08/18-19 lucha times

box.

Olympics are over, but there’s some other stuff worth pointing out.

As mentioned in today’s update, AAA will be streaming TripleMania on it’s website. It’s scheduled to be shown on AAA’s website Sunday at 4pm Central. It’ll also be commercial free, according to AAA’s social media manager. They haven’t specified exactly how they’re doing it, but it’s probably a streaming bit. AAA had a streaming video player years and multiple redesigns, and I’d assume it’s something like that again.

AAA is reportedly breaking TripleMania up into three parts. Every air date past TripleMania is now a week later. They’ll be set all the way thru 09/23 after this weekend’s Expo (which means nearly all the way thru to a late September/early October Heroes Inmortales, if they’re doing one.) TripleMania basically had a triple main event, so doing one week with Mesias/Perro, one week with Wagner/Mascara and one week with TNA/AAA works, and everything else can be fit in as it fits on time. The regional show will likely have to fill some time, maybe we should start asking for specific matches from the vault.

I don’t believe I’ll be around this Sunday to check this (or Terra!) out, so let me know how it goes.

RAW is back on Mondays, which is actually great news for lucha; once NFL season starts, RAW on the weekend might have spelled doom for the traditional lucha libre time slots. However, after how Televisa used the Olympics to push their Televisa Deportes Network, I wonder if there might be a chance they do the same for the NFL, and lucha ends up unaffected this year. After last year’s chaotic and often disappointing treatment by Televisa of lucha libre, it’d be great to avoid the whole problem this year. Someone would be happy with Televisa!

=== CMLL ===

Galavision/Televisa: The required women’s match and the required Mistico match.

FOX: Volador vs Peste Negra feud is over here, and probably the lightning match and the Cometa/Puma trios.

C3: Young guy night! Diamante, Sombra, Titan vs Niebla, Polvora, Ultimo Guerrero as the main event.

52MX: Sombra vs Averno, always worth a rewatch.

GDL: maybe back this week? Las Luchas did air a new episode! This should have Mistico vs Mr. Niebla, which will be a thing, and the cibernetico.

Puebla: setup trios for Mr. Niebla vs Volador, and possible some Stigma/Zavala

Terra: debut for Genesis and Guerrero Maya, Guerrero Maya vs Misterioso in a lightning match, Oro/Mascara/Sombra vs Felino/Negro/Escorpion. They should be starting a title match program on this show, but there’s no obvious one.

=== Other ===

AAA: as noted, TripleMania I, but no guessing what’ll air (until after Regional airs, and then we can all pretend to be psychic)

IWRG: Back! Only the one Sunday airing at 6pm this week. Not sure where they’ll pick up, guessing the Champions show.

ACM: Barba Roja & Pirata Morgan vs Rico Rodriguez & Antifaz del Norte, plus YouTube star el Ninja

Generacion 2012, Generacion 2011, items not relating to Generacions

CMLL held a mini press conference yesterday. In true CMLL fashion, the big news was another press conference next Wednesday. That one will officially introduce Generacion 2012. They’re listed as Herodes Jr., Taurus, Genesis, Oro Jr., Guerrero Negro Jr., Espanto Jr. and Akuma. All but the last two have already turned up on lineups already, though those two are the ones we know a little bit more about.

Akuma, often seen with his brother Demus in CMLL minis outings the last year, was there to represent the group. He’s previously been listed with the same 3:16 surname, but not this time. He will be competing as a full sized wrestler.

Espanto Jr. was hyped last August as coming soon in Box Y Lucha and Luchas 2000 (in what were obviously CMLL penned stories), so that one has been in the works for a while. He’s the son of the original Espanto Jr., also known as the original Pentagon, and Sombra’s cousin. He may have previously been Moro Jr. There’s a different, older, Espanto Jr. working in Monterrey.

One name missing from the list is Acapulco’s Black Silver Junior. He debuted in Arena Coliseo in June, then hasn’t been seen yet. It’s possible he may have taken one of the other names. Also, Stukita & Pequeno Valiente, just introduced last week at the minis party, are not mentioned. Last year’s Generacion 2011 group was exclusively Arkangel trainees, and it may be that these guys are all from one trainer as well.

Looking back at last year’s class:

  • Bobby Zavala: benefited the most when the opening card guys vs Gen11 feud was dropped, because it allowed him to work on the rudo side regularly and look good there. Has recently started to escape the opening matches and move in to his first real feud (Puebla’s Stigma.) Looks like a success.
  • Dragon Lee: things have turned out alright for him! Despite two different leg injuries and spotty performances, CMLL’s been exceptional high on Dragon Lee and he’s been fine as the new Mistico so far. He could’ve used at least another year of preparation before being exposed and this could all still blow up, but CMLL is obviously satisfied with his progress.
  • Enrique Vera Jr.: never really established himself as a strong tecnico or looked particularly good, though also not given the chance of some of the others. Last seen in March, and appears to have completely disappeared. Not sure, but I don’t think he’s hurt, just gone. This one is a failure.
  • Hombre Bala Jr.: has worked as hard as any in this group to add new moves and change up his look, but is capable of some wretched performances (including the match in Guadalajara where he was so bad people a message board poster thought he was drunk; he was just that bad.) A guy who is capable of highlight spots, but needs to work against good rudos for a long time before he’s really ready. Starting to move up to the middle of the card, probably too soon, but it is putting him against the guys he needs to work with. A mixed bag.
  • Magnus: tough to evaluate, because his career has essentially been hijacked by the El Luchador series. It may make him a bigger star in the long term and it’s actually greatly to his benefit if he’s spent the time away working smaller shows out of the public eye. Really only had a few months of matches in CMLL before being ‘fired’ and has been more visible on Twitter than in rings since, but still left a bad taste. Sabotaged by CMLL trying  (or allowing him) to turn him into the new Mistico; they needed to send him away if he was ever going to get a real shot with the fans again. Demonstrated maturity issues previously, and either hasn’t overcome them yet or is a crazy genius  building up a return feud with the New Mistico. Incomplete.
  • Hijo del Signo: another one who was much better off when they allowed him to be a rudo. Quickly moved up to the second/third level and look like he’ll stick there for many years. A very solid wrestler, but missing charisma or any spark to connect to the fans, and isn’t a great enough wrestler to make up for it at this point. Really needs to be a unit with more personable luchadors, both to hide his weakness and in hopes it might wear off him. Has sort of drifted, but a success for where is so far.
  • Super Halcon Jr.: the last of the group to debut. Despite wrestling in IWRG prior, definitely the least ready to debut and the most unsteady of the group. Needed at least a year and maybe longer before becoming a regular. Fell in to becoming Hombre Bala’s partner and winning Rayo Tapatio’s partner when CMLL had bigger plans for other guys, and looks like he’ll get an extended run based on that win, but still struggles to be okay in matches. Not a success so far.

Other news from the press conference include Tiffany’s trip to REINA, and Titan altering the design of his mask. Good thing they don’t make Volador Jr. and current space alien Guerrero Maya Jr. hold press conferences every time they change the look of their mask.

The Nuevo Mistico tour reaches Arena Aficion tonight. AAA shows do really well there, and Perros del Mal and DTU regularly fill the place. It’s only about 2,000 people. If CMLL can’t fill that, there are problems.

Porra Fresa says Bobby Zavala & Stigma feuded in the segunda of Monday’s Puebla show. Stigma pinned Bobby in the third after trading pinfalls earlier, then challenged him to a mask vs hair match. Zavala declined to respond.

Masked Republic says AAA will air TripleMania on their website starting this Sunday at 2pm (the same time it airs on Televisa) over the next three weeks. I’m not sure if this is just the Juarez stream we all watch or something better. It’d be great if it was something better, like AAA streaming (or putting on demand!) their own TV show instead of us pirates having to track it down. That would be fantastic. AAA’s Twitter was posting from uStream today, so that may be a clue.

This weekend’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter mentions Octagon underwent shoulder surgery last Monday, the day after TripleMania, and he will be out for a while. It also says the long term plan is for Octagon to introduce a successor, and that Samurai del Sol is one of the names in consideration for that role. I would assume that’s just at the idea stage and you should not put a lot of though into it at this point.

LuchaWorld has the winner of 1978 awards.

Links

Lineups

CMLL (TUE) 08/21/2012 Arena Mexico
1) Bengala & Höruz vs Guerrero Negro Jr. & Herodes Jr.
2) Aereo, Astral, Shockercito vs Pequeño Nitro, Pequeño Olímpico, Pequeño Warrior
3) Dalis la Caribeña vs Princesa Blanca [lightning]
4) Pegasso, Rey Cometa, Triton vs Arkángel de la Muerte, Nosferatu, Puma King
5) Blue Panther, Delta, Guerrero Maya Jr. vs Black Warrior, Namajague, Shigeo Okumura
6) Atlantis, Diamante, Titán vs Mr. Niebla, Niebla Roja, Pólvora

A lot of the same names as last week, especially among the younger guys. Maybe there’s a plan?

Puma King & Rey Cometa again. Okay with missing the lightning match.

CMLL (TUE) 08/21/2012 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Javier Cruz & Virgo vs Èvola & Thunder Boy
2) Demonio Maya & Ráfaga vs Exterminador & Malefico
3) Stuka Jr. vs Fuego, Halcon de Plata, Leo, Virus, Raziel, Barbaro Cavernario, Sádico [OCCIDENTE MIDDLE, sf, cibernetico]
4) Hijo del Fantasma vs Psicosis
5) La Sombra, Super Porky, Valiente vs Euforia, Terrible, Tiger

Psicosis stands at 0-13 in CMLL singles matches. His first loss was to Hijo del Fantasma. Fantasma has had his own bad string of losses, but won his last four singles matches, all lightning matches.

They’re not thinking this way, I know, but it is weird that the World Champion of All Lightweights is competing for a regional middleweight title. That cibernetico could be really good.

CMLL (TUE) 08/21/2012 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Javier Cruz & Virgo vs Èvola & Thunder Boy
2) Demonio Maya & Ráfaga vs Exterminador & Malefico
3) Stuka Jr. vs Fuego, Halcon de Plata, Leo, Virus, Raziel, Barbaro Cavernario, Sádico [OCCIDENTE MIDDLE]
4) Hijo del Fantasma vs Psicosis
5) La Sombra, Super Porky, Valiente vs Euforia, Terrible, Tiger

top six stories of the last two weeks

  1. AAA held it’s twentieth TripleMania at Arena Ciudad de Mexico. The show drew 19,000 for AAA”s first ever visit to the venue, which will likely be the Mexico City home of AAA major events for years to come. Dr. Wagner Jr. took Mascara Ano 2000 Jr.’s mask in the main event, in a match designed to hide Mascara’s weaknesses by including many run-ins. In the other big matches, Mesias kept AAA title over Perro Aguayo when Hector Garza accidentally hit his now former friend with a chair, Team AAA beat Team TNA but Joaquin Roldan still lost his hair in a rudo trick, and Joe Lider lost his buzzcut.
  2. The former Dragon Lee debuted as Mistico. His Arena Mexico debut drew the highest turnout at Arena Mexico since last year’s La Mascara vs Averno mask match. There was one noticeable bad spot near the end, but most of the match went well and the new Mistico was well received by the crowd. A Nuevo Mistico CMLL tour of regular spot show locations, though some they have not run with as much frequently in recent years, have not drawn well. Those smaller building appear to half full (though it’s possible they might be even lower without the new Mistico.)
  3. Also on the Mistico debut show in Arena Mexico, Ultimo Guerrero & Dragon Rojo’s 21 month tag team title reign came to an end, losing the belts to Atlantis & Diamante Azul. Rojo & UG nearly won before they fell apart at the last instant, and now appear to be breaking up. Guerrero was just involved in a very similar breakup story with Rey Escorpion, but that one seemed to be dropped (or put off to the side) before they ever got to the match against each other.
  4. Marcela took Tiffany’s hair in the main event of a CMLL show directly opposite of TripleMania. The show drew 3,000, a fine number for Arena Coliseo but not for the much larger Arena Mexico. In a bit obviously taped for the El Luchador reality show, Shocker proposed to his girlfriend.
  5. AAA taped more television in Tampico this past Friday. Perro Aguayo Jr., believing AAA and Hector Garza had conspired to make sure he’d never be champion, directed his troops to attack his long time friend/enemy. Garza was solidly a tecnico by the end of the night. The taping also continued an Octagon turn, and LA Park vs Dorian Roldan. In the main event, Silver King again attacked his brother to help Mascara Ano 2000 Jr., and may have joined el Consejo.
  6. Volador and Mr. Niebla are feuding over CMLL’s regular weekly show. The rudo vs rudo rivalry is being teased as a mask vs mask match for CMLL’s Anniversary show. The most likely outcome remains a cage match.
  • CMLL’s Universal Tournament starts this Friday.
  • The annual lucha libre expo is this weekend. Many of the smaller promotions have announced their lineups over the last few days. Perros del Mal, one of the tent pole promotions, has only announced a main event. AAA will hold a TV taping Sunday. CMLL has no official presence, but some of their wrestlers will be on independent shows or signing autographs at vendor stands.
  • AAA will announce a new Quinta Para Por La Corona talent search contest today. There will be stops made in Monterrey, Campeche, Puebla and Guadalajara before a final in Mexico City in December.
  • Axel won the Torneo Amigo de Siempre and – slightly more important – the legal right to call himself Nieto del Santo.
  • Rush, the next great star of CMLL, finished last in the G1.
  • Mascara Dorada, Averno, Tiffany, Dark Angel and Dinastia are all headed to Japan, while Prince Devitt & Taichi are headed to CMLL and Alex Kolsov & Rocky Romero are coming back to Mexico
  • Diamante Azul lost his Mexico City Heavyweight title to a luchador in San Luis Potosi, but did not actually bring the belt…
  • in a slightly less hyped debut of a new wrestler using an old name, El Cobra debuted for IWRG.
  • Canek wrestled for IWRG on their Festival of Masks show.
  • Hijo del Pirata Morgan won IWRG’s Gran Cruzada battle royal, and IWRG Rey de Reyes championship.
  • Also on IWRG’s Champion of Champions show, Golden Magic won the WWS welterweight title, while the Officals, Hijo de Mascara, and Cien Caras kept theirs.