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 
4) Arkalis, Guerrero Maya Jr., Pegasso b Gemelo Diablo II, Okumura, Sagrado 
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 
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.

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 03/15/2024 Arena México [CMLL, FDDE, Fuego en el Ring, Kaiser Sports, Telediario, The Gladiatores, The Gladiatores (video), thecubsfan]
1) Halcón Suriano Jr. & Leono b Emperador Jr. & Platino Kid    
10:35.
2) Guerrero Maya Jr., Pegasso, Stigma b Cancerbero, Luciferno, Virus   
13:55. Fuerza Poblana took 2/3.
3) Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido b Bárbaro Cavernario, Dragón Rojo Jr., Terrible    
Barbaros took 2/3. 12:47.
4) Atlantis Jr., Hechicero, Volador Jr. b Averno, Templario, Titán [Relevos Increíbles]    
11:52. Seemed to be a relevos incredibles only because Averno & Hechicero are meant to still be enemies.
5) Akuma & Rocky Romero b Ángel de Oro & Gran Guerrero [Torneo Increible de Parejas, battle royal]
2:28
6) Ángel de Oro & Flip Gordon b Euforia & Gran Guerrero [Torneo Increible de Parejas, quarterfinal]  
6:02
7) Máscara Dorada & Rocky Romero b Akuma & Dulce Gardenia [Torneo Increible de Parejas, quarterfinal] 
6:47
8) Máscara Dorada & Rocky Romero b Ángel de Oro & Flip Gordon [Torneo Increible de Parejas, semifinal]   
8:30. Dorada & Romero advance to the final on 03/29 despite having issues.

A disappointing undercard. CMLL seems generally seems to be in a little bit of a cold spell following FantasticaMania, with matches looking better on paper than how they turned out. The torneo saved it a bit on this night. Dorada/Romero versus Akuma/Gardenia was two teams that don’t interact much normally and figured out some good moments to go against each other. The midcard team made the most of their chance. It carried through a solid final, with Dorada/Romero barely holding it together against their opposition.

Again, not much on the rest of the show. Match four was the best of the bunch but it didn’t come close to the ceiling. Los Barbaros (or at least Cavernario) are getting over as an act but the two teams didn’t mesh. First two matches were forgettable.

CMLL (SAT) 03/16/2024 Arena Coliseo [CMLL]
1) Diamond, Novato, Rayo Metálico b Grako, Multy, Sangre Imperial
2) Alom b Infarto [lightning]
3) Difunto, Felino Jr., Misterioso Jr. b Astral, Fuego, Hombre Bala Jr.
4) La Catalina & Marcela b Amapola & Reyna Isis
5) Esfinge, Fugaz, Star Black b Hijo del Villano III, Magnus, Zandokan Jr.
6) Máscara Dorada & Volador Jr. b Bárbaro Cavernario & Templario

Nothing to say here.

CMLL (SUN) 03/17/2024 Arena México [CMLL]
1) Astro Boy Jr. & Hunter b Dragón de Fuego & Forneo
2) Persephone b Tiffany [lightning]
3) Dark Magic, Espanto Jr., Raider b El Audaz, Futuro, Max Star
4) Dulce Gardenia, Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa b Gemelo Diablo II, Pólvora, Sagrado
5) Panterita del Ring, Valiente, Volcano b Felino Jr., Kráneo, Mephisto
6) Niebla Roja, Rocky Romero, Stuka Jr. b Flip Gordon, Místico, Star Jr.
Niebla Roja snuck in a foul on Flip.

The Chavez brothers hate on Flip almost as much as an average Twitter poster.

Persephone should be beating Tiffany at this point but it still sort of surprised me that happened. Checking the numbers, Tiffany just almost never wrestles singles matches – she had one last year, and the one prior to that was in the empty arena taping. When she does have singles matches, Tiffany’s record isn’t so great. My record of Tiffany 1v1 matches in Arena Mexico had her losing all but one – but then I checked video of her September 30th, 2004 match with Princesa Sugehit and the result was just wrong, she lost that one too. (She did beat Lluvia in Arena Coliseo when they were doing a lot of singles matches.) I completely fell down a rabbit hole here; did you realize that Tiffany has been in CMLL longer than she was in AAA? I will always think of Tiffany as an AAA wrestler who happened to be in CMLL because her biggest career highlights came in that promotion – but she’s been in CMLL for so long.

Titan won the Vive Latino festival championship. In other words, he won a random three way match over Euforia and Prometeo for a title that may appear this week and then not again until maybe next year. CMLL says their shows at the music festival were successful; it’s hard to tell.

CMLL (TUE) 03/19/2024 Arena México
1) Micro Gemelo Diablo I & Micro Gemelo Diablo II vs Micro Dito & Mije
2) Legendario & Xelhua vs Felino Jr. & Okumura
3) Acero & Angelito vs Pequeño Olímpico & Pierrothito
4) Futuro, Max Star, Neón vs Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido
5) Atlantis, Blue Panther, Valiente vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Dragón Rojo Jr., Terrible
6) Máscara Dorada, Místico, Titán vs Rocky Romero, Soberano Jr., Templario

The unnamed Romero, Soberano, and Templario unit finally team up. The minis feud is finally back in match 3. So is Micro Dito. Match four could be good but it’s a Tuesday.

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 & Soberano Jr. vs Dragón Rojo Jr. & Templario and Hechicero & Stuka Jr. and Disturbio & Virus [Torneo Incredible de Parejas, battle royal]

Final Friday before Homenaje a Dos Leyendas. Match 3 is a preview trios; they’ll run it back with Willow in Isis’ spot next Friday. Zandokan and Esfinge also meet up before their title match. The main event figures out the last two spots on the card, and it’s be a shock if anyone besides Soberano and Atlantis Jr. make it through.

The Star Jr./Magnus match from MLW is up on their YouTube channel. It was good. MLW also advertised a Virus versus Star Jr. on 03/29. The graphic itself had Virus and Star Jr.’s names swapped, and gives away that Virus isn’t advancing in the Torneo Incredible de Parejas this week. Not that’s a surprise, but both errors are tells no one in charge in MLW is actually watching CMLL; they just read in the WON that it was hot and called Rocky Romero for some names.

AAA

AAA will have a press conference in a few hours to announce the full TripleMania lineup. I’ll be a follow up post today, if it streams.

AAA TV (SAT) 03/16/2024 Gimnasio Olímpico Juan de la Barrera, Ciudad de México, Distrito Federal [AAA, IG: Orizabaluchalibre]
1) Adelicious, Belcegor, Taurus b Colmillo de Plata, Garra de Oro, Reina Dorada
Adelicious appeared to be the former Miss Delicious.
2) Faby Apache, La Parkita, Mr. Iguana, Pimpinela Escarlata b Bengala, Dalys, Jessy Queen, Parkita Negra
Faby/Dalys are feuding.
3) Oscar Sevilla & Súper Caló b Charly Manson & Nygma
4) Laredo Kid b Octagón Jr., Aerostar
Octagon Jr. got moved up and AAA didn’t replace him, just switched this tag to a three way.
5) Octagón Jr. © b Mecha Wolf [AAA LA]
Earlier, a segment officially introduced Pagano, Charly Manson and Mecha Wolf as the new Vatos Locos. Pagano is still out of action due to an arm injury and this was made a title match instead. Octagon Jr. retrained, then the debuting Parker Boudreaux attacked everyone.
6) Dark Cuervo, Dark Ozz, Dark Scoria b Dave The Clown, Murder Clown, Panic Clown
Secta won after putting Murder Clown through a table. Mesias showed up and had a secret conversation with La Secta.
7) El Patrón Alberto b Psycho Clown, Cibernético [AAA MEGA] 
Earlier, Konnan announced Vikingo was stripped of the Megachampionship due to injury, and the winner of this match would fight for an opponent TBA at TripleMania Monterrey. Vampiro appeared and asked to be added to the match; Konnan said no, but introduced the return of old friend Mesias, who said he’d team with Vampiro on his retirement tour. La Secta ran in the match to help Cibernetico, Psycho Circus ran them off. Alberto submitted Psycho to win. Three masked men attacked everyone after the match, while an eye logo appeared on the screen.

By my guessing, this airs April 13 and 20th. Attendance looked slightly down from January but still about 90% full.

I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up but AAA might actually have been building TripleMania matches here. They should know the lineup if they’re announcing it two days later. The main event is obviously building to it, but maybe Mesias saying he’s going to team with Vampiro and getting in front of Parker Boudreaux will set something up.

On one of the many episode of his podcast, Konnan said Hijo del Vikingo told him he was planning to work through 2024 and then get knee surgery in December. The knee didn’t hold out that long, AAA’s vacated Vikingo’s Megachampionship, and Alberto is one of the people who will fight for it. My hunch is Alberto was penciled in to beat Vikingo for the championship some point later this year; most likely at TripleMania Mexico City. It’s the match Alberto has been pushing for since the moment he made his latest return, and it also would’ve given AAA about half the year to see if they could trust Alberto. That’s all out of the window now, and Alberto seems likely to get the title at TripleMania Monterrey. A lot of international fans are going to be upset with that decision. A bunch of similar Mexico fans are going to be happy; they’ve wanted a “real heavyweight” champ for a while and now they believe everything in AAA will be much better. (These two groups of fans have no concept of each other.) I’m just relieved I don’t have to see the match where Alberto beats Vikingo.

Hijo del Vikingo posted a message on Instagram talking about how proud he was to take the Megachampionship to new places, how disappointed he was to leave it vacant, and how it’s now his goal to win it back.

(There are a lot of questions of where this will leave Vikingo when he returns. Vikingo became champion because Kenny Omega wanted to wrestle him, and then no longer could wrestle him. Omega would’ve been happy to lose to Vikingo if that match had happened, but we’ll never been sure if AAA would’ve gone along with it. I don’t know if Vikingo gets that chance again. I don’t know how this affects Vikingo’s booking in AEW, where it’s seemed AAA hasn’t wanted him losing while champion but AEW was disinterested in using him in any sort of important role if they couldn’t occasionally beat him. We’re still months away from knowing the answers to any of this.)

Parker Boudreaux is a name wrestling insiders and some fans have been obsessed with despite him never panning out. Boudreaux started out in WWE’s NXT in 2021. He got a lot interest from fans because of his looks – he looks like a smaller Brock Lesnar and was assumed to have similar potential. Historically, half of wrestling has just been looking the part, but he hasn’t demonstrated much more beyond that. He wrestled on TV as Harland, but didn’t wrestle much – just very short matches. Harland rarely lost, so it was a surprise when he was part one of WWE’s mass cuts in 2022. Reporting on his release mentioned Boudreaux was injury-prone and wasn’t showing progression. Still, he was highly regarded at one time, so MLW brought him in for a one shot, then AEW signed him to a contract. Boudreaux once again spent most of his time on the developmental show (this time AEW Dark) wrestling short matches. He was briefly allied with Swerve Strickland, had a TV match where he looked unready for the spot, and has never appeared on TV again. Fightful Select reported in June that Boudreaux suffered an (unspecified injury), then noted in December that Boudreaux was seen at the Jacksonville taping but still has no return date.

Boudreaux is someone who is going to need a lot more work if he’s ever has a chance of getting better, but AAA is not a place where Boudreaux is going to work a lot (or get better.) AAA also not a place where AEW is going to send someone to get better right now; those two groups do not appear on good terms. It’s reasonable to wonder if Parker Boudreaux is actually still in AEW at this point; he still on the website. Parker Boudreaux would have next to no name recognition from AAA fans.

For AAA, Parker Boudreaux is their Killer Kross: a heavyweight American who looks the part, who will likely squash all the unimportant people on the roster, and who they hope develops into something. Someone who’s washed out of WWE and AEW for just not being good enough is unlikely to improve in AAA, but AAA is also unlikely to attract foreign wrestlers who don’t have a major flaw or three. (If they’re better than that, there’s much better options for them.) The pattern with Kross was AAA repeatedly teasing they were going to put him in an important match and then never ever actually doing it. Boudreaux facing off with Mesias right away suggests they’re throwing him in to the fire right way. Boudreaux’s post-debut promos with Mas Lucha and Lucha Libre Online suggest he could use a mouthpiece.

(Sidebar: I have many more found memories of El Mesias than most people coming back for this Origenes tour, from both his AAA run and his Lucha Underground time. He also has looked as physically shot the last couple of years and then had health issues at the end of 2023. I hope he’s better now, but “broken down wrestler” versus “guy too green for NXT 2.0” may not go well.)

Adelicious/Miss Delicious was part of Luchatitlan before that shut down. Anyone new getting thrown on TV with AAA is going to get a name they own at the moment. Even if it feels like they spent ten minuts on it.

AAA is back in Juan de la Barrera on May 11th. It seems like they’re going to run most of their tapings this year in Juan de la Barrera or the Showcenter. That cuts down on travel costs, since the Mexico City crew is all local and half the Monterrey shows are local wrestlers. AAA says they’re doing great, but seem to be making a lot decisions based on keeping costs down.

AAA TV started off the 02/18 taping. It was mostly built around Chessman and Alberto, who each laid out a group of preliminary wrestlers after the match. (Vampiro ended up doing it after the main event, so AAA booked the same angle three times in one show.) AAA debuted the new Taurus and acknowledged him as new, though most people would’ve noticed it was a new guy because Taurus suddenly got a lot worse at wrestling. I was told the issue is the mask, the former Dick Angelo 3G had trouble seeing on it, but it was a poor performance. The opener might have been the best match on the show, though the best sequences were between Epydemius and Estrellato in the segunda. Rey Leon, wrestling under the name of El Original for whatever reason, had a night to forget.

Alberto, in that TV main event, took out of his baseball jersey top to reveal – another shirt underneath it. It was odd to take off a shirt to reveal another shirt. He seems to have wrestled in a shirt on the TV taping too.

Negro Casas will be honored by the Cauliflower Alley Club with their 2024 Lucha Libre award.

Big Lucha

Big Lucha World (SAT) 03/16/2024 Arena Big Lucha, Iztapalapa, Distrito Federal [Big Lucha, The Gladiatores, thecubsfan]
1) La Bomba & Reiyel b Depaysmen & M2R 
7:45.
2) Mr. Win & Tirano b Caballero de Plata & El Potro de Oro 
10:41. Caballero was upset with losing in his first match teaming with Potro de Oro, but Potro welcomed him to the promotion (full time?)
3) Big Tao Tao & Bogdan Klimov b Cometa Maya & Morfosis 
14:34.
4) Elipse, Iku, Orbita, Vengador b Atómico Jr., Black Skayde, Brujo, Zenky 
15:06. Elipse and Orbita had problems once again, and Atomico (who seemed to suffered an ankle injury) too advantage for the win. Zenki replaced Auzter.
5) Flamita & Ricky Marvin b Emperador Azteca & Limbo 
9:20. Limbo replaced Emperador Azteca; he and Torito Negro seemed to be now part of Black Generation. Marvin pinned Limbo. Flamita called out Emperador Azteca for not appearing, then asked Bendito if he had picked the wrong side. Bendito thanked Flamita for all he had done for him since forming Black Generation, pretended to ally with him, but then attacked both Flamita and Marvin.

The main event was good while it lasted. The post match came off like a possible write-off of Emperador Azteca, but he seems to tight with the promotion to disappear like that. I think it’s Elipse who’s the tecnico and kicked out of the group and Orbita who’s the rudo who is staying, but I have to keep checking it every time. Match 3 was up and down, Klimov wasn’t a great partner. Tirano had a rough night.

This was the first Saturday show and attendance seemed down. May have been a one week thing, may have been going against the AAA TV taping. Still, these have to be successful to be worth these guys losing the best day to pick up a match elsewhere.

Ricky Marvin’s mom opened a restaurant.

IWRG

IWRG (SUN) 03/17/2024 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG, thecubsfan]
1) Galvánico & Torbellino b Dracula Ng & Vatopilas
2) Pequeño Centauro, Sacro, Sky Man b Fussion, Rey Aztaroth, Rey Halcón
3) Keyra & Shamila b Gema Andrade & Satania
4) Noisy Boy, Spider Fly, Tornado b Diamante Jr., Puma de Oro, Tarzan Duran
5) Ivan Rokov & Vangellys b Águila Roja & Multifacetico Jr.
6) DMT Azul b Hijo de Canis Lupus, Hellboy
Hell Boy and DMT Azul worked together to beat Canis Lupus, with Hell Boy allowing DMT Azul to win (and then walked out of the ring and the arena.) Vangellys came out post match and challenged DMT Azul to sign a contract for an apuesta match. Both DMT Azul did, though he wanted two unspecified clauses. Canis Lupus also signed on, though he wanted DMT Azul 1v1.

Top few matches got changed around, in part because some of the names were over working the AULL show in Sala de Armas. Might as well put those results here.

AULL (SUN) 03/17/2024 Sala de Armas Magdalena Mixhuca, Ciudad México, Distrito Federal [La Tijera, Mas Lucha, Zona Ruda]
1) Chicanito b Osiris, Impulso, Freelance, Sádico, Felino Boy [Trofeo Rey Aereo] 
2) Brazo Celestial, Brazo Cibernetico Jr., Brazo De Oro Jr., Sagitarius b Jessy Ventura, Mamba, Máximo, Quimera 
3) Demonio Infernal, Fresero Jr., Trauma I, Trauma II b Pig Decapitador, Pig Destroyer, Pig Destructor, Pig Pool 
4) Forastero (NGD) & Sansón b Hijo de LA Park & LA Park Jr. and Dralistico & La Bestia Del Ring and Galeno del Mal & Simon Blanco [Copa Dinastia]  
Legado Wagenr added; unsurprisingly, Simon Blanco took the pin.
5) Rush b LA Park, Blue Demon Jr., DMT Azul [Copa Honor y Gloria] 
The usual level of screwiness leading to Rush fouling LA Park for the win. LA Park wrestled the last couple of minutes without a mask. Rush challenged LA Park for a hair/mask match in Estadio Azteca.

Mas Lucha has video of the post match. It’s was comical how much LA Park’s face was exposed, even as he’s talking about putting it on the line (for a match that’ll never happen.) I’m not sure how to read attendance; there seemed to be more seats filled on the floor than usual for this building, but one side of the bleachers was completely unfilled. They’d need to do 10-20x time this turnout to make an Estadio Azteca show worth doing.

ELITE

My instinct is for this section just to be the word “no” and to move on. But, I guess I’m supposed to be professional. Here’s the lineup:

Elite (SUN) 04/21/2024 Frontón México, Cuauhtémoc, Distrito Federal
1) Brazo Celestial, Brazo Cibernetico, Brazo De Oro Jr. vs Difunto, Rokambole, Villano V Jr.
2) Arez, Látigo, Toxin vs Bestia 666, Dr. Karonte Jr., Verdugo
3) Dios del Inframundo, Rey Horuz, Xtreme Tiger vs Mocho Cota, Súper Fly, Tito Santana
4) Black Beast & DMT Azul vs Forastero (Indie) & Sansón
5) Komander vs Dralistico, Metalik
6) Rush vs LA Park

The poster lists Fronton Mexico as the venue. Fronton Mexico has no mention of this show at this point. The poster lists tickets on Ticketmaster. Ticketmaster has no listing for this show at this point. (You can see Fronton Mexico’s Ticketmaster page here.) Those could be fixed later, but a competent promotion would have those tickets on sale when they’ve started to promote their show. It’s instead another indicator this might not on the up and up. Their social media was still posting “where will we run?” teasers a day after half the wrestlers had posted the card. There was no mention of where or if the show might be broadcast. Fronton Mexico has been used by various lucha libre promotions over the year – including opposition to EMLL in the 50s – but was most recently the venue for TNA when they were taping in Mexico City.

Elite had a press conference to talk about this show on Saturday. I assume it was planned for a while since LA Park was already going to be in Mexico City, but it didn’t seem like many people knew it was happening. Carlo Colin, who’s been one of the two Lucha Libre Elite promoters in the, fronted the group here. He said their second show would be in July back in Fronton Mexico, that would be their base in Mexico City, and they’d run more frequently in that venue. They have plans to run Monterrey, Toluca and other places near Mexico City. Colin said they’re on good terms with both AAA and CMLL but Elite is doing their own thing this time around

The interpromotional relationships does bring up a good question of how AAA feels about some of ‘their’ people working this show. Komander is AAA champion but not under contract to AAA, so he can work where he wants. Forastero & Sanson are believed to be under AAA contract, but maybe not one that prohibits this if they’re booked. AAA’s rules and thoughts on outside bookings are evershifting – some of the Orignes crew continues to work Robles shows, which was a big no no 12 months ago – so maybe AAA is fine with these appearances.

The top three matches on this show all seem certain to have messy finishes. That’s part of the attraction with Rush & LA Park, and with much of the NGD/DMT Azul indie matches. Metalik reportedly refused to lose to Komander in ROH, was booked once more, and then never again. It didn’t seem to specifically a Metalik issue with Komander – he was just tried of losing, and has gone out of his way to make sure he doesn’t have to lose since leaving AEW. (Metalik’s bookings also have diminished noticably.) AEW wrestlers generally do not lose outside of AEW, which means Komander and Dralistico shouldn’t be losing either. I suspect both the promoter and the other two wrestlers are going to look at Komander and expect him to take the fall, even though he’s the only one of the three on TV regularly and is an actual AAA champion at the moment. The best thing to do would be Dralistico or Metalik losing to each other to set up a feud, the problem is no one trusts those sorts of things to work out long term.

I presume this Difunto is not the CMLL one. Black Beast is not Black Taurus’ AEW name. Carta Brava says he’s an independent now and may rejoin Poder del Norte; he and wife Goya Kong were working on the Luchatitlan show until that closure.

This show is the same day as AEW Dynasty, which means Rush and Dralistico won’t be around for that one. They haven’t been around for a while. Rush hasn’t wrestled in AEW since 12/30. Dralistico hasn’t wrestled in AEW since 11/22. Both say they’re healthy and they have visas. Rush has been trying to keep himself in the news with various social media posts. AEW does have a habit of people disappearing for long stretches for either no obvious reason or no reason at all, so this could all be nothing. It is the Munoz family though, and they seem to be a magnet for weird events. Rush did talk to the press at the Elite press conference and re-iterated that everything is good with him and AEW, he’s signed there for many years, and he’d be happy to work with CMLL again if they wanted to do it. I believe that part; none of the people (Penta, Komander, Rush, Dralistico) potentially being blocked from appearing on AEW have an issue with CMLL or with working with their guys. The issue is all on the CMLL side, and there’s no indication they’re changing.

Other News

A El Hijo del Santo led show in San Andres Tuxtla, Veracruz (just outside the capital city) drew a huge crowd. It was a free show, and a politician who appears to be involved for it says there were “more than 10,000 people” in attendance. I’m not sure if I’d go that high, but the photos show a very big crowd.

Morelia Film Festival has a long story about the El Halcon movie.

There’s a new book about the history of lucha libre in Monterrey.

ESTO has a profile of trans luchador Ariana Mami.

A profile of Salamanca luchador Tiger King.

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 03/15/2024 Arena México
1) Halcón Suriano Jr. & Leono vs Emperador Jr. & Platino Kid
2) Guerrero Maya Jr., Pegasso, Stigma vs Cancerbero, Luciferno, Virus
3) Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Dragón Rojo Jr., Terrible
4) Atlantis Jr., Hechicero, Volador Jr. vs Averno, Templario, Titán [Relevos Increíbles]
5) Máscara Dorada & Rocky Romero vs Ángel de Oro & Flip Gordon and Euforia & Gran Guerrero and Akuma & Dulce Gardenia [Torneo Increible de Parejas]

There’s almost no drama in this CMLL tournament, though the matches themselves look promising. It looks like Dorada/Romero vs Akuma/Dulce, Angel/Flip vs Euforia/GG, and a final of Dorado/Romero vs Euforia/GG. All those have a chance to be something. So does the semimain, given the names involved. Los Barbaros will probably work as the tecnicos in the tercera, and get good reaction that way. Match 2 is a rare match for Los Cancerberos that isn’t against one of the other three feuding teams. Emprador and Platino are returning from the Comarca Lagunero Torneo de Escuela team.

Reminder that DST is in effect in the US and other places; both the Friday CMLL and Saturday AAA streams are an hour later than they were last week if you changed your clock.

CMLL (SAT) 03/16/2024 Arena Coliseo
1) Diamond, Novato, Rayo Metálico vs Grako, Multy, Sangre Imperial
2) Alom vs Infarto [lightning]
3) Astral, Fuego, Hombre Bala Jr. vs Difunto, Felino Jr., Misterioso Jr.
4) La Catalina & Marcela vs Amapola & Reyna Isis
5) Esfinge, Fugaz, Star Black vs Hijo del Villano III, Magnus, Zandokan Jr.
6) Máscara Dorada & Volador Jr. vs Bárbaro Cavernario & Templario

That’s a fun main event on a Friday show, not sure what will happen here. Puebla’s Multy was not in this year’s Torneo de Escuelas but he’s sneaking in with others from that Puebla group in the opener.

CMLL (viva Barba Promotions) is also part of the Vive Latino Festival on Saturday and Sunday. Amazon Music is a sponsor of the two day concert festival and will be streaming it on their Twitch channel; maybe we’ll get a glimpse of the wrestling.

CMLL (SUN) 03/17/2024 Arena México
1) Astro Boy Jr. & Hunter vs Dragón de Fuego & Forneo
2) Persephone vs Tiffany [lightning]
3) El Audaz, Futuro, Max Star vs Dark Magic, Espanto Jr., Raider
4) Dulce Gardenia, Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa vs Gemelo Diablo II, Pólvora, Sagrado
5) Panterita del Ring, Valiente, Volcano vs Felino Jr., Kráneo, Mephisto
6) Flip Gordon, Místico, Star Jr. vs Niebla Roja, Rocky Romero, Stuka Jr.

The Mexico City Torneo de Escuelas squad makes up the opener. That minis feud really has disappeared. That one at least ahs the match; the four way trios feud seems on break this week – maybe they’ll get back to it when Cholo’s cleared to return?

CMLL (TUE) 03/19/2024 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Amenaza Negra Jr., Mandala, Obek vs La Pesadilla, Rav, Shezmu
2) Adira, Dulce Kitty, Náutica vs Diablita Roja, Estrellita Mágica, Lady Metal
3) Astro Oriental, Gallo Jr., Rafaga Jr. vs Calavera Jr. I, Calavera Jr. II, Temerario
4) Furia Roja, Guerrero de la Muerte, Ráfaga vs Crixus, Difunto, Vegas
5) Esfinge, Fugaz, Star Black vs Arlequín, Gallero, Halcón Negro Jr.
6) Atlantis Jr., Flip Gordon, Star Jr. vs Hijo del Villano III, Villano III Jr., Zandokan Jr.

La Escuadra get a main event in Guadalajara, might be good. Arlequin being back here could mean Cholo’s back already.

La Jarochita announced Wednesday that she was leaving CMLL for an undetermined time. She planned to return when she was “100% healthy”, thanked CMLL and their management for their support, and asked that people continue buying her merchandise as she’s out of action. La Jarochita and Lluvia lost the national tag team titles last Friday; Jarochita sold an arm injury at the end of the match. I don’t believe she suffered an arm injury and she’s clear she’s not wrestling anywhere else any time soon. It’s not hard to guess what’s actually happening, but she’s preferring to keep it private.

Stephanie Vaquer is clearly the best full time woman (Amazona) in CMLL. La Jarochita would’ve been my easy pick for the second best wrestler. I’m not sure who the second best woman is, only that there’s a wide gap between Vaquer and #2 now.

The attention on Stephanie Vaquer – and more so the Chilean consulate in Japan’s wardrobe who took a photo with her – turned into a viral story in Chile for a couple of days. Somewhere along the lines, media outlets actually looked into this Stephanie Vaquer lady and found out her Chilean peers think very positively of her wrestling work. For her part, Vaquer was surprised with the attention the title win got outside of Japan & Mexico, especially from the United States.

CMLL Informa revealed the lineup for the 04/06 Arena Coliseo 81st Anniversary show:

CMLL (SAT) 04/06/2024 Arena Coliseo
1) Forneo & Novato vs Calavera Jr. I & Calavera Jr. II
2) Legendario vs Xelhua [lightning]
3) Andrómeda, La Catalina, Skadi vs Dark Silueta, Stephanie Vaquer, Zeuxis
4) Akuma & Espanto Jr. vs Hijo del Villano III & Villano III Jr. [Arena Coliseo TAG]
1st defense
5) Atlantis, Blue Panther, Octagón vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Dragón Rojo Jr., Terrible
6) Máscara Dorada & Místico vs Soberano Jr. & Templario

Los Villanos are challenging for the Arena Coliseo Tag Titles. Similar titles were held by their uncles Villano I & II around 1973. Last year’s Arena Coliseo show featured a cibernetico of Torneo de Escuelas standouts. The tag title match replaces it as the marquee event and the new kids are sprinkled into the early matches instead. This show has gone up on CMLL’s YouTube the last couple of years, so it’ll probably be there again this year even though CMLL didn’t say as much. No idea what tier it’d be under though.

CMLL put up the Guerrero Maya Jr/Difunto match at 2 AM on Friday. I have not watched it yet.

Cronistas del Ring has an interview with Akuma, who mentions he went to an CMLL Aniversario at the age of 13 and it convinced him to become a luchador. That would’ve been the Villano V/Blue Panther year. Akuma seems like the kind of fan who would’ve enjoyed the Dr. Wagner versus LA Park, a match CMLL prohibited from airing on TV and led to CMLL parting ways with both wrestlers. It’s probably a really good thing Jon Moxley’s match is airing live now that I think about it. Akuma is Demus’ half brother and was living in Saltillo with his parents at that point. The situation around Saltillo – lots of drug trafficking and narcos trying to recruit teenagers – that they were OK with young Akuma going to Mexico City even if meant he was living on his own when Demus was booked elsewhere.

Dulce Gardenia, also promoting the tag match tonight, says he’s moved back to Torreon to take care of his ill mother and he feels that’s why his trio hasn’t had the chemistry the same as past years.

AAA

AAA is back in Mexico City Saturday.

AAA TV (SAT) 03/16/2024 Gimnasio Olímpico Juan de la Barrera, Ciudad de México, Distrito Federal
1) ? & ?? vs ??? & ????
2) Faby Apache, La Parkita, Mr. Iguana, Pimpinela Escarlata vs Bengala, Dalys, Jessy Queen, Parkita Negra
3) Myzteziz Jr. & Octagón Jr. vs Aerostar & Laredo Kid
4) Oscar Sevilla & Súper Caló vs Charly Manson & Nygma
5) Pagano vs ? vs Mecha Wolf
6) Dave The Clown, Murder Clown, Panic Clown vs Dark Cuervo, Dark Ozz, Dark Scoria
7) Psycho Clown vs Cibernético vs El Patrón Alberto

Not much of note happened in Saltillo last week, so the same questions remain: What’s Vikingo’s status? How does that affect the Mega championship? How about those trios titles? Is Pagano wrestling? Will anything be announced for TripleMania Monterrey? That show – on April 27th, six weeks away – appears to be the next taping.

AAA on Space should start to air matches from the 02/18 Showcenter taping this week.

AAA’s promoting Vampiro’s retirement tour coming to Arena Queretaro on 04/19. That appears to not be a TV taping. AAA also promoted a last show for 03/24 Vampiro in Ecatepec on social media; they rarely mention non-TV shows, so maybe this is a Vampiro retirement thing.

IWRG

IWRG (THU) 03/14/2024 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG]
1) Shamila b Príncipe Centauro [IWRG Tryout, semifinal] 
Judges said both should advance to the final.
2) Sky Man b Sacro [IWRG Tryout, semifinal] 
Skyman advanced to the final by judges decision. Coaches DMT Azul and Hijo de Canis Lupus argued, DMT Aul hit Sky Man, Hell Boy ran in but allied himself with DMT Azul
3) Kagura b Águila Roja 
setting up a title match
4) Jessy Queen & Mamba b Hijo de Canis Lupus & Pig Destroyer 
5) Sky Man b Shamila, Príncipe Centauro [IWRG Tryout, final] 
Skyman won the match final rankings were Shamila 1, Skyman 2, Principe Centauro 3 – but all earned IWRG contracts.
6) Arez, Látigo, Toxin b Gran Pandemónium, Hijo de Pandemónium, Pandemónium Jr. [IWRG IC TRIOS] 
La Mala Fama won the titles.

The Tryout seems not to have captured the interest of my bubble but IWRG did draw a good turnout for a Thursday show. Shamila seems OK but it’s also weird for her not to win the wrestling portion of the match and then the judges say she’s the best.

Arez, Latigo and Toxin are now going as Mala Fama. Latigo once was part of an a similar indie trio with Centvrion and Fly Warrior as Mala Hiebra; “Bad Fame” is an easier name for gringos to pronounce.

IWRG has a fan code of conduct message now, or at least they had one at the start of their show. I don’t think I’ve see that at a Mexican wrestling show.

IWRG was promoting this airing as “exclusive” which sounds like they had another falling out, but Mas Lucha was still posting IWRG content this morning. Mas Lucha was busy promoting a show from March 2nd as airing live. It seems like the YouTubers have also been staying away or been asked to stay away from Naucalpan lately. (They all seem to have popped up at Big Lucha instead.)

IWRG (SUN) 03/17/2024 Arena Naucalpan
1) Galvánico & Torbellino vs Dracula Ng & Vatopilas
2) Pequeño Centauro, Sacro, Sky Man vs Fussion, Rey Aztaroth, Rey Halcón
3) Keyra & Shamila vs Gema Andrade & Satania
4) Noisy Boy, Spider Fly, Tornado vs Diamante Jr., Puma de Oro, Tarzan Duran
5) Jessy Ventura, Mamba, Multifacetico Jr. vs Águila Roja, Hijo del Pirata Morgan, Vangellys
6) DMT Azul vs Hijo de Canis Lupus, ?

I hit post, then I realized I type this lineup in another tab, so the email subscribers will never know this blah IWRG lineup. They’re mixing in the new Tryout people; hope the regular IWRG people are ready to pick up bookings elsewhere.

Big Lucha

Big Lucha World (SAT) 03/16/2024 Arena Big Lucha, Iztapalapa, Distrito Federal
1) La Bomba & Reiyel vs Depaysmen & M2R
2) Caballero de Plata & El Potro de Oro vs Mr. Win & Tirano
3) Cometa Maya & Morfosis vs Big Tao Tao & Bogdan Klimov
4) Elipse, Iku, Orbita, Vengador vs Atómico Jr., Auzter, Black Skayde, Brujo
5) Flamita & Ricky Marvin vs Bendito & Emperador Azteca

These are now Saturday shows starting at 7 pm local.  Bendito seems to have allied with Azteca in the Black Generation split. Semifinal follows up on the Atomico Jr/Elipse match (which is really just setting up Elipse/Orbita, we all know.) Klimov, another Russian who’s appeared in Mexico somehow, didn’t look impressive in his previous appearance but that’s a good chance for a fun match otherwise. What would really be great is some sort of destination; this is the 10th Big Lucha World show with no sign of a ‘major’ show. Maybe that’s not even the concept any more.

Other News

There’s a GoFundMe fundraiser for Psicosis/Nicho, who fractured his hip in a match.

Lucha Libre Elite has been posting for the last few days talking about a return. It’s nothing but talent announcements or teases of announcements. Dralistico indicated he and his family are involved, as did Metalik. I’m not doing the Lucha Libre Elite reminder/explainer unless they announce a date; they’ve teased returns prior that haven’t happened. Their prior social media posts were teasing a return in 2022 that never happened. There’s also no surer sign that promotion won’t last long than the Munoz being involved – they’ve now got a long track record attaching themselves to promotions that are doomed from the start. This version of Lucha Libre Elite will likely be another entertaining disaster, if it happens. It’s going to be silly when the Mexican press treats this like a real viable thing, but all it takes is Elite to put out a press release to talk about how they’re really doing it that time and it’ll get copied and pasted on news sites.

This Elite potential revival got me to thinking about all the groups that ran that Rush/LA Park singles match, and how most of them are no longer with us:

2016-06-03 Titan: no longer exists
2016-07-14 Elite: stopped promoting multiple times
2016-07-31 MDA: stopped after 2019 (pandemic?)
2017-03-11 BARACAL: ran 3 shows then done
2017-08-06 MDA/Lucha Memes: Memes still exists!
2018-06-22 CMLL: still exists
2018-10-14 RWC: no longer exists
2018-10-14 unnamed Saltillo group: guessing no
2019-06-22 Baja Wrestling: no longer exists
2019-10-13 AKINO: no longer exists
2021-07-17: Sanchez/Invasion Indy: no longer exists

Out of the 11 promoters, only CMLL, Lucha Memes (in a smaller form) and Sanchez/Invasion Indy (the regular Arena Neza promotion) are still with us. There were a lot of people spending some good money to play wrestling promoter in the 2010s, you only hope they got some fun out of it.

Arena Lopez Mateos announced that their AULL on Saturday show in their building is canceled. Dr. Wagner & Rush vs Mesias & LA Park was the scheduled the main event. The same group of luchadors (only Demon in for Mesias) and the same promoter are scheduled to run Sunday in Mexico City’s Sala de Armas. AULL is clear that show is still happening. It’s unclear why they’d cancel the show in their home venue but still run an unusual outside show.

Cinta de Oro talks about his career. He’s been promoting shows in El Paso and plans to do it every two months. His 15 year old son wants to wrestle and he plans to stay in long enough to wrestle with him.

The 36th season premiere of the Amazing Race aired on Wednesday and included a lucha libre challenge. Twenty luchadors would rush to a ring and split up to fight against each other as set pairs in a battle royal, fight for a few minutes, and then rush back out of the ring. The task was to correctly match up five of those pairs. This season was filmed back in summer of 2022 – it’s airing late as a knockoff affect from the writer’s strike. One of the local wrestlers who happened to be prominently included was Zandokan Jr., who would’ve been in his last days in Jalisco before moving to Mexico City full time. Hermano Calavera II, Draego and (Rey) Triton were also among the wrestlers to match up. Half the field was decoys and weren’t shown as closely, but I thought I spotted Rayman and one of the Hermano Muertes among them. The show was in Puerto Vallarta, and most of the wrestlers seemed from four hours away in Guadalajara. There were some I didn’t recognize at all, so maybe those were locals I don’t see as much.

Diario de Queretaro has a profile of Queretaro super fan Luz Daniela Hernandez Bocanegra. Her father was known as reverent fan Pancho Pantera, who’d bring a drum to the shows and wear a trademark ha. He passed away and she’s carrying on his legacy, with the same drum and hat. She’s a ruda fan.

A profile of Toluca’s LLPT promotion.

CMLL

CMLL (MON) 03/11/2024 Arena Puebla [El Sol de Puebla, Porra Fresa]
1) Black Tiger, Blue Shark, Hijo de Centella Roja b King Jaguar, Rencor, Sombra Diabólika 
2) El Malayo, Enfermero Jr., Rey Apocalipsis b Halcón Suriano Jr., Meyer, Xelhua
3) El Coyote, Kráneo, Okumura b Arkalis, Rey Samuray, Volcano 
4) Akuma, Espanto Jr., Flip Gordon b Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Titán
Ola Negra won again to set up a tag title match next week.
5) Averno, Brillante Jr., Euforia b Místico, Neón, Star Jr. 
Star Jr. replaced Mascara Dorada. Mistico got La Mistica on Averno, but Euforia pulled off the mask and Averno cradled Mistico for the pin.

Weirdly, the tag title match doesn’t appear to be happening next week.

CMLL (TUE) 03/12/2024 Arena México [CMLL, thecubsfan]
1) Capitán Suicida, Halcón Suriano Jr., Valiente Jr. b Calavera Jr. I, Calavera Jr. II, Inquisidor
8:57
2) Blue Panther Jr., Dark Panther, Hijo de Blue Panther b Crixus, Raider, Vegas
12:08
3) Andrómeda, La Catalina, Skadi b Amapola, Dark Silueta, Zeuxis
12:41.
4) Star Jr. b Zandokan Jr.
7:09. Zandokan and Star continued to fight post match.
5) Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr., Último Guerrero b Atlantis, Flip Gordon, Titán
13:23
6) Místico © b Ángel de Oro [MLW MIDDLE]
14:10. 1st defense

A medium effort Martes, with weaker crowd reactions than usual. Mistico seemed to get cut underneath his mask during the main event and it may have changed the flow of that match; both the referee and Angel de Oro were visibly talking to him afterwards, and there weren’t as many near falls even with that time. Angel de Oro came close, then just got beat quickly with La Mistica. Star Jr. and Zandokan was a lightning match length stretched out over three falls. It did allow them just to do big moves, though Star Jr. needs more creative idea than doing all of Titan’s springboard stomp spots. It looks like the feud is carrying on. Both Andromeda and Skadi slipped on the middle rope in a rough first fall, but they got back into in the last two. The Panthers are normal reliable acts and I really like that unnamed Raider/Crixus/Vegas trio, but there was some energy missing there. The opener was mostly the Calaveras being very happy to take whatever flashy moves the tencicos wanted to do, which must’ve made both the tecnicos and Inquisidor happy; he wasn’t the one falling hard off the apron.

CMLL (TUE) 03/12/2024 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [CMLL]
1) Fúnebre, Mortis, Ponzoña Jr. b Cowboy, Garabato, Halcón de Plata
Halcon de Plata picked up an injury.
2) Atilius, Maximus, Rey Urano b Exterminador, Javier Cruz Jr., Maléfico
3) Draego, Gallero, Halcón Negro Jr. b Apocalipsis, Arlequín, Disturbio
4) El Coyote, Okumura, Pólvora b Adrenalina, Explosivo, Fantástico
5) La Maligna, Lluvia, Marcela b Hera, Olympia, Reyna Isis
6) Magnus, Rugido, Volador Jr. b Bestia Negra, Persa, Templario

The start of daylight savings time means it’s even less likely I’m going to be watching these Guadalajara shows live, and most of these will be just results. Didn’t seem like much of note happened here.

CMLL Informa has

• Atlantis (?)
• Stephanie Vaquer (NJPW Strong)
• Marcela, Skadi, Andromeda (8M show)
• Villano III Jr. & Hijo del Villano III (?)
• Legendario, Calavera Jr. I, Calavera Jr. II (new faces?)

CMLL (MON) 03/18/2024 Arena Puebla
1) Acero & Angelito vs Pequeño Olímpico & Pierrothito
2) Meyer vs Prayer
3) Futuro, Valiente, Xelhua vs El Malayo, Multy, Siki Osama
4) Arkalis, Guerrero Maya Jr., Pegasso vs Gemelo Diablo II, Okumura, Sagrado
5) Hechicero, Máscara Dorada, Volador Jr. vs Rocky Romero, Stigma, Titán [Relevos Increíbles]
6) Místico vs Euforia

This is another Monday holiday show (5 pm start), so there’s a chance it’ll turn up as a bonus stream. Gemelo Diablo II wrestling here; Gemelo I hasn’t been seen in a month. Valiente seems much lower than usual. He probably should be in Stigma’s spot but it’s Puebla.

Stephanie Vaquer met with the Chile embassy in Japan to show off her new title belt. The photo has picked up a lot of attention with Chileans upset with the casual way the consul is dressed.

La Catalina and the CMLL women’s show are on the cover on Box y Lucha 3594.

A man believed to be Mistico’s brother is also accused of killing a man in Mexico City. This is all social media posts for right now, though that seems to be the way violent crime gets reported in Mexico City right now. Carlos Jimenez had the initial report that mentioned Mistico. Antonio Nieto, who you may remember from the La Hiedra leaked Whatsapp messages sory, seems to have reported on the killing without mentioning any lucha libre connection. (Be warned, his photos include the body.) The full story, as put together here, is that Lenin Molina, 29 years old, was walking home with his brother Odin this past weekend. He stopped to urinate in a flower planter in front of a residence. Molina did it in full view of a woman who lives in that residence, Lesly Huitron, which upset her. She called her husband, Mauricio Uribe, out of the house to take care of it. Uribe is accused of shooting Lenin Molina several times, leading to his death. Odin Molina was also shot, but survived. Uribe was said to have fled the scene. Huitron was taken into the custody, where she asked the police to call her “famous brother-in-law” to help – that’s the connection to Mistico. Mistico has some non-wrestling brothers and it’s possible this is one of them. Jimenez found social media photos of a Mauricio Uribe with Mistico and one of the Dr. Karontes, referring to them as family, so it’s probably more than just having the same last name. There is a police investigation, no charges have been filed yet and none of the wrestling family members have commented on the situation. Neither Mistico nor any other Karonte wrestling member is believed connected to the incident. The social media posts came out on Monday night and there’s been no advancement of the story in the two days since. It feels like there’s a missing part between “public urination” and “gunshots” that’s missing in this story.

Rey Destroller

Monterrey’s Rey Destroller (Jose Orlando Regalado Alonso, 22) passed away Tuesday, following his collapse during a March 2nd match for RIOT. Destroller suffered an aneurysm in his brain, thought by doctors to be a pre-existing condition. There was no signs of trauma, it was simply the adrenaline and increased blood pressure from a wrestling match which caused the fatal injury. This matches the causes of death of 2020 Principe Aereo, who also collapsed during a match and was declared dead at the hospital. Rey Destroller made it to hospital, but medical studies over the weekend found he had no brain activity; I believe he never regained consciousness after he passed out in the ring. Everyone seems to have done their best for Rey Destroller but it was just a matter of time before his body gave out.

I keep seeing Rey Destroller’s death reflexively referred to as an “accident”, and that inaccurately implies a specific cause or mishap. The frustrating part of Rey Destroller’s is there is no mishap or oversight to correct. It wasn’t risky moves or a poor ring or bad lucha libre teachers at fault. A headscissors spot definitely failed in the match, but those who trained Destroller did well to teach him to rotate his body and land on his shoulder and back instead of his head. Neither Destroller or his opponents took unusual risks during the match. He didn’t lack immediate medical care: RIOT had a stretcher, a medic and an ambulance waiting in case of a situation like this but none of it mattered – he could’ve collapsed in an operating room and they likely wouldn’t have been able to reverse the brain damage. Rey Destroller was a seemingly healthy 22 year old who any commission would’ve licensed, without knowing he had a impending serious medical condition. There’s no way to find out who else might be at risk of something similar unless someone comes up with every aspiring luchador (or athlete) gets a brain scan, and that doesn’t seem economically feasible. Rey Destroller could’ve never been a luchador and the same thing could’ve happened while he was at a party or driving a car. He was a luchador and there’s a lot of emotion that has to go somewhere. It’ll probably be directed towards RIOT and the local commission for lack of any better answer, but there are no good solutions to be found. There’s nothing deep I can say here; this just sucks.

AAA put up a message acknowledging Rey Destroller’s passing, a classy gesture toward. Latin Lover mentioned he had delivered the money AAA helped him raise for the family on Monday.

(The wire stories on Rey Destroller has many details wrong. He was teaming with Black Spider Jr., not wrestling against him. He his head did not suffer an impact with the ring, as far as I’ve seen. His ring name was not spelled “Destroyer”, but that name and those details were all in the original TV story with his family and no one’s done any more reporting on it since. Some versions list Destroller as an AAA wrestler because AAA acknowledged the passing, but he never worked for them.)

IWRG

IWRG (THU) 03/14/2024 Arena Naucalpan
1) Shamila vs Príncipe Centauro [IWRG Tryout, semifinal]
2) Sky Man vs Sacro [IWRG Tryout, semifinal]
3) Águila Roja vs Kagura
4) ? vs ??? [IWRG Tryout, final]
5) Hijo de Canis Lupus & Pig Destroyer vs Jessy Queen & Mamba
6) Gran Pandemónium, Hijo de Pandemónium, Pandemónium Jr. vs Arez, Látigo, Toxin [IWRG IC TRIOS]

The main event is the first appearance of the ex-AAA trio since leaving that promotion. Match 3 is a rematch from Thursday (and setting up a title match, presumably.) Pig Destroyer was suspended on Sunday but unsuspended by Thursday. Principe Centauro stood out the most to me of the four people left in the tryout, though Shamila becoming the first ever women’s champion might create more interest.

Mistico, Mascara Dorada, Soberano Jr., Templario, Reina Isis and La Catalina will appear on a 04/07 Lucha Libre Boom show in Arena Naucalpan.

Other

Puebla luchadora Mirvan says she got approved for a wrestling license. Her goal is to make it to CMLL, though she notes she’s only 17 and has time to improve and get more experience. Mirvan is getting experience; I’ve seen her listed on 39 matches in the last six months. (It is hard to know what the license actual means when unlicensed people are wrestling that much.) Heraldo de Puebla says 17 men and 3 women got licenses, with the full list to be announced later this week.

A University of Arizona grad student got a scholarship to do a audio/visual lucha libre project.