Villanos defeat IWRG & drop Trauma II on his head, Mascara Dorada schedule

photo by Black Terry Jr.

IWRG FIL (WED) 05/04/2011 Arena Naucalpan [Black Terry Jr. (flickr), Mi Lucha Libre, The Gladiatores]
1) Flama Infenral & Inferno Kid b Aerocross & Mascarita de Oro
2) Serpiente Dorado, Super Black, Volaris b Guerrero 2000, Halcon 2000, Imperio Azteca
Halcon 2000 turned on his partners
3) Guizmo, Sky Angel, Tonatiuh b Black Sky, Dragon Celestial, Muerte Infernal
Tonatiuh beat Black Sky with a Canadian Destroyer
4) Comando Negro, Dance Boy, Dark Devil b Dragon Fly, Hijo del Pantera, Triton
5) Negro Casasola b Fresero Jr., Eterno, Centurión, Dinamic Black, Alan Extreme, Saruman, Rolling Boy, Golden Magic, Bizarro, Kortiz, Hijo de Climax, Maquina Infernal, Taurus, Templario, Black Lancer [Torneo FIL]
Villanos Gym vs IWRG Trainees. Villano IV & V were their with their team and Black Terry & Hijo del Diablo with the IWRG team. After one of the Villanos trainees failed to catch Alan Extreme on a dive, the trainers almost fought. Ray Mendoza also posted Fresero, busting him open. Fresero managed to the final against Negro Casasola had him in a submission, but the referee was acting suspicious and missed it. Casasola came back to pin Fresero to take the crown for team Villano Gym. Referee posed with the Villanos after the match.

Cibernetico: part 1, part 2

IWRG (THU) 05/05/2011 Arena Naucalpan [Black Terry Jr. (flickr), Estrellas del Ring, Record]
1) Centurión & Rolling Boy b Carta Brava Jr. & El Imposible
2) Eterno & Hijo del Pantera b Alan Extreme & El Pollo Asesino
3) Multifacético, Negro Navarro, Trauma II b Comando Negro, Fresero Jr., Pirata Morgan
4) Hijo de Pirata Morgan, Silver King, Último Gladiador b Ray Mendoza Jr., Trauma I, Villano IV
After taking the first fall, the team of Trauma and the Villanos fell apart in the third fall. Villanos turned on Trauma, allowing the Maniaco team to win, then attacked Trauma I more affter the bell. Trauma II, Negro Navarro and Multifacetico attempted to make the save, but Trauma II took a martinete along the line. Villanos are now allied with Silver King.

Very low attendance.

La Presna sees tonight’s Arena Mexico show as more La Mascara vs Ultimo Guerrero. Also, the new Terrible/Texano/Rey Bucanero trio teams up in the semimain, and the first two quarterfinals in Forjando Un Idolo (Diamante/Fuego + Angel de Oro/Guerrero Maya) take place.

CMLL on NJPW – Mascara Dorada’s Best of the Super Juniors matches (schedule here)
05/26 (S): Jushin Liger vs Mascara Dorada
05/28 (S): off
05/29 (S): TAKA Michinoku vs Mascara Dorada
06/02: Kota Ibushi vs Mascara Dorada
06/03: Ryusuke Taguchi vs Mascara Dorada
06/04: The Great Sasuke vs Mascara Dorada
06/05: Daisuke Sasaki vs Mascara Dorada
06/07 (S): Gedo vs Mascara Dorada
06/08 (S): KUSHIDA vs Mascara Dorada
06/10 (S): semifinals, finals.

That’s a front loaded schedule! The three most winnable matches are the three last matches, so don’t be too concerned if Dorada has a really bad point total for a while. Opening up with the Liger match is very interesting.

All dates with (S) are Samurai! TV tapings. The shows that aren’t taped for TV stand a very good shot of turning up on NJPW’s YouTube channel. Less so for the TV tapings.

Links

Forjando un Idolo, Super Junior

Forjando un Idolo

Forjando un Idolo will be giving out a bonus point after all. They’re using the poll on the Forjando un Idolo microsite to decide an extra point (one per week), and this week’s point has gone to Metal Blanco, his first point. For what it’s worth, the polling software – free! – does not appear to allow you to change the percentage of votes, but you can set it to allow people to vote from the same computer as many times as they’d like. Doesn’t seem like they’ve reset the votes from last week yet.

There’s no recap of the show, but the CMLL micro site says Polvora [6] beat Magnus [3] and Fuego [3] beat Angel de Plata [0]. That eliminates Angel de Plata, and makes the remaining Magnus vs Fuego a play in match.

Fuego vs Polvora‘s match is up.

Cesar talks about the concept.

Rob reviews all the first round matches.

Other news

In other tournaments, NJPW’s Best of Super Juniors was announced. It’s 18 people, the largest field ever, but only one CMLL luchador: Mascara Dorada. He’s in Block B, a rough road. Opponents include DDT’s Kota Ibushi, Taguchi, TAKA Michinoku, Great Sasuke and Jushin Liger. It’d be a significant upset for Dorada to beat any of them. The other Block B members are Daisuke Sasaki (indy/DDT), Gedo and KUSHIDA, who are at least close to even. 6th place would be a respectable finish.

The NJPW tour runs from 05/26 to 06/10, which means any CMLL Universal Tournament Block with Dorada/Taguchi/Liger couldn’t happen until June 17th. Today, Dorada & Tama Tonga (who’s King Haku’s son and would be interesting in CMLL for a bit) lost to Liger & Manabu Nakinishi, with the heavyweights being responsible in the finish.

Record’s story on the DTU show says Samurai del Sol was not seriously hurt from his dive gone bad.

LuchaWorld has KrisZ’s news update.

Links

Lineups

CMLL (SUN) 04/24/2011 Arena Coliseo
1) Freesbe & Robin vs Apocalipsis & Ramstein
2) Enrique Vera Jr. & Hombre Bala Jr. vs Rayo Tapatío I & Rayo Tapatío II
3) Delta [3] vs Metal Blanco [1] [Forjando un Idolo]
4) Dragon Lee [0] vs Guerrero Maya Jr. [3] [Forjando un Idolo]
5) Ángel de Oro, Diamante, Rush vs El Alebrije, Misterioso Jr., Olímpico
6) Black Warrior, Metro, Palacio Negro vs Felino, Mr. Niebla, Rey Bucanero
7) Blue Panther vs Negro Casas

A seven match card! Don’t usually get that without a tournament, though I guess that’s sort of what’s going on.

Weird they’re doing the Tapatios tag match on the week where Dragon Lee has a singles match. Or maybe that’s just bad planning weird.

Dragon Lee wins a lot more in Arena Coliseo, perhaps that’ll help him here.

Fifth match is the Mexican Trios champions teaming up (for the first time since winning the titles) and the poster mentions it. Rush is one of those double champions who might need to lose a title. Misterioso is not an Invasor, but he is a rudo.

Palacio Negro in the semimain is surprising, but I guess they wanted him on the card and there’s no other place for him. Should be a fun time, but if there’s any match they could cut from TV, that actually would be it. (Or maybe Forjando matches will be web exclusive? A lot to air here.)

Not sure where Panther vs Negro will air, but I hope I get to see it.

CMLL on Televisa #1023 (04/09/2011)

Mascara Dorada

recap: here
file: here

taped @ Arena Mexico, 03/25/2011 and 04/01/2011

I don’t really have specific thoughts on every match, but some general stuff tends to repeat. So, first are the links

Diamante & La Sombra vs Hijo del Signo & Mr. Niebla
Escorpion & Último Guerrero vs Mortiz & Terrible
Escorpion & Último Guerrero vs Diamante & La Sombra
Dragon Lee & Volador Jr. vs Máscara Dorada & Metal Blanco
Negro Casas & Puma King vs Averno & Palacio Negro
Máscara Dorada & Metal Blanco vs Averno & Palacio Negro

Generally, everyone was trying really hard, but the crowd didn’t seem to be into most of the matches both nights. Both semifinals were long enough to draw the fans into rooting for the tecnicos, but it didn’t feel like any one new was coming off a star in the making. (A lot more should’ve been made about Escorpion beating Sombra, but little was.)

I can not believe Tirantes is still in this promotion. He’s great at what he does, but what he does is not what this promotion is geared towards. It’s tough to tell any other story when Tirantes is cheating the tecnicos. If CMLL can’t trust Sombra, Ultimo Guerrero, Avenro and Mascara Dorada to keep the fans interested in their matches without someone making fast and slow counts, then – I dunno, they need to some trust building exercises or something, because that’s kind of silly. Tirantes seems to be only working Friday nights, which means I haven’t been seeing him on the shows I usually recap, and probably indicates whoever is in charge of this show feels a lot stronger about what Tirantes adds than everyone else.

Palacio Negro could not have cared any less about losing his dream of winning the Gran Alternativa. More to the point, Palacio Negro appeared to have been instructed not to care, and was sort of explaining it to fan. It’s one thing for Averno to lose by DQ – it’s not his tournament, he’s more concerned with embarrassing Dorada – but if people in the tournament don’t even care when they’ve been cheating out of winning, why should anyone watching care? It was a horrible act by Averno that no one found that interesting. CMLL paradoxically expects their tournaments to be meaningful while treating the matches as meaningless. (Ultimo Guerrero & Escorpion having a near fight over the same finish in the next tournament was quite the opposite – I don’t think they learned as much as different people booking different tournaments.)

Destroyer’s mask destroyed, Dorada back to NJPW

(photo by Black Terry Jr.)

The weird atomicos for Sunday’s IWRG show made more sense when the show was revealed to be the annual Guerra del Golfo: two cage matches, with the losers facing off in a mask match…

IWRG (SUN) 04/03/2011 Arena Naucalpan [Black Terry Jr. (flickr), The Gladiatores, Mi Lucha Libre]
***Guerra del Golfo, 2011***
1) Dinamic Black & Tonatiuh b Epidemia & Imposible
Dinamic Black replaced Eterno, Impossible replaced Pollo.
2) Eterno, Freelance, Golden Magic b Carta Brava Jr., El Pollo Asesino, Fresero Jr.
Eterno took the surprise luchador spot. Gemelos were replaced by Pollo and Fresero Jr.
3) Multifacético L Black Terry, Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr., El Hijo del Diablo, Masada, Trauma I, el Ángel, Hijo del Pantera [cage, loser advances]
Wagner and Trauma feuded during the match. Last two were Black Terry and Multifacetico.
4) Destroyer L Oficial AK47, Hijo de LA Park, Angelico, Veneno, Hijo de Pirata Morgan, Último Gladiador, Ángel Mortal [cage, loser advances]
Last two were Destroyer and AK47, who had left but came back in the ring. Park did a big dive in this match.
5) Multifacético b Destroyer [cage, mask]
With the referee down, Multifacetico finished Destroyer with a martinete and climbed out to save his mask. Destroyer revealed himself to be Freddie Congote Jr., originally from LA, tweleve years a luchador. He was trained by Shamu Jr., Acero Dorado Jr., Rey Misterio Sr., and previous was Hilario in AAA.

CMLL (SUN) 04/03/2011 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [Fuego en el Ring]
1) El Divino b Metalik
Bonus match.
2) Metatrón b Ráfaga
3) Hierro, Molotov, Sensei b Exterminador, Puma King, Tiger Kid
Exterminador replaced Mortiz, Hierro replaced Angel Azteca.
4) Diamante, Metro, Sagrado b Cancerbero, Shigeo Okumura, Yoshihashi
Sagrado pinned Okumura.
5) Hirooki Goto, Terrible, Texano Jr. b Hijo del Fantasma, Máximo, Valiente
Triple win for the rudos.
6) Black Warrior, La Máscara, Máscara Dorada DQ Héctor Garza, Mr. Niebla, Negro Casas
Hector replaced Felino. Negro fouled Dorada for the loss.

On the battle of the legends show, Santo & Rayo beat Demon & Perro by DQ when Angel Blanco Jr. ran in and martineted Santo. They teased a title match between Blanco & Santo.

Jushin Liger’s next challenger for his CMLL Middleweight Championship is Mascara Dorada. Dorada will get the shot on May 3rd in Fukuoka on PPV.

Tonight’s Mr. Niebla vs Ultimo Guerrero for the heavyweight title in Puebla.

Links

Metal Blanco & Mascara Dorada advance to GA final

(photo by CMLL)

CMLL (FRI) 04/01/2011 Arena Mexico [MedioTiempoRecord (3-9), CMLL, Record (1-2, 10)]
1) Höruz & RobinBronco & Cholo
Horuz had his new mask on. He had a good day. No one else did. Cholo was hurt early and may have turned ligaments in his left knee. Bronco wrestled the last two falls by himself. The third fall lasted under a minute, with them going right to the finish (Robin coming up way short on a top rope splash on Bronco, then grabbing his head.) It is too bad LATV is no longer showing openers.
2) Dr. X, Hooligan, NitroMetálico, Starman, Tigre Blanco
Tuareg took falls 2 and 3.
3) Dragon Lee & Volador Jr.Hombre Bala Jr. & La Máscara [Gran Alternativa, eightfinal]
Dragon Lee did a SSP to the floor and Volador got Mascara about backcracker.
4) Máscara Dorada & Metal BlancoMephisto & Tiger Kid [Gran Alternativa, eightfinal]
Tiger Kid eliminated Puma in the battle royal. Karma paid him back with a loss here, even thought Tirantes was slow counting the rudos.
5) Negro Casas & Puma KingGuerrero Maya Jr. & Máximo [Gran Alternativa, eightfinal]
Double castias by the Casas for the win.
6) Averno & Palacio NegroBlack Warrior & Lestat [Gran Alternativa, eightfinal]
Rudos won. Black Warrior was very displeased and walked out on his partner after the match. Poor Lestat.
7) Máscara Dorada & Metal BlancoDragon Lee & Volador Jr. [Gran Alternativa, quarterfinal]
Mascara Dorada dive plus Metal Blanco hurracrrana.
8) Averno & Palacio NegroNegro Casas & Puma King [Gran Alternativa, quarterfinal]
9) Máscara Dorada & Metal BlancoAverno & Palacio Negro [Gran Alternativa, semifinal]
Palacio Negro & Metal Blanco had hugged before the seeding battle royal, but found themselves on opposite sides in the final. Averno, killer of dreams, lost his mind and unmasking Dorada to cost his team the match and Palacio Negro a chance in the final. Averno challenged for a mask match with Dorada, and I hope he never gets it.
10) Rush, Strong Man, Super PorkyHirooki Goto, Mr. Águila, Olímpico
Straight falls for the tecnicos, Aguila and Olimpico taking the pin. Goto has got to find a better level of criminal to team with. Cancerbros have had a better year than the Invasors.

Lestat wasn’t involved in the Ras de Lona interview everyone segment, and Valiente didn’t get to talk about his title match. We did get a Strong Man promo, and Ultimo Guerrero and Escorpion talked about all their possible challengers when they were standing right behind them. That seemed rude. Sombra was favoring his elbow again in Tuesday’s match.

Apolo Estrada, formerly a CMLL opening match rudo, is back home in Nuevo Laredo.

Matt Cross is not appearing today in Arena Lopez Mateos.

LuchaWorld has KrisZ’s news update.

Links

Lineup

CMLL (FRI) 04/08/2011 Arena Mexico
1) Metálico & Trueno vs Inquisidor & Tiger Kid
2) Ángel de Plata, Pegasso, Rey Cometa vs Arkángel de la Muerte, Nitro, Skándalo
3) Guerrero Maya Jr. vs Hijo del Signo [lightning]
4) Metro, Stuka Jr., Valiente vs Misterioso Jr., Pólvora, Shigeo Okumura
5) La Sombra, Rush, Strong Man vs Hirooki Goto, Mr. Niebla, Negro Casas
6) Escorpion & Último Guerrero vs Máscara Dorada & Metal Blanco [Relevos Increíbles, final]

Totally rooting for Escorpion.

Park vs Pirata (juniors), Averno/Dorada

IWRG (SUN) 02/13/2011 Arena Naucalpan [Black Terry Jr. (flickr), The Gladiatores, Al Filo del Ring]
1) Imposible & Tonatiuh b Fulgore I & Fulgore II
quick falls
2) El Pollo & Eragon DQ Hammer & Magnifico
Pollo turned on Eragon after Eragon accidentally hit him a few times. Ref waved it off as a DQ. Pollo appeared to join the rudo side after the match.
3) Carta Brava Jr., Comando Negro, Eterno b Alan Extreme, Dinamic Black, Golden Magic
Comando Negro reversed a roll up and grabbed the bottom rope to beat Alan Extreme. Alan shoved the ref for blowing the call. Eterno suffered a wrist injury catching a dive at the end. Golden Magic, replacing the billed Goleador, appears to be a new name.
4) el Ángel, Multifacético, Veneno b Avisman, Destroyer, El Hijo del Diablo
Destoyer’s girl Sherry got involved as usual. She teased kissing Veneno in the third fall, Veneno knocked her away, but Diablo still pinned him.
5) Bobby Lee Jr., Hijo de LA Park, Trauma I b Bestia 666, Hijo de Máscara Año 2000, Hijo de Pirata Morgan
Bobby Lee Jr. replaced Hijo del Pantera. Rudos took the first, tecnicos the second, and Park beat Pirata for the win.

Al Filo del Ring has an interview with Los Gringos.

CMLL (MON) 02/14/2011 Arena Puebla [SporTimes]
1) Black Tiger & Tigre Rojo b Sauron & Siki Ozama Jr.
2) Camorra, Fuerza Chicana, Robin b Camaleón, Freesbe, Lestat
Robin filled in for Zayco. Despite being on the wrong side, he still won. This was Camaleón’s debut in Arena Puebla, and he seems to be showing up much more frequently this year.
3) Sangre Azteca DQ Misterioso II, Loco Max, Ares, Vangelis, Stuka Jr., Sagrado, Metro, Fuego, Delta [cibernetico]
Ares replaced Nosferatu. No order of elimination. Much like Tuesday’s cibernetico, it came down to two guys on the same team. This time, it was feuding Sangre Azteca and Misterioso. Misterioso yanked Sangre’s mask for the rare DQ finish to a cibernetico.
4) Euforia, Pólvora, Virus b Ángel de Oro, Diamante, Rush
Virus snuck in a foul on Rush for the pin. Rush demanded a rematch for next week, and Virus accepted.
5) La Sombra, Máscara Dorada, Super Porky DQ Averno, Mephisto, Volador Jr.
Rudos took the firs, tecnicos took the second, Averno yanked Dorada’s mask in the third fall.

R de Rudo has a really good interview with Heavy Metal about his life long love of music. Metal believes Arena Naucalpan, in the late 80s, was the first lucha libre arena to use entrance music. The building also doubled as an  skating rink (!!) so they had the music and lights already set up.

Links