AAA On FOX – January 17, 2026 (Debut Episode): Now That’s Better (Contains Full Show)

AAA On FOX
Date: January 17, 2026
Location: Gimnasio Olimpico Juan de la Barrera, Mexico City, Mexico
Commentators: Corey Graves, John Bradshaw Layfield, Rey Mysterio

No not that FOX. Well kind of, but the one for Latin America. This is a big deal for AAA, and WWE as a result, so the show is being streamed on WWE’s YouTube channel. The main event features El Grande Americano vs. El Hijo del Vikingo for a future Mega Title shot. I’m sure we’ll have some surprises as well so let’s get to it.

Please note that my Spanish is limited at best so I apologize in advance for not understanding some of the promos.

We start with some rather enthusiastic fans outside. Nothing wrong with that.

Here is Rey Mysterio to get things going, which is always going to work. Mysterio welcomes us to the show and talks about it being a new era on Fox. I believe he thanks the Pena family (former owners) for giving him his start here and this is his home. Now that AAA is on Fox, millions of people will get to see what lucha libre means to the wrestlers, as it is part of their culture.

He mentions that the main event is for the title shot against his son Dominik, and the fans are NOT pleased. Granted they’re even less pleased with El Hijo del Vikingo, but they do seem to like El Grande Americano. Mysterio heads outside and greets some fans before joining commentary.

La Parka/Mr. Iguana/Nino Hamburguesa vs. Los Vipers

Hamburguesa and Taurus slug it out to start with Hamburguesa dropping him with a clothesline. The running seated senton crushes Taurus but Hysteria trips Hamburguesa from the floor. Negro comes in with something like a dropkick version of What’s Up but the rather large Hamburguesa blocks the double superplex.

Instead it’s a double middle rope splash, allowing the tag off to Parka. House is cleaned and the Thriller connects, with Hysteria making the save. Iguana comes in for a very spinning headlock takeover to drop Negro as everything breaks down. Hamburguesa hits a big dive to the floor and a spinning faceplant gives Iguana the pin on Taurus at 4:35.

Rating: C+. This is a simple, easy to understand match as a trio of fun guys come together to beat three villains. It might not have been a great match or anything close to it, but they had fun and got the crowd going. That’s all this needed to be, as it’s basically a little taste of what you’ll get here to bring the new audience along.

Penta El Cero Miedo is in the back and talks about how he was here fifteen years ago and he was the Rey de Reyes. I believe he says he’ll be watching the main event.

Flammer vs. Lady Shani

Flammer’s Reina de Reinas title isn’t on the line and the rest of Las Toxicas are here with her. Shani rolls her up to start but Flammer is back with a double stomp to the ribs. Flammer hits a basement dropkick for two but Shani is back with a kick to the head. A tumbleweed (eventually) rolls Flammer around for two as Lola Vice comes out to brawl with La Hiedra, leaving Lady Maravilla to trip Shani. Flammer’s running dropkick in the corner is enough for the pin at 3:33.

Rating: C. This was another “here’s what you’ll get around here”, albeit with a bit more storyline involvement. They had some stuff here based on stories that had been going for awhile and that made it a bit more complicated. Featuring a long running champion makes sense, though why not make it a title match to add a bit of spice to the show?

El Hijo del Vikingo doesn’t seem to care about the fans and isn’t worried about the main event. He does however seem rather cocky.

Here is Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. for a chat. He talks about the importance of the Latin American Title and how much he wants to make lucha libre better. Apparently he’s throwing out a challenge and here is a man in a purple mask to drop Wagner and pick up the title. The purple mask comes off and it’s….Santos Escobar.

Dominik Mysterio says the celebrities aren’t the reason AAA is so hot right now, because it’s all about him. He beat John Cena, which his father never could do, and he’ll be the king of luchadors.

El Hijo del Vikingo vs. El Grande Americano

For a future Mega Title shot and Dorian Roldan is here with Vikingo. Rey is impressed by Americano, having “been a babyface all my life.” Americano works on the arm to start but Vikingo goes after the eye to get out. Some shots to the head keep Americano down until he slugs right back. Roldan offers a distraction though and Vikingo stomps away in the corner but American powers out with a suplex.

Another distraction lets Vikingo dropkick him out to the floor and Americano gets sent into the steps. Vikingo hits a 450 back inside, which seems to wake Americano up for some reason. Americano fights back and hits a middle rope clothesline, followed by a modified camel clutch. Roldan offers another distraction but this time Americano drops Vikingo.

Americano loads up the disc but throws it away, instead opting to throw on the camel clutch again. With that broken up, Americano puts him on top but Roldan grabs the leg to block a superplex. Roldan is ejected, leaving American to go after the disc on the floor. Cue Omos to cut him off though, allowing Vikingo to hit a dive. Back in and the 630 finishes Americano at 13:46.

Rating: B. This felt like a bigger match, with Omos making everything feel more important. The idea of having Vikingo as part of a big heel stable works well, as the fans absolutely cannot stand him. Just go with what is working and the rest should figure itself out, which might be where we’re going from here.

Post match Americano decks Vikingo but gets taken out by Omos. Rey Mysterio gets in with a kendo stick and the villains bail to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This show might not have been some instant classic, but it did a good job of giving the fans a taste of what you’ll get around here. You had a fun opener, a women’s match and a main event to set up a future title match. Throw in some WWE names for the star power and this was a good way to get the fans into things. It’s not a must see show, but it did what it needed to do and I’d call that a success.

Results
La Parka/Mr. Iguana/Nino Hamburguesa b. Los Vipers – Spinning faceplant to Taurus
Flammer b. Lady Shani – Running corner dropkick
El Hijo del Vikingo b. El Grande Americano – 630

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6




AAA Guerra De Titanes 2025: Muy Bien (Contains Full Show)

Guerra De Titanes 2025
Date: December 20, 2025
Location: Arena Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico
Commentators: John Bradshaw Layfield, Konnan, Corey Graves

It’s a AAA pay per view and there are quite a few WWE wrestlers to go around. That should make for a big time card, with Rey Mysterio filling in for the injured Penta in the likely main event. Two WWE stars are going to be getting title shots as well, along with what could be a wild eight man tag. Let’s get to it.

The opening video (with English captioning) talks about how WWE has purchased the promotion and now it is going worldwide. Tonight, they rewrite the rules to change lucha libre forever.

LWO vs. Los Americanos vs. Octagon Jr./La Parka vs. Mr. Iguana/Nino Hamburguesa

One fall to a finish. Parka gets sent into the corner by Rayo to start but jumps over him, meaning it’s time for some skeleton dancing. A dropkick staggers Rayo and it’s Bravo coming in for a double clothesline to Parka. That earns Bravo a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker but del Toro tags himself in to take Bravo into the corner. The LWO neckbreakers Bravo out of the corner for two but Hamburguesa comes in to clean house.

Iguana adds an iguana to the head, followed by a rather spinning headscissors to drop Parka. Octagon is in with a top rope armdrag and it’s a four way dropkick for a standoff, followed by a quadruple dive from one member of each team. Los Americanos crotch Parka on the ropes and it’s a super hurricanrana to Octagon, setting up a frog splash for two.

Del Toro missile dropkicks the Americanos to the floor and the big flip dive drops them again. An iguana shot staggers del Toro though and Parka hits a huge springboard moonsault. Back in and del Toro rolls Octagon up for two. A poisonrana gives Octagon the same and Hamburguesa is back in, only to get jumped by Los Americanos.

Hamburguesa cannonballs the LWO but Bravo torture racks him into a reverse airplane spin (must be Bate). Instead of covering though, Bravo gets dropkicked by del Toro. Octagon hits a huge corkscrew dive to the floor onto the pile, leaving Parka to hit a spinning (and dancing) Tombstone (apparently The Thriller) for the pin on del Toro at 9:37.

Rating: B. This was all about going out there and having the people involve go nuts for about ten minutes. That would certainly be mission accomplished, as this was nonstop action with everyone flying all over the place. It’s nice to see some of the WWE guys who don’t have much going on getting in some reps, as they’re more than good enough to warrant a spot, especially when they showcase it like this.

Post match Parka celebrates with a man in a Parka mask….and it’s boxer Canelo Alvarez (that’s a big deal).

We look at Ethan Page attacking El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. last month as part of a pretty long running feud.

Latin American Title: Ethan Page vs. El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr.

Page is challenging/not defending his NXT North American Title. They immediately slug it out to start but Page can’t hit the Twisted Grin. Instead Wagner knocks him into the corner for a running shot to the back. Wagner’s rope walk is pulled out of the air with a powerslam though and it’s time to rip at the mask. Wagner isn’t having that and fights out as the fans certainly seem to approve.

They (the people in the ring, not the fans) slug it out until a spinning sitout powerbomb gets two on Page. A Best Moonsault Ever hits Page for two more but page is back with a powerbomb for two of his own. It’s time to grab a belt but the distraction lets Page get in a foreign object shot. That’s enough for the pin and title…and here is Mr. Iguana to say what happened. The referee finds the object and restarts the match, allowing Wagner to hit the Wagner Driver to retain at 6:39.

Rating: C+. They were smart to keep this fast and to the point here, as the ending coming so out of nowhere did a good job of selling the drama of a potential title change. I still don’t get much out of Wagner, but the fans are certainly into him and he’s part of a big wrestling family so it makes sense to have him in this spot. He’s certainly not bad, but this is about all he should be doing at the moment.

We recap the Psycho Circus vs. the Wyatt Sicks. They’re both creepy and they’ve fought a lot so let’s have a big weapony brawl.

Los Psycho Circus/Pagano vs. Wyatt Sicks

Carnival Of Carnage (anything goes) and the Fireflies are out for the entrance (that Wyatts song is creepy). The clowns pop up on the screen and want the Wyatts to start this in the back and of course they’ll do it. They head to the back and find a mini carnival waiting for them, with Psycho Clown in a bounce house.

Gacy dives right in to start the brawl and the other Clowns and Pagano show up, but so is Mascarita Sagrada to jump Lumis with a kendo stick. There are various people in some of the booths so the Wyatts beat them up before powerbombing Pagano through one of the booths for a heck of a crash. One more booth’s tent is pulled off and it’s Pimpinela Escarlata to kiss Gacy. The brawl comes into the arena for the first time and Psycho Clown gets quadruple teamed in the ring.

A table is put up in the corner but here is Murder Clown for the showdown with Rowan. Pagano is back with a kendo stick and the Clowns make the comeback. Howdy is right there to Sister Abigail Psycho Clown but Psycho is back up to beat on the Wyatts with…something. Psycho pulls off his face and reveals…a rather red face. Gacy gets knocked off the apron and it’s a Psycho Driver to send Lumis through a table for the pin at 10:28.

Rating: B. I had a good time with this as the carnival stuff was a lot of fun. I’ll take some kind of a theme like that over just doing the same weapons stuff over and over and the Circus/Pagano are an entertaining collective. They fit perfectly well with the Wyatts and this went rather well.

The Lucha Bros and Rey Mysterio are ready for the main event, with the injured Penta being here to show support.

We recap the Cruiserweight Title match. Laredo Kid has been champion for over a year (not even close to his longest title reign) and he wants the best competition, so he’s defending against two people tonight.

Je'Von Evans, NXT, Jack Cartwheel, Laredo Kid

IMG Credit: AAA Wrestling

Cruiserweight Title: Laredo Kid vs. Je’Von Evans vs. Jack Cartwheel

Kid is defending. They run the ropes to start and trade some rapid fire rollups, including a double crucifix. Back up and they try dropkicks at the same time (worked better earlier when it was four people at once) until Evans is sent outside. Cartwheel’s slingshot spinning splash gets two on Kid before Kid is back in for a springboard hurricanrana to Lee. Cartwheel cuts off the big dive though and hits a Space Flying Tiger Drop onto Kid on the floor.

A slingshot 450 gives Cartwheel two on Evans but Kid is back in with a running flipping DDT. Evans gives Kid a springboard cutter on the apron and then busts out the big no hands dive to the floor to drop Cartwheel. Back in and one heck of a frog splash gives Evans two Kid Lee is back in to clear the ring. A huge dive to the floor sets up a 450 to both Evans and Cartwheel at the same time to give Kid another near fall.

An exchange of kicks to the head leaves all three of them down though and we get a needed breather. Evans tells them both to bring it but gets caught with something like a reverse Sliced Bread. Cartwheel shooting stars into a cutter from Evans, followed by a springboard cutter to give Evans two on Kid. Cartwheel goes up but Kid cuts off Evans and hits a kind of reverse super Spanish Fly to retain at 12:33.

Rating: B+. Awesome stuff here and that shouldn’t be a surprise. This was the kind of match where you take talented wrestlers and let them go nuts for awhile. All three of them can do some incredibly athletic stuff and it was on display here, with some of those flips and dives being must see. It was exactly what I was expecting and that’s a great thing in this case.

Las Toxicas vs. Lola Vice/Faby Apache/Natalya

Natalya takes Hiedra down to start and brings her into the corner, where Apache can come in for a quick rollup. It’s off to Vice for the rapid fire kicks and some running hip attacks in the corner. Vice misses a charge on the floor though and Flammer hits a running hip attack against the steps. Maravilla comes in to work on the arm and it’s already back to Hiedra for a chinlock.

Vice gets crotched against the post for two but she manages to fight out of trouble without much trou…uh, difficulty. It’s off to Natalya to clean house, including something like a Hart Attack. Apache gets a boot up in the corner for two on Hiedra and everything breaks down. A series of strikes to the face leaves most of them staggered but Apache dragon suplexes Hiedra for the pin at 7:41.

Rating: C+. This was another fast paced match and it went well enough, though I’m still not entirely sure why I’m supposed to dislike Las Toxicas. I guess they’re the resident heel stable, but nothing about them really stands out. If nothing else, they feel like a way to get the other three on the show and that’s only so interesting. Not bad, but probably the weakest match thus far (which still isn’t that bad).

We recap El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Dragon Lee. The fans have turned hard on Vikingo and Lee brought it up, so Vikingo went full on evil and turned on Lee, kicking off a rather personal rivalry and setting up this match.

Dragon Lee, El Hijo del Vikingo

IMG Credit: AAA Wrestling

El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Dragon Lee

Lee jumps him with a kick to the face at the bell but Vikingo is back with one heck of a clothesline that even has JBL impressed. A running dropkick sends Lee outside, where he sends a charging Vikingo into the steps. Back in and they knock each other down with Vikingo getting the better of things and tying Lee to the ropes. Lee runs the ropes and snaps off a running hurricanrana, only to get dropkicked out to the floor.

Vikingo’s Arabian press drops Lee again, setting up a running shooting star from the apron. A shooting star press gives Vikingo two back inside and a poisonrana drops Lee again. Lee is right back with a sitout powerbomb for two and they both need a breather. Vikingo gets caught in a half crab until a single finger on the rope gets him out. They both go up top and Lee hits the Tree Of Woe stomp, followed by one heck of a running flip dive onto the announcers’ table.

Back in and a running elbow drops Vikingo for two but he’s back with a kick to the face. A top rope crucifix driver sends Lee into the corner for the running knees. Lee is able to reverse an inverted top rope hurricanrana (geez) into the Styles Clash for two more. Lee’s running hurricanrana sends Vikingo to the floor but the running flip dive hits the referee by mistake.

That means it’s time for a chair, but Lee grabs Operation Dragon for no count. Vikingo goes even more evil with a low blow and here’s Omos to make things a lot worse. Lee goes after him (despite Omos not doing anything but getting on the apron) and is put down with a powerbomb for his rather dumb efforts. Vikingo’s 450 connects and Omos throws the referee back in to count the pin at 17:29.

Rating: B. This felt like a long running grudge match, though the ending wasn’t exactly the strongest. At the same time though, there is something to having Omos there as a heavy for the hot heel isn’t a bad idea. Lee certainly felt like a big deal too and I liked the action, even with the storyline heavy ending.

Post match here is Dorian Roldan, as Vikingo and Omos are apparently now part of El Ojo. Roldan puts over the team and welcomes us to the new version of the Eye, which sees everything.

El Grande Americano/Dominik Mysterio vs. Rey Mysterio/Rey Fenix

For the sake of simplicity: Rey Fenix is “Fenix”, Rey Mysterio is “Rey” and Dominik Mysterio is “Dominik”. Americano takes Fenix down into a chinlock to start but switches into a hammerlock. That includes the headstand to keep Fenix in trouble but he gets up and grabs the running hurricanrana. Dominik comes in to face Rey and the fans are rather into this. The pro-Rey chants are enough to send Dominik outside and he comes back in to hand it off to Americano.

Fenix comes back in to help Rey strike Americano down for two but Americano gets in a shot to the face. Now Dominik is willing to come in and hammer on a downed Fenix, followed by a shot to the back from Americano. Dominik’s slingshot hilo (ala Eddie Guerrero) gets two and a basement dropkick connects for the same. The fans seem to be chanting for UNCLE EDDIE as Fenix fights out of a double team.

Dominik is smart enough to run outside and pull Rey off the apron, leaving Americano to clothesline Fenix for two more. Fenix kicks his way out of trouble though and it’s Rey coming in to pick the pace way up. Dominik’s sunset flip doesn’t work as Rey kicks him in the head and a Lionsault gets two. Back up and Dominik gets Two Amigos, with the third being reversed into a DDT for two more.

The 619 is countered into a Michinoku Driver to give Dominik two so Rey is back with a sitout bulldog to Americano. Rey gets caught in the Tree Of Woe, which is enough of a distraction for Americano to load up the foreign object. Cue Penta to take it away and use it on Dominik though, meaning it’s 619 into the slingshot splash to give Rey the pin at 17:31.

Rating: B. Well nothing else was going to make sense in the main event spot and the match wound up being rather entertaining. Rey can still do just about anything you want from him in the ring and seeing him beat up Dominik is going to work every time. This was good stuff, with Fenix doing a lot of the work and Rey coming in for some well earned glory in the end. Throw in Penta being there for a nice reaction and it went well.

Post match Dominik (who seems to be favoring his arm) shoves Americano and leaves. Americano leaves without shaking hands so the good guys can pose and strut with some kids to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. I’m still not entirely sure what is going on with some of these people, as the backstories don’t seem to be the most in-depth, but I get the stories they are trying to tell (English commentary helps so much) and the action is certainly entertaining. This was another fun show and it seems that they are getting the most out of having the WWE stars around. Rey Mysterio is often going to be the biggest name on a show no matter where he goes so putting him in the main event is a nice bonus. Rather fun show here and it felt like a big one, so well done.

Results
La Parka/Octagon Jr. b. LWO, Los Americanos and Mr. Iguana/Nino Hamburguesa – Thriller to del Toro
El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. b. Ethan Page – Wagner Driver
Los Psycho Circus/Pagano b. Wyatt Sicks – Psycho Driver through a table to Lumis
Laredo Kid b. Je’Von Evans and Jack Cartwheel – Reverse susper Spanish Fly to Cartwheel
Faby Apache/Lola Vice/Natalya b. Las Toxicas – Dragon suplex to Hiedra
El Hijo del Vikingo b. Dragon Lee – 450

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6




AAA Alianzas – November 28, 2025: The King Has Returned (Includes Full Show)

AAA Alianzas
Date: November 28, 2025
Location: Heroica Puebla de Zaragoza, Puebla, Mexico
Commentator: Jose Manuel Guillen

Well it worked last week so we might as well do it again. In this case, we have an appearance by Rey Mysterio, which should work well for a featured attraction. Other than that, we are on the way to Guerra de Titanes and it seems that the Lucha Bros are reuniting. Granted that might be a problem due to Penta’s injury, though I’m not sure when this was taped. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Please note that I don’t speak Spanish and don’t regularly follow the promotion, so I apologize in advance for any character or storyline details I miss.

We open with a recap of Dominik Mysterio and El Grande Americano defeating El Hijo del Vikingo and Dragon Lee when Vikingo turned on him. Then the Lucha Bros popped up to challenge Mysterio and Americano.

Jack Cartwheel vs. Chris Carter vs. Elio LeFleur

LeFleur is better known as Aigle Blanc and is a rather talented French wrestler. This seems to be another #1 contenders match for the Cruiserweight Title, with Laredo Kid on commentary. I thought Je’Von Evans won that shot last week but maybe it’s a multi-challenger thing. They go with a three way test of strength to start before trading rollups for two each. Back up and they flip into a three way staredown as the fans approve. Carter sends the other two outside for a big running flip dive and a shooting star press for two.

Back in and LeFleur spins Carter into a suplex before knocking Cartwheel outside. One heck of a flip dive connects for LeFleur, followed by a reverse headscissor driver for two. Cartwheel takes over on the other two back inside and of course hits the big dive out to the floor. A springboard flipping elbow gets two on Carter, who is back up to superkick LeFleur. Carter gets caught in a Doomsday Canadian Destroyer (ouch) and Cartwheel puts LeFleur down. A Red Arrow gives Cartwheel the pin on Carter at 9:10.

Rating: B. As usual, the idea of taking three talented high fliers and letting them go nuts for awhile works well to open the show. That’s what we had here, with Cartwheel seemingly being added to an upcoming title match. It was a bunch of flying around and it wound up working well, with Cartwheel getting to do his usual entertaining stuff. That works in Evolve and it works here too.

Post match Laredo Kid comes in for a staredown with Cartwheel as commentary suggests that it will be a multi-man match.

We look at Las Toxicas beating up Natalya and another woman.

Las Toxicas vs. Faby Apache/Lola Vice

Vice and Flamer trade knockdowns to start and Vice grabs a headscissors for the hips to the head spot. A basement dropkick gives Flamer two and it’s off to Hidera for a double wishbone. That doesn’t seem to do much as Vice pops up and brings in Apache to hurricanrana Hidera for two.

Vice is back with the bouncing kicks to both of them, followed by the running hip attacks in the corner. Vice’s running charge is sent into the post though and Hidera dances a bit, allowing Flamer to hit her own running hip attack. A double clothesline gets Vice out of trouble though and Apache comes in to clean house. Apache gets a cross armbreaker but cue the third Toxica to send Vice into the steps. The distraction lets Flammer roll Apache up with tights for the pin at 7:47.

Rating: C. Not much to see here other than the usual assortment of hips to the face. That’s a VERY popular thing these days and the novelty is rapidly wearing off. Las Toxicas seem to be a good edition of the evil group and they worked well here, especially with the basic numbers game.

Commentary talks about what we just saw and hypes up Rey Mysterio.

Mysterio is outside the venue and hypes up the promotion, as well as December 20th’s Guerra de Titanes.

Galeno del Mal/LWO vs. La Parka/Nino Hamburguesa/Mr. Iguana

Parka dances away from the much bigger Mal and gets powered into the corner for his efforts. A running shoulder drops Parka again and the LWO comes in for some assisted moonsaults. Wilde uses the other two as a launchpad for a heck of a flip dive to the pile on the floor, followed by a double arm crank back inside.

Parka’s spinning suplex gets him out of trouble and it’s Hamburguesa coming in to clean house, much to the fans’ delight. A triple cannonball in the corner allows Iguana to come in as everything breaks down. Parka low bridges Mal outside for a rope walk moonsault as Hamburguesa….has a hamburger. Makes sense. Back in and del Toro kicks Iguana in the head but Iguana gives him a spinning faceplant for the pin at 6:50.

Rating: B-. I don’t think I remember seeing Iguana actually winning a match before so it’s nice to have a bit of a change of pace. The fans were into the winning side here, which makes sense as the LWO are basically invaders/outsiders. Mal is a good monster giant and moved well, though this was more about Hamburguesa getting to show off.

Post match Mal goes after the LWO and all five knock him outside.

El Hijo del Vikingo seems to explain his actions and brags about his abilities, which the fans don’t like.

El Hijo del Vikingo vs. El Grande Americano

They circle each other for about a minute before locking up, with Vikingo working on the arm. Vikingo takes him down for some cranking, which is broken up rather quickly. They lock hands and fight over some flips until it’s another standoff. Americano grinds away on a headlock but gets reversed into a headscissors. They lock legs and slap it out before turning over for stereo leglocks.

Vikingo hits a basement dropkick as the fans are chanting…what I’m assuming is something pro Americano. Vikingo kicks him outside and teases a dive but flips back to pose instead. Americano takes it outside for a chop against the barricade, followed by a suplex for two back inside. Something close to a spinning Canadian Destroyer gives Americano two but Vikingo rolls over into a rollup for two of his own. Back up and Vikingo’s Canadian Destroyer gets two more, followed by a 450 for the same.

Vikingo sends him outside for a ram into the steps, setting up a double stomp off of said steps. The 630 gives Vikingo two and the fans are rather pleased with the kickout. A guillotine choke is broken up and Americano makes the fired up comeback, including rapid fire chops in the corner. Americano’s Samoan drop gets two and they’re both down for a bit.

They slap it out from their knees and Americano pulls him into a modified camel clutch. That’s broken up and the referee is bumped, leaving Americano to make Vikingo tap to the same hold but no one sees it. The hold is broken and Vikingo hits him with a horn for two. Vikingo goes for the mask (the fans lose it over this) so here are Raya and Bravo for a distraction. Americano gets to load up the mask and the running headbutt gives Americano the win at 23:21.

Rating: A-. This was a wild match and the fans carried up that much higher, turning it into one of the most entertaining things I’ve seen in a good while. It’s a great sign when I’m not even entirely sure what the story is but I was wanting to see what was going to happen. They made this work very well and I had a great time with it, as they tore the house down in the end.

Post match the Americanos leave and it’s Dragon Lee coming in for the big brawl. Security has to break it up and it’s Rey Mysterio coming out to interrupt. Mysterio says he respects both of them (one of these gets better reactions than the other) and seems to suggest a match at Guerra de Titanes. That seems to work, but Vikingo lays Lee out again. Lee gets back up to drop him and stand tall to end the show. Hot angle here, with Mysterio adding all of the gravitas to the situation.

Overall Rating: B+. This show started good and then slowed down a bit before finishing hot with the outstanding main event and Mysterio segment. For a promotion I don’t know very well, they’ve got me wanting to see where some of these stories go and that’s a great sign so far. I’ll keep checking these out if they’re going to be airing on WWE’s Youtube page, as they’ve been a lot of fun with some familiar names.

Results
Jack Cartwheel b. Chris Carter and Elio LeFleur – Red Arrow to Carter
Las Toxicas b. Lola Vice/Faby Apache – Rollup with tights to Apache
Mr. Iguana/La Parka/Nino Hamburguesa b. Galeno del Mal/LWO – Spinning faceplant to del Toro
El Grande Americano b. El Hijo del Vikingo – Loaded running headbutt

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6




AAA Alianzas – November 22, 2025: In Any Language

AAA Alianzas
Date: November 22, 2025
Location: Gimnasio Olimpico Juan de la Barrera, Mexico City, Mexico
Commentator: Jose Manuel Guillen

This appears to be a show that airs about once a month or so and in this case, it was broadcast on the WWE YouTube channel. That’s enough to get me to watch the show, though apparently commentary is entirely in Spanish. I’m not sure what this is going to mean or how much I’ll understand but the name of the show means Alliances, so expect some kind of a team deal. Let’s get to it.

Note that I do not follow the regular AAA shows nor do I understand more than a tiny bit of Spanish so I apologize in advance for any storyline or character points that I miss.

We open with a recap of El Hijo del Vikingo saying he’s the best and being interrupted by El Grande Americano, leading to a brawl. We also see Dominik Mysterio beating Dragon Lee to retain the Mega Title at Heroes Inmortales. Later, the Wyatt Sicks attacked Pagano and Psycho Clown and Chelsea Green and Ethan Page became the Mixed Tag Team Champions.

Mysterio and Americano, partners later tonight, share a bag of popcorn.

A team called El Ojo (the Eye) gets what seems to be instructions from their manager (I believe it’s Dorian Roldan).

We get the traditional tribute to Antonio Pena.

Je’Von Evans vs. Axiom vs. Octagon Jr.

For a future Cruiserweight Title shot, with champion Laredo Kid on commentary. Octagon gets knocked down to start but gets back up for a rollup on Axiom. Commentary talks about John Cena and Smackdown as they trade missed dropkicks for a triple staredown. A dropkick and springboard armdrag send Evans outside and Axiom follows it up with a running hurricanrana to Octagon.

Evans is back in to send Axiom outside, only to get hurricanranaed by Octagon. Back up and Octagon hits a running corkscrew dive to take both of them out on the floor, followed by a slingshot corkscrew splash for two on Axiom. The corkscrewing continues with a high crossbody for two on Evans as Axiom makes the save. This time it’s Axiom hitting the big dive to the floor to take both of them out as the fans approve.

Back in and Evans is knocked down, followed by a Codebreaker to Axiom, leaving all of them needing a breather. Octagon’s 450 mostly misses Evans but gets two anyway, with Axiom breaking it up. Evans hits a heck of a no hands dive onto Octagon on the floor, followed by a great frog splash for two on Axiom.

Back in and Axiom kicks Octagon down and backslides Evans for two. A superkick gets two more on Octagon, who catches Axiom on top. The tabletop superplex drops Axiom for another two with Evans making the save this time. Axiom’s super Spanish Fly hits Octagon but Evans cuts off the Golden Ratio, using Octagon as a launchpad for a cutter. The top rope cutter gives Evans the pin on Axiom at 12:12.

Rating: B. This is straight out of a bunch of promotion’s playbooks, as you take athletic wrestlers and let them fly around the ring for a bit to start the show. It’s worked well for years and will continue to do so for a long time. Evans continues to rack up experience, which is only going to help him in the end. Axiom is already fairly seasoned and can hang in there with anyone, with Octagon being more than good in his own right. Rather fun opener here.

Post match Kid gets in the ring for a respectful handshake and staredown.

Dominik Mysterio and El Grande Americano are in the back, with Mysterio holding up some Gringos Locos masks.

El Ojo vs. Psycho Circus/Pagano

No DQ and Dorian Roldan is here with El Ojo (El Mesias, Mecha Wolf, Forastero, Sanson) and Psycho Circus is Psycho Clown/Murder Clown/Dave The Clown). The Clowns clear the ring to start and we settle down to Pagano striking away at (I believe) Wolf, including a springboard cutter. Pagano whips out the weapons but gets taken down by the quick dive, allowing everyone to grab weapons for the big brawl.

The Clowns get the better of things and Murder takes over with cookie sheet. That earns him a big group beatdown, including stomps and kendo stick shots. Murder is right back with a double Samoan drop and the crushes Mesias, allowing the needed tag off to Psycho. Everything breaks down again and we hit more dives, meaning it’s table time. Dave takes out Psycho by mistake and Mesias gives Dave a Backstabber.

Pagano’s middle rope Codebreaker takes Mesias down and Murder chokebombs Wolf. Sanson comes back in to clean house until Psycho sunset flips Forastero for two. Forastero and Sanson take Psycho up top for a double superplex, which naturally is turned into a Tower Of Doom. Some top rope splashes ensue and everyone is down for a needed breather. The clowns hit their dives (mostly) and it’s Psycho with a super Spanish Fly onto some chairs to pin Sanson at 12:08.

Rating: B-. Kind of like the opener, you knew what you were going to get with the people involved. They didn’t bother trying to do anything but have a violent fight here and from what I’ve seen, that tends to go with the Clowns’ strengths. The Clowns have felt like a big deal around here for a long time and having them face what seems to be a top heel stable is always going to work.

Post match the Clowns brag about their win but Bo Dallas pops up on screen and accepts a challenge for a match against the Wyatt Sicks at Guerrera de Titantes. It seems to be a Carnival Of Carnage, which doesn’t sound pleasant.

Dragon Lee talks to El Hijo del Vikingo about their tag match tonight but Vikingo doesn’t seem interested.

Mixed Tag Team Titles: Lola Vice/Mr. Iguana vs. Chelsea Green/Ethan Page

Green and Page are defending and the champs run them over to start fast. Some stereo hurricanranas take Green and Page down though and Vice rams her hips into Green’s head. Vice even blows a kiss to Iguana, who isn’t sure what to do. A snap suplex drops green and it’s off to the men, with Iguana pulling out his namesake. Page cuts that off with a powerslam out of the corner and kicks Iguana in the face for a bonus.

Another powerslam attempt is countered into a tornado DDT and the tag brings in Vice to kick away at Green. The running hip attack in the corner gets two, with Page making the save. Everything breaks down and Iguana hits a springboard hurricanrana to take out Page on the floor. The referee goes down and Green brings in a kendo stick. Vice takes it away but so does Page, and a hard shot knocks Iguana (who was protecting Vice) out for the pin at 7:02.

Rating: C+. Green and Page are some of the most entertaining people in wrestling today and they got to showcase some of that here. At the same time, Iguana and Vice were able to do their thing, with the fans approving. These titles are almost guaranteed to be a bit less than serious, so Green and Page annoying the fans until someone knocks them off is a good way to go.

Post match El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. runs in for the brawl with Page. Green gets in a cheap shot though and Page beats him down.

Dominik Mysterio/El Grande Americano vs. Dragon Lee/El Hijo del Vikingo

Mysterio and Americano are the clear crowd favorites here. Lee and Mysterio start things off with Lee snapping off a running hurricanrana. Vikingo comes in to cut off a charge into the corner so it’s off to Americano, who shoves Vikingo down. Americano’s armdrag into a hammerlock has the fans singing (again) and Americano does a handstand, complete with claps of his feet.

That’s broken up and Lee hits a running dropkick but Vikingo won’t let him use the big dive. Vikingo does his own dive and NOW Lee can bust out the flipping dive. Lee and Vikingo nearly get in a fight on the floor, allowing Mysterio and Americano to hit stereo baseball slides. Back in and Mysterio dropkicks Lee outside again and some rolling suplexes make it worse. Vikingo gets the tag to take over on Mysterio, but Lee tags himself in out of frustration.

Lee’s top rope double stomp in the Tree Of Woe gets two and it’s back to an annoyed Vikingo. A Michinoku Driver gets Mysterio out of trouble and Americano comes in for the comeback. Americano hits a springboard Blockbuster (nice) into something like White Noise for two on Lee.

Vikingo goes up but Lee is sent into him for a crotching so Americano covers Lee, with Vikingo firing off a 450 for the save. Unfortunately that hits Lee, who is right back with Operation Dragon for two on Mysterio. Lee dives over for the tag and of course Vikingo pulls his arm back and even knocks Lee out. The 619 sets up Americano’s running headbutt to finish Lee at 17:01.

Rating: B. The fact that I can’t understand the promos or the backstory but knew the story they were telling in the match means they were doing something right. The action was there as well, with everyone working hard and putting in a good match that the fans liked. I got into this and it felt like a big time main event, so well done all around.

Post match Mysterio brags about their win and says they’re the best in the world. Cue the reunited Lucha Bros, who seem to disagree, and say something about chicken nuggets. This seems to be a challenge for Guerra de Titantes on December 20 in Guadalajara. Mysterio and Americano seem to be in to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. I had a good time with this show, which certainly felt like a WWE formatted show at times. I could get a nice enough idea of what was going on here, which is quite the feat when the show is in an entirely different language. This was definitely a faster paced style, but the show was entertaining and kept my attention for almost two hours. Nice job, and something I could go for more of if WWE wants to do some more special broadcasts.

Results
Je’Von Evans b. Octagon and Axiom – Top rope cutter to Axiom
Psycho Circus/Pagano b. El Ojo – Super Spanish Fly onto chairs to Sanson
Ethan Page/Chelsea Green b. Mr. Iguana/Lola Vice – Kendo stick shot to Iguana
El Grande Americano/Dominik Mysterio b. Dragon Lee/El Hijo del Vikingo – Running headbutt to Lee

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6




WWE X AAA Worlds Collide: Las Vegas: On Our Side

Worlds Collide: Las Vegas
Date: September 12, 2025
Location: Cox Pavilion At The Thomas & Mack Center, Paradise, Nevada
Commentators: Corey Graves, Konnan, John Bradshaw Layfield

We’re doing another WWE/AAA crossover show and in this case, Dominik Mysterio is getting another World Title shot, this time on his own. That’s quite the drawing card, though the rest of the show looks good enough. The previous edition was a lot of fun in Mexico so now we get to see what happens in the United States. Let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at AAA’s success since being purchased by WWE, including TripleMania. Now they’re in Las Vegas so of course there’s a bit of a gambling theme.

HHH, Shawn Michaels and Undertaker are here.

Various wrestlers arrive. These clips were shown on Smackdown.

The dignitaries are in the ring for the Mexican national anthem. Lilian Garcia does the American version.

Here is Penta for a chat. Penta, in Spanish, seems to fire up the crowd and talk about the importance of Mexican wrestling in the United States. After more enthusiastic shouting, Penta hits his catchphrase and holds up a Mexican flag.

Laredo Kid/La Parka/Mascarita Sagrada/Octagon Jr. vs. LWO/Mini Abismo Negro/Lince Dorado

Dorado and Octagon start things off as they trade some missed kicks to start. An exchange of headscissors take both of them down and we get a standoff/handshake. Del Toro and Kid come in with Kid hitting him in the face, followed by a running clothesline in the corner. Del Toro is taken up top but sticks the landing on a super hurricanrana. A standing Spanish Fly gives del Toro and Wilde comes in for a standing moonsault and a near fall.

Kid gives him kind of a reverse sitout powerbomb to take over and it’s off to Parka for a dance off. Parka avoids a charge in the corner and dances some more, setting up something like a spinning AA. Sagrada and Negro come in, with Sagrada snapping off a springboard armdrag. Dorado comes back in and gets sent into the corner, allowing Octagon and Kid to hit back to back middle rope twisting moonsaults for two. A kick to the head puts Kid down though and del Toro is back in with a slingshot splash.

An electric chair splash to the back gets two on Kid as Konnan lists off Kid’s resume. Negro (barely taller than the top rope) comes in for a pop up powerslam and Kid can’t get a springboard hurricanrana, instead crashing down. Back up and a running hurricanrana works a bit better, as Kid is able to bring in Sagrada for a very spinning headscissors to the floor. Sagrada clears the ring and snaps off a top rope hurricanrana to put Negro down. Back in and Octagon comes in but del Toro comes in as well to strike it out.

Octagon gets caught in the Tree of Woe for a Coast To Coast from del Toro. Dorado’s shooting star press gets two and Sagrada grabs an octopus on Negro, with everyone else making a save. Everything breaks down and Dorada gives Parka the Golden Rewind, leaving Octagon to dive onto both of them. Del Toro dives on all of them and then Kid does the same thing. Wilde hits his huge slingshot dive, leaving Sagrada to grab a spinning rollup for the pin on Negro at 18:05.

Rating: B. Yeah this was a blast with everyone getting to go nuts and show off for a long time. They weren’t trying to do anything other than let the people go nuts and that worked well. It’s the kind of match that is always going to work as it was designed to be a sample platter of what AAA can do. Fun stuff here, as it should have been.

Rey Mysterio is interrupted by Dominik Mysterio, who says he’s going to become the Mega Champion. Rey even agrees to put the title around his waist if he wins, with a big emphasis on IF. Finn Balor comes in to say Dominik needs to prove himself tonight, alone. Balor even leaves with the interviewer (who happens to be his wife). This aired on Smackdown as well.

We recap Natalya vs. Faby Apache. They were in a triple threat match at TripleMania and didn’t get along so now it’s time to fight for a future title shot.

Natalya vs. Faby Apache

For a future Reina de Reinas title shot. They go to the grappling to start until Apache drops her with an elbow. Natalya’s discus lariat gets two and she fires off the shoulders in the corner. Natalya plants her down and starts in on the leg, including the surfboard. With that broken up, Apache shrugs off some clotheslines and hits a hurricanrana.

A high crossbody and knee to the face give Apache two and she tries a cross armbreaker. Apache’s bodyscissors turns into a slugout and she even adds a front facelock. With that not working, Apache switches to an ankle lock, followed by a hard forearm to the face for two. Apache teases a Sharpshooter but gets reversed into a rollup for the pin at 9:12.

Rating: B-. This was a bit different from Natalya and that is one of the best things that she can do. The biggest problem with Natalya is that she does a lot of the same stuff and that gets dull in a hurry. That wasn’t so much the case here and it made for a much more entertaining match. Apache did her part too as they were beating the heck out of each other here. Nice match and better than I was expecting.

We get the Saudi Arabia Wrestlemania announcement and the booing is audible.

New Day was ready to win the Tag Team Titles but Woods was injured by Penta. He had to have surgery on his head but risked DEATH by being here anyway, where Grayson Waller will be taking his place. Waller insists that interviewer Chuey Martinez sign the petition to ban the Canadian Destroyer.

AAA Tag Team Titles: Kofi Kingston/Grayson Waller vs. Pagano/Psycho Clown

Pagano/Clown are defending and Clown chases Waller to the floor to start. Back in and Waller tries to pick up the pace, which is fine with Clown, who actually gets pulled into a forearm. Kingston and Pagano come in with Pagano snapping off a belly to belly. Clown comes in to help with the stomping but gets sent into the corner. Waller forearms away on Clown in the corner and we get something like the old Unicorn Stampede.

Pagano gets knocked off the apron so Clown has no one to tag when he fights out (as tends to be the case). A jumping knee to the face gets two on Clown before Kingston and Waller go up…and then hop down to pummel away. Kingston grabs a choke and Clown taps, but it doesn’t seem to have been intentional so Kingston sends him into the corner instead.

Clown fights out of the corner and hits a crossbody, followed by an enziguri to bring in Pagano. Everything breaks down and the champs hit some running dives before Clown….rips part of his own mask off, which freaks Woods out and sends him running. Stereo Canadian Destroyers drop Waller and Kingston, followed by la majistral to give Clown the pin to retain at 16:53.

Rating: B-. This was a good enough match, but the problem boils down to it’s only so good when you have Kingston and a filler partner rather than his usual partner. New Day challenging for the titles would have been a much bigger deal, but as it was, there wasn’t exactly much doubt about the winners. What we got was good, but Woods being in there would have been a lot better.

Post match Pagano and Clown are interviewed by the Wyatt Sicks interfere and lay them out. The huge beatdown ensues, with Pagano and Clown being put through tables. The Wyatts hold up the AAA titles and the fans seem to like it.

We recap Lola Vice/Mr. Iguana vs. Judgment Day. They were in a six person tag at TripleMania (with a slightly adjusted lineup) and got into a brawl so now it’s time to do it with one less person each.

Lola Vice/Mr. Iguana vs. Judgment Day

Raquel Rodriguez is here with Judgment Day. Balor takes Iguana down by the arm to start but Iguana flips around and sits down, which has the fans approving. Balor goes to grab a bag but Iguana takes it away and throws it underneath the ring. Back in and a hurricanrana drops Balor so it’s off to Vice, who scares Balor into the corner. Perez comes in and gets chased outside, allowing Vice to run her over back inside.

The cross armbreaker is blocked so Vice switches to the strikes into the corner. Vice’s running hip attack is broken up by Balor so Vice hits a dive onto both of them. Back in and Iguana’s high crossbody gets two on Balor, only for Rodriguez to drop Iguana onto the apron to cut him off. Balor slows the pace down and chokes on the ropes….but the Balor puppet pops out from underneath the ring. Even Balor freaks out and Iguana gets in a shot, allowing the tag back to Vice to pick up the pace.

Now the hip attack can hit Perez, followed by a Saito suplex for two. Perez is right back up and hits a Lionsault for two before taking Vice up. Iguana throws Yesca at Perez though and Balor brings in his own bag. Balor gets up with his own puppet and it’s time for…well actually a Sling Blade to Iguana. Balor ties his puppet around his neck and teases the Coup de Grace but Vice breaks it up. Yesca is thrown at the puppet, leaving Iguana to hit a dive. Vice spinning backfists Perez for the pin at 12:00.

Rating: C+. The point here was to showcase Vice and Iguana and that worked rather well. Vice is quite possibly on her way to being the NXT Women’s Champion and Iguana is going to sell a ton of merchandise. Balor played right into the whole thing with the puppet deal and it was a fun match with everything going about as it should have.

We recap the Latin American Title four way. El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. won the title at TripleMania and now a bunch of people are coming for the title. That’s about it.

Latin American Title: El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. vs. Ethan Page vs. JD McDonagh vs. Dragon Lee

Wagner is defending (Page’s NXT North American Title isn’t on the line). Lee and McDonagh fight to the floor to start, leaving Wagner to hammer on Page in the corner. Back in and Lee sends Page into the corner and drop toeholds McDonagh into page. A running dropkick hits both villains and Wagner is back in, only to get taken down by McDonagh. The big Asai moonsault drops Page and Lee on the floor before McDonagh kicks away at Wagner.

Page is back in to throw McDonagh at Wagner (that worked) before hitting a running Codebreaker for two on Lee. The chinlock doesn’t last long as the other two come back in, with a series of strikes to the face knocking everyone silly. McDonagh headbutts Page…who falls onto McDonagh for two.

Lee is back up with a running hurricanrana to Wagner and a big sitout powerbomb for two on McDonagh. Wagner pulls Page to the floor so Lee flip dives onto both of them. Back in and a super Spanish Fly gives McDonagh two but Page is back with the Twisted Grin. Wagner cuts that off wit h a Swanton and Wagner Drivers McDonagh to retain at 9:56.

Rating: B. This was a sprint match as you had all four of them going nuts and throwing out everything they could in the time they had. That made for quite the entertaining spectacle and I had a good time with everything they were doing. This felt like a match where anyone could have picked up the title and the drama made things a lot more entertaining.

We recap the main event. Dominik Mysterio came close to winning the title in a four way at TripleMania and now it’s time for him to get a one on one shot as he wants to prove he’s the best Mysterio ever.

AAA Mega Title: Dominik Mysterio vs. El Hijo del Vikingo

Vikingo is defending (Mysterio’s Intercontinental Title isn’t on the line) and the fans really do not like him despite him being the good guy coming in. After the Big Match Intros, the trade some kicks to start before Vikingo takes him down and ties up an arm and a leg. Vikingo stands up while still holding on, only for Mysterio to reverse into a rollup for two. Mysterio is sent outside and taken down with a dive but he cuts Vikingo off with a hot shot back inside.

Vikingo gets whipped into the steps and we settle down a bit back inside. Mysterio stomps away and hits the slingshot hilo for two. Back up and the champion hits a basement superkick but gets crotched on top. Hold on though as Mysterio needs to go and pose with the belt before grabbing the chinlock. Vikingo fights up and hits a missile dropkick, followed by the running knees in the corner.

Another missile dropkick is powerbombed out of the air for a big crash but the 619 is blocked. Vikingo’s spinning faceplant sets up a 450 for two so here is the Judgment Day to uneven things a bit. Mysterio puts on the mask and Balor offers him the foreign object, but here is Dragon Lee to help things out a bit.

Rey Mysterio comes out with a chair to help chase Judgment Day off, leaving Vikingo to hit the 630. Cue El Grande Americano to break up the cover and now the 619 connects. Dominik hits the frog splash but another referee runs in to count two. Vikingo goes for Americano’s mask, allowing Americano to slip Dominik the foreign object. The mask is loaded up for the running headbutt, followed by a frog splash to make Dominik champion at 18:23.

Rating: B. I had fun with this and the result is the right choice. The fans have pretty obviously rejected Vikingo so go with someone who can get some heat as champion without having the fans turn on him. Yeah it’s more of the WWE takeover, but it’s hard to argue with someone getting the kind of reception Vikingo has been receiving. Just go with what needs to be done, as Dominik is more than capable of hanging at this level.

Post match Rey comes back out and hands Dominik the title but Dominik insists that Rey put it around his waist. Rey begrudgingly does it and Dominik kicks him out as the Judgment Day comes in to celebrate. El Grand Americano gets in for a hug as well and Judgment Day doesn’t seem overly pleased to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This was another good time, with the action working, nothing being bad, a hot crowd and just about everything working. Dominik Mysterio is going to get all kinds of mileage out of winning the title and there were enough things set up to have another show like this down the line. WWE has figured out the formula for these shows and this was another very fun offering.

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6




AAA TripleMania XXXIII: WWE-Mex?

TripleMania XXXIII
Date: August 16, 2025
Location: Arena Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
Commentators: Corey Graves, John Bradshaw Layfield, Konnan

So the big deal this time is that WWE is involved, which makes sense as they have since announced their purchase of AAA. That is going to make things all the more interesting and there are several WWE stars on the card. This includes the main event, as Dominik Mysterio, Dragon Lee and El Grande Americano are challenging for the AAA World Title. Let’s get to it.

Note that I do not follow AAA so I apologize in advance for any storyline or character details that I miss. I’m pretty much going just off any recaps presented (my Spanish is weak at best) and commentary.

Rey Mysterio and various other wrestlers talk about the importance of the show and how big it is to be on TripleMania.

As is customary in AAA, we get (I’m assuming) the Mexican national anthem, with various WWE/AAA dignitaries present, including HHH, Shawn Michaels and Nick Khan.

Commentary welcomes us to the show.

Copa Bardahl

This is similar to the Royal Rumble (with pinfall, submission or over the top for eliminations) with ninety second intervals (commentary says ninety seconds, though that is later described as “different intervals”) for a cup. We get a nice graphic of the rules in English and Spanish so at least they’re taking care of the fans. La Parka (with his awesome dancing skeletons) is in at #1 (of fourteen) and Laredo Kid is in at #2.

Parka dances around to start as Konnan talks about various top stars who have wrestled on this event over the years. Kid plants him with a quick Michinoku Driver and hits a 450 for two as Joaquin Wilde is in at #3. Wilde rolls both of them up at the same time for two and it’s Abismo Negro Jr. in at #4. Negro, a powerhouse, gives Kid a gorilla press gutbuster for two as Konnan describes him as “one of the most popular heels in our company”. I try to figure out the logic of that statement as Negro gets some near falls.

Taurus (Negro’s stablemate) is in at #5 and starts wrecking people, though he hits Negro by mistake. Wilde starts snapping off some headscissors but gets dropkicked in the head for his efforts. Aerostar is in at #6 and knocks Negro outside (not an elimination) and hits a dive (also not an elimination) but Kid plants him down. Kid misses a dive of his own though and gets tossed for the first elimination.

Mecha Wolf is in at #7 and gets to clean house for a bit until Cruz del Toro is in at #8. A nice top rope hurricanrana takes Negro down and del Toro and Wilde team up to clean some house. Wolf blows some mist at Wilde and tosses him though as Otis (with the SHOOSH entrance for some reason) is in at #9 for a surprise. Konnan is VERY pleased and Otis faceplants a bunch of people before tossing Aerostar.

The Caterpillar hits Negro and Pimpinela (an exotico, which means a rather feminine wrestler) is in at #10 to quite the reaction. Pimpinela gets to clean some house to start and teases kissing Otis before helping him clothesline Taurus out instead. The kiss is teased again but Wolf dropkicks Otis, knocking Pimpinela out in the process. Cibernetico is in at #11 and runs some people over, including a spear to Otis.

Microman (stands 3’3) is in at #12 and actually beats some people up until Cibernetico glares at him. Cibernetico is knocked to the apron though, with Otis picking up Microman and ramming him into Cibernetico for the elimination. Omos is in at #13 and this won’t end well. Everyone stops to go after Omos, with Konnan wondering why they’re attacking one by one (a question as old as time in wrestling).

Microman is the only one left standing and goes after Omos (barely clearing his knees), who looks around and finally looks down in a funny bit. Omos puts Microman on the top (JBL: “THIS HAS TO BE AGAINST THE GENEVA CONVENTION!”) before everyone else goes after Omos to no avail. Del Toro and Negro are both out and Octagon Jr. is in at #14 to complete the field. That gives us a final grouping of Parka, Wolf, Otis, Microman, Otis and Octagon.

Otis goes after Omos and is knocked down just as fast, leaving Microman to splash him for the elimination. As commentary tries to figure out why you would do that to the one man who was trying to protect you, Omos picks Microman up and tosses him out (in an awesome visual). Everyone else goes after Omos but stop to fight each other (Konnan doesn’t get this either, as he continues to be the voice of reason and logic in this match).

Parka gives Wolf a weird spinning cutter and tosses him to get us down to three. Omos kicks Octagon out and we’re down to two, with the fans getting behind Parka. Graves: “Do you think he can do it Konnan???” Konnan: “No.” And then Omos tosses Parka to win at 26:34.

Rating: B-. This is the kind of thing that will always work on a big show as it’s about getting people in the ring and letting the fans have some fun. Omos is one of those spectacle people where you have to see him to get what he’s like, which made the Microman spot that much better. He might not be someone you want to have around full time, but he’s a great choice for a special appearance like this. Rather fun opener here and a good way to have Omos in there as a surprise.

Dragon Lee is ready for the main event of the biggest TripleMania of all time and wants the Mega Title.

We recap El Mesias defending the Latin American Title against El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. Their families have history, with Mesias having a big rivalry with Wagner’s father so now Wagner wants to win the title.

Latin American Title: El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. vs. El Mesias

Mesias, with Dorian Roldan, is defending. Konnan (apparently part of Roldan and Mesias’ team, along with JBL) argues with Wagner’s father as Wagner kicks Mesias outside for a running flip dive. Roldan grabs the foot though and Mesias’ DDT gets two. A DDT onto the apron plants Wagner on the apron and a belly to back suplex connects for two more. The chinlock goes on before Mesias hits a clothesline for another near fall.

Mesias sends him outside and takes him in front of Wagner’s father for the emotional beating. Back in and Mesias starts tearing at the mask, which brings Wagner up for a clothesline. JBL and Konnan get on Graves, with JBL saying “And I thought Michael Cole was bad!”. Graves: “Oh come on that’s below the belt.” JBL: “Fair, fair.” Wagner’s top rope splash gets two, followed by a quick powerbomb for the same. Wagner’s father and Roldan get in a fight on the floor, with Wagner’s father dropping him with one shot. Back in and Mesias hits a spear for two but Wagner Jr. hits a Wagner Driver for the pin at 10:21.

Rating: C+. This was the storyline match of the show as Konnan was playing the big heel on commentary but the Wagners got some revenge and the gold. It made for a good enough match, though I’m not sure I see the big star power in the younger Wagner. Mesias is a name I’m familiar with and he was still good in the ring, but this was the right way for the fans.

Judgment Day is ready to make this the biggest TripleMania of all time. Rey Mysterio comes in, with Dominik Mysterio saying he wants his dad to see his big win.

Judgment Day vs. Lola Vice/Mr. Iguana/Nino Hamburguesa

Mixed six person tag and Roxanne Perez is here with Judgment Day. Rodriguez throws Vice into the corner to start but a spinning slam is countered into an armbreaker. Balor and Iguana come in for all of a few seconds before Nino (Hamburger Boy) comes in to face McDonagh. After McDonagh takes a shot of…something, Nino crushes him in the corner, only to miss a middle rope legdrop.

That’s enough for Judgment Day to get Nino into the corner for the alternating beatdown. Nino fights out of trouble though and brings Iguana in to clean house. Iguana pulls out his puppet….but BALOR HAS HIS OWN PUPPET! That leaves Iguana very confused so Nino comes in with two burgers, with Balor taking one away for a bite. That leaves Nino to hit a dive and Vice to go up, only for Perez to interfere. Cue La Hiedra to go after Perez but hit Vice by mistake. Hiedra chases Perez off, leaving Rodriguez to Tejana Bomb Vice for the pin at 11:51.

Rating: B-. I could have stopped at “BALOR HAS HIS OWN PUPPET” and the rest of the match would have just been details. That spot was funny enough, though they managed to make Balor eat a burger for a bonus. This was a goofy WWE vs. AAA match and it entertained me rather well, which is about all you can ask for out of something like this one.

Pagano and Psycho Clown are ready to bring the violence to win the Tag Team Titles. Los Garza aren’t scared because they’re from finer metals.

Tag Team Titles: Psycho Clown/Pagano vs. Los Garza

Garza are defending. It’s a brawl to start and the champions throw in weapons so I guess it’s this kind of a match. Los Garza grab kendo sticks….so Pagano and Clown pull out BARBED WIRE kendo sticks. Since those would, you know, nearly kill the champs, Los Garza get the better of things and unload with their sticks in the corner.

Tables are sat up at ringside but that takes too long, allowing Pagano and Clown to come back with chairs and trashcans to take over. Garza gets beaten down but Pagano misses a moonsault with a chair, meaning Pagano can get double super gorilla pressed through a table. Another table is thrown in, with Pagano spearing the champs through a table in the corner at the same time.

Back up and Garza catches Pagano, setting up a powerbomb/World’s Strongest Slam to send both Pagano and Clown through tables at ringside. Berto gets two on Clown and can’t believe the kickout. Clown is back up and pulls out some barbed wire, which is wrapped around Berto’s head. A super Spanish Fly gives us new champions at 12:55.

Rating: C. Some of the spots were ok here, but this felt like a way for the hardcore team to come together and stand up for AAA. I get that Clown is one of the bigger stars in AAA, but this never really clicked and outside of that big spot from Garza, there was nothing on here that stood out. I wouldn’t call it a bad match, though it definitely wasn’t my style.

El Hijo del Vikingo talks about the main event and seems ready.

Here is Rey Mysterio to induct Konnan into the AAA Hall Of Fame. Mysterio gives a speech in Spanish (with translation from commentary), talking about what a revolutionary and visionary Konnan has been. We see a video on Konnan’s career, including a lot of WCW footage. Konnan comes into the ring to talk about the importance of his career and how much AAA has meant to him.

He is the son of great legends and we hear some of those names, with a big hug to Mysterio (whose uncle apparently trained him). More thank you’s wrap it up (there was a translation, but it was hard to keep track as the translations were often coming during Konnan’s speech in Spanish.

El Grande Americano is ready to win the title.

Video on the Women’s Title match, with Faby Apache and Natalya both coming after Flammer’s title.

Reina de Reinas Title: Natalya vs. Faby Apache vs. Flammer

Flammer is defending. Natalya is sent outside to start and Apache clotheslines Flammer down. The dive is broken up though and Natalya unloads in the corner, only to get crucifixed for some near falls. Natalya reverses another rollup into the Sharpshooter, which is quickly broken up. Flammer comes back in and gets her arm barred by Apache, with Natalya adding an ankle lock at the same time.

Natalya breaks that up and stomps on Apache, followed by a surfboard. That’s broken up and Natalya clothesline Flammer, followed by the double Sharpshooter (it’s a cool idea, but like so much Natalya can do, it’s been done to death). With that broken up, Apache and Flammer hit stereo clotheslines to put each other down but Natalya is back in with an ankle lock to Apache. That’s reversed into a Michinoku Driver but Flammer is back in to steal the pin on Apache and retain at 10:45.

Rating: C. I’ve seen a decent amount of the AAA women’s division over the years and the results have been mixed at best. That was the case again here, with Natalya trying to do her thing but only being able to get so far. Natalya being added in there made the match feel a bit more important, though neither Flammer nor Apache really stood out.

Worlds Collide is back on September 12.

We recap the World Title match, which is Hijo del Vikingo facing three challengers from WWE.

Mega Title: El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Dominik Mysterio vs. El Grade Americano vs. Dragon Lee

Vikingo is defending. They stare at each other to start before pairing off, with Americano clearing the ring. Back in and Vikingo takes Americano out before trading rollups with Lee. American gets back in and helps Mysterio double team Vikingo but Lee is in to break it up. Lee’s top rope double stomp gets two on Americano, who ties Lee’s mask to the rope. Mysterio and Americano get in an argument over who gets to stomp and it’s Lee sending Americano into the post.

Vikingo rolls Lee up for two and the fans aren’t sure what to think about that. Mysterio is back with a Canadian Destroyer to Lee but Vikingo knocks him down. Vikingo’s top rope Codebreaker to Americano leaves everyone down for a needed breather. Vikingo sends Lee into the corner and hits a shooting star press but American breaks up the cover. The villains put Vikingo through the announcers’ table in quite the spot and cue Judgment Day to go after Lee.

Mysterio hits the 619 with Americano making the save. Cue the LWO to brawl with Judgment Day but here are the other El Grande Americanos to go after Lee. A step up Blockbuster gives the original Americano two and it’s time to load up the mask. Lee cuts that off and dives onto a bunch of people at ringside.

Operation Dragon gets two with Vikingo making the save. The 630 gives Vikingo two on Lee and Mysterio steals the metal for his own mask. Americano and Lee get headbutted down and Mysterio hits the frog splash…but a masked man pulls the referee out. It’s AJ Styles, who hits the Styles Clash on Mysterio, leaving Vikingo to hit the 630 to retain at 15:04.

Rating: B. The fans didn’t seem to be thrilled with Vikingo, but it would not surprise me a bit to see either Americano or Mysterio getting the title sooner than later. The massive interference felt a bit tacked on, but the action that we got was good enough. If nothing else, Styles vs. Mysterio continuing has some possibilities, as Mysterio getting flustered is entertaining.

Vikingo celebrates to end the show, though the fans don’t seem overly pleased with him.

Overall Rating: B-. It’s not nearly as good of a show as Worlds Collide, but this felt much more like AAA by way of WWE. I do like the idea of WWE promoting the company more, though I would certainly hope that it doesn’t come at the expense of what makes AAA feel unique. The show was good enough to feel special though, and the WWE names made it bigger, though I’m hoping this is more a rare treat than the new norm for AAA.

Results
Omos won the Copa Bardahl last eliminating La Parka
El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. b. El Mesias – Wagner Driver
Judgment Day b. Lola Vice/Mr. Iguana/Nino Hamburguesa – Tejana Bomb to Vice
Psycho Clown/Pagano b. Los Garza – Super Spanish Fly with barbed wire to Berto
Flammer b. Faby Apache and Natalya – Rollup to Apache
El Hijo del Vikingo b. Dragon Lee, El Grande Americano and Dominik Mysterio – 630 to Mysterio

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6




WWE x AAA Worlds Collide: Rival Nations

Worlds Collide
Date: June 7, 2025
Location: Kia Forum, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Corey Graves, Konnan

It’s a special show as we have AAA vs. NXT. This would be a bizarre way to go for years now but things have changed a lot as WWE has bought (or is apparently in the process of buying) AAA, meaning things like this could happen more often. There is a nice mixture of stuff going on here so let’s get to it.

The opening video, as narrated in Spanish by Rey Mysterio (makes sense) talks about how there are moments that change everything. We see clips of an imminent collision, mixed in with various clips of famous Latino wrestlers in WWE, as well as AAA stars. I’m not sure how big this really is, but they’re making it feel epic so well done.

Corey Graves and Konnan talk about how big the show is and how much lucha libre has meant to American wrestling. That is one of the most bizarre commentary teams you’ll ever see.

We open with various AAA officials and wrestlers in the ring, along with Shawn Michaels and HHH, for the Mexican national anthem. There are also banners to I believe AAA’s founders, which is a tradition for AAA.

Lilian Garcia sings the Star Spangled Banner.

Here is Rey Mysterio (clearly still not at 100%) to get things going. After taking a long look at the AAA logo on the mat (you can tell that means a lot to him), Mysterio speaks in English and Spanish about how great it is to see lucha libre spreading like this. He seems to talk about the roster and how proud he is of lucha libre (though my Spanish is limited at best).

Mr. Iguana/Aerostar/Octagon Jr. vs. Lince Dorado/LWO

Octagon and del Toro start things off with Octagon taking him down by the arm. Back up and they lock hands with del Toro flipping him over. A legdrop misses though and Octagon’s rollup gets two. They trade armdrags until a legsweep misses, giving us a standoff. Iguana (he seems rather popular) comes in to face Dorado with Iguana crawling around like a…well you get the idea.

Dorado chops him down and Iguana stays on the mat with all four limbs up. An armdrag takes Dorado down and Iguana gets his iguana puppet, who blocks Dorado’s right hand. The puppet goes into Iguana’s mouth as he spins around and is then put onto Dorado for an Iguana counted two. The fans chant for Iguana and yeah that’s not a surprise as he’ll likely get over like crazy in a hurry.

Aerostar comes in for a running hurricanrana to Lee but gets flipped out to the apron. A corkscrew high crossbody hits Lee and the AAA guys send them outside. Iguana hits a running flip dive but there is no one to catch Dorado Octagon, who just crashes to the floor. Aerostar hits a suicide dive onto Lee as the fans are rather approving. Back in and Aerostar’s top rope splash hits raised knees and some splashes connect for two.

That’s broken up and it’s back to Iguana, who misses a charge at del Toro in the corner. A dropkick takes out Iguana’s leg though as Konnan talks about how del Toro hasn’t wrestled like this in a long time. Iguana winds up in an electric chair but he spins around into a faceplant. It’s time for the puppet (who has a name that I can’t make out), who is handed to Dorado, allowing Iguana to dive onto Lee.

Dorado snaps and beats up the puppet, even giving it a standing Spanish Fly. Iguana is TICKED (as he should be) and spins around into an anklescissors to send Dorado flying. The puppet is used to whip all three opponents and then we play pass the puppet. A triple superkick drops Iguana and everything breaks down, with Dorado hitting a double Golden Rewind (handspring Stunner).

Dorado’s shooting star press gets two and he grabs a super hurricanrana to send Octagon flying (that looked good). We get a series of knockdowns, including del Toro’s rope walk dropkick to Iguana. Aerostar is back up with a heck of a step up dive to the floor and del Toro adds a big corkscrew dive of his own. Back in and Octagon chops it out with Dorado until Octagon takes him up top for a super flipping World’s Strongest Slam and the pin at 14:04.

Rating: B+. This was a blast and all kinds of fun with everyone getting to stand out. Iguana is the kind of unique star with a fun gimmick that will get him over for a long time to come. They were trying to have a traditional lucha libre six man tag here and since everyone involved knows exactly how to do that style, it worked well. Awesome stuff here and incredibly entertaining.

Post match Dominik Mysterio and Liv Morgan are in the crowd, with Dominik saying it’s sad that Octagon is such a big Rey Mysterio fan because Rey is a DEADBEAT FATHER! Octagon comes over and the Spanish insults fly from Dominik so the fight is on. They get in the ring and slug it out, with the two of them eventually being separated. Dominik eventually says he’ll see Octagon at Money In The Bank (later tonight) and he’ll even put the Intercontinental Title up. Well that escalated quickly.

We get a video on the history of AAA, which was started in Mexico in the 90s by Antonio Pena. He founded the promotion and changed everything about wrestling in Mexico as an alternative to tradition. Then thirty five years passed and here we are!

AAA legends Mascarita Sagrada and Latin Lover are here.

Legado del Fantasma is ready to show that they are the real representatives of lucha libre.

We recap the women’s tag match. Stephanie Vaquer has hit the ground running in NXT/WWE and Chik Tormenta/Dalys don’t like her due to some past issues. A tag match was set up, with Lola Vice agreeing to team with Vaquer, and here we are.

Dalys/Chik Tormenta vs. Stephanie Vaquer/Lola Vice

Vaquer starts with Dalys, who gets taken down but powers out of the Devi’s Kiss attempt. Tormenta comes in for a clothesline to put Vaquer down but it’s quickly off to Vice. Vaquer adds a 619 so Vice can get two, only to be pulled into a quick half crab. Back up and Vice fires off the kicks, including the bouncing versions to send Dalys into the wrong corner. The string of hip attacks connect for Vice and she grabs a cross armbreaker on Dalys (ignore her tapping).

That’s broken up in a hurry and Vice is sent outside where the beating continues. Back in and we hit the chinlock/double arm crank on Vice as lucha legend Negro Casas (who trained Vice) is watching from the crowd. Vice fights up and rolls over for the tag off to Vaquer, who comes in with a high crossbody to Dalys. Vaquer takes Dalys out of the corner for two, setting up stereo Devil’s Kisses from Vaquer and Vice. The SVB is blocked so Vaquer gives Dalys a superkick, followed by the SVB for the pin at 9:53.

Rating: B-. Well there was no way Vaquer was going to job here, so the question became which of the other three would do so. It was hard to imagine that Vaquer’s team would be losing either way, especially after AAA won the first match, so this was only in so much doubt. As usual, Vaquer feels like one of the biggest stars in the division and Vice felt like she got a nice breakout moment here. Good enough match here, but they were in a rough spot after that opener.

Post match Vice and Vaquer talk about how great it is to be here and seem happy with their win. Vaquer is more than ready to win Money In The Bank too.

Chad Gable isn’t worried about being in Mexico because these people have embraced him. That’s in addition to embracing El Grande Americano, who is going to win Money In The Bank, after Gable wins the AAA Mega Title.

Legado del Fantasma is ready to prove themselves as the real first family of lucha libre. This is the same promo that aired on Smackdown.

Psycho Clown, Pagano and Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. are ready for six man as well, with Clown bringing up that he was in the match where Santos Escobar lost his mask in Mexico.

Chavo Guerrero is here.

A social media star is here, but according to the graphic, he’s the Street Profits. Well to be fair he is wearing a mask.

Legado del Fantasma vs. Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr./Pagano/Psycho Clown

Berto takes Hijo into the corner to start as we hear about WWE and TNA stars wanting to be on an upcoming AAA show. I get that it’s a different world but my goodness that will never sound right. Hijo runs the ropes and snaps off a hurricanrana into an armbar. That’s broken up so it’s off to Clown, who switches into a double German suplex to Berto and Angel at the same time.

Pagano (a hardcore brawler) comes in for a….I think it was supposed to be a double flapjack but Berto escaped and Garza was barely lifted. Instead Pagano sends both of them outside but Escobar moves Berto out of the way, leaving Pagano to crash to the floor. Back in and Pagano gets caught in the wrong corner, allowing the villains to start the beating. That doesn’t last long as Pagano gets in a shot and rolls over for the tag to Clown.

Angel gets tied in the Tree of Woe for a dropkick, followed by a Code Red for two on Berto. Hijo comes back in to chop it out with Escobar before everything breaks down. The AAA guys hit running dives to the floor but Hijo gets caught in the wrong corner back inside. The double super gorilla press slam drops Hijo but Clown is back up with the Psycho Driver (Air Raid Crash) to the apron.

Angel takes him down with a sitout powerbomb but Clown is back in with a sitout powerbomb. Everything breaks down and Escobar is left alone in the ring. Hijo cuts him off for two more but Escobar’s super hurricanrana gets the same. Back up and the Phantom Driver gives Escobar the pin at 14:59.

Rating: B-. Another good six man match here with some familiar faces. Clown looked like a star and Hijo looked more than good enough. On the other hand you had Pagano who was pretty hit and miss, which tends to be normal for him. Legado looked good as well, with WWE getting a nice showcase win over some AAA stars.

We look at the 1994 When Worlds Collide show, which was a huge introduction to AAA (and lucha libre) for a lot of people. There were a lot of legends on that show, including Konnan, Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero, who got quite a bit of exposure as a result.

El Hijo del Vikingo is ready to fly against Chad Gable.

Savio Vega, Damian Priest and Blue Demon Jr. are here.

NXT North American Title: Je’Von Evans vs. Rey Fenix vs. Laredo Kid vs. Ethan Page

Page is defending (Kid’s AAA Cruiserweight Title isn’t on the line). The challengers gang up on Page to start but Kid’s dive is cut off. Evans stares down at Fenix and teases a right hand before going with the rollup instead. Fenix is back up with the very springboardy wristdrag but Page is back in with a hurricanrana of his own. Evans takes him down and hits the big dropkick to the floor.

Fenix is back up with a spider kick to Evans and hits a big dive to take out everyone on the floor. Back in and the fans want tables, which has Konnan confused, as the action has already been good (fair point). Page knocks Evans off the top though and hits a top rope splash, followed by a powerslam for two with Fenix making the save. Kid hits a backbreaker but Evans cuts him off on the top.

Evans hits a heck of a no hands dive to the floor to drop Page and ties Kid in the Tree Of Woe. That sets up what was supposed to be a Swanton dropkick (he didn’t get all of it but dang that was a cool idea), followed by a springboard cutter for two on Fenix. Back up and Fenix kicks Page into the ropes for the rope walk kick, followed by a very high angle armdrag to Kid.

Some kicks to the face rock Evans and the Fenix Driver gets two. Page takes out Fenix but gets caught with Evans’ springboard clothesline and everyone is down. Fenix and Kid go up top with the former hitting a super Spanish Fly (for you Cornette podcast fans out there, Graves shouted “KONNAN! KONNAN!” before he jumped), only for Page to hit Fenix with the Ego’s Edge. Evans makes the save but gets sent outside, leaving Page to hit the Twisted Grin for the pin on Kid at 14:55.

Rating: B. This was a very fun, fast paced match with people getting to go all over the place until one of them couldn’t get up again. They were all flying around and I was buying the chance that the title could change hands. Page was there to antagonize the fans and the other three were flying around like crazy. Some of the spots were great here and I had a lot of fun with the whole thing.

We look at Triplemania, the biggest AAA show of the year. It has been running since the 90s and will continue again this year.

We recap Chad Gable challenging El Hijo del Vikingo for the AAA Mega Title. Vikingo won the title last week, which has Gable more excited than he was before. Gable is on a quite to unlock the dark arts of lucha libre and it’s time to make everyone say VIVA. Vikingo isn’t impressed because he is the heart and soul of AAA.

AAA Mega Title: El Hijo de Vikingo vs. Chad Gable

Gable is challenging. Vikingo takes him down by the arm to start but Gable sweeps the leg, thanks the fans, and slaps Vikingo’s hand in an armbar. Back up and Vikingo does a weird lifting stretch but Gable reverses into another armbar. Vikingo gets up again and has to break a quick ankle lock. Gable misses a charge into the post and a running Meteora sends him crashing out to the floor.

Vikingo follows him out with a 630 to the back (geez) for two but Gable gets the knees up to block a running shooting star. Back up and Gable sends him into the steps before loading up the required table. Gable can’t hit a German suplex through the table but can knock Vikingo down again to take it back inside. A monkey flip out of the corner gives Gable two, followed by abdominal stretch to stay on the ribs.

The bridging German suplex gets two more on Vikingo and Gable armbars him over the ropes to cut off a comeback attempt. Gable goes up but dives into a Codebreaker, leaving both of them down. Vikingo ties him in the ropes for a rather long range top rope double stomp, followed by the spinning middle rope 450 (geez again) for two. Back up and Gable hits a Razor’s Edge Dominator but has to bail out of the moonsault.

Instead, Gable catches him on top and hits a super sitout powerbomb for the scary crazy. Gable insists that Vikingo “is just a luchador” and gets knocked to the apron, where Vikingo hits a diving Canadian Destroyer to knock him silly. Vikingo puts him on the table but takes too long, allowing Gable to shove Vikingo off the top. That lets Gable hit a moonsault to send Vikingo through the table, leaving them both down. Back in and they slug it out until Gable gets the ankle lock. That’s broken up as well and Vikingo hits a poisonrana. The running knees in the corner set up the 630 to retain Vikingo’s title at 22:00.

Rating: B+. Vikingo’s flying stuff was incredible (as usual) and Gable being out there as the wrestler made for a good battle. It was reaching the levels of epic that you need in a match like this, though that table spot at the end made me roll my eyes a bit. Heck of a match here, with Vikingo looking like a star and Gable hanging right there with him the whole time.

Vikingo poses with some wrestlers and AAA people to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. Yeah this was great and an incredible experience throughout. It felt like a AAA show with the benefits of WWE making it that much better. The action was awesome, with the two weakest matches being pretty good at worst. I had a great time with this and you could tell that this meant a lot to the people involved. Awesome show here and it has me a lot more interested in seeing what WWE is going to be doing with AAA going forward.

Results
Octagon Jr./Mr. Iguana/Aerostar b. Lince Dorado/LWO – Super flipping World’s Strongest Slam to Dorado
Stephanie Vaquer/Lola Vice b. Dalys/Chik Tormenta – SVB to Tormenta
Legado del Fantasma b. Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr./Pagano/Psycho Clown – Phantom Driver to Escobar
Ethan Page b. Laredo Kid, Rey Fenix and Je’Von Evans – Twisted Grin to Kid
El Hijo de Vikingo b. Chad Gable – 630

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6




Rebellion 2025: It Is A Show That Exists

Rebellion 2025
Date: April 27, 2025
Location: Galen Center, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

We’re back to the major pay per views with this one, as TNA heads back to a major market. This time we have something of a triple main event with the World, Tag Team and Knockouts Titles all on the line, plus an Ultimate X match for the X-Division Title. That’s about as stacked as you can get so let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Fatal Influence vs. Rosemary/Xia Brookside/Lei Ying Lee

It’s a brawl on the floor before the bell and we officially start with Brookside and Henley slugging it out in the country. A hurricanrana takes Henley down and Brookside hits a running Meteora in the corner. Lee comes in for a double clothesline and it’s off to Rosemary, who threatens Nyx with the mist. Jayne manages to send Rosemary into the corner to take over, only to get caught in the Upside Down.

A double flapjack drops Rosemary and Henley’s basement dropkick to the back gets two. Rosemary fights out and brings Lee back in to clean house. A suplex out of the corner gets two on Jayne but Nyx and Henley make the save. Everything breaks down and Rosemary gives Brookside some brass knuckles. That’s not what Brookside wants so she throws them back, only to get rammed into Rosemary. Jayne’s discus punch finishes at 9:02.

Rating: C+. Again it’s nice to see the NXT stars getting some wins, but there is only going to be so much upward mobility if they just keep trading victories. Hopefully they come up with something a little bit bigger for people like Fatal Influence, but at least we’re getting something like this. If nothing else, Brookside holding onto the good side makes for an interesting idea and Rosemary isn’t likely going to be happy.

Kickoff Show: Elijah vs. ???

This is an open challenge and Elijah sings a song about the greatness of Los Angeles. And his opponent is…Shane Haste from TMDK in New Japan. Elijah chops away in the corner to start and knocks him outside for some rams into the apron. Back in and a jumping clothesline sets up Old School but Haste gets in a dropkick for a breather.

An O’Connor roll is blocked though and Elijah hits something like Roll The Dice. Haste kicks him in the face and hits a Saito suplex for two. Back up and Elijah hits a toss powerbomb for two of his own, with Haste’s Falcon Arrow getting the same. A jumping knee to the face sets up the Highwayman’s Farewell to end Haste at 6:01.

Rating: C+. Not much to this one as Elijah beat him up for the most part and then they traded some big shots until Elijah won. Haste doesn’t have anything close to a history around here so he was just a random opponent. That being said, it was just a short Kickoff Show match so this was hardly some big moment or anything close so this was hardly some big letdown.

Ilona sings the National Anthem.

The opening video focuses on Los Angeles being a city of dreams, such as the wrestlers who will be getting in the ring tonight.

X-Division Title: Matt Cardona vs. KC Navarro vs. Sidney Akeem vs. Leon Slater vs. El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Moose

Moose is defending in Ultimate X, meaning the title is hung above the ring at the middle of an X made of cables. The first person to use the cables to get the belt and hit the mat is the champion. It’s a big brawl to start (as you might expect) and everyone but Cardona and Moose go for the belt. The two of them grab chairs and knock the others down before it’s time for a bunch of people to go to the floor.

Vikingo and Navarro stay inside with Vikingo hitting a dropkick. Navarro knocks him to the floor but Akeem is in for the save. Cardona cuts him off, only to get kicked in the face by Slater. It’s time for the dives through the ropes and off the top before Moose superplexes Slater. With everyone else down, Moose sends Alisha Edwards up to get the belt (as Moose is scared of heights) but Edwards falls down, with Moose making the catch.

Slater comes back in with a superkick to Moose before going back up. Vikingo breaks that up with a dropkick and Navarro goes for the belt, only to get pulled down as well. Akeem goes for the belt and flips up above the X but crashes down onto Moose rather than going for the belt.

Vikingo gives Akeem a Canadian Destroyer onto the apron but gets chokeslammed by AJ Francis. Moose spears Francis down and powerbombs Navarro, only to walk into Radio Silence. Slater goes all the way up to the top of the structure for the Swanton 450, with barely anyone catching him. Somehow Slater goes up top and gets the belt, only to be speared by Moose who retains the title at 15:24 without climbing.

Rating: B. This was the usual insanity that these matches tend to be and that’s not a bad thing. Moose finding a way to steal the title is a good way to go and the ending makes me wonder if Slater is going to win the title sooner than later, perhaps at Slammiversary. Slater has been built up for a few months now and seeing him get the title on the big stage would be nice to see.

We look at Joe Hendry at Wrestlemania and some reactions. He was also on NXT, where he got in a staredown with NXT Champion Oba Femi.

Knockouts Tag Team Titles: Ash By Elegance/Heather By Elegance vs. Meta Four vs. Gigi Dolin/Tatum Paxley vs. Spitfire

By Elegance is defending and Arianna Grace is on commentary. Dolin and Paxley jump Meta Four to start fast and we settle down to Luna headlocking Paxley to limited avail. Threat is slammed onto Paxley for two as Ash yells at the Personal Concierge on the floor. Dolin comes in and Whispers In The Wind onto a pile on the floor. Jackson gets on Legend’s shoulders for a big dive before Dolin rolls Jackson up for two inside.

Heather comes in and gets dropped by Jackson and Spitfire adds a kneeling double suplex. Paxley comes in for two on Jackson but gets dropped by Legend. Threat gives Ash a spinning torture rack bomb and it’s time to go to the corners for a pair of Towers Of Dooms. Hold on though as cue Maggie Lee to hold Ash’s leg for the save. That means Rarefied Air can hit Threat to retain the titles at 9:23.

Rating: C+. The action was fun but there was a lot going on here and it was a little too chaotic to keep track of everything. Nothing got the chance to really develop as it was a bunch of flying around and near falls. By Elegance retaining here is fine as they need to hold the titles that much longer, though I’m not sure who can come after the belts next.

Elijah is ready to see Joe Hendry retain the World Title.

Ace Austin/Rascalz vs. The System

Moose is pulling double duty tonight as JDC apparently had travel issues. The System has cost Austin and the Rascalz some matches so they got help in the form of….Sean Waltman. Myers charges into Wentz’s boot in the corner to start and it’s off to Miguel to hammer on Edwards. Austin slips out of a suplex attempt and it’s off to Miguel for some snappy jabs. Alisha Edwards offers a distraction though and Eddie takes over on Miguel back inside.

Myers’ chinlock doesn’t last long but he cuts Miguel off with a basement superkick. A lifting Downward Spiral gets two but Miguel is back up with a running knee. The tag is cut off though and Miguel is taken into the wrong corner again. Miguel fights out though and hands it off to Wentz to pick up the pace. Everything breaks down and the Fold drops Moose, setting up Wentz’s Spiral Tap for two. Austin hits a Fameasser and Wentz does the Road Dogg shaky jabs.

They load up the DX pose but Alisha gets in. Cue Waltman to duck her right hand and give her an X Factor. We get the big crotch chop and everyone but Waltman hits a Bronco Buster. Waltman hits some spinning kicks and a pair of dives take out Eddie and Myers. Moose’s spear is countered into an X Factor and the UFO Cutter gives Wentz the pin at 11:04.

Rating: B-. I’m not entirely sure why we needed a DX tribute match, but it was a good deal of fun and Austin and the Rascalz work well together. Waltman still looks perfectly fine out there and he was a nice bonus. Wentz pinning Moose is an interesting twist as you now have a few people lining up to have realistic title aspirations.

Steve Maclin won’t say anything about Eric Young but smirks.

International Title: Steve Maclin vs. Eric Young

Young, with the Northern Armory, is challenging. Maclin takes out the Armory to start and then hits a dive onto all three villains. The Armory gets up and manages to knock Maclin down, only for him to tie Young in the Tree Of Woe. The running spear in the corner is cut off though, which is enough for the Armory to be ejected. Maclin misses a charge to the floor though and Young starts slowly hammering away.

Back in and Maclin hits an Angle Slam but the Jar Headbutt is cut off. Maclin is fine enough to tie him in the Tree Of Woe again for the spear but Young knocks him down again. The top rope ax handle gets two and they go to the apron, where Young hits something like a Samoan drop for two. Back in and Young tries a piledriver but gets reversed into a rollup to retain the title at 9:23.

Rating: C+. This went by fast but it’s really hard to get into Young as the evil mastermind again. It’s really not a good role for him but for some reason this is what we get over and over. Maclin retaining is good to see and now he needs to move on to something else. TNA has a strong enough roster so let Maclin fight anyone but Young.

Post match the Northern Armory runs in to beat Maclin down. Maclin gets choked with the chain because THIS HAS TO KEEP GOING.

We recap Mike Santana vs. Mustafa Ali. Santana is trying to get to the World Title but Ali keeps bringing up Santana’s past addiction issues. On the other hand, Santana accuses Ali of being addicted to trying to ruin Santana’s life. Therefore, it’s time for a falls count anywhere match, as Ali keeps running from their fights. Makes perfect sense.

Mustafa Ali vs. Mike Santana

Falls count anywhere and a drummer and dancers play Ali to the ring. Ali has the Great Hands with him while Santana has some boxers. Santana starts fast and backdrops him out to the floor for a big crash. The steps are loaded up and Ali’s dive is sent into them to give Santana two on the floor. Ali tries to leave so Santana dives off the stage to take him out. A moonsault off the barricade takes Ali down for two more but cue the Secret Service and the Great Hands to go after Santana.

That lets Ali climb to a balcony for a dive and they head back to ringside where Ali hits a superkick. Santana cuts him off with a Death Valley Driver through two open chairs but Ali chairs him off the top. Ali goes up top and goes Coast To Coast on the apron (ouch) for two. Back in and Santana sends him face first into the buckle but here are the Great Hands to go after Santana again. They put Santana on a table for a 450 to give Ali two. Back in and the Great Hands try to handcuff Santana, who gives them a double rolling cutter.

Instead Santana handcuffs them to the ropes and grabs a barbed wire baseball bat. Ali knocks it away but gets caught with a Spanish Fly. Tasha Steelz whips out a table…but Santana powerbombs her through it instead. Well that evens the odds a bit. Another table is brought in and Santana superplexes Ali through it for two. Ali grabs the bat and smashes Santana in the face but the bleeding Santana gets up for Spin The Block and the pin at 19:23.

Rating: B. This was the kind of overcome all odds win that Santana needed and he looked like a hero in the end. That’s what he has been needing in the last few months and it would not surprise me to see Santana getting into the World Title picture. They had the violence going here and Santana outsmarted and flat out beat four people at once. That’s quite the impressive move and Santana looked good here.

We meet the newest TNA signing: Indi Hartwell.

We recap Tessa Blanchard vs. Masha Slamovich for the Knockouts Title. Slamovich is the new star of the division but Blanchard is the legend who has returned and wants her title back. This is a genuine dream match for the division and has the potential to steal the show.

Knockouts Title: Tessa Blanchard vs. Masha Slamovich

Slamovich is defending and actually jumps her to start fast. A running knee and the Snowplow gets two on Blanchard but she’s back with a knee crusher for two of her own. Blanchard starts in on the leg and ties it up in the Tree Of Woe for some cranking. A variety of leglocks have Slamovich in more trouble but Magnum is blocked.

That’s fine with Blanchard, who switches to a Canadian Destroyer for two. Slamovich’s Code Red gives her a breather but a dragon screw legwhip takes Slamovich back down. We go VERY old school with an Indian Deathlock but Slamovich makes the rope. Slamovich tries to go up and gets pulled into a running Magnum for two.

Back up and Slamovich uses the ropes to hit a sitout powerbomb for two. Blanchard is right back with the Buzzsaw for two but Slamovich catches her up top with a super Death Valley Driver. A running knee knocks Blanchard silly and Slamovich pulls her into a Disarm-Her retains the title at 14:04.

Rating: B. Well, it was a big time fight but I was expecting a bit more here. It just kind of ended and while I liked the leg work, it didn’t mean much in the end. That being said, Slamovich getting the big, and clean, win over Blanchard is quite the moment for her. Blanchard is probably going to get some gold sooner or later, but this feels like something of humbling her after all of the controversy that she brings along.

We recap the Hardys defending the Tag Team Titles against the Nemeths. Nic Nemeth turned on them recently and naturally Ryan went along with his brother. The fight is over who is the better brother team…and then they went to the Hardy Compound for wacky shenanigans, including the Nemeths stealing the title belts.

Tag Team Titles: Ryan Nemeth/Nic Nemeth vs. Hardys

The Hardys are defending and jump the Nemeths before the bell, allowing them to steal the belts back. Jeff hammers on Nic to start but gets knocked into the corner. Ryan comes in to miss an elbow drop (because he’s a schnook) and it’s off to Matt. The Twist Of Fate is blocked and Nic gets in a shot of his own, allowing Ryan to hit the running DDT. Nic’s rapid fire elbows have Matt in more trouble and Ryan grabs a chinlock.

That’s broken up and Matt gets two off a small package, allowing the tag back to Jeff. House is cleaned, including a Whisper In The Wind for two on Nic. The Twist Of Fate gets two and everything breaks down. The Plot Twist into a splash gets two more but Nic is back up with a Fameasser for the same.

Poetry In Motion and the Side Effect Connect but Matt accidentally bumps into the referee during the count in a weird moment. Ryan breaks up the Swanton though, earning himself a neckbreaker on the floor. A powerbomb onto a chair is countered with a backdrop and Matt is down. Back in and a low blow sets up the Danger Zone, with Ryan tagging himself in to steal the pin and the titles at 11:52.

Rating: C+. The Hardys didn’t need to be the champions any longer and my goodness we should get some mileage out of Ryan as the one who pinned Jeff. The promo about winning the titles with HIS BIG BROTHER will be worth a look and it gets the Hardys away from the titles for a bit. The match itself was fine, but not exactly a classic.

The cast of Busted Open Radio comes out to preview the World Title match.

We recap the World Title match. Joe Hendry is defending, Ethan Page wants the title and Frankie Kazarian is cashing in his Feast Or Fired title shot.

TNA World Title: Joe Hendry vs. Ethan Page vs. Frankie Kazarian

Hendry, with a bad shoulder, is defending. Page gets knocked to the floor fast to start and the threat of a standing Ovation has Kazarian joining him. Hendry hits a big dive over the top to take both of them down but Page hammers away back inside. Page’s suplex drops Hendry onto Kazarian on the way back in (that was clever) and it’s already table time.

Back in and Kazarian rolls Hendry up while suplexing Page for two at the same time. A double Flux Capacitor gets two but Page powerslams Kazarian, running Page over in the process. Fade To Black is cut off and we get a Tower Of Doom to leave everyone down for a bit. Page is up for a hanging DDT and it’s time to set that table up properly. Kazarian uses the Call Your Shot trophy before striking Hendry’s pose. He also strikes Hendry with Fade To Black for two with Page making the save.

Page’s knee to the face gets two on Hendry but Kazarian is back with Angel’s Wings for the same. They all slug it out from their knees until Page is sent outside and Hendry gets caught in the chickenwing. That’s broken up so Page is back in with the belt. The big swing misses so Page cutters him onto the belt. Hendry fights up and hits a quick fall away slam into the Standing Ovation to retain at 13:40.

Rating: B-. This wasn’t the most thrilling match in the world as it felt like every other triple threat title match. Hendry fighting through the shoulder injury and hanging on to retain the title is a good way to go. Having him beat Kazarian in his cash in and Page didn’t exactly feel important or pay per view main event worthy, but at least he got the win.

Post match NXT’s Trick Williams runs in and takes out Hendry (who embarrassed him last week) with the Trick Shot (running knee) to end the show. Ok that’s a lot bigger.

Overall Rating: B-. The show was good enough but there is pretty much nothing worth going out of your way to see. Nothing felt like it was some must see match, with Blanchard vs. Slamovich being the only thing which really came close. I’m not sure what missed here, as it certainly wasn’t bad at all but it’s just nothing that you need to go out of your way to see. It’s a show that exists and that’s about all.

Results
Fatal Influence vs. Rosemary/Xia Brookside/Lei Ying Lee – Discus punch to Brookside
Elijah b. Shane Haste – Highwayman’s Farewell
Moose won Ultimate X
Ash By Elegance/Heather By Elegance b. Spitfire, Gigi Dolin/Tatum Paxley and Meta Four – Rarefied Air to Threat
Ace Austin/Rascalz b. The System – UFO Cutter to Moose
Steve Maclin b. Eric Young – Rollup
Mike Santana b. Mustafa Ali – Spin The Block
Masha Slamovich b. Tessa Blanchard – Disarm-Her
Nemeths b. Hardys – Danger Zone to Jeff
Joe Hendry b. Ethan Page and Frankie Kazarian – Standing Ovation to Page

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

 




Impact Wrestling – October 31, 2024: They’re Lining Up

Impact Wrestling
Date: October 31, 2024
Location: Wayne State Fieldhouse, Detroit, Michigan
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re done with Bound For Glory and the big story is that Nic Nemeth retained the World Title against Joe Hendry with help from JBL. Other than that, the Hardys are the Tag Team Champions against after a not so thrilling main event. We’re on the way to Turning Point next week, which could go in a few different ways. Let’s get to it.

Here is Bound For Glory if you need a recap.

The show opens with a graphic showing a statement from Chris Bey, thanking fans and the medical staff helping him with his recovery. He knows it will be a long and challenging recovery process. The voiceover talks about the GoFundMe and asks for donations to help him. That does not sound good in the slightest but at least he’s here to make such a statement.

Bound For Glory recap.

PCO wishes us a Happy Halloween.

Opening sequence.

Here is Frankie Kazarian, in a heck of a Joe Hendry cosplay, for an even better Hendry impression, to mock everything about Hendry. This includes the clapping, but here in the real thing to chase him off. Hendry calls this the first entertaining thing Kazarian has done in 47 years, but the reality is that Kazarian took something away from Hendry and the people.

What matters is that there was a conspiracy against him, with Kazarian, John Layfield and Nic Nemeth all being in on it. Cue Nemeth to say he didn’t know what Layfield did and Hendry deserves a rematch. Nemeth wanted to give Hendry a rematch tonight but Santino Marella said no. Cue the System, with Nemeth insulting them and a tag match seemingly being set up for tonight.

Post break Alisha Edwards and Tasha Steelz are still in the ring to say Masha Slamovich’s Knockouts Title reign is on borrowed time. Cue Slamovich to mock Alisha’s catchphrase and say she’s looking for a fight tonight. The double teaming is on so here is Jordynne Grace for the save. Cue Santino Marella to make a tag match between the women for next week, as well as Nemeth/Hendry vs. JDC/Eddie Edwards.

First Class vs. Rascalz

Miguel and Navarro start things off and a wristdrag has Navarro down, meaning Wentz can come in for a rolling snapmare out of the corner. AJ Francis low bridges Wentz outside though and adds a running knee in the corner back inside. Navarro’s double stomp gets two, followed by a big boot to give Francis the same. A backsplash misses though and it’s back to Miguel to pick up the pace. That means a series of quick strikes into a Swanton for two before Wentz and Navarro crash out to the floor. Navarro is fine enough to get in a cheap shot though and the Down Payment finishes Miguel at 7:03.

Rating: C. First Class getting a win to put them back on track is nice to see, as Francis’ bragging is still good enough. Other than that, not much to this one as they only had so much time, though the Rascalz are dropping quite a bit after their big feud with Wes Lee over in NXT. I’m not sure what they can do, but it might be a bit before it gets better.

Josh Alexander/Good Hands vs. Eric Young/Jonathan Gresham/Steve Maclin

The Good Hands are here because the Northern Armory had visa issues. We’re joined in progress with Gresham getting triple stomped in the corner and Skyler dropping a leg for two. Gresham fights up and gets in a shot to the arm, followed by a dropkick for the tag off to Young. Alexander goes after the knee though and it’s Maclin coming in to chase Alexander outside. That’s enough for Alexander to leave and the spear in the Tree of Woe into KIA finishes Skyler at 7:12.

Rating: C+. Well yeah, of course the villains lost here. You had Alexander and two guys literally described as being there as helpers against two former World Champions and a former Ring Of Honor World Champion. This would have been the same thing if the Armory had been involved so at least it wasn’t shaken up very badly by something out of their control.

We look at the last few minutes of Mike Bailey vs. El Hijo del Vikingo at Bound for Glory. I’m assuming this was going to be the Vikingo match where he got hurt.

Mike Bailey gives Trent Seven a pep talk after losing the Call Your Shot gauntlet but Seven isn’t happy. The System interrupts, with Moose saying he might just take the X-Division Title. Works for Bailey.

Dani Luna vs. Ash By Elegance

Jody Threat, Heather By Elegance and the Personal Concierge are here too. An exchange of shoulders goes to Luna but a Heather distraction lets Ash send her into the steps to take over. Back in and Ash grabs a chinlock, with Luna fighting up without much effort. A Blue Thunder Bomb gives Luna two but the Concierge offers a distraction, allowing Heather to get in a broom (witch’s costume) shot. Rarefied Air finishes Luna at 6:02.

Rating: C. Giving Ash an entourage of people to help her steal some wins is a fine idea, as it would stun me if she isn’t at least a serious challenger for the Knockouts Title sooner than later. She’s too good to leave in the middle of the pack for that much longer and has been treated as a big deal. For now though, it looks like By Elegance is coming for the Knockouts Tag Team Titles, as this was the required “beat a champion in a singles match”.

Lei Ying Lee vs. Maggie Moore

Moore works on a wristlock to start but Lee headscissors her down and gets in a stomp. A pump kick staggers Lee but she hits a crossbody out of the corner. Thunderstruck finishes Moore at 2:51. That was certainly a Lee match.

Post match Savannah Evans returns and lays Lee out.

Mike Santana is proud of his win over Moose and says the World Title is a matter of when.

Nic Nemeth/Joe Hendry vs. The System

Frankie Kazarian is on commentary. Hendry takes Edwards down in a hurry to start and we take an early break. Back with Nemeth being knocked outside thanks to an Alisha Edwards distraction and JDC hitting a slingshot elbow for two. The chinlock goes on for a bit before JDC heads up, only to miss a flipping legdrop. Hendry comes back in to clean house and a double clothesline puts the System down. Everything breaks down, leaving Hendry to accidentally hit Nemeth. The Boston Knee Party finishes Nemeth at 10:02.

Rating: C+. This didn’t have time to go very far and was mainly about the arguing among the good guys. The System gets another boost and there is a chance that we’ll be seeing Eddie get a shot at Nemeth in there somewhere. Throw in Kazarian lurking around and Hendry needing a rematch and Nemeth has his plate full for the time being.

Overall Rating: C+. This show was tasked with getting things going in the new direction after the biggest show of the year, but the Chris Bey stuff was hard to get around. Between the opening announcement and constantly mentioning him all night (and of course there is nothing wrong with that), it was hard to get focused on the show, as it’s hard to not think about how bad things might be for him. All that aside, the main event felt like it was setting up more stuff in the World Title picture, but a lot of the rest felt like it was just continuing from Bound For Glory. There was no big new moment, but that’s not something required.

Results
First Class b. Rascalz – Down Payment to Miguel
Eric Young/Jonathan Gresham/Steve Maclin b. Josh Alexander/Good Hands – KIA to Skyler
Ash By Elegance b. Dani Luna – Rarefied Air
Lei Ying Lee b. Maggie Moore – Thunderstruck
The System b. Nic Nemeth/Joe Hendry – Boston Knee Party to Nemeth

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

 




Bound For Glory 2024: Of Course They Did

Bound For Glory 2024
Date: October 26, 2024
Location: Wayne State Fieldhouse, Detroit, Michigan
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

It’s the biggest night of the year in TNA and the show is looking pretty solid. The main event is Joe Hendry challenging Nic Nemeth for the World Title, but the show is billed as a triple main event. The other two main events will see Jordynne Grace defending the Knockouts Title against Masha Slamovich, plus a three way Full Metal Mayhem match for the Tag Team Titles. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Ash By Elegance/Heather Reckless vs. Brinley Reece/Xia Brookside

Reckless messes with Reece’s hair to start so Reece works on her arm. Brookside comes in for a wheelbarrow splash, followed by a double suplex. It’s off to Ash to kick away at Reece but Reckless gets taken down. The fans want Brookside as Ash faceplants Reece into a basement dropkick (which isn’t exactly smooth, with commentary saying is due to their inexperience as a team, which seems to be intentional).

Reece fights out of Reckless’ chinlock and gets in a double knockdown, allowing Brookside to come back in with some clotheslines. Broken wings connects with Ash and Reece’s Codebreaker gets two. It’s back to Reckless, whose high crossbody is rolled through so Reece can hit a TKO for two, with the Personal Concierge putting the foot on the rope. Brookside and the Concierge are ready to fight on the floor, but that leaves Reckless to hit a springboard Spanish Fly. Rarefied Air finishes for Ash at 8:38.

Rating: C. Perfectly fine match here to get things going as the fans are always going to want to see the Concierge get beaten up. If nothing else, I’m glad they didn’t start the biggest night of the year with an NXT star getting the win, as it wouldn’t have felt right. Not a great match here, but the fans were into it and that’s always a smart way to get things going.

We get the Bob Ryder Hall Of Fame video. Ryder was a longtime backstage worker in TNA and had a lot to do with building up wrestling on the internet. He also worked in ECW and WCW and helped develop a lot of the things that got the company on the map. A bunch of wrestlers say thank you and we get quite the THANK YOU BOB chant.

Eric Young is here to induct Ryder into the Hall Of Fame. Young talks about Ryder being part of the original group that made the company come together. Ryder worked in WCW and ECW, becoming a pioneer in online wrestling discussion. Ryder was in talent relations and did all kinds of things to make it work for everyone. Young and Ryder were friends and spent Christmas and Thanksgiving together and all of the Brazilian steakhouses throughout the southeast miss him.

Despite everything he loved, he loved wrestling the most and despite what one idiot backstage says, there is one King Of TNA, and that’s Bob Ryder. Young holds up the plaque for Ryder and another THANK YOU BOB chant wraps it up. You could hear how much this meant to Young and there couldn’t have been a better inductor.

We see the Rhino Hall Of Fame video. It looks at Rhino’s career before TNA, along with various people talking about how big of a deal it was for him to sign with the company. Rhino signed up here because he believed in it.

Here is Tommy Dreamer to induct Rhino into the Hall Of Fame. When he inducted Team 3D, he got 3D’d the next night. When he inducted Raven, he got DDT’d. Whoever invented the phrase “always a bridesmaid, never a bride”, he hates you. Dreamer is excited to induct Rhino into the Hall Of Fame and goes over Rhino’s career path, including coming to TNA. Rhino has found the fountain of youth because he looks the same, works the same and is the same as he has been for twenty five years. He always says it’s the year of the Lions (we pause for the chant) but this is the year of the RHINO.

This brings out Rhino for the YOU DESERVE IT chant, but he says that’s not true. WE deserve it because the fans have been here forever. Rhino talks about how much he loves Detroit and hopes to die here. After mocking Dreamer a bit, Rhino thanks his girlfriend for being here but he won’t be proposing because he doesn’t have the hardware. The fans boo, but Rhino says it’s his night.

Rhino talks about how much he loves his daughter and how much he wishes he had been there more often. He thanks a bunch of people from Jim Cornette to Paul Heyman to WWE and more, including Heath Slater. This brings up a story about his brother being diagnosed with cancer and being given a death sentence. Slater would talk to him during the long car rides and it was like the cancer went away. He thanks Slater for being a friend and a brother.

Rhino talks about his faith in God and how he prays for the family to get home save every time. His goal is to leave the planet a bit better than he found it and that’s what he hopes to do. One more thank you and he’s out. This was an excellent speech and you could feel the emotion from Rhino. Easily one of the best induction speeches I’ve ever heard for an induction and Rhino does deserve it.

Steve Maclin thanks Eric Young for his help but he’s got Josh Alexander by himself. Young is fine with that, but he’s got Maclin’s back if Alexander brings help, which seems fine with Maclin.

Call Your Shot Gauntlet

This is basically a 20 entrant Royal Rumble with 2 minute intervals at first and then 1 minute intervals for everyone else, with an anytime title shot to the winner. We have standard over the top eliminations until there are two left, when it becomes a one on one match. Frankie Kazarian is in at #1 and Zachary Wentz is in at #2. Wentz takes him down in the corner to start and then pulls Kazarian out of the air, only to get caught with a Fameasser over the middle rope. Wentz fights back again and knocks him into the corner as Jake Something is in at #3 to run Wentz over.

Trey Miguel is in at #4 and picks up the pace as Wentz gets a needed breather. Hammerstone is in at #5 and teams up with Something to wreck various people. It’s not enough for an elimination or anything, but it is quite the collection of clotheslines. Rohit Raju is in at #6 and gets in an assortment of stomps. Laredo Kid is in at #7 and is quickly knocked out for the first elimination. Something tosses Miguel and it’s Sami Callihan in at #8. That goes nowhere either and it’s John Skyler in at #9 as Hammerstone seems to have been eliminated.

That means the pace can pick up a bit but no one is eliminated so it’s Bhupinder Gujjar in at #10. Again the pace picks up, including Gujjar having to skin the cat to survive an early elimination attempt. Trent Seven is in at #11 as the ring is starting to fill up. KC Navarro makes it even busier at #12 and is promptly powerbombed by Callihan. Rhino is in at #13 and gets rid of Raju, Skyler and Gujjar in short order. Callihan is gone as well and it’s Tasha Steelz in at #14. Steelz drops Navarro with a cutter but another one to Rhino doesn’t go so well.

Lei Ying Lee is in at #15 and Steelz is quickly out. Jason Hotch is in at #16 and dropkicks Seven in a hurry. Leon Slater is in at #17 as Ying goes after Kazarian, who drops her with a clothesline. Lee is out as Jonathan Gresham is in at #18. Everyone is down so it’s JDC in at #19 to…stay on the floor instead of getting inside. Slater hits his Swanton 450 but JDC is right there to toss him out.

AJ Francis is in at #20, giving us a final grouping of Kazarian, Wentz, Something, Seven, Rhino, Hotch, Gresham, JDC and Francis. Gresham goes after Francis but gets knocked out in a hurry. The Down Payment gets rid of Seven and Hotch is out shortly thereafter. Something and Wentz fight to the apron and both gets eliminated.

We’re down to Kazarian, JDC, Rhino and Francis, with Rhino tossing JDC. Francis gives Rhino a Gore of his own but Rhino hits a clothesline to get rid of him. That leaves us with Rhino and Kazarian in a singles match for the title shot so Rhino hammers away. The referee has to duck a shot though and Kazarian hits a low blow for the fast pin at 26:33.

Rating: C. These things are mainly about getting a bunch of people on the card and there is nothing wrong with that. They were blazing through the introductions, which is kind of what has to be done in a match like this. Rhino was a great choice for the push to the end, but Kazarian was almost destined to win this as he already has a tie to tonight’s World Title match.

And now, the show proper.

Ilona sings the National Anthem.

The opening video hypes up Detroit and talks about how important it is to wrestling history, with a look at the people in the bigger matches, as well as TNA’s history in the city.

X-Division Title: Mike Bailey vs. El Hijo del Vikingo

Bailey is defending and this is something of a dream match. We get the big handshake of respect to start and the fans are very pleased to start. They trade some snazzy rollups to start until Vikingo manages to send him outside. That sets up the big head first dive to drop Bailey as the fans continue to approve. Back in and Bailey starts firing off the kicks, including some shots to the ribs for two.

Vikingo hits a kick of his own and, after avoiding a charge in the corner, kicks Bailey out to the floor. That’s fine with Vikingo, who bounces of the barricade and hurricanrans him down again. Bailey is back up with a corkscrew dive to put Vikingo down as well, meaning it’s time for a double breather. A shooting star press misses for Bailey back inside so he grabs the Green Tea Plunged for two instead.

Bailey hits a fisherman’s Falcon Arrow into a shooting star press for two and we pause for a quick breather. Vikingo ducks a superkick and hits a hard kick to the face of his own and they’re both down again. Bailey wins a battle of the kicks and even hits a crane kick to drop him again. The moonsault knees set up a tornado kick and the Ultimate Weapon gets two. The Flamingo Driver is countered into a Canadian Destroyer though and Vikingo hits some running knees in the corner.

Bailey bails out to the floor but there’s a rope walk into a corkscrew moonsault to drop Bailey again. Back in and Bailey breaks up another 630, only for the moonsault knees to hit apron. Vikingo’s Canadian Destroyer from the post to the apron knocks Bailey silly again and they both go up top. That’s fine with Bailey, who grabs something like a fisherman’s superplex (Meteor Rain) for the pin to retain at 14:49.

Rating: B. The pretty much non-existent build to this match didn’t make me think the title was in jeopardy, but that’s not the worst thing. This was more about giving Bailey a hard fought win over a top international name, which I’ll take over trying to tie everything together with a last second challenger. Rather good opener here, with two very exciting stars.

We run down the pay per view card.

Knockouts Tag Team Titles: Spitfire vs. Rosemary/Wendy Choo

Spitfire is defending. Threat sends Choo into a slam from Luna, who drops Threat onto her for a bonus. Rosemary comes in and gets suplexed for two so it’s already back to Threat. Choo busts out her special pillow (it’s dumb in NXT too) so the pillow gets suplexed, allowing Choo to take over. Choo’s running boot in the corner staggers Luna and a double dropkick in the Tree of Woe makes it worse. A running clothesline out of said corner gets Luna out of trouble and it’s back to Luna to clean house.

The middle rope dropkick hits Rosemary and a powerbomb connects for the same. Luna’s big dive takes Rosemary out again but she has to save Threat from Choo. That just means a DDT to put Luna down on the floor, setting up the big dive from Threat. Back in and Rosemary spears Luna for two but Luna reverses a double superplex into a double powerbomb. Threat comes back in and strikes away but Rosemary hits Choo by mistake. Threat sends both of them flying and the Pressure Drop to Choo retains the titles at 10:28.

Rating: C+. As usual, the titles feel like they belong on a regular TV match more than anything else, but it’s nice to see something like an actual feud over the belts. Rosemary still deserves better than Choo and hopefully that is coming soon, as the pillow stuff is just nonsense. I’m not sure who is next for the titles, but at least Spitfire is being built up.

Post match Rosemary spears Choo down to end the team.

We look at Frankie Kazarian cheating to win the Call Your Shot gauntlet match.

Kazarian is reading Earl Hebner’s book and promises to raise the hand of the World Champion at the end of the night.

Steve Maclin vs. Josh Alexander

The brawl is on in the aisle to start and Alexander is sent hard into the steps. Maclin scores with the Scud and drops him onto the apron as the bell has yet to ring. Alexander manages a quick posting and the leg is wrapped around the post as well. They both get inside and the bell rings with Maclin fighting back. A backbreaker gives Maclin two but the Jarheadbutt misses.

Alexander knees him in the ribs and snaps off a bunch of rolling German suplexes. Maclin reverses into his own rolling German suplexes and they’re finally both down. The slug out goes to Maclin, who ties him in the Tree of Woe, only to miss the running shoulder. Alexander’s crossbody to the back knocks him to the floor for two but Maclin is right back with an Angle Slam.

A top rope superplex rolled into a Death Valley Driver for two leaves Alexander staggered but the referee gets bumped. Alexander scores with a low blow and zip ties Maclin’s hands behind his back. Maclin is able to avoid a charge though and now the running shoulder hits the ribs. The Scud, still with the hands tied (which is FINE with the referee), connects and a running knee gets two on Alexander. Back up and Alexander manages a Tombstone for two, setting up the ankle lock as Maclin passes out at 14:45.

Rating: B-. The hard hitting aspect was good and I wanted to see where it was going, but the zip tie thing completely lost me. How is that either not a DQ or maybe something that earns a quick stoppage? Other than that, Alexander winning was the right call as he’s been losing a good bit lately, so this was the best result, especially with Maclin being protecte.

We recap Matt Cardona vs. PCO in a Monster’s Ball match. Steph de Lander has fallen for PCO and they got married, but Cardona doesn’t approve. Now de Lander is off getting neck surgery, so Cardona has to fight him on his own.

International Title/TNA Digital Media Title: Matt Cardona vs. PCO

Monster’s Ball, meaning anything goes and PCO is defending both titles. An early clothesline drops Cardona but he sends PCO outside, where Cardona realizes there are no countouts. That means Cardona joins him on the floor for some rams into various steel objects, including dropping him back first onto the steps. Cardona whips out a door but a nasty backdrop sends him through it instead.

With Cardona on the floor, PCO loads up a dive, which is cut off with a trashcan shot to the head. Another door, plus some chairs (Cardona doesn’t know why his face isn’t on it) are thrown in, with Cardona building up a structure with more chairs underneath the bridged door. PCO fights back but gets powerbombed through everything for two.

The bag of thumbtacks are pulled out, with some of the tacks going into PCO’s mouth for the Reboot. PCO fights up so it’s Radio Silence for two, with Cardona being stunned. A third door is brought in but PCO breaks it over Cardona’s back. PCO pulls out a bag of his own containing…well more tacks actually. Cardona gets in a low blow and finds a barbed wire baseball bat. PCO fights up, chokeslams him into the tacks and drops the PCOsault to retain at 13:16.

Rating: B-. It was violent and PCO gets his revenge, but these things have become paint by numbers over the years. You can almost guarantee the spots you’ll see, with doors instead of tables this time around. PCO smashing through the annoying Cardona is fine, but there was no big moment here that made this one stand out in any significant way.

We recap Moose vs. Mike Santana. Moose is part of the System and Santana has gone after the team. Santana wants to get into the main event scene so he’s coming after the biggest name the System has.

Mike Santana vs. Moose

Moose has JDC with him. The fight starts fast on the floor with Santana sending him into the barricade. The referee goes to check on Moose, allowing JDC to send Santana into the steps. They get inside so Moose can get two but Santana escapes a powerbomb and hits an enziguri. Santana’s running Cannonball in the corner is countered into a powerbomb to give Moose two more. A release Rock Bottom plants Santana and Moose slaps away, only to miss a spinning high crossbody.

The rolling Buck Fifty gives Santana two so Moose rolls outside, where Santana hits a huge dive. Back in and a leg lariat gives Santana two but Spin The Block misses. Santana settles for a Death Valley Driver into the corner and a 450 gives Santana two. Back up and they go to the corner, where Moose tries the super Sky High but they both crash down instead.

A nasty powerbomb onto the apron has Santana in more trouble but he beats the count at nine. JDC comes in with a chain around his hand (works for the referee) but almost hits Moose, earning himself a Spin The Block. Moose’s spar gets two and the fans are into it again. Another spear is countered though and Spin The Block finishes for Santana at 13:44.

Rating: B. There was no reason for Moose to win here, as Santana has hit the ground running as a singles star and very well could be moving into the World Title scene sooner rather than later. What mattered here was getting Santana the biggest singles win of his career and he fought back to overcome the odds to get there. Perfectly acceptable match, with the result being what matters.

We recap Jordynne Grace defending the Knockouts Title against Masha Slamovich. Grace helped her out against the System and now Slamovich wants another shot at the Knockouts Title. Grace beat her before at Bound For Glory and now it’s time for the showdown against a much improved Slamovich.

Knockouts Title: Jordynne Grace vs. Masha Slamovich

Grace is defending. Feeling out process to start with Grace winning the battle over a lockup. Slamovich gets in some shots of her own but Grace ties her in the ropes for a kick to the leg. They head outside where Grace hits a rolling Death Valley Driver for a near fall back inside. Grace starts kicking away at the leg but it’s too early for the Juggernaut Driver. Slamovich fires off some kicks but the leg is too banged up for the full impact. A guillotine keeps Grace in trouble but she powers up into a Jackhammer for two.

They go up top where Slamovich plants her back down, setting up the Snowplow for a fast near fall. Slamovich knees her down and hits a running spinwheel kick, only for Grace to knock her down again. They fight back up and Grace runs her over, setting up the Juggernaut Driver for two. A leglock immediately goes on but Slamovich bails to the ropes. They go up again, and this time it’s a super Snow Plow to bring Grace down. A package piledriver gives Slamovich the pin and the title at 12:42.

Rating: B. Take two powerhouses, let the beat on each other until one of them can’t get up anymore. That’s all you had here and it worked rather well, with Slamovich FINALLY getting the big title win that she’s been needing. It was a good powerhouse match too, and now we’ll have to see who is coming after the title next. I’m not sure how much longer Grace has on her deal around here, but odds are she’ll be in WWE sooner than later, so this isn’t much of a setback.

We recap Joe Hendry challenging Nic Nemeth for the World Title. Hendry has been the hottest thing in the company and now he needs to win the big one. Nemeth isn’t so sure of that, but Frankie Kazarian, now with his guaranteed title shot, is lurking around as guest referee.

TNA World Title: Joe Hendry vs. Nic Nemeth

Nemeth is defending and Frankie Kazarian is guest referee. They go rather slowly to start with Hendry’s wristlock not getting him very far so Nemeth hits a nice dropkick to really stagger Hendry. The fans do NOT like Nemeth’s home state of Ohio so Hendry running Nemeth over makes them feel better. A rather delayed vertical suplex puts Nemeth down and Hendry drops him again with some right hands.

There’s the fall away slam to send Nemeth flying but it’s too early for the Standing Ovation. Instead Alexander grabs a pop up powerbomb for two and the ankle lock goes on (as I remember Kazarian is the referee, as he hasn’t been a factor thus far). Nemeth makes the rope so Hendry puts him on top and grabs a super fall away slam. Kazarian teases the cash in but Hendry tells him to do his job instead.

That’s enough for Nemeth to hit a Fameasser for two, even with Kazarian counting rather quickly. Hendry rolls through a high crossbody and hits an AA for another near fall. They fight out to the apron, with Nemeth planting him down with Hendry falling out to the floor. Kazarian tries to cash in again but John Bradshaw Layfield is here to give him the Clothesline From JBL.

Another Clothesline takes Hendry down and there’s a third to take out Nic’s brother Ryan Nemeth. Back in and Nic, who might not have seen what happened, hits Danger Zone and another referee comes in to count two. The superkick is countered but Nemeth counters the counter into Danger Zone to retain at 15:10.

Rating: B-. Yes really, JBL just helped cost Joe Hendry the World Title in the main event of Bound For Glory. I don’t care if Hendry is leaving next week (which he isn’t), you need to give him the title here. Hendry has been the next big thing for way too long around here, but instead of going with the title change, we’re sticking with the TNA tradition of NOT going with what the fans are begging to see. The match was good but not great, with a rather slow pace until the big messy finish. Which was about JBL.

We look at the Hall Of Fame inductions.

Genesis is back on January 19, a Sunday.

Here’s what’s coming on Impact.

We recap the Tag Team Titles in Full Metal Mayhem. The Hardys and ABC both want the belts back do we’ll do it in TNA’s version of TLC.

Tag Team Titles: Hardys vs. ABC vs. The System

The System is defending and it’s basically Tables, Ladders And Chairs. The ring is all painted up in something Jeff Hardy had to design, complete with something like a ramp on the floor in front of the hard camera. We starts slowly as the champs get double teamed to the floor with Poetry In Motion.

Bey takes them out with a dive and a bunch of chairs are brought in, but instead we get Austin splashing Myers through a table out in the crowd. Matt legdrops Eddie off a ladder through another table so we’re down to challengers vs. challengers at the moment. The Hardys take over inside, with the Plot Twist taking Bey down. Jeff gets knocked into the corner for Poetry In Motion but comes back with some ladder shots.

ABC grabs a specialty ladder and tries to climb but it takes too long to hold up, allowing the Hardys to make the save. The big ladder is bridged in a regular ladder, basically cutting the ring in half. They grab chairs and walk across the bridge until Austin and Jeff get knocked onto the bridged part, leaving everyone down. The System returns from the dead to pour a bunch of ladders out before setting up a bunch of tables (which are all painted as well).

The Hardys are put through the tables but Bey breaks up the Conchairtos. The 1-2-Sweet takes Myers down and Bey goes up but gets Blue Thunder Bombed off the ladder for another crash. Matt tries to climb, only to get pulled down with the Art Of Finesse. Myers and Bey go up the ladder to slug it out but Bey is left hanging. Myers hits a spear off the ladder ala Edge in 2001 and everyone is down.

It’s Matt coming back in with a chair, which he wraps around Edwards’ neck for the Twist Of Fate. Jeff brings in the really big ladder and Swantons Myers through a table at ringside. Austin goes up so here is Alisha Edwards to break it up. Matt takes out Alisha but Eddie goes up, only for the Hardys to throw chairs at him and powerbomb him off the ladder through tables at ringside. That’s enough for the Hardys to win the titles at 27:17.

Rating: D+. As soon as the Hardys were announced for the match, you could tell what was coming. As soon as it was announced as Full Metal Mayhem, you knew it wasn’t going to be very good. But then they went nearly half an hour in slow motion, with the whole thing being a Hardys tribute, because the Hardys have to win everything.

The painted ring, ladders and tables were little more than an eyesore and didn’t help anything. Also, why would TNA allow the challengers to set up the mood of the match or whatever it was? Shouldn’t that be the System’s deal? Either way, rather weak main event, as the Hardys just cannot do this anymore. Naturally, they’re the Tag Team Champions and get the big, ahem, feel good moment to end the show.

The Hardys celebrate with the fans to wrap it up.

Oh and one more thing:

I was watching on TNA+, the official TNA streaming service.

Show ends, Thanks For Watching graphic comes up. Fine.

Below that.

“Don’t Miss Bound For Glory On October 26!”

Overall Rating: B-. And that’s TNA in a nutshell: they have some good stuff (most of the matches were completely acceptable or better) and a nice moment with Slamovich FINALLY winning the title, only to entirely overthink the ending of the two biggest matches. Hendry winning the title, even if he loses it back on Thursday, was what the fans wanted to see. Instead, they got JBL and Ryan Nemeth getting involved before Hendry lost pretty much clean (he fought back up and even tried his finisher, so he at least had a chance).

Then there’s the main event, which was roughly the 14th time this promotion has paid tribute to the Hardys. They’re a great team and legends and everything, but that doesn’t mean they need to win the titles in the main event of your version of Wrestlemania. Right now, TNA needs something to fire the fans up.

That could have been Hendry, but instead they have a bunch of rather aged champions (save for Mike Bailey, 36, the youngest men’s champion is 44 year old Nic Nemeth). You can be older and still more than hang in the ring, but you might want to go with some people whose heyday wasn’t 15+ years ago.

Overall, this show was good, but it had the same problem that has plagued TNA for almost its entire history: they won’t just give the fans what is right there in front of them. I liked most of the show and most of it worked, only for the last two matches to leave a really bad taste in my mouth. That shouldn’t be happening very often, and it is almost a tradition around here.

Results
Ash By Elegance/Heather Reckless b. Brinley Reece/Xia Brookside – Rarefied Air to Reece
Frankie Kazarian won the Call Your Shot Gauntlet last eliminating Rhino
Mike Bailey b. El Hijo del Vikingo – Meteor Rain
Spitfire b. Rosemary/Wendy Choo – Pressure Drop to Choo
Josh Alexander b. Steve Maclin – Ankle lock
PCO b. Matt Cardona – PCOsault
Mike Santana b. Moose – Spin The Block
Masha Slamovich b. Jordynne Grace – Package piledriver
Nic Nemeth b. Joe Hendry – Danger Zone
Hardys b. The System and ABC – Hardys pulled down the titles

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.