Chris' Lucha Roundup: March 2025

Hello folks. I have once again watched a concerning amount of lucha libre from across the Mexican indies (and occasional US indies) to bring you, many moons late, the best in lucha libre from the month of March. There was a lot of great stuff, including one of the best runs of IWRG shows I’ve seen in some time. Let’s get to it. As I move onto April, I do appreciate when people send matches my way to help. If you send me matches that I like, I will make you an Official Deputy Lucha Wrangler.

Demus vs. El Hijo de Fishman (Zona 23, 3/9) – IWTV

If you’ve already seen a match on this list, it’s probably this one. But in case you missed it or somehow forgot, it’s essential stuff. Demus and El Hijo de Fishman are the two most violent men on the planet, destroying themselves and their opponents all across Mexico on their respective warpaths. Here they are facing off in the Zona 23 junkyard. Wooden crates. Bottles of broken beer bottles. Car hoods. Skewers. Tires. Everything you could possibly want these two lunatics to throw at each other, they do. Both men left in an obscene mess by the end of the match. It’s one of my absolute favorites of this year.

Noisy Boy & Spider Fly vs. Ovett Jr. & Super Boy (IWRG, 3/27)

This is from the phenomenal IWRG Caravana De Campeones show, and it’s for the Mexa Boys’ Intercontinental Tag Team belts. My love of the Mexa Boys is well-documented in this column, and Los Porros NG have been having a hell of a year. Ovett Jr. will make it shockingly high on my VP100 ballot for his work here and in Los Strippers Big. The match starts with the impressive workrate and high spots you’d expect from a Mexa Boys defense, but as both teams get desperate descends into a bloody mess with crowd dives and light tubes. On an IWRG show that consistently surpassed my expectations, this still easily stole the show.

Carrillo vs. Estrella Divina (Lucha Rey, 3/30)

Hat tip to Deputy Lucha Wrangler Nick Yeoman sending this match my way. This was advertised as a bull terrier match, but it’s just a straight up hardcore/death match. I’m not super familiar with Carrillo, but Estrella Divina is easily my favorite member of Los Shotas. Naturally, she is in way fewer matches I come across than her stablemates. Regardless, this is a phenomenal bloody lucha brawl with some real nastiness behind it. Estrella Divina and Carrillo are really laying the hits in before the tubes and chairs even come into play. Two people that really come across like they hate each other in a poorly lit gym with fans right next to the violence. It’s beautiful stuff. It was from a show that wasn’t even on my radar, but now I’m amped to get to May and watch their apuestas match that this sets up.

Fly Star, Lunatik Fly & Paranoiko vs. Lunatik Extreme, Ovett Jr. & Sagitarius (IWRG/Boom, 3/16)
Atomic Star, Especie Maligna & Negociante vs. Lunatik Extreme, Ovett Jr. & Super Boy (IMLL, 3/15)

I’m serious. You need to be up on the Los Porros NG run from this year. Lunatik Extreme has been the guy with all the hype in the stable for a minute, but Ovett Jr. in particular is having a hell of a year. Just the most consistent act when it comes to entertaining matches with good brawling, hard hitting, and insane high spots. I will be banging on this drum harder and harder as we go through these columns and start making wrestler of the year cases.

Blue Panther, Blue Panther Jr. & Tigre Asesino vs. Capitan Muerte, Virus & Yakuza (GILL, 3/15)
Blue Panther, Blue Panther Jr. & La Chiva vs. Infernal, Virus & Yakuza (LLT, 3/16)
Blue Panther, Kaoma Jr. & Xelhua vs. Dr. Polux Jr., Hechicero & Virus (Indy, 3/27)

If you’re reading this column, chances you’re a big fan of wrestlers like Blue Panther and Virus. They’re two lucha legends who can still bring the heat well into their 50s and 60s. Any time they lock up or tag, it’s worthwhile stuff from CMLL to the DEAN~!!! shows. But the beauty of lucha is that these men don’t just square off in Arena Mexico or fly in for 2300 Arena shows. They also wrestle matches in front of much fewer fans in Chicago suburbs or Arena Queretaro. Instead of big TV/streaming audiences, there’s maybe 200 views on these Youtube videos. These won’t be either man’s most standout performances of the year, but chances are you’ve already seen the Panther/Ultimo Guerrero matches or their appearances in ROH. I find the small Chicago matches to be more charming as far as legends grappling in front of smaller crowds (Blue Panther doesn’t even take off his shirt), but the quality of competition definitely improves when you replace Capitan Muerte and Tigre Asesino with Xelhua and Hechicero in that Invasion Indy matches. Some solid watching for rounding out the WOTY cases for both guys.

Aeroboy, Leviatham, Mascara Sagrada NG & Tonalli vs. Gran Pandemonium, El HIjo de Fishman, El Hijo de Pandemonium & Pandemonium Jr. (AULL, 3/1)

This is a certified Chris Match. I’m a sucker for Fishman/Mascara Sagrada interactions. I’m a sucker for La Pandemia tags. I’m a sucker for Aeroboy. I’m a sucker for Arena Lopez Mateos. You should be a sucker for these things too. It’s a lot of fun.

Cyber Black vs. Gallego vs. Macuarro vs. Mr. Condor (Zona 23, 3/9) – IWTV

While the Demus/Fishman main event is the easy highlight from the show, don’t sleep on the rest of the March 9 Zona card. There’s a stellar Venganza/Lunatik Fly match here, as well as this killer four-way for fans of middle aged men headbutting each other and rolling around in glass. This isn’t the most disgustingly bloodied-up Macuarro performance, but it’s up there. Zona 23 is where dreams are made.

Caifan & Ultimo Demonio vs. Trauma I & Trauma II (H, 3/30)

This is a clipped match, but I love what we see. Caifan has started working shows for the first time in years, and he’s in the ring with two of his greatest opponents. A lot of the Negocio Traumado multi-men tags out there tend not to have a ton of matwork to start, so it’s nice to see the Traumas showcasing their underrated technical skills at the start of the match before the match gets into the blood and weapons. It’s always a treat.

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