park eventually attacked Rush and pulled Blue Demon on top to make sure he and Rush advanced in the tournament.
7) Hijo Del Vikingo © b Rich Swann, Shane Strickland, Komander [AAA MEGA]
22:17. Cuerno del Vikingo on Komander after the other two had been taken out. Konnan came out after the match to present Vikingo with the title.

The main event four-way was as good as expected, and the semi-main was maybe a bit more violent than expected. That’s about it. It’s a little bit better than expected but not something I’d recommend going out of your way to see before it turns up for free. I want more than two memorable matches on a $20 PPV.

Vikingo tried a couple of things that Strickland wasn’t used to taking, and those didn’t go well, but the four kept up the action the rest of the match. They got the highlights they wanted and Vikingo got the clean win at the end. The idea at the end might have been “Konnan coming to the ring to endorse Vikingo” but it didn’t come off that way in execution.

The LA Park/Rush vs DMT Azul/Bleu Demon was laid out interestingly, with the partners avoiding fighting each other for most of the match and just separately beating up the other team. It was a good twist on expectations and made it bigger when they did fight at the end (they hadn’t done it a bunch of times before then, which was the Psycho/Adonis story.) It was also super bloody and occasionally impressively violent. LA Park comes through in big TripleMania situations.

Argenis & Myzteziz had some good moments but didn’t click as a big match, and had the problem of following Chessman and Vampiro do a lot of similar weapon spots. It was also one that, while a rivalry that happened in the past on AAA TV, wasn’t hot at the moment. (Today was the first time they’ve wrestled this year. They actually only wrestled three times last year too.) Antifaz never got in the cage in the opener, and didn’t do much in the brawl to set up his injury. It came off as Anitfaz del Norte could not wrestle for some reason and AAA needed some way to get him out of there, but maybe it’s just how it looks. Antifaz is scheduled for the AAA show in Tijuana on Saturday so I guess we’ll know quick. AAA could run the Laredo Kid/Antifaz del Norte mask match on one of the Showcenter events or hold it over to next year if they’re interested in finishing it.

The Argenis unmasking was unusual – he brawled with Myzteziz, he unmasked and but didn’t stay in the ring long, his name was briefly announced but only so, and then he stopped at the announce desk to take a headset and do it again (and mention being a professional.) La Planchitas claims Argenis was unhappy with AAA about various things, including not getting enough booking and instead being offered a spot on the Luchatitlan project (which means moving to Cancun.) I thought he was just being a rudo.

Penta/Alberto vs Adonis/Psycho was fine, like an average TV match that just existed to get to the next part of the story. Alberto got a pop when he was introduced but the match itself didn’t have much heat. Sam Adonis & Psycho Clown will do fine in the main event of TripleMania if that’s choice but there’s a big gulf of interest in between the two possible match-ups (and nothing really that can be done to fix it.)

I was racking my brain when Tosscano was honored for his career about who AAA would honor in Tijuana, and then it became rather obvious once Nicho turned up. That’s the good part. The bad part is as much as people like Nicho – got a nice chant here – he’s also limping just doing run-ins and has looked physically diminished for years. Maybe there’s something they can do with Negro Casas and Nicho to draw (one of these men must win a hair match) but it’s probably not going to be pretty.

(AAA also seems to be spelling Tosscano with 2’s consistently – it was on the trophies. I presumed it was a misspelling on the poster since everyone has always spelled it with one S and now I’m not sure.)

English announcers explained the Adrian Marcelo situation by totally focusing on Chessman and not mentioning Marcelo at all. I didn’t catch all of the Spanish commentaries but he didn’t seem to come up there either. I don’t know if the angle is continuing at this point; maybe no one’s sure.

Vampiro in a nine-minute match, even with Hiedra and Iguana giving him rest breaks, is asking way too much and AAA is putting him out there way too often. He was back to teasing retirement on Facebook on Monday. He’s scheduled for Sinaloa this week, but definitely seemed like a guy who was not enjoying what he was doing on Sunday. I agree with the Monterrey lucha libre commission refusing to allow Adrian Marcelo to wrestle if they did not believe he was ready for a match, but you can’t convince me Vampiro would’ve passed those same tests. He would’ve been done quicker. That’s not on Vampiro either. If the point of wrestling licensing is to keep people out of the ring who aren’t prepared to be in there, than the commission failed.

Babo appeared later in the show with Toscano, but did not second him during the match. I wonder if the Marcelo situation got whatever Babo was going to do also scratched since Arez and Dave were cutting promotes like he was expected at ringside there and he was nowhere to be seen. Lady Shani wrestled an extreme match with Ludark and Dalys on Saturday and maybe she wasn’t good to go Sunday as a result.

Announcing seemed fine. Production was the usual. The shot of Myzteziz doing a SSP of the cage looked great. It was atypical. AAA is not something produced primarily for TV. That’s clear every time tecnicos do dives out of different sides of the ring at the same time, something the production seems to have no ability to film (and the people in charge aren’t concerned enough to get the wrestlers to stop doing it.) AAA might be better off producing shows for the live crowd, but it adds up when you’re charging 20 USD for PPV and missing spots.

AAA didn’t announce an attendence number and none of the articles I’ve seen so far is reporting one. It seemed better than the World Cup, so over 10,000 at least. It filled in a lot from the early matches to later on.

Deep in a Wikipedia rabbit hole, you’ll find a 1994 Barbados vs Grenada soccer game where the complicated tiebreaker rules compelled both teams to start to try to score goals on themselves at stages late in the game. That came to mind thinking of LA Park & Rush versus Psycho Clown & Sam Adonis in Tijuana, a match where neither team seems like they’ll want to win. It’s also setting up a situation where the crowd will desperately want Park & Rush to advance, and the same crowd will be just as certain it’ll be Psycho and Adonis advance. I’ll write it again now and maybe twenty more times before Mexico City: Sam Adonis versus Psycho Clown will do fine as a TripleMania main event. The problem isn’t with them, it’s the match they’re opposite again is a once in a decade match. I expect there to be some decent ticket moving this week on the Mexico City show just on the gamble the match might happen. I figured Azul & Demon were advancing because I thought that match was happening this year (and they acted like it still might.) Advancing Park & Rush is a much better move for business, even if people get angry about the bait and switch in July.

AAA’s next taping is Saturday in Tijuana. Adonis & Psycho are booked, Rush and LA Park are not. Maybe they’ll set up other matches for that TripleMania show in the same town. The lineup will change. Toxin is still out hurt, Komander is booked in GCW.

Lady Shani, promoting her own show this past Saturday, says it was Lizmark who got her in to train lucha libre. She didn’t like lucha libre and didn’t understand why people would hurt themselves on purpose, but she was taking it as an exercise class. It was disrespect from the men in the classes that encouraged her to prove she could do it, and she continued with it until she liked it. Her father didn’t like her wrestling and her mother did, then they both changed their viewpoints – Shani’s father would even bring (and dress up) weapons for Shani to use when she wrestling in extreme matches. Shani mentions she’s wrestling through a knee injury.

AEW announced Komander versus Jay White for Wednesday’s Dynamite and Hijo del Vikingo versus Dralisitco for the AAA Mega championship this Saturday (special day) on Rampage. AEW/ROH having the Gringo Loco defenses taped and Dralistico title announced did seem to make it harder for AAA to sell a 23 USD PPV to AEW fans on the idea of seeing Vikingo wrestle. That’s just not as an easy a sell if you can see Vikingo once a week on AEW TV for free or on ROH for a cheaper price.

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 04/14/2023 Arena México [CMLL, Cronista del Ring, Estrellas del Ring, Excelsior, Kaiser Sports, R de Rudo, The Gladiatores, thecubsfan]
1) Pierrothito b Angelito [lightning]  
8:11.
2) La Jarochita, Lluvia, Sanely b La Catalina, Stephanie Vaquer, Zeuxis  
8:33. Tecnicas won, so no title match yet.
3) Guerrero Maya Jr. b Rugido [lightning]  
7:48.
4) Místico, Titán, Volador Jr. b Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr., Último Guerrero    
11:30.
5) Templario b Ángel de Oro, Panterita del Ring Jr., Sagrado, Fugaz, Esfinge, Magia Blanca, Dulce Gardenia, Rey Cometa, Espíritu Negro [CMLL Universal, semifinal]    
30:42. Order of elimintion: Espiritu Negro (via Sagrado), Magia Blanca (Panterita del Ring Jr.), Dulce Gardenia (Esfinge), Rey Cometa (Fugaz), Sagrado (Templario), Esfinge (Angel de Oro), Fugaz (Panterita del Ring), Angel de Oro (Templario), Panterita del Ring (Templario) leaving Templario as the winner. He advances to the final on 04/28.

Some good stuff, not great stuff. The main event had some great stuff near the end, and also an attempt to put Esfinge, Fugaz and Sagrado farther than usual. They didn’t do well with the chance. Fugaz is in a trap where he needs to do tricky stuff to stand out and they’re too tricky for him to pull off consistently; Panterita consistently outshined him whenever they did matching spots.

Matches 2/4 were noticeably shorter than usual. The tecnicas winning and the feud being over for the moment was a strange u-turn. Rugido didn’t look as good in this lightning match as in other matches. Pierroth/Angelito was fine.

CMLL (SAT) 04/15/2023 Arena Coliseo [CMLL]
1) Shockercito & Último Dragóncito b Minos & Pequeño Polvora
2) La Magnifica b Olympia [lightning]
3) Flyer, Fuego, Hombre Bala Jr. b El Coyote, Okumura, Pólvora
4) Rey Samuray b Difunto [lightning]
5) Dark Panther, Panterita del Ring, Volcano b Felino, Gemelo Diablo II, Kráneo
6) Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr., Último Guerrero b Atlantis Jr., Místico, Valiente
UG win via mask pull on Atlantis Jr., who wants a singles match.

It would not be a surprise for Ultimo Guerrero to win one of these feuds.

CMLL (SUN) 04/16/2023 Arena México [CMLL]
1) Full Metal & Mercurio b Kaligua & Pequeño Magía
2) Metálica b Tiffany [lightning]
3) Capitán Suicida, Pegasso, Stigma b Ángel Rebelde, Crixus, Vaquero Jr.
Angel Rebelde, Crixus and Vaqueor listed as La Nueva Generacion. Team Stigma took 1/3.
4) Audaz b Luciferno [lightning]
5) Gemelo Diablo II, Mephisto, Yota b Esfinge, Panterita del Ring, Star Black
Yota pins Esfinge before a lightning match on Tuesday
6) Atlantis, Titán, Valiente b Ángel de Oro, Bárbaro Cavernario, Niebla Roja
Atlantis (& Octagon) picks up a win over Hermanos Chavez before his tag title shot on Tuesday

Weird for CMLL to build from Sunday to Tuesday.

CMLL (TUE) 04/18/2023 Arena México
1) Acero & Aéreo vs Pequeño Olímpico & Pierrothito
2) La Guerrera, Sanely, Skadi vs Amapola, Metálica, Reyna Isis
3) Dulce Gardenia, Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa vs Akuma, Dark Magic, Espanto Jr.
4) Esfinge vs Yota [lightning]
5) Blue Panther, Dark Panther, Panterita del Ring vs Cancerbero, Luciferno, Virus
6) Ángel de Oro & Niebla Roja © vs Atlantis & Octagón [CMLL TAG]

Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja should be mentioned in the list of every great tag team in wrestling today if they can get a 3.5 star match out of 2023 Atlantis & Octagon. In theory, Atlantis & Octagon get in Friday’s match if they win here.

CMLL (TUE) 04/18/2023 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Estrella de Jalisco II & Último Ángel vs Misterio Blanco & Misterio Negro
2) Multy (Puebla), Perverso, Rey Samuray vs Barboza, Draego, Persa
3) Crixus, Futuro, Neón vs Bestia Negra, Cris Skin, Gallero
4) Leo, Omar Brunetti, Vaquero Jr. vs Arlequín, Furia Roja, Guerrero de la Muerte
5) La Fashion, Misterioso Jr., Tonalli vs Demonio Maya, Principe Daniel, Ráfaga
6) Averno & Místico vs Bárbaro Cavernario & Último Guerrero [Relevos Increíbles]

Mexico City mix on top, lots of the newer guys in the first half.

CMLL (FRI) 04/21/2023 Arena México
1) Diamond & Oro Jr. vs Inquisidor & Raider
2) El Audaz, Star Black, Valiente vs El Hijo del Villano III, Felino, Rey Bucanero
3) Panterita del Ring Jr. vs Templario [lightning]
4) Místico, Stuka Jr., Último Guerrero vs Atlantis Jr., Averno, Volador Jr. [Relevos Increíbles]
5) Gran Guerrero vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Titán, Dragón Rojo Jr., Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Hechicero, Euforia, Stigma, Mephisto [CMLL Universal, semifinal]
CMLL champions block

Angel de Oro did get his wish and gets to be the first person in multiple blocks of this tournament, as a double champion. (It’s also probably because someone realized one of these blocks would have nine people without him, and now both are an even ten.)

I wish CMLL had swapped the order around a bit and did this block earlier. It feels like it has to be Dragon Rojo because it’s going last and Templario’s already made the final, but there are a lot more people who could’ve won if this had gone before the national group. On the other hand, they wouldn’t be booking a Panterita/Templario rematch if they hadn’t met in the final. Fourth match should be good. 2nd match has a weird group of people.

Catrina told Biobiochile that wrestling in CMLL is harder than wrestling in WWE. Her reasoning is there were many people just starting out in WWE, while everyone in CMLL had been wrestling or around wrestling for years. She plans on staying in CMLL for “several years.”

Volador did beat Rocky Romero on Saturday on NJPW’s show in DC, so we’re due another title match between them soon. Volador’s said he wanted Romero to admit Volador earned the shot and that he was open to it happening anywhere. Maybe that means it’ll happen on a NJPW US show, where the feud will be a less over but it will expose the big title match to a difference audience.

NJPW announced an All Star Junior USA festival in Philadelphia on Saturday 08/19. I would presume there will be some CMLL participation. Impact announced another of their Multiverse United 2 show in Philadelphia the next day. The CMLL Gran Prix is usually that month, and it may be around those days since the NJPW people will be on the continent anyway. Maybe the 18th would be too much but the week before or after.

IWRG

IWRG (SUN) 04/16/2023 Arena Naucalpan
***Guerra de Golfo, 2023***
1) Baby Star Jr. b Fussion 
2) Arandú (Baja California) & Lady Lee b Centurion & Danessa 
3) Caballero de Plata, Jhon Tito, Spider Fly b Mr. Leo, Mr. Mike, Rey Halcón 
Mr. Mike’s first match here in a year.
4) Hell Boy © b Hip Hop Man [IWRG MEXICO] 
first defense. As per pre-match agreement, Hip Hop Man must dress up as comedy TV character Excelsa the rest of the month.
5) Tonalli © b Brazo De Oro Jr. [IWRG IC WELTER]
first defense. Jhon Tito cashed in his Cofre for an immediate title shot…
6) Tonalli b Jhon Tito [IWRG IC WELTER]
John Tito lost his cash in. Aramis showed up and challenged Tonalli for the next match.
7) Shocko L Gianni Valetta, Heavy Metal, Hijo del Alebrije, Heavy Metal, Hijo del Alebrije, Hijo del Pirata Morgan, Rocky Casas [Guerra de Golfo, semifinal]
Hijo del Alebrije was the last escapee.
8) Puma de Oro L Hijo de Canis Lupus, Yorvak, León Dorado, Cerebro Negro, Aster Boy, Manaicop 360, Luka [Guerra de Golfo, semifinal]
Hijo de Canis Lupus and Cerebro Negro were last two out.
9) Puma de Oro b Shocko, Hell Boy [Guerra de Golfo, hair, cage] 
Puma de Oro was supposed to be in the match but some how Hell Boy took Shocko’s hair.

This was a subscriber-only show. Haven’t seen it. I watched the clips if I could understand how Hell Boy ended up in the cage match at the end and I could not understand it. I mean, I know the answer is “Hell Boy has been feuding with GIR and so they wanted to make sure he got the win”, but also the whole thing reads silly.

Brazo de Oro Jr. versus Tonalli was an AAA vs CMLL match but maybe CMLL wasn’t aware Brazo de Oro Jr. shows up on AAA TV. CMLL has to know Aramis is in AAA and IWRG knows what they’re doing here. Either the match won’t happen or there may be some heat on Tonalli if he wrestles.

IWRG did upload last Sunday’s IWRG show, but they did it in weird fashion that’ll probably make it less likely that people watch it. It’s on YouTube as “IWRG Lucha Libre” with no description. It’s also not just Sunday’s show; they alternate matches between the Thursday Rosales show and the Copa High Power Sunday show. Not sure why they did it, seems like it made it was more work but less useful to watch.

Other News

NOAH announced Rey Escorpion as coming in to face Dralistico on 05/04. Rey Escorpion is still with AAA but doesn’t appear on TV much; I don’t know if AAA’s got other priorities or his contract status changed. Whomever is booking the Mexican guys with lucha libre was into AAA around 2018/2019 based on the people they’re using, or maybe they’re just looking for people who can help Dralistico.

WWE is coming back to Mexico on July 22nd (CDMX) and July 23rd (Monterrey). That’s earlier than usual; it’s gets WWE in Arena Ciudad de Mexico before AAA this time around.

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 04/14/2023 Arena México
1) Angelito vs Pierrothito [lightning]
2) La Jarochita, Lluvia, Sanely vs La Catalina, Stephanie Vaquer, Zeuxis
3) Guerrero Maya Jr. vs Rugido [lightning]
4) Místico, Titán, Volador Jr. vs Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr., Último Guerrero
5) Ángel de Oro vs Templario, Panterita del Ring Jr., Sagrado, Fugaz, Esfinge, Magia Blanca, Dulce Gardenia, Rey Cometa, Espíritu Negro [CMLL Universal, semifinal]

I somehow saved over changes I made in this post-Thursday night, so you can pretend I had lots of witty things to say that are now lost to time.

This looks like another good show, if one last in a lot of surprised. Angel de Oro and Templario seem like the only two with a chance of coming out of the national champions block. Anyone else is big news. The semi-main has no stake but a bunch of pieces that should work together. Guerrero Maya is an interesting test for Rugido. The woman’s match is probably setting up something for next week.

This is the usual PPV price.

CMLL (SUN) 04/16/2023 Arena México
1) Kaligua & Pequeño Magía vs Full Metal & Mercurio
2) Tiffany vs Metálica [lightning]
3) Capitán Suicida, Pegasso, Stigma vs Ángel Rebelde, Crixus, Vaquero Jr.
4) Audaz vs Luciferno [lightning]
5) Esfinge, Panterita del Ring, Star Black vs Gemelo Diablo II, Mephisto, Yota
6) Atlantis, Titán, Valiente vs Ángel de Oro, Bárbaro Cavernario, Niebla Roja

Gemelo Diablo II booked on his own two days in a row, guess something’s up with Gemelo Diablo I. Or CMLL’s gotten them confused.

CMLL (MON) 04/17/2023 Arena Puebla
1) Black Tiger, Brave Star, Rayo Metálico vs Dark Soul, El Hijo Del Perverso, Sombra Diabólika
2) Astral, Eléctrico, Neón vs Espíritu Maligno, Nitro, Prayer
3) Stigma vs Zandokan Jr. [lightning]
4) Atlantis Jr., Titán, Valiente vs Ángel de Oro, Bárbaro Cavernario, Niebla Roja
5) Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr., Último Guerrero vs Averno, Euforia, Hechicero

Rudos/Rudos main event. I think I’m confused on the Perversos at this point; the one that was here as “Perverso” was the “Hijo del Perverso” prior.

CMLL has a special tournament for the 04/30 Arnea Mexico show, the usual Kid’s Day show. Fans (meant to be kids but could be anyone) can vote for one of three wrestlers in six categories, the winners will be entered in the main event cibernetico and the winner of that takes home El Campeonato de El Embajador de los Ninos. The categories:

• The Most Spectacular: Neon, Capitan Suicida, Panterita del Ring
• The Most Gigantic: Euforia, Volcano, Kraneo
• The Most Rudo: Espanto Jr., Disturbio, Akuma
• The Most Dark: Difunto, Mephisto, Raider
• The Forever Idol: Felino, Panterita del Ring, Satanico
• The International Idol: Atlantis Jr., Titan, Volador Jr.

Voting is open until April 24th. Atlantis Jr. has the most on the line here – he’s got his father’s legacy of the hero of the children to uphold.

Retired CMLL luchadora La Seductora says she was inspired by the Irmas and El Dandy to become a wrestler. She trained in secret, and her parents didn’t like it – they thought lucha libre was only for men. She took a job at a grocery store and the owner helped her out when she was training.

Former San Francisco Giant Hunter Pence visited CMLL.

Arena Coliseo Guadalajara’s Facebook streamed Thursday’s Arena Colsieo Tony Arellano show, because of the Guadlajara wrestlers on it. (It’s also on Angel’s channel.) Maybe we could get Puebla shows airing again if enough Guadalajara wrestlers got booked.

AAA

TripleMania Monterrey is Sunday. You can watch it on FITE; you’re better off buying all three shows if you’re a person who is going to buy them all individually anyway. The show starts at 6 pm CDT (and looks like it’s correct this time around.) It will go up on YouTube eventually, but AAA’s got three or four episodes still left to go up this week and might not put one up this week; you may have to wait to June to see this one for free.

I wrote the usual preview over on Voices of Wrestling (though it’s possible it may not go up for a while.) The shorter version is maybe too obvious: Vikingo match is good (but could’ve been set up better), Marcelo/Chessman is an interesting fiasco, and Laredo Kid/Antifaz could be good if that’s what happens. The rest of the card might be fine but it’s not really interesting. Last year TripleMania Monterrey had four singles matches that were notable because they had tournament stakes involved but not much anticipation for the individual matches themselves. That’s cut down to two matches this year, but they don’t feel much more exciting. The tournament will get bigger in Tijuana, when what’s on the line comes much closer, but right now it’s two cold matches on a show that could use more hot ones.

The more time I’ve sat with it, the more time I’ve thought AAA should’ve just announced whatever apuesta match they’re doing instead of having this cage match to set it up (or done the cage match at a TV show), because that match itself would’ve been a bigger draw than the randomness leading into it. It could just be AAA’s to doing any of the teased matches, and that won’t go well.

On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer said Adrian Marcelo will not be at TripleMania – no match, no angle – or in AAA entirely until his sexual assault legal situation gets resolved. Meltzer heard it AAA not wanting to use it, I’d heard Marcelo didn’t want to do it. It doesn’t matter which: he won’t be there and most people won’t realize he won’t be there. AAA’s not outright stating it and I’m not sure they can get people to trust them on that story, regardless.

Likewise, most people (and media) seem to think Babo is wrestling in the Copa Triplemania. I’m sure the plan was him to get involved from the outside, but who knows now – the commission might be on alert for everything.

Konnan said Kenny Omega told him he couldn’t come to TripleMania because he was weighing offers between WWE and AEW. On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer said Omega’s contract ends in November after being extended for injury. There’s two ways of looking at that conflict: either Omega’s going to be tied up with contract talks well past the last TripleMania of the year, or the story about Omega not being able to work this particular because of an impending contract wasn’t exactly true. Either Omega isn’t able or isn’t interested in AAA, and AAA hasn’t accepted it yet. The best thing Omega can do for AAA is wrestle this match. The second best thing Omega can do is give AAA a direct and blunt ‘no’, and force them to move on. It’s fine, AAA fans will get over it, and it’s better than this hamster wheel.

Space has no AAA show airing on Saturday this week, probably because they’re airing (most of) TripleMania on Sunday. Clarosports will also be picking up some part of the live broadcast, and it’ll turn up on Azteca and Multimedios later on.

Hijo del Vikingo appeared on ROH’s tapings (late) Wednesday night in Milwaukee. My information is Vikingo is expected to be available for AEW/ROH shows going forward. Not sure if he’ll end up as part of the show every week, but expect to see him often.

Laredo Kid and (Black) Taurus reappeared on Impact yesterday. I didn’t see their match advertised ahead of time but it was said to be pretty good. Both of those guys are going to be in AAA when Impact has their PPV this weekend, so it makes some sense Impact didn’t do much with them this time around. I hope there’s a plan and better dates for everyone next time around.

IWRG

IWRG (THU) 04/13/2023 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG, Mas Lucha]
1) Baby Star Jr. & Golden Power b Kenji & Rey Eclipse 
2) Águila Roja & Spider Fly b Rey Aztaroth & Rey Halcón 
Aguila Roja challenged Spider Fly to a IWRG LIGHT title match.
3) Aster Boy, Hijo de Canis Lupus, Hijo del Alebrije b Gianni Valleta, Rocky Casas, Shocko 
Hip Hop Man helped Shocko beat Canis Lupus
4) Cerebro Negro & Hip Hop Man b Cerebro Negro Jr. & Hell Boy 
Cerebro Negro Jr. was Hell Boy’s surprise partner, but betrayed Hell Boy.
5) Pig Destroyer, Pig Destructor, Pig Pool DCOR Gran Pandemónium, Hijo de Pandemónium, Pandemónium Jr. 
first time ever match ends with no winner

Not the smartest move by Hell Boy.

IWRG (SUN) 04/16/2023 Arena Naucalpan
1) Baby Star vs Fussion
2) Centurion & Dhanessa vs Arandú (Baja California) & Lady Lee
3) Caballero de Plata, Jhon Tito, Spider Fly vs Mr. Leo, Mr. Mike, Rey Halcón
4) Hell Boy © vs Hip Hop Man [IWRG MEXICO]
first defense
5) Tonalli © vs Brazo De Oro Jr. [IWRG IC WELTER]
first defense
6) Gianni Valetta vs Heavy Metal, Hijo del Alebrije, Heavy Metal, Hijo del Alebrije, Hijo del Pirata Morgan, Rocky Casas, Shocko [Guerra de Golfo, semifinal]
7) Hijo de Canis Lupus vs Puma de Oro, Yorvak, León Dorado, Cerebro Negro, Aster Boy, Manaicop 360, Luka [Guerra de Golfo, semifinal]
8) ? vs ?? [Guerra de Golfo, mask, hair, cage]

This is a Mas Lucha subscriber show; it’s a hard Sunday for that. Brazo de Oro Jr. vs Tonalli should be really good again, though I guess I’ll wait to hear how it goes first.

Other News

Big Lucha returns on April 29th.

Big Lucha (SAT) 04/29/2023 Arena Big Lucha, Iztapalapa, Distrito Federal
1) Súper Boy vs Metal Shadow
2) Aero Queen vs La Brava vs Diosa Nix
3) Elipse & Iku vs Steel Dragón & Vórtice
4) Forneo vs Black Skayde
5) Orbita vs Viajero vs Mr. Win vs Tirano
6) Limbo, Sol, Torito Negro vs Cometa Maya, Ekko, Radioactivo
7) Bendito, El Bandido, El Potro de Oro, Emperador Azteca, Galeno del Mal vs Atomic Star, Demonio Infernal, Fresero Jr., Trauma I, Trauma II

The poster again lists the show as Arena Big Lucha and not Bandido’s Gym, though it’s the same building. Black Generation and Golden Guns are teaming against Negocio Traumado, which disguises some changes in those teams. Extasis is out of Big Lucha (and presumably Delta Force), Cometa Maya & Radioactivo team with Ekko instead. I’m not sure who Ekko is. The buzz for this promotion has fallen off a cliff this year, hope they can find something here.

Demonio Infernal has been out with injury but returned on the New Exotic card last weekend.

LuchaWorld has this week’s Poster-Mania.

Fenix will return to AAW on 05/06.

An interview with San Luis Potosi luchador/mask maker Bogar.

CMLL

CMLL (MON) 04/10/2023 Arena Puebla [El Sol de Puebla, Genickbruch]
2) Dr. Karonte I & Dr. Karonte II b Black Tiger & El Hijo De Centella Roja
3) Enfermero Jr. b Valiente Jr. [lightning]
4) Guerrero Maya Jr., Rey Samuray, Stigma DQ Crixus, Difunto, Zandokan Jr.
Zandokan unmasked Stigma
5) Atlantis, Octagón, Titán b Bárbaro Cavernario, Stuka Jr., Último Guerrero
6) Soberano Jr. b Templario 

Arena Puebla has more of the main event than recent weeks, which is good timing because it seemed and we wouldn’t be able to see any other way. Porra Fresa (and family) went on vacation to Acapulco, so no video from the rest of the show and the undercard results are only because a reader of one of the German wrestling sites sent them in.

CMLL (TUE) 04/11/2023 Arena México [CMLL, Porra Fresa]
1) Acero, Aéreo, Fantasy b Full Metal, Pequeño Olímpico, Pequeño Violencia 
2) Sangre Imperial b Retro [lightning] 
3) La Guerrera, La Maligna, Skadi DQ Amapola, Hera, Reyna Isis 
Amapola DQed for grabbing the referee to stop a count. Seemed to be an unplanned DQ. Maligna’s first match here this year.
4) Dark Panther b Zandokan Jr. [lightning] 
5) Cancerbero, Rey Bucanero, Virus b El Audaz, Star Black, Valiente 
6) Atlantis, Atlantis Jr., Octagón b Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Yota 
Atlantis & Octagon won, then asked for a tag title shot!

Atlantis & Octagon is a good marketing idea as a special tag team title match challenge. Maybe too good for a Tuesday, feels like it should be on a better show. As a match, it’s going to be a test to see how good the Chavez are at carrying people. Octagon, Atlantis and Mascara Sagrada were trios champions 32 years ago, the only time they’ve been champs together.

(Next Friday is supposed to be the CMLL champions in the Universal tournament, so Octagon and Atlantis could find their way in at the last second. A title change seems unlikely.)

Dark Panther/Zandokan was a disappointment. Zandokan did a lot of heel stuff and didn’t look as impressive here. This stream had some issues (it’d slow down and get far behind, then go double speed to catch up.) The Friday stream had issues too.

Amapola was so stunned by the DQ. I think that’s the first time they’ve called that in a woman’s match, but the roster is still getting used to that being a rule. Bestia Negra didn’t even seem to realize it was a DQ at first, and I wonder if someone in his earpiece insisted on him calling the DQ.

CMLL (TUE) 04/11/2023 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [Arena Coliseo Guadalajara, thecubsfan]
1) Calavera Jr. I, Calavera Jr. II, Hijo del Calavera b Demonio Rojo, Mágico, Metatrón 
2) Atenea, Nexy, Valkiria b Dulce Kitty, Náutica, Sexy Sol 
3) Estrella de Jalisco I, Estrella de Jalisco II, Ráfaga b Misterio Blanco, Misterio Negro, Misterioso Jr. 
4) Adrenalina, Explosivo, Fantástico b Crixus, Max Star, Vegas 
5) Arlequín, Dulce Gardenia, Gallero b Bestia Negra, Furia Roja, Guerrero de la Muerte 
6) Ángel Rebelde, Halcón Negro Jr., Optimus, Trono b Bárbaro Cavernario, Canalla, Demonio Maya, Principe Daniel 

Nothing notable as far as angles here. Max Star was said to look good in his match; he did well on the 04/01 Arena Coliseo show as well.

Sagrado and Angel de Oro talked about the Universal tournament. There’s an interview with Panterita del Ring Jr. too, who did Olympic wrestling from the age of 9 always with the plan to go to CMLL one day. The pandemic may have sped that day up; his wrestling gyms were closed during the pandemic, the Arena Mexico one was open, so he started doing lucha libre just to stay active at first.

CMLL (SAT) 04/15/2023 Arena Coliseo
1) Shockercito & Último Dragóncito vs Minos & Pequeño Polvora
2) La Magnifica vs Olympia [lightning]
3) Flyer, Fuego, Hombre Bala Jr. vs El Coyote, Okumura, Pólvora
4) Rey Samuray vs Difunto [lightning]
5) Dark Panther, Panterita del Ring, Volcano vs Felino, Gemelo Diablo II, Kráneo
6) Atlantis Jr., Místico, Valiente vs Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr., Último Guerrero

Rey Samuray vs Difunto could be a thing.

CMLL Informa has Atlantis Jr. (last week’s Universal tournament), Sagrado, Magia Blanca, Panterita del Ring (this week’s Universal tournament), Stuka, Gran Guerrero, Audaz and Hera.

NJPW says they’ll announce the Best of Super Juniors lineup during their April 27th show. I have no inside info, but Titan is a NJPW guy so he should be in it and I think it’s fairly likely Soberano Jr. will be in instead.

AAA

AAA’s poster for the show lists Chessman versus a mystery person. Adrian Marcelo’s silhouette is still on the poster, leading most fans to believe that the match is still happening and AAA is just doing it as a surprise. On Monday’s Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer said AAA’s current plan is to run an angle on Sunday and then hold the match at one of the other two TripleManias. I’ve been told there’s a decent chance Marcelo will not appear at all; failing the wrestling test is one thing, but the sexual assault allegations are more concerning to him personally, and he’s being advised to get out of the spotlight for the moment. (He’s been quier on social media outside of Instagram stories, which tend towards picturing him as a nice family man.) AAA themselves probably wants to do an angle with Marcelo and Chessman to keep it going, but they’re not going to go against the commission on this one and they’re going to have to convince Marcelo to show up still. Marcelo’s Multimedios TV show airs on Wednesday nights, and that could clarify the situation. It’s also AAA, so nothing is absolutely certain until they get to the ring.

I don’t think we’ll get a Chessman replacement opponent name until they turn up. The plan is probably to send out a famous name (think Vampiro, don’t think Goldberg) so it’s not a letdown. I’m not sure how those fans are going to react if the some other match happen. I believe the fans all think Marcelo is going to wrestle, they think the AAA is doing some angle to bring him out as a surprise, and a lot of people are going to be surprised if it doesn’t happen. Maybe AAA could mitigate that by saying Marcelo won’t be appearing (if that is the case) but I think those fans would still believe it’s part of the story.

I think the Tijuana or Mexico City commissions may have been more willing to allow Adrian Marcelo in the ring if AAA had gone to them first, but those are both visible commissions and everyone knows Marcelo failed the first test. The dilemma is now to figure out some way to license Marcelo while those groups don’t kill their credibility. (Maybe it’s as simple as another ‘test’, but with no cameras involved.) Marcelo is also more popular in Monterrey than in other cities, and keeping interest in this is going to be hard. I don’t see AAA letting go of this angle, because they really had something at one point, but it’s obviously not a ideal bit.

Dorian Roldan appeared on the Sport Innovation Society podcast. Roldan’s appeared at the SIS conference in Mexico City in recent years. The episode went up on Tuesday, not sure when it was taped.

A lot of the discussion was on introducing AAA and lucha libre to unfamiliar podcasts listeners, and talking about the Luchatitlan project in Cancun. It originally started as Dorian Roldan wanting an AAA arena in Mexico City for years (feeling they could do the same sort of tourist business CMLL does, but better.) As he talked to partners and investors, the idea of running in Cancun came into shape. Luchatitlan is running one show a night, with a plan to expand to running more often once summer starts. Each show has three matches: an exotico/mini/male trios matches, a woman’s mask versus mask match, and a battle between two brothers over who will take over their father’s famous character. (They’re having lucha libre matches, but this is closer to being a stage show or a theatre presentation where they’re running the same story every night.)

The Luchatitlan project originally was scheduled to cost five million dollars to get off the ground. Costs increased during the project, and the final price was closer to ten million due to pandemic-related shortages and other issues. There was a lot of energy and time spent on the project, and he learned that the best way for him to succeed is to focus on what he does well and work with trusted partners to let them do what they do well. His biggest role in the project was to get investors on board, which was difficult when it ended up costing twice as much as they expected. AAA themselves have a 50% ownership stake, which suggests they put in five million on their own. I was caught off guard by it being that much after previous coverage. Roldan, as he has in that other coverage, expressed hope to take the concept to other beach towns and to the US.

The WWE/UFC new company came up as a major topic in the podcast. Roldan says he was shocked when UFC was valued so highly when Endeavor bought them originally and sees the (high) valuation of the new company as positive news for everyone involved in the industry. Roldan had guessed it’d be either Endeavor or NBC Universal who’d end up with WWE, and believes the new company will attempt to add a boxing component next. Roldan felt WWE/UFC will make a move into Mexico soon, and used it to frame the Luchatitlan project interestingly. He seemed to imply WWE & UFC would offer big events that would be hard to compete with, but Luchatitlan or similar ideas would be compete in the wrestling sphere in a fashion that WWE/UFC wouldn’t easily be able to match.

Roldan notes the Luchatitlan project started in the fall of 2020 and took until April 2023 to complete, as an example about how long these ideas take to get done. He mentioned there was another project AAA’s already been working on for fourteen months, and in expects to finish by the end of 2023. He said it’s going to be big not just for us, “but for a lot of companies in Latin America.” Roldan mentioned he wanted AAA to be half WWE, half Disney, and implied this was something to do with the Disney half. AAA is generally in a growth stage, with their head count increasing.

Roldan also mentioned “a couple of weeks ago”, AAA had signed a new deal to start to develop a project in the US. “I think next year we’ll have a real presence in America.” He later noted previous “failures in the market”, and emphasized the importance of “know how, and know who.” Near the end, Roldan’s asked about his favorite arenas and picks Madison Square Garden; “It’s really iconic, and it was a really difficult show.” It sounded like he could do another podcast just on that experience.

Konnan appeared on the Haus of Wrestling podcast on Wednesday. Most of the conversation was WWE focused. The host (and me listening) were surprised to find out Vince McMahon and Bruce Pritchard had reached out to Konnan about a WWE latino project a couple of years ago; Konnan never heard more about it. The only AAA talk was going over the TripleMania mega title match. Konnan’s very positive about Swerve Strickland, likes Rich Swann, thinks it’s going to be a great match, but also made it clear that they were at least the fifth choice to go in the match. Omega was the first choice and told Konnan he couldn’t come to TripleMania because he wasn’t sure if he was going to sign with AEW or WWE. Konnan seemed to believe Omega had signed or would soon be signing with AEW, and so Omega would be available later in the year. Konnan said he talked to “a couple of other people” about coming in but they were both busy, another one was injured, and then he got to Strickland.

A similar sequence of events – Konnan going for a big name, getting turned down, and eventually ending up with someone lower on the list – happened with the Jeff Hardy replacement last year in Tijuana and with the Kenny Omega replacements a year and a half ago in Monterrey. This time, Konnan seems to be coming away with a verbal promise Omega will return to AAA later this year. This is and will be reported everywhere else as “Omega contract news!” but I’m wondering if it’s actually “Kenny Omega isn’t interested in coming up to AAA, and is finding polite excuses rather than bluntly saying no.” Recently, on Konnan’s own podcast, he briefly mentioned trying to book Chris Jericho for AAA a dozen times and Jericho coming up with a dozen different excuses, which Konnan took as Jericho not wanting to work AAA and just not saying it. I have my thoughts but they’re unimportat. We’ll know if Omega is doing the same after the next two TripleManias.

(The other thing is Konnan was talking about Omega not being on this TripleMania but later in the year for a few weeks. It made it to the WON a few weeks ago. There’s still a decent gap of time between that and when the title match happened. Was AAA waiting on other people making decisions? Should they start working on Tijuana today if this process keeps going down to the wire? Maybe this is a thing only important to me and it’s not a big deal to AAA; it doesn’t feel like it’s a big deal to them if they’re letting it keep happening.)

One commonality between both the Dorian Roldan and Konnan podcasts is how little AAA in-ring wrestling came up. They were both working to their intended audience – the SIS podcast wants to hear ambitious business plans, Haus is looking for WWE/AEW stuff – but the only time an AAA match came up between the two was when Haus brought up the mega title match. Roldan plugged Luchatitlan as the thing to see at the end of his interview, Konnan plugged his podcast. I’m used to Tony Khan or Court Bauer turning every answer into a way to plug their next big event.

Space says they’ll be airing TripleMania from 6:30 pm on. That may mean the last four matches, but not sure what’ll end up being the last four matches.

Arez warned Babo that he doesn’t know what he’s getting into if gets involved in the Copa TripleMania match. Babo has to be knocking out someone, I hope it’s Dave for Arez’s sake.

Hijo del Vikingo and Komander wrestle in Defy on 06/24. If you want to see AAA regular wrestlers wrestle each other in singles matches, you need to go watch non-AAA promotions.

IWRG

IWRG (THU) 04/13/2023 Arena Naucalpan
1) Baby Star & Golden Power vs Kenji & Rey Eclipse
2) Águila Roja & Spider Fly vs Rey Aztaroth & Rey Halcón
3) Aster Boy, Hijo de Canis Lupus, Hijo del Alebrije vs Gianni Valleta, Rocky Casas, Shocko
4) Cerebro Negro & Hip Hop Man vs ? & Hell Boy
5) Pig Destroyer, Pig Destructor, Pig Pool vs Gran Pandemónium, Hijo de Pandemónium, Pandemónium Jr.

Pigs vs Pandemonium seems like it should be a notable match. Cerebro Negro attacked Hell Boy last Sunday to set up that feud; no idea who the mystery man is.

Other News

Metalik challenges for the ROH World Championships against Claudio Castagnoli on Thursday’s TV show.

Mas Lucha announced Dinasita, Dante, Saurman, and Ultimo Legendario advanced in their Ruleta de Suicida. That’s not a foursome that interests me much.

Another lucha libre themed streaming show, Mascara contra Caballero, is coming to the Disney-owned Star+ service in Latin America. (It’s not caballeo, it’s Mask versus Man.) It’ll be on Disney+ in some countries; Canada and Australia are mentioned, the US are not. It’s an eight episode, thirty minute series. It’s scheduled to be released a week from today (April 19th.)

Meanwhile, El Muerto, a comic book movie starting Bad Bunny as a luchador themed super hero announced last year, appears not to be happening, at least any time soon. Bad Bunny was asked about it an interview with Time and “feigned confusion.” His publicist said the movie was “at a standstill” and “in development.”

Box y Lucha 3546 has Atlantis Jr. & Solitario on the cover.

There’s a new lucha libre exhibit in La Paz, Baja California Sur.

AroLucha updated their WeFunder page for the first time in over a year this past March. In a remarkable coincidence, the funding on their project closes in a few days. They claim to have raised over 300,000 USD, which most likely means someone invested a big number early on to get it rolling based on the number of investors.

Segunda Caida writes about some Panamanian lucha.

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 04/07/2023 Arena México [CMLL, Estrellas del Ring, Kaiser Sports, Quadratin, R de Rudo, The Gladiatores, thecubsfan, thegladiatores.com]
1) Acero, Shockercito, Último Dragóncito b Mercurio, Minos, Pequeño Polvora  
9:47
2) La Catalina, Stephanie Vaquer, Zeuxis b La Jarochita, Lluvia, Sanely  
12:02. Zeuxis beat Jarochita with some outside help from Vaquer. Tecnicas demanded a rematch for next week.
3) Dulce Gardenia, Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa b Pegasso, Rey Samuray, Stigma   
14:07.
4) Panterita del Ring Jr., Templario, Titán b Ángel de Oro, Dragón Rojo Jr., Niebla Roja [Relevos Increíbles]   
19:00
5) Volador Jr. b Gran Guerrero [lightning]  
9:11
6) Atlantis Jr. b Místico, Rocky Romero [CMLL Universal, semifinal]   
22:34. Atlantis Jr. bled during the match. All three in the ring elimination rules. Rocky unmasked Mistico but Mistico kicked out, got his mask back, and beat Rocky with La Mistica. Mistico immediately ran into La Atlantida, giving Atlantis Jr. the submission win. Atlantis advances to the final on April 28th.

I really don’t like the “one person gets eliminated, then someone else gets eliminated” bit CMLL does, and they do it too often, but the main event was pretty good. The show was pretty good. Maybe the minis was the weakest match but it was still watchable. Match 4 was really good and continued the Templario/Dragon Rojo feud. Rey Samuray looked good in a big Friday test. The woman’s feud seems to be working.

CMLL had a big crowd for this show and knew it. I want to guess 10,000 but I’m bad at guessing these. The crowd was into the show, though I’m thinking the uptick may have been more to the holiday weekend than any of the matches booked. It’s strange that the Homenaje a Dos Leyendas show was the only ‘down’ show of the recent stretch.

CMLL (SAT) 04/08/2023 Arena Coliseo [CMLL]
1) Angelito, Kaligua, Pequeño Magía b Pequeño Olímpico, Pequeño Violencia, Pierrothito
2) Grako, Nitro, Raider b Neón, Robin, Sangre Imperial
3) Reyna Isis DQ Lluvia [lightning]
Lluvia DQed for shoving referee Olimpico
4) Guerrero Maya Jr., Valiente Jr., Volcano b Difunto, Furia Roja (Jalisco), Zandokan Jr.
5) Dragón Rojo Jr., Euforia, Mephisto b Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr., Yota
6) Panterita del Ring Jr., Titán, Volador Jr. b Bárbaro Cavernario, Rocky Romero, Último Guerrero
Volador escaped the Diablo Armbar and gave Romero a powerbomb for the win. Volador demanded a NWA WELTER title match, Rocky said he could get it – if Volador beats him next Saturday in DC on the NJPW US show.

I like Volador’s chances. That match next Saturday’s been changed due to other card issues. It’ll be Rocky Romero, Chuck Taylor, The DKC, Lio Rush, and Clark Connors vs Volador Jr., Mike Bailey, Gabriel Kidd, Kevin Knigth and KUSHIDA. Romero talked about wanting to run a show with CMLL, NJPW, AEW and Impact, and they’re all in that one match. Volador will team with El Desperado versus Kevin Knight and Delirious on Sunday.

CMLL (SUN) 04/09/2023 Arena México [CMLL]
1) Micro Gemelo Diablo I, Micro Gemelo Diablo II, Micro Sagrado b Micro Ángel, Mije, Periquito Sacaryas
2) Neón b Valiente Jr. [lightning]
3) Crixus, Magia Blanca, Magnus b Akuma, Dark Magic, Espanto Jr.
4) Cancerbero, Felino Jr., Virus b El Coyote, Okumura, Pólvora
5) Atlantis, Panterita del Ring, Valiente b Felino, Rey Bucanero, Yota
6) Atlantis Jr., Místico, Titán b Dragón Rojo Jr., Rocky Romero, Stuka Jr.

Not much going on. Romero went from winning all his matches to losing most of them, which sure seems like his time here is closer to the end than the start. Crixus isn’t a Depredador but he felt part of the group in the post-match promo. He trains with those guys so it’s really more about making it official.

CMLL (TUE) 04/11/2023 Arena México
1) Acero, Aéreo, Fantasy vs Full Metal, Pequeño Olímpico, Pequeño Violencia
2) Retro vs Sangre Imperial [lightning]
3) La Guerrera, La Maligna, Skadi vs Amapola, Hera, Reyna Isis
4) Dark Panther vs Zandokan Jr. [lightning]
5) El Audaz, Star Black, Valiente vs Cancerbero, Rey Bucanero, Virus
6) Atlantis, Atlantis Jr., Octagón vs Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Yota

This is not an appetizing card but I’m locked in on that Dark Panther/Zandokan match. Dark Panther has good lightning matches with everyone and we’re going to learn a lot about how good Zandokan can be right now.

CMLL (FRI) 04/14/2023 Arena México
1) Angelito vs Pierrothito [lightning]
2) La Jarochita, Lluvia, Sanely vs La Catalina, Stephanie Vaquer, Zeuxis
3) Guerrero Maya Jr. vs Rugido [lightning]
4) Místico, Titán, Volador Jr. vs Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr., Último Guerrero
5) Ángel de Oro vs Templario, Panterita del Ring Jr., Sagrado, Fugaz, Esfinge, Magia Blanca, Dulce Gardenia, Rey Cometa, Espíritu Negro [CMLL Universal, semifinal]

This is the National Champions block; we’ll have to wait and see if Angel de Oro gets his wish to be in both this and the world title block. I’m still thinking Templario here. Angel de Oro and maybe Rey Cometa are the other ones who seem like they have a shot. The fourth match should be solid (though is Titan ever going back to NJPW?) Maya/Rugido is a good test for Rugido. The women’s match is probably setting up a tag title match next week. Angelico vs Pierroth should be fine.

AAA

AAA TV (SAT) 04/08/2023 Auditorio Miguel Barragan, San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí [AAA]
1) Jack Cartwheel b Mini Vikingo, Fulgor, Baby Extreme
Jack Cartwheel was added to the match, won, and got beat up by the Vipers (Tormetna, Ciber, Psiscosis, latigo and Abismo Negro Jr.)
2) Chik Tormenta, Látigo, Psicosis II b Dave The Clown, Murder Clown, Panic Clown
Psicosis II replaced Toxin (injury). Vipers survived the Fiesta Sorpera to win.
3) Puma King b Mr. Iguana [lumberjack]
Guest referee La Hiedra helped Iguana win, then Konnan overturned the decision.
4) Dalys & Negro Casas b Argenis & Toscano
changed to a 2v2 match, Casas won, Hiedra attacked Dalys.
5) Dralistico, Hijo Del Vikingo, Laredo Kid DQ Antifaz del Norte, Dinámico, Gringo Loco
Antifaz unmasked Laredo Kid for the DQ. Dinamico replaced Flamita (GLEAT).
6) Abismo Negro Jr., Cibernético, Taurus b Damián 666, Pentagón Jr., Psicosis I
Psicosis I was a surprise replacement for Daga (injury), but they lost due to the Vipers interfering

I don’t believe even AAA knows when this show is airing; they may have a date in mind, but it may not be set. It’ll definitely air after TripleMania Monterrey, when the Laredo Kid/Antifaz bit may be way out of date. They honored Perro Aguayo Jr. during the show and then used that to get heat on the Vipers by beating up the remaining Los Perros at the end.  Semi-main still sounds the best; I still can’t believe Dralisitco made it here, but he has the Instagram photos to prove it. Even with him making it, five out of six matches changed.

AAA’s show in Acapulco on Saturday drew appeared to draw as poorly as the December show. I hope they’re sold shows. Maybe that’s even a credit to Alberto and the others who appeared because it should’ve been worse with a lesser card. (On the other hand, this was on a Saturday, and the last one was on a Wednesday.) The building indicated AAA would be back again in December.

AAA apparently has a Mega title match for TripleMania. Early Monday morning, FITE put up a listing for the Monterrey show with Vikingo defending against Komander, Rich Swann, and Shane Strickland. AAA themselves hadn’t announced the match, but it seems official. It could be AAA’s waiting for some promos to be sent to them;  that’s what they did the last time they threw together a mega title match in Monterrey with people who hadn’t appeared in AAA. You can buy the standalone show on FITE, or you can get all three shows for 60 USD (saving 9 USD) in a package deal. TripleMania is listed as a 6 pm CDT start time. AAA’s tickets have said 4:30 pm local (CST), so that seems about right.

Rich Swann wrestled for the Mega championship on the 2018 Mexico City TripleMania. That was a situation where the title was going from Jeff Jarrett to Fenix, AAA didn’t believe a singles match between the two would be good, so they just added some random other people. Swann also appeared in the 2019 Lucha Capital tournament and holds a win over Hijo del Vikingo from 2019 Impact TV. Impact has a PPV the same day as TripleMania Monterrey and I’m surprised Rich Swann is available. Shane Strickland worked the opener of that same 2018 Mexico City TripleMania; the AAA special of a bunch of guys doing big moves and then a heel group attacking them all after the match. Strickland had an amusingly bad spot during the match and was otherwise fine. My impression is non-Mexican fans are generally happy with these names; Strickland is seen as someone really good in AEW but not doing much there, so getting a match with Vikingo is a big deal. The news hasn’t really reached Mexico, the expectations there have been Omega/Ibushi levels of names, and these guys aren’t on that level. Even Komander hasn’t been pushed as a Mega championship-caliber star in AAA until this match. Komander is no more important than Octagon Jr. or Myzteziz Jr. in AAA’s booking, he’s in this spot because he got over in a bunch of match that the regular AAA fan probably did not see and only may have heard about. The match is going to be great, it’s enough to get Vikingo curious people to seek out the show, but the live reactions to the match might need some help.

My own thought is I don’t want to see fourways with no build for the top title in a promotion. Strickland/Vikingo would’ve been fine, even though it would’ve been weird not to see Komander on this show. But I think I’m in the minority there.

Adrian Marcelo versus Chessman is in some sort of peril. Marcelo quitting his licensing exam on Wednesday was a real event, not planned by AAA or Marcelo as part of this story, and that’s the peril. I believe AAA still wants to run that match, and this strict Monterrey commission isn’t going to look the other way for someone wrestling without a license. Marcelo will be at TripleMania Monterrey and I’m not sure what exactly happens beyond that. I believe AAA’s stopped promoting the match because they don’t yet have a solution, and announcing Marcelo wrestling until they have a solution will cause the commission to blow up on them and everything will spiral into a bigger mess.  I think we might not know what’s happening with that match until it happens.

In addition, the Nuevo Leon prosecutor’s office said they’re investigating the accusations against Adrian Marcelo. This would be a great time to cut AAA’s losses and move on, but they don’t have a big attraction for this TripleMania show without Marcelo.

The FITE listing also has Hijo de LA Park listed in the Copa Triplemania Monterrey vs Mexico City 5v5 tag match. It probably wasn’t ever supposed to be a ‘mystery’, but listing Hijo de LA Park would’ve given away LA Park’s addition later in the press conference.

AAA’s TV usually starts with highlights of the previous action – some matches, some vignettes. The show from two weeks ago started including Estrellita talking on the phone about joining a group Pagano was forming and the Vipers taunting Arez before a show. The Estrellita bit aired back on the military show. The Arez/Vipers bit had never aired; AAA showed a flashback of something they never aired in the first place. This week’s show kicked off with the graphics misidentifying the people on screen. It’s just AAA.

Anyway, last week’s AAA TV had a bit of Pagano (using a cane to get around and still looking to be in some pain) asking Charly Manson to join his new group. Charly accepted the offer, so add him to Estrellita to this potential group. The NWA/AAA matches were moreover in the week one but not memorable; maybe Flammer/Kamille was the best. Crowd didn’t care about Daga/Tyrus at all before the injury. The announcers loudly claiming Tyrus was a pop culture figure in the US and hyping him appearing on “Gutfeld!” to an audience of Mexican rock fans who just wanted the wrestling to end so they could go see the next concert was amusing. Tyrus was the NWA guy in the NWA/AAA match but also somehow the face, so they had him wave the AAA flag after his win.

This week’s AAA show also included a two-minute interview with Jose Manuel Guillen and Hip Hop Man to get his character. I’m not sure Hip Hop Man is booking again in AAA any time soon. There was also a vignette with Pentagon Jr. showing his truck had been defaced by a mystery attacker. AAA got cold feet about that one. It’s clear in the video that someone wrote “puto” on the truck, and AAA’s tried (and didn’t completely succeed) to blur it out.

Space is airing part of TripleMania on Sunday; the commercial doesn’t list a start time, but it’ll probably end up being the last half of the show as usual. It appears they’re not airing any AAA on Saturday, though their schedule often changes during the week.

In an interview promoting Luchatitlan, Dorian Roldan said the next big star of lucha libre will be a woman. The article suggest Lady Shani and La Hiedra as possibilities. This was a throwaway comment to help a writer fill out an article, someone not to think about, but I couldn’t help it. On paper, the next big star of Mexican wrestling as a woman makes sense – it’d be something that hadn’t been done, and the success of Ronda Rousey in MMA suggests it could work huge if the right woman came along. I’m not sure that the right woman is in Mexican wrestling right now, and I’m more skeptical AAA (or CMLL) would push the right person to that level even if they did make themselves obvious. She’d either get run off by lecherous behavior, or plateau as an interesting midcarder who gets nothing to do or get swooped up by WWE before the Mexican promotions got it because those women are the one an aspiring star wants to follow.

This really isn’t connected to that but did you know Kamille has appeared in AAA as often as Taya since their title match at TripleMania Mexico City? Both did the World Cup, Taya did the military show, Kamille did the NWA show.  Two shows for each in the last six months. They might as well have had Kamille win the title at TripleMania, she could’ve defended it with the NWA title. This situation is also a more specific reason why AAA’s next big star won’t be a woman, they’re way too comfortable with just tossing away a year of doing anything with the women they had. The only two women booked on TripleMania Monterrey are in the throwaway ten person tag.

IWRG

AAA , ROSALES (FRI) 04/07/2023 Arena Naucalpan [Estrellas del Ring]
1) Andressa Del Rey, Ángel de la Muerte, Rey Amon b Calibre, Candela, Estrella Del Ring  
2) Dark Scoria, Golden Jacket, Kinggoo DQ Hellboy, Noisy Boy, Rey Halcón  
3) Lady Shani & Octagón Jr. b Joe Lider & La Hiedra and Galio & Sexy Star  
4) Astuto, Hijo De Dos Caras, Niño Hamburguesa b Kuukai, Nishikawa, Tiago  
5) Taurus b Daimo, Hijo Del Vikingo, Astor  
Joaquin Roldan was rembered before the semimain
6) Alberto el Patrón, Dizzy, Murder Clown b Abismo Negro Jr., Charly Manson, Parka Negra  

This show drew well, which Alberto believed was 100% because of him in an post show interview. The show the next day in Acapulco with Alberto on top tanked, as did the shows he headlined as part of Nacion Lucha Libre. Alberto also declared himself better than 70% of the wrestlers in the WWE Hall of Fame, and demanded HHH let go of their grudges at put him in their Hall of Fame. There was a lot of that sort of stuff in the interview.

The AAA spot shows in Arena Naucalpan always draw well. Promociones Rosales only runs them there once or twice a year, so there must be some other part of the equation that doesn’t work out for them to happen more often.

IWRG (SUN) 04/09/2023 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG]
1) Rey Astaroth b Águila Roja
2) Dehyna & Satania b Danessa & Sagitarius
3) Gran Pandemónium, Hijo de Pandemónium, Pandemónium Jr. b Brazo Celestial, Brazo Cibernetico, Brazo De Oro Jr.
4) Puma de Oro © b Gannicus [IWRG REY DEL AIRE]
First defense. Puma de Oro still around for a while.
5) Daisuke Sasaki, Gianna Valetta, Hip Hop Man, Karaoui, Kodai Nosaki, Shocko b Asterboy, Hell Boy, Hijo de Canis Lupus, John Tito, Maniacop 360, Tonalli [Copa High Power]
Cerebro Negro betrayed Team Mexico (and Hell Boy in particular) to give Team World the win.

This didn’t stream after all; Mas Lucha streamed only their own show on Sunday. IWRG says they’ll put it up on their own YouTube channel on Sunday before the next live show.

IWRG didn’t post the losing team’s names in the main event so there could’ve been a sub there.

Other News

Mexico State area luchador Perro de Guerra Jr. (Omar Tacomol Ricardo, 33) passed away this weekend. No cause of death is known, but Guerra wrote about taking a break from wrestling due to some health issues (both physical and mental) back in February. Perro de Guerra Jr. wrestled in a bunch of Mexico state arenas but I’ll always think of him as a regular in Coliseo Coacalco for Lucha Memes the last few years, one of the more constant figures in the promotion over the last few years.

Puebla luchador Gorila Osorio (Raul Osorio, 91) passed away Friday due to “health complications.” He started wrestling in Arena Puebla in the 50s and eventually became a trainer. There’s not a lot of documented 50s/60s Puebla lucha libre history, but he also wrestled in the Mexico City’s Arena Coliseo between 1959 and 1965.

The Lucha Libre Vangaurdia show scheduled for Sunday was canceled a day prior. They said it was due to problems outside of their control, implying the local authorities did something to block it (or at least weren’t supporting them.)

Mas Lucha has the Facebook polls up to vote on which wrestlers should advance in their Torneo Suicida.

• Ultimo Legendario vs Mr. Leo
• Dinastia vs Camaleon
• Dinamic Black vs Dante
• Belial vs Saruman

You don’t necessarily need to watch the show to pick who should advance; you’re just picking which guys you’d think should advance to the next round. You do need to have a Facebook account.

I still have no idea what the voting process is here, but I’ve decided to treat up as an older version of IWRG Tryout and pick which guys I’d most like to see wrestle again. Ultimo Legendario was a nose better than Mr. Leo but I wouldn’t mind seeing either of them again. Dinastia & Camaleon was the opposite; there were a couple of good spots but they were a bad fit for each other. Dinamic Black looked better than Dante, even though Dante got the win with a fake injury spot. Belial looked a lot better than Saruman.

Attendance seemed good in places this week. Arena Lopez Mateos, with a Parks/Traumado main event, seemed close to a full house. Arena Neza, with Psycho Clown, Dr. Wagner, Chessman and Pig Destroyer in the main, seemed to do pretty well. The 2nd New Exotic show in Gimnasio Juan de la Barrera seems to have struggled similar to their first show. (Psycho Clown worked that show too; it’s interesting he worked around Mexico City rather than either of the two AAA significant shows they had on Saturday.) The Mas Lucha show at Arena CM didn’t seem to be any special draw for that small building.

Arez replaced Komander against Gringo Loco on the 04/27 Demand Lucha show in Toronto.

DEFY announced Gringo Loco vs Nick Wayne vs Komander vs Arez on 05/05 in Tacoma.

DoradaFan has a Rey Cosmico Jr. music video.