DST reminder

If you’re in the US or some locations in the world, Daylight Savings Time starts late Saturday night/early Sunday morning. Clocks move ahead one hour; every show starts one hour later. Mexico, outside of border towns, does not switch its clocks for four more weeks. It’s not as big a deal with fewer people watching Mexican wrestling live, but things like my Twitch stream of AAA will be affected.

This starts Saturday night, so tomorrow’s AAA show on FITE and today’s CMLL show on Ticketmaster are not affected.

CMLL

CMLL has their weakest Friday night show in the last stretch tonight. The bulk of the show is the loser’s advance tag team featuring the luchadoras, where the final will take place on next week’s show. The top men’s match is an atomicos match with a Los Depreadores (Volador, Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido) against a random combination of rudos (Negro Casas, Templario, Dragon Rojo Jr., and Coyote.) Volador and his guys were rudos feuding with Mistico last week and now might be tecnicos next week. The opening two matches are nothing special. It’ll air on TicketmasterLive for the usual 99 pesos. It’s a show to skip if you only get these shows occasionally, though I’m not sure there’s anyone left who does that.

This is anecdotal, take it with a grain of salt, but it seems like CMLL is giving away more tickets to show than they’ve done in a long, maybe even more than the pandemic. It’s not a huge papering of free tickets, but what used to be just major media partners (radio, TV) getting a few tickets to give out seems to have been extended to many of the digital media which cover the shows as well. I’ve seen it pop up more on social media. I see it as a marketing message – “it’s safe and fun to come back to Arena Mexico now.” It seems like a message getting received. I’m not sure tonight’s show will draw well, but the last two Friday nights have been good turnouts and next week’s Homenaje a Dos Leyendas might be one as well.

Weekend lineups

CMLL (SAT) 03/12/2022 Arena Coliseo
1) Acero & Aéreo vs Full Metal & Minos
2) Eléctrico, Sangre Imperial, Suicida vs Cholo, Grako, Inquisidor
3) Arkalis, Pegasso, Stigma vs Akuma, Dark Magic, Espanto Jr.
4) Blue Panther, Dark Panther, Star Jr. vs Dragón Rojo Jr., Hijo del Villano III, Misterioso Jr.
5) Atlantis Jr., Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero vs Euforia, Hechicero, Mephisto

The main event is a rematch, probably setting up a singles match for next week.

CMLL (SUN) 03/13/2022 Arena México
1) Angelito & Último Dragóncito vs Mercurio & Pequeño Violencia
2) Cachorro, Halcón Suriano Jr., Panterita del Ring Jr. vs Cholo, Inquisidor, Raider
3) Diamond, Okumura, Volcano vs El Audaz, Misterioso Jr., Nitro [Relevos Increíbles]
4) Esfinge, Fugaz, Star Jr. vs Felino Jr., Pólvora, Rey Bucanero
5) Místico, Stuka Jr., Titán vs Dragón Rojo Jr., Sagrado, Terrible

Nothing special going on here. Diamond really lost out being in that tercera instead of with the rest of the Depredadores on the Friday night show.

CMLL (MON) 03/14/2022 Arena Puebla
1) Fénix SO vs Guerrero Espacial
2) Millenium & Valiente Jr. vs El Perverso & Nitro
3) Halcón Suriano Jr., Kráneo, Volcano vs Hijo del Villano III, Misterioso Jr., Okumura
4) Atlantis, Negro Casas, Rey Bucanero vs Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Stuka Jr. [Relevos Increíbles]
5) Místico & Templario vs Atlantis Jr. & Gran Guerrero

Atlantis Jr. wrestled on a lot of Mondays. The main event is a rematch, they may be doing a Stuka/Atlantis Sr. feud in the semimain.

CMLL (TUE) 03/15/2022 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Cosmos, Micro, Último Ángel vs Destello, Ponzoña, Temerario
2) Bello Antuan, El Divino, Mágico vs Gran Kenut, Jabalí, Thunder Boy
3) Miss Olympia, Náutica, Sexy Sol vs Dark Silueta, Hera, Valkiria
4) Explosivo, Gallo, Joker vs Cris Skin, Mr. Trueno, Rey Trueno
5) Místico & Soberano Jr. vs Atlantis Jr. & Gran Guerrero

CMLL CDMX wrestlers are back in Guadalajara. Valiente’s daughters are on the opposite side of the match night.

CMLL (TUE) 03/15/2022 Arena México
1) Acero, Acero, Angelito vs Mercurio, Minos, Pierrothito
2) Chamuel vs Micro Gemelo Diablo [CMLL MICRO]
second defense
3) Hijo del Villano III, Misterioso Jr., Okumura vs Akuma, Dark Magic, Espanto Jr.
4) Suicida vs Eléctrico, Halcón Suriano Jr., Inquisidor, Stigma, Asturiano, Adrenalina, Fantástico [CMLL SL]
vacant title
5) Star Jr., Titán, Volador Jr. vs Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II, Sagrado

CMLL is finishing up its To Do list on Tuesday. The Super Lightweight Championship has been vacant since Kawato returned from injury in 2019 to announce he was giving up the belt due to injury. It didn’t make much sense at the time either, though I’m sure CMLL thought they were going to decide a new champion much quicker then two and half years. This feels like an incomplete field – CMLL’s been essentially running lightweight preview matches as Friday openers, and Panterita del Ring Jr. has been a big part of them – but the wording on the poster suggests it’s a one-night thing. Occasional Puebla title challenger Asturiano is in for it, as are Adrenalina and Fantastico from Guadalajara. It might be a pretty good match; I’d rather pay for this Tuesday show than the Friday one.

It’s hard to think of anything less serious from the “serious and stable” company to have a Micro Gemelo Diablo challenging for a title and CMLL doesn’t know which one it is. If he wins, can either man defend it?

ESTO has an interview with Dulce Gardenia, promoting him as the sole representative of the LGBT+ community while also pointing out the one LGBT+ representative is a heterosexual male. It’s meant to be read more positively than it comes across to me.

AAA

Arez vs Penta from Aguascalientes is up on Facebook. That show, in a 7,000 seat venue, seems to have drawn very well.

AAA has a two-taping weekend. They’re in Monterrey on Saturday for the kickoff of the Showcenter events and then in Merida on Sunday. Only the Saturday show, a 5 pm CT start time, airs live. It’ll be on FITE for 19 USD. Larry Dallas may be calling the show alone; Joe Dombrowski is calling Warrior Wrestling (where Psycho Clown will be on Saturday too.) The Merida show will air on TV starting in late March.

The Monterrey lineup:

AAA TV (SAT) 03/12/2022 Showcenter Complex, San Pedro Garza García, Nuevo Leon
1) Reina Dorada vs Maravilla [Showcenter Tournament, torneo]
2) Baby Extreme, Dulce Kanela, Komander vs Dinámico, Emperador Azteca, Mamba
3) Taurus vs Hijo de LA Park [Showcenter Tournament, torneo]
4) Mr. Iguana, Niño Hamburguesa, Pimpinela Escarlata vs Abismo Negro Jr., Látigo, Toxin
5) Chik Tormenta vs Estrellita [Showcenter Tournament, torneo]
6) Laredo Kid, Myzteziz Jr., Octagón Jr. vs Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón
7) Hijo Del Vikingo vs Flamita [Showcenter Tournament, torneo]

I’m totally confused on the status of the main event. What we know if Vikingo has some sort of foot injury, missed his match in Ciudad Madero, and his status is unclear. The WON reported Vikingo would be out six weeks due to the injury. Vikingo wrestled last night in Aguascalientes, likely after that WON report was written. Vikingo is a young guy who seems to wants to wrestle all the time and AAA isn’t a company likely to stop him, so he’ll probably keep going and we’ll all have to hope it works out for him.

This is an interesting card for a definite b-show. Unfortunately, it’s priced at $19 and FITE can’t promise to deliver the main event or even two announcers. If Vikingo can go, his match with Flamita will be interesting. We hardly see Hijo de LA Park away from his father and brother, so him in a singles match with Taurus has some intrigue. Laredo and the company will probably get the best out of NGD. I don’t feel certain about this lineup at all but there’s some upside here if it comes off.

Monterrey’s RIOT promotion posted a response to a “grande” promotion and ended with Saturday’s date. Probably not a coincidence.

The AAA lineup for Merida is still the original one from January. We can be pretty sure it won’t happen as scheduled. AAA’s essentially a women’s match – Sexy Star, Lady Shani, and Las Toxicas are all billed as being added to the card – without talking about what’s being removed from the show. I think Dragon Lee/Laredo Kid/Willie Mack/TBA will end up as the main event of the show and who knows what else gets changed or added. This show will air on TV on 03/26 and 04/02 (though not sure if I’m streaming from Dallas.)

I’m still skeptical Lucha Brothers versus FTR will happen, but we’ll probably find out tonight. Fenix and Penta are still being advertised to face The Briscoe Brothers tonight for House of Glory. I could see them being there to sign autographs but I’d be surprised if Fenix was wrestling – no one involved is promoting that match as still happening. I’m very tired of trying to pick up social media clues if people are wrestling or not wrestling. Maybe it’ll get better past this dated Merida lineup, but there’s no great excuse for these changes to (not) be handled as they have been for the last two shows. Maybe it’s just an internet/me thing and the AAA fans in Merida will be fine if FTR/Lucha Brothers doesn’t happen; nothing is going to change unless they care. Meanwhile, AAA will keep talking about being a worldwide promotion while pulling small-time indie garbage.

AAA on Space starts at 6:45 this week, which means it’s up against the last hour of AAA on FITE. They’ll start the Ciudad Madero taping:

• Argenis vs Dinamico vs Drago Kid vs Maravilla vs Parka Negra
• Las Shotas (Mamba, Diva Salvaje, Jessy Venutra) vs Mexican Powers (Crazy Boy, Nino Hamburguesa, Xtreme Tiger) vs Baby Extreme, Sexy Star, Pimpienla Escalrata
• Los Mercenarios (Rey Escorpion, Taurus, Villano III Jr.) vs La Empresa (DMT Azul, Puma King, Sam Adonis)

I plan on recording this show and putting it up on the Google Drive on Saturday night and streaming it on Sunday.

AAA, who talks about being very excited about coming back to the US, has yet to mention or RT the lineup for their show in Dallas on WrestleMania weekend. They’ve listed it on a calendar of events and no more. FITE lists the show as part of a package WrestleCon shows, so it’s airing there. I presume it’ll be made individually available at some point. The lineup for the 04/02 USA vs the World show (also part of that package) hasn’t been announced yet, but it included a few Mexican wrestlers in past years and I think it will again.

IWRG

IWRG (THU) 03/10/2022 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG, Mas Lucah]
1) Prince Turbo & Rey Eclipse vs Baby Star & Súper Cometa 
2) Bengalee & Sagitarius DQ Mary Caporal & Satania 
3) Cerebro Negro Jr., Limbo, Yorvack b Águila Oriental, Águila Roja, Spider Fly 
4) Big Boy, Big Mike, Limbo b Apolo Estrada Jr., Billy Jones, Chris Stone Jr. 
Limbo (working twice) replaced Chico Che (moved up) and surprised Apolo Estrada with a pin. Estrada’s partners weren’t happy.
5) El Hijo del Medico Asesino, Hijo del Fishman, Hijo del Pirata Morgan b Big Chico Che, Diva Salvaje, Jessy Ventura 
Big Chico Che replaced Maximo but broke up with his partners.

IWRG keeps the lights down lown on Thursday to give it a different feel. They were down so low that ring seemed half in shadow in the video I saw. It also hid that drew better than usual, though three shows in a week Naucalapn still seems like a tough sell. Las Shotas and Los Strippers were feuding before and seemed back at it again, but it might have just been a one week thing. There was a long pause before the fourth match as if they only then confirmed Maximo wasn’t going to make it to this show and needed time to readjust the final two matches. Maximo was promoting the show as recently as the day prior.

Sunday’s IWRG show:

IWRG (SUN) 03/13/2022 Arena Naucalpan
1) Spider Fly & Villarreal vs Kenji & Rey Aztaroth
2) Caballero de Plata & Hell Boy vs Backter & Vudu Max
3) Estrella de Oro, Genex, Legendario vs Cerebro Negro Jr., Fulgor, Yorvak
4) Asterboy & Freelance vs Puma de Oro & Toxin
5) Alpha Wolf, Dragón Bane, Séptimo Dragón vs Accion Jackson, Dick Angelo 3G, Tonalli
6) Travis Banks © vs Cerebro Negro [IWRG IC MIDDLE]

Banks/Cerebro was set up two weeks ago. Toxin isn’t getting pulled into Merida as a replacement apparently.

Other News

Lucha Memes (MON) 03/21/2022 Centro Civico Tulpetlac, Ecatepec, Estado de México
1) El Bendito vs Miike
2) Gringo Loco (Indie) vs Keyra
3) Corsario Negro & Drako vs Dante & Thunder Storm and Freelance & Lunatik Fly and Astrolux & Black Metal
4) Gringo Loco (Indie) & Miike vs Noisy Boy & Spider Fly
5) Calibus & Perro de Guerra Jr. vs Avisman & Judas el Traidor and Drolux & Moria and Epitafio & Leviatham
6) Alas de Acero, Gringo Loco (Indie), Iron Kid vs Corsario Negro Jr., Drako, Miike

This show, “Ace of Base” is a two-ring show. The galaxy brain idea is to see if (Big) Mike or Gringo Loco is the better base by having them wrestle three matches in one night. I’m not sure if this idea has connected with anyone beyond the promoter, but the matches could be good if the show doesn’t kill Gringo Loco and Mike.

MLW announced Arez, Mini Abismo Negro Jr. and ? versus Microman, El Dragon, and Aerostar for their 04/01 show.

Robles announced a 04/29-05/01 weekend tour in Mexico City, Merida and Cancun. Robles has not taped their shows themselves, so we’ll probably see a dozen fan cams of the Mexico City show and maybe nothing from the other two. The Mexico lineup and the Cancun one are vaguely the same

ROBLES (FRI) 04/29/2022 Gimnasio Olímpico Juan de la Barrera, Ciudad de México, Distrito Federal
1) ? vs ??, ???, ????, ?????, ?????
2) Microman vs Guapito
3) Brazo Celestial, Brazo Cibernetico, Brazo de Oro vs Bugambilia, Máximo, Pimpinela Escarlata
4) Big Mama, Dark Angel, Diosa Quetzal vs Baronessa, Estrellita, Keyra
5) Mecha Wolf & Rey Horus vs Hijo de LA Park & LA Park Jr. and Doberman & Ricky Marvin
6) Dragón Lee, Dralistico, El Bandido vs Carlito, Flamita, Taurus (Indie)
7) ?, La Bestia Del Ring, Rush vs Chris Masters, LA Park, Marco Corleone

The mystery main eventer is “Nuevo Ingobernable”, which is probably Dementor (Vangellys). La Mascara has been the wrestler leader of this group since Alberto quietly disappeared, so it’s very strange not to see him on these cards at all. I guess he could be the new Ingobernable just after being kicked out of the group, though that seems unlikely for even indie lucha. He’s advertised as wrestling in Guadalajara this weekend, so it’s not an injury. Maybe he’s moved to behind the scenes for these shows. Semi-main could be great with someone else besides Carlito; he and Chris Masters always seem to be a package deal.

The big talking point from these cards was the return of Dark Angel. She hasn’t wrestled in Mexico since finishing up on the 82nd (2015) Aniversario show; she took a WWE backstage job, was working there until one of their round of cuts, and has posted social media content traveling around in van since then. She and Marco Corleone seemed good friends when they were both in Mexico, so my guess is that connection got her back in the ring for the first time in a long time. Robles paying well surely helps and there are no match quality expectations to meet on these shows. These shows are simply about as many names as they can get to show up and Dark Angel is still a name in Mexico.

The Merida and Cancun lineups aren’t interesting on their own, though the Merida lineup being the same day as TripleMania Monterrey tells a bit who’s booked for that AAA show. The LA Parks, Dragon Lee, Dralistico, and Estrellita all are missing from that Robles lineup, so they’re probably booked in Monterrey. Rush, Dr. Wagner, Keyra, Pimpinela, Big Mami, Microman, and the Rebelión Amarilla crew are booked in Merida, so they won’t be on Rey de Reyes. Some of those people probably weren’t ever expected to be there or there in any important role, but Microman is surprising given his role.

AAA seemed to asking their contracted wrestlers not to work on Robles shows for completion reasons, so we can also presume Microman, Keyra, and Pimpinela join Big Mami as people who are just working on a per date basis with AAA. Pimpinela is someone who seemed like they’d be with AAA forever, but COVID affected budget probably meant some tough cuts.

Robles putting advertising out for their big show in Merida just before AAA’s own taping in Merida probably didn’t help feelings between those two groups.

NOAH announced Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. will be returning to the promotion “soon”, like Alpha Wolf & Dragon Bane.

LuchaWorld has this week’s Lucha Report.

CMLL

CMLL (TUE) 03/08/2022 Arena México [Box y Lucha, CMLL, Cronistas del Ring, Estrellas del Ring, Kaiser Sports, Mas Lucha, The Gladiatores]
1) Apocalipsis & Cholo b Bengala & Retro  
2) Micro Ángel, Micro Gemelo Diablo I, Micro Gemelo Diablo II b Átomo, Chamuel, Perico Zacarías   
Team Diablos took 2/3. One of the Diablos challenged Chamuel to a CMLL MICRO title match
3) Cancerbero, Luciferno, Virus b Esfinge, Guerrero Maya Jr., Panterita del Ring  
Virus offered a spot in Los Cancerberos to Luciferno (who’s been teaming with them frequently in place of the injured Raziel)
4) Atlantis, Fugaz, Soberano Jr. b Cavernario, Hijo del Villano III, Rey Bucanero  
5) Ángel de Oro & Niebla Roja © b Gemelo Diablo I & Gemelo Diablo I [CMLL TAG]   
1st defense

The main event got positive reviews from the live reports, though the Chavez brothers on a Tuesday seems not exciting. A spot near the finish of the Micros match went wrong, which happened a lot Friday though not to the point where it seemed like someone got hurt. Chamuel versus one of the Micro Gemelo Diablos should be much better, they’ll cut out the week links and the team spots that don’t go as well.

CMLL (TUE) 03/08/2022 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [Arena Coliseo Guadalajara]
1) Espíritu Negro Jr. & Samuray Azteca (Queretaro) b Persa & Raven
QRO students vs GDL students
2) Bello Antuan, El Divino, Mágico b Destello, Destructor, Quka
3) Adrenalina, Estrella Oriental, Minotauro b Bobby Black, Carlo Roggi, Fúnebre
4) Dark Silueta, Náutica, Sexy Sol b Hera, Miss Olimpia, Valkiria
5) Demonio Maya & Principe Daniel b Javier Cruz Jr. & Omar Brunetti
6) Maléfico, Mr. Trueno, Rey Trueno b Explosivo, Fantástico, Gallo
The Truenos pulled a switch and rolled up Gallo. Rematches followed.
7) Crixus, Difunto, Zandokan Jr. b Ángel Rebelde, Halcón Negro Jr., Trono
QRO vs GDL

Arena Coliseo Guadalajara (and less often Arena Queretaro) has been hosting a feud between these two states for months. It’s never seemed like a huge deal, just an inventive way of Guadalajara getting in some new names at a time where they’re getting few or no CMLL CDMX wrestlers. It is a rivalary and one where I expected eventually a Queretaro wrestler would take a big loss, just not something super heated. It does take on a different feel this week, after the violence at a LigaMX game between Queretaro and Guadalajara-based Atlas on Saturday. Neither of the two matches played into that story at all; they were just normal matches. It appeared they were setting up a Trono/Zandokan title match last week and that seems to have been dropped for at least this week.

Arena Coliseo Guadalajara is advertising Titan for next week. CMLL CDMX wrestlers haven’t appeared here since the January 2022 shutdown.

CMLL (FRI) 03/11/2022 Arena México
1) Leono & Robin vs Enfermero Jr. & Nitro
2) Dulce Gardenia, Guerrero Maya Jr., Hombre Bala Jr. vs Disturbio, Misterioso Jr., Okumura
3) Magia Blanca, Magnus, Rugido, Volador Jr. vs Dragón Rojo Jr., El Coyote, Negro Casas, Templario
4) La Metálica & Marcela vs Dalys & Skadi and Dark Silueta & Lluvia and Amapola & La Guerrera and La Vaquerita & Reyna Isis and La Jarochita & Tiffany and La Seductora & Princesa Sugehit and La Magnifica & Stephanie Vaquer [battle royal, relevos suicidas]

This is the weakest of the recent CMLL shows. Even if you enjoy the women’s matches, they’re just doing the lesser parts of the tournament this week. The atomicos could be fun, though it’s not exactly what they were building up last week. The other two tag matches are generic matches; it’s nice to see Guerrero Maya and Hombre Bala on a Friday but it’s not much.

Vaquerita & Reyna Isis and La Seductora & Princesa Sugehit seem the most likely to meet in next week’s final, though there are other options.

CMLL Informa today has Euforia, Ultimo Guerrero and many of the women scheduled for the tournament.

CMLL made a slight change for the 03/18 Homenaje a Dos Leyendas on Monday. Oro Jr. is out of the opener, Cachorro is in.

Avispa Dorada was included in CMLL’s International Day of Women collage, so she’s meant to be back at some point.

AAA

Yesterday marked three months since the last court filed update in Lucha Libre FMV versus AAA case. There’s no news today, just that reaching that gap between updates may force a conclusion soon. Everyone assumes some some settlement has been worked out between AAA & FMV and they just haven’t gotten to informing the court; perhaps there are details left to work out, maybe it just got missed. The court previously urged FMV to post updates every three months or they’d move to dismiss the case. The court likely will urge FMV to do it again in a week or so after FMV missed the informal deadline, and that may trigger some news. We’re unlikely to get details but we might soon know by the end of the month that it’s over.

Sam Adonis is advertised for Indianapolis on March 12, and GALLI on March 13th, so it’s a pretty safe bet he will not be in Merida on March 13th for AAA’s TV taping. Los Shotas are similarly listed for shows in the US this weekend and on the Merida show; I think they’re also staying in the US. AAA’s even still advertising the NGD vs Mercenarios vs Poder del Norte match still as for the trios titles La Empresa won last week. It was a big red flag when AAA just moved the January show to March without making any changes; AAA knew there would have ot be changes, they just weren’t going to announce them even if it makes them look like idiots.

The Merida match most people care about is likely the FTR versus Lucha Brothers main event. The Lucha Brothers are also scheduled in New York’s House of Glory on Friday against the Briscoe Brothers. FTR is usually pretty active in promoting matches and they’re not talking about being in AAA this weekend. I’m skeptical either of those matches are going to happen as scheduled. It would take seeing Fenix on Dynamite tonight to change my mind.

AAA re-announced lineups for the Vive Latino festival on March 19th and March 20th. They had announced the same lineup for both shows prior, which seemed weird though not unheard for festival shows. They’ve now got a different lineup for March 20th, with Dave the Clown vs Cuatrero as the headliner. That’s truly a never seen before match. Mini Psycho Clown, who hasn’t worked on TV since before the pandemic but does work house shows, is on this show. These shows haven’t aired in past years, though they show up on fancams reliably.

The Mexico secretary of tourism met with AAA on Monday. They were the government group working with AAA about their tour of historic/scenic places in 2021 and had said they’d be working on a project with CMLL this year. The Twitter post mentions AAA future plans, so maybe they’ll be working with AAA after all.

Other News

Angel Mondragon Arias (67) passed away Tuesday. No cause of death was mentioned. He was a microluchador before those were really a division and he ended up using many different characters, especially later in his career. His biggest success as an in-ring wrestler was as Gulliver in the 70s and 80s. Gulliver along with Arturito, Gran Nikolai, Pequeno Goliath, Fili Estrellas and others were ‘midget’ wrestlers who’d travel around Mexico to do their match and usually were positively received. They wouldn’t stop around long, but they’d be in for a show or a couple of weeks before moving on to the next town. The group would appear similarly in CMLL & UWA during that time period. Gulliver, as Pepe Gomez, even appeared on a WWF Madison Square Garden show. The micros of that era ran into the same issues as the modern-day CMLL micros: there wasn’t a lot of variety to the act and running it too often in the same place would make it less of a novelty, and the toll on their bodies was high.

Antonio Pena’s introduction of the modern more athletic minis division, with Mascarita Sagrada and Espectrito and others, supplanted Gulliver’s group of micros. Pena did seem to have an appreciation for those original tiny wrestlers, bringing them in for a short-lived micros division or giving them second/mascot roles. Gulliver may have been a few short-lived characters (including Pogui, a Yetii mascot) before settling in as horror movie character Chucky, the mascot of The Monster. The characters existed primarily as foils for Alebrije and Cuije and were a regular staple of the late 90s/early 00s AAA. Gulliver/Chucky appeared rarely since that point. He was honored on Hijo del Signo’s show back in November, where he was in a wheelchair but seems thrilled to have been part of it based on his Facebook post.

IWRG , NGT (TUE) 03/08/2022 Arena Naucalpan
1) Perseo & Último Caballero b Steven Manson & X-Boy 
2) Blue Win, John Tito, Villarreal b Carnicero, Súper Boy, Súper Cometa 
3) Karma I, Karma II, Magnético b Ajolotl, Amnesia, Príncipe Bengala 
Tryout 2022 vs Mi Sagrada Lucha Libre
4) Big Mike, Puma de Oro, Rey Aztaroth b Noicy Boy, Rey Minos, Spider Fly 
5) Aster Boy, Billy Jones, Caballero de Plata, Chris Stone, Fussion, Garra Mortal, Hell Boy, Kenji b Backter, Estrella de Oro, Genex, Nativo, Príncipe Turbo, Rey Eclipse, Vudumax, Yorvak 
Tryout 2021 vs Tryout 2022, winner gets in the next Copa Higher Power

The semimain was a firework show between the Mexa Boys (Noicy Boy’s team) and Los Ministeriales (Mike’s team). Different combinations of these teams had spectacular matches in Arena San Juan. I didn’t think this was quite as good – probably hurt a bit by the typically small & quiet Tuesday card – but there still were a lot of crazy moves. It definitely feels stylistically different than most IWRG matches. The two teams are scheduled to meet again on the 03/25 Big Lucha show, if not before then.

The rest of the show was said to be good.

The IWRG/Lucha Libre Boom show on 03/17 now has Dr. Wagner Jr. teaming with Fuerza Guerrera against Canek & Octagon. Wagner replaces DMT Azul; 2022 Dr. Wagner is no miracle worker but he’s a much better fit for that match. That’ll save it from being an all-time bad match.

NOAH announcer Mark Pickering announced Dragon Bane & Alpha Wolf will be returning to the promotion. No date is mentioned outside of “soon.”

The Crash (FRI) 03/18/2022 Auditorio de Tijuana, Tijuana, Baja California
1) Lanzer vs Kamik-C, Mirage, Terror Azteca, Ryan Kidd [Copa Juvenil The Crash 2022]
2) Séptimo Dragón vs Destiny vs Black Danger vs Skalibur [The Crash CRUISER]
vacant title (Dinamico)
3) Toto vs Próximo [hardcore]
4) Arandú, Star Boy, Zarco vs Bugambilia, Súper Astro Jr., Zumbi
5) Bestia 666 & Mecha Wolf © vs Dragón Lee & Dralistico and Steve Filip & Tome Filip [The Crash TAG]
6) Penta Zero M vs Cinta de Oro vs Lince Dorado [The Crash HEAVY]
vacant title (Hijo del Vikingo champ)

You can’t be a The Crash champion and an AAA wrestler, so Dinamico & Vikingo join the long list of people who’ve ended up vacating a The Crash title. Sexy Star also probably isn’t The Crash Women’s champion right now, it just may be a moment before The Crash book a women’s match, they didn’t have many non-AAA women on these shows. Bestia & Mecha are likely losing these tag titles if they’re working with AAA often, though it’s not yet clear they are, and Dragon Lee & Dralistico are also obviously part of AAA’s plans.  The Filip Bros are Australian wrestlers who were due in on the show before the pandemic and are finally making it on this show; they’re unlikely to win the titles too.

X-LAW’s return show in Tuxtla Guiterrez this past Saturday saw Fight Panther & Aero Panther win the DTU NEXO (Tag Team) championships in a match with Blaze & Lokillo. The odd bit is Zuzu Divine & Dariux were the most recent DTU NEXO championships and listed on the poster as defending. Not sure what happened there; the X-LAW promotion sent out results but avoided explaining it. LA Park beat Blue Demon Jr. & Juventud Guerrera in the main event via foul and was attacked by new X-LAW character Muerte Roja. This iteration of X-LAW seems to be bringing in southern California wrestlers who aren’t well known outside of that area. This show had Juicy Finay, who has been seen on some GCW shows, appearing to only do a run-in against the Park sons. Their show next Saturday in Arena Lopez Mateos has even lesser-known Ju Dizz, Flex McCallion and Richie Slade appearing alongside Austin Aries.

KAOZ’s 03/27 return show scheduled for Monterrey’s Gimnasio Nuevo Leon Unidos will now take place in Arena Coliseo Monterrey. That’ll be the first show in the historic arena in two years, which was meant to be KAOZ’s home building before the pandemic. The show is headlined by Alberto el Patron vs Konnan Big vs Carlito vs El Divo vs Rey Escorpion

MLW announced LA Park versus Jacob Fatu for their 04/01 2pm taping in Dallas, a rematch of their title match from 2019.

Demonic Flamita has been announced for the 04/01 The Wrld on Lucha show.

Netflix began production on a show called “Contra las Cuedras”, produced by Carolina Rivera, about an estranged mother and daughter. SuperLuchas has an excerpt on the show from a paywalled Reforma interview. The mother is returning from six years in jail and apparently becomes a luchadora to bond with her wrestling fan daughter. Rivera mentions talking to Lady Apache and others about the life of a Mexican women’s wrestler, though the focus is more on the mother/daughter relationship than lucha libre. The filming began on Tuesday, so it’s a long way off from being seen.

LuchaWorld has the latest Lucha Report and this week’s Poster-Mania.

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 03/04/2022 Arena México [CMLL, Cronistas del Ring, ESTO, Estrellas del Ring, Kaiser Sports, Mas Lucha, Publimetro, R de Rudo, The Gladiatores, thecubsfan, Yahoo! Deportes]
1) Átomo, Chamuel, Periko Zacarías b Micro Ángel, Micro Gemelo Diablo I, Micro Gemelo Diablo II  
11:53, one fall.
2) Cancerbero, El Coyote, Okumura b El Audaz, Esfinge, Star Jr.   
18:48. Rudos took 1/3.
3) Euforia & Último Guerrero b Gran Guerrero, Terrible, Cavernario, Sagrado, Akuma, Star Black [MEX HEAVY, battle royal]
3:18
4) Gran Guerrero b Sagrado [MEX HEAVY, quarterfinal]
4:35
5) Terrible b Cavernario [MEX HEAVY, quarterfinal]
3:54
6) Star Black b Akuma [MEX HEAVY, quarterfinal]
4:04
7) Euforia b Último Guerrero [MEX HEAVY, quarterfinal]
5:09
8) Gran Guerrero b Terrible [MEX HEAVY, semifinal]
3:03
9) Euforia b Star Black [MEX HEAVY, semifinal]
3:08
10) Fugaz, Místico, Soberano Jr. DQ Diamond, Magia Blanca, Volador Jr.
11:07. Mistico had Volador in La Mistica when Diamond unmasked him. Both teams continued to fight after.
11) Euforia b Gran Guerrero [MEX HEAVY, final]   
7:59. Euforia is the 67th Mexican National Heavyweight champion. Euforia lost Gran Guerrero on a superbomb, Guerrero landed badly and was put on a backboard, but was wrestling the next day.

The finish of the main event, where Euforia lost Gran Guerrero on a super powerbomb, overshadowed the rest of the show to me. It apparently turned out to be nothing, Gran Guerrero wrestled the next day, but it seemed serious at the time. Eufora & Gran Guerrero were uncommonly sloppy in the main event – there were two different moves into the turnbuckles that didn’t hit right – and the rest of the tournament was fine at best. It was the usual bit of the loser getting in 90% of the offense and then getting beat.

Euforia winning the title made the cover of Box y Lucha 3502D.

CMLL made a change to put a trios match between the last semifinal and the final of a tournament, something I hope they continue to do. That match was really hot until the sudden finish, and then it turned into a very realistic feeling mask pulling brawl between some of the wrestlers. They’re setting up a rematch out of it and it seems headed to another Volador/Mistico match.

No card for next Friday yet, though most of the card will be the women’s relevos suicidas first two rounds.

CMLL (SAT) 03/05/2022 Arena Coliseo [CMLL, Estrellas del Ring, Estrellas del Ring (Text)]
1) Angelito, Pequeño Magía, Shockercito b Full Metal, Mercurio, Minos
tecnicos took 1/3
2) Leono, Panterita del Ring Jr., Sangre Imperial b Inquisidor, Nitro, Raider
tecnicos took 2/3.
3) Skadi b Dalys [lightning]
4) Akuma, Dark Magic, Espanto Jr. b Guerrero Maya Jr., Hombre Bala Jr., Panterita del Ring
Rudos took 1/3
5) Atlantis Jr., Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero b Euforia, Hechicero, Mephisto
Guerreros took 2/3, the last when Gran Guerrero unmasked Euforia and UG pinned him. Rematch challenges followed.

Gran Guerrero being in one piece was the actual news. Guerreros and Infernales feud here might mirror the H2L trios title finale.

CMLL (SUN) 03/06/2022 Arena México [CMLL]
1) Acero & Último Dragóncito b Pequeño Olímpico & Pequeño Violencia
2) Arkalis, Pegasso, Stigma b Cachorro, Robin, Suicida
Fuerza Poblana took 2/3.
3) Dark Panther, Flyer, Volcano b Dark Magic, Luciferno, Pólvora
Tecnicos took 1/3
4) Hijo del Villano III, Okumura, Rey Bucanero b Dulce Gardenia, Espíritu Negro, Panterita del Ring
Rudos took 1/3
5) Stuka Jr., Titán, Virus DQ Atlantis Jr., El Coyote, Soberano Jr. [Relevos Increíbles]
Team Stuka took 2/3, the last when Stuka’s mask came off during an Atlantis move.

Can CMLL really be doing five more months of Stuka/Atlantis feuding?

CMLL (TUE) 03/08/2022 Arena México
1) Bengala & Retro vs Apocalipsis & Cholo
2) Micro Ángel, Micro Gemelo Diablo I, Micro Gemelo Diablo II vs Átomo, Chamuel, Perico Zacarías
3) Esfinge, Guerrero Maya Jr., Panterita del Ring vs Cancerbero, Luciferno, Virus
4) Atlantis, Fugaz, Soberano Jr. vs Cavernario, Hijo del Villano III, Rey Bucanero
5) Ángel de Oro & Niebla Roja © vs Gemelo Diablo I & Gemelo Diablo I [CMLL TAG]
1st defense

The Gemelos are going to win the tag team titles at some point, I’m not sure if this is the point.

One of the Micro Gemelos got absolutely squashed by Chamuel on the finish Friday. He needed some help getting up and did get up, but if they’re down one on Tuesday that’s probably the reason.

Homenaje a Dos Leyendas is now available for PPV pre-purchase. It’s the normal big show price of 230 pesos, though it’s a little cheaper than usual in USD due to current changes.

AAA

AAA TV (SAT) 03/05/2022 Domo Madero, Ciudad Madero, Tamaulipas [@TampicososTV, Lucha Libre CD Victoria, Lucha Libre TM]
1) Eros Barrow, Loco Castillo, Pekador b Lumino, Oro Negra, Shura
2) Argenis b Maravilla, Dinámico (Baja California), Parka Negra, Drago Kid
scheduled as a trios match with Drago Kid, Iguana & Hamburguesa versus Argenis, Dinamico and Parka Negar, switched to a five way. Drago Kid got tossed over the corner for a rana on the floor onto Argenis, but didn’t get caught and Drago Kid landed badly. Argenis beat Dinamico
3) Diva Salvaje, Jessy Ventura, Mamba b Baby Extreme, Pimpinela Escarlata, Sexy Star and Crazy Boy, Niño Hamburguesa, Xtreme Tiger
Baby Extreme & Sexy Star replaced Komander & Pimpinela, Nino Hamburguesa replaced Joe Lider
4) DMT Azul, Puma King, Sam Adonis b Rey Escorpión, Taurus, Villano III Jr. © [AAA TRIOS]
Empresa taunted Marisela Pena after the match.
5) Mr. Iguana, Myzteziz Jr., Octagón Jr. b Flamita, Látigo, Toxin
Mr. Iguana replaced Aramis (paternity leave). Argenis & Parka Negra attacked Myzteziz after teh match.
6) Heavy Metal & Laredo Kid b Bandido & Jack Cartwheel and Abismo Negro Jr. & Gringo Loco (Indie)
Heavy Metal replaced Hijo del Vikingo (foot injury); Metal got a big reaction. Best match of the night.
7) Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón b Chessman, Pagano, Psycho Clown

No stream, and no live coverage by AAA. The difference between now and the past when AAA was this way is there are more region-specific Facebook/Twitter accounts I can use to puzzle together results, but I’m likely missing a detail or two. Especially with AAA switching these cards around a lot and trying to piece together what actually happened.

La Empresa winning the trios titles is not a big surprise. (Nether is AAA still having only two trios belts; maybe budget issues are so bad they can’t afford a replacement belt?) Not having Vikingo around seems like a big deal, but the reports I read said the crowd was really into Heavy Metal so it didn’t matter. Bandido did a shooting star press to the floor that got a big reaction. The building looked about 40% full to me, but a live report said it was closer to 80%. Maybe I saw an early photo? It’s a 10,000 seat building, so figuring out attendance isn’t that hard.

Laredo Kid & Taurus being here may have been the reason they weren’t used at all for Impact’s taping this weekend; might have not been worth it just to fly them in for one show.

This show should air on 03/12 & 03/19 on Space. It appears at the moment that AAA will not be live streaming their TV shows, which means I’ll be streaming them on Space. Next week is an issue though:

Saturday’s AAA Showcenter debut card will be a FITE PPV for 19 USD. The show has a 5 pm CT start time and will air in English and Spanish. Neither AAA nor FITE announced this originally, someone just found it listed on the FITE site Friday; promotion started Monday afternoon. A lot of stuff here

• $19 is almost what AAA charged for Rey de Reyes. This is a sideshow tournament, the type AAA used to stream on Facebook for $0. It’s way overpriced. The AAA maniacs are going to pay because they feel they have to, but aren’t going to be happy about it. The curious people who will check out an English lucha libre AAA show are going to spend a decent amount of money expecting a good show for the second straight month, and I hope it works out of them.
  • This is a 9 show tournament, so it’ll cost someone $171 to see the whole thing. Just insane. We don’t know who’s in the tournament or how it works or why we should care. (Most promotions would make up a ‘winner gets a mega title shot’ stip just to make sure this has some meaning, but can’t presume AA will do the same.)
    • The total cost of watching AAA live in 2022 is probably going to be around $250 USD, adding in Rey de Reyes and the four TripleMania. If AAA/FITE had a deal where it was as simple as $13/month for everything (all the tapings, VOD, English commentary where available), I’d sign up for that in an instant and that’s actually a higher per year cost. I think there’s an extra friction that comes in when you have to regularly reconsider buying something rather than when it’s just a baked in subscription cost you only thing about when you’re thinking about getting on or off.
    • Just as a big picture, the price of following lucha libre from outside of Mexico has gone up exponentially in the last two years. It was always going to head that way, but it’s going to be a long time before people used to getting things free are willing to pay for them.
  • There’s a good chance these prices are being set by FITE, who has no idea what the important AAA shows are and just charged it like it was Rey de Reyes without knowing the difference. Still, AAA could’ve got involved and just did not.
  • FITE seems to be having success around the same price point, though they have a much larger English language fanbase than AAA does at this point and that’s generally where the money is coming from. AAA doesn’t market to English beyond an odd social media post. GCW also does a much better job of hyping specific shows, where it’s just another show in the list for AAA.
• This Showcenter debut show is starting at Saturday at 5 pm CT. AAA airs on Space at 6:30 pm. Anyone who is into AAA enough to want to spend $19 on a show probably also wants to watch the other AAA content and there’s not a great way to do that. I suspect the Showcenter events will tend to be on Saturdays, which means this may be a constant issue.
  • For my part, I’m thinking of streaming the AAA show on Sundays. I’m not streaming AAA against AAA, there’s not telling when AAA’s shows will actually finish streaming something after, and I’m not sure most people want a second AAA show that same night. I may slip it onto the Google Drive early for those who have to see it, but I haven’t totally decided what I’m doing.

 

Tay Conti announced she’d be coming to TripleMania. She’s on the 03/26 Tijuana taping. Pencil her in for the 06/18 Tijuana show; it’s hard to know for sure with AAA that far away, but I believe the plan is for her and Sammy Guevara to be there.

Villano IV told Azteca his picks for the first round of the TripleMania mask tournament

• Blue Demon Jr. will beat Rayo de Jalisco Jr. because Jalisco has more injuries
• Psycho Clown will beat Canek because Psycho Clown is tougher than people now
• Ultimo Dragon will beat Pentagon Jr. because Japanese wrestlers will die fighting
• he’s training hard to beat LA Park

Dave the Clown beat Tormento in the finals of a multi man mask match in Arena Lopez Mateos Friday. Tormento is Eric Suarez, 13 years a wrestler, from Tlalnepantla.

The Masked Republic minute, the section in Konnan’s podcast where lucha libre tends to be discussed, returned for the first time in a few weeks on this week’s podcast. Konnan was asked about Rey de Reyes and said he didn’t think it was a good show. He blamed the weather and AAA cutbacks in production that made the show harder to run (cutbacks he believes are going to be reversed as AAA starts running more shows), and felt AAA/himself unfairly gets too much blame when the shows are bad and no credit at all when shows are good, but also he thought the show was disappointed. He was happy with Dralistico/Penta and Johnny/Vikingo, though that match had a lot pulled out of it because of the conditions. Konnan did confirm the Dallas show will also be a FITE show.

Other News

IWRG (SUN) 03/06/2022 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG, Mas Lucha]
1) Yorvak jd Backter [IWRG TRYOUT, semifinal] 
2) Estrella de Oro jd Potro [IWRG TRYOUT, semifinal] 
Potro won the match, lost the judges decision
3) Bengalee, Diosa Quetzal, Jessy Jackson b Diosa Atenea, Lolita, Satania  
4) Aster Boy b Noicy Boy, Freelance, Toxin, Puma de Oro  
Aster Boy beat Toxin, asked for an IWRG Mexico title match. Puma de Oro & Freelance feuded
5) Yorvak b Estrella de Oro [IWRG TRYOUT, final]  
Yorvak (or Yorbak) is the 2022 IWRG Tryout winner
6) Jessy Ventura & Travis Banks b Alpha Wolf & Diva Salvaje [Relevos Increíbles]  
7) Cerebro Negro b Dragón Bane [IWRG MIDDLE, #1 Contenders]   
Cerebro Negro faces Travis Banks at a future date

I was watching other things but was told the semi-main was good. Yorvak, a wrestler from Xalapa, seems a demonic rudo character, so a different direction for a winner than last year. I don’t pretend to know these guys well, but he seems like a more interesting pick than Estrella de Oro, who appears right off the Mistico generic tecnico assembly line.

Mexico City area wrestlers Los Karmas retained their Mi Sagrada Lucha Libre Duo tag team championships on Saturday, dedicating the win to their grandfather. It turns out they are the grandsons of Mr. Raff, who passed away last week and also used the name in Karma. Karma I was wearing a Mr. Raff mask in tribute.

Martinez Entertainment, running a show in Arlington on WrestleMania weekend, is now technically running two shows on Friday April 1st. There will be a 6 pm show with just AAA wrestlers (essentially a second AAA show that weekend) and a second show later that night with Hijo del Santo and legends. One ticket gets you into both, but they’re technically different shows. The promoter has a 42-minute video explaining all of this, which I will not watch – let’s just assume this is a workaround because AAA wrestlers were asked not to work the same show as Santo. That’s the same night as the Gringo Loco GCW show, so I’m guessing you’ll see guys scheduled to work both (like Psycho Clown) work early on the Martinez show.

Mascara Dorada, who’s return to NJPW (US) aired this past week, posted a photo from after his Mucha Lucha Atlanta match this weekend which people found objectionable. I found it objectionable because it was the overdone trope of posing around a bunch of money purported (but often not actually) thrown in to celebrate a good match. Caristico’s in the photo, Dorada’s in the photo, Negro Casas is in the photo – all of those people are good wrestlers and it should not be some special photo-taking occasion that they had a good match, they should be having the good matches all the time. The issue more people rightfully have a problem with is Dorada including Marty Scurll in the photo. Scurll was advertised for the show, but Mucha Lucah Atlanta doesn’t get any attention and I don’t think the people who would be most upset about Scurll working the show understood he’d be working there until Dorada posted the photo, Dorada seems a person not really aware of the wrestling scene outside of what he’s doing in that moment, and lucha libre promotions seem unbothered about using people who’ve been blackballed elsewhere, like we’ve seen with Travis Banks. I’m surprised Scurll hasn’t turned up on The Crash yet – maybe it’s a visa issue, but he did seem able to travel to Europe for some matches.

CMLL

CMLL’s show tonight has the national heavyweight tournament, deciding a new champion.  Sagrado, Akuma, Star Black are in and have low chances of making it out of the first round. Cavernario is a worthy champion but doesn’t make sense for a heavyweight title. Ultimo Guerrero or Gran Guerrero would fit, though they’re likely to be getting the trios titles in a few weeks and are unlikely to win this. That leaves Terrible and Euforia to win the title that doesn’t seem likely to go anywhere.

Other matches on the show include the micros reappearing, and Los Depredadores against Mistico, Soberano and Fugaz.

CMLL took longer than usual to put up the TicketMasterLive link, but it’s the same 99 pesos version it’s been of late. There are TicketmasterLive links for the 03/11 and 03/25 show, but not for the 03/18 Homenaje a Dos Leyenda show. CMLL plays an ad mentioning the show will be streaming every time you click on a page, so maybe it’s just an oversight or an issue with the price.

Seductora’s participation in the women’s tournament is the first time she’s been mentioned in CMLL since last August. She was part of CMLL media day and Seductora explained she’d had a bad case of COVID, leaving her essentially retired for six months. Seductora says she was vaccinated. There were other CMLL luchadors who appeared to catch COVID around that time, and Seductora just got the worst luck. She’s happy to be back training.

CMLL (SUN) 03/06/2022 Arena México
1) Acero & Último Dragóncito vs Pequeño Olímpico & Pequeño Violencia
2) Arkalis, Pegasso, Stigma vs Cachorro, Robin, Suicida
3) Dark Panther, Flyer, Volcano vs Dark Magic, Luciferno, Pólvora
4) Dulce Gardenia, Espíritu Negro, Panterita del Ring vs Hijo del Villano III, Okumura, Rey Bucanero
5) Atlantis Jr., El Coyote, Soberano Jr. vs Stuka Jr., Titán, Virus [Relevos Increíbles]

A lot of Atlantis/Stuka on opposite sides of matches. Dark Magic splitting from Okumura actually seems to have moved him down the cards (or Okumura up.) CMLL is keeping the Puebla trio of Arkalis, Pegasso and Stigma booked together, which is not how they usually treat wrestlers on that level recently.

CMLL (MON) 03/07/2022 Arena Puebla
1) Millenium & Retro vs Guerrero Espacial & Siky Ozama
2) Shockercito & Último Dragóncito vs Espíritu Maligno & Mercurio
3) Marcela & Skadi vs Dalys & Stephanie Vaquer
4) Atlantis, Negro Casas, Stuka Jr. vs Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Terrible [Relevos Increíbles]
5) Místico & Templario vs Atlantis Jr. & Gran Guerrero [Relevos Increíbles]

Stuka and Atlantis teaming probably won’t end well, and may just transition into the main event. Templario never officially got kicked out of Los Guerreros but certainly appears to be on the outside.

CMLL (TUE) 03/08/2022 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Espíritu Negro Jr. & Samuray Azteca (Queretaro) vs Persa & Raven
QRO students vs GDL students
2) Bello Antuan, El Divino, Mágico vs Destello, Destructor, Quka
3) Adrenalina, Estrella Oriental, Minotauro vs Bobby Black, Carlo Roggi, Fúnebre
4) Demonio Maya & Principe Daniel vs Javier Cruz Jr. & Omar Brunetti
5) Hera, Miss Olimpia, Valkiria vs Dark Silueta, Náutica, Sexy Sol
6) Explosivo, Fantástico, Gallo vs Maléfico, Mr. Trueno, Rey Trueno
7) Ángel Rebelde, Halcón Negro Jr., Trono vs Crixus, Difunto, Zandokan Jr.
QRO vs GDL

The main event is a rematch last week and maybe setting up a Trono/Zandokan match. Arena Coliseo Guadalajara will honor Gran Cochisse as part of their own Homenaje a Dos Leyendas show on 03/22, which could be the destination for that or the feud in the semi-main. Mas Lucha points out Cochisse was supposed to be honored in 2020 before that show was canceled.

The women’s match was originally on the card. March 8th is the annual International Day of Women, maybe someone noticed a bit late. Hera & Miss Olimpia, Valiente’s daughters, are making their debuts. CMLL continues to give Valiente’s children some work while their father is out.

Not sure if Puebla will also be doing a Homenaje a Dos Leyendas.

CMLL (FRI) 03/18/2022 Arena México
CMLL Homenaje a Dos Leyendas, 2022
1) El Suicida, Oro Jr., Panterita del Ring Jr. vs Eléctrico, Halcón Suriano Jr., Robin
2) ? & ?? vs ??? & ???? [final, relevos suicidas]
3) ? vs ?? [mask, hair]
4) Atlantis Jr., Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero vs Euforia, Hechicero, Mephisto and Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II, Sagrado and Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Terrible [CMLL TRIOS, battle royal]
5) ?, ??, ??? vs ????, ?????, ?????? [CMLL TRIOS, semifinal]
6) ?, ??, ??? vs ????, ?????, ?????? [CMLL TRIOS, semifinal]
7) ?, ??, ??? vs ????, ?????, ?????? [CMLL TRIOS, final]
8) Averno & Místico vs TJP (Teddy James Perkins) & Volador Jr. [Relevos Increíbles]

CMLL will be able to fill out this card more after the 03/11 show sets the women’s relevos suicidas, but this is the skeleton of it. It’s a little surprising to have a title match and an apuesta match with neither going last. Maybe there’s something coming out of the main event.

CMLL is starting monthly best match polls, where the winner will be considered for being brought back for the best of 2022 show. (Not having people work twice, or not being able to book matches if people leave, will also be a consideration.) The February matches are

• 02/11 Fugaz vs Volador
• 02/12 Dulce Gardenia vs Virus
• 02/20 Fugaz, Stuka, Soberano vs Atlantis Jr., Gran Guerrero, Ultimo Guerrero
• 02/22 Atlantis Jr. vs Euforia
• 02/25 Soberano Jr. & Templario vs Mistico & Averno

You can vote here.

AAA

AAA TV (SAT) 03/05/2022 Domo Madero, Ciudad Madero, Tamaulipas
1) Drago Kid, Mr. Iguana, Niño Hamburguesa vs Argenis, Dinámico (Baja California), Parka Negra
2) Dulce Canela, Komander, Pimpinela Escarlata vs Crazy Boy, Joe Lider, Xtreme Tiger and Diva Salvaje, Jessy Ventura, Mamba
3) Rey Escorpión, Taurus, Villano III Jr. © vs DMT Azul, Puma King, Sam Adonis [AAA TRIOS]
4) Aramis, Myzteziz Jr., Octagón Jr. vs Flamita, Látigo, Toxin
5) Bandido & Jack Cartwheel vs Hijo Del Vikingo & Laredo Kid and Abismo Negro Jr. & Gringo Loco (Indie)
6) Chessman, Pagano, Psycho Clown vs Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón

This show is listed as starting at 8 pm CT, which means it may start at 9 pm.I’m not sure if this is being streamed. AAA hasn’t said anything, as is their ways. The Merida taping press release said that taping would be streamed, so there’s a reasonable shot AAA’s going back to streaming all their tapings this year. But we don’t know for sure, so I’m not going to mention it much on Twitter unless we find out something, and I wouldn’t advise booking your Saturday night around seeing it. It’ll always be available later.

The taping feels a lot closer to 2019 than the last two years of TV. Lots and lots of people booked, maybe some of it good, maybe some of it happens, probably there will be changes. NGD and La Empresa put their “undefeated (except for DQ)” streaks on the line. I presume NGD is winning, I have no idea how AAA will get out of the trios title match but I’m leaning towards no title change. Semi main has Gringo Loco & Jack Cartwheel’s debuts and could be great. The fourth match has promise too. This one has a chance to be one of those AAA shows where no one knows it’s available (because AAA is not saying anything) and then everyone’s asking for the video the next day.

The Tijuana card is up

AAA TV (SAT) 03/26/2022 Auditorio de Tijuana, Tijuana, Baja California
1) Arkángel Divino, Destiny, Último Maldito vs Kamikaze, Ryan Kidd, Skalibur
2) Faby Apache, Lady Lee, Lady Shani vs Flammer, La Hiedra, Maravilla
3) Sammy Guevara & Tay Conti vs Dinámico & Sexy Star and Black Danger & Viva Van
4) Hijo Del Vikingo, Jack Cartwheel, Pagano vs Bestia 666, Genio del Aire, Mecha Wolf
5) Flip Gordon, Rich Swann, Willie Mack vs Rey Escorpión, Taurus, Villano III Jr.
6) Laredo Kid, Psycho Clown, Rey Xolo vs DMT Azul, Puma King, Sam Adonis
Microman will be with La Empresa

A lot going on here. There’s an overall feel of The Crash shows when Konnan was booking with a lot of foreigners (Gordon, Swann, Mack, Guevera, Conti,) in, plus more local regulars (Bestia, Genio, Mecha, Lady Lee, the entire opener, Viva Van ) than are usually booked on AAA shows. It’s probably not that half the roster is busy elsewhere as trying to beat The Crash at the Crash’s own game.

Rey Xolo is the Tijuana Charly alternate jersey mascot. Villano III Jr. was the luchador they used for the photos of the character – his tattoos are hard to miss – but I’m not sure if that means he’ll be in the outfit on this card. AAA is definitely willing to have a guy work twice. TripleMania in Tijuana and AAA working with the Xolo soccer team to promote the show means big things for Rey Xolo, whoever he ends up being.

It’s a little strange to pay for AEW wrestlers to come in and have them working in the third match against people who aren’t normally part of the roster, but they’re setting up the mixed tag stuff for later.

AAA hasn’t said if this show is streaming. It’ll be a late night one if it does; an 8:30 local start means 10:30 pm Mexico City time.

AAA wrestlers were announced for the La Mole comic book convention March 25-27. The convention announced Thursday AAA wrestlers are off the show due to “logistical issues”, which sound like the most predicable AAA issues. Blue Demon Jr. and Cibernetico have been announced as appearing on the March 25th show.

the entire March AAA TV schedule

• 03/05 (Saturday) in Madero
• 03/12 (Saturday) near Monterey – Multimedios show?
• 03/13 (Sunday) in Merida
• 03/26 (Saturday) in Tijuana
• 03/31 (Thursday) in Dallas – FITE?

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter mentions Vickie Guerrero will be back with FTR on the 03/13 show “provided Fenix is ready by then.” That sounds like even AAA doesn’t know if Fenix will be ready for Merida.

Impact has another PPV this Saturday – Sacrifice. Really seems like a short turnaround there. The show includes another Deonna Purrazzo where she’ll defend the AAA or ROH title against a mystery challenger. As always, there is a chance an AAA luchador could show up to make the challenge. No AAA woman appears booked for the taping tomorrow, but no AAA woman has shown up in Impact. Taya is still owed a title shot at some point and there’s no indication when that would be.

AAA and Freefight are doing another streaming play session Friday night. Villano III Jr., Maravilla, Sexy Star, and Murder Clown are scheduled to appear.

IWRG

IWRG (THU) 03/03/2022 Arena Naucalpan [Estrellas del Ring, IWRG]
1) Genex jd Tito Moran [IWRG Tryout, 8f] 
Matches had finishes but the person moving on was decided by a judging panel
2) Vorvak jd Pequeño Bengala [IWRG Tryout, 8f] 
3) Huitzil DRAW Trueno [IWRG Tryout, 8f] 
both were eliminated by the judges
4) Backter jd Pequeño Turno [IWRG Tryout, 8f] 
5) Nativo DRAW Rey Eclipse [IWRG Tryout, 8f] 
both moved on
6) Amnesia DRAW Sumed Black [IWRG Tryout, 8f] 
both were eliminated
7) Estrella de Oro jd Heredero Maya [IWRG Tryout, 8f] 
8) Vudumax jd Potro, Alkymia [IWRG Tryout, 8f] 
9) Yorvak jd Genex [IWRG Tryout, quarterfinal] 
10) Backter jd Nativo [IWRG Tryout, quarterfinal] 
11) Estrella de Oro jd Rey Eclipse [IWRG Tryout, quarterfinal] 
12) Potro jd Vudu Max [IWRG Tryout, quarterfinal] 
13) Aster Boy © b Tonalli [IWRG IC Light] 
2nd defense

I had this one without paying much attention to it, and it was still noticeable how much they were rushing near the end here. It stuck out more when I was adding timestamps. This was a 7:45 start show that went about four hours in a neighborhood that’s not exactly friendly late at night; the last four tournament matches were done as a sprint: at least two of had a dive to get them going fast, and the judges were simply picking whoever won the match. They did leave Aster Boy/Tonalli a decent amount of time at the end, but that was a building that cleared out quick as soon as it was over. The silver lining is those fans – and there were a lot of them, with family and friends of those in the tournament filling the building – did stick all the way to the end.

I paid more attention to Aster Boy/Tonalli though I’m not sure you need to. It was IWRG lightweights doing the CMLL Volador title match formula: some mat work early, a dive, and then big move/near fall/rest/repeat until it just ended. The set-up match sounds better.

IWRG (SUN) 03/06/2022 Arena Naucalpan
1) ? vs ?? [IWRG TRYOUT, semifinal]
2) ? vs ?? [IWRG TRYOUT, semifinal]
3) Bengalee, Diosa Quetzal, Jessy Jackson vs Diosa Atenea, Lolita, Satania
4) Aster Boy vs Noicy Boy, Freelance, Toxin, Puma de Oro
5) Jessy Ventura & Travis Banks vs Alpha Wolf & Diva Salvaje [Relevos Increíbles]
6) Dragón Bane vs Cerebro Negro [IWRG MIDDLE, #1 Contenders]
7) ? vs ?? [IWRG TRYOUT, FINAL]

Yorvak, Backter, Estrella de Oro, Potro are in the semifinals. They didn’t announce the match ups. Bane/Negro winner faces Travis Banks next week.

ROH/AEW

Tony Khan announced he had bought Ring of Honor on Wednesday. The version of the press release on Ring of Honor’s site carefully words the agreement as being in place but not yet completed. Dave Meltzer reported both previous owners Sinclair Broadcast Group indicated they wanted to sell, both WWE and Khan bid on the promotion, and Khan bid was higher. Tony Khan’s own press release made a point of saying he bought ROH in his own money, and not through AEW.

No one really knows what this going to mean, outside of Tony Khan owning ROH’s library. Plenty of people are wishcasting ROH being brought back at AEW’s version of an NXT developmental brand, more because they love the old ROH brand and not because there’s yet any indication that’s actually the plan here. Khan didn’t purchase the contracts of any wrestlers, and he couldn’t because all remaining wrestler contracts would’ve expired on March 1st. Ring of Honor has Supercard of Honor on April 1st and was making new match and talent announcements as recently as day before the sale was made. They are still selling tickets (and selling more of them because this is now the second straight ROH show where people are convinced AEW people will be showing up), though neither press release specifically mentions that show as still happening.

I don’t think anyone outside of maybe Tony Khan and his inner circle knows for sure if that show is still happening and what in general is happening next with ROH. I made a post of all the things questions work asking (and that I felt safe asking on Twitter), because there’s a lot unanswered here. It does seem like the deal came together recently and quickly, so no one might have the answers yet, and figuring them out on a week where AEW has a PPV is probably not easy. Wrestlers like Dragon Lee & Rush appear to be hoping their past ROH ties will get them involved with AEW. AEW has been using ROH Pure champion Josh Woods on Dark shows (and in a bigger role Thursday night after the sale was announced.) ROH Champion Jonathan Gresham has been mentioned backstage at recent AEW events. AEW/Tony Khan clearly has a lot of interest in the first few years of ROH and there’s something can be done with current champions, but I’m not sure how much interest AEW has in the most recent iteration of ROH beyond that. I really don’t know if, or how, this deal will affect Mexican wrestling. 2022 ROH seemed like it wasn’t going to have much connection with Mexican wrestling outside of however the Bandido “title reign” ended, and I’m not sure I see that immediately changing even with Tony Khan taking over.

While I’m actually doing a AEW section, I should note Andrade and Darby Allin challenge Sammy Guevara for the TNT Champion tonight on Rampage. It’s a live version of that show. Andrade lost against Guevara last week, and I think he either wins the title or has some big teased breakup with Matt Hardy tonight. Andrade, Hardy, and Isiah Kassidy face Sammy Guevara, Darby Allin, Sting on Sunday’s AEW Revolution PPV.

Other News

LuchaWorld has a great obituary for Black Man.

DTU on 03/15 has Poder del Norte versus Kaleth, Camulfaje and Blaze, and Aramis vs Lokillo. They’re bringing in Psycho Clown on 04/24, so the agreement between Crazy Boy and AAA seems deeper than just working one show.

RIOT made some changes to their 03/25-26 La Rina tournament.

• Alex Zayne & Demonio del Aire will face each other, after prior opponents, Komander & Rey Horus had to pull out for other opponents
• Aramis versus Gringo Loco has been added as first-round match

Gringo Loco was supposed to be at Big Lucha on 03/25 and RIOT on 03/26, and now he’s just on RIOT both days. I presume Komander is working Big Lucha, though he’s not listed on the card they put out (that’ll be the next paragraph.) I thought Rey Horus would pop up on the AAA Tijuana card but he’s not there at the moment.

BIG LUCHA (FRI) 03/25/2022 Bandido Gym, Iztapalapa, Distrito Federal
1) Elipse & Orbita vs King & Kong
2) Mexa Kids vs Ministriales
3) Radioactivo & Viajero vs Mil Almas & Potro
4) Dr. Wagner Jr. & Galeno del Mal vs ? & Limbo and Hijo del Espectro & Hijo del Fishman
5) Skayde & Sussi Love vs Fuerza Guerrera & Hija De Fuerza Guerrera
6) ?, Ciclón Ramírez Jr., Cometa Maya, El Bandido, Gravity vs Bendito, Elemental, Emperador Azteca, Flamita, Yutani [street]

The last Big Lucha ended with a literal street fight between Flamita’s Black Generation and Bandido’s home army after the Black Generation crew destroyed Extasis. He’s the most likely mystery person in the main event. The fourth match mystery spot Gringo Loco’s spot.

04/01 the WRLD on Lucha

• Psycho Clown vs Dr. Wagner Jr. – main event
• Pagano vs Sadika in an extreme match
• Jack Carthweel vs Johnny Caballero
• also scheduled to appear: Psicosis, Hugo Savinovich, Laredo Kid, Drago Kid, ASF, Abismo Negro Jr.

Psycho & Wagner teased a mask versus hair match, which was never going to happen on a WM weekend show unless GCW lost their mind. It’ll be a crazy brawl anyway.

Pimpinela Escarlata was announced for the 04/02 Effy’s Gay Brunch show.

Diamante Negro (Feliciano Hernandez Diaz, 63) passed away on Tuesday from a heart attack according to Box y Lucha.

Arena Lopez Mateos had a feud between Centella Oriental and Villano III Jr. for a few months. It seemed headed to a mask match but stopped suddenly when Centella Oriental disappeared. It turns out Centella Oriental had jumped to IWRG as Akbal and had been wrestling there for the last six months. He announced on Facebook (reposted by Mas Lucha) that he’d be going back to his Centella Oriental identity, saying he’s leaving IWRG and the Akbal gimmick behind on good terms. Maybe they’ll get back to the mask match now.

This name switch is a thing that makes doing a lucha libre match database inaccurate, especially if you’re as distanced (both by miles and by connections) from Mexican wrestling as I am. These sort of gimmick changes probably happen more than I’d ever be able to tell even if I watched everything, and rarely are they noted as Centella Oriental did. Most of the time it’s harmless. A situation that came up about two weeks ago may not be as harmless. Einar el Vikingo became infamous last May after he attacked a child at a wrestling show, with everyone in the Mexico City scene coming together to say they wouldn’t use him. Various Facebook pages (here’s one) found the Facebook page for a masked luchador who appeared last September named Baphomet, and claim there’s private posts that confirm he’s actually Einar el Vikingo. I haven’t seen them. There are photos of Einar and Baphomet in that link post and there’s definitely a resemblance. Baphomet is working the nothing matches on small shows as Einar, though not often. We’ve seen before that the concern in these sorts of situations is solely in convincing potential ticket buyer that whatever happened is a one-off and they’ll take care of the victim in that moment, and the instigator will be welcomed back into the fold as soon as the non-lucha libre press moves onto something else. I don’t know that Einar is Baphomet but it would fit.

Noticias de Sol de la Laguna has an interview with the original Pentagon, who will be honored at a ten-match show in Gomez Palacio this weekend.

A profile of Tabasco luchadora Dark Queen.

LuchaWorld has the latest Lucha Report.

 

CMLL

CMLL (TUE) 03/01/2022 Arena México [CMLL, CMLL, Estrellas del Ring, Kaiser Sports]
1) Cholo & Retro b Apocalipsis & Valiente Jr. [Relevos Increíbles] 
2) El Suicida, Eléctrico, Robin b Disturbio, Enfermero Jr., Grako 
tecnicos took 1/3
3) Amapola, Dalys, Metálica b La Guerrera, La Magnifica, Marcela  
Rudas took 2/3
4) Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II, Sagrado b Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Terrible  
Gemelos took 1/3, asked for a CMLL TAG match
5) Atlantis, Stuka Jr., Titán b Felino, Negro Casas, Templario  
tecnicos took 2/3, though Stuka attacked Atlantis after the match. The two brawled in the interview area.

Atlantis had earlier done an interview about how he was going to train Atlantis Jr. hard for his mask match. Perhaps Stuka saw this as a threat? At any rate, the angle on Friday was confusing as to who was meant to be the rudo, but now it seems as if Stuka has turned rudo. You can’t attack Atlantis without becoming the bad guy. Atlantis declared he’d never team with Stuka again, which makes it hard for Stuka to be on the tecnico side. Titan also reacted like Stuka had turned.

CMLL (TUE) 03/01/2022 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [Arena Coliseo Guadalajara, Arena Coliseo Guadalajara (photos)]
1) Atilius & Rey Uranio b Aurelius & Maximus
2) Destello, Gran Kenut, Jabalí b Cosmos, Micro, Último Ángel
3) Joker, Omar Brunetti, Vaquero Jr. b Furia Roja, Guerrero de la Muerte, Ráfaga
4) Gallo DQ Rey Trueno
Mr. Trueno broke up the pin and attacked Gallo for the DQ. Flash made the save, challenges followed.
5) Ángel Rebelde, Halcón Negro Jr., Trono b Crixus, Difunto, Zandokan Jr.
Angel Rebelde suffered a minor right knee injury on a late dive, the match stalled for a bit, and he came back to finish the match with one boot on. Trono beat new champion Zandokan.
6) Bestia Negra b Exterminador © [OCCIDENTE HEAVY]
Exterminador falls on first defense. Bestia Negra won the title when Furia Roja threw water in Exterminador’s hair and Bestia Negra reversed his hold into a leg lock.

Lots of angles on this show; the semi-main seems to be setting up something a Zandokan/Trono title match. Rebelde was moving slow enough that I think he actually got hurt, but it felt like a story.

Volador beat Arena in Puebla; there’s video of it here.

CMLL (FRI) 03/04/2022 Arena México
1) Micro Ángel, Micro Gemelo Diablo I, Micro Gemelo Diablo II vs Átomo, Chamuel, Periko Zacarías
2) El Audaz, Esfinge, Star Jr. vs Cancerbero, El Coyote, Okumura
3) Fugaz, Místico, Soberano Jr. vs Diamond, Magia Blanca, Volador Jr.
4) Euforia vs Último Guerrero, Gran Guerrero, Terrible, Cavernario, Sagrado, Akuma, Star Black [MEX HEAVY, torneo]
5) ? vs ? [MEX HEAVY, quarterfinal]
6) ? vs ?? [MEX HEAVY, quarterfinal]
7) ? vs ?? [MEX HEAVY, quarterfinal]
8) ? vs ?? [MEX HEAVY, quarterfinal]
9) ? vs ?? [MEX HEAVY, semifinal]
10) ? vs ?? [MEX HEAVY, semifinal]
11) ? vs ?? [MEX HEAVY, final]

The Mexican Heavyweight championship refresher: Diamante Azul was champion, Azul quit CMLL but felt he should still be champion, CMLL had the actual belt and declared they were going to determine a new champion on the Aniversario show, Azul threatened to sue both CMLL and the commission for not letting him remain champion, the commission said CMLL had the right to the title but they were going to order CMLL to include indie wrestlers in their tournament to win a title, CMLL said nope to that idea and just put the belt on the shelf until the heat cooled off. The heat has cooled off and now CMLL’s just going back to do whatever they want to with it. The commission hasn’t said anything this time, and DMT Azul either doesn’t know or has moved on. Last year’s argument was a lot of fuss for a title that has scarcely been important in Mexico. It’s likely most recent former champion Terrible regains the title so CMLL can say all of the Ingobernables have a belt, but he (or whomever) is not going to be treated like the best heavyweight in Mexico or anything. This tournament should be fine but it’s just checking a To Do list off a box with no obvious plan beyond it.

Star Black is a Guadalajara luchador who’s was in CDMX in 2019 and probably would’ve been back again already if not for an ill-timed injury and the pandemic. He’s implied to be part of the Rayo de Jalisco family, though I haven’t seen the details on that. I read the poster as this tournament deciding the final two, but Mas Luchas says it’s to determine a new champion and they know better than I. (I’m also assuming single-elimination, though they don’t say that anywhere.) This also means at least three straight weeks of Friday tournaments, since the women’s tag will begin next week.

Zacarias is still around after all. When Mistico & Ultimo Guerrero got pulled from indie shows early in February, Box y Lucha mentioned CMLL had threatened them with being suspended for a month if they worked those shows. I don’t think Zacarias has been gone a full month but it’s possible he got suspended for working that indie show and didn’t quit. That opener is just missing Mije from being the full micros division.

This show is listed as on Ticketmaster Live, though no show from March is available to be ordered.

CMLL (SAT) 03/05/2022 Arena Coliseo
1) Angelito, Pequeño Magía, Shockercito vs Full Metal, Mercurio, Minos
2) Leono, Panterita del Ring Jr., Sangre Imperial vs Inquisidor, Nitro, Raider
3) Skadi vs Dalys [lightning]
4) Guerrero Maya Jr., Hombre Bala Jr., Panterita del Ring vs Akuma, Dark Magic, Espanto Jr.
5) Euforia, Hechicero, Mephisto vs Atlantis Jr., Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero

Skadi & Dalys are partners in the upcoming women’s tournament, fighting here. There seems to be a better effort at following up the issues from Fridays on other shows. I’m afraid to give CMLL too much credit for ideas everyone else has been doing for 40 years but it’s an improvement. Now, they just need to have more good matches.

CMLL Informa today has Atlantis, Stuka Jr., Sagrado, Terrible, Star Black, Skadi and the new Ola Negra (Akuma, Espanto Jr., Dark Magic.)

CMLL is now selling NJPW merchandise at the Arena Mexico merchandise counter. I wanted to call it a store but it’s really just a counter. You could find NJPW merchandise on the outside of the building prior. Not sure if you still can.

AAA

AAA is advertising FTR versus Lucha Brothers for the 03/13 Merida show. AAA specifically never put out the graphic with the Lucha Brothers versus Hermanos Lee for Rey de Reyes, seemingly because they knew it was never going to happen. I guess we can read this as AAA believes FTR & Lucha Brothers will happen. I don’t feel confident about it, but this is what we have to work with when AAA’s not straightforward about these things.

Sammy Guevara and Willie Mack were announced for the 03/26 show.

AAA TV (THU) 03/31/2022 Fairmont Hotel, Dallas, Texas
1) Microman, Niño Hamburguesa, Taya vs La Hiedra, Mini Abismo Negro Jr., Rey Escorpión
2) Aramis, Mr. Iguana, Octagón Jr. vs Abismo Negro Jr., Arez, Faby Apache
3) Bestia 666 & Mecha Wolf vs Aerostar & Drago [NWA TAG]
4) Drago Kid, Jack Cartwheel, Pagano vs Gringo Loco (Indie), Puma King, Sam Adonis
5) Laredo Kid vs Bandido vs Flamita [AAA CRUISER]
12th defense
6) Psycho Clown vs Taurus

This feels like an authentic lucha libre show for the most part. The top two matches should be really good, and others have a chance. Bestia & Mecha aren’t in AAA (though check again after the Tijuana taping), but that’s sort of crossover match expected for WrestleMania weekend. Aerostar & Drago have ended up as the signature AAA team that goes to lose against other teams’ champions; they kind of seem to have more value to AAA in that role than they do in AAA storylines. Faby Apache’s spot feels like it should have been Chik Tormenta, or Toxin or Latigo, but they’re probably just working with who’s available.

The comparable show to this AAA one is The Crash back in New Orleans. It had eight matches, lots of outsiders, and three/four ways to fit everyone in. I remember liking it while feeling disappointed it wasn’t better – all the people booked meant the matches had to go short to hit their time. (On the other hand, non-lucha fans who went to the show with lesser expectations seemed to remember it fondly.) I like this card more, I think it has a higher upside.

I think this is airing on FITE, but no one seems to know for sure. Likewise, I think this is being taped for AAA TV, but AAA hasn’t said anything and hasn’t even posted the lineup themselves last I checked.

I don’t know if it means anything special them but it sticks out to me that the notable AAA show in the US is headlined by two guys who CMLL seemed to have no use for. It’s the first-ever Psycho Clown versus Taurus singles match I know of; they have a few three-way matches.

I noted in the Rey de Reyes recap that AAA seems to only have four referees, and that was if Copetes Salazar was still around. He appeared on this past week’s Arena Neza show and Copetes said was no longer with AAA, leaving after 29 years. He said he left on good terms and he’s working indie dates now.

Cain Velasquez is being charged with attempted murder, shooting at a motor vehicle, assault with a firearm, and assault with a deadly weapon, which may be related to a member of his family being abused. Nothing upcoming had been announced or hinted at for Velasquez in AAA, though an ESPN report on the situation mentions Velasquez was supposed to return AAA sometime this year and that’d make sense with TripleMania shows to fill.

Passings

Álvaro Meléndez Tibanez (73), best known as Black Man, passed away on Monday. (Posters spelled it both “Black Man” and “Blackman”; I tend towards the two-word version but both work.)  Black Man was a star lightweight wrestler, someone who appears to have been innovating springboards and other flying moves in the 70s. None of it was getting him anywhere except for prelim positions in EMLL until the UWA gave him the martial arts-inspired Black Man gimmick and everything clicked. UWA was a perfect fit for him: they gathered together a lot of lightweights because those were the best wrestlers EMLL wasn’t using, and they emphasized doing “world title” matches in places that weren’t getting them often with EMLL. That meant a lot of work, if intense schedules, for guys like Black Man. The UWA Lightweight Championship history page on the luchawiki charts a busy schedule, and is realistically 15-30% of the defenses. Black Man challenged frequently in 1977 and 1978, won it in 1978, and was said to lose it on his 70th defense in 3 years.

Black Man had a second peak as part of Los Fantasticos, teaming with similar marital artists Kato Kung Lee and Kung Fu. Kato Kung Lee, like Black Man, was a guy hanging around shows for years and featured in magazines as a prospect but it only finally clicked when he got the masked gimmick. The lasting popularity of Bruce Lee and other martial arts movies also seemed to play a part; the idea of cool and super quick fighters connected well with the audience. Los Fantasticos were the first UWA World Trios Champions when the division was belatedly created in 1984. They only held the titles for a month and a half but remained a team for a while longer, challenging occasionally. Kato Kung Lee and Kung Fu sometimes seemed like they didn’t get along, and sometimes seemed like they were more interested in doing their own thing, so the trio went on hiatus in 1986 when those two jumped back to EMLL. Black Man would team with Kendo & Avispon Negro in a new version of Los Fantasticos, but it didn’t go far and may have been only a way to build his profile before losing his mask to Blue Panther. The original trio reunited over the years but without the same magic. Black Man later remarked as Celestial and toured Japan, losing his mask there. He’d been retired since the mid-90s and had been mentioned as in bad health for a while. Black Man was the last of the three original Fantasticos left alive.

I’m not entirely sure where the “Black Man” name comes from; obviously, it reads strangely to English readers. It was trendy at the time to use English words as a name to stand out. Álvaro Meléndez had used a Spider-Man gimmick (first in that name, then just “Spider” probably when someone caught on) prior to the Black Man name. My guess has always been someone just saw his black-colored outfit and affixed the old “Man” surname to it, as a superhero thing, not a skin color. Black Man teamed with a wrestler named “White Man” – same character, different color as if he was Mortal Kombat ninja – before Los Fantasticos. It didn’t work out and Black Man unmasked White Man as Alberto Munoz, who had suffered serious injury years prior and probably just wasn’t the same at that point.

Los Fantasticos would’ve been a surprise pick to win that first UWA trios tournament. Los Misionerios de la Muerte were still considered the best trios team in Mexico. The problem is Los Misioneros were so highly regarded that they had a tour of Japan that overlapped with the tournament, and so shockingly lost in the first round to the all-star irregular team of Anibal, Solitario, and Villano III. The final was unusual too; Los Fantasticos were scheduled to face Los Cadetes del Espacio (Ultraman, Super Astro, Solar), only Super Astro’s mother sadly passed away prior right before the show and Gran Hamada stepped in his place. Los Fantasticos only held the belts for a few weeks but UWA squeezed in two defenses, including one against the full Cadetes, so they still came off as deserving champions.

Mi Lucha Libre released an autobiographical documentary of Black Man on their YouTube; Part 1 is here.

AAA’s currently in the midst of a Vipers relaunch. This is not their first one. Back at the end of 2009, AAA tried a relaunch with an existing “new” Abismo Negro (Black Abyss), a new Psicosis (the third), a new Histeria (technically the third but the first didn’t last long), and new character Amnesia. It didn’t go well. Their first few TV matches didn’t go well and they didn’t get much more than that. Their TV last match in February against La Secta saw these Vipers get squashed, and you almost never see squashes in Mexican wrestling. The group was still booked on spot shows for the rest of the year, then drifted back to the indies. Histeria kept his gimmick, eventually using “Histeria 2.0” and other slight modifications to stay clear of AAA troubles, and wrestled around Guadalajara and later Torreon, and would lose the mask on an indie show to Pagano in 2019. He passed away on Monday. Histeria 2.0 is listed as “Pablo Romero” in some obituaries but that’s believed to just be another ring name. On the luchawiki, we have him as Juan Juvencio Pablo Hernández Diaz, 37 years old. No cause of death has been mentioned.

A third luchador, who wrestled under the names of Mr. Raff & Karma, also passed away on Monday. He was busy in the 70s and 80s; I saw “Mr. Raff” a lot in Plaza de Toros el Cortijo and other Raul Reyes promoted buildings when I was entering in results of the last two years. He was a guy who held a few local titles, wrestled in the SuperLibres/AWWA/Pavillon group (probably under more names than we know) but never had a really big break-out moment.

Other News

There is a full lineup for Thursday IWRG’s show, but I’m just linking to it for spoiler reasons. Mas Lucha and IWRG put out the lineup on Monday, then tried to delete all traces of it from the internet. (It didn’t take.) The bulk of Thursday’s show are two rounds of the Tryout rookie tournament, the card lists the first eight matches to happen, and that gave away the results of a couple of episodes of the reality show which are taped but hadn’t aired yet. The Tryout tournament will all be caught up by Thursday, though it’s still funny they spoiled their own show.  The important match on that Thursday show is Aster Boy defending the IWRG Lightweight Championship against Tonalli. Those were the final two in last year’s Tryout series (Aster Boy 1st, Tonalli 2nd), they had a strongly reviewed match two Sundays ago, and this match Thursday will probably be worth going out of your way to see.

WrestleCon announced Bandido vs Mike Bailey for their 03/31 Supershow. WXW ran that match right before the pandemic; it’s up on their YouTube free and absolutely worth going out of your way to watch. It’ll probably be similarly as great when they do it again this year.

03/21 Lucha Memes in Ecatepec

• el Bendito vs Mike

This one is in Ecatepec because they’re going to have two rings and that would be very tough to fit in Coacalco.

RIOT announced they’ll go with 100% capacity for their 03/25 & 03/26 shows after Nuevo Leon has lifted COVID restrictions. They won’t be having it at Arena Femenil; due to changes with the Monterrey lucha libre commission, they’re moving to the LLUE Showcenter outside the city.

04/01 the WRLD on Lucha

• Pagano vs Sadika in an extreme match
• Jack Carthweel vs Johnny Caballero
• also scheduled to appear: Psicosis, Hugo Savinovich, Laredo Kid, Drago Kid, ASF

Yahoo! Deportes has a profile of LA Park as a social media star.

LuchaWorld has the latest Poster-Mania.

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 02/25/2022 Arena México [CMLL, Cronista del Ring, Estrellas del Ring, Furia de Titanes, Kaiser Sports, R de Rudo, The Gladiatores, thecubsfan]
1) El Suicida & Panterita del Ring Jr. b Eléctrico & Halcón Suriano Jr.   
11:48
2) Akuma, Dark Magic, Espanto Jr. b Cancerbero, Luciferno, Virus  
13:15. Ola Negra (now with Dark Magic) took 1/3. The only three fall match on the show.
3) Dark Silueta © b Lluvia [MEX WOMEN]   
15:27. First defense
4) Averno & Templario b Mephisto, Atlantis Jr., Negro Casas, Cavernario, Hechicero, Euforia [Torneo Increible de Parejas, battle royal]
4:05
5) Atlantis Jr. & Stuka Jr. b Blue Panther & Negro Casas [Torneo Increible de Parejas, quarterfinal]
3:48
6) Mephisto & Volador Jr. b Hechicero & Sagrado [Torneo Increible de Parejas, quarterfinal]
3:40. Hechicero & Sagrado had issues after their loss.
7) Soberano Jr. & Templario b Cavernario & Titán [Torneo Increible de Parejas, quarterfinal]
6:39
8) Averno & Místico b Euforia & Último Guerrero [Torneo Increible de Parejas, quarterfinal] 
5:06. Euforia & Ultimo Guerreros had issues leading to his loss.
9) Atlantis Jr. & Stuka Jr. b Mephisto & Volador Jr. [Torneo Increible de Parejas, semifinal]
2:48
10) Averno & Místico b Soberano Jr. & Templario [Torneo Increible de Parejas, semifinal] 
8:55
11) Atlantis Jr. & Stuka Jr. b Averno & Místico [Torneo Increible de Parejas, final]   
6:18. Stuka challenged Atlantis Jr. to a mask match at HTL and attacked him with his trophy. Atlantis Jr. was stretchered out.

The main event angle was really strong, though more so in a vacuum. Atlantis Jr. was the rudo up until now, but Stuka attacked him here and Atlantis Jr. got the sympathy stretcher ride. That’s nothing new with Atlantis Jr.; it continues to come off like there’s an internal disagreement on Atlantis Jr’s role. Stuka also repeatedly challenged Atlantis Jr. to put up his mask at Homenaje a Dos Leyendas, which CMLL had said Atlantis would have another match on that earlier in the night. It does appear CMLL’s going with this match, maybe all the way to September.

Stuka did apologize in advance to Atlantis Sr. for going after his son’s mask.

CMLL usually hands out small trophies for these tournaments, so shout out to the person who realized they needed to get something big for the Stuka/Atlantis angle to work.

The opener had good energy. Lluvia singles matches convince me she’s better as a tag wrestler. Really good turnout for this show, the best since the restart show. PPV seemed slightly up as well.

CMLL (SAT) 02/26/2022 Arena Coliseo [Box y Lucha, CMLL]
1) Full Metal & Minos b Acero & Aéreo
2) Dalys, Metálica, Reyna Isis b La Vaquerita, Marcela, Skadi
Rudas took 2/3, Dalys unmasked Skadi to set up the victory
3) Dark Magic, Misterioso Jr., Nitro b Flyer, Guerrero Maya Jr., Volcano
4) Esfinge b Rugido
Esfinge took 1/3
5) Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Terrible b Fugaz, Soberano Jr., Star Jr.
Ingobernables took 1/3.

The CMLL recap calls Los Ingobernables as “polemico”. Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja still do get booed but the most recent reason they were booed – taking the Los Ingobernables name when it didn’t feel like they should be the group – feels moot. It’s just a thing faded into the background, people aren’t angry about it any more. That group of title has lots of title belts but don’t feel relevant.

CMLL (SUN) 02/27/2022 Arena México [CMLL]
1) Pequeño Olímpico & Pequeño Polvora b Kaligua & Pequeño Magía
2) Cachorro, Diamond, Sangre Imperial b Grako, Inquisidor, Raider
tecnicos took 1/3
3) Hijo del Villano III, Misterioso Jr., Okumura b Guerrero Maya Jr., Hombre Bala Jr., Magia Blanca
Rudos took 2/3. Hijo del Villano replaced Nitro on Friday.
4) Dulce Gardenia, Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa b Pólvora, Rey Bucanero, Sagrado
Tecnicos took 1/3. Rey Bucanero replaced Hijo del Villano III (moved down) on Friday.
5) Atlantis, Místico, Titán b El Coyote, Felino, Negro Casas
Tecnicos took 2/3.

Nothing much of note here.

CMLL (TUE) 03/01/2022 Arena México
1) Apocalipsis & Valiente Jr. vs Cholo & Retro [Relevos Increíbles]
2) El Suicida, Eléctrico, Robin vs Disturbio, Enfermero Jr., Grako
3) La Guerrera, La Magnifica, Marcela vs Amapola, Dalys, Metálica
4) Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Terrible vs Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II, Sagrado
5) Atlantis, Stuka Jr., Titán vs Felino, Negro Casas, Templario

There is no good reason to have a relevos incredible match in the opener, but there it is. Fourth match is a preview of the trios tournament in the next paragraph. Atlantis & Stuka probably should be fine teaming.

CMLL made a bunch of announcements on the 03/18 Homenaje a Dos Leyendas show during and after Friday’s PPV. The full card has not been released, but it looks like:

• Panterita del Ring, Suicida, Oro Jr. vs Robin, Halcon Suriano Jr., Electrico
  • mentioned on the show, hasn’t been advertised elsewhere yet
• a women’s relevos suicidas and a apuesta match
• TJP & Volador vs Mistico & Averno
• and a four-team tournament for the vacant CMLL Trios championship
  • Ultimo Guerrero, Atlantis Jr., Gran Guerrero
  • Hechicero, Mephisto, Euforia
  • Sagrado & Los Gemelo Diablos
  • Angel de Oro, Terrible, Niebla Roja

All rudo teams in the trios title tournament. The Guerreros are the clear favorite for the trios titles, vacant since NGD and CMLL parted ways in August. In another promotion, Stuka might cost Atlantis Jr. the titles but that’s not something CMLL does (and that’s good.) This is a seven-match card as is, including a seeding battle royal, so that’s probably the whole card.

The women’s competition will actually start on March 11th, making for a two week eight-team tournament. It’s incredible pairs like the men’s tournament, except it’ll be the losers who advance. Teams:

• Marcela & Metalica
• La Jarochita & Tiffany
• Dark Silueta & Lluvia
• Stephanie Vaquer & La Magnifica
• Reyna Isis & La Vaquerita
• Princesa Sugehit & La Seductora
• Dalys & Skadi
• Amapola & La Guerrera

The quarterfinals and the finals will take place on March 11th. The final tag team match and the resulting apuesta match (hair/mask or hair/hair) will take place on 03/8. Isis & Vaquerita and Metalica & Marcela both recently feuded on Tuesday Arena Mexico shows, and Vaquerita’s the favorite to lose her hair. The CMLL women’s division has a lot of people who are never pushed and wouldn’t be hurt by a hair loss – Magnifica, Sedcutore, La Guerrera all are possibilities too.

H2L will be a TicketmasterLive show. It’s not up yet, figure on it being the expensive price. No TicketmasterLive shows are up for March yet.

Atlantis was officially added to the Guadalajara sports hall of fame on Friday. Olimpic swimmer and noted lucha libre fan German Sanchez handled his induction speech.

I’ve got into the pattern of just uploading CMLL stuff to the Google Drive and not saying much about it, so just a quick note: MVS’s internet feed was offline all weekend, so no matches from that show this week. The feed was back working Monday, so hopefully, that was just a one-weekend thing. There haven’t been set patterns to the CMLL B-shows since the second restart, so I’m not even exactly sure what was missed.

AAA

AAA aired the first two matches from Rey de Reyes on TV this week, with matches three and four airing next week. There are a lot of interviews and vignettes to stretch out the show, since this is one less week than usual. This week’s TV included the Arcano/Arcano match which joined in progress on the FITE brodcast. The two Arcanos were Komander and Hijo del Vikingo, and there was no explanation why two people in Arcano outfits were fighting. (Maybe the non-storyline reason was so they could do the Spider-Man pointing meme.) It seems crazy Vikingo was wrestling in a dark match to open the show and then came back for the main event, but everyone got away with it this time.

A vignette airing at the end of AAA’s TV show explained Microman is still with La Empresa, but they’re all angry with him and treated him poorly. It’s unclear why he wants to be in the group.

AAA is taping in Madero on Saturday, with a listed start time of 8pm. I’m not sure if we’ll find out if AAA will be streaming that show until the day of the show, so maybe don’t plan your day around it. The big news on the Madero taping teased by a Facebook page on Friday was 2×1 ticket deal in the cheapest section. That’s usually a sign tickets aren’t moving well and tickets not moving well is a reason AAA might not want to tell people you can see their show for free quite yet.

AAA continues to advertise LA Park for the Showcenter debut show even though LA Park isn’t on the lineup they put out. Maybe it’s an issue with the lineup, it’s not like those can be trusted.

Charly Manson says he’s had talks to return to AAA, but nothing has been confirmed. Anyone with AAA history is probably getting a call to see if they’re interested in coming back this year and Charly would make a lot of sense.

EMW says Tay Conti will appear on the 03/26 show, her Mexico debut. Conti was previously scheduled to wrestle in Mexico on the doomed Federacion Wrestling show. Conti and Sammy Guevara did a seemingly random challenge for the AAA mixed tag match last month, so maybe that’ll go somewhere now. Champions Arez (RIOT) and Chik Tormenta (Arena GDL) are advertised elsewhere that day, so the mixed tag title match couldn’t happen that day. They could set up for later. It would be the second pending AAA title match happening because AEW wrestlers pitched it on Twitter, joining Omega/Vikingo.

Between a desire to bring in people from the past and an urge to bring in people from the US, there are sure going to be a lot of people on AAA shows this year. If US wrestlers are only on cards to appeal to the US, this show would seem to be streamed in some way. My post about Conti on Twitter blew up much bigger than most talent announcements of that kind, so there seems like there’d be significant US interest in seeing her on this show. Willie Mack has also been advertised for that show.

Martinez Entertainment posted a low res video of their April 1st show poster. From what I can make out, AAA wrestlers Arez, Taurus, Psycho Clown, Laredo Kid, Mr. Iguana, Faby Apache, La Hiedra, Chik Tormenta, Aerostar, Aramis, Drago, and Pimpinela Escarlata are booked, as are Crazy Boy and Extreme Tiger. That’s probably the bulk of the Mexico-based group working the AAA show in Dallas the next day. AAA still hasn’t announced anything from that show; they’re going much slower than everyone else.

AEW announced they’re running in Ontario, California on June 3rd, which is said to be the start of a west coast tour. AAA has TripleMania in Tijuana on June 18th, which might line up for some crossover.

IWRG

IWRG (SAT) 02/26/2022 Arena Naucalpan [Mas Lucha]
1) Rey De Fuego & Súper Boy b Desastre & Último Caballero 
2) Gran Felipe, Guerrero Olímpico, X-Boy b Güero De Tijuana, Skanda, Villarreal  
3) Carnicero, Perseo, Rey Aztaroth b Blue Win, Jhon Tito, Rey Minos  
4) Caballero de Plata, Hell Boy, Sol b Garra Mortal, Kenji, X-Devil  
5) Fly Warrior, Fulgor, Satania b Karma I, Karma II, Mary Caporal  
6) Águila Oriental, Billy Jones, Calibus, Limbo, Noisy Boy, Spider Fly, Súper Cometa DQ Black Dragón, Cerebro Negro Jr., Cheff Benito, Legendario, Mexica, Puma de Oro, Rey Halcón  
FILL 93. FILL vs NGT. Puma de Oro originally used a foul to get the pin, but the referee reversed the call and awarded Noisy Boy the win by DQ. Both teams brawled post-match as if this was headed to a cage match.

This was good for a trainee show, with the fourth match and the main event getting the most attention. I don’t bother to track down the iTV feed most times but it’s the better version this time out.

IWRG (SUN) 02/27/2022 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG, Mas Lucha]
1) Sol & Spider Fly b Águila Oriental & X-Devil  
2) Diosa Quetzal, Jesse Jackson, Sagitarius b Diosa Atenea, Lolita, Satania  
3) Caballero de Plata & Hell Boy DQ Cerebro Negro Jr. & Limbo  
4) Fulgor, Puma de Oro, Tonalli b Billy Jones, Chris Stone Jr., Veneno 
5) Séptimo Dragón & Toxin b Freelance & Relámpago and Accion Jackson & Dinámico and Aster Boy & Noisy Boy 
first IWRG match for Septimo Dragon since the start of the pandemic (and since his motorcycle accident.) Order of elimination: Freelance & Relmpago, Dinamico & Accion Jackson, Aster Boy & Noisy Boy after some interference
6) Alpha Wolf & Dragón Bane b Cerebro Negro & Dr. Cerebro  

This show was said not to have gone as well.

IWRG , LLB (THU) 03/17/2022 Arena Naucalpan
1) Fantasma De La Ópera I, Fantasma De La Ópera II, Power Bull vs Davo, Gravedad Cero, Ska Boy
2) El Divino, Juan Diego, Pinochito vs ?, Demencia, Hijo De Brazo De Platino
3) Big Mami & Mary Caporal vs Artemiz & Princesa Azul and ? & Sagitarius [LLB WOMEN TAG]
4) Freelance vs Aster Boy, Chicanito, Tonalli, Iron Kid, Belial, Impulso
5) Carta Brava Jr. (LLB), Cerebro Negro, Fantasma de la Ópera vs Corsario Negro, Drako, Fulgor
6) Cíclope & Miedo Extremo vs Alpha Wolf & Dragón Bane
7) Canek & Octagón vs DMT Azul & Fuerza Guerrera

This has an “IWRG” logo on the poster, but the card looks to be mostly a Lucha Libre Boom show. That main event shocked me with how poorly designed it is. Canek, Octagon, and Fuerza are very old and hard to watch without some nostalgia, but they generally know how to do just enough to give the people who are still into them what they want. DMT Azul is a guy who struggles working with guys his own age and hasn’t seemed adaptable. He’s in the match because promoters believe him to be a star but he’s a terrible fit for that match. It may just be bad, or it may be just the worst. The semimain too are two teams who are used to primarily doing their own style of matches and those aren’t really the same style; Los Macizos are more likely to adjust than Los Golpeadors. Fantasma de la Opera seems like he runs this promotion and has been around wrestling for a lot longer than I have, so maybe he’s seeing something here (like his fans just want to see the names and don’t care how they do) to put this together, but this has a chance to be a memorably poor show.

Other News

The Mexicali Box y Lucha commission suspended Hijo del Fishman for a year for an attacking local referee Peluche (Edgar Ramirez) on 02/19. Not sure what exactly happened. I’ve only found clips of the match and the referee who starts the match is not the one who ended it, but haven’t discovered why. I’m way behind on cataloging videos and it’s probably out there on one of them.

The RGR shows in the Los Angeles area this weekend seemed to do well; the Friday show was a sell out. PWR in Saturday also was said to do well.

Ciudad Juarez wrestler Hijo del Impostor will be now wrestling as Hijo del Cobrade, both name used by his father though Cobrade was the more important name. Another son had been wrestling as Hijo del Cobrade, though he hasn’t been wrestling much.

In Guadalajara, Demencia took Olimpo’s mask on Friday. Olimpo is Cuauhtemoc Mendoza, 9 years a wrestler, from Guadalajara.

GALLI on 03/13 has Lince Dorado, Psycho Clown, Arez, Aramis and Hijo de Dos Caras.

KAOZ’s return show on March 27th has Alberto vs Konnan Big vs Carlito vs El Divo vs Rey Escorpion in the main event. A lot of random tags underneath with Chris Masters also booked.

Robles Promotions is advertising Dragon Lee, La Bestia del Ring, Dralisitco and two mystery LFI members soon. Dragon Lee and Dralistico had already said Dementor and Rush were coming to the promotion and Rush is advertised for a 04/30 Robles show in Merida, not sure why it’s a mystery. Rush getting in on the Robles money train does explain why he’s probably not been in a hurry to pick up work in AAA or elsewhere.

MLW says they’ve signed Microman to a multi-year deal.

Komander is off, Aramis is on for RIOT’s La Rina tournament

Box y Lucha 3502 has Atlantis Jr. & Mercurio on the cover.

Segunda Caida watches some 1994 CMLL in Los Angeles matches.