CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 05/05/2023 Arena México [Adrenalina, CMLL, Contrareplica, Kaiser Sports, R de Rudo, The Gladiatores, The Gladiatores (videos), thecubsfan]
1) Astral, Neón, Valiente Jr. b Apocalipsis, Cholo, Disturbio 
7:55.
2) Hombre Bala Jr. b Zandokan Jr. [lightning] 
7:29.
3) Espíritu Negro, Guerrero Maya Jr., Rey Cometa b Akuma, Dark Magic, Espanto Jr. 
13:43. Guerrero Maya replaced Dulce Gardenia on Thursday.
4) Esfinge, Fugaz, Star Black b Ángel de Oro, Bárbaro Cavernario, Yota   
12:52. Yota returned to Japan and challenged for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, then returned to Mexico as if nothing had happened. (CMLL referred to him going to Japan but didn’t dwell on it; he lost to Fugaz in the thrid pin.)
5) Soberano Jr. b Averno   
6) Atlantis Jr., Místico, Templario b Dragón Rojo Jr., Panterita del Ring Jr., Titán [Relevos Increíbles]   
9:27. Straight falls, Templario beating Dragon Rojo (eventually) to set up a title match next week

Soberano/Averno is worth going out of your way to see. The main event wasn’t much. Dragon Rojo/Templario had less chemistry than usual, struggling at the finish. I guess next week is one more chance to make it feel special but I wouldn’t bet on it. (Soberano being pulled back into the issue on Saturday is a more promising sign.) Not a lot here else of note, outside of Yota just being back in CMLL doing usual excursion things.

CMLL (SAT) 05/06/2023 Arena Coliseo [CMLL]
1) Mercurio, Pequeño Violencia, Pierrothito b Acero, Angelito, Pequeño Magía
2) Raider b Enfermero Jr. [lightning]
3) Amapola & Tiffany b Maligna & Skadi
4) El Coyote, Okumura, Pólvora b Difunto, Kráneo, Zandokan Jr.
Team Polvora is now officially Los Chacales del Ring.
5) Ángel de Oro, Dragón Rojo Jr., Niebla Roja b Guerrero Maya Jr., Soberano Jr., Star Black
Dragon Rojo unmasked Soberano after the win
6) Volador Jr. b Euforia

The main event was one fall, which is atypical for Arena Coliseo main event singles match. Euforia had a busy Sunday in front of him, maybe that’s part of it.

CMLL (SUN) 05/07/2023 Arena México [CMLL]
1) Cachorro b Retro [lightning]
2) Hera & Tiffany b La Guerrera & La Magnifica
3) Diamond, Leono, Sangre Imperial b Grako, Inquisidor, Nitro
Leono replaced Flyer on Saturday.
4) Pegasso, Rey Samuray, Stigma b Futuro, Max Star, Vegas
5) Hechicero, Mephisto, Rey Bucanero b Blue Panther, Panterita del Ring, Valiente
Rey Bucanero replaced Euforia on Thursday.
6) Bárbaro Cavernario, Titán, Yota b Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr., Volador Jr. [Relevos Increíbles]
Yota beat Gran Guerrero and challenged him for the CMLL Heavyweight championship

Yota going for the title gives some reasoning for his otherwise peculiar route back to Mexico. It’s a real toss-up as to what’s going to happen there. Yota has been fun but positioned as roster filler CMLL during his trips. CMLL didn’t treat him any differently coming back from Japan on Friday. The normal bit is the NJPW excursion loses a big match to finish up, then goes back to NJPW to make a big return. That’s happened a bit out of order this time around, but you can count on CMLL doing whatever they were planning on doing no matter what else was happening. The counterpoint is CMLL had the Universal tournament a few weeks ago and won’t need to have the heavyweight champion around for a while, so they could do NJPW a big favor by giving Yota a belt before his IWGP challenge without harming themselves. CMLL could make Yota heavyweight champion if they wanted to, I just have no idea if anyone but people on social media care all that much. At least it’s an interesting Sunday match.

Yota’s Spanish promos need a bit of work; you can see Cavernario coming in to take over for him before he switches to English.

The real news is the second match forces people to consider if Leono or Flyer is the better wrestler.

CMLL , JABIL (SUN) 05/07/2023 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [thecubsfan]
1) Avispón Negro Jr., Bello Antuan, Eclipse Jr. b Obelisk, Raven, Temerario 
2) Dulce Kitty, Náutica, Sexy Sol b Atenea, Nexy, Valkiria 
3) Bobby Black & Estrella de Jalisco II b Bestia Negra & Ponzoña Jr. 
4) Micro Gemelo Diablo I, Micro Gemelo Diablo II, Micro Sagrado b Átomo, Chamuel, Perico Zacarías 
5) Furia Roja, Guerrero de la Muerte, Ráfaga b Leo, Omar Brunetti, Vaquero Jr. 
6) Ángel Negro, Arlequín, La Fashion b Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II, Sagrado 
7) Euforia & Soberano Jr. b Felino & Felino Jr. 

CMLL , JABIL , 2 (SUN) 05/07/2023 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [thecubsfan]
1) Celeste, Eclipse Jr., Mágico b Jabalí, Ponzoña Jr., Rumbero 
2) Dulce Kitty, Náutica, Sexy Sol vs Atenea, Nexy, Vaklyria 
3) Micro Gemelo Diablo I, Micro Gemelo Diablo II, Micro Sagrado b Átomo, Chamuel, Periquito Sacaryas 
4) Adrenalina, Explosivo, Fantástico b Barboza, Draego, Persa 
5) Ángel Negro (Laguna), Arlequín, La Fashion b Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II, Sagrado 
6) Felino & Felino Jr. b Euforia & Soberano Jr. 

Another two sponsored shows in Guadalajara.

The building also announced it will hold it’s 64th Anniversary show on June 27th. I don’t have a sense of what exactly will main event that, or if there even will be a special main event.

Today’s Puebla show has their Cinco de Mayo tournament and a rematch main event from last week (where Cavernario & Gran Guerrero got DQed against Atlantis & Cavernario.) Nothing stands out on Tuesday either.

CMLL (FRI) 05/12/2023 Arena México
1) Micro Gemelo Diablo I, Micro Gemelo Diablo II, Micro Sagrado vs Átomo, Chamuel, Periquito Sacaryas
2) La Jarochita, Princesa Sugehit, Skadi vs Reyna Isis, Stephanie Vaquer, Zeuxis
3) Magia Blanca vs Fugaz [lightning]
4) Atlantis Jr., Esfinge, Panterita del Ring Jr. vs Euforia, Hechicero, Mephisto
5) Dragón Rojo Jr. © vs Templario [CMLL MIDDLE]
second defense
6) Místico, Soberano Jr., Volador Jr. vs Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr., Último Guerrero

Not a show worth throwing a party for, but 4 and 6 should be good. The women and micros are back on a Friday.

NJPW posted a Stephanie Vaquer interview to promote their NJPW Strong Women’s tournament on May 21st. It didn’t click until watching the video, but Vaquer is the first (“la primera”) CMLL women’s wrestler to be booked to wrestle on a NJPW show. I recall La Comandante seconded people on a FantasticaMania show when she was already in Japan for a REINA show and there’s been a couple of Japanese-based CMLL women’s champions who’ve made similar cameos, but no one’s ever wrestled on one of those shows.

Hijo del Villano III talked about being in the Copa Junior VIP for the first time.

AAA

The final week of the Lucha Libre World Cup had a few wrap-up vignettes

• Kamille & Deonna did a promo on how it was obvious they’d win all along and vaguely challenged everyone
  • this felt like AAA asked them to film a promo but didn’t give them any direction
• Sexy Star thanked Las Toxicas for not betraying her during the tournament, and La Hiedra issued challenges for a match with Dalys and Las Toxicas challenging for the trios titles
  • that’s going to be a tough one at the moment
• Laredo Kid, Pentagon Jr. and Taurus talked about their win
• Alberto and Thomas Lattimer brawled backstage
  • but AAA didn’t have anyone to break it up so they sort of had to just stop when Konnan yelled at them.

Those videos may turn up on social media later; the Alberto one went up just as I wa sgoing to post them.

They’re finally on to new footage next week.

AAA also had vignettes that don’t appear to have aired on TV but were instead posted on social media.

• In one, Nicho, Toscano and Argenis confront rapper Acznio backstage at TripleMania Monterrey. This, like the Adrain Marcelo experiment, seemed to be an attempt to bring in a different fan base to AAA. The video got good attention and Aczino seems likely to appear at one of the TripleManias later this year.
• AAA also posted a video of a mystery Pentagon Jr. stalker, following up a previous bit where Penta’s card was defaced by a mystery person.

I’m sure we’ll see this Penta stalker at some point but it’s strange how AAA constantly books singles feuds and doesn’t actually book singles matches. Maybe that’ll change with so many shows in a short period of time this summer but it’s hard to care about any of this stuff at the moment. AAA TV feels like it’s drifted to what CMLL Informa was for a lot of time, with pitches or the starts of various feuds but nothing ever progresses. AAA is trying to reach various fanbases but they’re not servicing “people who watch their TV show on a weekly basis to see stories that have a beginning, middle and end in a timely fashion” all that much.

Konnan followed up on some of the Dorian Roldan podcast comments on his own podcast. He implied the Univision deal didn’t happen because AAA felt they deserved a better deal than Univision was offering. They’re in talks with the “venture capital behind F1” (Liberty Media?) to do the reality show Dorain mentioned, which could end up on Netflix or elsewhere.

Hijo del Vikingo will appear on the June 9th Northeast Wrestling show in Waterbury, Connecticut. That booking sticks out to me because most of the US indie work Vikingo has had caters to people who are very online, and Northeast Wrestling seems more into booking who are US TV stars. Maybe Vikingo is one now.

IWRG

IWRG (SUN) 05/07/2023 Arena Naucalpan [Mas Lucha Premium]
1) Rey Aztaroth & Rey Halcón b Baby Star & Fussion 
2) Spider Fly b Águila Roja [IWRG IC Light] 
3rd defense
3) Tonalli © b Aramis [IWRG IC WELTER]
3rd defense
4) Hijo del Pirata Morgan won the Rey del Ring
Hijo de Canis Lupus defeated Hell Boy to win, challenges Hijo del Pirata Morgan out.

Aramis vs Tonalli got good reviews. The first two matches are up for free on Mas Lucha’s channel.

I didn’t watch this show so I don’t have all 30 names; neither IWRG or Mas Lucha reported them. I did skip through last year’s Rey del Ring (posted for free this weekend) to add a few missing names to results. It waas good for remembering people and things in IWRG that totally don’t exist a year later. I forgot Old School was a thing.

The 04/30 IWRG show didn’t go up on IWRG or Mas Lucha’s website, but it is on the InterneTV Deportes YouTube channel.

Other News

Comedian Lalo Elizarrarás ran another show built around him returning to the ring under his Tlaloc name. He wrestled Mr. Iguana back in 2020. He wrestled Fresero Jr. this time around. Fresero Jr. had been critical of Adrian Marcelo’s participation with AAA, so there was a ready story for him facing another celebrity. The Iguana match was a fun thing, the Fresero Jr. match ended with Tlaloc loaded into an ambulance and stretchered away as part of an angle. There’s probably another match coming.

DMT Azul won the vacant The Crash Heavyweight championship. He did not get a belt. The previous champion is LA Park and so he may still have it. The Crash always vacates their championships – working with and then not with AAA tends to do that. The last time thus belt was vacant, Hijo del Vikingo met Cinta de Oro at an airport parking garage to hand the belt over. I do not believe LA Park will be doing that.

Gary Will’s Wrestling Title History book, the foundation of most every wrestling title history listing on the internet, is now available for free on the internet archive.

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 05/05/2023 Arena México
1) Astral, Neón, Valiente Jr. vs Apocalipsis, Cholo, Disturbio
2) Hombre Bala Jr. vs Zandokan Jr. [lightning]
3) Espíritu Negro, Guerrero Maya Jr., Rey Cometa vs Akuma, Dark Magic, Espanto Jr.
Guerrero Maya replaced Dulce Gardenia on Thursday.
4) Esfinge, Fugaz, Star Black vs Ángel de Oro, Bárbaro Cavernario, Yota
5) Soberano Jr. vs Averno
6) Atlantis Jr., Místico, Templario vs Dragón Rojo Jr., Panterita del Ring Jr., Titán [Relevos Increíbles]

This is a non-tournament show but normal CMLL Friday shows generally seem good. The main event has a good mix, and this is the last Friday for Titan for a while. Averno gets a rare singles match with Soberano. Yota is still listed on the show, and it will be amazing if he comes back to beat up Esfinge again. Hombre Bala/Zandokan could be interesting. It’s on PPV for the usual price.

Espiritu Negro seems to be having a bad travel day.

(Copa Junior VIP starts May 19th, not next week like I previously wrote.)

All the PPVs are up for this month. All of them 99 pesos.

CMLL (MON) 05/08/2023 Arena Puebla
1) Fantasy & Rayo Metálico vs Mercurio & Pequeño Violencia
2) Hijo del Perverso, King Jaguar, Rey Apocalipsis vs Apocalipsis, Cholo, Disturbio
3) La Jarochita, Princesa Sugehit, Sanely vs La Catalina, Reyna Isis, Stephanie Vaquer
4) Rey Samuray vs Pegasso, Millenium, Hijo de Centella Roja, Asturiano, Prayer, Perverso, Espíritu Maligno, Multy, Dark Soul [Torneo Cinco de Mayo]
5) Atlantis, Guerrero Maya Jr., Místico, Stigma vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Dragón Rojo Jr., Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr.

Some of the Puebla luchadors were on CMLL Informa this week to talk about match 4. CMLL’s trying to establish a Torneo Cinco de Mayo as an annual Puebla tradition. Cinco de Mayo is a celebration of Battle of Puebla, and that’s the one part of Mexico that celebrates the holiday.

CMLL (TUE) 05/09/2023 Arena México
1) Galaxy vs Mercurio [lightning]
2) Diamond, Eléctrico, Robin vs Dr. Karonte I, Dr. Karonte II, Enfermero Jr.
3) Fuego, Hombre Bala Jr., Valiente Jr. vs Akuma, Dark Magic, Espanto Jr.
4) Magnus vs Misterioso Jr. [lightning]
5) Dark Panther, El Audaz, Star Black vs Cancerbero, Luciferno, Virus
6) Atlantis, Blue Panther, Valiente vs Ángel de Oro, Bárbaro Cavernario, Niebla Roja

Just a random group of names. Two lightning matches instead of a 2v2 match. Good luck to the tecnicos in a match two.

CMLL (TUE) 05/09/2023 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Dulce Kitty, Náutica, Sexy Sol vs Atenea, Nexy, Valkiria
2) Micro Gemelo Diablo I, Micro Gemelo Diablo II, Micro Sagrado vs Átomo, Chamuel, Periquito Sacaryas
3) Leo, Omar Brunetti, Vaquero Jr. vs Demonio Maya, Principe Daniel, Xelhua
4) Felino & Felino Jr. vs Furia Roja & Guerrero de la Muerte
5) Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II, Sagrado vs Ángel Negro, Arlequín, La Fashion
6) Panterita del Ring & Panterita del Ring Jr. vs Euforia & Soberano Jr.

Father/son main event. Xelhua is a figure in Azteca mythology, but he might be a new name for Cavernario brother Canalla.

On Informa, Polvora, Coyote, and Okumura announced their new trio is Los Chacales (Los Jackals), a name that’s been used by others in CMLL previously (Bestia Salvaje, Emilio Charles Jr and Sangre Chicana.) This time, the name was said to be picked by a fan, who will be getting a mask or facemask from each wrestler.

CMLL mentions their Televisa TV show (“CMLL Pura Lucha”) will air at 1:15 pm this Saturday. The show normally airs around 4:30 pm Mexico City time and airs matches from the previous Friday; this Saturday will have the CMLL Universal final. I’m not sure exactly why it’s moving – online programming listings still have it at the normal slot, and Mexican TV companies are really bad at updating those – but I suspect it has something to do with coverage of Canelo Alvarez’s boxing match on Saturday.

05/21 NJPW US (Los Angeles)

• Stephanie Vaquer vs Mercedes Mone in a NJPW Strong Women’s championship semifinal
• Zack Sabre Jr. & Bad Dude Tito vs Virus & Barbaro Cavernario

I was guessing that Vaquer counted as the usual one CMLL rep on the show. Not so fast. Virus and ZSJ on opposite sides of a tag match will be a cool thing. Team CMLL is probably losing both matches but it’s possible they can beat Bad Dude Tito.

Panteirta del Ring Jr. says he used to think about Raider or Gran Guerrero as his biggest rivals after facing them in the Gran Alternativa final, but now believe it’s Templario after the match two weeks ago. Panterita’s current goal is to win all the national championships, with him noting it’ll take a long time to achieve.

Difunto feels his career in Guadalajara was stunted a bit because of grudges people had against his father (Monje Cavernario) and was happy to break through into Arena Coliseo Guadalajara finally. Before that, he was wrestling on the indies and did not like it – he feels there are a lot of people who are barely trained and doing unsafe things on those shows. Difunto’s father was his first trainer and hard on him, but Difunto believes he’s a better wrestler for it.

AAA

AAA on Space finishes off the Lucha Libre World Cup this Saturday.

Vampiro now says he was hospitalized after TripleMania Monterrey, he has more than 26 bruises on his head, and one more bad blow could kill him. (Vampiro wrestled a few days later.) He also says he’s in talks with AAA about a retirement show. I suspect Vampiro will be honored at TripleMania Mexico City.

IWRG

IWRG (THU) 05/04/2023 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG, Mas Lucha]
1) Baby Star Jr. b Ei Bi Ci 
2) Gannicus & John Tito b Mr. Mike & Rey Halcón 
3) León Dorado & Mr. Leo b Asterboy & Puma de Oro and Cerebro Negro & Cerebro Negro Jr. 
Leon Dorado & Mr. Leo challenged Puma de Oro to title matches.
4) Hijo del Pirata Morgan, Lolita, Super Mario AK47 b Kuukai, Miss Kath, Nosaki 
Kuukai replaced Nishikawa
5) Hell Boy © b Gianna Valetta [IWRG MEXICO] 
2nd defense. Hell Boy retained despite Nozaki interfering.

The main event looks like a generic indie title match with lots of interference until it backfired to set up the finish.

IWRG’s added an entrance video board. They’re going to have to figure out how to handle substitutions (Nishikawa’s video played for Kuuaki, changes happen a lot here) but it’s a nice upgrade. The current Arena Naucalpan look came from remodeling as part of filming scenes for Nacho Libre there and the video board is the biggest upgrade since.

IWRG (SUN) 05/07/2023 Arena Naucalpan
1) Baby Star & Fussion vs Rey Aztaroth & Rey Halcón
2) Spider Fly vs Águila Roja [IWRG IC Light]
3rd defense
3) Tonalli © vs Aramis [IWRG IC WELTER]
3rd defense
4) 1 vs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 [Rey del Ring]

This is IWRG’s annual royal rumble match, with no participants announced in advance. Tonalli versus Aramis is the third match in the series. The first was a draw, Aramis won match two, I’d expect Tonalli to win match three. My guess is Tonalli isn’t as much in CMLL as it seems on screen if they’re letting him work this feud, though even that seems inconsistent – they cut ties with Faby Apache for teh same thing.

This is a Mas Lucha premium show. I think they’ll be running last week’s IWRG show prior on Sunday.

Big Lucha

Big Lucha (SAT) 05/27/2023 Arena Big Lucha, Iztapalapa, Distrito Federal
1) Aeroqueen & Reiya vs La Brava & Vórtice
2) Cometa Maya & Radioactivo vs El Machote & Máscara Año 2000 Jr.  [BIG LUCHA MIXA, semifinal]
3) Skayde, Tirano, Viajero vs Brujo De Iztapalapa, Cobarde Jr., Forneo
4) Bendito & Flamita vs Sol & Torito Negro [BIG LUCHA MIXA, semifinal]
5) El Potro de Oro, Gravity, Rey Horus vs Iku, Jack Evans, Vengador
6) ? & ?? vs ??? & ???? [BIG LUCHA MIXA, final]
7) El Bandido & Galeno del Mal vs Emperador Azteca & Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. and Súper Nova & Texano Jr.

This is the next streaming show. The big news is the introduction of tag titles, called “Mixa” here. All the finals which don’t involve a member of the Los Dinamtias sound good, and it gives new people a big match which might not be Black Generation versus Golden Guns. I still am skeptical Bandido is making these shows.

Other News

LuchaWorld has this week’s Poster-Mania.

Dean Rasmussen of the Death Vallery Driver Video Review passed away on Thursday. I read his and the rest of the crew’s reviews of wrestling regularly in the 90s and 00s, and posted on their board a bunch. He was intensively creative in what he was interested in and how he wrote about it. He’ll be missed.

Dralistico beat Rey Escorpion in their match in NOAH on Thursday. It sounds like Rey Escorpion did well (and that they tried to work a rematch in post match promos.) Dralistico is headed to Orlando for ROH tapings this weekend. Daga betrayed Eita in their tag match. Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. retained the GHC National Championship on the same show. The older Dr. Wagner Jr. was not considered an impressive wrestler in his early years until he started touring Japan and everything clicked in to place for him. His son has taken after him in a lot of ways. Wagner 3 has gotten very strong reviews in his last few defenses as if everything clicked in place for him as well.

AAW has Fenix versus Gringo Loco this Saturday, and it streams live on Highspots. I have a ticket to this show but I’m not yet sure if I’ll be able to make it. (Or how to get there, it’s a new venue and there’s not much parking.)

GCW announced Hijo del Vikingo vs Metalik for their 06/23 show in Chicago. Metalik previously was avoiding indie shows with AAA wrestlers as part of staying loyal to CMLL. I think he still would prefer to go back to CMLL, but he’s got fewer options now that it’s taken so long for whatever visa/residency paperwork he’s been waiting for to get approved.

AULL announced Baronessa would not appear on their 05/21 show due to health reasons and that she’ll be out an extended period of time. Baronessa wrestled this past weekend with no obvious injury, though she was strangely forced to give up Robles Promotion’s Women’s championship.

An article about the history of wrestling in Puebla pre-Arena Puebla seems good, but ends with suggesting that there has been no other lucha libre arena in Puebla until the opening of “Arena Divina Independencia.” That is not true; arenas like Arena Coliseo San Ramon have been running for some time.

Pistolero Negro wrestled at the school he graduated from.

CMLL

CMLL (TUE) 05/02/2023 Arena México [CMLL]
1) Fantasy, Shockercito, Último Dragóncito b Pequeño Olímpico, Pequeño Polvora, Pequeño Violencia 
2) Oro Jr. & Sangre Imperial b Dr. Karonte I & Dr. Karonte II 
3) Amapola, Hera, Olympia b La Magnifica, La Vaquerita, Sanely 
Amapola replaced Zeuxis earlier in the day.
4) Fuego b Felino Jr. [lightning] 
5) El Audaz, Panterita del Ring, Volcano b Felino, Hijo del Villano III, Rey Bucanero 
6) Titán, Valiente, Volador Jr. b Mephisto, Niebla Roja, Último Guerrero 
Mephisto wore a special 35th-anniversary mask.

Nothing much here. The Dr. Karontes are the worst male wrestlers on the CMLL roster. Sangre Imperial and Oro Jr. aren’t highly rated and they were much better in that match

CMLL (TUE) 05/02/2023 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Astro Oriental, Eclipse Jr., Mágico b Black Boy, Mortis, Ponzoña Jr. 
2) Atilus, Maximus, Minotauro b Gran Kenut, Jabalí, Mr. Trueno 
3) Barboza, Draego, Persa b Carlo Roggi, Destello, Destructor 
4) Ángel Negro (Laguna), Brillante Jr., Hijo de Stuka Jr., Stuka Jr. b Ángel Rebelde, Halcón Negro Jr., Optimus, Trono 
debut of Angel Negro here
5) Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido b Arlequín, Furia Roja, Guerrero de la Muerte 
challenges followed
6) Euforia, Hijo del Soberano, Soberano Jr. b Blue Panther, Cachorro, Dark Panther 

Also nothing much here. I couldn’t even figure out what the challenges were about (the Occidente tag titles?) because the announcers were sort of talking over them.

CMLL (SAT) 05/06/2023 Arena Coliseo
1) Acero, Angelito, Pequeño Magía vs Mercurio, Pequeño Violencia, Pierrothito
2) Enfermero Jr. vs Raider [lightning]
3) Maligna & Skadi vs Amapola & Tiffany [lightning]
4) Difunto, Kráneo, Zandokan Jr. vs El Coyote, Okumura, Pólvora
5) Guerrero Maya Jr., Soberano Jr., Star Black vs Ángel de Oro, Dragón Rojo Jr., Niebla Roja
6) Volador Jr. vs Euforia

The singles match was set up last week.

CMLL (SUN) 05/07/2023 Arena México
1) Retro vs Cachorro [lightning]
2) La Guerrera & La Magnifica vs Hera & Tiffany
3) Diamond, Flyer, Sangre Imperial vs Grako, Inquisidor, Nitro
4) Pegasso, Rey Samuray, Stigma vs Futuro, Max Star, Vegas
5) Blue Panther, Panterita del Ring, Valiente vs Euforia, Hechicero, Mephisto
6) Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr., Volador Jr. vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Titán, Yota [Relevos Increíbles]

Yota may not be making that booking. Earlier this morning, Yota Tsuji returned to NJPW, took out wrestlers, and issued a challenge for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. He also appears to be joining LIJ. It would be very funny if he came back to Mexico to team with fellow LIJ member Titan but usually this means the wrestler is done in CMLL.

The 2v2 tag matches are becoming a regular feature.

Informa has Averno (facing Soberano), Dragon Rojo (Universal), Volcano (Kid’s Day), Hijo del Villano III (Copa Junior), Polvora/Okumura/Coyote (maybe they have a team name?), Dark Soul, Hijo de Centella Roja, Multy, Espiritu Maligno (random Puebla guys???)

Box y Lucha 3549 has Dragon Rojo’s big win on the cover.

Titan’s BOSJ schedule:

• 05/12 (match 8 of 10) vs TJP
• 05/13 (7) vs Taiji Ishimori
• 05/14 (6) vs KUSHIDA
• 05/16 (2) vs Ryusuke Taguchi
• 05/17 (7) vs Mike Bailey
• 05/18 (7) vs Lio Rush
• 05/19 (4) vs SHO
• 05/21 (1) vs DOUKI
• 05/23 (TBD) vs Hiromu Takahashi
• 05/24 – non-tournemnt match

This year’s tournament is the top 2 from each block advancing to a semi-final. It’s unlikely Titan will be among the top 2, but his last group being against Hiromu Takahashi suggests he’ll have an important final night. (If you want to dream, dream about Titan getting a win to knock Takahashi out of the semifinals, and then Takahashi coming to Mexico to defend the IWGP Junior Heavyweight championship sometime this summer.)

AAA

The Business of the Business podcast had Dorian Roldan as a guest this week. They covered a lot in about an hour. The really solid piece of new info is Verano de Escandalo will take place in Aguascalientes ‘one week’ after TripleMania Tijuana. That’s just a few weeks before Mexico City, so it will be a very busy stretch of AAA.

Roldan talked a lot about LuchaTitlan. He expects it to be immediately successful; they’re figuring on strong turnouts as tourism picks up. The pieces on LuchaTitlan this weekend better explained a part of the business concept to me: malls are struggling post-pandemic, the idea is to change some of the retail space over to entertainment options to motivate people to visit, and a nightly wrestling show fits that bill. Luchatitlan also fills a gap in the market. There are lot of tourist activities in Cancun, but few of them are open at night and even fewer of them are child friendly. Luchatitlan can be both. Roldan repeats the comments from other investors this weekend about wanting to open  Luchatitlan in more cities. Cozumel would be the next spot, based on the many cruise ships visiting there. Cabo San Lucas would be third. After that, the ideal scenario would be putting a franchise in the US – Roldan throws out Phoenix or Chicago as possibilities. Roldan notes this is a way for AAA to market themselves that WWE couldn’t do.

(I’ve got mixed feelings about this – it seems a reduction of the art of lucha libre to turn into a nightly Medieval Times-like show. It also seems to be employing 20 wrestlers in Cancun. Opening more of them would give steady work to a bunch of people who might not otherwise fine it.)

There’s a lot of talk about AAA and the US. Roldan, as he has in another recent interview, acknowledged AAA’s attempts in the US has not worked out as they’ve hoped so far. He said the AAA show in Phoenix last December was successful in terms of attendance and reception but not economically. Roldan confirmed there were plans with Conrad Thompson to run an AAA show in Los Angeles during WrestleMania weekend and said AAA was responsible for it not coming together. Their focus was getting Luchatitlan up and running (and it opened during that same weekend.) They were also colder on running the US after the Phoenix show didn’t work out. Roldan mentioned AAA was trying to get Hijo del Vikingo vs Will Ospreay on that Los Angeles show, also noting ‘it wasn’t possible.’ I don’t think NJPW would’ve allowed to that happen (and maybe that’s what Roldan meant) but Ospreay ended up missing all of that weekend due to injury so it was never destined to be.

Roldan believes AAA next push in the US needs to come with an event promoter who’s knowledgable and successful at promoting to the Mexican audience. He believes only a few fit, and they’re talking with them to see if they can form a partnership. Roldan would also to see AAA get a US media presence, AAA isn’t big enough to get real money, but AAA is too big to settle for a small deal just to be on TV. Yet, they can’t get a bigger deal with already having a bigger imprint in the US, and they’re stuck in a cycle. Roldan mentions AAA was in discussions for almost a year and a half with Univision, but “we were not able to close a deal with them.” He suggested pretty much any idea you can think of as a possibility: a docu-series, working with a OTT company (think Netflix), setting up a FAST network (like the one they have with Pluto), or going back to live-streaming with YouTube or Twitch. Don’t get your hopes up for any of it, they’re all just in the idea stage. Roldan says AAA’s focused on Luchatitlan the first half of the year and hopes to focus on US ideas the second half of the year.

In more general bits, Roldan mentioned a goal of TripleMania is trying to appeal to as many different segments as possible. The Omega/Vikingo specifically exists to reach out to US fans. AAA is reaching out to a couple of influencers to bring them in on a TripleMania to bring in a different audience. (Adrian Marcelo specifically didn’t work out, but they will keep trying.) Marvel Lucha Libre also is something that AAA will keep trying: Roldan says they’re talking to Disney about running Marvel Lucha Libre-specific shows at mall venues – he references the mall show AAA ran last year; so think of the TV tapings in Puebla.

In light of WWE, Roldan was asked if AAA would ever consider a sale. He said they’re a business so they would consider any deal that would be good for the business – a sale, an investment, a partnership, whatever if it made sense. He points out everyone assumed WWE was going to be sold and it ended up being part of a merger, as if to say not to put limits on what could happen.

In non-podcast news, remember the AAA/FMV lawsuit? Well, don’t. Court records show the plaintiff (other investors in the Lucha Underground projected) dismissed the case back on April 13th. That points to some sort of out-of-court settlement. AAA’s been operating as if the lawsuit didn’t affect them for quite some time, resuming airing their content in the US. It may have taken some time to get it all done on paper.

AAA is posting some of what’s normally the extra content on the TV shows as social media videos. In one, Komander and Vikingo talk about their TripleMania Monterrey match and suggest having a singles match in Mexico. In another, Antifaz del Norte vows to keep the feud with Laredo Kid going.

Laredo Kid wrestles Thursday on Impact’s Before the Impact. That streams on their YouTube channel.

IWRG

IWRG (THU) 05/04/2023 Arena Naucalpan
1) Baby Star vs Ei Bi Ci
2) Gannicus & John Tito vs Mr. Mike & Rey Halcón
3) Asterboy & Puma de Oro vs León Dorado & Mr. Leo and Cerebro Negro & Cerebro Negro Jr.
4) Hijo del Pirata Morgan, Lolita, Super Mario AK47 vs Miss Kath, Nishikawa, Nosaki
5) Hell Boy © vs Gianna Valetta [IWRG MEXICO]
2nd defense

Hell Boy as Canek, protector of Mexico against all foreigners, continues. That’s a weird collection of people in the semi-main.

Other

NOAH on 05/04 (early Thursday morning) has

• Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. vs Hideki Suzuki for the GHC National Championship
• Dralistico vs Rey Escorpion
• Yoshinari Ogawa & Chris Ridgeway vs Daga & EITA
• Sean Legacy, Stallion Rogers, Dragon Bane, Alpha Wolf vs Jack Morris, Anthony Green, Yo-HEY, Tadasuke
• Atsushi Kotoge & Seiki Yoshioka vs Extreme Tiger & Lanzelot
• Mohammed Yone & Super Crazy vs Akitoshi Saito & Daishi Ozawa

This show streams on the Wrestle-Universe service.

GCW announced Hijo del Vikingo vs Ninja Mack for their 06/04 show in Atlantic City.

A story about the state of lucha libre Morelos recovering from COVID.

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 04/28/2023 Arena México [AS, CMLL, Estrellas del Ring, Excelsior, Kaiser Sports, R de Rudo, The Gladiatores, thecubsfan]
***Arena Mexico 67th Anniversary***
1) Pequeño Olímpico, Pequeño Violencia, Pierrothito b Galaxy, Shockercito, Último Dragóncito  
8:35. Firpo Segura’s family was honored after the match.
2) Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido b Capitán Suicida, Neón, Valiente Jr.  
11:08. Capitan Suicida, Neon and Valiente Jr. had matching gear, may be a new trio.
3) Princesa Sugehit © b Zeuxis [CMLL WOMEN]   
9:38. 8th defense
4) Averno, Mephisto, Satánico b Atlantis, Blue Panther, Soberano Jr. 
10:43. Satanico pinned Atlantis (in the ropes) after Averno unmasked Soberano. The latter two set up a singles match for next week. Copa Bobby Bonales was awarded to Lluvia, La Jarochita, Mephisto and Titan after the match.
5) Místico, Titán, Volador Jr. b Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr., Último Guerrero   
13:05.
6) Templario b Atlantis Jr., Dragón Rojo Jr. [CMLL Universal, final]   
10:43. Templario beat Atlantis Jr. (5:33), then Dragon Rojo defeated Templario cleanly to win the tournament. Dragon Rojo unmasked Templario afterward.

Dragon Rojo versus Templario looks like it’s the CMLL 90th Anniversary. It’s May, that show is in September, there’s still plenty of time to throw in curveballs. If it happens, and some other matches and a lot of excitement for a round number, it’ll draw really well. It just doesn’t look like it’ll be a great match. 2023 Dragon Rojo peaks at “alright.” He did not get hurt this week, but he also wasn’t asked to do much. This was a short tournament final where Atlantis Jr. took most of the action before being eliminated. Dragon Rojo got the impressive belt but didn’t get an impressive victory. CML and Dragon Rojo followed the formula well in the post-match, got the visual off Dragon Rojo holding both Templario’s and the belt in the post-match. It just feels like a formula rather than something important.

This was a show of rushed and shorter matches. They had multiple outside-the-ring bits (Copa Bobby Bonales, MLB players being acknowledged, Firpo Segura’s family being there) and probably cut time to prevent it from going long. They ended up going shorter than usual for a Friday.

I found the first half of this card more satisfying than the first. Sugehit/Zeuxis was short but it didn’t feel short-changed. Depredadors/Flyers similarly just got out at the right time at the right pace, with guys who were more motivated than those in the semi-main.

In “trying to figure out who is running things here” news, it seemed notable that Salvador Lutteroth was joined by Hector Ascan Lutteroth in representing the promotion for the Copa Bobby Bonales. Not sure what his role is with CMLL.

CMLL (SAT) 04/29/2023 Arena Coliseo [CMLL]
1) Acero & Aéreo b Full Metal & Pequeño Polvora
2) Leono & Oro Jr. b Apocalipsis & Cholo
3) Diamond b Max Star [lightning]
4) El Coyote, Okumura, Pólvora b Dark Panther, El Audaz, Flyer
5) Dragón Rojo Jr., Misterioso Jr., Rey Bucanero b Panterita del Ring, Panterita del Ring Jr., Valiente
6) Euforia, Hechicero, Mephisto DQ Atlantis, Titán, Volador Jr.
Euforia fouled Volador, faked his own foul, and got the DQ win. Challenges followed.

Max Star looked cool in the one highlight I saw.

CMLL (SUN) 04/30/2023 Arena México [CMLL]
1) Angelito, Kaligua, Pequeño Magía b Full Metal, Mercurio, Pequeño Polvora
2) La Magnifica, La Vaquerita, Skadi b Amapola, Hera, Olympia
Amapola replaced Metalica
3) Dark Magic, Espanto Jr., Okumura b Brillante Jr., Misterio Blanco, Misterio Negro
4) Titán b Averno [lightning]
5) Atlantis Jr., Panterita del Ring Jr., Soberano Jr. b Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Templario
6) Volcano b Volador Jr., Satánico, Akuma, Capitán Suicida, Raider [Torneo Embajador De Los Niños, cibernetico]
Cibernetico match. Elimination order: Raider, Suicida (Satanico), Satanico (Volador), Volador, Akuma (Volcano) leaving Volcano as the champion of the children.

Volcano, on the surface, is a weird choice to win this. However, CMLL’s wanted him to be a kid’s hero since introducing him, this is the kid’s day championship, it makes a lot of sense that way. (And he did it by beating the most villainous-looking guy in the group.) Seemed like CMLL got a good children’s turn out for this show.

Titan/Averno went close to 10 minutes. Half this show will turn up on May 12th. It would be nice if that was part of the half that showed up.

CMLL (SUN) 04/30/2023 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [Arena Coliseo Guadalajara]
1) Mandala & Último Vaquero b Celeste & Pantera Azul [lightning] 
2) Calavera I, Hijo del Calavera, Rumbero b Eclipse, Fantasia, Panda [lightning] 
3) Avispón Negro Jr., Bello Antuan, Thunder Boy b Mortis, Ponzoña Jr., Yaky Boy 
fifteen-minute time limit
4) Astro Oriental, Black Boy, Quka b Bobby Black, Jabalí, Mágico 
5) Luna & Sexy Sol b Atenea & Valkiria 
6) Obelius, Raven, Temerario b Estrella Del Jalisco I, Estrella Del Jalisco Ii, Último Ángel 
7) Barboza, Draego, Persa b Bestia Negra, Cris Skin, Gallo 
8) Furia Roja, Guerrero de la Muerte, Ráfaga b Exterminador, Javier Cruz Jr., Maléfico 
9) Adrenalina, Explosivo, Fantástico b Leo, Omar Brunetti, Vaquero Jr. 

This was a free show and a heavily attended one. They also probably ran too many matches for the time they were going; they were rushing through the last few.

There were many well-attended Kid’s Day shows all over the place. Some are documented, most are not, and some of the reportingis just a mention of a few names on the show. (See this one or this one.) Most of these shows were either free entirely or free to just children, with government or local businesses paying the bills. There are similar shows today; May 1st is Labor Day in Mexico.

Ocotlan’s Arena Dinastia Cordero was named as the official “headquarters of Arena Coliseo Guadalajara.” I think they mean affiliate. Arena Dinastia Cordero is in Ocotlan, Jalisco, where the Romanos (Maximus, Atilius, Rey Urano) are from, they’ve been bringing in other wrestlers from that arena and will continue to do so. Codero I seems to be the one managing the arena, and says they’re looking for a new/bigger venue to bring in Mexico City names.

CMLL (SUN) 04/30/2023 Arena Puebla [Arena Puebla, Porra Fresa]
1) Meyer & Rayo Metálico b Espíritu Maligno & King Jaguar 
2) Astro, Galaxy, Shockercito b Minos, Pequeño Violencia, Pierrothito 
3) El Perverso, Fuego, Prayer b Pólvora, Siki Osama Jr., Valiente Jr. [Relevos Increíbles]
4) Espíritu Negro, Millenium, Rey Cometa b Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido
Scheduled as a MEX TRIOS title match (fifth defense) but Dulce Gardenia didn’t appear and switched to a non-title match. Espiritu beat Rugido
5) Atlantis, Guerrero Maya Jr., Místico, Stigma DQ Bárbaro Cavernario, Dragón Rojo Jr., Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr.  
Cavernario unmasked Mistico, Gran Guerrero fouled Atlantis for the DQ. Set up a rematch. Challenges followed.

They humiliated the children’s heroes on Kid’s Day, how dare they.

CMLL (TUE) 05/02/2023 Arena México
1) Fantasy, Shockercito, Último Dragóncito vs Pequeño Olímpico, Pequeño Polvora, Pequeño Violencia
2) Oro Jr. & Sangre Imperial vs Dr. Karonte I & Dr. Karonte II
3) La Magnifica, La Vaquerita, Sanely vs Hera, Olympia, Zeuxis
4) Fuego vs Felino Jr. [lightning]
5) El Audaz, Panterita del Ring, Volcano vs Felino, Hijo del Villano III, Rey Bucanero
6) Titán, Valiente, Volador Jr. vs Mephisto, Niebla Roja, Último Guerrero

The main event could be fun if everyone’s in the right mood. Felino Jr. hasn’t been around for about a month.

CMLL (FRI) 05/05/2023 Arena México
1) Astral, Neón, Valiente Jr. vs Apocalipsis, Cholo, Disturbio
2) Hombre Bala Jr. vs Zandokan Jr. [lightning]
3) Dulce Gardenia, Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa vs Akuma, Dark Magic, Espanto Jr.
4) Esfinge, Fugaz, Star Black vs Ángel de Oro, Bárbaro Cavernario, Yota
5) Soberano Jr. vs Averno
6) Atlantis Jr., Místico, Templario vs Dragón Rojo Jr., Panterita del Ring Jr., Titán

The main event continues the Templario/Dragon Rojo feud (and they’ve got to kill a Friday before the next tournament kicks in.) Soberano/Averno could be great. Zandokan gets another chance in a lightning match.

AAA

AAA on Space aired Lucha Libre World Cup part 2. They still have more matches, so part 3 will air next week. It’s a stretch of five weeks of pure PPV repeats, which followed two weeks of shows featuring NWA wrestlers. They should start to air the normal TV taping on May 13th.

AAA held a press event for Luchatitlan this weekend. It’s now been open a month, though this was treated like the official opening, with a ribbon cutting including government officials. Ventura Entertainment expects to turn a profile on their investment after two years. All the article stalking about this project have suggested a next venue, though it seems like the location changes each time. This time the idea is another Luchatitlan in Cozumel “very soon.”

Karis La Momia Jr. is one of the Luchatitltan performers. Basically, if someone around AAA has just vanished off the face of the earth in the last few months, there’s a good chance they ended up as part of Luchatitlan.

Konnan was asked on his podcast about a moment from Vampiro/Chessman TripleMania match where Vampiro seemed to give up on wrestling. Konnan explained he had passed a message (via the referee) to tell Chessman to be more aggressive. Chessman hit Vampiro with a stiff shot to the head in trying to follow that message, and Vampiro got upset enough to leave the match for a moment, telling Chessman not to touch him. Konnan confronted Vampiro about it after the match, Vampiro said his hands were trembling after the shot, and he lost it. Konnan says he told Vampiro never to do that again. Vampiro’s version of events is he told Chessman not to hit him in the head due to his Alzheimer’s, Chessman did so anyway, and Vampiro got a concussion. Whatever happened, Vampiro’s Facebook post teasing retirement came later that night, then he wrestled later that weekend (though not sure how much he actually did.)

Vampiro wrestled on Sunday in Guadalajara. On Instagram Live the day prior, Vampiro said that Guadalajara match was the final show of a three-year contract – but he’s still talking to AAA about a new contract. It’s hard to figure why “soon to be retiring” Vampiro would be looking for a new contract but maybe he’s looking for something out of the ring.

ESTO asked Toscano about Adrian Marcelo’s claim that his licensing test was fixed again him. Toscano, who seemed to be part of those training Marcelo, said he wasn’t at the test and only heard what Marcelo said second hand, but believed the tests were always done hard and with merit.

IWRG

IWRG (SUN) 04/30/2023 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG]
1) Kenji & X-Devil b Baby Star & Ei Bi Ci
2) Águila Roja b Spider Fly
Aguila Roja still wants the IWRG IC LIGHT title shot
3) Puma de Oro © b Cerebro Negro Jr. [IWRG IC MIDDLE]
4) Gran Pandemónium, Hijo de Pandemónium, Pandemónium Jr. DQ Coco Rojo, Coco Verde, Cocolores
controversial finish
5) Aramis b Tonalli
6) Asterboy, Hell Boy, Hijo de Canis Lupus, Luka, Noisy Boy, Súper Mario 47 b Cerebro Negro, Gianna Valetta, Heavy Metal, Nozaki, Rocky Casas, Shocko

AAA beats CMLL in the semi-main, though IWRG was careful not to play those connections. The idea might be to set up a third match for Tonalli’s Welterweight title where he gets the win to even the score. IWRG’s self reports results always have less details on what actually happened than Mas Lucha and the video won’t turn up until later, so I may have missed an angle or three.

Yahoo! Deportes has an interview with space alien Luka.

Big Lucha

Big Lucha (SAT) 04/29/2023 Arena Big Lucha, Iztapalapa, Distrito Federal [Big Lucha, La Tijera Lucha Libre, Mas Lucha]
1) Andrómeda b Metal Shadow 
2) La Brava b Aero Queen, Diosa Nix 
3) Elipse & Iku b Steel Dragón & Vórtice 
Vortice attacked partner Steel Dragon after the match
4) Forneo b Black Skayde 
5) Viajero b Orbita, Mr. Win, Tirano 
Viajero won, was attacked by Brujo de Iztapalapa
6) Limbo, Sol, Torito Negro b Cometa Maya, Morfosis, Radioactivo 
Morfosis (ex-Andy Panda Jr.) replaced Ekko, is the new third member of Delta Force (replacing Extasis.)
7) Atomic Star, Demonio Infernal, Fresero Jr., Trauma I, Trauma II b Bendito, El Bandido, El Potro de Oro, Emperador Azteca, Galeno del Mal  
Negocio Traumado showed up in beach wear, declared they were on vacation. Bandido beat Fresero Jr.; ref counted fast after Fresero had knocked him down.

The stream went out during the main event. That happens to everyone. It didn’t come back until after the main event. The announcers, who had to know the stream was out, just wrapped up the show without ever explaining what had happened. It was not a great end to not a great show. Foreno/Black Skayde only match worth your time. The main event had two teams that didn’t mix; Negocio Traumado struggled doing Big Lucha’s move-heavy style (in what we saw before the stream cut out) and the Big Lucha team generally doesn’t look as impressive doing crowd brawls. Potro de Oro became the star of the match because he bled and was best at communicating the emotion of the match. I don’t watch much Negocio Traumado matches, so I was caught off guard at how out of shape Fresero Jr. has gotten. He was critical of Adrian Marcelo for not being able to finish the lucha libre licensing exam and wanting to wrestle. It’s also hard to believe Fresero Jr. could finish something like that in his current condition. (The same is true about a lot of active wrestlers.) Fresero’s lack of cardio seems like it’s more of an issue in the go-go-go style of Big Lucha than when brawling around the arena, but I think he’d probably be happier just a bit lighter.

The show wasn’t much good. The semi-main had lots of big ideas and were 50/50 on pulling them all off. (The wrestlers seemed disappointed/frustrated post match, while the fans were throwing money in. This is why you shouldn’t take money being thrown in seriously.) Forneo/Black Skayde was the only one on one match, which meant it was the only one that didn’t feel like a scramble. It was also the best match, Black Skayde doing a lot better than he has in past matches. That was “good for these guys” more than “you have to go see it good”; you can skip this show and it’s fine.

There is a current “Morphosis”, who’s billed as Histeria’s son (don’t know for sure) and I think the ex-Andy Panda Jr. is a different guy. It’ll get confusing quick.

AAA , Big Lucha (SAT) 05/27/2023 Centro Civico Nueva Aragon, Ecatepec, Estado de México
1) Atómico Jr. vs Steel Dragón, Metal Shadow, Mr. Win
2) Aero Queen & Skayde vs Forneo & La Brava
3) Niño Hamburguesa, Tirano, Viajero vs Abismo Negro Jr., Argenis, Limbo
4) Elipse, Iku, Orbita vs Cometa Maya, Ekko, Radioactivo
Ekko will probably be replaced by Morfosis
5) El Potro de Oro, Galeno del Mal, Gravity, Negro Casas vs Bendito, Emperador Azteca, Flamita, Hijo De Wagner
6) Alberto el Patrón, Bandido, Psycho Clown vs Sam Adonis, Súper Nova, Texano Jr.

Commentary was pushing this as the next Big Lucha show. I was, uh, less than enthused about the direction of Big Lucha when the announcers were talking about Alberto coming in, but it turns out it was for one of these psuedo-AAA spots shows out in Mexico State. The Big Lucha guys are just in place of the local talent. Not sure Bandido is actually appearing; this is AEW Double or Nothing weekend, so it’s possible the day is free but AEW typically doesn’t want people flying back and forth that time. (This was an issue with Chavo Guerrero Jr. in the past.)

Other News

Segunda Caida reviews some 2005 WIRG.

Long time Monterrey area luchador Androide (Carlos Bribiesca Vargas, 42) passed away on Sunday. Androide, his wife, and fellow wrestlers Instinto and Angel del Futuro were returning to Monterrey after wrestling in Laredo when their car got a flat tire. Androide pulled over, started to fix it, and was hit by a truck. The driver fled the scene.

Androide was a regular on the old Noches de Coliseo show and was a well-regarded wrestler during periods of his career. He also appeared as a background character on the variety-style Multimedios shows, like many Monterreyluchadors. Word about his passing spread quickly; moments of remembrance were held on shows in Coahuila later that night.

Mas Lucha (SUN) 04/30/2023 Arena 2 de Junio, Col. Benito Juárez, Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl, Estado de México [Mas Lucha]
1) Pili La Ametralladora b Nix, Dayami, Zira 
2) Atómico, King Lobo, Radioactivo b Cometa Maya, Éxtasis, Viajero 
3) Kauris b Yorvak 
4) Mr. Leo & Reina Dorada b Camaleón & India Sioux 
Leo beat Camaleon via mask pull
5) Dante b Saruman [ruleta de la suicida, semifinal] 
Dante cheated to beat Saruman
6) Dinastía b Último Legendario [ruleta de la suicida, semifinal] 
7) Action Jackson, Dinamic Black, Elemental b Belial, Groon XXX, Kundra 
Elemento snuck in a foul on Gronda XXX.

Ultimo Legendario (big lead) and Saruman (close) led when I checked in the voting for the Mas Lucha Ruleta de Suicida final. Those are the ones who lost their match, for what it’s worth.

There was an unusually high amount of MLB/lucha libre cross overs this weekend. The San Diego Padres/San Francisco Giants series in Mexico City included the Giants attending Friday’s CMLL show and the Padres showing off masks gifted to them by Rey Mysterio Jr. Back in the US, Tampa Bay Rays’ Isaac Pareds and Randy Arozarena wore Mistico themed Rays mask given to them by fans. Arozarena was the same player who wore a souvenir Mistico mask during the World Baseball Classic, so someone must’ve gotten the idea to given them a better-quality one. The MLB Mexico series seems to have been a success, except what the altitude is doing to the fly balls.

Netflix will debut a documentary on La Mataviejitas this summer. I get asked about La Mataviejitas every few months in DMs, seemingly by people working on true crime content. Every one of them wants her story to be a famous luchador who turned out to be a serial killer, maybe working in something about the masks for a double identity. Maybe that’s what Netflix will go with instead. Everything I know about this story is La Mataviejitas was a obscure low-level wrestler as La Dama del Silencio, one of the thousands of people who wrestled a few matches for little to no pay, who would have no proof they were a wrestler if not for one or two photos. That’s not as exciting.

(The number one thing I get DMed about are “things that I’ve talked about on Twitter or written here and could just be asked publically, but the person DM-ing can’t be bothered to check any place else and is treating me as their personal lucha libre concierge.”)

Hijo del Santo wrestled in Costa Rica this weekend.

The latest revival of Argentina’s Titanes en el Ring will start airing on local channel America Sports on May 7th. The first two episodes have already been taped.

Fuerza Guerrera Jr. got attention for helping a kid deal with bullying through lucha libre. Fuerza Guerrera Jr. had a high profile in 2020, wrestled once last year, and not all this year.

A profile of Xalapa’s Diamante Rojo.

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 04/28/2023 Arena México
***Arena Mexico 67th Anniversary***
1) Galaxy, Shockercito, Último Dragóncito vs Pequeño Olímpico, Pequeño Violencia, Pierrothito
2) Capitán Suicida, Neón, Valiente Jr. vs Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido
3) Princesa Sugehit © vs Zeuxis [CMLL WOMEN]
8th defense
4) Atlantis, Blue Panther, Soberano Jr. vs Averno, Mephisto, Satánico
5) Místico, Titán, Volador Jr. vs Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr., Último Guerrero
6) Atlantis Jr. vs Templario, Dragón Rojo Jr. [CMLL Universal, final]

Dragon Rojo still feels like the favorite. It’s going to be a year of big Dragon Rojo matches, it’d be nice if he can come through on some of them. The rest of the show looks alright. I don’t expect a title change. I do expect people to be mean to Mistico in the semi-main only for Mistico to find some way to overcome it all. It’s on PPV as always.

The Copa Bobby Bonales will be awarded to Titan, Mephisto, Lluvia, and La Jarochita. The original idea was the trophy would go to one man, then it became one man and one woman, then one man, woman and trainer, then one man, woman, trainer and mini/mascot, and now it’s just four people. Titan was picked for his international success, Mephisto for his 35 years in wrestling, and Lluvia and Jarochita for the tag team run.

Dragon Rojo says he has a strong rivalry with Templario but his biggest rival is injuries.

Princesa Sugehit says she was surprised to have a title defense on today’s show, but is happy to be part of a big event. This is the first time Princesa Sugehit & Zeuxis have meant in Arena Mexico singles match since their 2017 mask match, and Sugehit believes she’s got to keep her emotions from overwhelming her and costing her a title. (Princesa Sugehit says “Zeuxis lost her mind and left the promotion”, which is a funny way to put it. Zeuxis might even agree.) She’d still like a hair versus mask rematch.

Zeuxis says she feels pressure to make this match against Princesa Sugehit as good as their previous ones. She is happy the fans have embraced her quickly upon her return. Zeuxis also says she feels she has better chemistry with Stephanie Vaquer as a partner than La Catalina, who she feels still  needs to learn more about the Mexican style of wrestling.

Atlantis will throw out a first pitch at the San Francisco Giants/San Diego Padres game on Saturday. Ephesto, Mephisto, Panterita del Ring Jr., and Zacarias will also appear at the game. There probably will be some promotion for the MLB games (Saturday, Sunday) as part of tonight’s show.

The winner of the main event Embajador de los Ninos competition on Sunday’s Arena Mexico show will get a belt. Most everyone competition said what you’d expect on the match; Akuma was the one confused by getting kids voting for him (but it probably wasn’t just kids voting.) Volcano revealed his family was following the voting closely, and sending screenshots of their votes to help him surpass Euforia.

Arena Puebla is also running their show on Sunday instead of Monday

CMLL (SUN) 04/30/2023 Arena Puebla
1) Meyer & Rayo Metálico vs Espíritu Maligno & King Jaguar
2) Astro, Galaxy, Shockercito vs Minos, Pequeño Violencia, Pierrothito
3) El Perverso, Fuego, Prayer vs Pólvora, Siki Osama Jr., Valiente Jr. [Relevos Increíbles]
4) Dulce Gardenia, Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa vs Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido [MEX TRIOS]
fifth defense
5) Atlantis, Guerrero Maya Jr., Místico, Stigma vs Bárbaro Cavernario, Dragón Rojo Jr., Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr.

Arena Puebla moves again to Sunday for a holiday. I would think the tecncicos are keeping their titles on a Kid’s day show but also CMLL is running a relevos increibles on this show and I don’t quite get that.

CMLL (SUN) 04/30/2023 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Astro Oriental, Avispón Negro Jr., Bello Antuan vs Infierno, Ponzoña Jr., Yaky Boy
2) Johnny Dinamo, Luminoso, Quikka vs Destructor, Gran Kenut, Jabalí
3) Dulce Ktty, Náutica, Sexy Sol vs Atenea, Luna, Valkiria

This is a free show in Arena Coliseo Guadalajara; they’re giving the away the tickets elsewhere, which confused me on where it was being held. Not sure if this is a full card.

This appears to be the first time three of CMLL’s owned venues are running events on the same date since the pandemic. Regular Guadalajara Sunday shows ended there, but even then Arena Puebla never ran Sundays until this year. It’s definitely happened in the distant past (when CMLL was hot enough to run both Arena Coliseo and Arena Mexico on Sundays) but that’s a ways back. I’d have to do more research on this to figure out when it last happened.

CMLL (TUE) 05/02/2023 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Astro Oriental, Eclipse Jr., Minotauro vs Black Boy, Mortis, Ponzoña Jr.
2) Atilus, Maximus, Rey Urano vs Gran Kenut, Jabalí, Mr. Trueno
3) Barboza, Draego, Persa vs Carlo Roggi, Destello, Destructor
4) Brillante Jr., Hijo de Stuka Jr., Stuka Jr. vs Ángel Rebelde, Optimus, Trono
5) Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido vs Arlequín, Furia Roja, Guerrero de la Muerte
6) Euforia, Hijo del Soberano, Soberano Jr. vs Blue Panther, Cachorro, Dark Panther

Family versus family main event, including people who don’t normally get to main event. Match 4 could be good.

CMLL announced this year’s Copa Junior will take place on May 19th and May 26th. Eight wrestlers will wrestle on the 19th, the last two will advance to a final on the 26th. Those in the tournament

• Atlantis Jr. (last year’s winner)
• Mistico
• Hijo del Villano III
• Dragon Rojo Jr.
• Averno
• Soberano Jr.
• Panterita del Ring JR.
• Volador Jr.

This announcement put some doubt into tonight’s finish: Dragon Rojo is going to win a tournament and the Universal one is the most important, but maybe he could end up winning Copa Junior instead. (Something where Templario, Dragon Rojo and Soberano all win a tournament might make sense.) I still would bet on Dragon Rojo winning tonight, I just now can see some path where they go another direction.

This announcement’s big ripple was to reveal that Sobearno Jr. (as well as anyone else mentioned) would not be participating in NJPW’s Best of Super Juniors this year. May 19th is a league date. The field was officially announced a few hours later, with Titan as the only CMLL-affiliated participant. (Even then, he’s flying the LIJ flag.) It’s vastly disappointing even if it makes sense. This year’s BOSJ is a 20-person field, and NJPW has 18 regular or recurring junior heavyweights. (They have a 19th, Tiger Mask, who is not included.) That left two spots. UK’s Dan Molonoy joined NJPW’s United Empire on a Revolution Pro show. which was an indicate he’d be included. The 20th spot went to Speedball Mike Bailey, who fits in the “surprise last name announced who can be imagined to win the whole thing” role better than a CMLL wrestler. NJPW just doesn’t have room for many outsiders unless they expand the tournament. It’s also a reminder they may not need many outside names to run the All Star Junior festival in a few months.

It’s not all disappointing news with NJPW and CMLL, though. NJPW announced a tournament on 05/21 to decide a first-ever NJPW Strong Women’s champion. It’ll be a one-night, four-women tournament, and one of the match ups is Stephane Vaquer versus Mercedes Moné (ex-WWE Sasha Banks.) It’s not a match anyone expected to have, but it’s a giant oppurtntity for the best woman CMLL has to offer for this spot. There’s no chance Vaquer will win, but she can do much for herself in one night with a good performance.

(It’s worth nothing here that May 21st is around the time when the “two month” investigation into Stephanie Vaquer’s accusations towards Cuatrero should be concluded. It’s not definite  – “two months” may be a loose guideline – but it’s possible there’s another chapter in that story around when this match happens. A heck of a time.)

Felino said Pepe Casas made him finish high school, get a baking degree (?) and get a real job before he’d let him go full time in wrestling. Felino was ‘only’ doing it on the weekend until finishing his father’s tasks, and felt it was good for him in the long term. Felino started as “Trope Q” (named after a favorite radio station) in 1982, wrestling with a mask borrowed from a ‘Fantastic’, gear borrowed from Negro Casas and against Invasion II. Felino credits Antonio Pena was coming up with the gimmick. Pepe Casas had eight kids – there are five daughters in addition to Negro Casas, Heavy Metal and Felino.

The first bio video in a new season of CMLL Pekes spotlights Rugido.

AAA

AAA airs the second part of the Lucha Libre World Cup this Saturday on Space. They seemed to be pacing it for a three-episode broadcast.

Takuma and SB KENTo appear to be coming back in AAA. They’re listed as wrestling on May 16th (though the accompanying picture is of Nishikawa.) On the Open the Voice Gate podcast, Jae Church had mentioned Takuma and KENTo had returned to Japan not to (yet) return to Dragon Gate but because it was part of the visa renewal passport. He didn’t know at the time if they were returning to Mexico or elsewhere. La Estrella is said to be back in Japan for similar reasons.

IWRG

IWRG (THU) 04/27/2023 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG, Zona Ruda]
1) X-Devil b Sol 
Sol replaced Super Boy
2) Águila Roja & Rey Aztaroth b Jhon Tito & Spider Fly 
Aguila Roja wants another title match with Spider Fly
3) Aster Boy & Puma de Oro DQ León Dorado & Mr. Leo 
Cerebro Negro & Jr. attacked Puma de Oro.
4) Brazo Cibernetico, Brazo De Oro Jr., Brazo de Plata Jr. DQ Gran Pandemónium, Hijo de Pandemónium, Pandemónium Jr. 
5) Tonalli DDQ Aramis 
ref bumps and lots of other miscellany leading to a draw and the commission ruling it a double DQ.

Tonalli and Aramis was said to be good until the booking kicked in.

IWRG (SUN) 04/30/2023 Arena Naucalpan
1) Garrobo Punk & Golden Power vs Kenji & X-Devil
2) Spider Fly vs Águila Roja
3) Puma de Oro © vs Cerebro Negro Jr. [IWRG IC MIDDLE]
4) Coco Rojo, Coco Verde, Cocolores vs Gran Pandemónium, Hijo de Pandemónium, Pandemónium Jr.
5) Tonalli vs Aramis
6) Asterboy, Hell Boy, Hijo de Canis Lupus, Luka, Noisy Boy, Súper Mario 47 vs Cerebro Negro, Gianna Valetta, Heavy Metal, Nozaki, Rocky Casas, Shocko

The main event is another Mexico versus Foreigners match, pretending that the Casas are outsiders. Tonalli and Aramis attempt for a finish again. Payasos are booked for Kid’s Day (impossible to know which ones.)

Mas Lucha is streaming its own show on Sunday. The poster indicates this will go up on the IWRG channel only, probably on delay.

IWRG , LLB (THU) 05/18/2023 Arena Naucalpan
1) Crazy Clown, El Reptil, Hijo de Súper Brazo, Sparta vs Gato Eveready, Gravedad Cero, Power Bull, Príncipe Centauro
2) Hijo De Brazo De Platino & Sangre Suicida vs Demencia & Soria
3) Oro Blanco, Steve Manson, Voltio vs Eurus, Rey Azteca Jr., Súper Boy
4) Fantasy, Mike Segura, Pantera vs Carta Brava Jr. (LLB), Cerebro Negro, Fantasma de la Ópera
5) Puma & Tonalli vs Lunatik Xtreme & Ovett Jr. and Brazo Celestial & Brazo De Oro Jr.
6) Hijo de LA Park & LA Park Jr. vs Hijo del Alebrije & Hijo del Pirata Morgan
7) Pirata Morgan vs LA Park vs DMT Azul

Normal Lucha Libre Boom show in Naucalpan: Lots of people, should draw well based on the top names. I presume it’s Puma de Oro in the fifth match but it’s just listed as Puma.

Other News

LuchaWorld has the latest Poster-Mania.

This is a very busy week and weekend for shows. Kid’s Day is Sunday, but the traditional “public/private company sponsors free show for children” style of show is happening all weekend, and even earlier in the week. I think more of those posters are visible this year than last because it’s more socially acceptable to run those shows, but I’m sure the vast majority of the smaller shows happen without any internet promotion or discussion outside of the local neighborhood.

There are some more notable shows that should turn up on streams (besides the ones already mentioned)

• “Lucha Rey”, which appears to be a new group, has a show in Mexico City on Friday with Hijo del Alebrije & Lady Shani vs King Balam & Reyna Dorada. That looks to be an eventual Mas Lucha airing.
• Robles Promotions is running in Arena San Juan on Friday with the usual group of indie names; less big names than usual for their sort o shows.
• Big Lucha returns on Saturday with a Big Lucha (Golden Guns & Black Generacion) versus Negociado Tramuado main event. That should stream on Mas Lucha.
• Arena Rey Bucanero on Saturday has Polvora vs Nitro vs Guerrero Maya Jr. Those shows are usually bootlegged.
• Mas Lucha has part two of their Ruleta Suicida tournament, with Saruman vs Dante and Dinastia vs Ultimo Legendario. Again, it’s the fans deciding which two people will be in the mask match on the final show. This will stream live and for free. (The mask match is a subscription show.)
• Arena Lopez Mateos has a normal-looking show on Sunday. It also has the Mas Lucha logo, so it’ll probably stream later.

On Saturday morning, Alpha Wolf & Dragon Bane challenge Yo-Hey & Tadasuke for the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships in NOAH. This streams on Wrestle Universe.

Impact Wrestling Saturday in Chicago has Laredo Kid vs Trey Miguel. Black Taurus isn’t announced for any matches.

Gran Sullivan (Norberto Paterno), an Argentina wrestler part of Titanes en el Ring who used many other names, passed away on Wednesday, according to Box y Lucha. Cuadrailatero Catch, a lucha libre Argentina Facebook page, re-posted an old podcast with him among other content.

Veracruz luchador Koga passed away recently. He was wrestling as recently as January.

Former DTU lucahdor Black Fire is teaching a wrestling clinic in Argentina on Monday.

Casandro will be honored on a show in Juarez on May 7th.

Hijo del Vikingo faces jacob Fatu on 05/27 in Las Vegas.

 

CMLL

CMLL (MON) 04/24/2023 Arena Puebla [Porra Fresa]
1) Minos & Pierrothito b Astro & Shockercito
2) Asturiano, El Hijo De Centella Roja, Siky Ozama b Apocalipsis, Cholo, Disturbio 
3) Raider, Tonalli, Yota b Millenium, Pegasso, Volcano
Yota replaced Kraneo.
4) Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido b Dulce Gardenia, Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa
Los Depredadors asked for a MEX TRIOS title match
5) Gran Guerrero, Stuka Jr., Último Guerrero b Averno, Euforia, Hechicero 
clean win

Ultimo Guerrero won the main event too much and now they’re not even doing a feud.

CMLL (TUE) 04/25/2023 Arena México [CMLL, Kaiser Sports]
1) Micro Gemelo Diablo I, Micro Gemelo Diablo II, Micro Sagrado b Átomo, Chamuel, Periquito Sacaryas  
2) Sangre Imperial b Enfermero Jr. [lightning]  
Sangre Imperial won in 8:18.
3) Grako & Nitro b Astral & Robin  
4) El Audaz, Fuego, Hombre Bala Jr. b Cancerbero, Luciferno, Virus  
5) Felino, Hijo del Villano III, Yota b Esfinge, Fugaz, Star Black  
Yota beat up Esfinge after the match.
6) Panterita del Ring Jr., Valiente, Volador Jr. b Ángel de Oro, Bárbaro Cavernario, Niebla Roja  

The appearance of new sponsor (Sol) was the biggest news of this show. They’re a snack food company, most notably of peanuts too spicy for me to eat enjoyably. The mat is now branded where their logo, which is a bit intense. CMLL’s frequently had logo-ed mats since the 80s; the old Corona logo became so normalized that people stopped thinking of it as promotion and instead just part of Arena Mexico (like “Wrigley Field” and the Chicago Cubs.) Previous sponsors have appeared all over the mat on certain days of the week and then less so other days; I suspect there are different fees for Tuesdays and Sundays compared to Fridays. For your purposes, it may mean something else shows up on Friday.

Panterita looked great in the main event, should face the Chavez brothers constantly, but doing three shooting star presses a night makes them less special. It’s no different than the Destroyers that way. (Also, I miss the spaceman dive he was doing that seems to have been dropped since it didn’t go right in the Gran Alternativa.)

CMLL (TUE) 04/25/2023 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Dulce Kitty, Náutica, Sexy Sol b Atenea, Nexy, Valkiria 
2) Flash, Mágico, Ráfaga DQ Exterminador, Javier Cruz Jr., Maléfico 
excessive violence DQ
3) Dulce Gardenia & La Fashion b Furia Roja & Guerrero de la Muerte 
4) La Catalina, Stephanie Vaquer, Zeuxis b La Jarochita, La Maligna, Lluvia 
5) Atlantis & Blue Panther DQ Rey Bucanero & Satánico 
Satanico unmasked Atlantis
6) Atlantis Jr. & Dark Panther b Averno & Místico 
Atlantis snuck in a foul on Mistico to win.

Match 3 of 5 (at least) for Satanico this week. They’re keeping them short. Guadalajara has a free show on Sunday but it’s an outdoor show so maybe it won’t be streamed.

CMLL (SAT) 04/29/2023 Arena Coliseo
1) Acero & Aéreo vs Full Metal & Pequeño Polvora
2) Leono & Oro Jr. vs Apocalipsis & Cholo
3) Max Star vs Diamond [lightning]
4) Dark Panther, El Audaz, Flyer vs El Coyote, Okumura, Pólvora
5) Panterita del Ring, Panterita del Ring Jr., Valiente vs Dragón Rojo Jr., Misterioso Jr., Rey Bucanero
6) Atlantis, Titán, Volador Jr. vs Euforia, Hechicero, Mephisto

Max Star versus Diamond is an interesting totem pole match. Not much more here.

CMLL (SUN) 04/30/2023 Arena México
1) Angelito, Kaligua, Pequeño Magía vs Full Metal, Mercurio, Pequeño Polvora
2) La Magnifica, La Vaquerita, Skadi vs Hera, Metálica, Olympia
3) Dark Magic, Espanto Jr., Okumura vs Brillante Jr., Misterio Blanco, Misterio Negro
4) Titán vs Averno [lightning]
5) Atlantis Jr., Panterita del Ring Jr., Soberano Jr. vs Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Templario
6) Volador Jr. vs Satánico, Volcano, Akuma, Capitán Suicida, Raider [TORNEO EMBAJADOR DE LOS NIÑOS]

This is the “Kids (fans) for vote wrestlers in six categories” main event. They’ll do a main event to decide the sides, though I think we can guess how those teams will work out.  Titan/Averno was a classic rivalry from a decade ago. Semimain looks good, and we usually get a good effort on Kid’s Day. There’s a small chance this show might be streamed; CMLL doing a surprise stream for Kid’s Day would fit.

CMLL Informa will have Volador, Raider, Volcano, Akuma and Capitan Suicida to promote that Sunday show. Zeuxis will be there to talk about her title match on Friday. Dragon Rojo will talk about the CMLL Universal final. Atlantis and Daniel Aceves are also scheduled. The Copa Bobby Bonales, a sort of lifetime achievement award named after Aceves’ father, will be handed out Friday. Mistico, Dalys, Panterita del Ring, and Ultimo Dragoncito were awarded last year. Atlantis was given the prize back in 2011. They’ll probably announce this year’s winners today

The Universal final is the cover of Box y Lucha 3548. The Atlantis Jr. photo looks odd

NJPW will announce the Best of Super Juniors field Thursday night, which means those of you in North America will probably see it when you wake up Thursday morning. I expect it’ll be Titan and Soberano Jr. but I don’t know it for sure.

The KeMonito documentary continues to tour around film festivals; it’ll be aired as part of New Zealand’s DocEdge online presentation.

AAA

Talking to Mas Lucha, Dorian Roldan said there are still big names to be announced for TripleMania Tijuana. He expects to announce the rest of the card in June.

Nicho told Mas Luchas he doesn’t want a hair match with Negro Casas, he’s not interested in that, he wants a career versus career match.

Post Wrestling transcribed part of a Konnan virtual signing with Capitan’s Corner. Konnan brought up that there would be a new version of an existing character, “it’s a wrestler in AAA that’s very popular who’s been there for about 20 years that we’re going to giving his name to someone new.” There are not really a lot of people left in AAA who’ve been there 20 years, especially under the same gimmick. This show is 20 years ago this weekend, and the only people who would fit are Zorro and Cibernetico. Karis La Momia Jr. fits, but hasn’t wrestled since January.

IWRG

IWRG (THU) 04/27/2023 Arena Naucalpan
1) X-Devil vs Súper Boy
2) Jhon Tito & Spider Fly vs Águila Roja & Rey Aztaroth
3) Aster Boy & Puma de Oro vs León Dorado & Mr. Leo
4) Brazo Cibernetico, Brazo De Oro Jr., Brazo de Plata Jr. vs Gran Pandemónium, Hijo de Pandemónium, Pandemónium Jr.
5) Tonalli vs Aramis

Everyone’s going to party until CMLL comes home. As long as they don’t find out, Aramis and Tonalli should be great. I like this IWRG card, the other matches look promising.

Other news

Extasis, Elemental and Action Jackson appeared on Mas Lucha’s Llaves y Contrallave to talk about leaving Big Lucha (and to promote Mas Lucha’s show this weekend.) Elemental said the February show was his last Big Lucha show, though he says his contract with his promotion didn’t end until after the GLEAT tour and that’s why nothing was announced. Elemental was appreciative of Big Lucha and what he learned there but felt they could do bigger things on their own now. Action Jackson and Extasis expressed similar sentiments. In a separate interview, Emperador Azteca & Bendito praised their ex-partners and said they’d continue on with the Black Generation group. Bendito said the door would be open for those two to return if they ever wanted.

I think it will be hard for these guys because it’s very tough to be in the favor of indie bookers unless you’re an ex-AAA/CMLL guy or a Pig right now; these guys may be booked often but in non-prominent places. It’s up to them to figure out a way to get beyond that.

Bandido returns to AEW tonight on Dynamite to challenge Orange Cassidy for the AEW International Championship. There’s a chance Bandido might win but I wouldn’t call it a big chance.

Microman’s on a media tour to promote the 04/28 Robles @ Arena San Juan shows. Microman says he is not bothered by being short, since it’s led to a lot of great things in his life. He only wishes he was taller because he would’ve loved to wrestle some of the bigger lucha libre names.

On the latest Open the Voice Gate podcast, Dragon Gate’s Jae Church mentions he believes Ultimo Dragon is planning on having a Dragomania sometime this year, with an Ultimo Dragon versus Diamante mask match. Those shows typically happened in May and he notes we would’ve heard about it already if it was happening in them. (Those shows usually also include a Japan/Mexico travel package and those obviously need to be announced some time in advance.) The shows may need a new venue, as Ultimo Dragon showing up in AAA last year suggests he’s not close enough to CMLL to get to rent out Arena Mexico as before.

There’s a brief interview about Arena Queretaro handling the pandemic in Quadratin. They’re still limited to only 2,000 fans per show; the capacity is said to be 3,000.

The San Francisco Standard has an article on Pro Wrestling Revolution, and it’s positive role as a fundraiser.