top six stories since the last time I did this bit

  1. Dragon Lee will now wrestle as Mistico. Dragon Lee was given the mask by Fray Tormenta as a surprise at the end of the press conference. Mistico’s start date is unknown; Dragon Lee will have his farewell match this Sunday.
  2. Miguel Fonseca was elevated to the role of AAA booker, replacing Moody Jack Melendez. Others remain involve in the creative process. There’s been no very obvious shift of focus, though the general improved production quality of the television show (including the return of focused Noti AAA segments) have been evident all year.
  3. AAA started to announce matches for TripleMania and hint strongly towards others. A relevos suicidas triangle match was announced, with teams of Jack & Teddy, Extreme Tiger & Halloween, and Psicosis (I) & Joe Lider. Also, Joaquin and Dorian Roldan agreed to pick teams, with the losing manager also losing their hair. A third apuesta match, Dr. Wagner Jr. vs Mascara Ano 2000 Jr. for the masks, has all but been signed. Tickets for the show, still six weeks away, went on sale.
  4. CMLL announced a women’s cage match with the 10 women who have been feuding (Dark Angel, Marcela, Estrellita, Goya Kong, and Dalis La Carbina, new ruda Lady Apache, Amapola, Tiffany, Seductora and Princesa Blanca) for next Friday.
  5. In a big IWRG match, Trauma II defeated Japanese luchador Shadow Phoenix for his mask. Rudo Oficial 911 was also involved, and vowed to unmask the Traumas.
  6. Rey Escorpion took Black Warrior’s hair in CMLL’s big June show. The match drew okay considering neither guy would be considered in the top ten of their side.

Other news

  • CMLL & Terra.com announced the website would begin live streaming of the first three matches from each Sunday’s show. The first Sunday broadcast was this past week, with a high quality feed.
  • Titan and Euforia advanced to the finals of En Busca de Un Idolo, and a bunch of prizes were announced for the winner.
  • Black Warrior rejoined the rudo side, and formed a trio with Mr. Aguila and Volador Jr. to go after Atlantis’ trio.
  • Daga turned rudo, setting up a match against Juvi for the AAA cruiserweight title.
  • Yujiro defeated Terrible a few times, setting up a title match this Sunday.
  • Diamante, the fourth place finisher in En Busca de un Idolo, is now wearing a silver Santo-knockoff outfit.
  • Oficial Factor won Rey del Ring
  • Angel de Oro went 4-4 in the BOSJ, a better result than expected. Maximo is headed to NJPW next month.
  • Rey Escorpion and Ultimo Guerrero teased a break up for a week, but it seems to have been quickly dropped.
  • DTU announced they’d no longer be co-promoting with IWL.
  • WWE dropped Hijo del Medico Asesino, days after unmasking him.
  • people who kept their titles: Rush, La Mascara, Love Buffet, Ultimo Guerrero & Dragon Rojo,
  • Arena Puebla got an entrance ramp
  • Atlantis won Guatemala’s el Padrino mask.
  • CIMA dropped by Mexico, was honored by DTU and IWRG.

Shocker/Niebla, women’s cage match, press confernece notes, Alebrije, Dark Angel

New look for Zacarias
(photo by CMLL)

CMLL (TUE) 06/19/2012 Arena Mexico [CMLL, Kaiser Sports]
1) Cholo & Ramstein b Freesbe & Soberano Jr.
2) Demus 3:16, Pequeño Olímpico, Pierrothito b Astral, Eléctrico, Último Dragoncito
Rudos took 2/3.
3) Hijo del Fantasma, Sagrado, Valiente b Arkángel de la Muerte, Nitro, Skándalo
The entire rudo team of Signo, Sangre and Vangelis were replaced by the Tuareg. Tecnicos took 2/3, barely.
4) Ángel de Oro b Misterioso Jr. [lightning]
Angel de Oro won in 8:30 with the mecedora
5) Namajague, Shigeo Okumura, Yujiro b Rey Bucanero, Terrible, Tiger
Straight falls. Yujiro beat Terrible again. Terrible and Yujiro talked about Sunday’s title match.
6) Máscara Dorada, Shocker, Super Porky DQ Ephesto, Mephisto, Mr. Niebla
Tecnicos did not win a fall by themselves. Rudos took the first, then were DQed in the second for not leaving the ring in time, and DQed in the third for Niebla fouling Shocker.

Again, CMLL announced prizes for the winner of the En Busca de un Idolo tournament. It’s an odd thing to do announce  prizes two days before the tournament ends, but at least there’s a prize. The winner, Titan or Euforia, will receive a paid trip to Cancun, one year membership at a (presumably upscale?) gym, a spot on next year’s FantasticMania shows, a shot the CMLL title from their weight division, and be elevated to the top matches. It did not seem to be specified which weight division Titan and Euforia were in. Euforia seems like a Light Heavyweight, so he would face Rush. Titan, as Palacio Negro, is currently the Occidente Middleweight championship, which would mean Dragon Rojo. They could move him down weight classes, facing Welterweight champion Mascara Dorada or Super Lightweight champion Virus.

Even before today, I would’ve picked Euforia as the favorite. There are already a lot of guys on top like Titan and they need more like Euforia to work with. It’s even more true with Averno being dropped down on the cards until he leaves. Now, with Nuevo Mistico being pushed hard, it’d be peculiar if CMLL gave Titan the win and main event spot. Euforia is no sure thing, though: CMLL is capable of peculiar things. Rush vs Euforia is going to be pretty great, tho’.

The big match announcement was the rumored ten way cage match. It’s no longer a rumor, and actually happening next Friday, June 29th. (That also seems like a more logical day for the Nuevo Mistico debut; Apolo’s report says Dragon Lee will wrestle under that name on Friday.) The ten women in the cage are exactly the ten who’ve been feuding: Amapola and Estrellita, Tiffany and Marcela, Lady Apache (a ruda going forward) and Dark Angel, Seductora and Goya Kong, and the Dalis and Princesa Blanca feuding pair that stared just last week. Seductora is the favorite to lose, though CMLL tends to go back to the first feud in cage matches for the finishes, and the first feud here was Amapola & Estrellita.

In hype for matches previously announced, Yujiro offered Terrible some tacos as part of his usual insult before their title match on Sunday. Terrible and Okumura talked about a TRT vs Fiebre Amarillo mask/hairs vs mask/hairs match. Okumura agreed, but no one took this seriously. Also, Reyes de Atlantida met the new rudo trio of Mr. Aguila, Volador Jr. and Black Warrior. Aguila named the group Los Depredadores del Aire, simply the plural of Volador’s existing nickname. I don’t expect it to stick any more then the six man apuesta match.

In comings and goings, Negro Casas will be out three weeks due to eye surgery. Alfredo says there’s pictures of Negro post surgery on Negro’s facebook account. Maximo will be headed to NJPW in July, at least from the 7th to the 22nd, surely to torture poor Taichi more. (Taichi has plenty going in July, read on for more.) Mr. Cacao and two unnamed REINA girls will be coming to CMLL in July; I’m hoping it’s Silueta and Zeuxis. And Angel de Oro did not become Mistico II, but did talk about his experiences in the Best of Super Juniors.

There was also a mention of more price cutting of tickets – 2×1 giveaways on certain days – but there were no details.

Those final En Busca de Un Idolo standings, as posted on the website.

266 Titan
207 Euforia
156 Dragon Lee
127 Diamante

Those don’t appear to be totally correct; Titan is being given credit for a win over Diamante though we saw the opposite finish. It doesn’t change any place. For what it’s worth, if you correct that error and take out the polling:

128 Euforia
127 Diamante
126 Titan
117 Dragon Lee

In news that was much more exciting 10 hours ago, AAA announced Alebrije and Mije would be returning back to their television soon. It won’t be the original Alebrije and Cujie, who’s are CMLL’s Kraneo and Mije now, but a new person. AAA’s press release avoids mentioning that part, though they did indicate this is an Alebrije who started in 2010. That Alebrije was one of a group of people (Gronda II & Espiritu are other examples) who are listed as working AAA spot shows but don’t make TV much, if ever. It was believed that Alebrije was the former Mascara Divina (the Cuije was/is completely unknown.) However, Mascara Divina started turning up under his own name on indy shows starting a few months ago and is said to be out of AAA. Not sure who it’ll be when it shows up on TV. The comedy kid friendly characters are not a natural fit for AAA’s current style, and this may be a legal thing to maintain the trademark.

Kaiser Sports interviews Dark Angel this past weekend, who had strong things to say about her new rival Lady Apache. Angel says Apache is a jealous old grandmother, who’s best days are behind her, and so she’s trying to hang on by going after a young luchadora. Dark Angel would prefer a singles match with Apache, but notes a women’s cage match is something rarely seen. Angel says the only other CMLL women she feels she can trust is Marcela, feels she hasn’t been treated fairly in terms of hair and championship matches, and wishes she could bring in someone who speaks her language. It seems like it’s the interviewer who brings up her TNA partner Rosita as a possibility – Dark Angel wishes she could come. Rosita is probably prohibited from working CMLL as long as AAA is working with TNA, though TNA doesn’t seem to be using Rosita or Dark Angel at the moment.

Tercera Caida’s interview with Angel de Oro is already up in two parts.

Lucha Libre in Japan

The NWA Historic Middleweight Championship will be on the line on July 8th, when Prince Devitt defends for the first time against Taichi in Korakuen Hall. You may remember Taichi from such failed title challenges as last year’s loss to Taguchi for the CMLL Welterweight title, and last week’s loss for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team championship.

Links

Lineups

CMLL (MON) 06/25/2012 Arena Puebla
1) Blue Center & Lestat vs Espiritu Maligno & Policeman
2) Astral, Eléctrico, Último Dragoncito vs Demus 3:16, Pequeño Violencia, Pierrothito
3) Diamante, Sagrado, Stuka Jr. vs Misterioso Jr., Sangre Azteca, Vangelis
4) Marcela vs La Seductora [CMLL WOMEN]
Marcela is the champ
5) Hijo del Fantasma, La Máscara, Máscara Dorada vs Namajague, Shigeo Okumura, Yujiro
6) Atlantis, Diamante Azul, La Sombra vs Black Warrior, Mr. Niebla, Volador Jr.

Yujiro won’t leave. So mean.

Marcela really needs to win in two straight. Everyone can’t be on the same level. Seductora won just by getting the match.

Misterioso & Sangre were not friends, last time we checked. Though they really should be.

CMLL (TUE) 06/26/2012 Arena Mexico
1) Bengala & Höruz vs Inquisidor & Zayco
2) Hombre Bala Jr., Molotov, Super Halcon Jr. vs Artillero, Bobby Zavala, Súper Comando
3) Ángel Azteca Jr., Fuego, Pegasso vs Arkángel de la Muerte, Hooligan, Skándalo
4) Rey Cometa vs Puma King [lightning]
5) Blue Panther, Hijo del Fantasma, Marco Corleone vs Rey Bucanero, Terrible, Tiger
6) Dragón Rojo Jr., Felino, Mr. Niebla vs Ángel de Oro, Máximo, Shocker

The mystery lightning match show is getting Cometa vs Puma! I hate you, mysterious lightning match show.

CMLL (TUE) 06/26/2012 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) El Divino & Virgo vs Relampago Azul & Thunder Boy
2) Black Metal & Metatrón vs Èvola & Malefico
3) Sagrado, Stuka Jr., Valiente vs Namajague, Sangre Azteca, Shigeo Okumura
4) Marcela vs Princesa Blanca
5) La Máscara, Máscara Dorada, Super Porky vs Averno, Mephisto, Volador Jr.

Main event is one Super Porky no-show from being awesome. Take any one of the tecnicos from the tercera and that’s a super match.

Princesa Blanca was originally listed as the Puebla challenger, but that looks to be a cross up.

No card for Sunday’s IWRG show as of yet, but they’ve announced it as the father/son tag team tournament.

Dragon Lee is CMLL’s new Mistico

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)