CMLL Roundup: New president Sofia Alonso, Dragon Lee engaged, more!

Welcome to the CMLL Roundup. Let’s get caught up on major moments. Sofia Alonso has become the new president for the company, Dragon Lee got engaged and also participated in a barn burner with Rush against the Briscoes in ROH, and there was an action-packed week in the CMLL ring.

Sofia Alonso, CMLL president

After the unfortunate death of Paco Alonso, Sofia Alonso will follow in her father’s footsteps to become president of CMLL.

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Sofia gave her first public interview on CMLL Informa hours after her father was laid to rest. She stated that her plan going forward was not to force a new stage in the company’s life nor make radical changes. She aims to conserve the legacy of her father and continue to develop CMLL in a prudent manner.

Sofia worked as commercial director from CMLL. She wasn’t just there as work. She was there, because she has passion for lucha libre in her heart. Sofia said she paid the heaviest price to become CMLL president by losing her father. Failure is not an option.

The 28-year old Sofia Alonso now joins Marisela Peña of AAA as the most powerful women in lucha libre. It will be interesting to see how CMLL evolves under Sofia’s watch.

To learn a little more about Paco Alonso, check out Chris Jericho’s podcast episode, “La Historia de Paco Alonso y Corazon de Leon,” of Talk is Jericho. Jericho talks about how he himself got started in Mexico, his original lucha libre name being determined by newspaper vote, Paco Alonso giving him the name Corazón de León, using Jose Sanchez as his alias for bus tickets, and Alonso having a secret staircase in his office to sneak out when angry luchadores were looking for him. Jericho is a great storyteller and makes the hour quite enjoyable, even if you don’t know much about lucha libre or Paco Alonso.

Dragon Lee is engaged

Dragon Lee has had a busy summer so far. He defended his King of Indies crown to become a two-time winner. Lee’s path to victory included wins over Laredo Kid in the first round, Jonathan Gresham in the semifinals, and Jake Atlas in the finals.

Dragon Lee took the opportunity to run up the stone stairs in Philadelphia that Rocky Balboa made famous. He was joined by his brother, Rush.

Dragon Lee is also scheduled to compete in NJPW’s Super J Cup at the end of August.

The best part of the summer for Dragon Lee is that he got engaged to be married.

Congratulations to the happy couple. No doubt their dog Hachi was thrilled to hear the news.

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Match of the Week: Rush & Dragon Lee vs The Briscoes in ROH

The pick for ‘Match of the Week’ may not necessarily be the best bout, but it will be one I think has value and will be enjoyable if you only consume one CMLL contest from the week’s offerings.

I’m going to cheat this week and pick a bout that occurred with CMLL’s partner, Ring of Honor. Rush and Dragon Lee wrestled Jay & Mark Briscoe in a battle of brothers at ROH’s Best in the World. The match was so good that it is worth breaking the ‘Match of the Week’ rules. The uncensored bout is available for free on ROH’s website (here). Definitely check it out.

The match had great energy and a raucous crowd. It began with an intense staredown before Rush suckerpunched Jay before the bell. Highlights include the Briscoes catching Lee’s suicide dive and turning it into a double suplex on the floor, a step-up senton off a chair by Mark, fancy feet from Dragon Lee, a powerbomb to leg drop teamwork combo by the Briscoes, a step-up cannonball off a chair by Mark over the ropes to the outside, a flying frog elbow drop by Mark, a reverse hurricanrana by Lee, a rolling Spicolli Driver by Jay, and a German suplex by Rush.

For the finish, Mark slammed Rush on a ura-nage. Jay tried a Jay Driller, but Rush escaped and nailed him with a superkick. Rush followed up with a belly-to-belly overhead suplex into the corner. Lee attacked Mark with a super amazing leaping hurricana off the apron. Rush focused on Jay and won the bout after his patented running dropkick in the corner.

Damn fine match.

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Spotlight of the Week: Seductora

The ‘Spotlight of the Week’ will feature a luchador that isn’t in the main scene. This week’s pick is Seductora. With a name like that, how could I not be intrigued? She competed in trios action with Amapola and Reyna Isis against Jarochita, Mystique, and Maligna. The bout went down on the Tuesday show (starting at 21:30).

Seductora is a 26 year veteran from Chilachapa, Guerrero. She was officially unmasked on August 1, 2014 in tag action with Princesa Blanca as her partner against Marcela and Princesa Sugehit.

Hahaha. Seductora came out in a nun’s outfit then ripped off her skirt to reveal lingerie bottoms.

Seductora didn’t do much in Fall 1. She hit a big boot but was also caught in a rolling roll-up by Mystique to get pinned. Seductora got payback in Fall 2 by stepping on Mystique’s crotch as she was hung up in the corner. Seductora submitted Maligna with a step-over armlock. In Fall 3, she was tossing luchadoras around by their hair and had a nifty tumbling armlock.

Here is Seductora on the right celebrating victory with her ruda teammates.

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I guess Seductora is not big in the moves department, but she appeared to have some skills on the mat. I’m left with a feeling of indifference. There was nothing bad about her, just that nothing stood out as memorable.

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CMLL action in the ring

Let’s go over some storylines and other big matches from the week. The shows from Monday, Tuesday, and Friday can all be viewed on CMLL’s YouTube channel.

Monday from Puebla (July 22, 2019)

Mexican National Welterweight Championship: Soberano Jr. vs Negro Casas

Soberano Jr. came in as champ, while Negro Casas was the challenger for this Mexican National Welterweight Championship bout. Soberano was seconded by Stuka Jr. Negro Casas was accompanied by Perico Zakarías and seconded by Dalys.

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The top move for Fall 1 was a suicide dive from Soberano. He won with a super arm drag. Casas worked the arm during Fall 2, even going so far as to blatantly bite Soberano’s fingers. Casas evened the score via arm/shoulder submission.

Fall 3 had most of the action. Highlights include a Fosbury Flop by Soberano, Casas choking Soberano on the floor with a camera cord, a DDT by Casas on the apron, and a flying back splash by Casas. Soberano turned the tide with a scoop powerslam but missed on a swanton. Casas attempted la casita pin, however, Soberano escaped, kicked him in the gut and crushed him with a pinning powerbomb. Soberano’s 808-day title reign continues.

In the women’s division, Marcela and Metalica appear to be feuding again. In tag team action, Metalica and Dalys defeated Marcela and Skadi. For the deciding fall, Metalica used the ropes on a roll-up to win. There was no mic work afterward, but the two will fight in a lightning match on Monday, July 29. It will be interesting to see if this feud plays out the same as last time when Metalica pinned Marcela in a trios match, beat her again in a lightning match, then lost in a title bout.

Tuesday from Mexico City (July 23, 2019)

CMLL World Tag Team Championship feud

In the trios main event of the Tuesday show, Angel de Oro, Niebla Roja, and Stuka Jr. defeated Gran Guerrero, Euphoria, and El Terrible in a 2-0 sweep. Afterward, the Chavez brothers demanded a tag team title shot from Los Laguneros. Gran Guerrero said they are fighting champs, so they accept. Niebla tried to rush it for tonight. Euphoria countered with a mask vs hair challenge. The brothers Chavez chickened out by motioning that they want the championships, not a hair vs mask bout. The Laguneros charged them with shoulder blocks then exited the ring.

That championship bout is set for Tuesday, July 30. Gran Guerrero and Euphoria will put their CMLL World Tag Team Championships on the line against Angel de Oro and Niebla Roja. I’ll be rooting for Los Laguneros to retain. The brothers Chavez are dorks.

Friday from Mexico City (July 26, 2019)

In the trios main event of Friday’s show, Los Dinamita defeated Caristico, Volador Jr., and Mistico in a match where masks were torn to shreds. For the finish, Forastero took off his own mask, tossed into the hands of Volador, then faked out the referee to get a disqualification victory. Volador got on the mic to issue a challenge for the Mexican National Trios Championships. Forastero said he is not interested. As champs, they make the rules. Cuatrero set up a regular rematch for August 2. They can talk about a title shot later.

The feud between Ultimo Guerrero and Ciber The Main Man continued in trios action. Guerrero partnered with Negro Casas and Rey Bucanero, while Ciber had Rush and La Bestia del Ring on his side. For the finish, Guerrero sitdown powerbombed Rush, but Ciber pulled the referee out of the ring during the three count. Ciber gave Guerrero a swift kick to the cojones.

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The ref missed it and counted the win on Rush’s pin.

The funniest moment of the week took place during Friday’s second bout of the evening. Check out this photo of a hilarious pin attempt.

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Their pyramid must have been structurally unsound, since the guys on the bottom kicked out.

Friday’s show for August 2 is stacked. Not only will there be the previously mentioned rematch in the main event, Ultimo Guerrero and Ciber go at it again in trios action, Dragon Lee wrestles Gran Guerrero in a lightning match, and the women compete in phase one to become the Amazon of the Universe. Participants for phase one include: Marcela, Amapola, Metalica, Tiffany, Sanely, Infernal, Maligna, La Guerrera, Seductora, and Avispa Dorada.

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CMLL had a decent week to set up some interesting feuds. I like that Los Dinamita seem to be getting a push into recent main events. Their cohesiveness and teamwork maneuvers have made them one of my favorite trios teams in lucha libre. Los Dinamita versus El Poder del Norte from AAA would be a dream match in my eyes. Sanson, Cuatrero, and Forastero are pretty young (25, 23, 25) compared to the veterans over 40 that pepper the main event scene. I think Los Dinamita can be the next generation to carry CMLL.

Who is your favorite trios team? Which stars do you see as the future of CMLL?