Posts Tagged Mistico

Mistico lives, resumes career of near death experiences

Jan 12

Posted by thecubsfan in news | 2 Comments

Wednesday, one of the many questions I had was “why do you run a paid private show on Wednesday morning (instead of a more usual time)?” Well, you run a paid private show on Wednesday morning because you’ve already booked Saturday for a different, paid, private show. This one is for Servicio Panamericano union.

And who should appear on this show

https://twitter.com/AntTello/status/290258359377088514

…but our dear amigo Mistico! He’s alive! He’s in one piece! All good news. He’s wearing even more protection on his shoulder, as if they’ve found the magic shoulder formula. I hope so! I don’t think so! But if he’s working here, he’ll be on the Fantasticamania shows, and so at least that part of the story is no longer a story. The part of the story about CMLL putting a guy who’s clearly still damaged and appears to be a danger to himself goes on.

Luchadors are crazy people. CMLL is run by luchadors.

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Mistico injured again (yes, again)

Jan 9

Posted by thecubsfan in news | 2 Comments

Last night, Maximo posted this on his Twitter

Maximo worked Guadalajara Tuesday night, so poor guy. I’m still just looking thru all the stuff I have to catch up on, so I’m not sure if this was mentioned elsewhere previously, but it was the first I heard of it too.

Apparently, Mistico worked the show, his second match back and his second match in about 18 hours. And…

…it’s also his latest injury. There’s no mention of what he hurt or how he hurt it, or really even how bad it is. Being taken to emergency is a never a good sign, so I’m assuming this is severe enough to keep him out a while. Again, this is a private show, so we may not actually see what actually happen and will only find out more if CMLL shares it.

This injury is an unbelievably cruel turn of events. I’m not a big fan of this Mistico, and I’m definitely not a big fan of how CMLL’s using him, but this is just tragic right now and all I want to do is be sympathetic. I’m also afraid the reality of the situation was Mistico wasn’t completely healthy, but he was back because CMLL needed him to be back – possibly as much for this mystery Wednesday 10 AM show as for NJPW – and it’s Mistico who pays the price. Third major injury in six months. Lucha libre is not a pain free sport, but it’s not meant to be this either. You’re doing it wrong.

I hope Mistico gets whatever rest he needs this time. And I hope there are some angry people who force some changes here. This should not be continuing.

No idea where this leaves the NJPW shows; not sure if there’d be visa issues with sending a replacement or if that could be worked out in time. Easiest option might just be moving Mascara Dorada or Titan up to Mistico’s spot – but then, that’s been the easiest option all along.

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Mistico suffers shoulder injury in Puebla, new CMLL tag champs, Fuerza vs Terry, Mesias, AYM,

Nov 14

Posted by thecubsfan in news | 4 Comments

photo by Black Terry Jr.

IWRG FILL (TUE) 11/13/2012 Arena Naucalpan [Black Terry Jr. (flickr), Estrellas del Ring]
1) Caballero Cid, Driger, Obscurio b Mercenario de la Muerte, Principe Infernal, Skullmetal
2) Infierno Kid, Radical, Súper Black b Alas de Acero, Atomic Star, Xtreme Boy
3) Fly Star, Seiya, Serpiente de Oro b Blue Monsther, Power Bull, Ranchero
4) Araña de Plata Jr., Dragón Celestial, Galaxy b Blasfemia, Fulgore, Matrix Jr.
Blasfemia replaced Guerrero Mistico.
5) Boykot, Flemyzeer, Halcón Diabólico, Jhon Crazy, Kimby, Mr. Leo, Rey Espacial, Rey Tabú b Alan Extreme, Centvrión, Dinamic Black, Eita, Eterno, Imposible, Saruman, Violencia Jr. [Copa Higher Power]
FILL trainees vs Gimnasio Fuerza Konkreto (Fuerza Guerrera). Kimby impressed of the Fuerza guys. Match came down to Mr. Leo vs Centviron, with Fuerza intefering to give his guy the win. Black Terry was very unhappy, and their were rematches and other challenges made.

CMLL (MON) 11/12/2012 Arena Puebla [Porra Fresa]
1) Akron & Siki Ozama Jr. b Black Tiger & Blue Center
Rudos took 1/3.
2) Dalis la Caribeña, Lady Afrodita, Marcela b La Vaquerita, Mima Shimoda, Zeuxis
Tecnicos took 2/3, Marcela defeating Zeuxis for the win. Vaquerita, working against Afrodita, looked lost at times.
3) Skándalo b Metatrón [lightning]
Reyna Isis accompanied Skandalo. Skandalo won with the Skandalo Driver. Metatron had one of his better performances.
4) Hijo del Fantasma, Sagrado, Triton b Misterioso Jr., Namajague, Shigeo Okumura
Tecnicos took 1/3, Fantasma surprising Misterioso with a roll up.
5) La Sombra, Máximo, Rush DQ Tama Tonga, Terrible, Tiger
Tecnicos took 1/3, Terrible fouling Sombra in the third fall. Sombra challenged Terrible to a singles match, but Terrible just left.
6) Mephisto b Mistico
Mephisto won the first with a powerbomb, Mistico came back in the second with a torito. Mistico landed his rope crossing dive late in the ring, then landed a shooting star press once without being able to get the pin. Moments later, he went for another, but his feet hit the the ropes on the way down and Mistico crashed shoulder first into the mat. Mistico attempted to cover Mephisto anyway, but Mephisto put him in an armbar and Mistico immediately gave up. The doctor and Tirantes attended to Mistico after the match.

CMLL hasn’t said anything about Mistico’s status, but the local promoter in Durango says Mistico has suffered a shoulder injury and will not be wrestling at their show on Sunday, though he will be appearing to sign autographs. Hope he didn’t hurt his signing shoulder. Delta replaces him on that card. Mistico is supposed to be on Friday night’s Arena Mexico show, and no replacement has been announced yet.

photo by Yahoo Mexico

CMLL (TUE) 11/13/2012 Arena Mexico [CMLL, Estrellas del Ring, Yahoo Deportes (Photos)]
1) Espanto Jr. & Herodes Jr. b Metatrón & Oro Jr.
2) Demus 3:16, Pequeño Olímpico, Pequeño Warrior b Astral, Bam Bam, Pequeño Halcón
Rudos took 1/3. Bam Bam’s latest return, though it ended with Demus dropping him with his piledriver so he could be gone again. Olimpico also submitted Ultimo Dragon.
3) Fuego, Stuka Jr., Triton DQ Hijo del Signo, Shigeo Okumura, Vangelis
Stuka & Okumura are feuding (or maybe this is the Coliseo tag team feud again.) Stuka beat fall 1, then the rudos were DQed for excessive violence in the second.
4) Blue Panther, Máscara Dorada, Valiente b Niebla Roja, Pólvora, Rey Escorpión
Straight falls for the tecnicos when the rudos fell apart. Polvora sided with Rey Escorpion and Niebla Roja wasa left without his mask.
5) Negro Casas b Ángel de Oro [lightning]
Negro continued his dominance over Angel de Oro with a win in 8:49.
6) Tama Tonga & Terrible b Atlantis & Diamante Azul [CMLL TAG]
Atlantis & Diamante Azul came in as champions, but Tonga & Terrible pulled the shocking upset, taking falls 1/3 to win the titles.

Aerostar, Dark Dragon and Fenix won the main event over Difunto I, Monje Negro Jr., and Potro Jr. by DQ in Monterrey, with Dark Dragon refused to help his teammates.

MedioTiempo has an interview with Mesias. He talks a bit about his match with Texano, but also calls LA Park his toughest rival since coming to Mexico, and trashes Carlito as someone’s been handing everything and used his influence to keep Mesias from going to WWE.

I will be losing AYM Sports from my cable system on 12/12. AYM has broadcasts Sobre el Ring (the Javier Llanes/Jaque Mate interview show) and various independent groups (Revolution Free Style! FULL!), but is most notable for broadcasting IWRG’s Sunday shows the last couple months. I’m going to miss those, there’s been some really great and fun matches during this short run. The show drives me crazy because I’m up until way too late to put it together for the Tuesday post, but I’ve been thrilled to share the matches with everyone else. We’ve got four more Mondays to go.

I think it may be a case where everyone in the United States is losing AYM; this is not a surprise, one of you mentioned a month back they tried to sign up to get the channel only to be told AYM was going away by their cable system. The channel that replaces it is “Latin American Sports“, and is owned by the same parent company, so they may have simply decided to change which channel they wanted to transmit to the US. AYM Sports itself will still keep broadcasting in Mexico and continue the lucha libre shows, I just won’t be able to share them. The channel description for Latin American Sports says it too broadcasts wrestling (possibly from Puerto Rico?), but does not say what. It’s supposedly already on DISH Network, but I can’t find a guide with a programming listing and there is no website.

Murder Clown is upset the Infierno Rockers would attack them from behind. That’s not very gentlemanly! There’s also talk about the Psycho Circus wanting the trios titles back. It’s seemed like AAA may be doing a Psycho Circus vs Consejo trios title rematch (with Silver defending the title instead of Texano), and that’s suggested in this article agian, but maybe it’ll turn out to be three way with the Rockers?

Joe Lider & Kaientai will face off in a hair vs mask match on NGX’s 10th anniversary show.

DTU luchador Tacubo will be given an award for his anti-bullying campagin.

R de Rudo has a podcast talking about Eddie Guerrero, 7 years after his passing. Perros del Mal will also discuss Eddie Guerrero on their podcast.

AAA’s website has an article about how AAAwesome AAA is. If they really want talk about how they have zero taboos, maybe they can mention Extreme Tiger leaving.

AAA also has part one and part two of their interview with Psycho Circus.

X-Project is doing it’s annual toy drive, this one for Fray Tormenta.

El Hijo del Santo was part of a press conference to promote a film festival in Mexico City later this month.

Lineups

CMLL

CMLL (TUE) 11/20/2012 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Halcón de Plata & Metatrón vs Exterminador & Magnum
2) Gallo, Sensei, Starman vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Cancerbero, Raziel
3) Dalis la Caribeña, Estrellita, Silueta vs La Comandante, Princesa Blanca, Zeuxis
4) Atlantis, Hijo del Fantasma, Máscara Dorada vs Morphosis, Psicosis, Tama Tonga
5) La Máscara vs Volador Jr.

This is the seventh La Mascara/Volador Jr. match this year, and third in Guadalajara. They’ve split the other two.

A increasingly rare Morphosis appearance! His first match in CMLL in two months, his first appearance in Guadalajara since February. Mophosis seems to spend most of his time in Texas/northern Mexico, where he’s still working as Histeria.

More loaded card than usual means Metatron is down to the opener here.

IWRG (SUN) 11/18/2012 Arena Naucalpan
1) Astro Rey Jr. & Serpiente de Oro vs Dragón Celestial & Epidemia
2) Cerebro Negro, Dr. Cerebro, Trauma II vs Carta Brava Jr., Eita, Oficial Fierro
3) Dinamic Black, Golden Magic, Saruman vs Alan Extreme, Imposible, Jack
4) Hijo de Pirata Morgan vs Veneno, Trauma I, Oficial AK47, Cien Caras Jr., Relámpago, Canis Lupus, Hijo de Máscara Año 2000 [#1 Contenders, Rey de Ring]
5) el Ángel vs Oficial 911 [IWRG IC WELTER]

It’s been a long six days since the last IWRG tournament. Relampago is going to keep going into these until he finally wins a match. Last #1 contenders match meant an immediate title match, not sure if that’s the same here.

911 vs Angel looks really good, as do the 2nd and 3rd match. It looked like Cerebro Negro was headed towards the rudo side in last weekend’s tournament, something to watch here. Interesting to see Trauma II scheduled for a segunda.

They’re doing a 3 for a price of 2 ticket deal.

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CMLL FantasicaMania talent list announced, Noche Briticana show announced

Nov 12

Posted by thecubsfan in news | 1 Comment

CMLL released new on two international (related) events in the last 24 hour.

Coming up first is Noche Briticana, a special Arena Mexico show on 12/07. The announcers mentioned it in passing on last night’s Terra broadcast, and Ticketmaster already has some details.

BRITISH NIGHT una lucha con causa… es un evento que están organizando la Embajada Británica y el Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre para recaudar fondos para la Fundación John Langdon Down. Los luchadores Ultimo Guerrero y La Sombra se disputarán “Las Joyas de la Corona” en un ambiente muy británico en la cual, la arena México tendrá música y motivos ingleses. El público podrá ver y tocar el “London Bus” (el camión de doble piso inglés) y verá guardias reales dentro de la arena México. Este evento será el 7 de diciembre a las 8:30 p.m. en la majestuosa Arena México.

As you can read, it’s a copromtoion with the British Embassy, and will include British music, a double decker bus, and Buckingham Palace soldiers. It sounds like an Ultimo Guerrero vs La Sombra singles main event, but I guess they could also be just leading teams.

The John Langdown Down Foundation helps children with Down’s Syndrome. That weekend is the same as the annual Televisa supported “Teleton” to help special needs children, so there’s probably some connection there, though it appears CMLL may be donating a different charity.

That date would seem to mean any major CMLL year end show wouldn’t happen until later in December. However, there’s yet to be any hint of CMLL actually running a major show in December. (I haven’t seen any CMLL TV this weekend yet, so maybe you know something I don’t.) It is possible CMLL says Ultimo Guerrero vs Sombra with British people is enough and calls it a year. We won’t know that for certain for a few weeks, but it’s possible.

In a dream world, Sombra wins the main event when new rudo faction of Rey Escorpion, Dragon Rojo, and Hooligan (british! going for revenge on his old partner!) cost Ultimo Guerrero the match. I dream too much, but Hooligan’s got to be on the card. He’s the only British guy they’ve got! Volador dressing up as one of the Sargent Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band alone is not going to be good enough.

CMLL & NJPW also announced the CMLL participation for the three day FantasticaMania event. Tecnicos are Mistico, Titan, La Sombra, Rush, La Mascara, Mascara Dorada, Maximo, and Diamante. Rudos are Volador Jr., Mephisto, Dragon Rojo Jr., Rey Bucanero, Euforia, Misterioso and Okumura. It’s not stated, but I expect Namajague will be back in NJPW in January and would also be on these shows, in addition to the regular NJPW wrestlers. CMLL is also sending ring announcer Ivan and edecan Bruni.

Mistico and Titan are the tecnicos making the NJPW debut. Euforia is the only rudo making his debut here. NJPW also introduces Rey Bucanero, who’s been in NJPW as part of the team with Ultimo Guerrero prior but not in many years (and not under the current regime.) It’s a total of 14 CMLL wrestlers this time, up from 9 on previous shows.

The tour is being promoted around the first appearance of the new Mistico. NJPW mentions the previous one was IWGP Junior Heavyweight championship, setting the bar for this one (though I’d imagine that’s not something happening this year.)

Titan earned this spot by winning En Busca de Un Idolo, but the 2nd (Euforia), 3rd (Mistico) and 4th (Diamante) place finishers all got in as well. That makes the winning a bit cheap (though true to most reality shows), but I’m not certain Titan would’ve made it if he didn’t make the final 2 of the tournament given where he was before the tournament. This is still a win for #porraTitan.

There is plenty of pressure on the younger guys, but La Mascara might have the most to prove. Mascara was embarrassingly poor on the first FantasticaMania shows, looking in no condition to perform on both shows. It was said Mascara was ill and tried to work thru it (and the wrestlers on the show defended him against criticism), but everything he tried looked abysmally bad. Just having OK matches would be a vast improvement, but the Brazos have a great reputation in Japan and I’m certain La Mascara will be motivated to raise his families name back up.

FantasitcaMania had four title matches in 2011 involving CMLL wrestlers (and one that was between NJPW & DDT), and two in 2012. FantasticaMania expands to three days this year, and so the title match number is likely to increase. Titan (National Welterweight), Rush (CMLL Light Heavyweight), La Mascsara (National Light Heavyweight), Dragon Rojo Jr. (NWA & CMLL Middleweight), Rey Bucanero (NWA Light Heavyweight) all have major CMLL titles. Dragon Rojo’s already stated he’ll defend against either Jushin Lyger or Prince Devitt on these shows. Lyger makes more sense. Rush being a spotlight match (rematch vs Yujiro? Goto?) seems to fit with CMLL goals, as well as Mascara Dorada getting a big match (Bucanero is not doing much with his belt). Titan vs Euforia would also be a fun showcase for both guys, and it’d be weird if Volador and Sombra weren’t involved in something big. There’s a lot of possibilities. Unless there’s a title change between now and January, there won’t be a CMLL pairs or trios title on the line (though Okumura and Namajague are still facing Stuka & Fuego a lot.)

NJPW and CMLL will announce actual matches at a later time, probably early January, and we’ll likely know if any of these will be an iPPV around the same time. There will also likely be CMLL participation on the 01/04 NJPW Toyko Dome show. That usually includes 1 or 2 guys who don’t end up working these shows.

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Mephisto vs Mistico, Tonga Twins vs Ola Azul, Pequeno Cage of Death

Nov 7

Posted by thecubsfan in news | 1 Comment

CMLL (MON) 11/05/2012 Arena Puebla [El Sol de Puebla, Porra Fresa]
1) Black Tiger & Lestat b Fuerza Chicana & Saurón
Tecnicos took 2/3.
2) Bengala, Leono, Soberano Jr. b Apocalipsis, Inquisidor, Súper Comando
Super Comando replaced Zayco. Tecnicos take 1/3.
3) Hijo del Signo b Pegasso [lightning]
Signo won in 7 minutes.
4) Cancerbero, Raziel, Virus b Arkángel de la Muerte, Hooligan, Skándalo
Isis was with the Tuareg. Cancerberos took 2/3, with Virus and Isis fighting after the match.
5) Euforia, Misterioso Jr., Vangelis b Diamante, Máximo, Rey Cometa
Euforia replaced Mephisto. Rudos took 1/3, Euforia beat Maximo.
6) Dragón Rojo Jr., Mephisto, Tama Tonga b La Sombra, Máscara Dorada, Mistico
Mephisto replaced Ephesto. Rudos took 1/3, Mephisto yanking Mistico’s mask to beat him. Mistico challenged Mephisto to a singles match next week. A fan gave Mistico a mask after the match, but the rudos ripped that one up too.

The El Sol de Puebla calls Tuareg vs Cancerberos “one of the more stale rivalaries”, while the Porra Fresa recap notes the Puebla fans do not get into rudo vs rudo feuds.

photo by CMLL

CMLL (TUE) 11/06/2012 Arena Mexico [CMLL]
1) Camorra & Ramstein b Freesbe & Robin
2) Hombre Bala Jr., Super Halcon Jr., Triton b Artillero, Disturbio, Súper Comando
Triton replaced Angel Azteca Jr. Tecnicos took 2/3.
3) Dark Angel, Marcela, Silueta vs La Comandante, La Seductora, Tiffany
Silueta replaced Dallys on Monday. Tecnicas took 2/3, Silueta & Dark Angel beating Seductora & Tiffany.
4) Delta b Virus [lightning]
Delta won in 6:57 with a reinera.
5) Ángel de Oro, Diamante, Hijo del Fantasma b Euforia, Olímpico, Vangelis
Tecnicos took 2/3.
6) Mephisto, Tama Tonga, Terrible b Atlantis, Blue Panther, Diamante Azul
Mascara Dorada was originally announced, then replaced by Blue Panther. Tama & Terrible beat Atlantis & Diamante Azul, then challenged for a tag title match next week.

They’re doing the tag title match! Not sure why it got switched from Sunday or Tuesday (or maybe I was wrong all along, possible.) This changes the Azul vs Tonga match on Sunday a bit.

CMLL (TUE) 11/06/2012 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [SuperLuchas]
3) La Máscara, La Sombra, Mistico b Felino, Psicosis, Rey Escorpión
Tecnicos took 2/3.
4) Pequeño Warrior L Shockercito, Último Dragoncito, Pequeño Halcón, Aereo, Astral, Fantasy, Pierrothito, Demus 3:16, Mercurio, Pequeño Olímpico, Pequeño Violencia [cage, hair]
Cage was a death trap. Halcon escaped, after the three minute fighting period, then the problems started. Olimpico escaped when a part of the cage gave way and trapped his arm in the cage. Oficials had to pull him free. Mercurio, Aereo and Fantasy followed him out. Astral attempted to do a moonsault off the top of the cage onto those who escaped, but got caught in the cage and fell very badly. Medics quickly rushed him away. Mercurio was also hurt here, and needed a strecher. Pierrothito bleeding (which may have not been an accident) before he left. Demus was given all sorts of moves and thrown off the cage while trying to escape multiple times. He did escape, but could not stand up and was strechered out. Pequeno Violencia’s back was bloody as he climbed out. That left Shockercito and Pequeno Warrior for the single fall final, and Shockercito won with a reinera after a bit of time. Pequeno Warrior lost his hair.

Post match, Shockercito said he may not be a big star, but he a big person in Pequeno Warrior.

There’s a minis match on Friday – Astral, Fantasy, Ultimo Dragoncito vs Demus 3:16, Pequeno Olimpico, Pierrothito – and we might have a better idea of who made it out of this cage match in one piece by who’s actually in that match. It’d be nice if CMLL just explained their situations, but it’d be even nicer if anyone explained the deal with Angel Azteca Jr.

La Magnifica, the QPPLC women’s winner who never turned up on AAA’s TV and is never mentioned when they talk about last year’s winners, is part of AAA’s Guadalajara stop for this year’s QPPLC talent search contest in a women’s trios match. Magnifica is a Guadalajara native. Maybe the reason she never turned up in AAA is she simply had second thoughts about relocating?

Rob has highlights of 04/27/12 CMLL.

Links

Lucha Libre in Japan

LUCHA FIESTA 2012: Ultimo Dragon 25th Anniversary Show
5) Brazo de Plata, Brazo de Bono (Akebono) b Nosawa & Masada
6) Ultimo Dragon, Rayo de Jalisco Jr., Great Sasuke b Ultimo Guerrero, Ohara, Black Tiger
Ohara pinned Dragon in the 1st, Ohara unmasked Dragon in the 2nd for a DQ, Dragon beat Ohara in the third

Amapola was taken off Sunday’s Arena Mexico show because she’s headed to REINA X WORLD, defending her REINA International Championship against Mia Yim on 11/11.

Lineups

Eita returns to Mexico on Sunday, replacing Canis Lupus in the WWS Welterweight Championship match. That’s an incredibly loaded tournament, where Relampago is the only questionable guy in the mix and the other guys are great. Lupus moves up to the semimain, taking the place of Hijo del Solitario (who seems done here before he even showed up.)

CMLL (TUE) 11/13/2012 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) El Divino & Virgo vs Acertijo & Sádico
2) Black Metal & Metatrón vs Exterminador & Ráfaga
3) Estrellita, Luna Mágica, Silueta vs Princesa Blanca, Princesa Sugheit, Tiffany
4) Delta, Guerrero Maya Jr., Titán vs Kráneo, Mr. Águila, Olímpico
5) La Máscara, Shocker, Super Porky vs Dragón Rojo Jr., Mephisto, Volador Jr.

A show!

CMLL RF (SAT) 12/01/2012 Plaza de Toros Caletilla, Acapulco
1) Astral, Shockercito, Último Dragoncito vs Demus 3:16, Pequeño Olímpico, Pierrothito
2) Dalis la Caribeña, Luna Mágica, Marcela vs Princesa Blanca, Princesa Sugheit, Tiffany
3) Fuego, Sagrado, Stuka Jr. vs Arkángel de la Muerte, Misterioso Jr., Skándalo
4) La Máscara, Marco Corleone, Máximo vs Felino, Negro Casas, Volador Jr.
5) Atlantis, Mistico, Shocker vs Averno, Mephisto, Último Guerrero

This is an Acapulco equivalent of the Herdez show in Arena Mexico, a free show being paid for by the local sponsor. Both shows are more packed than a usual Friday night card, the sponsor paying for ‘all the stars’, but neither include Rush. They both take place during the time NJPW is running it’s heavyweight tag team tournament tour, so I suspect Rush is heading over to participate. Not sure about his partner. It should be announced this weekend on NJPW’s PPV.

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Dragon Lee is CMLL’s new Mistico

Jun 20

Posted by thecubsfan in news | 18 Comments

photo by @apolovaldes/MT

At a press conference today at Arena Mexcio, CMLL announced young Guadalajara tecnico Dragon Lee would now be known as Mistico, the second to use that name. Fray Tormenta, the luchador priest who had been said to raise and teach the original Mistico in his original back story, anointed Dragon Lee with the new name. Tormenta had appeared in Lee’s corner last Friday, and explained he was impressed with Lee’s performance (despite losing) to offer him the new name. Dragon Lee immediately accepted and donned the mask.

The Mistico name had previously been used by WWE’s Sin Cara, and his popularity was the driving force behind the last great boom in CMLL business. Sin Cara made a sudden acrimonious departure from CMLL in early 2011, and CMLL indicated at the time that they would one day give the character to a new luchador.

Angel de Oro, also present at this press conference, was the name most often rumored to take over the role. Sin Cara’s cousin, Magnus, was also rumored to be in the running, and his ‘candidacy’ for the (only hinted at) position was a storyline on last year’s El Luchador reality show. Dragon Lee, who has also rumored been mentioned as possibility, appeared on that show as Magnus’ best friend and superior as luchador. Season 2 of El Luchador is currently being filmed, and this development would continue the storyline of the Magnus/Dragon Lee relationship.

It’s uncertain how the casual fanbase will react to a new Mistico. Both AAA and CMLL have a Psicosis luchador at the moment, and both have had La Parkas at times. In both case, it’s proven surprisingly easy to fool the general public, who see the mask and not the luchador underneath. It may not be as easy to do it with ‘the real Mistico’ on WWE TV. The core audience has reacted strongly against all suggestions of a new Mistico. Those same fans do not particular seem to like Dragon Lee, though not quite as strongly as they dislike his brother Rush. CMLL is desperate to draw from beyond their base group of fans, but there is going to be a strong and vocal push back on this move.

Dragon Lee’s change to Mistico was the tail end of the discussion of the En Busca de un Idolo tournament. CMLL presented the four finalists. Dragon Lee finished third, behind fellow Guadalajara tecnico Titan and rudo Euforia, who meet in the final on Friday. CMLL also the winner would receive an all expense paid trip to Cancun, a one year gym membership, a shot at the CMLL title for their weight class, and elevation to the top matches in CMLL. Dragon Lee, as the new Mistico, will be elevated to the top matches and likely will soon win a title match, and those announced awards make it seem as though the plan for this tournament was for Dragon Lee to win this tournament en route to becoming Mistico. As far back as month ago, when all four finalists and their mentors met in a special trios match, Dragon Lee (and Euforia, to a much lesser extent) was showcased as the star of the quartet. In addition, the shadiest portion of the tournament was when Dragon Lee received a surge of fan votes right before the semifinal round ended, saving him from elimination at the last moment.

CMLL’s plans were fouled up by fans of Titan voting for him many times in the public balloting. It was enough to advance Titan from the semifinals to the final four despite a losing record, and it was enough to get Titan to the final match despite another losing record and his only win coming on a reversed decision. CMLL appears to have realized Titan was going to be in the final and decided a natural final against rudo Euforia would be better than one where Dragon Lee might be exposed. The final round was booked accordingly, though there are a lot of peculiar booking decisions in retrospect (Diamante beating both Dragon Lee just before he was to become Mistico and beating Titan right before he went to the final.) In the end, and despite his evident popularity, Titan appears to be least likely to get anything out of this tournament of the four finalists. Third place Dragon Lee is now Mistico. Fourth place Diamante has a new Santo/Zorro Plateado look. Second place Euforia is the expected favorite to beat Titan and get that beach trip and title shot, though a Titan win still is possible.

Dragon Lee’s next scheduled match is Sunday, in Arena Coliseo, on a match that is scheduled to be streamed live on Terra.com. Dragon Lee could be in the new identity then, though they may hold it off until his next Arena Mexico appearance.

Changing Dragon Lee to Mistico is a desperate move. It is highly unlikely to fix anything, and misunderstands why Mistico was so popular in the first place.  It was never as much about the specific name and mask as CMLL seems to believe. A new Mistico pushed and booked like the original might work, but would require a lucahdor as sensactional and steady as the original. Dragon Lee got this far based on his ability and willingness to do spectacular moves, but has proven to be anything but steady. There were, and are, many people better qualified for the position. It will take outstanding effort by Dragon Lee’s opponents to make this work.

(the rest of the news from the press conference to follow)

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Averno has signed with WWE, expected to drop his mask at Jucio Final

May 29

Posted by thecubsfan in news | 40 Comments

Averno & Mistico, 2010 (photo via Record)

Averno, one of the top rudos for CMLL for the half decade, has signed a contract with WWE. Averno is joining the US promotion to resume his feud with Misitco (now Sin Cara) as an unmasked heel. The plan was for him to lose his mask to La Mascara at June 17th’s Jucio Final, but plans may change as this news gets out. Multiple sources have confirmed to me both Averno’s signing and his imminent mask loss.

WWE has been unhappy with Sin Cara’s matches so far. Atypically, they’ve sought to resolve this by bringing in more agreeable opponents for him to work with. The story I was told is WWE went to Sin Cara and asked him that if he could work with anyone in the world, who would he most like to work with. Obviously, he picked his long time rival (and probably close friend) Averno. WWE earlier had Averno in for a tryout last October, the same tryout Mistico and Diamante were at (and which Durango Kid helped set up), but decided not to sign him at that time. Things have changed, and Averno secretly signed with WWE during their last tour of Mexico.

It’s worth noting this is not actually an expanded WWE raid of CMLL luchadors or lucha style wrestlers in general. They want Averno to fill a specific need. I do not believe this directly increases (or decreases) their chances of signing anyone else from Mexico. To put it simply, WWE signing Averno does not mean they’re about to sign Fantasma or Sombra or anyone else.

This is also a big risk for Averno; he’s coming in for a defined spot, but there may not be plans past that; compare Averno to Tyson Kidd, who works the style they WWE prefers, is very good at it, and is barely on their roster. Dropping your mask and going to WWE in hopes of a big push worked out for Alberto Del Rio, but not so much for Rey Ortiz. Since the plan is for him to work against Sin Cara, I expect he will be brought to the main roster quickly, and not go to FCW.

Averno has not informed CMLL of his WWE signing. Instead, Averno only told their programming department he wanted to lost his mask ASAP and, if they weren’t willing to do it, he would go to whichever outside promoter could pay him the most to drop it. CMLL agreed to do it there and scrambled their plans for June (a cage match which would’ve included the Gen11/Rayos feud and probably other rivalries; no loser had been definitively been decided), putting Averno’s mask loss in on 06/17. Mascara Dorada would’ve been the preferred choice to win the mask, but he’s locked in with NJPW comittements. It’s unknown if other people were considered, but CMLL is said to be a very divided and unhappy place at the moment, and politics surely played some role in the decision (as they do in most.)

As I write this, I believe upper CMLL management is still unaware of Averno signing with WWE (though I’m the impression that many other people in the company, which again speaks to the fractured nature of CMLL) and would’ve been when the card for next Friday was announced. Averno is not yet on any of the big six cards next week (GDL/Puebla/Mexico/Coliseo), but I do not believe that has anything to do with this news, and he is scheduled to work shows in Queretaro (Tuesday) and Xalapa (Wednesday).

I have declined to post about this because of that, and because early release of this information may cost people’s jobs, and may cost Averno a big payday. That’s not really worth being first, to me. I’m posting this story now because the word has gotten out to enough people that there’s really no way it can be kept as a secret any more. SuperLuchas has put the Averno to WWE portion on their cover, out today, though they are not confirming the mask loss.

It’s possible that CMLL may pull the match – as much for the betrayal as the result getting out –  (though that would mean Averno would just find someone else to pay for the mask), but the CMLL way tends to be to ignore the world around them. Also, they’d be able to beat soon to be WWE star on the way out, and CMLL thinks that would mean a lot to their fans. We’ll see.

Sorry I had to spoil this result for everyone. Didn’t want to know who was going to win myself, but can’t tell this story without telling that part.

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WWE announces signing of Sin Cara

Feb 24

Posted by thecubsfan in news | 27 Comments

@TerceraCaida

Mistico is now Sin Cara. WWE announced the signing of the biggest star in Mexico of the last decade with unusual fanfare for them: today’s press conference, a few introductory articles on their website and a photogallery of him in CMLL. He’s got an official facebook page, and hopefully a twitter account coming soon.

Sin Cara says he did not know which brand he would end up, and they were not specific on when he would debut. Everything we’ve heard is that he will be on WWE TV soon (clips from this press conference may air soon, certainly on the Mexican edits of WWE TV) and we’d expect him to end up with Alberto del Rio and Rey Misterio.

Sin Cara’s mask is very familiar to Mistico fans – it’s basically the mask he wore last year when teaming with Averno in different colors, and with cloth covering the eye lids. The intention is to be similar; they want the Mexican fans to know this is Mistico and he’s going to the WWE, and they should watch WWE even more to see him now.

I’m not sure if any of you use TweetDeck – it’s really good if you’re using multiple accounts or want to get an update every time someone’s tweet includes a word or phrase. I usually track CMLL and have been tracking Mistico the last month. Every time there’s a match or a new tweet, it gives you a little ding and pops up the message. The soundtrack to my afternoon has been “ding (pause) ding (pause) ding (pause) ding (pause) ding”. Very few of those dings were about Texano/Terrible vs Porky/Maximo. The word is out in Mexico about this change and we all hope he does very well.

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SuperLuchas: Mistico “Ya Firmo Con WWE!”

Jan 30

Posted by thecubsfan in news | 40 Comments


Cover of this week's SuperLuchas, on sale tonight

Mistico has signed a deal with WWE. There’s been a background talk about Mistico leaving CMLL of late, especially the last week, but nothing anyone was able to definitively confirm until now. I had heard multiple rumors about his destination, but WWE had always seemed the most likely. He’s expected to head to Florida Championship Wrestling, where he’ll join Alex Koslov (and Hijo de Medico Asesino!) as luchadors training for WWE.

Mistico’s last Arena Mexico match was January 18th, the two fall loss in the main event where Porky got mad at Mistico. Mistico worked the two show NJPW tour and has not been in a CMLL ring since. It’s possible he may work a final show or two in CMLL if his Florida commitment doesn’t start right away, but he’s obviously out of the Dos Leyendas plans. Friday’s Averno/Dorada feuding was intended to create a replacement match (or relevos tag partners.)

CMLL almost certainly owns the Mistico gimmick, though WWE would likely given him their own anyway. CMLL probably won’t put someone new in the suit, because they’ve been building Sombra up as the replacement lead tecnico for about 10 months already. Astro Boy, Mistico’s brother, probably won’t be affected only because they barely use him as is.

Mistico likely told CMLL he was leaving in late December, or maybe around when the CMLL/NJPW cards first came out, because it would explain why NJPW announced Mistico as working those cards while CMLL didn’t have him listed. Even though CMLL probably knew he was on his way out, Mistico did beat Negro Casas and Ultimo Guerrero (by DQ) in singles matches during the last month.

Alberto Del Rio’s success was the catalyst for Mistico jumping to WWE. Dos Caras Jr. was never great in CMLL, but has gotten over great in WWE. The line of thinking – and not just for Mistico – is if a guy who never really got over much in Mexico got over that easily in the US, it should be easy for bigger stars to succeed. I’m not sure that’s true – a lot of Alberto’s success is due to WWE deciding he was going to be be a big star, real quick – but it definitely gives Mexican wrestlers more faith in the company compared to how guys like the Mexicools were used.

UPDATE: The article states Mistico flew to the US to sign the WWE contract this past Tuesday, and CMLL did not find out until after the fact. Mistico had previously been open with CMLL about any contact with WWE, but had kept CMLL out of the loop recently. His most recent tryout match was – in California – was without CMLL’s permission. Leaving like this likely precludes Mistico from returning unless there are massive changes in CMLL leadership between now and then.

The article – which you can purchase here – gives the impression that if Mistico were to do it all over again, he would’ve joined WWE after his original tryout in 2007.

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07/12 CMLL in Nuevo Laredo Results (Oriental loses his mask to Mistico)

Jul 13

Posted by thecubsfan in news | 4 Comments

CMLL Gutierrez (MON) 07/12 Plaza de Toros Lauro Luis Longoria [@ENRIQUEYNIESTA]
1) Mini Alebrije, Mini Cibernetico, Mini Oriental b Astral, Mascarita Dorada, Shockercito
2) Lady Apache, Lluvia, Marcela DQ Rossy Moreno, Sexy Flor, Tiffany
3) Ephesto, Mephisto, Rey Bucanero DQ Charly Manson, Juventud Guerrera, Mr. Águila
4) Hijo de LA Park, Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr., Scorpio Jr. DQ La Máscara, Máscara Dorada, Valiente
5) Héctor Garza, Terrible, Texano b Jushin Lyger, Shigeo Okumura, Yoshihashi
6) Místico & Oriental L Atlantis & Olímpico and Averno & Último Guerrero and El Alebrije & Volador Jr. and Histeria & La Sombra [ruleta de la muerte]
7) Místico b Oriental [mask]

Oriental is Noe Astro Moreno Leon, according to CMLL Magazine. (Astro?) He’s 37, 17 years a wrestler. No photo as I type this, but I’m sure we’ll see one later.

Order of escape went Sombra & Histeria (who’s now free to put his mask up on Sunday), Alebrije & Volador, Averno & Ultimo Guerrero, and Atlantis & Olimpico. Mistico beat Oriental in what seemed like a longer match than the entire eliminations prior.

The big news from the rest of the show was the appearance of Dr. Wagner Junior. It was hinted early this morning by SuperLuchas, and was revealed a few hours before the show by Box Y Lucha. He appeared after the fourth match, first posing with his son, then circling around in the ring, all while wearing his AAA World Heavyweight Championship belt (he also had the video game belt.) When he went to the ring and posed, everyone was under the impression this meant Wagner had left AAA and was joining CMLL as an Invader. Upon returning to the locker room, Dr. Wagner instead told the press that he was on good terms with AAA, and everyone backed off saying he was leaving.

People who are on good terms with a company do not show up at a major show for a rival promotion, being as visible as possible. (And CMLL isn’t going to let Wagner be part of the show unless they wanted him to be part of the show.) Wagner may end up staying with AAA, uninterrupted, but this was a very petulant move to make a point; AAA’s treated him as an afterthought to the Perros del Mal entry, the Parka/Park story, and the Legion stuff, and Wagner has always felt he should always be on top. That seems to be the wrestling he grew up with – in the UWA, Canek doesn’t seem to have ever been cycled down the card or bypassed much; he was either the top rudo feuding with the top tecnico, or the top tecnico feuding with the foreign guy. That’s spot doesn’t really exist in either promotion, but Wagner can sure come close by jumping back and forth between them like this.

This bit was also totally hilarious. For most of the night, AAA only response was an enigmatic tweet from Lucha Libre AAA, which is so unspecific, it may have nothing to do with any of this. Later, Dorian Roldan seemed surprised, generally the same reaction as everyone else, though his post gives the impression Wagner left.

Dr. Wagner is not listed on any lineups from now until the Toluca taping, though he’s almost surely scheduled to be on the Lucha Libre Expo show, and there’s probably other lineups AAA hasn’t put on it’s website. At the point, the expectation is he’ll still be working AAA shows, but it’s a fluid situation. We’ll know more soon. This would be a fantastic time for Cesar to come back from his blog vacation.

If we’ve been reminded of anything, anything at all, from La Parka vs LA Park, is that people remember what they saw in the ring and not what was said later. Tonight, Wagner made people believe he’s jumped to CMLL, and interviews aren’t going to undo that.

Not a lot of noteworthy material on the show. Tiffany was the mystery woman for the Invaders. At the time of the press conference, she was still working AAA spot shows, which is probably the reason they kept it quiet. Not sure if this means anything for her brother, ex-Night Queen Jessy, who’s also working AAA spot shows without making TV in years. Tiffany was a big part of AAA in the mid 2000s, but really hasn’t been used much since Pena’s death and since she left to have a kid. She was still good, last we saw her, and would fit in well in CMLL if that’s why she and they want to do.

The first four matches all did have non-clean finishes. Mini Cibernetico broke the law by removing Dorada’s mask before pinning him, but was not charged with the crime. No specific word on the DQ in the second match, but it probably was for one of the rudas pulling Lluvia’s mask. DQ in the tercera was for Ephesto taking off his own mask and tossing it. (Mephisto hurt a knee in this one.) DQ in the cuatro was for Scorpio (Solitario replacement) fouling and unmasking Mascara. Japan vs Renegados finished clean, we think.

Before the opener, Enrique pegged the crowd as 10,000, 80% of capacity. It’s possible it filled up a bit more as the show went on. The show was to be taped for television, but there were lots of pre-show issues – many guys only made it last minute, and the lights were late – so who knows.

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