Volador/new rudo Soberano tonight, CMLL on NJPW in Texas, MLW contracts, MLW

Reminder: DST and all, these shows are one hour earlier than usual if you’re in the US.

CMLL

CMLL put up the 11/05 Dia del Muertos show for members. It’s great members are getting another show – and all four of the Dia del Muertos shows. It’s not great that CMLL built this up by asking people to like and favorite tweets about it, and then put it behind the paywall. That’s just going to antagonize people. I’m going to try to catch up this show this weekend, but there’s a lot people to watch it.

Tonight’s show:

CMLL (FRI) 11/10/2023 Arena México
1) Futuro, Neón, Robin vs Crixus, Raider, Vegas
2) Pequeño Magía, Shockercito, Último Dragóncito vs Mercurio, Pequeño Olímpico, Pierrothito
3) Blue Panther Jr., Dark Panther, Hijo de Blue Panther vs Hijo de Stuka Jr., Hijo del Villano III, Villano III Jr.
4) Atlantis Jr., Esfinge, Titán vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Templario, Terrible
5) Averno & Euforia vs Gran Guerrero & Stuka Jr.
6) Volador Jr. vs Soberano Jr.

Normally, the first match out on a new side is a big test. Soberano’s spent so much time as a rudo this year that it doesn’t seem like it’ll be much of an adjustment. The semi-main is an interesting battle between rudos teams (and gives Euforia a reason to be around for the main event.) Titan returns to CMLL in match 4. Match 3 is a rematch of a really good match last week. Match 2 might be more minis feuding. Neon and Futuro get another Friday appearance (as does Raider, who should pretend he was in this new class if it gets him booked more often.)

This is the usual Boletia show, back down to the normal 6 USD price.

CMLL spent about as much time promoting the NJPW US show on Friday as much as their own show. It was pretty different. Their new friends AEW will make a point of not promoting any other show unless they have a direct financial interest. They’ve made no mention of the Chris Jericho/Konosuke Takeshita match in DDT this weekend, even though it plays off a current AEW storyline. AAA seemed to promote their wrestlers appearing in AEW early on, but now has dropped it – except for QT Marshall’s storyline. CMLL is much more eager about pushing international trips for their wrestlers, which is always presented as proof they’re an important international brand. I think the CMLL way is better but it depends on the situation and how the wrestlers are going to be used.

That starts at 7 pm, for 20 USD on FITE in English. You can get in Japanese on NJPW World as well, though they’re going through some expected bumps there after launching a new site.

CMLL matches on that show

  • Mayu Iwatani vs Stephanie Vaquer for the IWGP Women’s Championship
  • Mistico vs TJP
  • Atlantis, Tiger Mask, Mascara Dorada vs Ultimo Guerrero, Rocky Romero, Hechicero

Mistico’s obviously winning. Iwatani is probably winning; I don’t know enough to be 100% sure. The trios outcome doesn’t matter much; it’s more about how much they let Dorada shine.

It did occur to me that Hechicero’s here for no real reason, Zack Sabre Jr. is defending (and more likely retaining) the NJPW World TV Championship, and Hechicero’s talked about how he wants a rematch ZSJ once in a blue moon. (They wrestled in PWG previously.) There’s no chance Hechicero/ZSJ is a 01/04 dome match, but ZSJ might not be in the World Tag League and then doesn’t have much to do for the next two months. It’s a low chance of happening but NJPW and CMLL could find time for a Hechicero/ZSJ rematch if they’d like.

NJPW also rolled out their schedule for the next couple of months. They had already given the FantasticaMania dates, but now have announced they’ll be running a big New Beginning show in Osaka on 02/11, the day before the FantasticaMania tour kicks off. That means NJPW will be running three straight nights in the same city, since they have two Fantastica Mania Osaka shows as well. I was already thinking NJPW might load up that second Osaka show more than have for any non-Tokyo FantasticaMania, and that seems even more likely now. It’s possible some of the CMLL guys might show up a day earlier on the undercard of that New Beginning show as well. NJPW’s new announcer Walker Stewart also mentioned he’ll be part of the FantasticaMania tour. That surprised me at first – the English announcers have rarely done FantasticaMania shows – but it makes a lot more sense if he’s going to be there to do New Beginning already.

CMLL (SUN) 11/12/2023 Arena México
1) Diamond & Valiente Jr. vs Dr. Karonte I & Dr. Karonte II
2) Capitán Suicida, Fuego, Hombre Bala Jr. vs Inquisidor, Nitro, Sangre Imperial
3) Difunto vs Misterioso Jr. [lightning]
4) Guerrero Maya Jr., Pegasso, Stigma vs El Coyote, Okumura, Pólvora
5) Panterita del Ring, Valiente, Volcano vs Kráneo, Rey Bucanero, Virus
6) Máscara Dorada, Místico, Titán vs Hechicero, Niebla Roja, Último Guerrero

That’s a good main event for a Sunday show. Maybe not a good opener.

CMLL (MON) 11/13/2023 Arena Puebla
1) Enigmática & Hela vs Diablita Roja & Mania
2) Centella Roja & Hijo de Centella Roja vs Espíritu Maligno & Sombra Diabólika
3) Diamond & Robin vs Perverso & Prayer
4) Arkalis, Pegasso, Rey Samuray vs Akuma, Dark Magic, Espanto Jr.
5) Apocalipsis, Cholo, Disturbio © vs Hijo del Villano III, Villano III Jr., Zandokan Jr. [MEX TRIOS]
first defense
6) Místico, Stigma, Templario vs Averno, Magnus, Volador Jr.

Will Los Indestructibles lose the titles without a single defense? The main event is a rematch.

CMLL (TUE) 11/14/2023 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Obek, Rav, Último Ángel vs Eclipse Jr., Shezmu, Temerario
2) Ángel Rebelde, Optimus, Trono vs Infierno, Mr. Trueno, Rey Trueno
3) Diablita Roja, Estrellita Mágica, Lady Metal vs Andrómeda, Lady Shadow, Miss Guerrera
4) Hijo del Villano III, Villano III Jr., Zandokan Jr. vs Barboza, Draego, Persa
5) Blue Panther, Blue Panther Jr., Dark Panther, Hijo de Blue Panther vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Canalla, Demonio Maya, Principe Daniel
6) Dr. Karonte I & Místico vs Bestia Negra & Templario

Dr. Karonte in the main event is a hard pill. Semimain could be pretty good.

Informa announced Barbaro Cavernario, Terrible, Star Black, Hechicero, Ultimo Guerrero and Atlantis for the 11/17 Leyenda de Azul. The idea is they’re going to wait until next Wednesday to announce the other six people who will be wrestling six days later. It’s probably safe just to put Los Malditos and three more on the poster.

Volador Jr. accepted Trent Seven’s challenge for the 12/16 RevPro show on Infrma. Volador doubted Seven’s claims of being the best wrestler in the world; he thought it was absurd anyone in the physical shape Seven is in to claim they were the best.

Morena presidential candidate Claudia Sheinbaum held a rally in Arena Mexico on Thursday. No CMLL people appeared with her; this is not as much an endorsement of a person political candidate as it is CMLL being very willing to take money for whoever would like to rent out the building. Stories on the event says it started full but emptied out greatly before the end of the ceremony.

Last Friday, UK (Apple TV) reality series A League of Their Own had an event at Arena Mexico, with the hosts doing luchador gimmicks and wrestling exhibition matches. Atlantis Jr. teamed with Jamie Redknapp (as El Guapo) to face Magnus and Micah Richards. In a separate match, Reina Isis teamed with Maisie Adam (El Loco) against Lluvia and Jill Scott (La Leona). Again, CMLL will rent that arena to anyone.

Mundo Deportivo has an interview with Kraneo.

AAA

As of Thursday right, neither Arez nor Aramis had received actual paperwork to release them from their MLW contract. MLW sent out that tweet, but they haven’t heard from MLW beyond that, and AAA hasn’t sent them anything more. Any company wanting use them is apparently going to have to figure out if that is sufficient enough, or if MLW or AAA will fight it later on.

Komander & Hijo del Vikingo face FTR tonight on AEW Rampage. This is a live show for scheduling reasons, though the results (FTR beating Komander) seems as obvious as if it was taped. I’m not really sure what AEW’s plans are for FTR at the moment, since they pointedly fell out of tag team competing. I do know the usual luchador place in AEW’s booking tiers and it’s typically not beating FTR.

AAA finishes off the San Luis Potosi taping this Saturday.

  • Brazo de Oro, Drago, Reina Dorada vs Diva Salvaje, Dulce Kanela, Jessy Ventura/
  • Octagón Jr. & Willie Mack vs Forastero & Sansón
  • Dralistico vs Laredo Kid, Taurus in a Number One Contenders match for the AAA Mega Championship

Maybe the top two will be good? The opener is the only one left where I don’t have a finish, so I’ll be able to finish the results after this show. It’s something to look for.

IWRG

IWRG (SUN) 11/12/2023 Arena Naucalpan
1) Águila Oriental & Auzter vs Adrenalina & Súperboy
2) Quetzal & Sagitarius vs Lolita & Satania
3) Caballero de Plata, Tornado, Último Legendario vs Mr. Mike, Rey Aztaroth, Rey Halcón
4) Dr. Cerebro vs FussionCerebro Negro Jr.GannicusYorvak [IWRG IC Light, #1 Contenders]
5) Hijo de Canis Lupus, León Dorado, Mr. Leo vs Mocho Cota Jr., Súper Comando, Tito Santana
6) Hell Boy & Shocko vs Noisy Boy & Spider Fly and Cerebro Negro & Tonalli and Águila Roja & Hijo del Pirata Morgan

Semimian is headed to the triso title match.

IWRG announced Nueva Generación de Talentos shows would resume on Wednesdays, starting next week. This is a few days after they announced Thursday shows were on hiatus until March. The major difference between these shows is inexperienced talent will be focused on.

Big Lucha

Big Lucha World (FRI) 11/10/2023 Arena Big Lucha, Iztapalapa, Distrito Federal
1) Morfosis vs Ryu Orochi
2) Helios vs ?
3) Elipse, Orbita, Vengador vs Payaso I, Payaso II, Payaso III

They’re trying it again: Big Lucha World is scheduled for tonight. It’s the original lineup for last Friday, with Locos Evans back in the main event. This will stream on YouTube.

AEW/Metalik/AAA

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter mentions a 10/27 Rampage match between Komander versus Metalik was pulled because Metalik refused to lose. I had heard (and was unable to confirm) a similar story. The version I heard had the match as Metalik vs Komander vs Penta, where the winner would face QT Marshall for the AAA Latin American championship. Komander was planned to beat Metalik. The Vikingo, Komander, Penta match on the 11/03 Rempage replaced that, though they took it in a different direction coming out of it. QT instead did a promo to keep the angle warm; they’ll probably get back to that defense or something similar eventually. I was kind of surprised that a story including the detail of a Komander TV win didn’t cause more people to question the story; that guy is only winning on AEW TV if he’s about to lose on another AEW TV show.

Hearing this story (then unconfirmed) made my ears perk up when Metalik referred to AEW in the past tense in that interview with TJ Sports. Metalik was working on a either per-night deal or something very short-term, with the idea that he’d graduate to a full time deal sometime in 2024. Dralistico was in a similar situation, and has now gotten that contract. Metalik wrestled one more match on the Ring of Honor tapings (a fourway where he neither won or took the pin), but the unconfirmed story I’ve heard is that will be his final match in AEW/ROH for now. Metalik referred to his time in AEW in the past tense in an interview with TJ Sports while at The Crash show this past weekend, which fits with that story.

AEW did think highly enough of Metalik to put him on TV; not everyone working the ROH shows gets that chance. He’s also not necessary if he’s just on TV to lose; they could move another luchador like Gravity in that spot. (Gravity seems to mostly be working Saturdays, so he wouldn’t have been an option to replace Metalik in that Rampage match.) Metalik has been presented as an important name in his TV appearances but has mostly lost. If this is indeed the end, he’ll end up 1-8 in Ring of Honor singles matches. Metalik didn’t seem to have problems doing jobs as an abstract concept as much as he seems to have reached a breaking point.

You can argue over how Metalik has been used in AEW/ROH, but Metalik has definitely been hard to deal with this year in multiple promotions. He similarly refused to lose to Hijo del Vikingo in GCW over the summer, which ended Metalik’s time there. I don’t know how he felt about losing to Titan in CMLL, but he got left such a bad impression in his return that he was disinvited back. It’s not difficult to see this all from Metalik’s side: he left WWE because they weren’t treating him well, and he doesn’t want to go through that as well. His problem is that WWE run has left him as just a notable name from the past, not a big star that needs to be protected, and his matches haven’t raised his stock. He’ll get to main event indies in Mexico and lucha libre ones in the US if he wants, but he needs to do something new and positive if he ever wants more than that. Metalik, in that interview, still seemed pretty hopeful he’d be going somewhere in Japan in 2023 and I hope that works out for him. Nothing much is working out for him on this side of the Pacific.

While we’re on AEW stuff, the WON also notes AEW wants Komander every Saturday going forward, which would make it hard for him to work AAA TV tapings since many are scheduled the same day. Komander is signed to AEW and not to AAA. Komander and Arez are scheduled to defend the AAA Tag Team championships against Forastero & Sanson next Sunday in Juarez. I’d assumed the NGD were winning the belts as soon as that match was announced. Arez publicly asking for his MLW release in a way that also makes AAA look bad seems to guarantee it. AAA putting the cruiserweight title on Komander just a few week ago makes no sense given this inevitable issue, but that was AAA grasping for a short-term make good for no Komander/Vikingo match without considering the long term ramifications.

The WON bit goes on to say AAA plans to focus on the ‘core’ guys going forward and not the people who are signed to AEW deals – except for Penta and QT Marshall. That doesn’t leave many other AEW people! Fenix is on the outs. Rush hasn’t been back since TripleMania, and will probably be brought back next time they need a TripleMania boost. That just leaves Komander and Dralistico as those under AEW contracts. Vikingo and Gringo Loco don’t appear to have AEW contracts, though they work there often enough. Maybe this means next Sunday’s Dralistico/Vikingo match is a farewell to Dralistico. Maybe this means Marshall somehow beats them both since he’s the one guy AAA seems to want to make time for.

Maybe this isn’t really an “AEW contract” story but an “AAA” one. Maybe AAA would’ve gotten around to La Rebelion versus Arez/Komander match had Komander not needed to go work AEW – but La Rebelion has their own scheduling conflicts with NWA and other indie dates. Maybe AAA would’ve gotten around to booking a Vikingo/Gringo Loco match if Vikingo hadn’t gone to AEW some weeks, but Gringo Loco also was in AEW. Most of the AAA wrestlers, and especially the top half of the card, are taking a lot of outside dates and aren’t around for a lot of TV tapings. Those absences contribute to the bad AAA TV, where feuds drift forever with no ending, luchadors disappear for months, and random people get thrown onto TV just to fill out matches. If AAA were to focus on people who don’t have commitments not just in AEW, but anywhere, they’d get a more coherent TV product. They’d also risk losing or de-emphasizing a lot of their best wrestlers; they’re in demand elsewhere for a reason.

(The flipside is all those guys were around enough that AAA could’ve done many of those matches if they were the most important thing to AAA to get done. It’s not an easy job by any means but there were opportunities. Citing unavailability to AEW shouldn’t absolve AAA of their own faults in bad planning. And even if those matches set up happened, it’s unclear if they would’ve meant much in AAA’s 2023 environment. This post TripleMania period was built around the Texano/Pagano feud as the new thing, there were no issues in availability, and it hasn’t drawn well in Mexico City or San Luis Potosi.)

Other News

GCW next Friday in Seattle on 11/17 has Los Desperados (Latigo, Arez and Gringo Loco) against Aramis, Rey Horus and Laredo Kid. Gringo Loco says ths is the debut of this name. Latigo and Arez had been wrestling as Los Vipers prior, even though Arez hasn’t been in the AAA version of Los Vipers for a year and a half.

ESTO visits Arena Revolucion in Mexico City and local wrestlers Vandalo and Gamboa. They also talk to Extasis, who says his impulsive move to Mexico City was “the worst decision of my life” (because the only place where he could afford to live was problematic), but it’s also brought him lots of good moments. His dream is still to reach Arena Mexico someday.

CMLL starts New Year’s Day build, Aramis & Arez free of MLW, IWRG pausing Thursdays

CMLL

CMLL (MON) 11/06/2023 Arena Puebla [El Sol de PueblaMano a Mano, Porra Fresa]
1) Fénix SO, Rey Apocalipsis, Siki Osama b Amnesia, Astro, Asturiano Facebook video (posted by )
2) Lady Metal, Persephone, Skadi b Astoreth, Enigmática, Lady Amazona
Posters differed if Persephone or Marcela were in this match; it turned out to be Persephone. (Marcela still not cleared?)
3) Arkalis, Pegasso, Rey Samuray b Diamond, Meyer, Robin
4) Hijo del Villano III, Villano III Jr., Zandokan Jr. b Apocalipsis, Cholo, Disturbio Facebook video (posted by )
Villanos/Zanodkans asked for a title match next week
5) Averno, Magnus, Volador Jr. b Místico, Stigma, Templario [Relevos Increíbles]
Mistico had the match won with La Mistica on Volador, but Averno distracted the ref and Magnus puleld Mistico’s mask to set up the win.

Unclear if that main event is setting up Volador or Magnus versus Mistico. Magnus getting that spot would be wild.

CMLL has called the Villanos and Zandokan “El Triangulo”; Loco Zandokan was part of “El Triangulo de la Muerte” and CMLL likes the old references. Zandokan and the Villanos want to be called La Esucadra instead. CMLL hasn’t acknowledged that name yet, but maybe they will if they’re actually getting a title shot.

CMLL (TUE) 11/07/2023 Arena México [CMLL, Kaiser Sports, The Gladiatores]
1) Dr. Karonte I, Dr. Karonte II, Enfermero Jr. b Astral, Leono, Retro CMLL | Dr. Karonte I, Enfermero Jr. y Dr. Karonte II vencen a Astral, Retro y Leono (posted by mluchatv) FUNCIÓN COMPLETA DESDE LA ARENA MÉXICO MARTES 7 DE NOVIEMBRE DE 2O23 SOLO MIEMBROS (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) La Ola Blanca del CMLL: Enfermero Jr y Hermanos Karonte I y II Vs Astral, Retro y Leono (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
2) Minos, Pequeño Polvora, Pequeño Violencia b Acero, Aéreo, Galaxy CMLL | Pequeño Pólvora, Minos y Pequeño Violencia vencen a Aéreo, Acero y Galaxy. (posted by mluchatv) CMLL: Péqueño Violencia, Minos y Pequeño Pólvora Vs Aéreo, Galaxy y Acero (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre) FUNCIÓN COMPLETA DESDE LA ARENA MÉXICO MARTES 7 DE NOVIEMBRE DE 2O23 SOLO MIEMBROS (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
Violencia won with a foul on Aereo. Violencia, Aereo and Galaxy all made challenges post match; Minos said he wasn’t interested, he wanted bigger names.
3) La Jarochita, Lluvia, Skadi b La Catalina, Stephanie Vaquer, Zeuxis Amazonas del CMLL: Lluvia, Jarochita y Skadi Vs Stephanie Vaquer, La Catalina y Zeuxis (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre) CMLL | Lluvia, Jarochita y Skady derrotan a Stephanie Vaquer, Zeuxis y La Catalina (posted by mluchatv) FUNCIÓN COMPLETA DESDE LA ARENA MÉXICO MARTES 7 DE NOVIEMBRE DE 2O23 SOLO MIEMBROS (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
Lluvia pinned Vaquer, setting up a title match next week
4) Star Jr. b Guerrero Maya Jr. [lightningCMLL | Star Jr. vence en match relámpago a Guerrero Maya Jr. (posted by mluchatv) FUNCIÓN COMPLETA DESDE LA ARENA MÉXICO MARTES 7 DE NOVIEMBRE DE 2O23 SOLO MIEMBROS (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) Match relámpago del CMLL: Star Jr Vs Guerrero Maya Jr (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
5) Atlantis, Blue Panther, Valiente b Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II, Sagrado CMLL | Atlantis, Blue Panther y Valiente vencen a Los Gemelos Diablo I y II y El Sagrado (posted by mluchatv) FUNCIÓN COMPLETA DESDE LA ARENA MÉXICO MARTES 7 DE NOVIEMBRE DE 2O23 SOLO MIEMBROS (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
6) Máscara Dorada b Ángel de Oro CMLL | Máscara Dorada derrota en mano a mano a Ángel de Oro (posted by mluchatv) FUNCIÓN COMPLETA DESDE LA ARENA MÉXICO MARTES 7 DE NOVIEMBRE DE 2O23 SOLO MIEMBROS (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)

Dorada/Angel de Oro was pretty good, worth checking out. Angel de Oro made one mistake and lost the first fall in seconds, dominated the second fall, then showcased Dorada a lot in the third fall. The Tuesday crowd was way into Blue Panther as usual, and Star/Maya was good.

There are a lot signs the winter holidays are coming: trees changing colors, retailers having big sales, and CMLL kicking off a feud between prelim wrestlers. Pencil in a minis cage match for the usual January 1st big show, judging from the challenges in match two. Those matches usually suck in a lot of people and there’s a lot of minis who could easily lose a mask or hair. It does often happen to come down to the two people who started it, which is Aereo and Pequeno Violencia here.

CMLL (TUE) 11/07/2023 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [Arena Coliseo Guadalajara, Mas Lucha]
1) Exterminador, Javier Cruz Jr., Maléfico b Black Boy, Thunder Boy, Yaky Boy Martes 07 de Noviembre Gay Games XI (posted by Martes de Glamour Oficial )
2) Chamuel, Mije, Periquito Sacaryas b Micro Gemelo Diablo I, Micro Gemelo Diablo II, Micro Sagrado Martes 07 de Noviembre Gay Games XI (posted by Martes de Glamour Oficial )
3) Halcón Negro Jr., Leo, Omar Brunetti, Vaquero Jr. b Crixus, Draego, Futuro, Neón Martes 07 de Noviembre Gay Games XI (posted by Martes de Glamour Oficial )
3) Bestia Negra & Ráfaga b Arlequín & Bello Antuan Martes 07 de Noviembre Gay Games XI (posted by Martes de Glamour Oficial )
Demasiado was announced then replaced by Arlequin
4) Candela, Quimera, Valkiria b Hera, La Vaquerita, Olympia Martes 07 de Noviembre Gay Games XI (posted by Martes de Glamour Oficial )
6) Dulce Gardenia & La Fashion b Furia Roja & Guerrero de la Muerte Martes 07 de Noviembre Gay Games XI (posted by Martes de Glamour Oficial )

This was the show done in association with the Gay Games. Quimera got a big reaction when she came out with her Pride flag. Announcers pointed out referee Super Estrella was also wearing a Pride-colored bandana. The crowd seemed into the main event as well.

CMLL (FRI) 11/10/2023 Arena México
1) Futuro, Neón, Robin vs Crixus, Raider, Vegas
2) Pequeño Magía, Shockercito, Último Dragóncito vs Mercurio, Pequeño Olímpico, Pierrothito
3) Blue Panther Jr., Dark Panther, Hijo de Blue Panther vs Hijo de Stuka Jr., Hijo del Villano III, Villano III Jr.
4) Atlantis Jr., Esfinge, Titán vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Templario, Terrible
5) Averno & Euforia vs Gran Guerrero & Stuka Jr.
6) Volador Jr. vs Soberano Jr.

It seems weird to preview the Friday lineup in two straight posts so I’ll hurry through. 3 and 6 are as set up last week. Match five is an interesting mix of groups. Titan returns in match 4 in a good match, as should be the opening two matches.

CMLL (SAT) 11/11/2023 Arena Coliseo
1) Eléctrico & Oro Jr. vs Grako & Inquisidor
2) Angelito, Fantasy, Kaligua vs Full Metal, Minos, Pequeño Polvora
3) El Audaz vs Cancerbero [lightning]
4) Dulce Gardenia, Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa vs Akuma, Dark Magic, Espanto Jr.
5) Esfinge, Fugaz, Star Black vs Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido
6) Atlantis, Octagón, Volador Jr. vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Gran Guerrero, Terrible

A lot of set trios wrestling on this show.

RevPro posted a video of Trent Seven issuing an open challenge to any luchador in the world for their 12/16 Uprising show. It’s implied to be a CMLL wrestler, and that sounds like an Informa announcement.

The Informa list is

  • Atlantis – NJPW US?
  • Volador Jr. vs Soberano Jr. – Friday match
  • Barbaro Cavernario – King of Hell
  • Ultimo Guerrero, Hechicero, Terrible, Star Black, Hombre Bala Jr (maybe) – Leyenda de Azul?
  • Olympia, Crixus, Fugaz – bodybuilding contest?

Tijuana’s Lucka Libre announced Tessa Blancard for their 12/02 CMLL show, so she might be back around Arena Mexico around then.

AAA

Arez and Aramis are free from their MLW contracts. That is the good and least weird part of the story; MLW can’t use AAA wrestlers while they have this CMLL agreement, and they hadn’t used those two guys anyway in a year and a half. I don’t know if they’re going to get other TV opportunities elsewhere but at least they now can.

The whole situation around it is very weird though. A few MLW wrestlers, most prominently former central MLW figure Hammerstone, have asked for their releases in recent weeks. Some, like Tijuana regular Juicy Finau, have even gotten that release. Arez, hasn’t been on an MLW show since June 2022 and has been asking for his release for about half that length, decided to ask again. He posted in both Spanish and English asking for the release while pointing out certain irregularities. Arez says AAA presented him with MLW contract all in English, even though he didn’t speak English and didn’t have a US work visa at that time. (Arez does have one currently, though not through MLW.) Arez said he was excited to work for MLW, and signed the contract even though it was paying him considerably less than his usual indie rate. Arez said MLW has not offered him work in 18 months, he asked for his release 6 months ago, and Court Bauer said no. Arez believes his contract isn’t valid because it was in a language he doesn’t speak and given to him when he couldn’t actually legally work in the US. Arez asks again for his release and the support of the fans in this.

MLW responded on Twitter, saying they notified AAA back in May that they released both Arez and Aramis from their contracts, “as AAA is a co-signee on both contracts.” MLW says AAA said they’d let Arez and Aramis know, and apparently didn’t. Arez and Aramis are free agents as far as MLW are concerned. Arez obviously didn’t know this, and Aramis says he didn’t know either.

MLW could not directly get a hold of Arez & Aramis in the last 12 months but, within an hour of its story breaking, they did seemingly find time to talk to Fightful Select for their side of the story. There, the blame for the confusion is specifically put on Konnan; MLW told Konnan and Konnan blames Konnan for not telling Arez and Aramis. MLW says they took those two luchadors off their internal roster six months ago.

AAA has said nothing. Konnan will likely end up talking about it on his podcast. It looks from the outside that something fell apart between AAA and MLW (and maybe personally between Bauer and Konnan) earlier this year; Bauer’s earlier comments about switching to CMLL, because they needed a more reliable partner in Mexico, hinted at some strife.

There are a lot of unanswered questions. Why didn’t MLW contact Arez or Aramis directly to let them know of their release when both had publicly and privately asked for their releases prior? Why did MLW feel they had to go through Konnan instead? Why did AAA not tell them in May, if MLW’s timeline is accurate? If AAA is a co-signee to the contract, do they still hold some rights over Arez and Aramis they haven’t yet released and are those two wrestlers still stuck waiting for AAA to let them out of their MLW contract? Why AAA involve themselves in this MLW contract in the first place, and if they did, why did they allow (at least) Arez to sign a contract he couldn’t understand? Is it normal for AAA to have wrestlers sign contracts they can’t actually read or understand? How is MLW claiming AAA didn’t tell them something very important going to affect Arez & Aramis’ relationship with AAA going forward? I have a lot of guesses at the answers, none of them are all that positive. On a recent podcast talking about the Hammerstone’s issues with MLW, Konnan says that if they’re a wrestling promotion like MLW is keeping someone under contract without using them for a long time is usually about sending them a message or punishing them for some reason. That reasoning seems like it could apply to this situation too. This seems like a very AAA mess, where it’s unclear if it’s just lack of organization to get something done or people putting their own interests first.

(Hammerstone posted his own update on the situation, saying he’s tried to call Court Bauer and hasn’t been able to get a hold of him. Maybe he should try Konnan?)

Psycho Clown was in Cancun to promote the upcoming AAA spot show there. Local students at a private school with good grades got to participate in a meet and greet with him.

Fun AAA matches that aren’t happening on AAA TV:

IWRG

There is no IWRG show this Thursday. Or for many Thursdays. IWRG announced on Tuesdays that “Thursday Night Wrestling” ended its season with Castillo del Terror. The next “Thursday Night Wrestling” show will be in March 2024. (That’s a specifically branded show name; it’s likely other promotions will run Naucalpan mid-week during the winter.) Arena Naucalpan is not a great area after dark and it gets dark early this time of year. IWRG also seems to film their Tryout reality show midweek early in the year, so running regular Thursday shows is on hiatus until the end of the 2024 version of that competition.

Lucha Libre Boom is running next Sunday

IWRG , LLB (SUN) 11/19/2023 Arena Naucalpan
1) Sparta vs Príncipe CentauroHijo De SpartaGravedad CaeroArashiOro BlancoEurusArgusSúper Boy
2) Macho I, Macho II, Macho III vs Demencia, Octacio Gaona, Reptil
3) Bengalee, Chris Stone Jr., Princesa Azul vs Mary Caporal, Medieval I, Reina Oscura
4) ? & ?? vs ??? & ????
5) Hell Boy, Puma de Oro, Tonalli vs Carta Brava Jr. (LLB), Cíclope, Miedo Extremo and Fandango, Lunatik Extreme, Toto
6) Mocho Cota, Súper Comando, Tito Santana © vs Hijo de Canis Lupus, León Dorado, Mr. Leo [IWRG IC TRIOS]
first defense
7) Hijo de LA Park, LA Park, LA Park Jr. vs Charly Manson, Dr. Wagner Jr., Mr. Elektro

Will the IWRG trios title finally come up home? Or will the Lion Brothers win them and somehow quit the next day?

Other News

TJ Sports interviewed Metalik after The Crash show; he says his goal still is to return to Japan. Oddly, and it could be that I’m reading too much into verb tenses, but he talked about his time in AEW in the past tense. Andrade was evasive about joining LFI and open to working in CMLL one day again.

Yahoo! Sports covers Lola Gonzalez talking about her life as a luchadora, and some bad relationships with wrestlers. She mentions Fishman’s spousal abuse, and even worse experience with another relationship partner.

Box y Luchas 3576 has a great cover of a trimpuhant Barbaro Cavernario. Covers with one big photo are good.

Zeta Tijuana talks to The Crash’s Ignacio de la O about The Crash reaching 12 years.

 

Barbaro Cavernario new Rey del Inframundo, Soberano Jr. new rudo, AAA/SLP

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 11/03/2023 Arena México [CMLL, Kaiser SportsThe Gladiatores, thecubsfan]
***Dia del Muertos, 2023***
1) Angelito, Kaligua, Pequeño Magía b Full Metal, Minos, Pequeño Polvora Angelito, Kaligua y Pequeño Magia vs Minos, Full Metal y Pequeño Pólvora ARENA MÉXICO (posted by Estrellas del Ring) Angelito, Pequeño Magia y Kaligua derrotan a Minos, Pequeño Pólvora y Full Metal (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre) CMLL - PEQ. PÓLVORA - FULL METAL - MINOS VS ANGELITO - PEQ. MAGIA -KALIGUA /ARENA MÉXICO/03-11-23 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
2) Magia Blanca, Okumura, Rugido b Dulce Gardenia, Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa CMLL -OKUMURA-RUGIDO-MAGIA BLANCA VS DULCE GARDENIA-REY COMETA-ESPÍRITU NEGRO/ARENA MÉXICO/03-11-23 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) Dulce Gardenia, Rey Cometa y Espíritu Negro vs Okumura, Rugido y Magia Blanca ARENA MÉXICO (posted by Estrellas del Ring) Los Atrapasueños fueron derrotados por Rugido, Magia Blanca y Okumura (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
Okumura replaced Crixus on Monday. Espiritu Negro suffered a shoulder injury and was stretchered away. (He wrestled two days later.) Dulce Gardenia also seemed to suffer a shoulder injury.
3) Hijo de Stuka Jr., Hijo del Villano III, Villano III Jr. b Blue Panther Jr., Dark Panther, Hijo de Blue Panther CMLL - H. DE STUKA JR. Y LA DINASTIA IMPERIAL VS DIVINOS LAGUNEROS /ARENA MÉXICO / 03-11-23 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) Villano III Jr, Hijo del Villano III e Hijo de Stuka Jr vs Blue Panther Jr, Dark Panther e Hijo de (posted by Estrellas del Ring)
Villanos won via mask pull when the referee was checking on a possibly injured Dark Panther. Blue Panther Jr. demanded a rematch for next week.
4) Euforia, Mephisto, Terrible b Atlantis Jr., Fugaz, Star Jr. CMLL - TERRIBLE - EUFORIA - MEPHISTO VS FUGAZ - STAR JR. - ATLANTIS JR. /ARENA MÉXICO/03-11-23 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) Euforia, Mephisto y Terrible derrotan a los jóvenes Star Jr, Atlantis Jr y Fugaz (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre) Terrible, Mephisto y Euforia vs Atlantis Jr, Star Jr y Fugaz ARENA MÉXICO (posted by Estrellas del Ring)
5) Máscara Dorada & Místico b Soberano Jr. & Volador Jr. CMLL - VOLADOR JR. - SOBERANO JR. VS MÁSCARA DORADA - MÍSTICO /ARENA MÉXICO/03-11-23 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) Místico y Máscara Dorada se llevan la victoria ante Volador Jr y Soberano Jr (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre) Místico y Máscara Dorada vs Soberano Jr y Volador Jr ARENA MÉXICO (posted by Estrellas del Ring)
straight falls. Soberano/Volador had issues and fought post match. Dorada & Mistico grabbed Soberano to stop him and Euforia ran out to attack them. Soberano declared he was tired of the tecnicos and would now be a rudo. Volador challenged him for a signles match next week.
6) Bárbaro Cavernario b Stuka Jr. [Rey del Inframundo, final¡Bárbaro Cavernario de las cavernas al trono, derrota a Stuka Jr y es el Rey del Inframundo 2023! (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre) CMLL - VOLADOR JR. - SOBERANO JR. VS MÁSCARA DORADA - MÍSTICO /ARENA MÉXICO/03-11-23 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) Stuka Jr (c) vs Bárbaro Cavernario (r) REY DEL INFRAMUNDO/ARENA MÉXICO (posted by Estrellas del Ring)
Cavernario became the new Rey del Inframundo. Stuka Jr. suffered an ankle injury during this match.

The Dia del Muertos shows are typically borderline non-cannon, just about the presentation. That wasn’t the case with this Friday show. The Panthers/Villanos was a normal match set up, the Soberano turn was a big deal on a CMLL scale. Soberano’s spent a lot of time as a rudo this year so it’s really the timing than the action. He sold it big enough to rebel against the ceremony of the night, attacking the mini demons and refusing to go through the hell portal like all the other losers.

Soberano has the attributes to be a tecnico, but he definitely has shown the personality to be a rudo. CMLL’s overstocked on the tecnico side as it, and Soberano’s matches as a rudo this year have shown he can work out fine on that side. Immediately getting into a feud with Volador, who also turned rudo despite wrestling a tecnico style, is a nice bit of symmetry.

Soberano as a rudo obviously fixes the issues with him and Ultimo Guerrero as opponents who can’t fight (though they still likely will team.) It also removes a headache for the programming department, who no longer have to figure out how to book Euforia and Soberano on the same cards when CMLL’s secret rules forbid them from wrestling each other. it is going to be interesting to see how to handle Soberano teaming with Templario and Dragon Rojo, two men he was feuding with earlier in the year. I wonder if the paused (or dropped) Infernales story might be tied in with this; maybe Soberano ends up in the group now, maybe there is no group if Euforia’s going to do stuff with Soberano instead of Mephisto and Averno.

Barbaro Cavernario versus Stuka Jr. was shorter than the usual big CMLL main event, but it worked that way. Stuka attacked Cavernario before the whistle and they quickly escalated the action. It was burtal as much as it was quick. Cavernario was also very over; the crowd chants around loudly with his war chant before the big springboard plancha. He’s seemed more motivated and in better shape this year as well, and hopefully he gets more after this. Stuka’s believed to have hurt an ankle on the missed moonsault to the floor.

The Villanos are good but they were also surprisingly over, even with the Panthers doing all their usual crowd pleasing bits. Dark Panther was supposed to miss his third dive to set up the distraction, but his arm/shoulder hit the barricade at an unfriendly angle. It was probably meant to be a worked injury spot but it’s possible he actually got hurt. A doctor was checking on him instead of letting the demons carry away. Dark Panther is also a serial Twitter name searcher and was liking tweets after the show, so it’s probably not too bad. Espiritu Negro was motionless after a bad tijeras spot; it probably was a shoulder injury and he was back wrestling two days later.

Arena Mexico appears to have sold out. The announcers did claim a sell out and there were signs near the ticket booths indicating that. The Dia del Muertos shows always do well – that’s why there’s four of them – but I don’t recall them ever selling out before. It’s hard to credit Stuka/Cavernario for it, since that match wasn’t set until a few days before and not treated like a hugely important deal, but Cavernario was very over during that match.

CMLL (SAT) 11/04/2023 Arena Coliseo [CMLL, thecubsfan]
***Dia del Muertos, 2023***
1) Brillante Jr., Diamond, Oro Jr. b Dr. Karonte I, Dr. Karonte II, Enfermero Jr. CMLL - DIA DE MUERTOS EN LA ARENA COLISEO / 04-11-2023 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
10:52.
2) Micro Gemelo Diablo I & Micro Gemelo Diablo II b Chamuel & Periquito Sacaryas CMLL - DIA DE MUERTOS EN LA ARENA COLISEO / 04-11-2023 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
8:21. Straight falls.
3) Mini Tigre Blanco b Pierrothito CMLL - DIA DE MUERTOS EN LA ARENA COLISEO / 04-11-2023 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
7:30. Mini Tigre Blanco is the first Mascarita Sagrada
4) Lluvia & Zeuxis b Makoto & Mei Suruga CMLL - DIA DE MUERTOS EN LA ARENA COLISEO / 04-11-2023 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
15:38. Originally announced as a trios with Silueta and Johnnie Robbie, those two didn’t appear when the official poster came out. Infernales took 1/3. Last match on this tour for Makoto and Suruga.
5) Águila Solitaria, Pantera, Solar I b Felino, Negro Navarro, Satánico CMLL - DIA DE MUERTOS EN LA ARENA COLISEO / 04-11-2023 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
6:57 (one fall)
6) Atlantis & Místico b Rey Bucanero & Último Guerrero CMLL - DIA DE MUERTOS EN LA ARENA COLISEO / 04-11-2023 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
10:28. Tecnicos took 2/3.

CMLL put this up as a bonus show for members. It’s the first bonus show they’ve done since August 27th (Takahashi/Mistico). It was truly a test to see if CMLL was going to bother putting up any more bonus shows; at least now we know there’s a chance.

This isn’t a show you need to watch though. Most of the matches were short and not good. The women’s tag match was the only one I’d say approached good, and even that depends on how much you enjoy Mei Suruga. The others are easy skips. CMLL didn’t do the Arena Mexico look. They did have Metalico doing his ghost newsboy bit, and they had live music. I thought that worked well. Most wore Dia del Muertos variation of their usual gear.

Mini Tigre Blanco got loud “Mascarita” chants; fans knew who he was (the original Mascarita Sagrada) and treated him like a returning legend. The match went downhill from there. Sagrada couldn’t or just didn’t do much. The match ended abruptly. Pierrothito slammed Mini Tigre Blanco, then stalled for some time, then was clearly told by Olimpico to just pin him to finish the match. The YouTube edit for this show goes to replays and cuts to to the next match quickly. Maybe it was just a bad day, but it felt like a guy who was just done.

CMLL (SUN) 11/05/2023 Arena México [CMLL]
***Dia del Muertos, 2023***
1) Mercurio & Pequeño Violencia b Aéreo & Último Dragóncito
2) Espíritu Negro & Rey Cometa b Apocalipsis & Cholo
3) Dark Silueta & La Catalina b Amapola & Reyna Isis
4) Rey Bucanero b Felino [lightning]
5) Ángel de Oro & Niebla Roja b Averno & Hijo de Stuka Jr.
Hijo del Stuka Jr. replaced Stuka Jr. (ankle injury)
6) Blue Panther, Virus, Volador Jr. b Bárbaro Cavernario, Terrible, Último Guerrero
All the wrestlers on the card (and the injured Stuka Jr.) returned to the ring after the main event to ceremoniously unmask one by one.

The post show ceremony looks nice.

CMLL (TUE) 11/07/2023 Arena México
1) Astral, Leono, Retro vs Dr. Karonte I, Dr. Karonte II, Enfermero Jr.
2) Acero, Aéreo, Galaxy vs Minos, Pequeño Polvora, Pequeño Violencia
3) La Jarochita, Lluvia, Skadi vs La Catalina, Stephanie Vaquer, Zeuxis
4) Star Jr. vs Guerrero Maya Jr. [lightning]
5) Atlantis, Blue Panther, Valiente vs Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II, Sagrado
6) Máscara Dorada vs Ángel de Oro

Dorada/Oro seems like a really good match for each other. The lightning match could be good as well.

If it feels like you never see Los Malditos any more, it’s because you have to dig to find them. This will be their first appearance on the YouTube channel (Tuesdays or Fridays) in five weeks.

There’s no Friday Arena Mexico lineup yet, which is unusual. There’s also no full card for the Tuesday Guadalajara show, which is just a day away. Their social media has announced five of maybe six matches. CMLL could be waiting on Stuka Jr.’s health status, but they’ve announced people and removed them before.

CMLL matches on NJPW’s 11/10 show in Garland, Texas

  • Mayu Iwatani (c) versus Stephanie Vaquer for the IWGP Women’s Championship
  • TJP vs Mistico
  • Atlantis, Tiger Mask, Mascara Dorada versus Ultimo Guerrero, Rocky Romero, Hechicero – new

The Leyenda de Azul tournament returns on 11/17 (cibernetico) and 11/24 (final). This tournament is intended to feature heavyweights and light heavyweights, so I guess those Los Malditos will make a stream eventually. Euforia won last year’s tournament, when it was just a one night event. This has been a final Friday of November final the last three years; Blue Demon was born in April, debuted in March and passed away in December, so I’m not sure if there’s a specific reason CMLL keep it in the same place on the calender.

November 20th is a holiday in Puebla, and CMLL’s moving the regular Monday show to Sunday November 19th that week. They’ll also host a special women’s cibernetico. I think the intention is to be the female equivalent of the men’s Barroco championship back in July, which would mean mostly local luchadoras.

This airs on FITE for $20 USD in English. NJPW World will also have it as part of their normal subscription in Japanese only (though it’s the first show after they do a site relaunch so everyone will be crossing their fingers that it works.) The start time is 7 pm CT. If this show was a week earlier, most of it would’ve be done before CMLL started. The two singles matches will instead probably go on the same time as the CMLL as it’s currently scheduled.

Titan is back from Japan. It is a few days before we see him sometimes.

Martha Villalobos was at the IWRG Castillo del Terror show and Mas Lucha asked her about the “Diva del Ring” issue. Villalobos ran off her list of accomplishments and laughed off the idea that Catalina could be considered on her level.

AAA

This week’s TV was week one of the San Luis Potosi taping, which may be their worst attended taping of the year. It’s a small building, with almost no room between the ring and the barricade, so there was no real way for AAA to turn down the lights to hide the empties. And there are just so many empties in every camera shot. That half-empty look, during at a match built around the father and son referees fighting, felt like watching a very ill promotion. AAA’s next three tapings are in Juarez (AAA always do well) and Monterrey (small building with lots of guest stars) – these shows should feel better. It doesn’t change how deathly this taping came across.

The most interesting part of the show was the opener, when Chik Tormenta announced she wanted to cash in the title shot she earned from Copa Antonio Pena against QT Marshall for the Latin American champion. I feel like I safely know how Marshall/Octagon is going to go – Marshall will cheat early, Octagon will get in a few high spots, Marshall will unmask/foul him just like Penta. QT Marshall can not unmask Chik Tormenta and the foul spot is probably not going be as effective. It is also something that happened in AAA, it is likely to be mentioned again but unlikely to go anywhere.

(They also came close to writing off Cibernetico as leader of the Vipers; he hasn’t appeared here since July and has only wrestled twice in AAA this year. His purpose in AAA seems to have ended after he lost his hair to Pagano, they just never got around to writing him out.)

The matches themselves were forgettable. Lady Shani, Mr. Iguana, Nino Hamburgesa, Tirantes versus Argenis, Chik Tormenta, Hijo del Tirantes and Toxin was focuses on the two Tirantes as the most important characters. It’s not something I’m interested in at all, and it wasn’t well done. Hamburgesa & Iguana have some as a team and probably should be on a path to win the tag titles, but they’re feuding with people who are barely used on TV. Negro Casas & Zorro versus Absimo Negro & Psicosis was the only match which where DQs were possible on the show; it ended in a DQ. Zorro appears on this show about once every few months, teases a big character shift in a promo, and then is never mentioned again. Pagano & Psycho Clown versus Adonis & Texano was an unmemorable AAA brawl, where the real point was Texano winning cleanly again. Pagano getting that win back in Juarez makes sense, which doesn’t mean it was happening. It won’t happen now.

Pagano was scheduled to headline the Robles promotion show in Mexico City on Saturday. He instead appeared in a sling, announcing he’d suffered a shoulder dislocation and was unable to replace him. (Octagon Jr. replaced him.) In an interview with La Tijera Lucha Libre, Pagano says he underwent surgery and will be out “a month, a month and a half.” Guerra de Titanes in Ciudad Juarez is a half month away. Pagano also posted x-rays of his injury and of his surgery on his Facebook page; there he said he’d be out “a few weeks.” In both, he’s obviously disappointed to have underwent surgery for the second time this year.

Pagano will obviously not be able to wrestle on that show, AAA is obviously still advertising him for that show. It hurts more in Ciudad Juarez, where Pagano is the biggest local star, but it also what AAA typically does anywhere with any main eventer – they just did it with Vikingo in Mexico City. No one’s really surprised; it’s just what AAA’s decided to be.

Luchatitlan says they sold out Friday’s show. Meanwhile, tickets are on sale for an AAA spot show in Cancun for 12/02. Psycho Clown, Pagano, Dr. Wagner Jr., La Hiedra and Lady Shani are announced. The most expensive ticket to that show is 250 pesos. The most expensive ticket to the Luchatitlan show the same day is 1539 pesos, or about six times as much. These shows are targeting different audiences and a ticket buyer gets a lot more with a Luchatitlan ticket. Still, I’m surprised AAA is letting a local promoter run against them at much cheaper prices.

IWRG

IWRG (SUN) 11/05/2023 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG, Mas Lucha]
1) Rey Aztaroth b Blue Win IWRG | Rey Astaroth derrota a Blue Win en el arranque de #RevoluciónIWRG (posted by mluchatv) LIVE | Vitto Fratellí vs HellBoy (posted by mluchatv)
2) Auzter & Dr. Cerebro Jr. b Gannicus & Mr. Mike IWRG | Dr. Cerebro Jr. y Auzter vencen a Gannicus y Mr. Mike (posted by mluchatv) LIVE | Vitto Fratellí vs HellBoy (posted by mluchatv)
3) Bengalee & India Sioux DQ Lolita & Satania IWRG | Lolita y Satania se van descalificadas ante la India Sioux y Bengelee (posted by mluchatv) LIVE | Vitto Fratellí vs HellBoy (posted by mluchatv)
Lolita hit India Sioux with a chair for the DQ.
4) Águila Roja, Ángel Negro, Rey Halcón b Dr. Cerebro Jr., Freelance, Último Legendario IWRG | La victoria es para Águila Roja, Rey Halcón y Ángel Negro (posted by mluchatv) LIVE | Vitto Fratellí vs HellBoy (posted by mluchatv)
Dr. Cerebro Jr. & Freelance replaced Noisy Boy & Spider FLy
5) Mocho Cota Jr., Súper Comando, Tito Santana b Hijo de Canis Lupus, León Dorado, Mr. Leo LIVE | Vitto Fratellí vs HellBoy (posted by mluchatv)
Comando was elimianted but help his team win. Tecnicos deamdned a rematch.
6) Hijo del Pirata Morgan, Relámpago, Vito Fratelli b Estrella Divina, Hell Boy, Tonalli LIVE | Vitto Fratellí vs HellBoy (posted by mluchatv)

I didn’t see anything besides this show beyond the results. It looks really empty in the seats, though the bleachers seem better when the lights are up enough to show them.

Other News

The Crash had their 12th Anniversary show Friday night. Mamba defeated D-Luxe in a hair versus hair match in the main event; it looks like a sell out. Mamba leaving AAA was a surprise at the time, but Mamba also wasn’t going to be put in position to main event a big show like this in AAA. I think he’s probably happy with the decision at the moment.

Both Rey Fenix and Bandido were scheduled for the show and neither ended up wrestling. Bandido did appear and challenged Metalik to a future match. Andrade, as a replacement, defeated Galeno del Mal in a three way with Metalik, then asked for a The Crash Heavyweight championship match. That’s a problem. DMT Azul is the current champion, but DMT Azul is currently suspended from wrestling in Tijuana for fighting outside an arena. Azul doesn’t even have the belt; that’s said to be still in the possession of previous champion LA Park. Andrade asks fans on Twitter if he should go after DMT Azul or Cinta de Oro’s titles; neither of these belts mean anything and most fans couldn’t name which titles they are.  (Charlotte Flair was in attendance; that’s the case with many of Andrade’s matches, though she was spotted by more people this time around.)

We do know that the rightful women’s champion has her belt. Julissa, the former Yulisa Leon in NXT, was a surprise addition to a multiwoman match and won the title. This was Julissa’s first post-WWE appearance. Dulce Tormenta was the former champion, Keyra, Zamya, and Trish Adora were also in the match. Gallo Extreme won the The Crash Junior Cruiserweight title, Destiny retained Cruiserweight title over Tonalli. Bestia 666 wrestled on the show, which by past AAA rules means they’ll no longer book. There are always weird exceptions (and AAA saying they’ll never book a person again then booking that person again). The only thing we know for sure is neither member of La Rebelion is listed on the upcoming tapings, and AAA spent a lot of TV time on Rebelion stuff that has yet to go anywhere.

On Sunday, Dulce Tormenta posted on Instagram saying she was finished with The Crash for now. It was totally complimentary, The Crash account commented to thank her, so she seems to be leaving on good terms. Tormenta was also not a huge part of the Crash, even as former women’s champion, and probably was on a handshake deal. The only reason she’d have a reason to say goodbye to The Crash is if she already had an agreement to work somewhere else that wouldn’t allow her to work The Crash (which would be AAA, CMLL or WWE, though she doesn’t seem to fit what WWE is looking for.)

Arena Lopez Mateos had a Dia del Muertos theme for their shows too, including wrestlers dressing up like deceased wrestlers La Fiera, Black Warrior, Scorpio and Love Machine. Fresero Jr. appeared in a vest and ref shirt, like his father. It’s quite a bit to have Love Machine, who’s career tanked in his home country due to behavior outside of the ring, be portrayed by Trauma II.

The Wolf King – or maybe The Phantom Wolf, the Dia del Muertos name they used – did run their scheduled show on Friday in Arena Azteca Budokan. I’m still not sure if they were shutting down or doing some sort of bit to set up the new name. It didn’t work out either way; the event looked lightly attenended. Mas Lucha appeared to give up on results halfway through the show (or a lot of announced matches didn’t happen.)

In an interview with Mas Lucha, Demus said this was his final match before heading to Japan, and he’ll be wrestling for DDT and Dragon Gate. DDT has announced Demus as coming but Dragon Gate has not. That’s strange enough that there may be some confusion; like maybe Demus got booked by CIMA and (like most Mexican wrestlers) he has no idea there is a GLEAT and CIMA works there now instead of Dragon Gate.

Daga defeated Hayata to win NOAH’s GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship.

Box y Lucha posted another group of old issues, these from August of 1955.

Segunda Caida watches more Monterrey lucha libre.

Rey del Inframundo tonight, IWRG Castillo del Terror, AAA talent search

Daylight Savings Time

The clocks change in the US on Sunday morning. (They changed other places this past week.) The clock change does not affect tonight’s show and does not affect Saturday’s stream. It does mean everything will be an hour earlier for those in the US starting next week until spring. We will all forget about this a few times.

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 11/03/2023 Arena México
***Dia del Muertos, 2023***
1) Angelito, Kaligua, Pequeño Magía vs Full Metal, Minos, Pequeño Polvora
2) Dulce Gardenia, Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa vs Magia Blanca, Okumura, Rugido
Okumura replaced Crixus on Monday.
3) Blue Panther Jr., Dark Panther, Hijo de Blue Panther vs Hijo de Stuka Jr., Hijo del Villano III, Villano III Jr.
4) Atlantis Jr., Fugaz, Star Jr. vs Euforia, Mephisto, Terrible
5) Máscara Dorada & Místico vs Soberano Jr. & Volador Jr.
6) Stuka Jr. vs Bárbaro Cavernario [Rey del Inframundo, final]

I felt unexcited by the Dia del Muertos concept this year around, but Tuesday’s show was fine and tonight’s show should be better. Barbaro Cavernario, the self-anointed king of singles matches, gets another one against Stuka Jr. tonight. That should be great. Volador & Soberano versus Mascara Dorada & Mistico should be great, though that’s dependent on how good of shape Team Volador is in. (Soberano Jr. did look about normal in Las Vegas.) Panthers versus Villanos/Stuka could be fun and is another big chance for the younger Stuka. This is on PPV, still for the elevated 12 USD price.

I ordered the PPV earlier than usual this week and I got the code right away, so that problem seems to be fixed. Hopefully it will be smooth sailing for this week.

CMLL has more Dia del Muertos shows on Saturday and Sunday. Both are taped, no idea if they’ll turn up on YouTube. They should, they would when this subscription project started, but I’m not exactly holding my breath on it.

CMLL (MON) 11/06/2023 Arena Puebla
1) Amnesia, Astro, Asturiano vs Fénix, Rey Apocalipsis, Siki Osama
2) Lady Metal, Persephone, Skadi vs Astoreth, Enigmática, Lady Amazona
3) Diamond, Meyer, Robin vs Arkalis, Pegasso, Rey Samuray
4) Hijo del Villano III, Villano III Jr., Zandokan Jr. vs Apocalipsis, Cholo, Disturbio
5) Místico, Stigma, Templario vs Averno, Magnus, Volador Jr. [Relevos Increíbles]

Is Stigma finally defending his title? Or is CMLL correcting the fan vote by setting up a trios title match in the semi-main?

There’s no lineup for Guadalajara yet, but they have announced a partnership with the Gay Games for the show. The 11th version of the Olympic style contest was originally supposed to happen in Hong Kong in 2022, got postponed a year due to COVID, and got split between Hong Kong and Guadalajara later on. The Guadalajara part kicked off yesterday. CMLL is pushing this as support of the LBGT+ community but also that means there are a lot of visitors to the area who might want to see lucha libre and it makes all the sense to promote to them. The side effect is usual CMLL weirdness when it comes to this topic: the poster boy for this show is exotico Dulce Gardenia, who is not actually gay. They tend not to promote the people who actually fit in the LBGT+ community for these things, even those who seem to be open about it.

Critero Hidalgo has an interview with Hidalgo’s Magia Azul, who’s the Magia Azul appearing on recent Arena Coliseo Guadalajara shows.

AAA 

AAA and INJUVE announced the rules, dates, and prizes for their “Lucha Por el Barrio” talent search on Friday. This tie-up was announced last week. Wrestlers from Mexico City between the ages of 12-29 can get involved, and any category or gender wrestler can participate. There will be a fitness test next Saturday, then in-ring tests on the 14th, 21st and 28th. The luchadors will be graded by four judges on things like strength, skill in the ring, and charisma. The finalists will all wrestle at Gimnasio Juan de la Barrera in January as part of AAA’s first TV taping of te year. The top 3 will receive AAA contracts for 2024 and prize money (10,000 to the winner, about 570 USD US.) AAA usually opens their year with a taping in Mexico City but that’s the first one has been announced (and no date is mentioned.)

These talent searches have worked out very well in the past, with Hijo del Vikingo and Daga as people who’ve started with AAA through similar contests. Restricting to Mexico City – INJUVE is a Mexico City governmental organization – makes it a little bit harder. There weren’t that many new faces when INJUVE and Big Lucha did this same contest last year. Sol won that, everyone knew Sol, he did well in the Big Lucha shows but also disappeared well before the 1 year deal seemed to be up. Mini Ditto seems like Big Lucha real find as a character, and he did seem to come out of nowhere. For AAA’s purposes, it doesn’t matter if the person is an indie worker whoever knows (like Daga before he won one of these) or someone few people had heard of (Hijo del Vikingo), they win if they just get someone new they can put on TV.

AAA starts airing the mystery San Luis Potosi taping this week on preview. Can’t really preview what to expect if I’m not sure what matches happened. Space does list it at the normal time this week.

Luchatitlan’s Espectofest takes place tonight. It should sell out.

IWRG

IWRG (THU) 11/02/2023 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG, Mas Lucha]
***Castillo del Terror, 2023***
1) Dr. Cerebro Jr., Fussion, Último Legendario b Mr. Mike, Rey Astaroth, Rey Halcón IWRG EN VIVO (posted by IWRG tv)
2) Lady Maravilla b KeyraMary CaporalDiosa QuetzalLolita IWRG EN VIVO (posted by IWRG tv)
3) Cerebro Negro & Cerebro Negro Jr. © b León Dorado & Mr. Leo [IWRG IC TAG] IWRG EN VIVO (posted by IWRG tv)
fourth defense
4) Hell Boy © b ToxinAramisNoisy BoyBobby Lee Jr.Hijo de Canis Lupus [IWRG MEXICO]
fourth defense
5) Diva Salvaje, Estrella Divina, Jessy Ventura, Mamba DQ Hijo De Bobby Lee, Hijo del Fishman, Lolita, Rey Espectro
Lolita worked twice, replacing Gizelle
6) DMT Azul b Galeno del Mal ©Ivan RokovHijo del Pirata Morgan [IWRG IC HEAVY]
2nd defense. DMT Azul celebrated with (disgraced US celebrity) Drake Bell after the match.
7) Águila Roja L SádikaBengaleeHijo de PandemóniumPandemónium Jr.Gran PandemóniumSataniaRelámpagoSpider FlyPig DestroyerPig DecapitadorPig PoolPig DestructorSagitariusAmazonikaTonalli [cage, mask]
Spider Fly took Aguila Roja’s mask. Aguila Roja is Luis Garcia Andrade, 25 years old.

Aguila Roja and Amazonika seemed like the only two who would had a chance of losing their mask here, Aguila Roja got the big title win last Sunday, and that set up his downfall here.

I think I must’ve have vaguely heard “Drake Bell”‘s name in the news, but I’m personally unfamiliar with his TV or music work. I do know this man’s Wikipedia spends four paragraphs on “abuse allegations, sexual assault accusations, and attempted endangering of children“, which always seems like a bad sign. Running through his Twitter, it appears Bell’s been hanging out in Mexico for quite a while after taking a plea deal in the US. This is probably as simple as someone running into him and talking him into appearing. Bell is a foreigner with a bit of celebrity, so any wrongdoing is swept under the “if you really got to know them, you’d find out they’re really great people who were the unfairly accused” rug for much of Mexican wrestling. It seems like a bad long-term idea to paint yourself as the place where disgraced people show up, but IWRG’s already painted that way to outsiders. There are many quote tweets reacting negatively to Drake Bell (and a couple of positive ones); most of these people weren’t going to be watching an IWRG match anyway, and it simply re-enforces the image issues Mexican wrestling has to outsiders.

IWRG says this was a sell-out. This show always draws very well.

Big Lucha

I caught the last part of Face to Face. Veneno/Skayde was a Veneno match. Viajero and Brujo showed good intensity but it was a match with a heel ref and that killed my interest. Mr. Win/Tirano versus Helios/Morfosis was fun, just a normal good lucha libre match.

They’re back with Big Lucha World tonight. The main event has been changed to Hell Flyers versus Los Payasos. No Big Lucha World tonight; they postponed it until next Friday.

I think Big Lucha may be doing something subscription based in 2024. Last week’s Big Lucha World has a note on it saying that these will continue to be free until the end of the year. They’ve always been free, so that’s only something to point out if it’s going to change. Commentary during Big Lucha Face to Face also seemed to hint that way. I can understand wanting to monetize the product and would probably subscribe to a Big Lucha YouTube channel but I don’t think most people would pay a significant amount for the streaming version of the shows right now. It would probably need to be a low price or part of a larger bundle to work.

Other News

Hijo del Vikingo vs Komander vs Penta will air on AEW Rampage today. It’s said to be exactly the match you’d expect with those three guys under US TV time restrictions. AEW’s had great matches with these luchadors but it’s the progress to some bigger story that’s been the issue for them. For AEW, the issue is they keep putting great matches on Rampage but don’t apparently have room for them on Dynamite.

Dralistico posted a video of signing his AEW contract yesterday. Rush did the same when he signed a full-time deal, and that’s believed to be what Dralistico did here. AEW hasn’t officially announced it. They don’t always announce signings nowadays, but it’s going to come after Dralistico does something important on TV. May take a while.

Back in June, Andrade wrestled in home town arena Arena Olimpico Laguna, and pushed it as the last time he’d be wrestling in his home area for years to come. No one could figure out why that would be his last match at the time. It will be at the time. He’s now announced as wrestling there again on December 21st. What a strange bit.

ESTO has an interview with Brazo de Oro Jr., to promote a show tonight in Mexico City.

The annual Puebla wrestling exam takes place on 12/03.

Barbaro Cavernario to challenge for Rey del Inframundo, CMLL women’s show, Castillo del Terror

CMLL

CMLL (MON) 10/30/2023 Arena Puebla [El Sol de PueblaMano A Mano]
1) Mayahuel & Shitara b Astoreth & Diablita Roja Facebook video (posted by )
2) Enigmática, La Pantera (Jalisco), Lady Amazona b Hella, La Maligna, La Vaquerita Facebook video (posted by )
3) Centinela (Jalisco), Hera, Olympia b Adira (Jalisco), Lady Metal, Persephone Facebook video (posted by )
the Mexican army appeared to celebrate (army member) Centinela before her match.
4) Makoto, Skadi, Tessa Blanchard b Amapola, Andrómeda, La Metálica Facebook video (posted by )
Skadi replaced Mei Suruga (illness)
5) Dark Silueta, La Jarochita, Reyna Isis b La Catalina, Stephanie Vaquer, Zeuxis [Relevos IncreíblesFacebook video (posted by )

The attendance looks pretty solid for this show (and it got more meida

Mei Suruga missed this show, Sunday’s show, and the Tuesday show. She’s said to be out of action due to mild food poisoning. She’s scheduled for another match on Saturday and is still on the lineup at this point.

CMLL (TUE) 10/31/2023 Arena México [CMLL, thecubsfan]
***Dia del Muertos, 2023***
1) Inquisidor & Sangre Imperial b Astral & Robin CMLL | Sangre Imperial e Inquisidor derrotan a Robin y Astral (posted by mluchatv) Día de Muertos del CMLL: Inquisidor y Sangre Imperial Vs Robin y Astral (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
2) La Vaquerita & Skadi b Metálica & Tiffany CMLL | Skady y La Vaquerita derrotan a Metálica y Tiffany (posted by mluchatv) Día de Muertos del CMLL: Skadi y Vaquerita Vs Tiffany y Metálica (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
3) Panterita del Ring, Star Black, Valiente b Felino, Hechicero, Misterioso Jr. CMLL | StarBlack, Valiente y Panterita del Ring vencen a Hechicero, Misterioso Jr. y Felino (posted by mluchatv) Día de Muertos CMLL: Panterita del Ring, Valiente y Star Black (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
4) Gran Guerrero b DisturbioZandokanEsfingeEl CoyoteGuerrero Maya Jr.MagnusAkumaAvernoBárbaro CavernarioVirus [Rey del Inframundo, semifinalDía de Muertos del CMLL: El Rey del Garrote Manda❗️ Bárbaro Cavernario (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
order of elimination: Disturbio (by Akuma), Coyote (Magnus), Zandokan (Averno), Sagrado (Guerrero Maya), Mangus (Virus), Akuma (Cavernario), Maya (Esfinge), Esfinge (Gran Guerrero), Virus (Averno), Averno (Gran Guerrero), and Gran Guerrero (Barabro Cavernario)
5) Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Templario b Blue Panther, Máscara Dorada, Octagón Día de Muertos CMLL: Octagon, Blue Panther y Máscara Dorada (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
straight falls, the last when Angel de Oro unmasked Dorada and rolled him up, setting up a singles match next week.

Both Angel de Oro/Mascara Dorada and Cavernario/Stuka Jr. sound good. The cibernetico was generally good but finished with two messed up spots, Gran Guerrero not really being where Cavernario expected him. Gran Guerrero was taken away on a stretcher with no other obvious injury, so maybe they were taking precautions for a concussion.

CMLL (TUE) 10/31/2023 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [Arena Coliseo Guadaljara, Mas Lucha]
1) Atenea, Estrella Maldad, Yemaya b Frida, Luna, Xenna
2) Diabilita Roja, Estrellita Mágica, Lady Metal b Gema Andrade, Miss Guerrera, Misteriosa
Puebla vs Laguna
3) Adira, Dulce Kitty, Náutica b La Pantera, Nexy, Universys
4) Alondra, Andrómeda, Lady Shadow b Centinela, Lady Amazona, Magia Azul
GDL vs Laguna
5) Hera, Olympia, Sexy Sol vs La Maligna, Quimera, Valkiria
6) La Catalina, Persephone, Tessa Blanchard, Zeuxis b Dark Silueta, La Jarochita, Makoto, Reyna Isis

Attendance seemed solid for the two women’s shows. It was also up noticeably for the first Dia del Muertos show in Arena Mexico.

CMLL Informa has

  • Rey del Inframundo: Stuka Jr., Barbaro Cavernario
  • Saturday Coliseo Dia del Muertos: Águila Solitaria, Pantera, Solar, Felino, Negro Satánico, Mini Tigre Blanco
  • vs Mascara Dorada next Tuesday: Angel de Oro
  • I’m not really sure: Virus & Niebla Roja

Titan & Bushi are among a mass of teams at 5-3 in NJPW’s Super Junior Tag League, going into their final day match against the already eliminated YOH & Musashi. They need a couple of matches to go their way to finish top two, but so does pretty much everyone.

CMLL posted highlights of Robbie X versus Titan and Mascara Dorada versus Wild Boar. That’s the first time they’ve posted RevPro clips; I’m not even sure they’ve opted NJPW ones before. Michael Oku versus Hechicero was the best CMLL match match in RevPro but that’s also the one a CMLL wrestler lost, so maybe that’s why it’s not included.

Arena Coliseo Guadalajara will hold a free show on 11/13. It’s being done to support the local CRIT children’s rehabilitation hospital. Admission if free, but they’ll have giant “piggy banks” at the arena and around Guadalajara to raise money.

El Sol de Leon highlights an upcoming (11/27) spot show in town around Gallero and Rayo Metalico returning home. Gallero mostly wrestles in Guadalajara, and Metalico mostly is a Puebla wrestler.

AAA

Pagano left Saturday’s Arena Neza show with a shoulder injury. There is a story going this is a serious injury, one which might keep Pagano out for a while. Neither Pagano nor AAA has said anything more. Pagano’s schedule to team with Psycho Clown against Sam Adonis & Texano in the main event of Guerra de Titanes in Juarez.

AAA’s running social media promos building up matches to the 11/03 Luchatitlan show. It’s notable because there’s rarely promos building up AAA TV matches. This show seems very important to 11/03.

IWRG

IWRG (THU) 11/02/2023 Arena Naucalpan
***Castillo del Terror, 2023***
1) ? vs ??
2) Keyra vs Mary CaporalLady MaravillaDiosa QuetzalLolita
3) Cerebro Negro & Cerebro Negro Jr. © vs León Dorado & Mr. Leo [IWRG IC TAG]
fourth defense
4) Hell Boy © vs ToxinAramisNoisy BoyBobby Lee Jr.Hijo de Canis Lupus [IWRG MEXICO]
fourth defense
5) Diva Salvaje, Estrella Divina, Jessy Ventura, Mamba vs Gizelle, Hijo De Bobby Lee, Hijo del Fishman, Rey Espectro
6) Galeno del Mal © vs Ivan RokovDMT AzulHijo del Pirata Morgan [IWRG IC HEAVY]
2nd defense
7) Sádika vs BengaleeHijo de PandemóniumPandemónium Jr.Gran PandemóniumSataniaRelámpagoSpider FlyPig DestroyerPig DecapitadorPig PoolPig DestructorÁguila RojaSagitariusAmazonikaTonalli [cage, mask]

I almost forgot IWRG already released this lineup. This is a Mas Lucha premium show. There are so many muli person matches for no real reason, but this show always draws well and will probably do so again. Commentary seemed to indicate match four is now a ladder match. Diosa Quetzal is the IWRG Women’s championship and this is her first match here since February, said to be due to injuries.

Shocko is said to be out a few days after a injury bit on Sunday. This seemed like a worked injury but I can’t say I was paying too much attention.

Big Lucha

I’ve caught up with the two parts of “Face 2 Face” and last Friday’s Big Lucha World. I thought the Big Lucha World episode was actually the best of the three. Big Taotao is a nice new addition, and looked impressive against Ryu Orochi. Atomico Jr. continues to look the best of the guys who don’t have a set role on the show, match up well with Radioactivo. The Tirano & Potro de Oro versus Action Jackson & Black Andromeda match was better than the Andromeda/Potro de Oro singles match, I thought.

Face 2 Face was fine, just nothing stood out positively and there were a couple things that were good. Potro de Oro and Black Andromeda worked hard to make something of their title match and the crowd that was there was into it, but it just was a little off at times for me. (This was also noticeably the smallest crowd for a Big Lucha show in some time.) Texano & Super Nova versus Radioactivo & Cometa Maya was a good professional match that fell a little short of something I’d recommend you’d go out of your way to see. Hell Flyers versus random Juniors was better than I thought it’d be; the Juniors were more giving than might be expected.

The third part is due this week. There’s also another Big Lucha World

Big Lucha World (FRI) 11/03/2023 Arena Big Lucha, Iztapalapa, Distrito Federal
1) Morfosis vs Ryu Orochi
2) Helios vs ?
3) Elipse, Orbita, Vengador vs Payaso I, Payaso II, Payaso III

I thought those logos on the poster where were there show was being filmed, but they appear to be sponsors; these are all in airing from the gym. Not sure which Payasos these are.

Other News

AEW announced Hijo del Vikingo vs Komander vs Penta for this Friday’s Rampage. No titles on the line.

Box y Lucha #3573 has a lot of CMLL headlines.

Octagon helped open a new gym in Lerna, Coahuila.

RIOT says they’ve sold out their 12/09 show already.

Blanchard wins Gran Prix, CMLL/NJPW Strong, AAA TV

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 10/27/2023 Arena México [CMLL, ESTOExcelsiorKaiser SportsMexico ASPostaReformaThe GladiatoresThe Gladiatores (videos)thecubsfan, Tribuna]
1) Diamond & Valiente Jr. b Dr. Karonte I & Dr. Karonte II CMLL - DRS. KARONTE I Y II VS VALIENTE JR. - DIAMOND /ARENA MÉXICO/27-10-23 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) CMLL | Diamond y Valiente Jr. vencen a Los Drs. Karonte I y II (posted by mluchatv) Diamond y Valiente Jr. derrotan a los Hermanos Karonte I y Karonte II (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
2) Futuro, Neón, Pelon Encapuchado b El Coyote, Inquisidor, Pólvora CMLL - INQUISIDOR - POLVORA - COYOTE VS PELÓN ENCAPUCHADO - NEÓN - FUTURO /ARENA MÉXICO/27-10-23 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) CMLL | Pelón Encapuchado, Neón y Futuro vencen a Coyote, Pólvora e Inquisidor (posted by mluchatv) Neón, Futuro y Pelón Encapuchado, derrotaron a Coyote, Pólvora e Inquisidor (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre) Pelón Encapuchado, Neon y Futuro vs Pólvora, Coyote e Inquisidor ARENA MÉXICO (posted by Estrellas del Ring)
16:21.
3) Averno b Virus [lightningAverno vs Virus MATCH RELÁMPAGO/ARENA MÉXICO (posted by Estrellas del Ring) CMLL - MATCH RELÁMPAGO / VIRUS VS AVERNO / ARENA MÉXICO/27-10-23 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) CMLL | Averno vence a Virus en match relámpago (posted by mluchatv) Con el cronómetro en 8:44 min, Averno logra llevarse el match relámpago dejando en la lona a Virus (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
8:44.
4) Atlantis Jr., Máscara Dorada, Místico b Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Templario CMLL | Místico, Máscara Dorada y Atlantis Jr. vencen a Los Hermanos Chávez y Templario (posted by mluchatv) CMLL-NIEBLA ROJA-ÁNGEL DE ORO-TEMPLARIO VS ATLANTIS JR.-MÁSCARA DORADA-MÍSTICO/ARENA MÉXICO/27-10-23 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) Místico da el triunfo a Atlantis Jr y Máscara Dorada derrotando a N. Roja, Á. de Oro y Templario (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre) Místico, Máscara Dorada y Atlantis Jr vs Angel de Oro, Niebla Roja y Templario ARENA MÉXICO (posted by Estrellas del Ring)
15:35.
5) Johnnie Robbie, La Catalina, Makoto, Mei Suruga, Stephanie Vaquer, Sumie Sakai, Tessa Blanchard, Zeuxis b Amapola, Andrómeda, Dark Silueta, Hera, La Jarochita, Lluvia, Reyna Isis, Skadi [Gran Prix de Amazonas] CMLL - GRAND PRIX INTERNACIONAL DE AMAZONAS /ARENA MÉXICO / 27-10-23 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) CMLL | Tessa Blanchard es la gran ganadora del #GrandPrixCMLL de Amazonas 2023 (posted by mluchatv) El Grand Prix de Amazonas 2023 es para las barras y las estrellas con Tessa Blanchard (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre) Grand Prix de Amazonas CMLL/Arena México TESSA BLANCHARD ES LA GANADORA (posted by Estrellas del Ring)
50:18. Order of elimination: Makoto (by Amapola), Zeuxis (Lluvia), Andromeda (Suruga), Hera (Catalina), Sakai (Isis), Skadi (Robbie), Amapola (Vaquer), Suruga (Jarochita), Silueta (Blancard), Catalina (Lluvia), Isis (Robbie), Robbie (Jarochita), Jarochita (Vaquer), Lluvia (Vaquer) – this left Vaquer & Blanchard as the final two, both on Team World, and Blanchard beat Vaquer to win.

This is the first time since CMLL’s restarted these Gran Prix that it’s come down to two people on the same team. CMLL’s must’ve thought Vaquer/Blanchard would provide a great final. They did have a good US style match, with lots of near falls. It was just not what the Arena Mexico fans wanted to see; a final between two foreigners wasn’t going to get over unless one (or preferably both) are already really over with the crowd. Vaquer definitely has picked up popularity this year but not enough to keep this from feeling flat. I think it’ll be a long time before CMLL tries a final two with both from Team World again.

The match was generally good. These are obviously well worked through matches prior to happening and they have enough big moments to keep the crowd into it. (Lluiva and Zeuxis, who spent much of the week wrestling elsewhere in Mexico, participated less in this match.) Andromeda colliding with the ropes on her middle rope tornillo was a scary moment, and there were other parts that weren’t smooth, but it was still good in a vacuum.

Tessa Blanchard told the press that winning the Gran Prix was one of the big moments of her career, she’d like to challenge Stephanie Vaquer for her title and generally return to Arena Mexico. Blanchard said she didn’t know for a long time if she wanted to return to wrestling and that she found what she needed in this match. She said she prayed for a long time if she continued in wrestling or took another path in life, and the win convinced her to stay in wrestling.

Tessa Blanchard being the choice to win was not a surprise after the big introduction CMLL gave to her. I expect she’ll be back, probably having that match with Stephanie Vaquer, among other matches. CMLL is probably high on Tessa Blanchard for all the reasons all the promotions in the US seemed high on her from about 2017 to 2019, and only time will tell if they end up washing their hands with her like everyone else did. If you don’t like Tessa Blanchard, I think you’re going to be stuck with her making Romero (or Oraculo) like occasional visits to CMLL for the time being.

The Posta article was the only Mexico article I saw that noted the issues Tessa’s had that led her to be out of major US promotions. The flipside was watching the NJPW World show the next day, where the announcers pushed that all four women were in the Gran Prix just the day before but were (obviously) careful not to mention Blanchard’s win.

On the same show, CMLL honored Sumie Sakai on her impending retirement with a plaque and a ceremony. Sakai has worked a grand total of ten matches for CMLL in her life. They really didn’t have to do anything. It was a thoughtful gesture considering the world outside of CMLL, while at the same time ignoring it when it came to Blanchard.

The Mistico trios was really well done. Averno/Virus was quite good. The segunda had some good moments. This was another good CMLL show beyond the main event.

This was the second straight week with stream issues. Neerme wasn’t sending out links to the stream for most of the evening. I got mine after the opener, others didn’t get theirs until just before the main event. There’s VOD now, so anyone affected could go back and watch the whole show later, but it’s still frustrating not to know what’s going on or if it’ll get fixed.  CMLL was seemingly the only company using TicketmasterLive for the last year of that run. They appear to be the only company still streaming on Neerme if their “top streams” lists is accurate. (It’s six “test stream” and the two Pesos/Dollars streams for Friday.) No company is going to spend many resources working on something when there are few people using the service; I suspect whatever happened this Friday wasn’t hard to fix once it was found, but there is no one there ready to fix the problem because the service is a low priority. The long term future is Boletia/Neerme will get out of this service if it’s only CMLL paying for it, and either CMLL will find another home or move the shows to their YouTube channel (as everyone hopes.) Between now and then, we just have to cross our fingers and hope these issues never pop up in a match that actually goes well.

(The YouTube channel has its own issues. This week’s subscriber upload was missing the Dulce Gardenia, Magia Blanca, Panterita del Ring versus Espanto Jr., Luciferno, Misterioso Jr. match from 10/20. CMLL had promised they would upload the full Friday shows, and this at least the third time where they’ve posted an incomplete show for subscribers.)

CMLL (SAT) 10/28/2023 Arena Coliseo [CMLL]
1) Enfermero Jr. & Grako b Bengala & Leono
2) La Guerrera & Tiffany b La Maligna & Olympia
3) Difunto, El Coyote, Pólvora b Arkalis, Rey Samuray, Xelhua
4) Esfinge, Fugaz, Star Black b Hijo del Villano III, Villano III Jr., Zandokan Jr.
5) Amapola & Tessa Blanchard b Dark Silueta & Reyna Isis
6) Máscara Dorada, Star Jr., Volador Jr. b Bárbaro Cavernario, Hechicero, Terrible

CMLL’s recap praised the El Triangulo team in a loss, stronger than they usually do for these for the events.

NJPW Strong’s Fight Spirit Unleashed happened on the same night. Neither of the CMLL matches were ones you need to go out of your way to track down, but they both achieved what they were going for. Stephanie Vaquer did a lot of cool Stephanie Vaquer things enroute to her and Zeuxis defeating Lluvia & Johnnie Robbie. The Atlantis 40th Anniversary match was more or less the Black Cat tribute matches on the FantasticaMania shows, only with more NJPW Strong names involved. It mostly went well, though Adrian Quest made a heroic attempt to get into the Atlantida and ended up falling on his own head. That should probably not be tried any more outside of experienced CMLL people, but Atlantis may not have too many matches left against non-CMLL people.

That NJPW Strong show was busy on setting up matches, as their next show is just two weeks away. these are now official matches for the 11/10 show in Garland, Texas

  • Mistico vs TJP
  • Mayu Iwatani vs Stephanie Vaquer for the IWGP Women’s Championship

NJPW had previously announced Mistico, Atlantis and Ultimo Guerrero appearing, so I was just assuming we’d get those guys in a trios or something along those lines. Mistico versus TJP is a great bonus, something that would work well in Arena Mexico but might never ever get booked. Vaquer/Iwatani should be pretty good as well. It is also exactly the match Dave Meltzer reported a week or so ago, with everyone pretending like it was a surprise.

The flipside here is NJPW fans want these shows to be like NJPW Japan, and three matches including CMLL wrestlers is not NJPW. I sensed a little push back when it was just two on this past show, and that may be stronger if it keeps up.

CMLL (SUN) 10/29/2023 Arena México [CMLL]
1) Brillante Jr. & Max Star b Sangre Imperial & Vegas
2) Kráneo & Raider b Hombre Bala Jr. & Volcano
3) Guerrero Maya Jr., Pegasso, Stigma b Akuma, Dark Magic, Espanto Jr.
4) Reyna Isis, Stephanie Vaquer, Zeuxis b Makoto, Olympia, Tessa Blanchard
Olympia replaced Makoto
5) Averno, Euforia, Mephisto b Blue Panther, Panterita del Ring, Valiente
6) Máscara Dorada, Místico, Volador Jr. b Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr., Último Guerrero

Zeuxis’ recent schedule is crazy, because she was one of those people on the northern Mexico tour and now has all these women’s matches to close the month:

  • 10/20: Universal final vs Catalina
  • 10/21: Mexico City (special women’s showcase at UNAM)
  • 10/22: Saltillo, Coahuila
  • 10/23: Nuevo Laredo, Tamaluipas
  • 10/24: Piedras Negras, Coahuila
  • 10/25: a day off!
  • 10/26: Gomez Palacio
  • 10/27: Gran Prix
  • 10/28: NJPW in Las Vegas
  • 10/29: Arena Mexico
  • 10/30: Puebla
  • 10/31: Guadalajara

That’s 10 matches in 11 days. Zeuxis gets some time off starting Wednesday – unless they rope her in to talk on Informa, which seems possible. Lluvia and Catalina have a similar schedule, but Lluvia seems to be off this coming week and Catalina got this past weekend off. I hope Zeuxis gets some rest and/or video game time soon.

Monday’s Arena Puebla show is their first all women’s show. They’ll feature a group of local luchadors who’ve been training there for months. Pegasso is the lead trainer. El Sol de Puebla asked him if he felt this was a like a graduation for the Puebla luchadors, and he disagreed. This is a positive moment for them, but he feels like they can go further. Some of the women (Lady Metal) have already gone on to wrestle in other CMLL arenas and he feels they should all aspire to that. Pegasso again credits the idea to Benjamin Mar, who felt Puebla women should be represented in CMLL and asked Pegasso to lead the training. The list of luchadoras participating is listed as Diablita Roja, Mania, Astoreth, Lady Amazona, Lady Metal, Shitara, Hella, Mayahuel, and Enigmatica; Mania is the one who hasn’t been on Arena Puebla shows yet.

The Arena Puebla women’s show seems closely tied to the Arena Coliseo Guadalajara women’s show the next day, as if it’s the Guadalajara branch taking the lead on this. That also means it’s possible the Guadalajara crew could be traveling to Puebla to broadcast the show; it might be worth checking on their YouTube/Facebook channels on Monday night.

Tuesday’s Arena Mexico show starts the Dia del Muertos events. The big match is the Rey del Inframundo cibernetico, winner to face Stuka Jr. on Friday. Esfinge and Maya, as the only two tecnicos, seem like they have decent shots. If they go rudo/rudo, Barbaro Cavernario, Averno and Gran Guerrero seem the most likely.

Titan & BUSHI are now 3-3 in NJPW’s Super Junior Tag League. There’s a mass of teams with three or four wins and only one with five wins, so the LIJ group is still alive. They have DOUKI and Taka on Tuesday, then Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita on Wednesday before the next news post. Either I’ll have a long bit about tiebreakers on Wednesday or they’ll be eliminated by then.

Mas Luchas posted their Turiluchas interviews with Gran Prix women a little late for me to include on Friday. One worth checking out after the fact is with Andromeda, who says she thought hard for many days about “debuting in Guadalajara.” She doesn’t say “choosing with AAA or CMLL”, but it’s clearly what she meant. It sounds like the Andromeda name was announced before even she knew it was her; she talks about meeting with people in Arena Mexico and being told that was going to be her CMLL name and then finding out it would be here. It also sounds like she was assured she’d be on the main roster quickly, not one of the many women training in Guadalajara hoping to make it that far. None of that was surprising, but it’s useful to get more information on the story. Andromeda says it was her dream to wrestle in CMLL, which is probably the dream of a lot of luchadors from Torreon given it’s strong connection with the promotion. Andromeda’s next big dream is to go to wrestle in Japan for a few months to learn their style.

I don’t know where to put Penta talking to Mas Lucha about AEW & Mistico but I guess it’s a CMLL thing. Penta is for it; it’s good for the fans, it’s good business for the wrestlers. He and Mistico have been friends for years; Penta is happy with him and would like to wrestle him. Penta hopes “the politics” get broken down and everyone can work with everyone. (That is unlikely to happen.) Penta says his own deal with AAA is on a per night date basis, and he’s open to working for any promoter in Mexico.

Denise Salcedo had an interview with Atlantis to hype the NJPW Strong show.

AAA

I’m not a television editor, so I don’t know exactly what happened technically with the production on this week’s AAA show. What it appeared like was that the live action was on one video track, the replay and other secondary elements were on a secondary video track, and that secondary video track was about 10-15 seconds behind all episodes. The TV show would do the replay video transition, then come back to live action, and then maybe five seconds later, the replay would actually happen. Bits like showing a wrestler’s graphic before their entrance would instead appear halfway as they walked through the ring. It didn’t really affect the show, it just made added to the image of AAA feeling second rate. This episode was from a taping a month ago, so there should’ve been plenty of time to notice the mistake and fix it. That just doesn’t get done with AAA in 2023.

The AAA TV show already feels so low effort and half-thought that I kinda wish they’d just go full no effort with the booking – like stop running most of the angles and just roll out generic matches. There was no real angle with the three way match, including Octagon Jr., Drago and Bestia and it was fine. They got rid of Kento and Takuma before the main event four way match, they just had a normal elimination match, and it was pretty good. The lumberjack had lots of interference but it was just exactly the match everyone expects when AAA runs a lumberjack match, and that was OK too. It says something that AAA is a much easier watch when they stop doing most of the big stuff they’re trying to do.

IWRG

IWRG (SUN) 10/29/2023 Arena Naucalpan [Mas Lucha]
1) Águila Oriental b Rey Gato Jr. IWRG | Águila Oriental derrotó al Rey Gato Jr. en el arranque de las emociones (posted by mluchatv) IWRG EN VIVO  | POR EL CAMP INTERCONTINENTAL DE PESO LIGERO  |  SPIDER FLY  VS AGUILA ROJA (posted by IWRG tv)
2) Rey Aztaroth (Estado de México) b AuzterSúperboy IWRG | Rey Astaroth venció a Súper Boy y Auster en un triangular (posted by mluchatv) IWRG EN VIVO  | POR EL CAMP INTERCONTINENTAL DE PESO LIGERO  |  SPIDER FLY  VS AGUILA ROJA (posted by IWRG tv)
3) Centvrión, Gannicus, Mr. Mike b Dr. Cerebro Jr., Fussion, Noisy Boy IWRG | Mr. Mike, Gannicus y Centvrion vencieron a Noisy Boy, Fussion y Dr. Cerebro Jr. (posted by mluchatv) IWRG EN VIVO  | POR EL CAMP INTERCONTINENTAL DE PESO LIGERO  |  SPIDER FLY  VS AGUILA ROJA (posted by IWRG tv)
4) Ivan Rokov, Puma de Oro, Relámpago b Hell Boy, Shocko, Tonalli IWRG EN VIVO  | POR EL CAMP INTERCONTINENTAL DE PESO LIGERO  |  SPIDER FLY  VS AGUILA ROJA (posted by IWRG tv)
5) Big Mami b KaliSataniaMary CaporalSagitariusGizelleLolitaDanessaEstrella DivinaAmazonika [Copa Reina del Ring] IWRG EN VIVO  | POR EL CAMP INTERCONTINENTAL DE PESO LIGERO  |  SPIDER FLY  VS AGUILA ROJA (posted by IWRG tv)
Mas Lucha announced Big Mami as first participant in their upcoming Torneo Suprema
6) Águila Roja b Spider Fly © [IWRG IC Light] IWRG EN VIVO  | POR EL CAMP INTERCONTINENTAL DE PESO LIGERO  |  SPIDER FLY  VS AGUILA ROJA (posted by IWRG tv)
5th defense, 3rd against Aguila Roja

The women’s match here wasn’t the Gran Prix, judging from the clips. Big Mami isn’t great but few people have looked as out of their depth as Gizelle in an IWRG ring. There’s no point in the match where she does better than any fan pulled out of the crowd would’ve done. If you’re serious about wrestling – not just women’s wrestling, but any sort of wrestling – you can’t put people who are doing that badly in your matches.

Big Lucha

Big Lucha posted both the first half of their most recent show and Big Lucha World this weekend. I have not had the time to watch them. I mean, I guess I had that time, but it went to other vital tasks (playing Spider-Man 2, sleeping.) I’ll get to it over the next few days.

Other News

Arturo Adan Morales, who wrestled as both Bello Adan and masked man The Rose, passed away on Saturday according to Box y Lucha. He was 67. His career went from about 1977 to about 2007, spending time in LLI, CMLL and AAA in bits and pieces. He briefly had the Black Man II gimmick but mostly played exoticos and typically lost the apuesta matches.

El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. lost the GHC National Championship to Jack Morris on NOAH’s Sunday show. Los Golpeadors retained the GHC Junior tag team championship over Tadasuke & YO-HEY on the same show.

Ke Monito received an award.

Referee Yayito was honored in Tamaulipas.

RIOT 12/09 in Arena Femenil

Those are two good matches. It’s RIOT so it might be the only two matches they announce. That’s now the earliest announced return match for Bandido.

La Razon visits Arena Olimpico Laguna.

Brigada Dos de Tres Caidas is producing a series of features on young Mexico city wrestlers; the latest is on Extasis.

NviNoticas has an interview with Estrellita.