AAA Triplemania 28: I’m No Impacto Estelar

TripleMania XXVIII
Date: December 12, 2020
Location: Arena Ciudad de Mexico
Commentators: Hugo Savinovich, Jose Manuel Guillen

I’m going to do something that has worked for me oh so well before and watch a show with commentary in a language I barely understand. This is the biggest show of the year for AAA and one of the biggest throughout the year in all of Mexico. That is the extent of what I know about what is coming on this show so let’s get to it.

In case it isn’t clear, I’m coming into this completely blind and only have a tiny bit of Spanish comprehension so I’m going to be completely lost on most of this.

We open with commentary being rather excited and throwing us to some of the family of company founder Antonio Pena and later boss Joaquin Roldan.

Commentary actually switches to English for a bit, giving me the slightest hint of what’s going on for a second.

Poder del Norte vs. Dinastia/Maximo/Mr. Iguana

Poder (Tito Santana (not that one)/Carta Brava Jr./Mocho Cota Jr.) seems to be some kind of paramilitary group. The other team is a weird masked man (Iguana, who crawled to the ring), a mini (Dinastia) and an exotico (Maximo), and thankfully the intros have shots of them with their names superimposed, making me feel like I’m in a bad sitcom opening (assuming a luchador sitcom would be bad that is).

Poder cleans house to start but get dropkicked out to the floor, setting up the double dive from Iguana and Dinastia. We settle down to Maximo hiptossing Cota to start and hitting a monkey flip as commentary switches to English to explain the tagging system. Cota is sent outside for a moonsault from Maximo and it’s off to Dinastia to headscissor Brava. Another armdrag puts Brava on the floor so Santana comes in to deck Dinastia.

Some flips across the ring get Dinastia out of trouble though and it’s Iguana coming in to flip everyone over and whip Santana with….something. Iguana is pulled outside for a crash though and Dinastia is knocked down, leaving Maximo all alone. A metal sheet shot drops Maximo and then Dinastia, leaving Iguana to get chopped against the ropes. Dinastia gets stomped down as well but Iguana saves Maximo from some kind of a triple team. Iguana hits the big dive and Maximo adds one of his own as everyone goes to the floor.

Back in and Poder has to kick out of a triple cover, with the camera cuts making it kind of jarring. Poder gets their own triple near falls, followed by Carta hitting an Air Raid Crash to drive Dinastia onto the apron. Maximo is put through a table, leaving Dinastia to snap off a hurricanrana to Santana. Iguana strikes away with a belt but gets triplebombed, followed by a series of running shots in the corner. A frog splash finishes Iguana at 11:00.

Rating: C. In what is likely to be a theme on this show, I’m not sure what to make of the match from a storyline perspective but it was a fun way to use eleven minutes. Poder feels like a low rent Shield knockoff and as a low rent Shield knockoff, I can think of worse options. The other trio felt pretty thrown together so if they were out there to make Poder look good, it worked out well enough.

The ring is disinfected after the match.

Iguana is still down and seems to have been injured. That’s never good, but neither is someone just picking him up to carry him out instead of using a stretcher.

Someone named El Charro Gonzalez dances to what sounds like an upbeat version of Thriller.

That would seem to be accurate as we see the original La Parka (who used Thriller as his theme music) inducted into the Hall of Fame. I believe the owners of the company talk about what he meant to AAA. Parka was a big deal for the company so this is a little more special than it may seem.

Video on La Parka, featuring a bunch of people doing his dance.

Commentary talks about La Parka.

Tag Team Titles: Lucha Bros vs. Jinetes del Aire vs. Los Mercenarios

That would be Pentagon/Rey Fenix (defending) vs. Myzteziz Jr./Octagon Jr. (the latter of whom has a title of his own) vs. Texano Jr./Rey Escorpion. I’ve seen Jinetes before and they were pretty good. There are no tags to start, just in case I wanted to have a chance to know what is going on. Jintes clear the ring to start and hit some dives but Los Mercenarios hit their own dives.

Back in and the camera starts cutting around so fast I can barely keep track of how Fenix is getting beaten up. It’s Escorpion getting double teamed by Jintes, including a 450 for two with the Bros making the save. Now it’s the Bros beating up Octagon, including Penta suplexing Fenix into him in the corner. Los Mercenarios make the save this time and it’s time to head outside again for the next series of dives.

Myzteziz hits a big shooting star from the top onto the pile and we settle down to Octagon kicking Fenix in the head, setting up a springboard cutter for two. Not to be outdone, Fenix moonsaults over him into a German suplex (cool) but it’s Escorpion and Myzteziz coming in to take their places. They both head to the middle rope with Escorpion snapping off a hurricanrana.

That leaves Texano and Penta to chop it out with Texano’s leg lariat getting two. The referee bothers doing something to calm things down for a change, allowing Escorpion to get in a baseball bat (wrapped in chains and barbed wire) shot to Penta’s leg. Thankfully that’s enough to get Penta taken to the back so it’s time for Texano to go after Fenix’s mask, freaking commentary out. The mask is taken off but Myzteziz springboards in with a double dropkick to Los Mercenarios.

Fenix gets the mask back on but it’s a double powerbomb to put Jintes down. The camera shot goes wide and it’s Fenix coming back in to start cleaning house, including sending Los Mercenarios out to the floor. Fenix and Octagon hit stereo flip dives to the floor, leaving Myzteziz to hit Fenix with a shooting star press. Escorpion pulls the referee out at two but here’s Penta for the save. A superkick, with the bad leg, knocks Myzteziz down, setting up the spike Fear Factor to retain the titles at 14:24.

Rating: B. Yep that’s what you were expecting from this one and that worked out rather well. This was all about flying all over the place with all three teams doing their high flying thing. Penta coming back in at the end was a nice story to tell and they let Fenix showcase himself, which is always a good thing. Awesome high flying match here, which is what you want from lucha libre.

Post match Black Taurus comes in to help Los Mercenarios with a big beatdown but El Hijo del Vikingo makes the save. A big twisting hurricanrana sends Taurus off the top and onto the pile. I’ve liked Vikingo and Taurus when I’ve seen them so cool segment.

Commentary talks for a bit.

Two guys named Daniel Khosravi and Orson Padilla (they might be fans) are in front of two masked female wrestlers, who chop the one standing behind them.

Two female interviewers, Barby Villela and Ana Carbajal, talk about Facebook and the Lucha Bros.

Copa Triplemania Femenil: Gauntlet Match

This is the first ever female version of an annual competition under Royal Rumble rules (one minute intervals, pinfall/submission/over the top eliminations). Lady Maravilla (who has a title, which I believe is half of the Mixed Tag Team Titles) is in at #1 and Lady Shani in at #2. The referee gets a special introduction because lucha libre is rather different than American. A lot of flipping ensues to start and they trade one counts (so it’s more than just over the top eliminations) until Shani knees her into the corner.

La Hiedra is in at #3 and gets hit in the face by Shani. A German suplex sends Shani flying though and the double teaming is on until Faby Apache is in at #4. Apache starts cleaning house and Maravilla kicks Hiedra by mistake. Mamba, who I believe is an exotico, is in at #5 and it’s time to gang up on Apache.

It’s not enough to get rid of her though and here’s Hades (who seems to be cat themed) in at #6. She goes after Apache as well before hurricanranaing anyone she can. With everyone brawling again, it’s Chik Tormenta in at #7 to unload on Hades and get rid of her in a hurry. It’s back to going after but not eliminating Apache until Big Mami (I think you get the idea) is in at #8. The house cleaning doesn’t go at as fast of a speed as usual but Mami does crush Shani in the corner.

A double clothesline drops Apache and Hiedra at the same time as Pimpinela Escarlata (a legend) is in at #9 to complete the field. Escarlata cleans house until a double clothesline puts him down. A double armdrag gets him right back into things and a rope walk armdrag/headscissors puts Shani and Hiedra down again. The battle of the exoticos is broken up and a few people get together to get rid of Mami.

Escarlata gets sent to the apron, where he kisses Mamba, only to get knocked out in a hurry. Mamba is out as well as the ring is clearing out in a hurry. The referee grabs Apache but Tormenta dropkicks him down by mistake. Tormenta gets kicked out and it’s time for a parade of running shots to the face. Hiedra and Maravilla double team Apache and, with help from the referee, manage to get rid of her. That leaves us with Hiedra, Maravilla and Shani with Shani sunset flipping Maravilla.

Hiedra tries….I’m not sure if it’s a double pin or double submission but it doesn’t work either way. They chop it out until Hiedra misses a charge and gets dumped out. That leaves Shani vs. Maravilla in a regular singles match with pin or submission only. Maravilla takes her down into something like an STF but Shani is up in a hurry with a rolling sunset flip for two. Something like a tornado DDT doesn’t work for Maravilla but an enziguri connects for her own near fall.

Maravilla goes up top but it’s an Iconoclasm for two more. There’s a northern lights suplex for the same (with a pretty fast count) so Shani grabs a modified Tequila Sunrise. That lasts all of three seconds before it’s a double underhook pull to keep Maravilla in trouble. Shani ties up one leg and one arm and kind of sits back to pull on both at once, which is enough for the tap and the cup at 23:18.

Rating: D. This didn’t exactly work and I can’t say I’m surprised. It was a bunch of people having some not so quick eliminations, which made for a rather long and dull match. I’m not sure how much difference it would make knowing the stories here, as a handful of the women felt like they were anything serious. Pretty bad stuff here and it was the frist serious miss on the show.

Post match Hiedra runs in to beat on Shani and some unnamed woman joins Hiedra and Maravilla to beat her down. Hades makes a failed save attempt and the evil trio stands tall until Faby Apache makes the real save. Shani does get the cup.

Two guys (Aczino/Lobo Estepario) rap about AAA but and Psycho Clown joins in.

Commentary is rather confused.

Psycho Circus vs. LA Park/Hijo de LA Park/Blue Demon Jr.

The Circus is Psycho Clown/Monster Clown/Murder Clown and Hijo has an unidentified title with him. It’s a brawl to start (duh) and the camera goes wide as Hijo takes Psycho down on the floor. Everyone brawls on the outside until Hijo throws in both Monster and a traffic barrel. There’s a trashcan shot to put Psycho down and Murder is double teamed on the way in.

A double suplex puts Monster through a trashcan but Murder pulls Hijo to the floor to break up a dive. The other Clowns hit stereo dropkicks through the ropes to take Hijo down and a powerslam/spinebuster get two each on Park and Demon. Park gets elbowed down and there’s a triple splash to make it worse. It’s Demon’s turn to take a beating with a backbreaker into a legdrop putting him down. Hijo tries to dive in but gets caught in a swinging Rock Bottom.

Park comes back but gets dropkicked down in a hurry. Demon and Hijo have a bit more success by getting rid of Monster and Murder, leaving Psycho to get double teamed. A slam sets up a top rope splash but Demon and Hijo get in a fight over who gets the pin. Park comes back in to try and break it up, only to get dropkicked outside. The Circus hits some dives but Hijo hits a running Canadian Destroyer for two on Psycho. Not that it matters as Psycho is back up with a super Spanish Fly to pin Hijo at 11:44.

Rating: B-. While this one was a bit obvious, it’s a good sign when you can figure out the story they are telling in a match despite having no idea what is going on. The match was more wild action (probably better than having some of these guys trying for a regular match) and it worked well enough, but some of these things are starting to run together. Park vs. Demon is probably coming at a major show and that should work out well enough.

We get a live performance from a band who isn’t named on screen. Commentary tells us that they are called Molotov. Noted.

Terror Purpura/Venenoide vs. Aracno/Leyenda Americana

So this is one of the cooler nerdy moments in recent memory as Marvel (yes that Marvel) has decided to have some of their characters as wrestlers in AAA (I don’t get it either), meaning this is Thanos (Brian Cage)/Venom (Black Taurus) vs. Spider-Man (Lio Rush)/Daga. The costumes look decent enough (though they do have a bit of a home made feel to them), as you can tell who they are supposed to be, though aside from Cage, you wouldn’t know who is playing them.

Spider (in a hoodie) doesn’t get very far by picking up the pace and is sent into the corner. Back up and a pair of headscissors put Venom down and America comes in for a running Downward Spiral. Thonos comes in to run the ropes with America and nails him with a clothesline. That earns him an enziguri but Venom’s cheap shot lets Thanos his another clothesline to take over.

Spider comes back in to start the double team kicking but Thanos pulls him up for a gorilla press powerslam. It’s back to Venom to go for the mask before settling for a heck of a backbreaker. Commentary gets VERY excited about all of this and Thanos’ release German suplex gets two on Spider. We hit the bearhug for a bit before Spider flips out and nails a spinning enziguri.

The hot tag brings in America to strike away and house is cleaned. A brainbuster drops Venom and there’s the springboard Stunner from Spider to Thanos. The Death Valley Driver into the Final Hour gets two but America pulls Thanos out of the air for a northern lights suplex. A Venom distraction lets Thanos get in a low blow so Spider comes in to clean house. Spider goes up but gets pulled out of the air as well, setting up the Drill Claw to give Thanos the pin at 12:32.

Rating: C+. This was one of the more bizarre things I’ve seen in a bit but it was a pretty fun one too. You had some talented people in there and they got to do their thing in a rather unique setup. I’m not sure if Marvel is going to want to do this again but it was a cool idea for a one off at least, so why not? Throw in a goofy angle and you might have something here for a short term idea.

Post match the lights flicker and Captain Marvel (a woman) appears to clear the ring.

Commentary talks about the best wrestler in the world.

Lady Shani has an interview about her win.

We recap Kenny Omega vs. Laredo Kid for the AAA Mega Title. Omega wants all of the belts in the world and Kid wants to bring it back to AAA.

AAA Mega Title: Laredo Kid vs. Kenny Omega

Omega is defending and Kid’s Cruiserweight Title isn’t on the line. Hijo del Vikingo and Michael Nakazawa are the respective seconds. Omega goes for the arm to start but gets taken to the mat with Kid cranking on the leg. Back up and they fight over a wristlock but Kid bounces around in the corner, setting up a hurricanrana to the floor. The dive doesn’t get to launch so Kid goes outside with him, only to get dropped head first onto the apron.

Back in and a backbreaker gets two on Kid, meaning it’s time for the double arm crank. Kid fights out and dropkicks the knee out before backdropping Omega into a crotching on top. A springboard cutter gives Kid a rather close two and Omega rolls to the apron. Kid makes the mistake of following so Omega grabs a Death Valley Driver onto the apron for a big knockdown.

Omega sends Kid over the barricade and jumps Vikingo, which hopefully sets up his next title defense (granted in AAA that could be in six months but at least he tried). Kid is back up with a kick to Omega and a pair of dives from Kid and Vikingo take out Omega and Nakazawa. Back in and Nakazawa’s interference fails as Omega’s running flip dive takes him out by mistake, allowing Laredo to hit his own big dive.

The Phoenix splash misses though and Omega blasts him with a V Trigger. There’s the Snapdragon to drop Kid again but the One Winged Angel is countered into a poisonrana to plant Omega. Kid gets two off a 450 and it’s time to start in on Omega’s knee. The knee is fine enough to knock Kid’s springboard out of the air though and Omega drops him with a Jay Driller for two. Another V Trigger misses but Lee’s top rope hurricanrana is countered into a powerbomb.

There’s another V Trigger for two on Lee but he catches Omega on top for a northern lights superplex and another near fall. Lee gets creative with a 450 to the leg and a leglock makes Omega scream a lot. The long crawl gets Omega to the rope and he avoids another 450 to leave Kid down.

A buckle bomb into a doctor bomb gives Omega two but the One Winged Angel is countered into Rhea Ripley’s Prism Trap. That’s turned into another leglock on the mat until Omega rolls over to the rope for the break. Lee gets caught on top though and it’s a SUPER ONE WINGED ANGEL to retain the title at 23:39.

Rating: B+. These guys beat the heck out of each other and Omega felt like a star. At the same time, Lee was rather good as well, which has been the case with everything I’ve seen him in so far. If nothing else, after all of the multi-person and tag matches, it was great to see a singles match for a change. I understand that this isn’t how lucha works most of the time and there is nothing wrong with that, but it can be nice to have something different to shake up the card a bit. And Omega only hit a handful of V Triggers so it wasn’t even as repetitive.

Post match Omega isn’t interested in shaking hands.

Psycho Clown has an interview.

We get the rap video from earlier. At least I think it’s the same one from earlier.

We recap the main event of Pagano vs. Chessman in a hair vs. hair match, which was announced all the way back in March. They don’t seem to like each other.

Chessman vs. Pagano

Hardcore rules and Texano Jr. and Lady Shani are the respective seconds. They both miss a bunch of strikes to start until Chessman grabs a release German suplex. Pagano is right back with one of his own and they head outside with Pagano hitting a dropkick from the apron. There’s a suicide dive to put Chessman down again but he pulls up a metal sign to block another.

Chessman hits his own dive before they head back inside to run the ropes. Pagano dropkicks him into the corner and snaps off a hurricanrana to put Chessman on the floor. Of course that means a big dive and they’re both down outside. Back in and a rolling knee to the face gets two on Pagano, followed by a suplex through a surprise table in the corner. Pagano is right back with a running Blockbuster for two of his own but Chessman beats him down with some metal sheets.

A few more shots give Pagano a breather and he heads outside to lean a ladder against the barricade. The big flip dive only hits the ladder though and Shani goes over to check on him. Pagano is busted open so Chessman hits him in the head with another sheet for two. Chessman’s dive goes head first into a pile of chairs for his own nasty crash and he’s down again. Back in and Pagano hits White Noise but here are Los Mercanarios to beat own Pagano and Shani.

Cue Los Jinetes del Aire for the save and a bunch of dives, leaving Pagano to spear Chessman down. They head up top and Chessman drives Pagano down to the floor and through a table. Back in and Chessman tries a super hurricanrana through a table at ringside but Pagano reverses into a kind of spinebuster through it instead.

They go inside again with Pagano beating on him with the broken ladder. The moonsault with said ladder misses but Pagano drives him down for two more. The slugout is on and they fight to the floor with Chessman finding a guitar and blasting Hugo Savinovich, who comes up bleeding. They climb onto the set and it’s a super White Noise to drive Chessman into the rather full bed of a well placed truck for the pin at 23:46.

Rating: C. This felt like a wild brawl and nothing more, which doesn’t exactly feel like a reason for a main event. I know this is the kind of thing that is always going to headline Triplemania, but it didn’t quite click. You can only get so much out of hitting each other in the head with things and putting them through tables and they reached that limit pretty fast. It’s fine enough, but it doesn’t feel like the main event of the biggest show of the year.

Chessman is stretchered back to the ring for the haircut. He even throws the hair at Pagano to show some disgust.

The remaining commentator shouts a lot to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. As someone who has no idea what is going on with this show, I liked it well enough and that’s a nice feeling to have. There is enough good action on the show to make the whole thing work, but the stuff that is bad is pretty bad indeed. Maybe I would get a lot more out of it by knowing the backstories, but for the most part this did not feel all that huge. That could be due to the Coronavirus changes, though what we got was good enough. It doesn’t feel epic, but what does these days?

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Major League Wrestling Fusion – May 2, 2020: The Semifinals

IMG Credit: Major League Wrestling

Fusion #108
Date: May 2, 2020
Location: Auditorio de Tijuana, Tijuana, Mexico
Commentators: Rich Bocchini, AJ Kirsch

MLW took over the Super Series last week and this time around it’s Injustice’s chance to win some titles. The big main event is for the AAA Trios Titles, which could be a heck of a match as Injustice can do well in the ring. I’m not sure what to expect from this show but it should be rather energized. Let’s get to it.

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

Injustice knew they’d get here and they’re ready to win some gold.

Opening sequence.

Black Destiny/Fantastick/Rayo Star vs. Mocho Cota Jr./Tito Santana/Carta Brava Jr.

This is not part of the Super Series. Destiny and company have an unnamed woman with them. And no it’s not that Tito Santana. Cota and company headscissors the other three to the floor setting up the triple dives to put everyone down. Fantastick hurricanranas Brava into the corner as commentary does that annoying thing where they don’t say who is who in a match where a lot of fans aren’t familiar with the wrestlers.

A Code Red gets two on Santana and it’s Cota coming in to dropkick Star. Everything breaks down with Star getting catapulted into a chair shot to the head (well the arms in front of the head so it’s not as bad). Star gets thrown over the barricade and through a bunch of chairs, followed by a double basement dropkick to the masked face.

Back from a break with Brava hitting an Alberto double stomp on Fantastick for two with Star making the save. A crucifix bomb hits Star with Destiny making her own save. Destiny grabs the Lethal Injection for two on Cota as everything breaks down one more time.

A dropkick and Canadian Destroyer give Cota and company a triple near fall, leaving Destiny to put Brava on the barricade. The suicide dive crushes him so Santana and Cota take out Fantastick and Santana with their own suicide dives. The unnamed woman goes up top for a corkscrew dive onto Fantastick and Star. Back in and a frog splash finishes Star at 10:55.

Rating: C+. It was fun and the kind of lucha match that often works but there is only so much that I can get out of six guys I don’t know doing spot after spot. These guys are talented but commentary didn’t seem to know who they were for the most part and that made things even more confusing. Still though, nice opener, as it needed to be.

We recap Richard Holliday taking the Caribbean Title from Savio Vega.

Holliday and Alexander Hammerstone go to Savio Vega’s childhood house (it’s yellow), which Holliday has purchased. He has the Caribbean Title and the title to the house, making him Richie Two Titles. They don’t like the smell around here though so they’re out.

We look at Injustice jumping Brian Pillman Jr.

Pillman wants Jordan Oliver in a hair vs. hair match.

Video on Jinetes del Aire.

And now, more Cooking With LA Park, plus his sons for some bonuses. It’s pork day, and Park wants Psycho Clown to pay attention because Park has the recipe for PAIN. After a promo on Pagano coming to MLW, Park is ready to cook. We start with a hint of blubber but hold on because Park needs to rant about the clowns embarrassing America. With that heating up, it’s time to fry the father of Psycho Clown: Super Porky.

The sons have cut up the “tomatoes, onions and other gimmicks”, allowing Park to yell about Psycho Clown needing to work hard in MLW. We flash forward to the sons talking about how the family eats like champions. Park adds the sausage, bacon and pork, followed by the chopped steak. As that cooks, Park talks about how the Parks want all the MLW titles. Their next target is Konnan, who is bringing the clowns for the Parks to conquer.

Now they add salt, pepper and garlic, the latter is good for the blood pressure of obese wrestlers. Park adds in more sausage, which is WAY better than American sausage you see. Onions and tomatoes are added and, after that cooks a bit, it’s time for tomato juice and water. Finally it’s the seasoning cubes and flour tortillas…..and the feed cuts out. This was over twelve minutes long and hilarious with Park having to stop for one rant about Pagano and Psycho Clown after another. And now I’m hungry.

Video on the Super Series. MLW is up 4-2, meaning AAA can only tie.

Davey Boy Smith Jr. wants Jacob Fatu because the title match is coming. If Fatu can survive a running powerslam, it’s the Crossface to make Smith champion.

Video on Injustice.

We look at the Hammerstone vs. Mance Warner brawl from two weeks ago.

Warner doesn’t like Holliday buying Savio’s house but he’ll deal with him later. As for Hammerstone, he can get all the candy he wants in Mexico but he’s still got knees that can be hit with a baseball bat. He doesn’t care how big Hammerstone is because he has heart. This is for the people at home and he isn’t quitting. They’ll fight soon.

Dan Lambert is suing Low Ki for wrecking the press conference last week.

AAA Trios Titles: Jinetes del Aire vs. Injustice

Jinetes (Myzteziz Jr./Octagon Jr./Vikingo) are defending and Injustice throws tortillas to the crowd. It’s a superkick off to start with Reed and Vikingo being the only ones left standing. Vikingo goes up top for a rope walk hurricanrana but Reed flips to his feet for a nice counter. Vikingo flips out of Reed’s hurricanrana so Oliver is back up to kick Vikingo in the face. Myzteziz is back in for a knee to Oliver’s face and a springboard corkscrew plancha. Octagon and Brazil come in for the flip off until the champs come in to triple team Brazil in the corner.

Vikingo pops Brazil into the air for a heck of a missile dropkick from Octagon (that was awesome) for two as Reed makes the save. A Codebreaker into a wheelbarrow suplex into a shooting star press gets two on Reed with Oliver making the save this time around. That leaves Oliver to get beaten up for a change until Reed and Oliver comes back in to bail him out.

A double spinebuster/German suplex combination plants Myzteziz and it’s a neckbreaker into a backbreaker for two on Vikingo. The champs are sent outside again and a big suicide dive hits Octagon. Myzteziz and Vikingo are back in for their own dives, followed by the springboard corkscrew dive from Octagon for a bigger crash.

Back in and two of the three 450s miss with the third one hitting knees to give Brazil two. Oliver gets an ugly German suplex on Vikingo and Brazil hits a big flip dive to take him out again. Reed hits the great running over the top cutter on Octagon to the floor, leaving Myzteziz to get caught in a double Crossface/Boston crab combination.

Cue Brian Pillman Jr. to spit beer in Brazil’s face so the champs are back up with superkicks. Pillman isn’t done as he takes the chair away from Brazil, leaving Vikingo to hit an Asai moonsault. Myzteziz adds a big dive of his own, followed by Octagon hitting an inverted Swanton for the pin to retain at 13:45.

Rating: B. This was similar to the opener but with more talented people who can work this style a lot better. They didn’t stop for the entire match and that made for a good showcase of everyone. Injustice looked like they could hang with the champs the entire time until the interference (which made perfect sense here) and it was a success for everyone involved. Nice stuff here.

MLW – 4

AAA – 3

Overall Rating: B-. I know it wasn’t a big title defense or anything all that important, but what mattered here was that something in the end felt somewhat important. It also helped that there was some solid action and storyline advancement throughout the night. That and LA Park and company cooking, which was one of the funniest things I’ve seen in MLW since it got started. Nice show here, though getting back to normal will be nice….whenever that is.

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