South of the Border Pro Wrestling: Lucha Entertainment?

[TEWFan]

One word can sum up Mexico. Really. One simple word. [b]Hot[/b] Everything in Mexico is hot. The climate is sometimes too hot, bordering on unbearable. I cannot even walk three steps without having drops of sweat falling from my forehead and across my face. The food is hot. I mean, everything has some jalapeno or some other stuff that makes it hard to digest. My first few weeks in Mexico I spent in the toilet with a bad case of diarrhea. Too much spice. I can tolerate it now, but I need at least a gallon of water per meal. The women....wow, very hot. The epitome of the phrase "sexy latina". And wrestling? Very very very hot. How can you have three promotions of roughly equal size competing in the same market and still, each and everyone of them is profitable and stable. Yes, their non-aggression pacts have top help, but they still compete for the same fans and the same limited pool of talent. It is true what they say. In Japan, it's a sport. And in Mexico, it's religion. Fans are fanatical here. Fanatical as in "we are going to chase the rudos across the parking lot and when they reach their cars we are going to pelt them with sticks and stones and beer cans and whatever the hell we have at hand" fanatical. Beloved babyfaces become heroes. They appear in multiple television commercials, game shows and even movies and soap operas. Rudos become the epitome of evil and those particularly vicious sometimes become urban legends that grown ups tell their little kids to scare them to bed. That's how influential wrestling is to mexicans. I call it the three mexican rules of survival. Lucha Libre, Soccer and Tacos. And here I am at the Tijuana Airport, holding my suitcase and sweating like a pig, waiting for my ride. Who am I? My name is Armando Rodriguez. Puerto Rican born, grew up in the states and came to work in Mexico when I was 23. I had trained to wrestle professionally, but never managed much success until I came to work in Mexico, where I became The Grand Magician. A masked magician, my identity never revealed, I became quite a good rudo. However, I was trained to wrestle, not to perform the insane flips and flops that mexicans do and during a particularly botched plancha I ended my career when I shattered my knee against the steel ring steps. Just as I was about to be pushed to the main event. That was fifteen years ago. After the injury I returned to Puerto Rico and opened a wrestling school, just to keep myself in the business and to sustain my family. About three weeks ago I received a call from Jorge Ibañez. Jorge is the owner of South of the Border Pro Wrestling, the company that recently became the #1 promotion in Mexico. You see, Jorge had this crazy idea that he called "revolutionary". He wanted to mix the traditional values of Lucha Libre with the Sports Entertainment popularized by Richard Eisen's SWF in North America. And he wanted me to book his promotion during this revolution. At first, way too many questions came into my mind. Like "who the hell gave him my number?" and "Is he a visionary or just plain crazy?". For some reason that I still don't understand, I agreed. I mean, I had worked for Jorge during my wrestling years.....how bad could it be this time around? Just as I finished that thought, my ride arrived. A very beaten up yellow taxi with a driver that was missing front teeth, dressed in a plain brown shirt that was looking significantly more brown under his armpits because of all the sweat. And it had no air conditioner, just a very tiny fan. The seats where black leather that would cling to your sweaty back when you sat down. Ah yes, I had definitively forgotten how cheap Jorge was. I suppose the limos are reserved for Champagne Lover and Pablo Rodriguez. [i]OOC: This is my first time booking a mexican promotion, although I am really Puerto Rican and speak spanish really well, which means I will try to integrate some of the culture into the diary. I don't favor long match write-ups, but I will make exception on the big matches. Also the product has been adapted a bit to be more like the AAA promotion is in real life, with more sports entertainment thrown in to compliment the traditional lucha libre. I hope you enjoy the ride (and that I don't book this promotion to hell!).[/i]

[d_w_w]

As an OLLIE player, I feel compelled to root against you. It's nothing personal... Just kidding! Love the idea of someone doing a lucha diary!

[Dragonmack]

I'll be following along as well, as Mexico is another region I haven't really played with, although I have brought some luchadors into my previous diaries.

[TEWFan]

[b]When a meeting is not a meeting[/b] I wonder....how would anyone else feel when they are summoned to a meeting and....the boss never arrives? Because that is exactly what happened to me. After a short stop at the "luxury" apartment Jorge got for me (which was nothing more than a hot box in the middle of nowhere) to leave my things and take a quick bath (we have running water, but no water heater....not that I am complaining!) I arrived at the central offices of South of the Border Pro Wrestling. I have to give Jorge credit here. The offices where located inside a big commercial building. Granted, we where only one of the many offices there, but we have air conditioner, modern computers, an attractive secretary and a very well adorned place. Pictures of famous wrestlers hang from the walls, the furniture looks expensive....everything feels right. I am rushed into the meeting room, which is nothing more than a smaller office within the office. Only a round table with eight chairs, a big plasma TV and a phone are located inside this place. I was handed a bunch of papers detailing our product, current roster, champions, tag teams and schedule of events for the year. The secretary told me to oversee this papers and familiarize myself with the concepts in time for the meeting. One hour, two hours, three hours. Jorge never arrives. The secretary marches in just as I was about to leave and informs me that Jorge had some trouble with some Samoan investors. Apparently Jorge is involved in a league of the Samoan national sport, Snockey (don't ask) and his meeting with the investors took longer than expected. I was handed one simple piece of paper: [b]1. Hire new talent, but don't go overboard! 2. Book the TV show for Friday[/b] That was it! That was the "meeting". According to the secretary, Jorge would not be able to meet me until after the TV show is taped three days from now. Until then, I am on my own. Great start.... As I walked out of the office and tried to call a taxi in my broken spanish, one simple thought overwhelmed the many questions in my head and the many silent curses I was laying upon Jorge Ibañez at that moment. [b]Just what the hell have I gotten myself into?[/b]

[Irish Wolf]

Playing multiplayer with D_W_W as MPWF I also feel compelled to root against you (also like him I'll definitely be reading)

[TEWFan]

[b][i][size=6][color=red]The SOTBPW Roster[/b][/size][/i][/color] [b]faces in [color=blue]blue[/color] heels in [color=red]red[/color][/b] [b]main event:[/b] [color=blue][b]Axxis Jr Champagne Lover El Fuerza Pablo Rodriguez[/color] [color=red]El Demonio[/color] Upper Midcard: [color=blue]Blood Raven Mexican Ghoul[/color] [color=red]Enrique Merino Mario Heroic Tijuana Vampire[/color] Midcard: [color=blue]El Diamante Azul Leon Joven Lobo Blanco Mexican Beast Rebelde Loco The Cannonball Kid[/color] [color=red] Junior Youth Pirata Malvado[/color] Lower Midcard: [color=blue] Magik[/color] [color=red]Gonzalo Rubio Verdugo Estupendo Vicente Romero[/color] Openers: [color=red] Histeria Reaper Dante Reaper Cicero[/color] Enhancement Talent: [color=red] Demon Seed[/color][/b] [b][size=6] Champions[/size] Campeon de Menor SOTBPW: Pirata Malvado Campeon de Mundo SOTBPW: Champagne Lover Campeon de Parejas SOTBPW: Los Sickness (Enrique Merino & Tijuana Vampire) Campeon de Trios SOTBPW: Vicente Romero, Junior Youth & Histeria[/b]

[TEWFan]

[B][I][size=6]The Story So Far: A rundown of 2007[/I][/B][/size] [FONT="Century Gothic"]Here is a brief rundown of the main storyline happenings in the year 2007. [b] La Alianza del Terror[/b] La Alianza del Terror, or "The Terror Alliance" is a stable composed of El Demonio, Pirata Malvado, Verdugo Estupendo, Enrique Merino and Tijuana Vampire. The stable was formed with much fanfare when they ended the career of Del Muerto by putting him through a table with a devastating spike piledriver. As you know, the piledriver and any other moves that drop the luchadores directly on the head, like the tombstone, brainbuster (american) and DDT are considered "martinetes" and therefore illegal in the world of lucha libre. They are feared as moves that can cause death and are sold as such. Two of SOTBPW's biggest heels could not stand this. Mexican Ghoul and Mexican Beast came to the help of Del Muerto, alongside Blood Raven and turned face in the process. "The Priest of Pain" Pablo Rodriguez took this former heels under his wing in the stable now known as "Redemption", an aptly titled name for a group of former evil doers now turned into the paths of righteousness. Their feud with La Alianza del Terror is one of the hottest storylines in all of lucha libre and the reason SOTBPW became #1 in Mexico. But Del Muerto's career is not over. The character is "retired", his devastating injury was career ending. But the man behind the hood has resurfaced under a new character that many hope will take him to the top. The ****y heel Vicente Romeo, who quickly allied himself with 2 other youngsters, Junior Youth and Gonzalo Rubio, to form a great trio. Which means that the fact that Del Muerto and Vicente Romero are the same person is not acknowledged by anybody. Romero has started with a clean slate and everybody calls him a rookie. Talking about Junior Youth, he turned heel on his former partner Rebelde Loco and allied himself with Romeo and Rubio, going from fan favorite that had the girls screaming his name, to hated rudo that gets pelted with paper cups and beer cans. The 5 year long feud between Magik and his evil counterpart, Dark Magik, also came to an end in 2007 with Magik winning a mask vs mask match. Dark Magik was revealed as Gonzalo Rubio and although their paths have gone separate ways, many feel that it is only a matter of time before this two rivals cross paths again. And people are coming from all over the world to compete in Lucha Libre. From Canada's 4C came Duberry Excess, working under the hood of Demon Seed. From the SWF came Calamari Kid, now as the unmasked Cannonball Kid. And from Japan came three workers, the face painted "Psycho Circus" Reaper Cicero and Reaper Dante, as well as the masked Diamante Azul. 2008 promises to be a year full of suprises. Which young stars will emerge as superstars? Whose careers will hit the stratosphere? And how will the feud between Redemption and La Alianza del Terror end?[/font]

[TEWFan]

[FONT="Century Gothic"][b][i][size=4] The First Backstage Incident[/size][/i][/b] 5 Minutes after the show was taped and sent to the TV Station, I stumbled upon my first backstage incident. As I walked into the locker room I heard screaming and a rush of people running into a corner of the locker room. There stood Lucia, half-naked, and Jennifer Heat, looking all red in the face and with her hair a mess. Clearly a cat fight had erupted and Heat had ripped off Lucia's top. I did my best not to look at the hanging melons and focus on the problem at hand. Seeing that she was the only one fully clothed, I pulled Jennifer Heat aside and asked her about the situation. [i]"It's Lucia's fault. She started to say that the only reason I am employed is because I am bedding Champagne Lover. That's why the media loves me and that's why the lucha world loves me."[/i] I understood Lucia's jealousy. Jennifer was bedding the hottest star, not only in lucha libre, but in all of mexican television. Champagne Lover had transcended the lucha world into soap opera stardom and by association, Jennifer Heat was recognized by the media, shown almost daily on TV and chased constantly by the paparazzi. But she was also extremely charismatic and one of our best talkers, which is why she had become such a successful rudo manager. The fact that Champagne Lover was a beloved tecnico and she was a rudo made her the most hated woman in all of Mexico. I had to settle this, so after Lucia was fully clothed, I pulled her aside. [i]"What the hell was that all about? Jennifer Heat is not only the most charismatic manager in the history of lucha libre, but she is also the girlfriend of our biggest star and you jeopardized all that with your comments. You might be a beutiful woman Lucia, but it is clear to me that you do not possess the same level of skill as Heat. In other words, this is your last chance. If you screw up again, you are out the door because there are many beutiful women out there dying for a chance to be a valet in lucha libre and I will not be short of opportunities to replace you. Did I made myself clear?"[/i] Lucia sleeplessly nodded and walked out. She didn't even bother to look at me the whole meeting. But my words rang true. One more argument and she is out the door. At least, I think Jorge will allow me to do that. Talking about Jorge, I was told to wait in the arena for him, but the show had already been taped and delivered to the station and he was not around. Oh well. The show would be shown on TV in two hours (it is shown the same day it is taped, which means less room for failure in the editing process) and I could wait a little bit more for Jorge. I plopped down in front of the TV with my lap-top at my side. Total Extreme Wrestling.com was in the browser and I was ready to read the show recap by this "Masked Luchador" guy who did the recaps for the page.[/font] [i]OOC: Show is up next. I like to write them in recap format, like the ones done by the likes of Scott Keith and J.D. Dunn in real life, just with less match description.[/i]

[TEWFan]

[b][size=6][color=blue] SOTBPW Lucha Libre TV[/b][/color][/size] [B]- From the National Arena in Tijuana - Attendance: 2,000 (SELLOUT) - Announcers: Mateo Hidalgo & Eduardo Prieto - Recap by The Masked Luchador exclusively for Total Extreme Wrestling.com[/b] -[b][color=blue]Opening Match: Campeon de Menor SOTBPW Title Magik/ with Lucia vs Pirata Malvado (c)/with Jennifer Heat[/b][/color] Lots of stalling by Pirata to begin. They finally lock up and do the trademark sequence in which Magik whips Pirata to the ropes, but he shoulder tackles him down. They repeat a couple of times with Magik failing to get the upper hand. He finally takes control with a flippy floppy sequence of arm drags. Pirata rolls outside looking to catch his breath, but Magik flies into him with a tope. They go back to the ring where Magik tries a crossbody, but gets dropkicked in mid air and plays tecnico in peril. Jennifer Heat gets involved by helping Pirata during an abdominal stretch, to much booing from the crowd. The chants of the spanish word for prostitute start almost immediately. Magik makes the comeback (as they cut to a kid jumping up and down wearing a Magik mask in the crowd) and takes control of the match. He goes up top looking for something, but sensing danger, Heat grabs the title belt and blasts Lucia in the back! Magik is distracted and Pirata recovers, tosses Magik from his precarious perch up top and then covers him with both feet on the ropes for the win. Lots of heat for Pirata and Heat as they walk to the back. [b]Winner: Pirata Malvado by pinfall (11:45, D)[/b] -[b][color=blue]Campeon de Parejas SOTBPW: Velocidad & The Cannonball Kid vs Los Sickness (c) (Tijuana Vampire & Enrique Merino)[/b][/color] A testament to the overness of Los Sickness: Velocidad is a newcomer and he gets a great reaction when he dropkicks Merino and manages to drop him down. He is very quick, although small, even by luchadore standards. He gets a great sequence of speedy armdrags and dropkicks, until Merino says "to hell with that" and boots him in the face. The rudos cheat to win! I mean, they literally dismantle poor Velocidad in the rudo corner, making illegal switches, choking when the ref's back is turned, you know, the works. Finally Velocidad ducks under a Tijuana Vampire clothesline and rolls to his corner, "tagging in" Cannonball Kid, who comes in with a springboard dropkick! Cover gets two. Once more, he uses his speed to stay out of reach, but he tries an arm drag too many and gets splattered down. We get heat segment number two. Kid makes a comeback, but it is short lived. Vampire knocks Velocidad off the apron and then the rudos nail Kid with the "Lethal Injection" for the win. Then they toss Kid outside into Velocidad and pose to massive jeers. The Lethal Injection looks cool, basically Merino slingshots the opponent into an incoming big boot from Vampire. [b]Winners: Los Sickness (8:49, D+) -[b][color=blue]Mexican Beast/with Mexican Ghoul vs Verdugo Estupendo/with Pirata Malvado[/b][/color] This is part of the Redemption vs Alianza feud. We have two big guys (by luchadore standards) that are more brawlers than luchadores, so the match breaks down very quickly into a punch and kick fest. Crowd heat saves it from being too boring. Double KO after a double big boot. Pirata gets on the apron, but Ghoul pulls him down and they brawl. Back in the ring both men get up at roughly the same time and trade more punches. The finish comes as Beast reverses an irish whip and catches Verdugo on the comeback with the Beast Backbreaker (Sidewalk Slam twisted mid-way into a side backbreaker) and covers for the win and the first tecnico victory of the day. Verdugo rolls out and he and Pirata leave, exchanging threats with Beast and Ghoul. [b]Winner: Mexican Beast (11:31, D-)[/b] -[b] The Preacher Preaches[/b] Backstage with Pablo Rodriguez, the "Priest of Pain". The rest of Redemption are sitting down around him as he "preaches" the ways of the tecnico. Mexican Beast and Ghoul walk in after their match and they get a congratulatory handshake from Pablo. Pablo then turns to the camera and talks about how La Alianza del Terror will pay for their sins and tells Demonio that he is a marked man. Then he talks about his upcoming match with a newcomer, a youngster named Nomad who comes from Canada all the way to Mexico. Pablo says that he knows little about Nomad, outside of the fact that he loves Grunge Rock and Pablo thinks that Grunge Rock is the music of the devil and that Nomad is being tempted by the darker powers. He promises clean victory over Nomad and hopes to teach him a lesson, one that will enlighten his spirit and save him from damnation. Wow, practically all that he said would be consider heelish anywhere else but Mexico, because the fans go wild in cheers for the man. [b](Rating: B-)[/b] [b][color=blue]"The Priest of Pain" Pablo Rodriguez vs "The Grunge Rocker" Nomad[/b][/color] The people don't know who Nomad is, but after the words from Pablo he is treated like Public Enemy #1. Both men move really fast. Don's be fooled by the preacher gimmick, Pablo is one of the best high fliers in the planet. Way too quick for me to recap. Nomad looked really good out there, but Pablo wins the extended squash with the Sinner's Salvation. He then stands on top of Nomad and makes a holy signal on his forehead. [b]Winner: Pablo Rodriguez (5:48, C-)[/b] [b][color=blue]Campeon de Trios SOTBPW: El Diamante Azul, Leon Joven & Rebelde Loco vs Hysteria, Vicente Romero & Junior Youth[/b][/color] Once again, there is too much action for me to recap, so I will mention the key bits. Good storytelling as Junior Youth refuses to step in the ring with Rebelde Loco and makes sure to run away to his corner whenever Loco steps in. Leon Joven (Young Lion) is your chosen face in peril. Good, because he is the least interesting and least skilled of all six men. Maybe a beating does him good. Diamante Azul and Rebelde Loco get good reactions whenever they come in and dominate. Funny moment as Hysteria dominates Loco and Youth demands to be allowed in the ring. He pounds Loco when he is down, but as soon as he starts to fight back, Youth runs away to his corner and allows Romero to come in. Like in most six men matches, the chaos spills outside and two men are left inside. Leon Joven manages to dropkick Histeria to the outside, but Junior Youth runs in behind him and rolls him up, puts both feet in the ropes and gets the first fall. The tecnicos take the second fall when Rebelde Loco pins Hysteria following a Flying Crossbody. He goes after Youth who runs around the ring to escape from him.....straight into a dive from Diamante Azul! However, this leaves Leon Joven alone inside and Hysteria is quick to capitalize with the Darkness Falls (Downward Spiral/Mic Check) for the third and final fall. The rudos retain and Junior Youth mocks Rebelde Loco.....until Loco runs after him and Youth hides behind his partners. Threats are exchanged. [b]Winners: Hysteria, Vicente Romero & Junior Youth (12:45, D)[/b] [b][color=blue]"The Iron Luchador" Axxis Jr vs Demon Seed/with Jennifer Heat[/b][/color] Well, I like Seed's look, but he is nothing short of a jobber. Quick squash to keep Axxis rolling until they decide to do something with him. Axxis wins with the Iron Thrust (Gutbuster). Very decent match for a squash! [b]Winner: Axxis Jr (5:38, C)[/b] [b][color=blue]Lobo Blanco/with Lucia vs El Demonio/with Jennifer Heat[/color][/b] It's still odd to see Heat with La Alianza. Lobo Blanco is one of the top rising stars in Mexico, but this match was quite messy. Blanco wanted to keep it grounded and use his technical skills, while Demonio brawled more. And they allowed Lobo a lot of offense, possibly hinting at a big push. Demonio dominated most of the match, but Blanco was allowed plenty of big tecnico comebacks and several near falls. Heat gives something to Demonio, which he puts on his mask and then headbutts Lobo Blanco, who falls down and gets pinned. Blanco sells it like a gunshot and remains on the floor while Demonio posses and gets pelted with paper cups and beer cans. [b]Winner: El Demonio (12:34, D+)[/b] [b][color=blue] The biggest superstar in Lucha Libre speaks[/b][/color] Backstage with Champage Lover and you can hear women moan across the world. Champagne speaks about the challenge Gonzalo Rubio laid on him for the Campeon de Mundo title. Maybe Gonzalo does not deserve the shot, but titles are meant to be defended. So he accepted the challenge and the match is next. The interviewer asks him about the war between Redemption and La Alianza. Champagne says that what La Alianza did to Del Muerto is one of the most hideous, disgusting and terrible things he has seen in all of his career. He would like to stay out of the war, but he is good friends with Pablo Rodriguez and he sends a message to Pablo: "If you need me, I am here for you". [b](Rating: C-)[/b] [b][color=blue]Campeon de Mundo SOTBPW: Champagne Lover (c) vs Gonzalo Rubio[/b][/color] Very good match. Gonzalo gets decent offense and is allowed control of the match, but he shows that he is not yet ready for such a task. Champagne has to carry him through some wrestling sequences. Champagne Lover retains with the Love Stunner. [b]Winner: Champagne Lover (14:52, C+)[/b] [b][color=blue] If Champagne won't go to war, war comes to Champagne[/b][/color] As Champagne Lover celebrates his win, El Demonio ambushes him from behind! He drops Champagne with a brutal clothesline and proceeds to stomp him while he is on the ground. Redemption runs out to make the save as El Demonio walks away. He calls for a microphone when he is on the ramp: [i]"Champagne Lover! You have something that belongs to La Alianza del Terror! You have something that belongs to El Demonio! That Camepon de Mundo Title is mine! Mark my words Champagne Lover, mark my words! Your fate will be the same of Del Muerto![/i] [b](Rating: B)[/b] [b]Overall Rating: C[/b] Great show with nice matches and decent angle buildup.

[TEWFan]

[b][size=5] The Meeting Finally Happens![/b][/size] [FONT="Century Gothic"]The meeting finally happened! After I finished watching the show and was about to leave, Jorge Ibañez finally walked in and met me face to face. A sharp dressed man, Jorge was wearing a navy blue Armani suit, at least worth $1500. So there is where the money goes!- I wondered. Without uttering a word, but with a wide smile, he extended his hand, which I immediately shook. "[i]That was a great show! Fantastic, I knew I could count on you! It was one of our best thus far. I am happy with the inclusion of Champagne Lover in the war storyline and where does it all lead? Oh my, the excitement, the drama!"[/i] OOOOOOOOOK...... I thought. I mean, he was way too over excited. Outside of the inclusion of Champagne Lover, I basically kept the same things going, afraid to make any drastic changes until I had discussed them with my new boss. We sat down on the hard steel chairs that the boys sit on backstage and discussed some ideas. He approved of my request to bring in some people from Puerto Rico that I had my eyes on and all in all, it was a very easygoing meeting with practically no discussion at all. Everything I said, he approved, which made me feel uneasy. I made clear to him my desire to turn Jennifer Heat face. It was awkward that our top babyface and mainstream star would be publicly dating a heel. Back in the day, Champagne Lover would have been eaten alive by the agents and the bookers for his disregard for "kayfabe". But he was the biggest star in all of Mexico and something told me that they where afraid to speak their mind and see him leave. I discussed my ideas for how everything would be done and by the spark in the eyes of Ibañez, I knew he loved it. Things soured a little when I mentioned that I wanted a new road agent. The Gatekeeper had a good reputation, but he was not very respected in the locker room and his skills in the proper construction and flow of a match where sub-par. Somehow I managed to convince Ibañez that many of the matches from tonight's broadcast would have been better with another road agent. He agreed to allow me to search for a new road agent and see if we could get someone better. Finally I mentioned the incident with Lucia and Ibañez snapped! I confirmed my suspicions that Champagne Lover held more power than I was let on. Ibañez ranted about Lucia and even demanded me to fire her on the spot. He was afraid of how Champagne Lover would react. I told him that I gave her one last warning, but Ibañez demanded that I went out there and look for a new manager or valet to replace her. It seems Lucia's days where numbered in SOTBPW. The discussion closed with my request of pushing our big event, "Batalla de las Mascaras" (Battle of the Masks) to the third week of January instead of the second, so that I had more time to build up what I had planned. I also convinced him to hold the event on a Saturday instead of a Friday, so that we didn't have any conflicts with the TV tapings and guys having to pull double duty. As I walked out into the night, getting in my brand new car (brand new as in "Ibañez just gave it to me", not as in "really brand new car" ) I could not help but feel that things where being too easy...... Something in the back of my spine tingled and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Too easy.....[/font]

[SalParadise]

This is really good. Good characterization, nice recap format, solid spelling and grammar, the whole package. Get a few shows in, establish some good storylines, and this will be excellent. I've only seen one really good CornellVerse lucha diary, and it came near the end of TEW2007's cycle, so few actually read it. This has potential to be as good as that.

[TEWFan]

[i]OOC: Thanks for the comments guys. I have decided not to open room for predictions until I have all my major storylines set. The first time I will promote a card and allow for predictions will be in time for the big event this month, which means we have this show and one more to go before that.[/i] [b][color=blue][size=6] SOTBPW Lucha Libre TV[/size][/color] - From Auditorio del Estado - Attendance: 2,000 (SELLOUT) - Announcers: Mateo Hidalgo & Eduardo Prieto - Recap by The Masked Luchador exclusively for Total Extreme Wrestling.com[/b] [b][color=blue]Opening Match: Trios Match under Lucha Libre Rules Axxis Jr, Dragon del Arco Iris Jr & Lobo Blanco vs Gonzalo Rubio & The Psycho Circus[/b][/color] Talk about thrown together. Let's see. We have Axxis Jr, a main eventer that they don't seem to have anything for. Lobo Blanco is one of their top young stars and Dragon del Arco is a new guy, from FREEDOM Caribbean Wrestling in Puerto Rico. The heels are the former Dark Magik, Gonzalo Rubio and The Psycho Circus, two young wrestlers from Japan that are not yet over. Their gimmick of psycho clowns is cool. Match was pretty decent. The crowd goes wild for Axxis and the times that Dragon Del Arco is there are pretty good as well. He has some skill and is charismatic, so the fans respond to him. Whenever the heels take over things get boring since neither of them are particularly good workers. Gonzalo works better now that he is not limited to copying Magik's moves. Axxis Jr finishes Reaper Cicero with the Iron Thrust (gutbuster) to win the first fall. Chaos erupts as Cicero rolls outside and Axxis evades a charge from Gonzalo, sending him outside and into Cicero. Then they toss Reaper Dante on top of them both . Then Lobo Blanco flies from the top rope with a double axe handle smash on top of all three. As they get up, Axxis planchas into them! And then to add up, Dragon del Arco gets a no hands spinning tope con hilo! Gonzalo and Dragon del Arco emerge from the chaos first and hit the ring, where Gonzalo quickly gets an inside cradle and holds on to the tights to give the rudos the second fall. The final fall comes with a great finish. Dragon Del Arco was up top, but Gonzalo trips him and prepares to superplex him. Axxis shakes the ropes and Gonzalo gets crotched, then Dragon springs OVER Gonzalo with a great rana on Dante and gets the pinfall. [b]Winners: Axxis Jr, Dragon del Arco Iris Jr & Lobo Blanco (12:36, D+)[/b] [b][color=blue] El Diamante Azul vs Hysteria[/b][/color] I guess this is an off-shoot of last week's trios match. This guys clearly don't click and botch several moves. They are not over either and the fans are lukewarm to see them wrestle. Diamante Azul has a very cool finisher though, The Blue Spear. He stands on the top rope and does a front flip into a missile dropkick! That gets the win. [b]Winner: El Diamante Azul (11:48, E+)[/b] [b][color=blue] Hysteria goes hysterical![/b][/color] Diamante poses for the fans, but Hysteria gets up and plants him with the Darkness Falls! He kicks him a couple of times for good measure and then walks off. Crowd was DEAD for this segment. [b](Rating: E-)[/b] [b][color=blue] Mexican Ghoul/with Mexican Beast vs Verdugo Estupendo/with Pirata Malvado[/b][/color] We get our weekly dose of Redemption vs Alianza with another match between brawlers. Ghoul is a better high flier than Beast, but he still brawls for most of the match in order to better fit Verdugo's style. They do a good job as this match was better than last week's. It is clear that Verdugo is the weak link in the Alianza, since he takes the loss here again, this time he passes out in the Ghoul Touch (Iron Claw). Yes, the Iron Claw is still over in Mexico! What is this? 1984? [b]Winner: Mexican Ghoul (12:33, D+)[/b] [b][color=blue] The son of a legend debuts[/b][/color] Hijo del Mephisto makes his debut here as he walks down to the ring and asks for the microphone. I like the way some kids run to their moms as they see him walk with the red devil mask. Mephisto was legendary in Mexico, possibly the most feared rudo ever. Hijo makes him proud as he cuts a promo insulting Mexicans and calling them cowards, then promises to raise hell and open the doors of hell upon the SOTBPW. He makes an open challenge and none other than Leon Joven walks out to meet it. Mephisto's maniacal laugh and mocking of his opponent was fantastic. [b](Rating: D+)[/b] [b][color=blue] Leon Joven vs Hijo del Mephisto[/b][/color] What is someone as green as Leon doing in a major Mexican promotion? He stinks the joint in this match, in spite of Mephisto controlling most of it. The crowd grows restless with the extended squash and sit on their hands since they know that Leon has no chance in hell. The Satanic Elbow finishes for Mephisto, which is nothing more than a Flying Elbowdrop. It was the trademark from his father and is still a very feared move. [b]Winner: Hijo del Mephisto (9:25, E)[/b] [b][color=blue] This didn't surprise me one bit[/b][/color] As Hijo del Mephisto celebrates, out comes El Demonio and he raises Mephisto's hand. Then he calls for the microphone and introduces Hijo as the new member of La Alianza del Terror. The crowd pelts them with trash and Mephisto just laughs it off. [b](Rating: C-)[/b] [b][color=blue] Rebelde Loco/with Lucia vs Vicente Romero[/b][/color] Another off-shoot of last week's trios contest. This one is a better match in-spite of Rebelde and Vicente being contrasting styles. The finish has Rebelde up top, but Junior Youth runs in and pushes him down behind the ref's back. Vicente locks him in the Mexican Deathlock (Crippler Crossface) as Junior starts mocking Rebelde's fighting attempts. He eventually taps out and Junior comes into the ring. [b]Winner: Vicente Romero (12:45, D-)[/b] [b][color=blue]And guess what?[/b][/color] Rebelde is beaten down by Vicente and Junior. Vicente locks him in the Mexican Death again as Junior slaps Rebelde and taunts him. Crowd is pretty bored with it, until Lobo Blanco and Diamante Azul chase the rudos off. [b](Rating: E+)[/b] [b][color=blue]El Fuerza vs Demon Seed[/b][/color] El Fuerza is a talentless hack, but he is super over based on his muscular physique, natural charisma and mainstream popularity as a soap opera actor and movie actor. He is a good friend of Champagne Lover and it was his idea to bring him into wrestling. After all, if Fuerza could portray a luchador on TV, he could be a luchador....right? It is safe to say that even with Demon's considerable attempts at carrying Fuerza, the match suffered. Yet, Fuerza is smart enough to play to his strengths (posing, looking menacing, playing to the crowd) and Demon was more than willing to pinball around for him. Fuerza finishes with the Bear Hug and the crowd erupts. Still a bad match. [b]Winner: El Fuerza (5:51, D-)[/b] [b][color=blue] I stand by my friend[/b][/color] El Fuerza calls for the mic and the fans cheer in anticipation. Promo was a bit long as he rambled about his long standing friendship with Champagne Lover and how irate he is at the attack he suffered from El Demonio. He wants someone, anyone from the Alianza del Terror to face him on live TV next week. Tijuana Vampire answers the call and makes a piledriver gesture, a reminder of the fate of Del Muerto and you can bet your money that the crowd lost it's temper and wanted to kill him. It seems we have a big match for next week. El Fuerza promises that next week Tijuana Vampire will "sentir la fuerza!" which translates to "Feel the Force!!!!!". Wait...what? Where have I heard that? [b](Rating: C+)[/b] [b][color=blue] "The Priest of Pain" Pablo Rodriguez & Blood Raven vs El Demonio & Pirata Malvado/ with Jennifer Heat[/b][/color] Decent tag team match here, but nothing spectacular. The crowd went wild when Pablo and Demonio face each other. Blood Raven disposes of Pirata and then dives into him, which leaves Pablo and Demonio alone. You can guess how this goes. Heat passes him whatever object it is that he puts on the mask, he headbutts Pablo and covers to win. The crowd wants to riot! And I really mean it, a sweaty fat guy almost jumps (or falls face first) over the railing and trash is thrown everywhere. Even the ref eats a bag of popcorn to the face......wait....here comes Champagne Lover! [b]Winners: El Demonio & Pirata Malvado (16:14, D+)[/b] [b][color=blue] Champagne Lover! Champagne Lover! Champagne Lover![/b][/color] The crowd has a collective orgasm as Champagne Lover hits the ring and pummels Demonio! He is all over him with punches and kicks, Demonio tries to leave, but Champagne pulls him back in and continues the assault. Pirata Malvado has to pull at Champagne's leg to distract him and allow Demonio to escape outside. Champagne Lover looks mighty pissed as the camera fades to black. [b](Rating: B-)[/b] [b]Overall: D+[/b] Decent show, very average with some pretty bad matches and bland segments, but everything that has to do with the Redemption vs Alianza or the new Champagne Lover vs El Demonio battles was gold.

[Karl_Kitsch]

Thank you for writing a good, maybe great, lucha diary.

[TEWFan]

[b][i][size=5][FONT="Century Gothic"]You Are Fired![/size][/b][/i] I guess I should have seen it coming. As I arrived to the arena to tape our third and final TV show before "Batalla de Las Mascaras", Lucia and Jennifer Heat where yelling at each other and Lucia even pushed Jennifer, who proceeded to slap her. Champagne Lover pulled Jennifer back as I arrived at the scene. I did not need to ask to know what happened, so I did not. [i]"Lucia....you are fired"[/i] She stared at me in disbelief, but I did what needed to be done. [i]"But it's true! The only reason she is set to turn and get MY SPOT is because she is bedding Champagne Lover! You are firing me for defending MY SPOT!"[/i] She crossed her arms and made a pout. I shook my head in disbelief at her immaturity. [i]"Just get out of here, or I will have security escort you out"[/i] She turned and left, Champagne Lover nodded in my direction and pulled me aside. [i]"Thanks Armando. This situation was getting unbearable. And thanks for your idea to turn Jennifer, the whole tecnico, rudo thing was making it quite hard for us to go out publicly and my image was taking a hit because of it. I love the storylines you are setting up. Good job.[/i]" Well, at least Champagne was pleased. But his words made me feel even more uneasy. It made me feel like I needed his approval, or at least that he thought that I needed his approval. Mario Heroic approached me and I was forced back into reality. [i]"Hey boss, I just wanted to let you know that I have agreed to take some dates with Coastal Zone Championship Wrestling in the States. I think it is a good move for my career. I hope you don't mind"[/i] I did not. With the whole Alianza vs Redemption & Champagne and friends thing, Heroic was going to get lost in the shuffle anyway. What a waste. He is such a great talent. Likely his dates in CZCW will not in anyway affect his dates in Mexico, so then and there I promised myself to find something to do with him. He was the second most over heel behind Demonio and I HAD to find something for him.....otherwise it would be a crime. And so the third TV taping began.[/font]

[TEWFan]

[b][i][size=5][FONT="Century Gothic"]NO WAY![/b][/i][/size] I knew this was too easy. I knew someway, somehow, things would get complicated. Yes, I could feel it in my spine and it finally happened, ruining a storyline and forcing me to change the main event. El Fuerza, all 6' 6" and 290 pounds of chiseled muscle stood in front of me with a scowl. I was not impressed. Yeah, the guy was big, but he was NOT one of the boys. He was NOT a "real" wrestler. He was just an actor pretending to be a wrestler. But I reminded myself that he was not only our top star's best friend, he was also the second most popular man in the entire roster and possibly in all of lucha libre. In other words, his star power was money. So I had to listen to him. [i] "No way, no way, no way! I am not loosing to Tijuana Vampire, not even if all the members of La Alianza hit the ring to attack me. NO WAY! Don't you get it? I am money. This biceps? They are money. I have the potential to become one of the greatest stars of all time. How am I supposed to do that if I loose to someone who is beneath me in the card? No way!"[/i] I took a huge intake of air and let out a deep, long, sigh. What could I do? Even if I stood my ground and demanded that he lost, I would only get him angry and he would have his way. Jorge Ibañez had given him creative control as a compromise when El Fuerza agreed to try and become a professional wrestler. He had full control of which matches he lost and which matches he won. And there was no way I could do it otherwise. I felt sorry for Tijuana Vampire. [i]"Alright. You are winning the match. Can we at least make it a DQ? So that when El Demonio runs in and attacks you the ref signals for the bell? That would at least save some face for La Alianza.[/i]" El Fuerza pondered it for a minute, turned around and left without answering my question. I followed him from a fair distance and he went over to talk to Champagne Lover. Hmmmm....so HE was the one pulling the strings? From a distance I could not hear his conversation, but I noticed that Lover patted him in the back and nodded. Fuerza walked back to me looked me deep in the eyes, as if trying to intimidate me. [i]"Agreed. DQ finish. Guys beat me up, Champagne makes the save and sets up tomorrow's big show main event. Thanks for being so understanding.[/i]" Like I had a real option. Fuerza went back to his locker and sat down with Vampire and our new road agent, Mateo Iglesias, to plan the match. The Gatekeeper would be the road agent for the openers and lower midcarders and everything midcard or above was Iglesias....that was the deal. I could not restrain myself. I had to know if Champagne was pulling strings behind my back. I marched right up to his face. [i]"What was that all about? Did you asked El Fuerza to change the finish to the match?[/i]" Champagne seemed offended by the question, but he flashed me his soap opera "galan" (handsome actor) smile and shook his head. [i]"Listen Armando, I had nothing to do with that. El Fuerza....he is smarter than you think. He comes with that movie star mentality in which simply losses are not accepted. I had to push him to agree to the DQ finish! I know you don't like it, but understand this.....nobody here really likes him. They just pretend they do because he is my friend and they know my value....and they know that whoever gets to work with him is going to make money. So he walks around with a chip on his shoulder, thinking that everyone is out to get him because they want him out. Give him a break, will ya? And, besides, don't you think that a future match between El Fuerza and Champagne Lover could become the highest drawing match in the history of lucha libre? Think of the money, think of the crowd and think of the legacy such a contest would leave behind?"[/i] Lover patted me in the back and turned around to continue his stretching routine. I smelled bull..... I understood Champagne's point of view and I knew it was half true.....Fuerza felt out of place and threatened. But I also noticed, by those last few words, that Champagne had already planned way ahead of me, way ahead of everyone else. He was planning a future contest that likely was years away, at least until Fuerza became competent enough in the ring. I felt threatened. Was Champagne gunning for my job? I think the discomfort was obvious in my face, because I was stopped by Pablo Rodriguez, oddly, the man I replaced as head booker. [i]"He is right...you know. That match would indeed be quite the event. Don't take it badly, he is just trying to help this business. His idea is indeed a good one and you know that. For all the ego and all the money, Champagne is a good guy. You can trust him."[/i] Another pat in my back as Pablo walked away. Was everyone in league with Champagne? Or was I being simply paranoid? Maybe that was it. Champagne was right. That match would indeed be epic. It was all for the good of lucha libre........ Or was it?[/font]

[TEWFan]

[b][color=blue][FONT="Century Gothic"][size=5]SOTBPW Lucha Libre TV[/color][/size] - From the National Arena in Tijuana - Attendance: 2,000 (SELLOUT) - Announcers: Mateo Hidalgo & Eduardo Prieto - Recap by The Masked Luchador exclusively for Total Extreme Wrestling.com[/b] [b][color=blue]"The Priest of Pain" Pablo Rodriguez vs Demon Seed/with Jennifer Heat[/b][/color] Opening squash here. Seed has a lot of talent, but his lack of overness and crowd reaction means he will be the designated jobber for quite some time. This guys don't click, for they look lost and botch several spots. Yet, this was an entertaining squash as Pablo wins with the Sinner's Salvation. [b]Winner: Pablo Rodriguez (5:56, C-)[/b] [b][color=blue]And this might set up a match for tomorrow[/b][/color] Hijo del Mephisto, Tijuana Vampire and Enrique Merino hit the ring and attack Pablo. They are beating him badly, but Las Pesadillas, Mexican Ghoul and Mexican Beast come in and make the save for the tecnicos. They exchange threats and Pablo calls for the microphone, issuing a challenge for a trios match tomorrow night at "Batalla de Las Mascaras". [b](Rating: D)[/b] [b][color=blue] Champagne Lover! Champagne Lover! Champagne Lover![/b][/color] Guess who shows up to the ring next? Yes, Champagne Lover! And he is looking dead serious with a microphone at hand. He runs down El Demonio and calls him a coward, mentions that he hides behind a mask and hides behind his subjects. He is tired of the waiting game. He knows Demonio wants the Campeon de Mundo title and he is willing to make life easier for Demonio. He tosses the belt down at his feet, like drawing a line, and begs Demonio to come out and take it from him. Crowd goes wild, but Demonio fails to show up. Champagne says that he should have known better, that Demonio would not dare to face him by the front, so he turns his back and begs Demonio to come out and hit him, but once more, Demonio stays behind. Champagne then says that tomorrow night we have "Batalla de Las Mascaras" and he challenges Demonio to a one on one match and puts the title on the line to sweeten the deal. He leaves, but makes it clear that he will be waiting for an answer. [b](Rating: B+)[/b] [b][color=blue] Las Pesadillas vs The Psycho Circus[/b][/color] Las Pesadillas are Mexican Beast and Mexican Ghoul. The circus you know as Reaper's Cicero and Dante. Crowd craps on the match and it does not help that the Circus work so bad! Match is sluggish and features plenty of blown spots. Mexican Beast ends the murder with the Beast Backbreaker on Cicero. [b]Winners: Las Pesadillas (6:09, E+)[/b] [b][color=blue] Velocidad vs Enrique Merino/with Jennifer Heat[/b][/color] Another styles clash, but Velocidad seems to be getting decently over based on his quickness and hyperactive attitude. He gets some decent offense in this match and uses his speed advantage to run circles around the rudo. But La Alianza (outside of Verdugo Estupendo) are unstoppable and Merino puts Velocidad away with some assistance from Jennifer Heat. [b]Winner: Enrique Merino (11:22, D)[/b] [b][color=blue] El Diamante Azul & Rebelde Loco vs Hysteria & Junior Youth[/b][/color] I like the continuity here as this stems from last week, when Hysteria lost to Diamante and then attacked him, while the Junior Youth/Rebelde Loco feud continues. Once more the story of the match is Junior Youth ducking out every time Rebelde comes into the ring. Crowd seems a little bit tired of the feud already though. Eventually Youth abandons his partner to hide from Rebelde and Rebelde finishes Hysteria with a Sky Twister Press. [b]Winners: El Diamante Azul & Rebelde Loco (8:24, D-)[/b] [b][color=blue] And more matches are added to the card[/b][/color] Rebelde Loco calls for the microphone and God, he talks very badly. No skill at all. Yet, he informs the fans that he asked the Mexican Lucha Libre Commission for a one on one match with Junior Youth tomorrow night at "Batalla de Las Mascaras" and that the match has been granted. Not only that, but the match will be for "apuestas" or bets. [b]Mask vs Hair![/b] [b](Rating: D-)[/b] [b][color=blue] Leon Joven vs El Demonio/with Jennifer Heat[/b][/color] Raise your hand if you think Leon has a shot. He gets some bland, token jobber offense and then falls prey to the loaded headbutt of doom. It seems the new booker realized how useless Leon is and is giving him nothing. We get no answer from Demonio though, which means we will see him again tonight. [b]Winner: El Demonio (9:23, D+)[/b] [b][color=blue] "The Iron Luchador" Axxis Jr vs "The Grunge Rocker" Nomad[/b][/color] SQUASH CITY! Which I heard was what you found when you took the dreaded left turn at Albuquerque. The Iron Thrust finishes Nomad in quick fashion. The announcers speculate at which side of the war does Axxis Jr stand. This might lead to something. Good squash. [b]Winner: Axxis Jr (6:07, C)[/b] [b][color=blue]Trios Match: Lucha Libre Rules Lobo Blanco, Dragon Del Arco Iris Jr & The Cannonball Kid vs Mario Heroic, Tigre Salvaje Jr & Vicente Romero[/b][/color] And we get the "random pairings" match of the week. The new guy in the heel side is from Puerto Rico's FCW as well and it seems like he is bringing his grudge with Dragon del Arco over to Mexico as well. The action spills outside with the typical "everybody makes a suicide dive!" sequence. Lobo Blanco wins the first fall for the babyfaces with a surprise Victory Roll on Tigre Salvaje. Second fall goes to the rudos as Vicente Romero locks Dragon del Arco in the crossface and gets some illegal assistance from Tigre Salvaje behind the ref's back. Dragon taps. Final fall turns into a chaotic mess with all six men in at once ignoring the already confusing "tag" rules that Mexican Lucha Libre employs. Among the chaos, Mario Heroic CHEATS TO WIN with a low blow field goal kick on Cannonball Kid and then covers him to win the match for the rudos. He gets lots of heat as he mocks Cannonball's pain. [b]Winners: Mario Heroic, Tigre Salvaje Jr & Vicente Romero (13:23, D+)[/b] [b][color=blue]Feel The "Fuerza"!!![/b][/color] El Fuerza's biceps cut a promo backstage about his upcoming match with Tijuana Vampire. He mentions his friendship with Champagne Lover and how much he despises the vile, cheating rudos. He promises to squash Tijuana Vampire between his arms and to make him feel the force!! Granted, he said feel "La Fuerza", but it's the same thing. That's how he calls his bear hug. He cuts very good promos. If only he could wrestle half as good.... [b](Rating: C)[/b] [b][color=blue] El Fuerza/with his massive biceps vs Tijuana Vampire/with Jennifer Heat[/b][/color] Match is pretty suckish, but the crowd loves El Fuerza and cheer him wildly...and of course, they despise Vampire. Vampire gets very good offense on Fuerza, but Fuerza's bad selling and limited skill hurt the contest. You could say that Vampire was working with a broomstick, if the broomstick was 290 pounds and had massive biceps. Did I mention the massive biceps? You can guess how this goes. Fuerza makes the superman comeback, locks Tijuana Vampire in "La Fuerza" Bear Hug and the rest of La Alianza hit the ring for the DQ. [b]Winner: El Fuerza (13:45, D+)[/b] [b][color=blue] Champagne Lover!(again) Champagne Lover!(again) Champagne Lover!(again)[/b][/color] El Demonio, Tijuana Vampire, Enrique Merino, Pirata Malvado and Hijo del Mephisto (what? No Verdugo?) hit the ring and start to beat Fuerza down. They have some trouble keeping the Mexican Superman down, but a well placed low blow does the trick. Demonio then loads the mask and headbutts Fuerza for good measure. He calls for a chair and the crowd is about to riot because they know what's coming. They set it up and prepare to spike Fuerza on it, but Champagne Lover hits the ring with a chair of his own! He cleans house as "Redemption" hits the ring also to prevent any further attacks. As we fade to black, the last thing we hear is Demonio's terrible voice saying "Si", the Spanish word for yes, an apparent confirmation that he accepts Champagne Lover's challenge! [b](Rating: C)[/b] [b]Overall Rating: D+[/b] Good show in terms of angle advancement, but the matches have suffered badly and they need to do something to remedy the situation.[/font]

[TrekkieMonsta]

Good write ups I must say, short, sweet and to the point. Good luck with this, I'll be reading :).

[TEWFan]

[b][i][FONT="Century Gothic"][size=5] And we are on PPV![/b][/i][/size] Jorge Ibañez showed up after the show was taped. He had a beaming smile on his face, in spite of the look of disappointment in mine. [i]"What is wrong my friend? You look frustrated.....tired of the job already?"[/i] I did not really know how to answer. Not tired. But I felt like things where beyond my control. And the last couple of shows had been sub-par. [i]"Not tired. It's just that the last couple of TV shows have failed to be up to par. Decent at best. Which means we are barely keeping our popularity, but not gaining any new fans."[/i] Jorge's smile dissipated for an instant and he stared me down, seemed to be studying me. Like to see if I had what it took....or maybe second guessing his idea to give me this job. But the smile soon came back. [i]"Then I have news for you. We are on Pay-Per-View! I just signed a deal with Rivera PPV Broadcasting to show all of our big events on PPV, starting with tomorrow's Batalla de las Mascaras. However, it also means that they are expecting one PPV event each month, which means that we need to hold more big events beyond the 3 classic shows we usually hold."[/i] Jorge was ecstatic, I could tell. But the news hit me differently. PPV? One big event every single month? Can we actually pull that off? Is four TV shows enough time to build a quality PPV-worthy event? I mean, I had three weeks to build up Batallla de las Mascaras, but the reality is that I just added to the things that where already in motion. Outside of the newcomers, I practically came up with zero new ideas. How would I fair as time went on? As La Alianza vs Redemption and Champagne came to a close and I had to come up with my own unique idea to keep the momentum going? However, I could not back down, not now. I smiled and pretended to feel as happy as Jorge was. [i]"Then we are going to make sure that Batalla de Las Mascaras lives up to expectations".[/i] I hope. [b][size=5] Final Card for Batalla de Las Mascaras[/size] Campeon de Mundo SOTBPW: Champagne Lover (c) vs El Demonio Trios Match under Lucha Libre Rules: "The Priest of Pain" Pablo Rodriguez & Las Pesadillas(Mexican Ghoul & Mexican Beast) vs Hijo del Mephisto & Los Sickness(Enrique Merino & Tijuana Vampire) Tag Team Match: Blood Raven & Axxis Jr vs Pirata Malvado & Verdugo Estupendo Lucha de Apuestas: Mask vs Hair under Lucha Libre Rules Rebelde Loco vs Junior Youth Tag Team Match: Velocidad & Dragon Del Arco Iris Jr vs Vicente Romero & Tigre Salvaje Jr Plus: Appearances by El Fuerza, Mario Heroic and El Diamante Azul![/b] [i]OOC: Now you can leave predictions! Including possible opponents for the guys without opponents. I don't know what I can give to the winner, but I will come up with something.[/i][/font]

[BigDPW]

[QUOTE]Campeon de Mundo SOTBPW: [B]Champagne Lover (c)[/B] vs El Demonio Trios Match under Lucha Libre Rules: [B]"The Priest of Pain" Pablo Rodriguez & Las Pesadillas(Mexican Ghoul & Mexican Beast)[/B] vs Hijo del Mephisto & Los Sickness(Enrique Merino & Tijuana Vampire) Tag Team Match: [B]Blood Raven & Axxis Jr[/B] vs Pirata Malvado & Verdugo Estupendo Lucha de Apuestas: Mask vs Hair under Lucha Libre Rules Rebelde Loco vs [B]Junior Youth[/B] Tag Team Match: Velocidad & Dragon Del Arco Iris Jr vs [B]Vicente Romero & Tigre Salvaje Jr[/B][/QUOTE] I am really enjoying this...

[TrekkieMonsta]

Campeon de Mundo SOTBPW: [B]Champagne Lover (c)[/B] vs El Demonio Trios Match under Lucha Libre Rules: [B]"The Priest of Pain" Pablo Rodriguez & Las Pesadillas(Mexican Ghoul & Mexican Beast)[/B] vs Hijo del Mephisto & Los Sickness(Enrique Merino & Tijuana Vampire) Tag Team Match: Blood Raven & Axxis Jr vs [B]Pirata Malvado & Verdugo Estupendo[/B] Lucha de Apuestas: Mask vs Hair under Lucha Libre Rules [B]Rebelde Loco[/B] vs Junior Youth Tag Team Match: Velocidad & Dragon Del Arco Iris Jr vs [B]Vicente Romero & Tigre Salvaje Jr[/B] Push Pirata to the moon I say!

[TEWFan]

[b][color=blue][size=5][FONT="Century Gothic"]SOTBPW Batalla de Las Mascaras[/color][/size] - From the National Arena in Tijuana - Attendance: 2,000 (SELLOUT) - Announcers: Mateo Hidalgo & Eduardo Prieto - Recap by The Masked Luchador exclusively for Total Extreme Wrestling.com [/b] *UPDATE* I want to thank TotalExtremeWrestling.com visitor [b]TrekkieMonsta[/b] for the report on the pre-PPV dark matches. Here is what he had to say: [b][color=blue]Dark Match: Lobo Blanco vs Reaper Cicero[/b][/color] Decent match to get the crowd going. They clicked really well and this might be the best match in the lucha libre career of Reaper Cicero thus far. Lobo Blanco got the win with The Wolf-Trap (Reverse Figure Four). [b]Winner: Lobo Blanco (7:36, D)[/b] [b][color=blue]Dark Match: Leon Joven vs Hysteria[/b][/color] I don't know whose bright idea this was. Leon is a pretty bland worker and Hysteria has been stuck in limbo so long that people don't care about him. They might have gone a minute too long here. Hysteria wins with the Darkness Falls. [b]Winner: Hysteria (7:34, E+)[/b] On to the main show then, South of the Border Pro Wrestling's PPV debut. Granted, it is on Rivera Broadcasting, the smallest PPV company in Mexico, but at least they can brag about having PPV, something the other two companies cannot. [b][color=blue]Opening Match: Axxis Jr & Blood Raven vs Pirata Malvado & Verdugo Estupendo[/b][/color] This is an extension of the Redemption vs Alianza feud, with Raven being a part of Redemption and Axxis Jr, in spite of being a beloved tecnico and main eventer, is a wild card in all of this since he has never stated whose side is he on. Standard rules here, which means one fall to a finish. They might be trying to push Pirata, since he is in the ring most of the time for the rudos. Of course, it could be that Verdugo just sucks. The finish comes after Verdugo is tossed outside, Axxis nails Pirata with the Iron Thrust and then allows Raven to come of the top with the "Volando desde el nido" (roughly translates to "Flight from the Raven's Nest) for the pinfall win. Raven's finisher was a Frog Splash. The announcers hint that Raven should be able to challenge for the Campeon de Menor title, having a pinfall win over the champ. [b]Winners: Axxis Jr & Blood Raven (15:36, C-)[/b] [b][color=blue]Lucha de Apuestas: Mask vs Hair under Lucha Libre Rules Rebelde Loco (mask) vs Junior Youth (hair)[/b][/color] It is a testament to how much this feud has bombed that it is the second match on the card. I think "bombed" is not the right word, but it has gone too long, from the time Youth turned to the time they hold this match, it has been almost nine months. Crowd does buy every near fall. Youth steals the first fall when Loco gets a Crossbody and he reverses the move while holding on to the tights. He makes the mistake of posing far too long and Loco recovers and gets a quick rana for the second fall. I wonder...why in lucha libre, almost 99% of the time, when the heel wins the first fall he quickly looses the second fall because he posed too much? Do they ever learn? The third fall is the longest of the match and both men get plenty of near falls. At one point Hysteria walks out to a chorus of boo's and stands at ringside. Youth immediately asks him for help, but Hysteria just stands there. Youth seems frustrated at this. During a roll-up, Youth asks for Hysteria's hand, so that he can stay on top, but help is not forthcoming. Just as suddenly as he appeared, Hysteria walks to the back, which distracts Junior Youth. He turns straight into a spinkick from Loco, who then climbs to the top and nails a Sky Twister Press for the third and final fall! Youth is enraged banging the mat with his fist and he is almost in tears! He tries to escape, but Loco gives chase and sends him back into the ring, where security holds him down as Loco shaves his head. [b]Winner: Rebelde Loco (14:37, D-)[/b] [b][color=blue] Velocidad & Dragon del Arco Iris Jr vs Vicente Romero & Tigre Salvaje Jr[/b][/color] Once more, this is standard rules and one fall to the finish. Dragon and Tigre continue their personal vendetta that comes all the way from FCW, so they are the first ones to do battle and have a nice sequence of those flippy floppy lucha stuff. When Vicente and Velocidad come in, their styles clash a bit, but they perform OK. Velocidad makes such a great punching bag because of his size and Romero acts like a true rudo and just pretzels Velocidad with holds, while cheating, of course. Velocidad gets the spot of the night thus far: With the three other men outside, he gets a no-hands somersault plancha over the top and into the pack. However, it is Velocidad who takes the loss when he taps to the Mexican Death from Vicente Romero while Dragon and Tigre where fighting outside. [b]Winners: Vicente Romero & Tigre Salvaje Jr (13:21, D)[/b] [b][color=blue] I know he is a rudo, but he said the truth[/b][/color] Mario Heroic walks out to a chorus of boo's, although we get the typical rudo corner of the arena where he is cheered wildly. He calls for a microphone and waits for the boo birds to die down. He cuts a very good promo and I am going to try and recap the most interesting bits. [i]"Here I am, one of the greatest stars in all of Mexican Lucha Libre and I am standing in the middle of the ring, live on PPV.....without an opponent. I have to ask why. I would say that I am so good that nobody wants to face me and it might be true, but I am dying for some competition. Where are my title shots? Where are my magazine covers? Where are my headlining stories? There are none! None because everyone is talking about La Alianza del Terror, about Redemption, about Champagne Lover and that muscle freak friend of his. And yet here I stand, a true superstar, a true diamond, ignored. Not anymore! I demand competition! I demand title shots! I demand all the perks that come with the job, perks I deserve. Maybe I don't have any because I stand alone. That is about to change. I am calling out anyone in the back that wants a piece of me. Anyone that wants to make a name for themselves by saying "I pinned Mario Heroic". Come out and give me the competition I deserve! Come out and be beaten by the one and only real superstar in Lucha Libre today."[/i] Well, he called himself a diamond and someone must have thought it was gimmick infringement because out comes Diamante Azul to answer the challenge. [b](Rating: C)[/b] [b][color=blue] El Diamante Azul vs Mario Heroic[/b][/color] Rock solid match here as this two show some great chemistry. For a rudo, Heroic has quite the following since the crowd is about 60/40 Diamante, when it usually is 90/10 to the tecnico. By the way, Coastal Zone Championship Wrestling recently announced that Mario Heroic will be working for them, so if you live close to a CZCW event, I would suggest you check him out live. He is definitively a great performer. Heroic makes Diamante look really good out here as both men get roughly the same amount of offense. Heroic picks up the win cleanly (which is odd for a rudo) with the Hero Attack (Animalistic Spear). [b]Winner: Mario Heroic (15:28, C-)[/b] [b][color=blue] For the redemption of a tainted soul[/b][/color] Backstage as "The Priest of Pain" Pablo Rodriguez is seen psyching up Las Pesadillas. Wow, Pablo should be a preacher in real life. I mean, he is talking about the cleansing of a tainted soul and how by facing their sins, Las Pesadillas will find the way to redemption. Tonight they face three sinners, three evil incarnates who seek to destroy them, tonight Las Pesadillas travel to the purgatory, but they will come out unscathed. For they have repented from their sins and they have accepted the light as truth. [b](Rating: C-)[/b] [b][color=blue]Trios Match: Lucha Libre Rules Pablo Rodriguez, Mexican Beast & Mexican Ghoul vs Hijo del Mephisto, Enrique Merino & Tijuana Vampire[/b][/color] The first few minutes are chaotic as all six men seem to fight with complete disregard for tag rules. An explanation: In lucha libre tag rules are rarely enforced, there is no "tagging" per se....a wrestler can just walk to his corner and another one comes in and that is considered a tag. Or he can roll out of the ring at anytime and anyone can come in and replace him. So basically anyone can be legal at any time. Things finally settle down about eight minutes in with Beast and Vampire slugging it out, which is odd for Mexican lucha libre. The first fall goes to the faces as Pablo Rodriguez puts down Enrique Merino with the Sinner's Salvation. Hijo del Mephisto comes in and works with Pablo for quite some time and you can tell that Hijo has talent and a good look. But his father is a true legend and that will be hard to emulate. Second fall goes to the rudos as Ghoul locks the Ghoul Touch on Hijo del Mephisto, but Tijuana Vampire distracts the ref as Enrique Merino tackles Ghoul from behind and covers while using the ropes. As the third fall begins, chaos erupts just like at the beginning of the match. Amidst the chaos, Mexican Beast catches Hijo del Mephisto with the Beast Backbreaker and wins the match for the tecnicos. [b]Winners: Pablo Rodriguez, Mexican Ghoul & Mexican Beast (15:56, C-)[/b] [b][color=blue] El Fuerza predicts the main event's outcome[/b][/color] El Fuerza cuts a promo backstage. First, he promises to make that "grunge rocker" Nomad pass out in La Fuerza. Nomad will feel the force! He also says that Champagne Lover will walk into the ring as the champion and he will walk out as the champion because he is the best "luchador" in all the world. He mentions that Champagne is his best friend blah blah blah. Man, gay love is in the air! However, there is something about him that gets the crowd going. [b](Rating: B)[/b] [b][color=blue] El Fuerza/with massive biceps vs "The Grunge Rocker" Nomad[/b][/color] Shoulder block, pose, shoulder block, pose. That's the first minute of the match. Fuerza just manhandles Nomad, who pinballs around in order to make him look credible. It is clear that El Fuerza has "it" and even with limited skills, he can be a HUGE star. It's like a latin american Jim Force! Nomad passes out in "La Fuerza" Bearhug. [b]Winner: El Fuerza (5:54, D)[/b] [b][color=blue] Epic Hype[/b][/color] We get a neat, six minute long video package detailing the feud between Champagne Lover and El Demonio. Of course, since the feud has been short, they show what La Alianza did to Del Muerto in order to get the crowd red hot and then they show Champagne in a heroic light, as the salvation of SOTBPW. [b](Rating: B)[/b] [b][color=blue] Champagne Lover talks![/b][/color] Now we go backstage with Champagne Lover. The ladies just pass out at the sight of him and you can tell there is a vocal minority that boo's him. Champagne says that he became a target. La Alianza wanted him, they wanted to end him. So he had three options. He could have ran away and hid, but he is no coward. He could have waited until the fateful day when La Alianza would have come for him en masse and ended his career, but he could not let that happen. So he did what he had to do, he decided to fight back and he decided to go straight for the head. He wanted a match with El Demonio badly, so he could prove that he was superior, so he could end the threat before it began. However, he knew El Demonio would refuse to face him. He had to lure him and he tossed the title out there as bait. Tonight is not about the title. Tonight is not about the glory of Champagne Lover. Tonight is not about pleasing the crowd and his millions of fans. Tonight is about survival, about his career, about his very existence. They call him a dead man walking, but he calls himself a pissed off dead man walking! He walks off looking mighty intense! [b](Rating: A)[/b] [i](OOC: THANK YOU CHAMPAGE LOVER!)[/I] [B][COLOR=blue]Campeon de Mundo SOTBPW: Lucha Libre Rules Champagne Lover (c) vs El Demonio/with Jennifer Heat[/b][/color] Well, this is Jennifer's first appearance tonight, which might hint at something. Crowd is BALLISTIC for this match and they literally scream after every blow. Both luchadores spend almost ten minutes of back and forth action without any clear winner. It is also of important notice that El Demonio is wearing a horned mask tonight that makes him look a tidy bit like the Original Mephisto. Champagne Lover goes for the Love Stunner, but Demonio counters out and shoves Champagne into the ropes. Belly to Belly Suplex! He hooks the leg (and puts both feet in the ropes) and El Demonio wins the first fall at roughly 13 minutes of action. Second fall begins with Demonio mocking and taunting Champagne. Crowd is a little bit dead after Demonio won the first fall, but they cheer wildly as soon as Lover makes the comeback. Unable to stop Champagne, El Demonio rolls outside and demands the object that he usually puts on his mask from Jennifer Heat....but Heat refuses! Champagne attacks him from behind and rolls him back into the ring as Jennifer CLAPS FOR HIM! As Champagne gets back in, Demonio ambushes him and gives him a hard low blow. COVER 1-2.......CHAMPAGNE KICKS OUT! Demonio rolls outside again and grabs Jennifer by the hair, forcefully taking the object from her and then shoves her down! Back in the ring and Demonio tries to headbutt Champagne, but he blocks the blown with his arm! LOVE STUNNER! 1....2......3!!! Champagne wins fall two! Fall three begins with a huge brawl, they just pepper each other with stiff punches and go to the outside. Demonio ambushes Champagne to take control as he comes back in. Jennifer Heat is seen rooting for Champagne. Champagne tries another love stunner, but Demonio shoves him into the ropes and literally charges at him with a headbutt!! Champagne is down and out! Cover...1....2....3. And just like that we have a new Campeon de Mundo! Jennifer Heat gets on the apron and tries to tell the ref about the object in Demonio's mask, but Demonio pulls her in by the hair as the rest of La Alianza del Terror rush the ring. [b]Winner AND NEW CAMPEON DE MUNDO: El Demonio (20:56, C+)[/b] [b][color=blue] I bet women would be happy about that[/b][/color] La Alianza beats down Champagne and they pull out a set of handcuffs. They cuff him to the corner and take turns kicking at him. Hijo del Mephisto tosses chairs into the ring and La Alianza surround the ring, forming a wall to protect Demonio from anyone trying to rescue Champagne. But Champagne is not the target! Demonio tosses a chair in the middle of the ring, pulls Jennifer Heat by the hair and....Jennifer slaps him twice, so Demonio gives her a devastating lariat! He pulls the limp body of Jennifer Heat and prepares to spike her into the chair with a piledriver as Champagne Lover looks on horrified, pulling with all his might and trying to free himself from the handcuffs. The first badge of tecnicos hit the ring and are immediately pummeled down by the chair wielding rudos. [b](Rating: D+)[/b] [b][color=blue] Here comes the cavalry[/b][/color] Before he can spike her though, Pablo Rodriguez, Axxis Jr and the rest of Redemption hit the ring. They are having problems fending off the rudos, but El Fuerza comes out next! He shrugs off a chairshot from Pirata Malvado and drills him with a clothesline that almost takes his head off. Demonio releases Jennifer and picks up the chair to try and defend himself, but he is badly outnumbered and opts to run away instead, posing with his newly won title belt as the show comes to a close. [b](Rating: C+)[/b] [b]Overall Rating: C+[/b] Not a bad PPV by any means and the storylines are just heating up. I am still surprised by Champagne's lost of the title, but outside of that, things are definitively looking up.[/font]

[Irish Wolf]

A really good few shows and a nice PPV it's good to see a Lucha Libre diary that's actually working.

[TEWFan]

[FONT="Century Gothic"][b][size=5] More backstage drama[/b][/size] The PPV went off great. The angle generated a lot of heat and finally we can have Champagne and Heat together on screen (or out in the real world) without any questioning due to the tecnico/rudo dinamic. I was talking on the phone with Jorge Ibañez when I heard some shouting from the locker. It was Junior Youth and Axxis Jr. Junior was getting his head shaved fully after the messy haircut he got on air and apparently Axxis passed by and laughed. Junior took offense and shoved Axxis, which led to a shouting match and an almost physical confrontation. Junior looked like a fool because Axxis WAS ON THE PHONE and he was laughing at his little baby girl! I had to pull Junior aside and talk to him, like a father would do to a son, about how he needs to watch his temper. Junior felt foolish and apologized, then promised me that it would not happen again. I understood his reaction. Junior is a good looking kid and now with his head shaved he looks like a total tool. The goggles he wears during his matches looked nice and enhanced his look when he had blond hair, but now with his head shaved he looks really, really foolish. Then came more bad news. Champagne Lover approached me, still showing some red in his chest from the stiffness of his last match. [i]"Hey boss. Just wanted to let you know that I am going on tour to Japan with Golden Canvas Grappling. But don't worry, I will be available Fridays to work the TV show.[/i] Great. With him being free to come and work the TV Show and possibly the big events, things didn't look bad at all. But for some reason I could not understand, some little voice in my head told me that this was the beginning of the end. I shook my head and dismissed those thoughts. I had a meeting to attend to, a meeting with Mario Heroic, Vicente Romero, Junior Youth, Gonzalo Rubio, Hysteria, Dragon del Arco Iris Jr, Tigre Salvaje Jr, Rebelde Loco, Lobo Blanco and El Diamante Azul regarding something I have in mind. I found something for Mario Heroic to do.[/font]

[BigDPW]

I hope that this one continues! I miss reading it...

[TEWFan]

It will continue very soon. I have been too busy this week and by the time I get home I am too tired to sit down and write. But I will have some time off this weekend and hope to get a couple of shows up.