Volador (and his new friends) advance in Copa Independencia, Heroes Inmortales matches, Electrico remains champ

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 09/03/2021 Arena México [CMLLFuria de TitanesKaiser SportsMas LuchaR de RudoThe GladiatoresYahoo! Deportes]
1) Akuma & Espanto Jr. b Sagrado & Universo 2000 Jr. CMLL - UNIVERSO 2000 JR. - SAGRADO VS ESPANTO JR. - AKUMA. /ARENA MEXICO 3 DE SEPTIEMBRE 2021 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) CMLL | Akuma y Espanto Jr derrotan a Universo 2000 Jr y Sagrado (posted by Más Lucha)
Akuma & Espanto Jr. took 2/3.
2) Blue Panther Jr., Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa b Enfermero Jr., Felino Jr., Pólvora CMLL | Rey Cometa, Espíritu Negro y Blue Panther Jr vencen a Pólvora, Felino Jr y Enfermero Jr (posted by mluchatv) CMLL-BLUE P. JR. - ESPÍRITU NEGRO-REY COMETA VS ENFERMERO JR.-PÓLVORA-FELINO JR./A. MEXICO 3-09-2021 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
Blue Panther Jr. replaced Stuka (moved up) on Friday. Tecnicos took 2/3
3) Atlantis, Atlantis Jr., Stuka Jr. b Gran Guerrero, Hijo del Villano III, Negro Casas CMLL | Atlantis, Stuka Jr y Atlantis Jr derrotan a Gran Guerrero, Negro Casas e Hijo de Villano III (posted by mluchatv) CMLL STUKA JR.-ATLANTIS JR.-ATLANTIS VS H. DEL VILLANO III-NEGRO C. -G. GUERRERO/A. MEXICO 3-09-2021 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL)
Tecnicos took 2/3. Stuka Jr. replaced Titan on Friday.
4) Volador Jr. b MísticoValienteStar Jr.El AudazGuerrero Maya Jr.Último GuerreroMephistoHechiceroDragón Rojo Jr.CancerberoGemelo Diablo I [Copa Independencia, semifinalCMLL - PRIMERA FASE DE LA COPA INDEPENDENCIA / ARENA MEXICO 3 DE SEPTIEMBRE 2021 (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) CMLL | Volador Jr vence a Último Guerrero y es primer finalista a la Copa Independencia (posted by mluchatv)
Order of elimination: Valiente (by Mephisto), Cancerbero (Hechicero), Audaz (Dragon Rojo), Mephisto (Ultimo Guerrero; Mephisto needed medical help after taking the Guerrero Special), Star Jr. (Gemelo Diablo I), Guerrero Maya Jr. (Volador Jr.), Gemelo Diablo I (Mistico), Mistico (Ultimo Guerrero foul), Hechicero (Ultimo Guerrero finish though Volador covered), and Ultimo Guerrero (Volador). Volador appeared with four mystery people that CMLL called attention towards. Mephisto replaced Templario on Thursday.

Volador appeared with four unidentified masked men on Friday. They looked like the Jabbawockeez, they were not the Jabbawockeez. It originally seemed like just a special entrance until they also joined Volador in his backstage promo and reappeared on Sunday.

CMLL tecnicos, for a decade-plus, have pitched ideas for a tecnico faction in media interviews. Those ideas never go anywhere; the most the tecnico side gets is a reoccurring trio. Volador’s pitch for the idea was a Depredadores Team, and maybe he’s actually getting it. Volador is known to be training guys like Diamond, Magia Blanca, Black Warrior Jr., and Rugido, so they could be those under the masks. It’s also at least possible this is a setup for a rudo turn; CMLL needs a NGD replacement, Volador could use the change and it’d be a return to the old Mistico feud. CMLL didn’t hint at any specific idea, just teased more to happen.

Ultimo Guerrero beating Mistico on Friday via cheating appeared at the time to be the first time Mistico lost since retaking the gimmick. That turns out to be incorrect: Ultimo Guerrero actually pinned Mistico last Monday in Arena Puebla via mask pull. Mistico got over originally for many reasons, including that he almost always won. Current CMLL doesn’t have the patience and will to do the same in 2021 for anyone, Mistico included. It’s no surprise that it was Ultimo Guerrero who got to be the person to beat Mistico; I’d guess the justification is that Ultimo Guerrero is so important that it doesn’t hurt Mistico. The flipside is that if Ultimo Guerrero was so important, maybe these shows would be drawing better. There are signs of CMLL trying to take make small changes, but the big issues remain.

CMLL (SUN) 09/05/2021 Arena México [CMLLR de Rudo]
1) Mercurio & Pierrothito b Acero & Aéreo
Rudos took 1/3. Acero suffered an injury in the first fall and could not continue the match.
2) Disturbio & Nitro b Retro & Sangre Imperial
Rudos took 2/3.
3) Eléctrico © b Inquisidor [MEX LIGHT]
7th defense, first since December 2019.
4) Felino Jr., Luciferno, Raziel b Blue Panther Jr., Kráneo, Volcano
Tecnicos took 2/3. Felino Jr. replaced Virus (moved up)
5) Stuka Jr., Valiente, Volador Jr. b Cavernario, Euforia, Virus
Tecnicos took 2/3. Valiente and Virus replaced Titan and Templario on Friday. Volador was accompanied by the four other mystery people again.

Electrico’s next defense would be in June 2023 at the current pace.

Templario hasn’t wrestled in CMLL since August 9th. No one’s said what’s going on and he’s continued to update his social media as if nothing is happening. I do not believe this is Templario leaving the promotion; I think it’s more likely in 2021 and the obvious thing has happened, but no one wants to say it. Beyond CMLL being quiet for quiet sake, CMLL’s selling Arena Mexico as a safe, healthy place to come visit, so the last thing they’d want to publically admit is a luchador being found not actually to be healthy after the fact. Templario (and Titan, similarly missing) getting listed for this card is probably a good sign – he may be close to returning, they just couldn’t get him cleared for Sunday, but he’s close.

Close is important. The top four finishers in the middleweight tournament are scheduled to have an elimination match, where two will lose and two will move onto the 09/24 national middleweight decider match. Templario, Enfermero Jr., Dragon Rojo Jr. and El Coyote are the top four. Templario has to wrestle Friday or he’s out (and maybe fifth-place finisher Angel de Oro is in.) Templario is the most interesting luchador of the four included and also the most likely winner; that match is much less attractive if Templario can not wrestle. My guess is CMLL won’t say anything about this until Informa on Wednesday, but that’s likely a situation being watched closely inside of CMLL.

CMLL’s made a lot more mid-week changes to cards lately and has announced those lineups increasingly later. The only substation that’s been explained was when Stephanie Vaquer missed the Universal tournament with an injury. The Aniversario shows are different because most of the matches – all on the 09/24 show itself – will be announced ahead of time and it’s harder to quietly change the lineups. That meant a lot of public announcements of medical issues last year.

CMLL (TUE) 09/07/2021 Arena México
1) Kaligua & Último Dragóncito vs Pequeño Olímpico & Pierrothito
2) Eléctrico & Robin vs Hijo del Signo & Inquisidor
3) Cachorro, Pegasso, Stigma vs Akuma, Espanto Jr., Felino Jr.
4) Blue Panther Jr., Dark Panther, Stuka Jr. vs Hechicero, Luciferno, Mephisto
5) Star Jr., Valiente, Volador Jr. vs Cavernario, Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II

Nothing particularly going on here.

CMLL (TUE) 09/07/2021 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Bello Antuan, Capitán Cobra, Micro vs Jabalí, Relámpago Azul, Rumbero
2) Adrenalina & Estrella Oriental vs Ángel Rebelde & Optimus
3) Furia Roja & Guerrero Del Muerte vs Bestia Negra & Difunto
4) Explosivo, Fantástico, Star Black vs Halcón Negro Jr., Principe Daniel, Trono
5) Espíritu Negro & Rey Cometa vs Gallo & Joker

No one but the Queretaro guys for the city versus city program. The quantity of bookings appears to be an issue for CMLL CDMX wrestlers so that few of them are working in Guadalajara is probably a paint point.

CMLL did not air either part of the Universal de Amazones tournament on TV. They also skipped around a trios title match. My guess is CMLL is not airing the Aniversario shows on TV or YouTube, and they’re holding back matches like the women’s tournament to air in its place. I don’t know this for sure, CMLL hasn’t made this clear, but I wouldn’t take it for granted they’ll turn up for free in the near future.

CMLL posted a video from Okada congratulating CMLL on their Aniversario and saying he’d see them soon. He probably won’t actually be seeing them soon but the thought is nice.

Arena Coliseo Guadalajara wrestlers helped out a children’s vaccination drive.

AAA

AAA’s TV continues to be largely irrelevant, though those involved in the ring seem to be working harder on the set of tapings which started this past week. The actual news from this past week’s TV was the announcement of a couple of matches for the 10/09 Heroes Inmortales show. AAA hasn’t typically been building matches up for their big shows this year, so that was a nice change. The matches announced

On the AAA show from Aguascalientes on Friday night, NGD said they’d also be fighting Poder del Norte on Heroes Inmoratles. I’m not sure if Deonna Purrazzo will be back in for that show, but those otherwise seem like the most important matches. This show hasn’t officially been announced as airing live on Space but that is what everyone is expecting to happen.

The Vikingo situation is just weird. He’s booked like a promising up-and-comer on TV, but also the guy put in the big matches because they have no problem beating him. Vikingo got beat at TripleMania when Cage (who won’t be back for a while), Laredo and Taurus were other options. Vikingo got beat on TV this week when Pagano, who has no match for Heroes Inmortales at this point, was teaming with him. We know there was another match taped with NGD versus Vikingo, Psycho, and Laredo and I’ve got one guess who’s taking the pinfall in that one too. I’d like to see Vikingo win everything, but I can sort of understand it – Vikingo’s going to make the finishes look good, his time will come later, blah blah blah. Except, they’ve got Kenny Omega doing promos talking about how Vikingo is actually one of the five most amazing wrestlers he’s ever seen and how he wants to face him for the Mega championship. And, crucially, whoever’s facing Omega stands a really good chance of becoming champion since we already know AAA has the go ahead for Omega to take a loss. If you follow AAA via social media posts, Vikingo is the guy and you’re excited to see him face and maybe beat Kenny Omega. If you follow AAA on TV, then Vikingo is definitely the best of the young crop but he’s nowhere near the Omega level and it’s going to be very strange to see him in a title match. I worry a bit about the internet fans being completely excited for that Omega/Vikingo match while the TV audience is baffled, and how they react to Vikingo after. Maybe it’ll be so good that none of this matters, or maybe AAA’s decided that match isn’t happening and is just letting Omega do the promos to keep him happy.

It is possible AAA’s planning to start building Vikingo to that Mega title match by having him win the tag titles. I do wonder a bit if that’s now possible, at least in a straight 2v2 match, after the Lucha Brothers won the AEW Tag Team championships this past weekend. (That was an outstanding match with the Young Bucks, you should go out of your way to see if you like the Lucha Brothers.)

Komander told Mas Lucha he’ll be out five months after injuring his ankle. He looked so good on AAA TV this week. He’ll be on TV a while longer since AAA just completed a month of taping before he got hurt.

That AAA Aguascalientes show aired live on Mas Lucha, but now the show is Mexico-only. I think there’s a clip or two that slipped through on their channel. Even as it was airing, people were asking me “why is that AAA allowed to air worldwide and not other AAA?” and I tried to rationalize it as technically being a local promoter show. In reality, it seems like even people as plugged in as Mas Lucha don’t understand the very confusing AAA/FMV situation.

IWRG

IWRG (SUN) 09/05/2021 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG, Mas Luch, R de Rudo, Zona Ruda]
1) Rey Halcón Jr. b Noicy Boy
2) Ra-Zhata & Shil-Kha b Aster Boy & Tortuga Leo
Leo betrayed his partners and decided to be an evil Ninja Turtle.
3) Diosa Atenea, Lolita, Satania b Baronessa, Bengalee, Diosa Quetzal
Atenea & Quetzal are still feuding; Atenea was eliminated but interfered to cause Quetzal to lose.
4) As Charro NG, Fuerza Guerrera NG, Súper Nova b Dick Angelo 3G, Puma de Oro, Tonalli
5) Fly Warrior, Medico Brujo, Sick Boy DQ Big Boy, Big Chicoche, Big Mike
6) Toxin © b Jessy Ventura [IWRG MEXICO]
Fifth defense.
7) Gianni Valletta b Hijo del EspectroDiva SalvajeKaraouiHijo del Dr. Wagner Jr.Galeno del MalEstrella DivinaVenenoMafiosoVillano V Jr.Black Taurus (Indie) [IWRG IC HEAVY, battle royal]
vacant title (Fresero Jr. quit). Veneno was knocked out during the match. Worked as an elimination until the final four (Valletta, Espectro, Taurus and Divina) when it became a ladder match

Veneno needed serious medical attention after being knocked out during the match. He thanked Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr., Villano V Jr., and the IWRG doctor for their help without giving details. Mas Lucha was streaming the show as a subscriber-only show, and later put up the clip of the injury. Veneno was doing a top rope senton bomb when his head connected with Valletta’s knees. Valletta put up his knees to counter the move, but Veneno didn’t seem like he was expecting that and ending up going headfirst into the knee.

It appeared like a freak thing, not that either man did anything obviously wrong. He was knocked out cold. It took a few seconds for everyone to realize it wasn’t just selling, with Wagner & Villano being alert. Veneno received CPR from the doctor and came back to consciousness, with the entire episode lasting around two minutes. He was taken away on a stretcher but good enough the next morning to post on Facebook. IWRG having a medical person who knew CPR may have saved Veneno’s life.

Other News

The Friday deadline for a list of participants in the Mexican National Heavyweight tournament came and went with no news from the Mexico City commission. Meanwhile, Cibernetico joked about creating a “national independent heavyweight championship”. Mexico probably doesn’t need another belt that no one but the champion will take seriously.

NOAH & DDT’s WrestleUniverse video service announced a new show called “NOAH the Universal”, a show debuting today which appears to be airing matches from Japan and Mexico. The Mexico matches appear to be from Mas Lucha’s free YouTube channel:

These are just the Mas Lucha matches; they’re using the same commentary. I’m sure it’s good for Japanese fans, who probably aren’t going to find these easily on Mas Lucha’s channel. (It’s tough to find anything on Mas Lucha’s channel that’s more than two days old.) If you’re a lucha libre fan, you don’t really need to subscribe to anyone to see these matches.

Hijo del Dr. Wagner has been in NOAH before so it makes sense he’d be featured. The IWRG match is more of a random pick. Note that even though Hijo del Alebrije and Hijo del Espectro were announced as going to NOAH, neither of them are being highlighted or shown. The latest version of that story is they’re going over in January, which remains highly dubious.

On August 18th, Lucha Time posted a message with KAOZ Lucha Libre announced they were both pausing all wrestling shows on the recommendation of the Monterrey secretary of health due to COVID cases flaring up. On September 4th, Lucha Time ran their next show. They held out about two and half weeks. I know lucha libre can be last minute but they had to be actually planning the September 4th show when they announced they were not running shows; they surely knew Valletta was coming in.

Bryan Danielson debuted for AEW this Friday. Danielson’s fascination with lucha libre is well documented, to the point of becoming a meme. One of the reoccurring plot points is Bryan Danielson’s desire to wrestle Blue Panther in Arena Mexico. That remains tricky – it’s unclear if CMLL would use Bryan Danielson because of AAA & AEW’s relationship – but Danielson did say he’s not actively pursuing the idea this year because he’s concerned about the amount of COVID in Mexico.

In non-AEW matches I saw this past weekend

  • Arez versus Laredo Kid at AAW was the best of the lucha libre matches I saw on these indies. Arez did less of the mat work he’s done elsewhere but what he did came off pretty well. Laredo Kid’s steady schedule in AAW and strong matches seems to have gotten him over. AAW has a tournament coming up in October and I wonder if he’s going to have a run there.
  • Laredo Kid versus Lee Moriarty in Black Label Pro was pretty good, though more of the exhibition feel from a busy indie weekend. It felt more professional the some of the matches around it.
    • Drago also had a match on the Black Label Pro show that I forgot happened. It was a weird fourway where anyone else could’ve been in his spot.
  • The four-way on GCW was good, though there were moments where it felt apart. Not sure what happened with Juventud Guerrera’s dive – he seemed to check out of the weekend as soon as he wasn’t caught. Super Crazy was also strangely missing. Not sure why.
  • The GALLI show didn’t end up streaming but definitely happened.

Laredo Kid’s latest trip to Impact starts airing this Thursday, facing John Skyler on the Behind the Impact show. Impact is no longer airing on Twitch – there’s a paid but inexpensive YouTube live stream – but the Behind the Impact show does appear to go up on Impact’s website for free.

MLW’s “Fusion Alpha” starts airing on YouTube on Wednesday, September 22nd. They’re airing at 6 pm CT, the hour before Dynamite on Wednesday. It’ll also air on beINSports later in the week. I presume this is where the Arez/Aramis match is airing, but it’s hard to tell what’s really going on with MLW. This show isn’t airing on Vice, though MLW promises more news on that at some undefined point in the future. MLW teasing “big news soon” that’s never soon and often not big is the defining feature of the promotion.

Mucha Lucha Supremo tournament, officially now on 10/07 from Arena Naucalpan

That’s on the premium channel for $8/month. Putting Laredo Kid & Bandido makes it an easy buy for me. Like with the Lucha Brothers, I’m not sure if Bandido can actually lose while being ROH champ, so viewers are either getting three Bandido matches or one really screwy finish.

Mas Lucha has a new episode of their podcast.

Latin Lover announced this past weekend that he tested positive for COVID-19. He says he and his family are doing well.

Oaxaca’s El Monarca (Enrique Díaz Moreno, 79) passed away on Friday. He’s not the Monarca who was active in EMLL in the 80s. This one started wrestling in the 1960s and says he won the 1970 Mr. Mexico bodybuilding contest.

Volador & Daffney are on the cover of this week’s Box y Lucha.

Rush reveals knee injury, Dralistico redebuts, Copa Independencia begins

Dinastia Munoz

Rush and the rest of the Munoz family held a press conference on Thursday afternoon. The reason for the press conference was to talk about Rush’s health, though it was obviously also going to be to reintroduce Mistico under his new Dralistico name.

Friendly news outlets had circulated photos and stories of Rush being rushed to the hospital for mystery reasons earlier in the week, one with the idea Rush was in ‘grave’ condition. It appeared to be content concocted by Rush and his family to build interest for this press conference. Rush has a YouTube channel, which streamed the press conference exclusively, and is prone to doing the YouTube vlogger bit of teasing major events in video thumbnails that turn out to be not serious.

LuchaWorld has a good recap of the press conference.

Rush’s wife, Mariah, hosted the press conference and Dragon Lee originally said Rush wouldn’t appear. Rush soon dramatically appeared on crutches. He thanked the fans for the support and apologized for letting them down by getting hurt. Rush said the knee injury had been bugging him for a while but he wanted to keep wrestling while he was ROH champion, and it was the reason he hadn’t wrestled much in Mexico.

Rush said he’d be out between eight months and twelve months recovering from a full knee reconstruction. A day earlier, ROH had said Rush would be out through the end of 2021 without mentioning an injury. Today’s WON says Rush was telling friends he expected to be back in February or March. I’m not a doctor, but Rush appearing on crutches with no obvious brace or leg pain suggested either Rush was working very hard to diminish the effect of the injury, or Rush’s surgery may not have been as severe as full knee reconstruction suggests.

Rush’s injury status means he’s wrestled his last match under his contract ROH contract. He seemed positive about working with Ring of Honor in the future but wasn’t pressed too much on his future and seemed open to working elsewhere. Rush mentioned plans to work on his English (and that YouTube channel) during his injury break.

Dralistico, the former Mistico II, was saved for the end of the press conference. He showed off his new mask, which borrows heavily from the Mistico and Dragon Lee designs. Dralistico was thankful to CMLL but said they put limitations on where he could work and what he could do and was disappointed CMLL never did the mask versus mask match with Caristico. He was looking forward to being his own promoter and wrestling around the world. Dralistico mentioned bringing back some martial arts spots he had done as Dragon Lee. Dralistico also officially joined La Faccion Ingobernable.

Dragon Lee and Dralistico were excited about teaming again; Dralistico’s first match will be on 09/16 in Queretaro teaming with his brother. You’ll probably see Dralistico wherever you see Dragon Lee in Mexico for the rest of the year; the Munoz family are going to use their relationships to get Dralistico going because it’s unclear there’s main event interest for Dralistico on his own.

Rush took a moment to once again claim he had nothing to do with Federacion Wrestling – he says it was also promoter who turned into a ghost who was responsible – but he’d have many surprises to come. Dragon Lee & Bestia del Ring also introduced Dementor as an associate to the family. Dementor previously teamed with Bestia and La Mascara on a Big Lucha show and seems to be a new name that often will end up booked as a way to get Rush or Dragon Lee. Dragon Lee, in the post-press conference scum, said there are more people who want to leave CMLL but lack the courage to make the move.

It didn’t really hit me until this press conference, but Mistico II was “Mistico” for around nine years, longer than Caristico was “Mistico” (seven years.) The original Mistico was so much of a bigger star that I think that’s going to remind a weird unknown trivia bit.

Rush and LFI take on Shane Taylor Promotions in a previously taped match.

CMLL

Today’s CMLL show is not a PPV. It should turn up on YouTube on 09/19.

CMLL (FRI) 09/03/2021 Arena México
1) Sagrado & Universo 2000 Jr. vs Akuma & Espanto Jr.
2) Blue Panther Jr., Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa vs Enfermero Jr., Felino Jr., Pólvora
Blue Panther Jr. replaced Stuka (moved up) on Friday
3) Atlantis, Atlantis Jr., Stuka Jr. vs Gran Guerrero, Hijo del Villano III, Negro Casas
Stuka Jr. replaced Titan on Friday.
4) Volador Jr. vs MísticoValienteStar Jr.El AudazGuerrero Maya Jr.Último GuerreroMephistoHechiceroDragón Rojo Jr.CancerberoGemelo Diablo I [Copa Independencia, semifinal]
Mephisto replaced Templario on Thursday.

I spent a lot of time thinking about what the cibernetico might mean, and maybe not enough thinking about how good that cibernetico might be. It was a really strong lineup with Templario in it and still good with Mephisto in it. I’m not as excited for the rest of the card with Titan gone.

CMLL (SUN) 09/05/2021 Arena México
1) Acero & Aéreo vs Mercurio & Pierrothito
2) Retro & Sangre Imperial vs Disturbio & Nitro
3) Eléctrico © vs Inquisidor [MEX LIGHT]
7th defense, first since December 2019.
4) Blue Panther Jr., Kráneo, Volcano vs Felino Jr., Luciferno, Raziel
Felino Jr. replaced Virus (moved up)
5) Stuka Jr., Valiente, Volador Jr. vs Cavernario, Euforia, Virus
Valiente and Virus replaced Titan and Templario on Friday

Euforia’s back after apparently testing COVID positive.

Neither Titan nor Templario have mentioned any injury on their Facebook or Instagram. They both figure to be part of the 09/26 card; they still have time to recover if this is a COVID positive test situation, but there’s no certainty it is.

CMLL (MON) 09/06/2021 Arena Puebla
1) Black Tiger & Siki Osama vs Rey Apocalipsis & Toro Bill Jr.
2) Último Dragóncito vs Joker [lightning]
3) Kráneo, Stigma, Volcano vs Dark Magic, Enfermero Jr., Okumura
4) Stuka Jr. © vs Ángel de Oro [NWA LH]
5th defense
5) Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II, Místico vs Atlantis Jr., Cavernario, Último Guerrero [Relevos Increíbles]

The only info we get here are the lineups. The main event is a rematch from last week. Stuka & Angel de Oro have been feuding for one week, maybe two if Angel de Oro replaced Felino on 08/23. Dragoncito & Joker is also spilling out of last week’s card.

CMLL Informa included a video from Naoki Sugabayashi, congratulating CMLL on their 88th Aniversario. He also said there would be no interchange of talent between CMLL & NJPW this year due to COVID but hoped that interchange and hoped FantasticaMania would return next year. I don’t think anyone expected NJPW talent this year, not after trainee Tsuji ended up in Europe instead of Mexico, but that seems to formally end any chance of a Best of the Super Juniors appearance for a CMLL luchador.

I hope there’s a 2022 FantasticaMania but – as Hechicero himself noted on Informa – it seems very unlikely for one to be possible in January. That event seems to take months for logistics. The process usually starts this time of year with NJPW officials visiting Mexico, which obviously isn’t happening if they’re sending video statements into Informa instead. It’s always possible the tour could take place at a different time in 2022 if it makes sense, but it’s not something I’m putting a lot of stock in happening in 2022. No FantasticaMania for two straight years will make it harder for CMLL to hold onto their top talent.

CMLL media interviews included La Jarochita wanting to start a trio, Atlantis Jr. talking about the possibility of being a rudo, and Satanico talking about the possibility of various men and women’s Infernales groups. These can be filled with the dozens of other ideas thrown out in CMLL media interviews, without any of them happening. Gotta start pitching tournaments. Likewise, Mistico wants apuesta matches with Mephisto and Ultimo Guerrero.

Other News

AAA posted the open of this week’s TV show, though they just show the same matches as last week so that’s probably an error.

IWRG (THU) 09/02/2021 Arena Naucalpan
1) Sol b FussionSpider FlyShalomKenji Texano Jr vs Gianni Valletta, Thursday Night Wrestling  | IWRG (posted by Más Lucha)
Sol, replacing Noicy Boy, got the win.
2) Baronessa & Mary Caporal b Amazónika & Therius Texano Jr vs Gianni Valletta, Thursday Night Wrestling  | IWRG (posted by mluchatv)
Debut of Baronessa. Mary Caporal replaced Siarelli. Amazónika replaced Satania.
3) Mafioso, Medico Brujo, Sick Boy b Billy Jones, Chris Stone Jr., Mexica Texano Jr vs Gianni Valletta, Thursday Night Wrestling  | IWRG (posted by mluchatv)
Billy Jones ended up bloody.
4) Jessy Ventura b Toxin Jessy Ventura Vs Toxin mano a mano. Arena Naucalpan Thursday Night (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre) Texano Jr vs Gianni Valletta, Thursday Night Wrestling  | IWRG (posted by mluchatv)
medical stoppage after Toxin was unable to continue
5) Gianni Valletta, Hijo del Fishman, Hijo del Pirata Morgan b Hijo del Alebrije, Texano Jr., Veneno Texano Jr vs Gianni Valletta, Thursday Night Wrestling  | IWRG (posted by mluchatv)
Valletta Mexico debut.

Toxin did a running dive over the barricade and collided ribs first with a table. Toxin was selling his ribs for quite a while before it, so it looked like an angle.

The Opener sounds like it was worth checking out, as long as you’re ready for a spotty match. Shalom is Cerebro Negro’s son and they’ve both been in or out of IWRG at the same time so maybe Cerebro Negro is on his way back.

IWRG (SUN) 09/05/2021 Arena Naucalpan
1) Noicy Boy vs Rey Halcón
2) Baronessa, Bengalee, Diosa Quetzal vs Diosa Atenea, Lolita, Satania
3) Aster Boy & Tortuga Leo vs Tortuga Negra I & Tortuga Negra II
4) Dick Angelo 3G, Puma de Oro, Tonalli vs As Charro NG, Fuerza Guerrera NG, Súper Nova
5) Big Boy, Big Chicoche, Big Mike vs Fly Warrior, Medico Brujo, Sick Boy
6) Toxin © vs Jessy Ventura [IWRG MEXICO]
7) Gianni Valletta vs Hijo del EspectroDiva SalvajeKaraouiHijo del Dr. Wagner Jr.Galeno del MalEstrella DivinaVenenoMafiosoVillano V Jr.Black Taurus (Indie) [IWRG IC HEAVY, battle royal]
vacant title (Fresero Jr. quit)

This is the Mas Lucha subscriber-only show, I guess with the idea of two title matches and a longer card making it appealing.

GCW/BLP has Juventud Guerrera & Super Crazy vs Gringo Loco & Arez vs Laredo Kid & ASF vs Dragon Bane & Hijo de Canis Lupus tonight outside of Chicago. It’s a late-night show, 11 pm local, and airing on Fite, as are all the shows in this paragraph. GCW on Saturday has Super Crazy versus Juventud Guerrera and Black Label Pro has Super Crazy vs Drago vs Tre Lamar vs Nick Wayne and Laredo Kid vs Lee Moriaty. GALLI has Arez, Laredo Kid, and Drago on Saturday and says they’re on FITE TV, but there’s no mention on FITE and the matches haven’t been announced. I guess that would be concerning for a non-lucha libre promotion but I’m sure it’s fine.

Laredo Kid/Arez last night at AAW was really good. I thought the AAA match was slightly better but that’s a high bar and this match got over with that crowd. Laredo Kid’s run of AAW appearances has gotten him surprisingly over – the match happened late in the show and I was surprised how excited they were to still see it – and maybe it’s to the point where Laredo should get figured into bigger things.

Welcome to Mi Barrio announced they’re going to start running every other week. They’d been doing occasional bulk tapings during the pandemic. They’re formally starting a women’s division lead by Luna Magica and did an angle where WWS champion Hera interrupted the press conference.

RIOT announced their next show, the 09/18 Secret Lucha Society, will be invitational only. They say they’re only allowed a limited amount of people due to current COVID regulations.

Mas Lucha announced Laredo Kid as the first person in their October Mas Lucha Supremo tournament. Laredo Kid is a good start.

The Crash briefly announced Komander & Baby Xtreme versus Black Danger & Dinamico before being informed Komander was hurt last week. El Dragon from Juarez replaced Komander. Today’s WON confirms this is no longer an Aztec Underground taping.

Adrian Mendoza pointed my attention to the fact Baby Xtreme has never teamed up with El Negocio Traumado after originally quitting IWRG/Lucha Time to join them. Baby Xtreme also wasn’t part of the group run-in on the Robles Patron Promociones show last week.

Copa Independencia, Aniversario PPV, Rush surgery, The Crash return matches

CMLL

CMLL (TUE) 08/31/2021 Arena México [CMLLKasier SportsMas Lucha]
1) Chamuel & Mije b Átomo & El Gallito
2) Apocalipsis, Disturbio, Hijo del Signo b Arkalis, Oro Jr., Robin
3) Dark Silueta, Metálica, Tiffany b La Guerrera, La Jarochita, Lluvia
Rudas took 2/3. La Guerrera replaced Princesa Sugehit the day of the show. Silueta beat Lluvia, said she’s coming for the tag team titles at the Aniversario.
4) Hechicero, Luciferno, Mephisto b Dark Panther, Fugaz, Panterita del Ring
Rudos took 1/3. Mephisto unmasked Pantera after the match. Luciferno replaced Rey Bucanero.
5) Místico, Valiente, Volador Jr. b Ángel de Oro, Cavernario, Terrible [Relevos Increíbles]
Tecnicos took 2/3. Mistica on Cavernario.

Mistico is now 3-0 since retaking the name.

No results from Arena Coliseo Guadalajara. They did post live video of the show, so maybe I’ll watch and figure it out later.

CMLL (FRI) 09/03/2021 Arena México
1) Sagrado & Universo 2000 Jr. vs Akuma & Espanto Jr.
2) Espíritu Negro, Rey Cometa, Stuka Jr. vs Enfermero Jr., Felino Jr., Pólvora
3) Atlantis, Atlantis Jr., Titán vs Gran Guerrero, Hijo del Villano III, Negro Casas
4) Volador Jr. vs MísticoValienteStar Jr.El AudazGuerrero Maya Jr.Último GuerreroTemplarioHechiceroDragón Rojo Jr.CancerberoGemelo Diablo I [Copa Independencia, semifinal]

This is not streaming – most about that in a couple of paragraphs – but it’s a somewhat intriguing card. Copa Independence is the usual three-week tournament, with the final as the semi-main for the Cavernario/Felino show. Twelve people suggest it’s a cibernetico. It may have been planned to take place all along, but the timing of the announcement suggested it was a way to make sure Caristico Mistico would have a showcase match on one of the big September shows. Only one person will advance from this block, which means logical Mistico opponents Volador Jr. & Ultimo Guerrero seem to not be in the plans. CMLL could’ve put Templario or Hechicero in that spot too, but we can rule them out of a Mistico match.

Negro Casas is around and could win next week, so he remains a possibility. CMLL just did a Jarochita/Silueta tournament final so they’re clearly open to giving different people chances, so maybe a Mistico/Gran Guerrero or even a Mistico/Hijo del Villano III final could happen. It just struck me that this might be the opening to Averno or Black Warrior coming in next week, if CMLL’s really committed to bringing playing off the peak Mistico era. Or they’ll just have someone besides Mistico win and these two paragraphs will be dumber than usual.

Today’s CMLL Informa has only three segments announced. La Jarochita will talk about her tournament win, Electrico will talk about his upcoming title match, and Akuma & Espanto Jr. will discuss the Aniversario poll. There are typically around four segments, so maybe there’s a surprise coming. But there’s no guarantee, I’m just making guesses.

Atlantis Jr. is back to being a tecnico after last week’s rudo exhibition. Akuma & Espanto Jr. get another Friday night booking. Cancerbero is back from his recent disappearing bit. Templario, Dragon Rojo, and Enfermero Jr. will probably be back on the 09/10 show for the middleweight decider (along with the not booked Casas.)

Dark Silueta & Reyna Isis have a less than 100 vote lead in the poll for the women’s tag title match. The poll goes on until whenever CMLL needs to finalize next Friday’s card since the middleweight decider match is on the show. Plenty of time for that women’s tag title match to flip back and forth. The women’s tag match is getting more votes a day than the middleweight one, though I’m not sure if the women will pass them by the time the poll ends and earn the main event spot.

Ticketmaster has listings up for the the 09/17 Homenaje a Dos Leyendas and 09/24 Aniversario shows. They’re at the 230 MXN/11.50 USD “premium” show price. The Ticketmaster Live deal (no VOD) is not a great situation, but it is better than the “no, you can’t watch it live” situation from recent pre-pandemic years.

It is going to be a weird deal for the Middleweight Championship decider to take place on 09/10 but not show on YouTube until after the Aniversario happens. And there’s probably no knowing if they’re going to put up the Aniversario shows until October, CMLL’s not likely to advertise itself.

Averno replaced Euforia on Sunday’s show at Valiente’s Gym. Valiente, in an interview talking about the show and his children getting into wrestling, mentioned Euforia tested positive for COVID. Euforia hasn’t appeared in Arena Mexico since August 17. He was listed on the August 23rd Puebla show but there were no results for that show. I hope Euforia will be fine and it’s a good thing if CMLL is continuing to do COVID testing.

Other News

Rush circulated photos of him in the hospital on Tuesday, without explaining why. Putting out photos of yourself in the hospital in 2021 is going to have people fearing the worst. It’s actually a knee operation. It’s being presented as a surprise, but it probably wasn’t one – ROH knew about the surgery in advance, because they took him Rush off the PPV lineup on TV this past week. Pagano also replaced Rush on the 09/18 Arena Neza show, so Rush has told promoters what’s going on, just not the fans.

Rush and his family have announced a press conference Thursday to talk about the situation, where

The Mexico City lucha libre commission previously stated they’d reveal the list of participants in the national heavyweight tournament on Friday. No idea on Friday, assuming it’s another afternoon press conference, but it should be a fun time for all.

Quadratin has an article/press release on the AAA TV tapings in Morelos, which have occasionally come out to promote the tourism side of these tapings. They mention eight TV shows taped in Morelos. We’ve seen three from Oaxtepec pre-TripleMania, two from Temixco after TripleMania, and two from Jardines de Mexico later that week. That’s seven. Space’s listing says they’re starting on Temxico this week, so perhaps eight is a mis-count or just accounting for the extra matches that seem to be taped.

The Morelos tourism boards also released video from one of those tapings with highlights from one of the taping; I see

  • Sexy Star 2 & Dinastia vs Villano 3 Jr. & Flammer
  • Faby Apache, Myzteziz and Monster Clown vs Hijo del Tirantes, Dave the Clown, Argenis (finish shown)
  • Rey Escorpion, La Hiedra, Taurus vs Chessman, Pagano and a partner I didn’t see (but guessing Murder Clown)

Yes, Hijo del Tiranes is wrestling on TV in the next few weeks.

The AAA spot show in Aguascalientes on Friday will have 50% capacity. Poder del Norte versus NGD is scheduled for that show.

IWRG (THU) 09/02/2021 Arena Naucalpan
1) Fussion vs Spider FlyNoicy BoyShalomKenji
2) Baronessa & Siarelli vs Satania & Therius
3) Billy Jones, Chris Stone Jr., Mexica vs Mafioso, Medico Brujo, Sick Boy
4) Toxin vs Jessy Ventura
5) Gianni Valletta, Hijo del Fishman, Hijo del Pirata Morgan vs Hijo del Alebrije, Texano Jr., Veneno

Gianni Valletta starts his stay in IWRG. Mas Lucha mentioned Sunday’s show will be the heavyweight title decider with Valletta and others.

The Crash announced the top half of the card for their 09/11 show

I’m going to pour some cold water over the main event: The Crash still doesn’t seem to be recording their shows, we’ll be watching these from handhelds at best, and those AEW guys are going to be coming off a busy week so who knows what they’ll get from them. It still sounds fun. There’s been no mention of this being an Aztec Underground since the initial announcement.

Fightful reported Rush has trademarked Dralistico in the US. Pro Wrestling Revolucion is also listed on the trademark, so they must also be involved. The ex-Mistico II still hasn’t turned up with that name but everyone assumes it’s for him.

Damian 666 says he’s working with the NWA, The Crash, and XPW. The NWA taped TV episodes on Monday and Tuesday, so Damian probably wrestled there by the time you’ve read this. (I haven’t looked up NWA spoilers.) XPW is an infamous California indie attempting a relaunch.

Francisco Aguilar Montoya, who wrestled in Baja California as Caballo Loco & Brujo Loco, passed away on Sunday according to Sunday

Mas Lucha has the new episode of their En+Carados.

SuperLuchas says Martha Villalobos has is out of danger with COVID-19 and out of the hospital.

La Silla Rota visits Veracruz’s Coliseo Fraternidad to see how it’s handling the pandemic. The ticket sales are so low that no one’s getting paid, what money they make is being used to maintain the building.

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

SuperLuchas has a good story on how a Cien Caras mask ended up in a WWF music video.

Shocking news, as promoter/luchador Cholo de Tijuana reveals he was actually born in Acapulco.

Mascara 2000 and his son have started a YouTube channel. It’s more interviews than singing.

Mistico returns, La Jarochita Universal champion, NGD/AAA, Big Lucha/ROH

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 08/27/2021 Arena México [CMLLFuria de Tiatnes (main event)Furia de TitanesKaiser SportsMas LuchaR de RudoReformaThe Gladiatores, thecubsfan, W Deportes]
1) Akuma, Espanto Jr., Magnus b Arkalis, Pegasso, Stigma CMLL - ARKALIS - PEGASSO - STIGMA VS MAGNUS - AKUMA - ESPANTO JR. / ARENA MEXICO 27 DE AGOSTO (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) CMLL | Akuma, Espanto Jr y Magnus derrotan a Stigma, Pegasso y Arkalis (posted by Más Lucha) Espanto Jr, Akuma y Magnus VS Stigma, Arkalis y Pegasso en los Viernes de Arena México (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
11:55. Rudos won the one fall match. Magnus replaced Coyote on Thursday.
2) Ángel de Oro, Luciferno, Terrible b Blue Panther Jr., Dark Panther, Stuka Jr. CMLL | El Terrible, Ángel de Oro y Luciferno derrotan a Blue Panther Jr, Dark Panther y Stuka Jr (posted by mluchatv) CMLL-DARK PANTHER-BLUE PANTHER JR.-STUKA JR. VS LUCIFERNO-A. DE ORO- TERRIBLE/A. MEXICO 27 DE AGOSTO (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) Terrible, Ángel de Oro y Luciferno VS StukaJr, Dark Panther y Blue PantherJr en Viernes Arena México (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
16:53. Rudos took 2/3.
3) Dalys, Metálica, Tiffany b La Guerrera, Lluvia, Marcela CMLL - LA GUERRERA - LLUVIA - MARCELA VS METÁLICA - TIFFANY - DALYS /ARENA MEXICO 27 DE AGOSTO (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) CMLL | Dalys, Tiffany y Metálica vencen a Marcela, La Guerrera y Lluvia (posted by mluchatv) Dalys, Tiffany y Metálica VS Marcela, Lluvia y La Guerrera en los Viernes de Arena México (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
17:14. Rudas took 1/3. Tiffany replaced Amapola and Lluvia replaced Magnifica on Wednesday.
4) Hechicero, Místico, Valiente b Atlantis Jr., Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero [Relevos Increíbles¡Místico (Carístico) volvió a presentarse en la Arena México! (posted by Más Lucha) CMLL - VALIENTE-HECHICERO- MÍSTICO VS ATLANTIS JR.- GRAN GRO. - ÚLTIMO GRO. /A. MEXICO 27 DE AGOSTO (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) CMLL | Místico, Hechicero y Valiente derrotan a Último Guerrero, Atlantis Jr y Gran Guerrero (posted by mluchatv) Místico/ De hoy en adelante me entregó 10 veces más para ustedes. (posted by thegladiatores.com) Triunfal regreso de Místico, Hechicero y Valiente Vs Último Guerrero, Gran Guerrero y Atlantis Jr (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre) Último Guerrero da la (posted by Revista BOX Y LUCHA)
12:45. Return to the Mistico gimmick for Caristico, which was very positively received. His team took 2/3.
5) La Jarochita b Dark Silueta [CMLL Universal de Amazonas] ¡Jarochita hace historia en la Arena México, es la nueva Campeona Universal de Amazonas 2021! (posted by Revista BOX Y LUCHA) CMLL - CAMPEONATO UNIVERSAL DE AMAZONAS / JAROCHITA VS DARK SILUETA / ARENA MEXICO 27 DE AGOSTO (posted by VideosOficialesCMLL) CMLL | Jarochita vence a Dark Silueta y es la Campeona Universal de Amazonas (posted by mluchatv) Jarochita es la campeona Universal 2021. (posted by thegladiatores.com) Jarochita Vs Dark Silueta gran final por el campeonato universal de amazonas del CMLL Arena México (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
13:05. One fall match. Jarochita won with the running corner boot to become the second champion (and got booed a bit for it.)

It turns out there’s nothing CMLL could do in 2021 to get their existing fanbase more excited for their shows than to turn back the clock and put Caristico back into the Mistico gimmick. It’s probably something they wouldn’t have done unless Mistico Munoz had quit and it’s obviously a move both the fans and the front-facing parts of the promotion are super excited about it. Mistico’s return to the character got the loudest reaction of anything during this pandemic period, with the announcers noting it was the highest turnout they’ve had in a long time. The match itself was standard Mistico fare, which was exactly what the fans wanted on Friday night. Caristico/Mistico was overjoyed in his post-match interview and the crowd was with him. I was at the CM Punk return to wrestling the previous Friday; that felt like a bigger deal because AEW was allowed to have a 10x bigger crowd, but the people who made it into Arena Mexico on Friday night were similarly enthused, even though this same guy had been around for years as Caristico.

I’m not sure where this goes from here. CMLL people’s excitement for the return reaction led to them vocalizing a hope this will start a new boom. My concern is this will be something hard to keep hot and may fade quickly. (Sunday’s show with Mistico on top didn’t draw well.) Still, they might as well go hard with and find out. Pandemic CMLL seems like a lot of nothing but busy work to keep everyone occupied until something comes along to spark them again. That “something” might have been “tourists returning”, but something else dropped in their laps and they might as well see it through for a while just in case.

Mistico’s return is on the cover for this week’s Box y Lucha 3487.

La Jarochita & Dark Silueta tried very hard yet were stuck in the ultimate death spot following Mistico’s return. The fans who were very into Mistico haven’t been given a lot of reason to care about these ladies prior. They got the crowd into the end of the match, but it took a lot of work to get there. I thought it was a good match, one you should check out when it turns up on YouTube in a couple of weeks, though another one was hampered by needing to end as close to 10:30 pm as possible. The crowd seemed to be pro-Silueta and a bit upset with Jarochita winning, probably just because Sillueta has a bigger fanbase.

Nothing much notable. Akuma & Espanto don’t feel like two guys are about to headline an Aniversario show. They’re fine, it just is going to be a big adjustment.

Sunday results

CMLL (SUN) 08/29/2021 Arena México [CMLL, Kaiser Sports]
1) Fantasy & Último Dragóncito DQ Pequeño Violencia & Pierrothito
Pierrothito unmasked Dragoncito for the DQ.
2) Apocalipsis, Cholo, Inquisidor b Eléctrico, Oro Jr., Sangre Imperial
Rudos took 1/3, leading Inquisidor to challenge Electrico
3) Dark Magic, Magnus, Okumura b Diamond, Hombre Bala Jr., Magia Blanca
Rudos took 1/3. Magia Blanca got hurt early and left the match, but wrestled later in the night elsewhere.
4) Raziel, Terrible, Virus b Mephisto, Pólvora, Rey Bucanero
5) Místico b Cavernario
Mistico took falls 2/3 to win.

Cavernario was probably winning the main event by cheating last week. Caristico returning to Mistico wasn’t going to lose his first singles match and definitely shouldn’t.

The Inquisidor/Electrico title program may possibly have been birthed out of some goofball noting the lightweight title was one of many national championships not defended in over a year when the commission used DMT Azul not defending a title in 90 days as a reason to strip him. That post really didn’t get much traction but the numbers got picked up elsewhere that did and suddenly Electrico has a title defense.

CMLL has 22 world and national titles, not all of which are filled. If CMLL were to truly defend every title every 90 days, they’d need to have two title defenses almost every week, or about seven a month. They will have held one title defense in August. Seven title defenses a month is not impossible – there are North American promotions that seem to do that often – but would require CMLL to completely how they program cards. It’s tougher to do the more titles they add.

The semi-main seems like it should’ve had Cancerbero’s spot. He, unlike Magia Blanca, also missed his booking on the Valiente Gym show. The main event was originally a Cavernario/Felino program; Felino hasn’t appeared since the August 16th show in Puebla. Templario hasn’t been around since the weekend before. Not sure if these are minor injuries or something else, but those last couple of guys have some big matches coming up.

CMLL (MON) 08/30/2021 Arena Puebla
1) Meyer vs Black Tiger
2) Shockercito & Último Dragóncito vs Espíritu Maligno & Joker
3) Pegasso & Stigma vs Dark Magic & Okumura
4) Stuka Jr. & Valiente vs Ángel de Oro & Terrible
5) Gemelo Diablo I, Gemelo Diablo II, Místico vs Atlantis Jr., Cavernario, Último Guerrero [Relevos Increíbles]

Relevos Increibles will never stop. They didn’t list the semi-main as one, but they’re inconsistent on that with Angel de Oro.

CMLL (TUE) 08/31/2021 Arena México
1) Átomo & El Gallito vs Chamuel & Mije
2) Arkalis, Oro Jr., Robin vs Apocalipsis, Disturbio, Hijo del Signo
3) La Jarochita, Lluvia, Princesa Sugehit vs Dark Silueta, Metálica, Tiffany
4) Dark Panther, Fugaz, Panterita del Ring vs Hechicero, Mephisto, Rey Bucanero
5) Místico, Valiente, Volador Jr. vs Ángel de Oro, Cavernario, Terrible

The main event forces us to consider if this is still the Sky Team with a different Mistico.

Mije has barely worked in CMLL since the pandemic – just a couple of matches last year – but he’s been active lately on spot shows. The micros entirely haven’t been around much since the fans came back, which is a bit surprising.

CMLL (TUE) 08/31/2021 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Bello Antuan, Cosmos, Temerario vs Destello, Destructor, Rumbero
2) Bobby Black, Carlo Roggi, Fúnebre vs Infierno, Mr. Trueno, Rey Trueno
3) Adrenalina, Estrella Oriental, Minotauro vs Bestia Negra, Demonio Maya, Difunto
4) Bulkano, Jaivo IV, Pantera Blanca Jr. vs Furia Roja, Guerrero de la Muerte, Ráfaga
5) Gallo & Joker vs Espíritu Negro & Rey Cometa
6) Explosivo, Fantástico, Star Black vs Hijo del Villano III, Principe Daniel, Zandokan

Only three CDMX wrestlers here, which is less than usual. Atrapasuenos may be on this card to build up a tag title defense (or the next Queretaro show.) The Fourth match features a lot of Matamoros talent for the second straight week.

Stephanie Vaquer & Dalys have moved into first place for the Mexican National Women Tag’s title shot, ahead of Dark Silueta & Reyna Isis by 30 votes when I checked around noon. That’s gone back and forth twice and may again before the CMLL poll closes. I’m just not sure when that poll closure is. It originally was this week, when the national heavyweight title qualifier was scheduled on September 4th. That match is no longer needed, so it may stay open through next week. The Women’s Tag match is also catching up on the National Middleweight poll; if the poll stays open another week, there’s a good shot of the women’s tag match main eventing the Aniversario.

CMLL announced they reactivated their relationship with Ice Ribbon and Ladys Ring, who will soon be sending Tsukasa Fujimoto, Tsukushi, and Nao Ishikawa to Mexico. Tsukushi previously came to Mexico in February 2020 for a week, which will probably be the same here – they need to get to Mexico long enough to make a photo book out of it.

Costa Rica Wrestling Embassy, who’ve sent wrestlers to CMLL in the back, announced they’re bringing in Star Jr. & Rocky Romero for their 12/18 show. CWE is running a bunch of normal shows prior to it. I don’t believe Star Jr. & Rocky Romero are making a photobook but you never know.

La Jarochita, last week in promoting the Universal tournament final, said independent luchadoras are scared of CMLL women and not at their level.

Mephisto pitched himself, Euforia and Hechicero as Satanico’s new Infernales on Facebook, as mentioned on the De Futbol y Otros Demonios blog.

Mexico’s Monica Rodriguez set a world record in 1500m at the Paralympics, then she and her guide runner put on lucha libre masks. CMLL honored the Paralympics athletes before they went to Tokyo and I’d guess they’ll bring her and others to celebrate their medals in September.

NGD

Mas Lucha had a 90 minute interview with Sanson, Cuatrero and Forastero on Friday. They said it was an acclimation of reasons to leave CMLL, not one breaking point. They had no issue with Ultimo GuerreroCMLL actually helped Cuatrero & Sanson trademark their names, giving them the option to own them. CMLL seems to have helped out some of the top-tier veterans to do that when they were getting names trademarked, but it’s surprising they’d give that option to guys just starting. It also is confusing that CMLL would help them get those names, and then attempt to file for their own trademarks on those names later on.

NGD signed with AAA in Mexico and have the freedom to work where they want in the US. They’ve taped two AAA matches already: versus Hijo del Vikingo, Psycho Clown, Laredo Kid and versus Monster Clown, Murder Clown, and Pagano. That means the Poder del Norte/NGD match hasn’t been taped; maybe it’s happening at Heroes Inmortales.

BIG LUCHA

Big Lucha (SAT) 08/28/2021 Bandido Gym, Iztapalapa, Distrito Federal [Mas Lucha]
1) Usumaki Otai & Yutani b Destello & Limbo Komander vs Emperador Azteca | BIG Lucha (posted by Más Lucha)
2) Tirano b ForenoÉxtasis Komander vs Emperador Azteca | BIG Lucha (posted by mluchatv)
3) El Bendito b Cometa Maya Komander vs Emperador Azteca | BIG Lucha (posted by mluchatv)
4) Ciclón Ramírez Jr. b Elemental Komander vs Emperador Azteca | BIG Lucha (posted by mluchatv)
originally a DCOR, match was restarted with Ciclon winning.
5) Demonic Flamita b Gravity [falls count anywhere] Komander vs Emperador Azteca | BIG Lucha (posted by mluchatv)
Bandido tried to help Gravity but was restrained by security (in his own gym!)
6) Skayde b Mil Almas [bull terrier] Komander vs Emperador Azteca | BIG Lucha (posted by mluchatv)
7) Emperador Azteca b Komander Komander vs Emperador Azteca | BIG Lucha (posted by mluchatv)
Komander suffered a leg injury, ending the match early. Emperador & Flamita faced off with Bandido, Bendito and others when they were all attacked by masked men said to be from ROH, setting up a show for September.

I watched this show Sunday (didn’t realize it was streaming live on Saturday) and it was a worthwhile watch. It ends sadly with the Komander injury but the other matches were all watchable. Bendita/Cometa Maya was the best match, with the opener and Flamita/Gravity sticking out as well. Like pretty much every show, I wish the matches were a little shorter – a six-match show shouldn’t be three hours long – but at least they didn’t waste too much time between the matches.

Komander tore a ligament in his left ankle and will have surgery Monday night. That’ll put him between three and six months. As bad as that sounds, it was better than the leg/ankle fracture feared Saturday night. Komander getting hurt in the main event seemed to mess up wherever exactly they were going with the angle, but they got to the ROH introduction at the end. The full lineup for that show:

Big Lucha (THU) 09/16/2021 Bandido Gym, Iztapalapa, Distrito Federal
1) ? vs ?????????????? [Torneo Alas de Independencia]
2) Delirious vs Skayde
3) ? vs PJ BlackCiclón Ramírez
4) Emperador Azteca & Flamita vs Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe
5) El Bandido vs Matt Taven [ROH HEAVY]

Federacion Wrestling promised ROH stars in May and imploded before it happened, so I suspect the reaction to this announcement is going to be muted until people believe it’s happening. Still, that’s five people coming in (including the ROH booker), so this may be the start of a regular deal if it comes off right.

This would be the third ROH title match in Mexico

Other News

IWRG (SUN) 08/29/2021 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG, Mas Lucha]
1) Chef Benito, Gran Felipe Jr., Spider Fly b Perro de Guerra, Tirano, X-Devil Caerá una Máscara o Cabellera| IWRG 29 de Agosto (posted by Más Lucha)
2) Elemental, Limbo, Skayler b Carnicero, Epidemia, Skanda Caerá una Máscara o Cabellera| IWRG 29 de Agosto (posted by mluchatv)
3) Comando Negro Jr., Halloween Jr., Vudu Max b Baby Star Jr., Centella Oriental, Shocko Caerá una Máscara o Cabellera| IWRG 29 de Agosto (posted by mluchatv)
4) Aster Boy, Caballero de Plata, Hellboy, Kenji, Lunatik Fly, Sol, Tonalli b Dick Angelo 3G, Halcón Mágico, Legendario, Lunatik Xtreme, Noicy Boy, Puma de Oro, Rey Halcón [Copa High Power, mask, hair] Caerá una Máscara o Cabellera| IWRG 29 de Agosto (posted by mluchatv)
Caballero de Plata beat Halcon Magico, who is Héctor Omar Lorenzo Gutiérrez, 26 year old, 15 years a luchador. Order of escape: Hell Boy, Lunatik Xtreme, Sol, Noicy Boy, Lunatik Fly, Rey Halcon, Kenji, Legendario, Aster Boy, Dick Angelo 3G, Puma de Oro, Tonalli, Caballero de Plata leaving Halcon Magico as the loser.
5) Mafioso, Medico Brujo, Sick Boy b Big Chico Che, Big Mike, Estrella Divina Caerá una Máscara o Cabellera| IWRG 29 de Agosto (posted by mluchatv)

Thanks to Mas Lucha for getting the elimination order tracked, that’s not a normal or easy inclusion. IWRG seems to be doing more blood of late in the top matches.

ROH TV’s newest episode is up on their website, including a Dragon Lee versus Eli Isom match. The show also includes a change: Bestia del Ring replaces his son Rush teaming with Dragon Lee & Kenny King against Shane Taylor Enterprises for the ROH Six-Man Titles on their 09/12 show. Rush is out due to a knee injury that’s bothered him for a while. Rush may get surgery – recovery would take the rest of the year, which is the remaining portion of his ROH contract – so it’s possible Rush has wrestled his last Ring of Honor match. Dave Meltzer brought up this situation on Wrestling Observer Radio and was certain AEW and ROH would have a lot of interest in signing him Rush (and Dragon Lee, who’s also up) in 2022. I’m much more skeptical about those promotions having interest, but it’s still a lot of time until the end of the year for things to sort out.

Bestia 666 & Mecha Wolf won the NWA Tag Team Championships on their PPV on Sunday. Konnan was inexplicably seconding them; the only thing that’s in more places at once in 2021 than Konnan is COVID. Actually, I’d be OK with more Konnan and less COVID if we can work on that. The La Rebelion duo of Bestia & Mecha have gotten good reviews for the NWA work and so the title win wasn’t a big surprise.

El Fresero (Demetrio Guadalupe Aguilera Arrendondo) passed away Friday. Fresero was a referee mostly for both Promociones Mora (UWA) and AAA. He had retired in 2009. His son, Fresero Jr., is an active wrestler and announced his father’s passing. SuperLuchas has an obit, mentioning Fresero being in charge of Arena San Juan Pantitlan at different points of his career.

Penta, repeating a bit from Thursday’s Robles Patron show, took to Facebook to call Alberto “a Patron of no one, a guy who pretends to represent Mexico but adopted a different nationality and doesn’t live in Mexico. I represent my people around the world with a Mexican passport, not like you who only say it to get applause.” Penta said the match between the two of them should happen in Ecatepec. This is probably just a promo to build to another match. Fenix & Penta are announced from Mexico City in AEW maybe because that’s just what everyone is used to hearing, but it’d be nice to hear Ecatepec someday.

Octagon Jr. would like to wrestle Kenny Omega, feeling he could learn a lot from it win or lose.

RIOT announced they’ll return with “the Secret Lucha Society” on September 18. No location was announced. The only show RIOT’s been able to hold this year has been the no-fans show in March.

A show in Cholo de Tijuana headlined Blue Demon Jr., Cinta de Oro, and Misterio versus Blue Demon Jr., Dr. Wagner Jr., LA Park is said to have draw 7,000 fans. Another live report put that number closer to 3,000, which would still mean it’s one of the bigger shows so far this year in Mexico. There are some pictures here and here. That’s about a 21K bullring where half the building seems not to be used, so the other half would have to be 50% full to get to 7,000. I don’t think it’s that full.

Arturo Rivera will be part of Mas Lucha’s Supremo Tournament in October.

Oaxaca’s Diosa Quimera is interviewed about making it to five years of wrestling.

Dark Silueta versus Jarochita headline Arena Mexico tonight, Robles Patron CDMX debut

CMLL

CMLL (FRI) 08/27/2021 Arena México
1) Arkalis, Pegasso, Stigma vs Akuma, Espanto Jr., Magnus
Magnus replaced Coyote on Thursday
2) Blue Panther Jr., Dark Panther, Stuka Jr. vs Ángel de Oro, Luciferno, Terrible
3) La Guerrera, Lluvia, Marcela vs Dalys, Metálica, Tiffany
Tiffany replaced Amapola and Lluvia replaced Magnifica on Wednesday.
4) Atlantis Jr., Gran Guerrero, Último Guerrero vs Hechicero, Místico, Valiente [Relevos Increíbles]
5) La Jarochita vs Dark Silueta [CMLL Universal de Amazonas]

This lineup came out late Tuesday and still had three different revisions if you count Carisitco switching to Mistico. I’m not sure what is going on – injuries? tests? people just taking work elsewhere – but lineup changes are more common in CMLL right now.

La Jarochita versus Dark Silueta is the first CMLL women’s single match since the Marcela/Tiffany hair match in 2012, a Sunday show that was going up against TripleMania. The 1992 Lola Gonzalez/Bull Nakano match to decide the initial CMLL Women’s champion may be the most recent women’s title match to headline Arena Mexico. This seems like the biggest match in Jarochita and Silueta’s careers, even bigger the Silueta’s mask match. Both are capable of having good matches and are probably preparing for a great match, though the pressure is going to be immense. CMLL main events tend to be predictable, in results and actions. This one’s a wild card.

Satanico (Dark Silueta) and Ultimo Guerrero (La Jarochita) will second their students today. Satanico says he wants to form one last version of Los Infernales before he retires. He probably should get on that quick. Satanico coming all the way to Mexico City seems to make it more likely Silueta is going to win, but they may just have him and Guerrero to sell the fans on this being a big match. These women haven’t really been built up as stars before now and I’m not sure how the crowd is going to react to them suddenly being put in this position.

The rest of the show is fine. The show is available on streaming through TicketMaster Live, and hopefully, they’ll remind people who already bought it that they have a working link.

CMLL’s hyped this for the last few days as “come see Mistico!” Caristico is indeed back as Mistico. He’s also been on four of the last five Arena Mexico shows, and will be on Sunday too. The ideal way of doing this would’ve been similar to how they rolled out Mistico II: take him off shows for a bit then bring him back for a big show. CMLL seems like they can’t afford to do that at the moment like they can’t escape booking very short term. I’m concerned this is going to go like Arena Puebla, where there was a lot of interest in the first show and then it taped off immediately.

Both TripleMania and Robles Patron Promociones show went well over two hours, which seems to be the CMLL limit. Robles Patron was also trying to get more than 1,500 tickets sold that been CMLL’s limit. Maybe CMLL is keeping these limits for safety reasons and I don’t really mind two hours shows. If these are rules being enforced on only CMLL because they’re run all the time and so they get noticed, it seems unfair.

Sunday’s show

CMLL (SUN) 08/29/2021 Arena México
1) Fantasy & Último Dragóncito vs Pequeño Violencia & Pierrothito
2) Eléctrico, Oro Jr., Sangre Imperial vs Apocalipsis, Cholo, Inquisidor
3) Diamond, Hombre Bala Jr., Magia Blanca vs Dark Magic, Magnus, Okumura
4) Raziel, Terrible, Virus vs Mephisto, Pólvora, Rey Bucanero
5) Místico vs Cavernario

They started there as Felino/Cavernario, ended up with Caristico replacing Cavernario, and ended up as Mistico versus Cavernario. And Cavernario probably needs to lose.

Magnus is taking Vangellys spot so that may be an exception, but there’s a lot of guys here who went from openers to the 2nd and 3rd matches with no more reason for people to care about them. They didn’t get moved up as much as the shows got moved down. CMLL’s title belts are largely useless but it’d be worth at least trying to hand out some of the vacant ones to new guys to see if something comes of it. It’d be better if there was some build to winning those, but it seems too late to do that.

If you’ve got 12 minutes, this Mas Lucha interview with Ultimo Guerrero, Rey Bucanero, and Nitro is well worth your time. They’re on a boat to promote appearing on an upcoming ChinampaLuchas show, but they’re stuck on the boat for a while so there’s time to talk about other things. Ultimo Guerrero’s asked about NGD and Mistico leaving and answers it by explaining people say harsh things on social media but he knows the truth – that everyone other promotion in the world looks to CMLL and CMLL is the promotion the world revolves around. I’m sure he feels that is close to reality too, despite not really appearing that was to most rational observers. Nitro talking about following CMLL since 1974 and having seen bad times before is nearly admitting they’re in a bad time now. This ends up with a pull quote of “CMLL will not die” which is never a good pull quote for a promotion to have.

Robles Patron in Mexico City

RPP (THU) 08/26/2021 Pepsi Center WTC, Benito Juárez, Distrito Federal [Arturo Rosas PlataESTOMas Lucha, R de Rudo]
1) Máscara De Ángel, Máscara Mágica Jr., Rey Pegasus b Antheuz, Brazo Celestial, Brazo Cibernetico
Brazo Cibernetico & Brazo Celestial were added and the match changed
2) Estrellato & Rey Astral b Brazo De Oro Jr. & Súper Nova and Bugambilia & Tonina Jackson Jr.
3) Diosa Quetzal & Dulce Sexy b Baronessa & Estrellita and Diosa Atenea & Reina Dorada [COPA ROBLES Y PATRON]
Atenea & Dorada were out first, then Quetzal & Dulce beat Estrellita & Baronessa.
4) Hijo De Dos Caras & Hijo del Fishman b Dark Cuervo & Dark Scoria and Rayo de Oro (Guatemala) & Voltron (Guatemala) and Hijo de LA Park & LA Park Jr. [ROBLES TAG]
LA Parks wanted the first shot at the new champs. 
5) La Máscara, Máximo, Toscano b Averno, Joe Lider, King Charro
Toscano replaced Apolo. King Charro replaced DMT Azul but betrayed his partners. Damian 666 ran in to save them as Perros del Mal members, then Negocio Tramuado (Demonio, Fresero, Traumas, Atomic Star) ran into attack, then Toscano came back with two mystery men as La Perra Sociedad.
6) Cinta de Oro & Penta 0M b Alberto del Rio & LA Park and Carlito & Texano
Alberto had Texano in his armbar, Penta to rope splashed Alberto and covered him for the pin. Alberto challenged Penta to a match in November. Carlito & Texano had issues.

The official Twitter account put out a Tweet asking fans where they’d like to see the Alberto/Penta match, so I guess maybe it’s not necessarily happening in Mexico City. Might be for good reason; the show drew far less than a half house even considering required social distancing. The “look how many people are here” social media shot shows completely empty sections. The show was scheduled to start at 8:30 pm and didn’t wrap up after midnight. Live reports say the show was run with the same speed and urgency of a normal lucha libre show – started late, long breaks between matches, random music performances. The post-match angle seems like Alberto is going to be a heel, but who knows.

Alberto teased Rush showing up in interviews on the day of the show, then the promotion sent out a photo of the stars all doing Mistico poses to tease his brother appearing. Neither did. I think they believe it to be just fun bits to create buzz, but it’s the sort of thing that turns ticket buyers against the promotion. No sense in burning off goodwill, unless you just think of the fans as marks who are going to be easily suckered next time anyway. The lesson here is Alberto is not to be trusted, which is honestly a lesson I should’ve already learned.

Other News

Mexico City will stay at the orange COVID light for the next two weeks. These designations haven’t meant much lately, but it’s nice to read they’ve had the biggest drop in hospitalizations in three months.

The Lucha Brothers face the Jurassic Express tonight on AEW Rampage. The match was taped Wednesday night and said to be great. Worth noting this (or next week) is the last Rampage people in Mexico will legally be able to watch as it stands now. Mexican AEW fans could watch AEW Dynamite & Rampage through AEW’s international FiteTV service. Space in Mexico moved the first-run airing of Dynamite to midnight the same day, which is close enough for AEW to discontinue the ability to FiteTV service for Mexico. Space hasn’t picked up Rampage, and there’s no word when they might. I don’t sense there’s a big AEW fanbase in Mexico yet, though it seems like Mexican lucha libre sites have started covering it closer to WWE in the last few months.

DMT Azul said he’ll begin legal proceedings to get the national heavyweight title back. He might have a case but it’s more surprising he hasn’t moved on. Not sure if it’s really about the title or the commission at this point. DMT Azul did not wrestle on the Robles show – probably because he was busy with the AAA TV tapings – and is next scheduled to wrestle in Mexico City on September 17. He’s annoyed the commission so much that it’s possible they could pick a reason to suspend him.

Texano Jr. joked on Twitter about changing his name to Texanistico and entering the national heavyweight tournament. That list is supposed to come out next Friday.

IWRG (THU) 08/26/2021 Arena Naucalpan [IWRG, Mas Lucha]
1) Limbo b Skanda Big Strippers vs Los Reyes del Norte, Thursday Night Wrestling | IWRG (posted by Más Lucha)
2) Bengalee & Kariel b Diosa Atenea & Satania Big Strippers vs Los Reyes del Norte, Thursday Night Wrestling | IWRG (posted by mluchatv)
3) Leo, Mexica, Relámpago b Black Dragón, Death Metal, Fly Warrior Big Strippers vs Los Reyes del Norte, Thursday Night Wrestling | IWRG (posted by mluchatv)
4) Aster Boy, Hijo del Alebrije, Veneno b Mafioso, Medico Brujo, Sick Boy Big Strippers vs Los Reyes del Norte, Thursday Night Wrestling | IWRG (posted by mluchatv)
Hijo del Pirata Morgan returned to IWRG to challenge Alberije for the IWRG JUNIORS ittle.
5) Big Boy, Big Chicoche, Big Mike b Apolo Estrada Jr., Billy Jones, Chris Stone Jr. Big Strippers vs Los Reyes del Norte, Thursday Night Wrestling | IWRG (posted by mluchatv)
Billy Jones may be Lunatik Fly
6) Toxin © b Dick Angelo 3G [IWRG MEXICO] Big Strippers vs Los Reyes del Norte, Thursday Night Wrestling | IWRG (posted by mluchatv) Toxin Vs D1ck Angelo 3G por el Campeonato de México de IWRG (posted by La Tijera Lucha Libre)
Jessy Ventura asked for the next title shot.

which leads into Sunday’s show.

IWRG (SUN) 08/29/2021 Arena Naucalpan
1) Chef Benito, Gran Felipe Jr., Spider Fly vs Perro de Guerra, Tirano, X-Devil
2) Elemental, Limbo, Skayler vs Carnicero, Epidemia, Skanda
3) Centella Oriental, Cyber, Shocko vs Comando Negro Jr., Halloween Jr., Vudumax
4) Dick Angelo 3G, Halcón Mágico, Legendario, Lunatik Xtreme, Noicy Boy, Puma de Oro, Rey Halcón vs Aster Boy, Caballero de Plata, Hellboy, Kenji, Lunatik Fly, Sol, Tonalli [Copa High Power, mask, hair]
5) Big Chico Che, Big Mike, Estrella Divina vs Mafioso, Médico Brujo, Sick Boy

Running essentially a FILL show on Sunday after not using many names on Thursday isn’t a great sign. The main event opposition is the Lucha Time side; I’m not sure how a person in Naucalpan would follow Lucha Time at this point.

There’s a strangely loaded lucha libre show in 12/11 on Raleigh, North Carolina. Some Alberto guys, a lot of AAA guys. So many AAA guys that I think it means those AAA guys believe TripleMania Regia isn’t that weekend; it’s probably 12/04 or 12/05.

Space’s listing show one more week of AAA from Oaxtepec. No preview yet.

“Sangre, Sudor and Llaves”, a documentary on lucha libre in Coliseo Coacalco, will debut as part of Mexico City’s Macabro film festival tomorrow. You can tell they’ve been working on this for a while; the Vimeo trailer is 9 years old and Emilio Charles Jr. (passed away 20212) is in it.

This weekend’s ROH TV has Dragon Lee defending the ROH TV title against Eli Isom. Isom’s grown on me and that should be a really good match. You should go back and watch Horus/Flamita if you haven’t already. The 09/11 weekend show will have Dragon Lee & Kenny King versus Chris Dickinson & Homicide for the ROH Tag Titles.

DTU announced they’ll restart with shows in Veracruz from 09/17 to 09/19. They’ve been off since their 06/27 show was canceled due to COVID.

Former SuperLuchas photographer Raul “Speedy” Gonzalez passed away.

Morelos luchador Exagoncito passed away Wednesday due to respiratory issues. He’d been wrestling since 2007 and was active as recently as June.

LuchaWorld has the latest Lucha Update.

Mistico II leaves behind Mistico, Caristico regains the Mistico gimmick

Two luchadors who will forever be connected in lucha libre separated on Wednesday. Mistico II, the Munoz family member, filmed a video in Arena Mexico announcing he was leaving immediately and then informed CMLL of his decision. CMLL decided, in a matter of minutes, to keep the Mistico gimmick alive by putting the original luchador back inthe mask. Caristico, who famously wrestled as Mistico and is the wrestler most fans identified as the authentic Mistico even after the character was passed on, received the Mistico mask on CMLL’s Informa show that afternoon. CMLL host Julio Cesar Rivera strenuously pointed out that the promotion will maintain ownership of the Mistico name; Caristico received the right to use the mask and name only as long as his relationship with CMLL stays intact. Caristico’s first match back as Mistico will take place Friday night, replacing Mistico II’s scheduled booking.

CMLL’s decision to give Caristico back the Mistico decision seems to have come rashly. The idea had been floated since Caristico returned to the promotion in 2015, with various big ideas of name versus name battles. It never seemed like CMLL was interested in going in that direction. Guadalajara luchador Fugaz seemed to be in line for the spot, with talk he had been instructed to start learning the big Mistico moves. It ultimately feels like Caristico got the name back partly because of an emphasis of bringing back ideas from the past and partly to make sure the story of the day would be the original Mistico returning to his thrown and not the second Mistico joining other names in leaving CML this year.

Mistico II’s CMLL career is a handy encapsulation of CMLL’s issues in the last decade. The creative forces at the promotion believed they could get sell the fans on any idea they wanted for themselves and lacked the ability to actually do so. Mistico II, upon being offered the Mistico gimmick at a press conference in 2012, declared it both a great honor and a great burden. He was proven correct on both points. “Mistico II” was part of a shift in the marketing of wrestling based more around recognizable brands and less around what they actually did. He’s the symbol of a promotion that turned their luchadors into interchangeable action figures, with the actual people in the gimmicks meaning less and less. It’s a strategy that’s appeared to actively harm CMLL, reducing interest over time as fans become disinterested in seeing familiar match time over time. Returning the Mistico gimmick to Caristico will be very well received by the longtime Arena Mexico fans – they never stopped chanting for him as Mistico – but is a sign that nothing’s going to change. It’s not as blatant as Yago & Drone taking on old gimmicks Enfermero Jr. & Hombre Bala Jr., but it’s just another part of the nostalgia vortex CMLL’s willing trapped themselves in. CMLL is where new ideas go to die, where the only good things in wrestling happened far in the past. Current CMLL is somehow the sort of reunion promotion seen popping up after a big group dies, only they’re still the original group and have not died yet.

“Mistico II” was doomed from conception. It would have been near impossible for any wrestler to be put in that spot and not be rejected by the fans. Mistico I/Caristico was a mainstream star responsible for a wrestling boom, the biggest reason a generation of fans became interested in lucha libre. The guy who would replace him could be more spectacular – and at times Mistico II could be – and it wouldn’t matter. CMLL inadvertently asked their fans to decide between the Mistico they knew and grew up with and hated tecnico Rush’s kid brother. It wasn’t a fair battle. Mistico II got chants of “Mistico Pirata” (pirate/fake Mistico) from the moment he took over the character. CMLL’s presentation of the new character didn’t help the situation. They made noise about how the new Mistico wasn’t going to get anything handed to him, would start in the middle and earn it his way to the top, and might not even use La Mistica. CMLL then did the opposition, pushing Mistico into main events hoping to boost slumping attendance and having him wrestle as closely to the previous Mistico as possible. A few moves from his previous Dragon Lee gimmicks remained, most noticeably the Operacion Dragon ramp dive, but he was a man whose identity was taken away by forcing a new one upon him. The best comparison to the Mistico situation is the La Parka one, where the second character mimicked the first to start but had years of experience, was eventually allowed to take the character in his own direction, and got the big wins to cement him as being a star on his own. CMLL’s Mistico II was a 20-year-old rookie, didn’t have the experience or freedom to grow the character, and never got the real wins prove to turn those fans to his side. CMLL and Mistico II surely thought giving him the character would help his career, but it ended up putting a cap on his growth.

I’m not sure Mistico can shake off that career malaise just by switching to his own name. It might have worked at one time, but injuries have taken their toll despite not yet turning 30. Mistico II’s never been the same wrestler following both his 2014 serious motorcycle accident and his rushed return to the ring. He’s lacked the agility and speed he had prior to messing his leg, been surpassed by many more impressive flyers in CMLL, and there have been plenty of indications CMLL didn’t see him as a specially skilled wrestler beyond the name. CMLL’s priority of protecting the gimmick kept him in top weekly spots, but it wasn’t enough to get him in Aniversario or Homenaje a Dos Leyendas main events. Mistico II won lots of singles matches on normal shows but was generally kept to being part of a trio on the biggest shows of the years. His luchawiki page has no Lucha de Apuesta sections because CMLL never put him one. CMLL ran the much anticipated Caristico vs Mistico singles match at their b-arenas, and Caristico went over both in Puebla and Guadalajara, a seeming conclusion to where they saw him. The wrestlers didn’t seem to treat him much different. Mistico II was wished well by many of them on social media, though it was a running bit how Volador and others would treat him like a kid brother who didn’t quite have his head screwed on straight in interviews. The wrestler itself had no particular incentive to get better and mostly did the same general matches over and over. The only recent changes in years have been to adapt signature spots from brothers Rush and Dragon Lee, moving him from an imitation of one single wrestler to a few wrestlers. The situation feels similar to ex-CMLL La Mascara, who had coasted in CMLL for many years and struggled to regain form when he left on his own. Mistico II is a better wrestler than La Mascara when he left CMLL, but they were very much products of an antiquated system, one that doesn’t teach skills to live outside of it.

Mistico II’s helped a bit because his brothers already have indies connections, and he’s gotten himself in a position for more. There’s a good chance Mistico II will be showing up on the Robles Patron Promociones show tonight. He was at the press conference to announce this show. He didn’t appear in front of the press but he’s been thinking about his move for a while and the timing matches up. Mistico II also appears to be good friends with Cinta de Oro Jr., who will be headlining this show. Mistico’s brother Rush has also been teasing showing up to confront Alberto on the show. I’m skeptical this promotion is viable but it’ll give Mistico a few high-profile bookings to start with. That family connection also means Mistico’s likely been pitched to Ring of Honor – and really, anywhere Dragon Lee or Rush are working has probably gotten or will get a pitch to bring in Mistico II, similar to what’s happened with La Bestia del Ring. Some will bite, and it’ll get Mistico going, though he may have to prove he can stand on his two feet to keep getting shots.

As for CMLL, this should be a short-term boost for a promotion that could use the help A lot of kids whose first favorite wrestler was Mistico are now adults with spending money. Maybe they’ll be excited to revisit their childhood one more time and buy some tickets; CMLL should run with it for the moment. There are long-term structural issues here when top talent is repeatedly leaving the promotion, but it’s nothing that wasn’t said two weeks ago when NGD left (and at least CMLL got a positive story for people to talk about out of it this time.) Titan and Cavernario, who both are attempting to get their visas through the same process as Mistico II, will have their future status a bit more in question, especially after the Aniversario. Mistico leaving opens up a spot, and guys like Audaz, Fugaz, and Star Jr. be in higher positions, though it’ll seem like less star power unless CMLL does something to get those guys over first. CMLL probably won’t do anything, and we’ll be back talking about another departure sooner rather than later. There must eventually reach a point where the people in charge get tired of these issues and make a change but there’s no obvious indication CMLL’s any closer to the breaking point. Maybe someday, instead of a wrestler walking into Salvador Lutteroth to tell him he’s leaving, it’ll be Salvador Lutteroth walking into someone else’s office to say he’s out. There’s no sign it’s happening soon.

Various minor ripple effects

  • Mistico & Caristico were scheduled to defend the CMLL World Tag Team Championships on the 09/24 CMLL Aniversario show against the winner of a fan poll. It will now be the top two finishers in the poll meeting for the vacant titles
    • Mistico & Caristico were likely going to lose the tag titles on that show because everyone figured this Mistico departure would happen soon. It just happened sooner than CMLL could get to it.
    • That original scenario would’ve had Volador & Titan winning the belts from Mistico & Volador. The match is now probably Volador & Titan versus Los Gemelos Diablos. CMLL may have expected those Diablos to do better in the poll and now they can give them the tag belts anyway if they show choose.
  • Being removed as champion means Caristico/Mistico I will no longer be on the 09/24 CMLL Aniversario show in any form
    • CMLL also announced Wednesday a new tournament Copa Independencia for the 09/17 show, so figure on Caristico being involved in that instead.
  • Caristico/Mistico was scheduled to wrestle in Houston on Thursday and Brownsville on Friday. Volador Jr. will replace him, in his first US appearance since the 2019 Global Wars Espectacular shows.
  • Caristico/Mistico was originally understood to be a freelancer with CMLL – he took CMLL dates but was in charge of his own schedule. I’m not sure if that’s changed now with the gimmick. That also may inform what name he uses for non-CMLL bookings.
  • Guadalajara has tried to use Black Warrior recently – he didn’t make it due to injury – and this is even more reason to try him back as one of Mistico’s old rivals. It seems similarly likely Averno will be back in CMLL – if this was any other promotion, he probably would’ve returned already. The nostalgia will feel good, but won’t be healthy for CMLL in the long term unless they use it to do more than revisit the past.
  • The production company behind “Heroes of Lucha Libre” still owns the US trademark to “Mistico” – but since their production company website has vanished, this may be a dead issue.