We are happy to welcome The Cubs Fan (@luchablog) back to the pod for the annual post CMLL Anniversary show under very unusual circumstances to say the least.

First off, there’s a match-by-match breakdown of the show, including discussing the matches that did not take place, either due to injury or COVID-related illness. Which matches were exceeded expectations, which did not and how did the luchadors that getting a chance to shine in the spotlight fare on the night?

Then, we discuss how lucha as a whole has dealt with the pandemic in Mexico. Who has been able to run shows, how have the wrestlers coped with no income for months now, how have the promotions and officials taken care of them (or not)?

Next, with voting still taking place at time of recording, we examine all the lucha candidates on the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame ballot. After the logjam in the lucha category was thinned out last year, how do the prospects of old and new candidates look for the likes of Los Brazos, Caristico and others?

We end the show with some quick postseason baseball chat, with the playoffs Astarting tomorrow and a discussion of the next generation video game consoles. Is it worth getting a new PS5 or Xbox Series X at launch?

Also, we are hoping to very soon launch a new project on the website that may or may not have a podcast component to it. Keep an eye on the website and Twitter for details.

Thanks for listening.

Puma King with his copy of issue six at Break the Barrier 2017.

If you missed the news a couple weeks ago, issue six of the magazine is now out. It debuted at the Break the Barrier show in Old Forge PA, where Puma and his dad Felino wrestled Guerrero Maya Jr and Skayde. That match was the basis for our cover (by Kcidis) and cover story bios by The Cubs Fan (@luchablog).

To talk about his article in the magazine, we were joined on the pod by Dr. Lucha Steve Sims. We discussed his article on the Alvarado Family (Los Brazos, Maximo, La Mascara), their history and how that related to what happened to Ultimo Guerrero's car, the guys who were and were not fired over the incident and all the things that connect to the incident. We also discuss some of the other big families in lucha right now: The Munoz Family (Rush, Dragon Lee, Mistico and Pierroth), the Ibarra Family (LA Park, Volador Jr, Super Parka), the Panthers (Blue Panther Sr and Jr, The Panther) and of course, the Casas Family (Negro Casas, Felino, Puma, TIger, Dallys, Canelo), There's also other lucha talk, including why hasn't there been any legal action over the vandalism, the usual head scratching involving CMLL booking and talk about the next project coming to the website, a look back at what Rob Viper called CMLL's best tournament ever, the 2014 En Busca De Un Idolo tournament, which involved people like Hechicero, Barbaro Cavernario, Dragon Lee, Cachorro/The Panther and Sobernao Jr.

After that, we talk about Matt's article on Gino Hernandez's time working in Houston for Pail Boesch. We talk about his matches there, both as a single and a tag team with Tully Blanchard. Unfortunately, Matt was unable to be on the podcast to discuss his article. But if you want to see many of the matches he wrote about and we discussed, you can see them on the NWA Streaming Service (at least as of this writing).

Then there is a whole mish-mash of subjects, from what wrestling we could watch in the mid-1980s to watching wrestling in college (Steve in Chapel Hill in the 70s, me in Bloomington in the 80s) to a bunch of other stuff.

For more information on the magazine, check out its page here on the website.