luchablog

The 2007 Tapatia Awards are ongoing. You can get info about the awards or fill out a ballot right now. The deadline is MONDAY

CMLL (FRI) 01/25 Arena Mexico [ovaciones, superluchas, ESTO]
1) Hooligan & Loco Max b Sombra de Plata & Trueno
2) Diamante Negro, Ephesto, Misterioso II b Felino, Neutron, Stuka Jr.
3) Alex Koslov, Sagrado, Último Dragón DQ Black Warrior, Lizmark Jr., Olímpico
4) Averno & Mephisto b Dos Caras Jr. & La Sombra [torneo, final]
5) Atlantis, Rey Bucanero, Último Guerrero b Blue Panther, Marco Corelone, Místico

A banner night for rudos!

Rey is firmly back with the Guerreros del Atlantida. Rudos got a showy three on three posing submission to win the first fall, tecnicos came back to win the second, and Atlantis and UG powerbombed Panther and Corelone to win the third fall and the match. Clean win, though no pin on Mistico (he'd gotten a dive on Bucanero.) Every report says something like "Rey Bucanero is much better as a rudo, and the rudo fans are happy to have him back."

Averno & Mephisto are surprise winners based on who the champs are. They're a much more experienced team, so I'm not sure it's an upset. Rudos took the first fall, Dos & Sombra came back in the second, and things got complicated in the third. Averno & Mephisto pinned Sombra, Dos got Averno with his German suplex, so it was down to Mephisto and Dos. As Dos and Mephisto battled in the corner, the two eliminated men trying to get involved. Referee Rodolfo Ruiz cut off Sombra, which allowed Averno to sneak in and yank Dos' mask as he held Mephisto up for a press slam. Dos went to cover up, Mephisto covered him, and the team claiming to the best in the world will get an opportunity to prove it next week. Tecnicos complained to the commission after.

Note the only match the tecnicos won all night, the tercera, was won on a DQ for excessive rudo violence. Quite a night.

CMLL (TUE) 01/29 Arena Mexico
1) Super Camaleon & Super Tri vs Artillero & Súper Comando
2) Molotov, Starman, Trueno vs Arkangel de la Muerte, Loco Max, Nitro
3) Fabián el Gitano, Leono, Super Nova vs Diamante Negro, Ohara, Shigeo Okumura
4) Alex Koslov, Sagrado, Valiente vs Misterioso II, Olímpico, Sangre Azteca
5) Marco Corelone, Negro Casas, Último Dragón vs Damián 666, Mr. Águila, Texano Jr.

CMLL (FRI) 02/01 Arena Mexico
1) Ángel Azteca Jr. & Neutrón vs Calígula & Méssala
2) Mascara Purpura, Mictlán, Stuka Jr. vs Euforia, Nosferatu, Satánico
3) Blue Panther, La Máscara, Shocker vs Misterioso II, Mr. Águila, Villano V
4) Grey Shadow, LA Park, Místico vs el Hijo del Perro Aguayo, Héctor Garza, Terrible
5) Atlantis & Último Guerrero vs Averno & Mephisto [CMLL TAG]

Who's the Grey Shadow? He appears to be following in tradition of the legendary Black Shadow. There's been two Black Shadow Jr.'s - one who wrestled in the UWA and lost his mask to El Hijo del Santo, the other was an indy guy who may have no had permission to use the gimmick. There's no details on the Grey Shadow besides his name being listed in the lineup, but obviously they've got big plans for him if they're putting him in that spot

I didn't know how much a rudo vs rudo main event is going to draw, but the names in the semimain should make it a non-issue. If they had done Atlantis/Rey tension in yesterday's match, I'd be sure of a title change. Now, I have no guess.

CMLL (SUN) 02/03 Arena Coliseo
1) Sensei & Sombra de Plata vs Pólvora & Vaquero
2) Astro Boy, Metálico, Tony Rivera vs Dr. X, Hooligan, Skandalo
3) Luna Magica, Marcela, Princesa Blanca vs Amapola, Medussa, Rosa Negra
4) Damián 666, Misterioso II, Texano Jr. vs Alex Koslov, Dos Caras Jr., Último Dragón
5) LA Park, Místico, Negro Casas vs Atlantis, Black Warrior, Lizmark Jr.

CMLL CAN52 GdR #114 has
01/18 Mexico: Euforia, Nosferatu, Virus b Fabián el Gitano, Mictlán, Starman
01/20 Coliseo: Marco Corelone, Rey Bucanero, Stuka Jr. DQ Héctor Garza, Mr. Águila, Texano Jr.
Outside the ring: Nitro

The 2007 Tapatia Awards are ongoing. You can get info about the awards or fill out a ballot right now. The deadline is MONDAY

CMLL (FRI) 01/25 Arena Mexico
1) Sombra de Plata & Trueno vs Hooligan & Loco Max
2) Felino, Máximo, Stuka Jr. vs Diamante Negro, Ephesto, Misterioso II
3) Alex Koslov, Sagrado, Último Dragón vs Black Warrior, Lizmark Jr., Olímpico
4) Dos Caras Jr. & La Sombra vs Averno & Mephisto [torneo, final]
5) Blue Panther, Marco Corelone, Místico vs Atlantis, Rey Bucanero, Último Guerrero

Notimex has the general preview. Bucanero tells ESTO he was upset with the lack of support from the fans. He also remembered UG and him are an unbeatable duo, and being an unbeatable duo is good.

Everyone expects Dos and Sombra to win the tournament. Averno & Mephisto vs Ultimo Guerrero & Atlantis would be such an awesome triumphant of rudoness that it can not possibly occur. I think the Guerreros are sticking together if they win, and I'd be worried if they lose.

ESTO also has a long interview with Marco Corelone about male fans not liking him, wanting to challenge Dos Caras Jr. for his heavyweight title (even if means turning rudo), wanting to be a main stream star like Latin Lover, and teaming up with Alex Koslov.

According to the Record (via heavy_metalkiss @ box y lucha), La Park is upset with CMLL booking again. Well, the non-booking of him more so. This comes and goes and he'll be back soon or later; he's another guy clearly with no interest in AAA nor happy with the amount of money he can make on the indy scene, because he would've stopped coming back to CMLL by now if either other option was better.

Coca Cola in Mexico is marketing a new energy drink called "Gladiator." There's two flavors named Rudeza Citrica and Furia Azul, but I think people will more think of them as Ultimo Guerrero and Mistico flavors. rabano enmascarado @ el martiente has photos. I don't buy energy drinks, but I think I would buy one of UG's mask on it. Coco Cola also does the Full Throttle drink with Blue Demon Jr.

BAJA STAR (FRI) 01/18 Auditorio de Tijuana [thegladiatores]
1) Saeta b Army
2) Deja Vu & Randuz b Maquiavelico & Rayo Tapatío II
3) Pancho Cachondo, Ricochet, Shamu DQ Scream, Tazmananiac, Viernes 13
4) Super Astro & Super Kendo DQ El Dandy & Mortiz
5) el Hijo del Perro Aguayo & Héctor Garza b Blue Panther & Dos Caras Jr.

Hector and Perro used low blows to win. How unlike them. Lots of DQs in the undercard. Why would Rayo Tapatio go all the way to Tijuana to work a segunda?

AULL (SAT) 01/19 Arena Lopez Mateos [thegladiatores]
1) Cheque Pena, Pulsar, Super Electra b Black Danger, Mohicano I, Mohicano Jr.
2) Cerebro Diabolico, Cyber Black, Ice Man b New Boy, Rey Marical, Super Tri
3) Hijo del Signo b Maythor
4) Masada, Nosawa, Takemura b Kalimari, Kushida, Nakashima
5) Solar I b Negro Navarro [CENTROAMERICANO]
6) Kilvan, Rey Krimen, Sepulturero, Shu el Guerrero b Hijo del Fantasma, Kung Fu Jr., Robin Maravilla, Yakuza
7) Dos Caras Sr., El Fantasma, Villano III b Black Terry, Onita Santana, Rambo

The Japan match was an unadvertised match. Solar retained his title. Mano Negro showed up to challenge V3 to another match after the main event.

CMLL (SUN) 01/20 Arena Neza [Arena Neza]
1) New Boy b Tormenta del Deierto
2) Poder Boricua & Turako b Okawa & Super Chiva
3) Chac-Mol, Hijo de Faraon, Winners Black b Artillero 2000, Killer Machina, Lokar
4) Hiroka & Mima Shimoda b Princesa Blanca & Rosa Negra
5) Héctor Garza, Mr. Águila, Ramstein b Felino, Heavy Metal, Rayo Tapatío I

Rosa Negra was back as a tecnico, but this time it was due to Marcela being out with a shoulder injury. Garza pinned Heavy with a foul in the main event. Rayo Tapatio and Hector Garza in the same match only happens in Arena Neza.

CMLL (MON) 01/28 Arena Puebla [CMLL, hugo999
1) Forajido, King Jaguar, SWAT vs Mr. Rafaga, Toro Bill, Toro Bill Jr.
2) Centella de Oro, the Tiger, Tigre Rojo vs Black Terry, Cerebro Negro, Policeman
3) Ángel Azteca Jr., Flash, Stuka Jr. vs Loco Max, Nitro, Skandalo
4) Blue Panther, Heavy Metal, Negro Casas vs Atlantis, Sangre Azteca, Último Guerrero
5) Averno vs Místico [NWA MIDDLE]

Why not just defend both? (Because he's eventually going to lose only one of them and still be champ.)

indy (TUE) 01/29 Arena Coliseo Monterrey [RFC]
1) Galio & Tequilita vs Aguila Azteca & Pedro Navajas
2) Burrito & Cavernicola vs Coyote & Mercurio
3) Mr. Cuervo vs Corazon Adicto [bull terrier]
4) Bengali & Rey Demonio vs Angel Dorado Jr. & Sombra del Amor
5) Angel del Amor, Bam Bam (Monterrey), Golden Boy vs Mosco, Simbolo, the King

Box Y Lucha posted some interviews (some with video)
* Ultimo Gladiador talks about his return to wrestling after five months (due to personal reasons.)
* Pierroth talks about his retirement. In this one, he cites a "fairly serious spine injury" for speeding the process up
* Head Hunter I talks about his career. He says the economy has killed wrestling in the Dominican Republic.
* La Zorra talks about epilepsy affecting her career. She's says that's why she's not joined a main company, though she's never had a incident in the ring. She's satisfied being an indepdent wrestler.

Mascara Sagrada told Reforma (reposted by Jazzo) about growth in the independent scene and plans for shows in the US. He lists Santo, Demon, Rayo, Muneco and Parka among those involved, but those probably will change from show to show. They're going to San Jose on 03/01 (LLII?) and Chicago, New York and Denver, but it doesn't sound like anything's set. The big goal is to create a psuedo-office for the top indy guys, so promoters can get a hold of them easier.

Don King and Julio Cesar Chavez were in Cancun this week, talking about building a temporary 30 day casino (Mexico not allowing permanent ones) and turning it into the worldwide center of boxing. They also hope to an event with Santo and Mistico teaming up. This sounds largely insane.

Did you know there's a Si TV channel? Did you know it's a Latino channel in English? I knew none of these things till I happened to see a lucha libre segment advertised this past week.

I can not begin to tell you how amused I was to see the segment start of with footage of LA Park/Dr. Wagner restaurant show from the north suburbs, long ago, that I still have on DVD around here somewhere. Sure enough, it was a feature on Arenas de Chicago, who are co-promoting this Saturday's show featuring...LA Park and Dr. Wagner.

By the way, if you're an aspiring promoter, never ever ever say the last line the promoter says here.

I'll go mark my calendar for that.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure I'm going to the show and I may actually say hi to people. No promises!

taped 12/16/07, aired 01/20/08

Fabian el Gitano isn't very good in the ring. He gets opportunities because he's a male stripper type, and they think it's good to have one of those around. One way of solving this is suggesting some undercarder who's otherwise going nowhere take up the gimmick (insert name here), but I think the more likely outcome is Fabian suffers an injury on a moonsault dive and that's the end of him forever.

I've seen matches a month from this taping, because of the lag and all, and so I know Fabian's still doing a moonsault dive and I can't believe someone's not told him to stop it immediately. He's getting no distance on the dive at all and looking quite unimpressive doing it. An okay plancha beats a bad moonsault anyday.

Yea, two paragraphs on Fabian el Gitano. Sometimes the shows are like that.

CMLL (SUN) 01/20 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [CMLL]
1) Milenio b Quazar
2) Fraile de la Muerte b Thunder Boy
3) Estrella de Jalisco ?? Impostor
4) Depredador, Exterminador, Valentin Mayo b Carlo Roggi, Ebola, Lider
5) Infierno, Mr. Trueno, Rey Trueno b Leono, Magnum, Tony Rivera
6) Blue Panther, Dos Caras Jr., el Gallo b Ephesto, Misterioso II, Universo 2000

Shocker was supposed to be in the main event, in El Gallo's place. Between this and being subbed out on Friday, he hasn't been on a show in a week and isn't announced for another one until 02/02.

Dos pinned Universo clean with a suplex. after the fourth match, Evola and Exterminador agreed to a hair match in two weeks.

CMLL (TUE) 01/22 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [CMLL, *DELTA* @ box y lucha]
1) Thunder Boy b Milenio
2) Idolo b Guero Loco
3) El Egipcio b Casanova
4) Danger (Guadalajara) b Magnum
5) Malefico, Máscara Mágica, Toxico DQ Leono, Metalik, Tony Rivera
6) Black Warrior & Olímpico b Dr. Wagner Jr. & Último Dragón

Malefico fouled Tony in the semimain, setting up a singles match next week. In the main, Warrior faked a foul from Wagner, but the ref didn't see it. So Warrior just yanked Wagner's mask instead and pinned him. That also sets up a match for next week.

CMLL (TUE) 01/29 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara
1) Quazar vs Azazel
2) El Idolo vs El Egipcio
3) Casanova & Metatron vs Rey Trueno & Super Maquina
4) Carlo Roggi vs Exterminador
5) Tony Rivera vs Malefico
6) La Sombra & Volador Jr. vs Atlantis & Último Guerrero
7) Dr. Wagner Jr. vs Black Warrior

The Box Y Lucha recap says Wagner agreed to defend his UWA Heavyweight Title in that match. CMLL doesn't have that announced yet.

indy (TUE) 01/22 Arena Coliseo Monterrey [RFC]
2) Burrito DRAW Mercurio
3) Cavernicola & Mr. Cuervo b Corazon Adicto & Former Love
4) Black King & Maravilla Azteca b Bengali & Pancho Tequila
5) Golden Boy & Mosco b Rey Demonio, Simbolo [losers advance]
6) Rey Demonio Jr. b Simbolo [? Title]

AAA (SUN) 01/27 Arena Coliseo Monterrey [RFC]
1) Baby Fox & Rey Imagen vs Iron Extreme & Yako
2) Aero Boy, Dranser, Scravos vs Euforia (Monterrey), Ramses (Monterrey), Violento Jack
3) Aguila Extrema vs Dr. Cianuro [NORTH LH]
4) 5X, Iron, Principe Diamante vs Extreme Tiger, Rio Bravo, Tito Santana II
5) Octagón & Pimpinela Escarlata vs Antifaz del Norte & Kenzo Suzuki

Crazy Boy's making an appearance.

Atlantis tells Ovaciones he's got no issues with Rey Bucanero any more and would be happy to team up with Ultimo and him to form the greatest trio in all of CMLL. Looks like Atlantis will stay rudo.

Ovaciones also talks (again) to the AAA Clowns, who admit they're just trying to repeat the winning streak of the previous AAA clowns. Psycho Clown is listed as 187 cm/105 kg, Zombie Clown is 190 cm/110 kg and Killer Clown is not listed, but they're all bigger than average guys.

IWRG's card tonight is 2nd Generation Dinamitas vs Villanos. Avisman, one of the suspended regulars from last summer, is listed as working the segunda. Dr. Cerebro and Mike Segura are still gone (unless they're working new gimmicks here.)

El Luchador #30, an e-mail newsletter, has an interview with Aerostar (who promises new crazy dives in '08, and also may have given away the next unannounced AAA taping as 02/07.) I hadn't heard of them till I saw a link on box y lucha foro today, but they've apparently been going since last June, so there's probably good stuff in the previous editions.

box

AAA-US: Show airs a couple hours later on Saturday and Sunday afternoon than usual due to a comedy special taking up the normal time.

This would be a fine time to skip a couple episodes to get us closer on track, but I doubt anyone's paying close enough to figure that out. This is first part of the Best Of shows, including Kenzo losing his hair in the dome cage.

FSE-US: Flash (and some other people) vs Dr. X (and some Japaneses people), plus Averno, Mephisto and Sangre attempt to chop down a giant Italian, while Rey and Mascara stand nearby.

No rerun at midnight this week on Sunday, but the midnight Monday airing is listed. (Though this past week, it turned out to be a different rerun.) Reruns air at the top of the hour, Thursday, Friday and next Tuesday.

CAN52: Infernales vs tecnicos from Friday and the tercera from Sunday.

---------

CMLL-MEX: TV Guide's listings says it's a 3 hour show (and I think that's what Galavision's page says) but it never turns out to be a three hour show. Probably top 3.

AAA-MEX: An 8 day turnaround is faster than any taping they've had in quite a while.

FSE-MEX: Volador vs Perro.

CadenaTres: Don't trust Rey Bucanero.

CMLL (MON) 01/21 Arena Puebla [ultrachito @ el martiente, hugo999]
1) Forajido & SWAT b Ares & Fuerza Chicana
2) Cerebro Negro, Espiritu Maligno, Negro Navarro b Asturiano, Legionario, Lestat
3) Luna Magica, Marcela, Yeska b Amapola, Hiroka, Mima Shimoda
4) Atlantis, Sangre Azteca, Último Guerrero b Blue Panther, Heavy Metal, Marco Corelone
5) La Sombra, Místico, Rey Bucanero b Averno, Ephesto, Mephisto

Main event was rolling along fine until the third fall, where Bucanero suddenly turned on Mistico. Mistico still managed to beat Averno, so that sets up a title match next week. Atlantis yanked Panther's pants and rolled him up in the the semimain.

CMLL (TUE) 01/22 Arena Mexico
1) Rayo Tapatío I & Rayo Tapatío II b Cyber Black & Perverso
2) Fantasy, Pequeño Olímpico, Último Dragoncito b Mr. Aguilita, Pequeño Halloween, Pequeño Violencia
3) Euforia, Nosferatu, Satánico b Fabián el Gitano, Flash, Metálico
4) Damián 666, Terrible, Texano Jr. b Heavy Metal, La Máscara, Valiente
5) Atlantis, Sangre Azteca, Último Guerrero b Negro Casas, Rey Bucanero, Volador Jr.

Bucanero turned his back on his tecnico partners in the third fall, causing their defeat. Who'd figure a passive turn would work better than an active one? Of course, there's no Mistico in this one. Welcome to a month of these finishes. Look, the Infernales all teamed up!

Ovaciones mentions Arkangel, Negro Casas, Okumura, Alex Koslov, Marcela, Princesa Blanca, Amapola and Hiroka all recently traveled to Panama to wrestle there for five days. That explains why some of them were absent for shows last weekend (though not why they were booked for them in the first place.) Arkangel is feuding with local Zandokan Jr. Haven't been able to find more about this.

AAA's preview of Sunday's taping doesn't really have much new info. Argenis is still a mystery. Clowns appear to have won no matches in between tapings (so far.)

TNA's Hernandez & Homicide will work a show in Monterrey on 02/03

CMLL (SAT) 01/19 Auditorio Municipal Tampico, Tamaulipas [Dinamita]
1) Mensajero de la Muerte & Principe Orquidea ?? ? & Darling Boy
2) Baby Lover & Oro Negro b Peligro & Transmetal
3) Brazo de Platino, Máximo, Super Brazo DQ Loco Castillo, Muerte Negra, Sangre Azteca
4) King Boy (Tampico), La Sombra, Sagrado b Damian 666, Sadico (Tampico), Texano Jr.
5) Dr. Wagner Jr. & Marco Corelone b Atlantis & LA Park

CMLL (SAT) 02/09 Gimnasio Municipal Juarez [Sergio Guzman Velazquez @ box y lucha]
1) ?, Takeda, Trimigistro vs Demonio Negro, Rafaga, Yankee Star
2) Marcela vs Amapola [MEX WOMEN]
3) La Máscara & Mascara Purpura vs Euforia & Virus
4) Crazy 33, Heavy Metal, Negro Casas vs Ephesto, Mephisto, Misterioso II
5) Dr. Wagner Jr., LA Park, Shocker vs el Hijo del Perro Aguayo, Héctor Garza, Texano Jr.

taped 01/11 - 01/13, aired 01/19/08

The most interesting thing about this show at the moment is watching the FSE show right after and comparing the Arena Mexico crows. FSE's still lagged into the December death period, so one show has Arena Mexico with something like 1,000 people and the other has Arena Mexico with something like 10,000 people. One looks a bit better. It's about the difference between Fabian el Gitano and Flash.

This was a much longer women's match than usual (or I totally screwed up the time), but it wasn't much better.

Arturo Rivera's column says (the person under the mask of) Blue Demon Jr. lost a court case in the US to the family of Blue Demon. Blue Demon Jr. is said to not have paid royalties for fifteen years, which would be well before Blue Demon Sr. passed away. Demon Jr. probably owes a great much at this point. A similar lawsuit is in progress in the Mexico court system.

Rivera also notes Abismo Negro's going to end up with the Legion. No tecnico turn, but that splits apart all the rudo groups again and gives the Legion a theoretical replacement for Mesias.

Rey Bucanero tells Reforma he full plans on going back to the rudo side and will just try to be a professional while working out this scheduled on the tecnico side. He's got no problem with Atlantis and hopes Atlantis has no problem with him, so they can form an awesome trios with UG.

Reforma also interviews Goddess about her CMLL debut.

CMLL (TUE) 01/15 Arena Queretaro [Kal-el @ el Martiente]
1) Eragon & Luminoso ?? Estrella Dorada & Furia Dorada
2) Amapola & Princesa Sujei b Luna Magica & Marcela
3) Principe Valiente Jr. b Espiritu Negro [WWS WELTER]
4) Alex Koslov, La Máscara, Valiente b Misterioso II, Sangre Azteca, Virus
5) Máximo b Rambo [hair]

Lots of good pictures at the link. Mascara beat Sangre with a campana, so they might be setting up another title match.

RETELLEZ (SUN) 01/20 Gimnasio Municipal Ciudad Juarez [Sergio Guzman velazquez @ box y lucha]
1) Casandro & Rayman b Magno & Mistico (Juarez)
2) Rey Escorpio, Silver King, Super Parka b Máscara Sagrada, Rayo de Jalisco Jr., Villano III
3) LA Park b El Hijo Del Santo, Blue Demon Jr., Dr. Wagner Jr.

LA DOJO (SUN) 01/27 Los Angeles [Socaluncensored]
1) Mini Vertiz vs Mini Black Shadow
2) BC Killer vs Robbie Phoenix
3) Kaylo & Thunderwolf vs Big Nasy & Darkside
4) El Piko & Orion vs Chimera & Colossal Chris
5) Kaos & Mongol vs American Ballon & Angel (LA)
6) Chilango, Rey Bucanero, Volador Jr. vs Durango, Impacto, Steve Pain

Thanks to mikeinformer. Tickets are $20 for adults, $10 for children. I guess Volador Jr. is working a double shot that day?

Box Y Luchas 2854 has Wagner ripipng Mistico's mask.

The 2007 Tapatia Awards are ongoing. You can get info about the awards or fill out a ballot right now. The deadline is January 27th

CMLL

CMLL (SUN) 01/20 Arena Coliseo [cmll]
1) Molotov & Sensei b Calígula & Méssala
2) La Nazi, La Seductora, Rosa Negra b Goddess, La Rosa, Luna Magica
3) Ohara, Satánico, Super Nova b Felino, Máximo, Neutrón
4) Marco Corelone, Rey Bucanero, Stuka Jr. DQ Héctor Garza, Mr. Águila, Texano Jr.
5) el Hijo del Perro Aguayo b Volador Jr.

Perro Aguayo Jr. took the Spanish fly! CMLL.com notes this singles match was Volador's 10th anniversary pseudo-celebration (he debuted somewhere around 10/97), so maybe that was just a heck of a gift by Perro. Volador didn't win the match because the ref got distracted, and then Perro yanked Volador's mask and rolled him up for the win.

In the semimain, Texano fouled Marco for the DQ. Super Nova replaced Okumura to lead the rudo side to victory in the tercera, but that's a one night thing. Luna Magica and Rosa Negra were the only two of the scheduled wrestlers to work the women's trios. La Rosa and Goddess ended up making their unannounced CMLL debuts in the same match, so I assume a bus was running late or people were double booked. Goddess is a Canadian, and I do believe you can find photos of her on the wiki.

AAA's put up their results for Saturady's taping, adding a couple details.
- La Parka Jr. announced he'd return to the ring at Rey de Reyes.
- Abismo might have not interfered, and only mocked Niebla for his poor leadership
- The Stones didn't as much win as get destroyed by the Legion so much that the Legion got DQed. That's more what I expected
- Mini Abismo tossed his mask to Mini Divina for a DQ.
- Clowns have 16 wins in a row.

AAA Corsario Blanco (SAT) 02/09 Auditorio Municipal Tampico [El Sol de Tampico]
1) Billy Boy & La Guerrera vs Gran Apache & La Diabólica
2) Antifaz del Norte, Histeria, Psicosis vs Black Master, Bulldozer, Okusono
3) Cibernetico & El Elegido vs Electro Shock & Espíritu

If Cibernetico makes this booking, and the article says it'll be his return from injury, he'll be back from the burns in 2 1/3 months. Long night for Espiritu.

indy (SUN) 01/20 Arena Coliseo Monterrey [rfc]
1) Baby Fox & Rey Imagen vs Criminal & Invasor
2) Aguila Extrema & Virtual X b Dr. Cianruo & Euforia (Monterrey)
3) Dranser & Scravos b Androide & Yaco
4) Iron, La Momia, Principe Diamante b Ramses (Monterrey), Rio Bravo, Tito Santana II
5) Antifaz del Norte & Electro Shock b Charly Manson & Pimpinela Escarlata

Mistico complains about Averno's unwillingness to defend the NWA Middlweight Title against himi to el Sol de Tampico.

Super Luchas #247 has Abdullah the Butcher and Rey & Ultimo shaking hands.

aired 01/19, taped 11/30/07

Of the ladder match was four and a half stars, the mixed tag must've been 13 or 14 stars. That match was great. I can't believe AAA aired a 22 minute match that didn't drag at all. It was always good, quite often better, and got over the big storyline points they set out to achieve:

- Oriental & Cinthia get the next shot
- Fabi & Billy are a quality top team
- but no one can withstand the power of Mari Apache's crippling Michinoku Driver

Mari's gone from looking completely bored and moderately unhappy to be there to the scary top women's wrestler in the group. Ayako has worked her way out of my dislike list for good. Gran Apache/Espiritu mat wrestling was far better than anything I saw last week.

You need to go out of your way to see the four way mixed tag match.

The ladder match was filled with missed spots, mostly missed spots, and moments lacking completely logic. The AAA Tag Team belts were completely and totally buried - Chessman and Charly rejecting them needed to be explained in some way if that was supposed to work at all, but it clearly worked just the way it was shown. The belts are crap that the Hell Brothers don't want to be deal with, and the Mexican Powers having them doesn't mean they're best team in the world - maybe that's even one of the two teams in the tag title match last week, since their joke belts were positioned higher on the card than this.

The mixed tag belts mean something after there match, but I'm not sure any other belt means something given how they were used on this show.

Cage match was okay. There's been better cages matches in AAA of late and this one dragged a bit. It was laid out fine but there was nothing new in this match that we hadn't seen weekly for the last few months. Well, I don't know that Guapos all mooned in those other matches, but I could do without that. They put over the hair stip strong, but I hope Scorpio Jr. doesn't get shaved three Decembers in a row.

Layout of the show was pretty sharp. I'll take 30 minutes of clips to go hype the major angles if it means only one break in a match the rest of the night.

DeportTV highlights focused mostly on the main event, but had clips of the tercera and semimain too. DeporTV's camera seems now to be farther away than ever, but it worked out pretty well for the highlights.

Accion:

CMLL featured the main event Arena Mexico tag match. Mostly Mistico highlights, but everyone else gets a dive (or Guerrero Special in). Finish is shown as totally clean, two men simply beating two men, so Wagner attacking Mistico after the match (and ripping up his mask) has no justification

AAA went with the semimain spot show of Chessman & Charly vs Halloween & Extreme Tiger. Early highlights are of a normal match (with a seemingly pointless ref bump), then Chessman spears Extreme Tiger off the apron and into those wood panels. Charly takes a Halloween sunset bomb into another, and Chessman and Halloween boink heads when going for a spear. They're KOed, and then they're not as much so they can crawl closer together and put a hand on each other, and so it doesn't come off as well as it might if they just did a double in-ring CO or a referee stoppage, but I don't know if those finishes would been as accepted. This did not look as dumb as I'd thought (skipping the finish) in clip form, so maybe it'll be an okay match. I have far more faith Halloween than anyone not named Halloween, it's nearly indefensible at this point.

Other random things

- So I got a bunch of magazines, and see that Blue Demon Jr. becoming president of NWA Mexico was on a cover, before the NWA had announced it, before the CMLL had agreed to any sort of deal? That's so not working out well. Set expectations to minimal.

- Couldn't believe that, the week after the event, the first four pages of lucha coverage in Box y Lucha were on the DTU show. Is everyone who writes about lucha in Mexico convinced there must be a hardcore niche indy and trying to will into existence? I can only figure hardcore promotions are so the anthesis of normal and normal is so overwhelming, people mark out for it despite no hardcore promotion drawing or having a long consistent run.

Or these hardcore promotions do a better job of catering to press than a promotion who just runs every week. That seems reasonable.

- I never got around to linking Dr. Lucha's interview with Ernesto Ocampo from last Friday, because it deserved more than a quick link but I don't get around to doing more than that on a Friday evening. Sorry if you missed it, but blame Dave for not hyping better articles more than the random articles people get posted. I suggested questions for it a long time ago and don't remember which ones were mine, sorry.

The one thing that stuck out to me, that wasn't Ocampo bashing fellow magazine publishers in hilarious ways, was this one

15) There now exist various online-only lucha “magazines” (Halcon, Gladiatores, Pancracio), but none of them attracts any advertising or attempts to profit from their labor of love. Do you think an online-only lucha magazine could exist and yet attract enough revenue, either via advertising or subscriptions, to make it work? I think is possible. The problem with the actual online magazines is their staff. All of them are amateurs, and they think are experts, but in reality are only wannabes. I expect the Super Luchas of the future will be much stronger.

I don't think this was meant to be harsh towards the Gladiatores (since they're the only one of the three who appear to be updating), but it sure came off that way. When I first read that, I was quite defensive, because I put those guys above myself (they go to events and take photos and talk to people, I make sarcastic remarks and occasionally include a picture) and thought it was disrespectful to the work they're doing. Even if magazines increased their sales 10x, I don't think they'd be sending people out to cover every Arena Neza show or all the IWRG shows. The lucha world is vaster than than a magazine staff can cover, and the efforts of people filling those gaps while doing it just as a labor of love should be respected.

On the other hand, Ocampo's still right. They (we) are all amateurs who think they know what they're talking about and may or may not. One of the reasons there's no advertisements on this site is that (to me) it implies you're paying for something with a certain level of journalistic standards, and I appreciate the oppurtinty not to have to live up to those. Would the general public be better off with someone who did? Well, you might not have a "Warrior and Toscano leaving?" story on the sidebar that's since been quite contradicted.

There's some in between ground here that I'm having trouble expressing here and I'm sorry about that.

Anyway, read the Q&A if you missed it the first time.

- WON awards turned up on the net this past week (1, 2, 3). Mistico was 6th as wrestler of the year, Cibernetico was 8th. Mistico was 3rd as box office draw, Cibernetico was 3rd in Most Charismatic, Apache/Billy was 9th for feud. No tag team in the top ten, no one besides Mistico was top ten flyer, AAA was a spot ahead of CMLL in promotion and TV Show, and no move in the top ten.

I was really fired up about the results a few days ago, but now I'm more thinking about how they're just as good every year, so I shouldn't really care too much about it. The general WON audience knows WWE on their own, knows CMLL on their own, knows some of Japan on their own, and know about 1% of lucha besides what Dave mentions. There's some who know a lot more, but they're more than outweighed who don't. The awards, especially the minor awards, shouldn't be taken so seriously.

Konnan's gotta feed better hype about the Air Force more often to Dave. That's the only way they're going to get them noticed. We're counting on you, Konnan!

Previous: 11/22 (Toluca), 11/30 (Ciudad Madero, GdT), 12/14 (Chilpancingo)

AAA TV (SAT) 01/19 Parque de Beisbol, Guanajuato [SuperLuchas]
1) Barba Roja, Hijo de Pirata Morgan, Pirata Morgan Jr. b Killer Clown, Psycho Clown, Zombie Clown
2) Jerrito Estrada, Mini Abismo Negro, Mini Histeria DQ Mascarita Divina, Mini Charly Manson, Octagoncito
3) Billy Boy, Casandro, Mascara Divina, Pimpinela Escarlata DQ Jesse, Nygma, Polvo de Esterllas, Yuriko
4) Alan Stone, Chris Stone, Super Calo DQ Electro Shock, Kenzo Suzuki, Zorro
5) Halloween b Chessman
6) Brazo de Plata, El Elegido, Gronda II b Histeria, Mr. Niebla, Psicosis II

projected air date
Mexico: 01/27
US: 02/16

Not many details yet.

Porky replaced Intocable. Is that an improvement? Abismo Negro appeared to yell at the Vipers for ditching him at leader, and mock Mr. Niebla's poor leadership after they lost the main event.

Chessman accidentally speared Charly to give Halloween the win. This would be a fine build to a tag team title match if the Hell Brothers cared enough to win those titles.

La Parka Jr. appeared before the semimain, and Prez. Roldan threatened to ban the Legion forever if they beat him up on this show. So Parka lived to tell the crowd he plans to return at Rey de Reyes.

Stones over Legion is a bit of an upset, but it wasn't like the Stones actually won the match. Legion got DQed for excessive violence and fouling Alan Stone. They tried to build Zorro here.

Mini Abismo tossed his mask to Divina to draw their DQ.

Clowns now have 16 straight wins.

(Partial) Upcoming Tapings
01/26: Plaza de Toros, Teziutlan
02/01: La Plaza de Relicario, Puebla
02/15: Auditorio Jose Maria Artega, Queretaro
03/01: La Plaza de Toros La Concordia, Orizaba, Veracruz

The 2007 Tapatia Awards are ongoing. You can get info about the awards or fill out a ballot right now. The deadline is January 27th

Highlights will be posted later. SuperLuchas has the AAA taping results, and I'll do the usual post for that in a couple hours. Last week's FSE should be up just after the top of the hour.

Ovaciones writes about Coliseo and Naucalpan lineups for tonight, and notes the 8th anniversary of Raul Reyes' death (though the last line says it happened this year - I think that's a typo.)

In an interview in this week's SuperLuchas, India Sioux says she's not pregnant yet, just trying to get pregnant. Please make your own joke in the comments.

CMLL (THU) 01/17 Arena Neza [Heri 99]
1) Pólvora & Vaquero b Faraon Jr. & Rayo Tapatío I
2) Electrico, Shockercito, Tzuki b Fire, Pequeño Violencia, Pierrothito
3) Disturbio, Dr. X, Nitro b Ángel Azteca Jr., Leono, Sombra de Plata
4) Blue Panther, Rey Bucanero, Sagrado b Atlantis, Euforia, Último Guerrero

early angle warning: Atlantis was not happy with Rey & Ultimo reaming back up again.

CMLL (SAT) 01/26 Arena Neza
1) Bengala & Estruendo vs Damian el Inmortal & Flecha
2) Principe, Sensei, Starman vs Emperador, Ramstein, Zayco
3) Luna Magica, Marcela, Princesa Blanca vs Amapola, La Nazi, Medussa
4) Felino, Máximo, Valinete vs Disturbio, Ephesto, Misterioso II
5) Atlantis & Místico vs Rey Bucanero & Último Guerrero [ri]

HMMMMMMMMM.

IWRG (THU) 01/17 Arena Naucalpan [superluchas #247]
1) Tortuguillo Ninja II b Rey Estruendo
2) Gemelo Fantastico I & Gemelo Fantastico II b Comando Gama & Puma King
3) Freelance, Multifacético, Star Boy DQ Black Terry, Kalimari, Nemesis IWRG
4) Bogeman, el Hijo Del Anibal, Pantera DQ Masada, Nosawa, Takemura
5) Hijo del Cien Caras & Mascara Ano 2000 Jr. b Villano III & Villano IV

Black Terry got DQed for pulling Multi's mask, and it looks like that fued is replacing the Fantamsa de la Opera stuff. Tokyo Gurentai lost in straight falls when Kalimari ran in. Cien Caras Jr. snuck out after ref bumps to help his 'brothers' win take the main in two falls, which sets up next week's main event.

IWRG (THU) 01/24 Arena Naucalpan [superluchas #247]
1) Oficial 911, Oficial AK47, Oficial Fierro vs Fantasma de la Ópera, Filoso IWRG, Freelance
2) Bogeman, el Hijo Del Anibal, Multifacético vs ?, Capitán Muerte, Veneno
3) Cien Caras Jr., Hijo del Cien Caras, Mascara Ano 2000 Jr. vs Villano III, Villano IV, Villano V

IWRG (SUN) 01/27 Arena Naucalpan [superluchas #247]
1) Fantasma de la Ópera, Filoso IWRG, Star Boy vs Nemesis IWRG, Trauam II, Trauma I
2) Centauro, Freelance, Pantera vs Capitán Muerte, Kalimari, Masada
3) Bogeman, Multifacético, Rayo de Jalisco Jr. vs Black Terry, Hijo del Cien Caras, Veneno

CMLL (SUN) 01/27 Arena Coliseo [superluchas #247]
1) Super Camaleon & Super Tri vs Pólvora & Vaquero
2) Fabián el Gitano, Leono, Super Nova vs Arkangel de la Muerte, Loco Max, Nitro
3) La Máscara, Sagrado, Último Dragón vs Ephesto, Olímpico, Sangre Azteca
4) Blue Panther, Marco Corelone, Negro Casas vs Damián 666, Héctor Garza, Texano Jr.

Short a match - a Volador/Perro rematch?

CMLL (FRI) 01/18 Arena Mexico [ESTO, superluchas, Ocioso @ box y lucha]
CMLL (FRI) 01/18 Arena Mexico
1) Bam Bam & Mascarita Dorada b Pequeño Black Warrior & Pierrothito
2) Euforia, Nosferatu, Virus b Fabián el Gitano, Mictlán, Starman
3) Felino & Heavy Metal b Misterioso II & Sangre Azteca [torneo, 1st]
4) Averno & Mephisto b Flash & Último Dragón [torneo, 1st]
5) Damián 666 & Mr. Águila b Super Nova & Valiente [torneo, 1st]
6) Black Warrior & Olímpico b Alex Koslov & Marco Corelone [torneo, 1st]
7) Averno & Mephisto b Felino & Heavy Metal [torneo, qf]
8) Black Warrior & Olímpico b Damián 666 & Mr. Águila [torneo, qf]
9) Averno & Mephisto b Black Warrior & Olímpico [torneo, sf]
10) Rey Bucanero & Último Guerrero b Dr. Wagner Jr. & Místico [pi]

Crowd was noticable more behind Wagner than Mistico. Tecnicos took the first fall, Rey & Ultimo got back to the old ways to win the second. Third fall turned into a dive sequence - Mistico on UG, Rey on Mistico & UG, Wagner on everyone...except UG pulled Rey and himself out of the way, and Mistico took the full brunt of the dive. Mistico was unable to continue, and the rudos beat Wagner for the win. After the match, they tried strechering Mistico out, only for Wagner to attack him.

Wagner appears to still be a tecnico, just not a good teammate because of his giant ego. Super Luchas notes Wagner was still getting a cheers after attacking Mistico. I hope they're not surprised at this point - the Arena Mexico Dr. Wagner fans are die hard fans and will not be swayed.

Meanwhile, CMLL.com's note on the match says "Ultimo Guerrero and Rey Bucanero revived their pact of friendship and unity inside and outside the ring." There's a bit more about this in the cards.

Black Warrior & Olimpico made it farther in the tournament than I figured, but Averno & Mephisto beat to win this block. It's an interesting tease - will they go from beating one (sorta) Guerrero team to challenging another for the titles? (No.) CMLL was kinda vague on the date of the title match before, but they stay today that'll be on 02/01.

CMLL (TUE) 01/22 Arena Mexico
1) Rayo Tapatío I & Rayo Tapatío II vs Cyber Black & Perverso
2) Fantasy, Pequeño Olímpico, Último Dragoncito vs Mr. Aguilita, Pequeño Halloween, Pequeño Violencia
3) Fabián el Gitano, Flash, Metálico vs Euforia, Nosferatu, Satánico
4) Heavy Metal, La Máscara, Valiente vs Damián 666, Terrible, Texano Jr.
5) Negro Casas, Rey Bucanero, Volador Jr. vs Atlantis, Sangre Azteca, Último Guerrero

CMLL (FRI) 01/25 Arena Mexico
1) Sombra de Plata & Trueno vs Hooligan & Loco Max
2) Felino, Máximo, Stuka Jr. vs Diamante Negro, Ephesto, Misterioso II
3) Alex Koslov, Sagrado, Último Dragón vs Black Warrior, Lizmark Jr., Olímpico
4) Dos Caras Jr. & La Sombra vs Averno & Mephisto [torneo, final]
5) Blue Panther, Marco Corelone, Místico vs Atlantis, Rey Bucanero, Último Guerrero

It's not a relevos incredible match, it's Rey back on the rudo side, even teaming with Atlantis of all people. This happened pretty quick. If you watch the pre-match interview on superluchas, it sure sounds like this is the new status quo, but I'm kinda holding my breath until we make it thru this match without Atlantis and Rey turning on each other.

CAN52 GdR has
01/13: Fabián el Gitano, Flash, Metálico b Arkangel de la Muerte, Nitro, Skandalo
01/11: Amapola, Hiroka, La Nazi b Luna Magica, Marcela, Princesa Blanca
outside the ring: Nitro, who seemed to elect himself leader of Los Rebeldes as well.

The 2007 Tapatia Awards are ongoing. You can get info about the awards or fill out a