NXT – October 6, 2026: First Steps

NXT
Date: October 6, 2026
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Booker T., Vic Joseph

We’re less than a month away from Halloween Havoc and it’s time to start getting ready for the show. That means finding a new #1 contender, which still could be Mason Rook after he didn’t get his scheduled shot last week. We also have the Dusty Classic continuing, which should be some fun action. Let’s get to it.

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

We get a new opening sequence, with a new theme song.

Video on the battle royal for a future Women’s Title shot.

Birthright promises to win their matches tonight.

Zilla Fatu wants revenge on Birthright.

Zilla Fatu vs. Lexis King

The rest of Birthright is here with King, with Fatu jumping him to start fast. They get inside for the bell and Fatu blocks a drop toehold to throw him in the corner. Some headbutts connect in the corner so Birthright pulls King to the floor, with Fatu taking everyone out. Arianna Grace offers a distraction though, allowing King to get in a low blow as we take a break. We come back with King getting two off a Blockbuster and the chinlock goes on. Fatu gets up and hits a Samoan drop, followed by a running headbutt. Birthright interferes again so King gets in a superkick…which just annoys Fatu. The Triple Z finishes King at 9:18.

Rating: C+. Zilla is continuing to feel like a star and the fans are certainly seeming to be behind him. At the same time, that is only going to go so far if he’s stuck with Birthright. They aren’t the biggest stars and even the whole team don’t feel like they combine to become a threat to him. Hopefully he wraps this up soon and moves on to someone bigger, which shouldn’t be that hard.

Post match Birthright jumps Fatu, with Charlie Dempsey chairing him down. Fatu’s hand gets crushed in the steps to leave him laying.

Kelani Jordan doesn’t like the #1 contenders battle royal. Chantel Monroe and Layla Diggs both come in to say they’ll be winning.

Dion Lennox talks about how people connect with Cruz Montana but the truth is Montana took the easy path. Lennox is completely natural and he has made the right decisions every day, which is the real difficult path. Yeah he wanted to just party with his friends but he kept working to get to his goal. Montana beat his addiction, but Montana will never beat him.

Montana runs into Lizzy Rain and gives her a pep talk before the battle royal. TNA Knockouts Champion Xia Brookside comes in to say that Montana has changed. Montana looks at Brookside, who has gone from good to evil in the last few months and says “I’ve changed?” I’m not sure how to handle a wrestler with a memory.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round: Hank & Tank vs. Shido Ash/Viktor Zanov

Ash and Zanov are judo fighters from Evolve. Ash grabs a guillotine choke on Hank to start and sends him down into the corner. Zanov comes in to power Tank into the corner, with Hank being sent next to him and we take a break. We come back with a powerslam getting two on Hank as everything breaks down.

Tank comes in off a diving tag and gets to clean house, with Ash being thrown over the announcers’ table. Back in and Hank hits a Swanton on Zanov but Ash breaks up…whatever Hank & Tank had planned. That earns Ash a trip to the floor and a dive, followed by the double standing splash to Zanov. The powerslam/running neckbreaker combination finishes Zanov at 8:47.

Rating: B-. They did a good job of making me wonder who was winning here, as Ash and Zanov felt like a pair of monsters who were a threat to the bigger team. Having Hank & Tank cowering in the corner with no idea what to do against them was a great visual. At the same time, it’s probably a bit much to have the new guys beat the former champions so this went as it should have.

Birthright has attacked Sean Legacy and Dorian Van Dux in the back to take them out of the Dusty Classic.

Here is Grayson Waller for a chat. Waller: “And still!” Waller talks about how much he’s changed and now it’s about titles instead of fights and clicks. Last week he beat EK Prosper, who crushed it in his first title match. Prosper is welcome for the Grayson Waller rub and now he wants a new challenger. This brings out Myles Borne, who says he deserves to be a champion and is ready now that he doesn’t have to carry Tavion Heights.

Waller says it’s nice to have someone paying attention to him but Tony D’Angelo interrupts. D’Angelo says Borne is picking a bad time to have some guts and cuts Borne off for responding. Waller repeats what D’Angelo said to him a few weeks ago by having the two of them fight for a title shot. Borne decks D’Angelo, seemingly with a loaded fist. Borne is feeling like he belongs here and he certainly has the resume to be in the title picture.

William Regal comes up to EK Prosper in the back and praises him for his efforts last week in a rather nice pep talk. Prosper leaves and Robert Stone comes in to suggest Birthright get in the Dusty Classic, with Stone reluctantly agreeing.

Shiloh Hill vs. Naraku

They fight over a lockup to start and Hill grabs some slams to take over early on. A flying shoulder drops Naraku again but he’s right back with a belly to back suplex. Naraku knocks him outside so Hill fights back and they head inside again. A double clothesline leaves both of them down and we take a break.

We come back Hill getting two off a top rope clothesline but Naraku grabs a faceplant. The crossface has Hill in more trouble until he makes a rope so Naraku gives him a fireman’s carry powerbomb for two. Hill knocks him down again and hammers away but he has to block the mist. Said mist hits the referee instead and that’s a DQ to give Hill the win at 10:57.

Rating: B-. Normally the ending would have been annoying but the mist has been the point of their feud so it makes perfect sense for the whole thing. Hill continues to show off his odd charisma and it makes for a fun star to watch. On the other hand you have Naraku, who feels dangerous enough but he’s still trying to find his place around here.

Post match they brawl to the back.

We go back to Kendal Grey’s therapy, who wants to be in the battle royal tonight but she only has herself to blame for her injuries. She’s always this hard on herself and the people don’t see her obsessing with the mistakes. So she won’t let herself make mistakes, but that makes for a hard life as she’s her own biggest opponent. She needs to change that and she’s starting to like these therapy sessions. The therapist says they should be done for now though, as she’s done all she needs to do.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round: Birthright vs. Tokyo Bad Boys

This is a different Birthright lineup (Charlie Dempsey/Lexis King) than the one already eliminated. The Boys (Kento/Takuma) are from AAA and it’s Kento trading arm cranking with Dempsey to start. A headscissors is broken up, as is Dempsey’s surfboard so it’s off to Takuma. King tags himself in and gets taken down with a running hurricanrana, with Takuma hitting a great looking springboard moonsault to the floor.

A double springboard is broken up though and King gets to take over on Kento back inside. That doesn’t last long either though as it’s Takuma in for an Eat Defeat. Dempsey catches Takuma on top though and it’s a butterfly superplex, followed by a toss into the post. The reverse fisherman’s suplex finishes Takuma at 4:36.

Rating: C+. This was a bit of a weird way to go but there wasn’t much of a reason for the Bad Boys to win. They’re unknowns around here and the whole point was Birthright stealing the tournament spot. If that means more of Regal doing something on the show then I approve, though Birthright continues to not be the most thrilling team in the ring.

Post match Birthright jumps on commentary to brag about their win.

Myles Borne is ready to take out Tony D’Angelo and move on to the title match at Halloween Havoc.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Battle Royal

Izzi Dame, Indi Hartwell, Xia Brookside, Layla Diggs, Chantel Monroe, Nikkita Lyons, M By Elegance, Heather By Elegance, La Catalina, Lizzy Rain, Kali Armstrong, Arianna Grace, Zaria, Skylar Raye, Ivy Nile, Kiana James, Thea Hail, Lady Shani, Reina Volcan, Adelicious

Non-title and for a Women’s Title shot. Diggs is thrown out almost immediately and Zaria actually eliminates Dame, who tries to get back in and has to be carried to the back. Volcan sends Raye and Adelicious into each other and everyone brawls near or on the ropes. Adelicious and Raye wind up on the apron, with Volcan knocking both of them out. We take a break and come back with the brawling continuing. Grace tries to join the Elegance Brand and gets tossed, but Hail knocks out both Elegances.

We’re down to 12 (thanks graphic) and Rain is sent to the apron but saves herself. Volcan shoves a bunch of people away but doesn’t bother to eliminate any of them. Rain and Nile fight on the apron with Rain managing to knock her out. That’s not all though as Rain is smart enough to have everyone get rid of Volcan for the important elimination. Volcan isn’t happy though and pulls Shani out underneath the ropes (not eliminated) for a powerslam on the floor.

We take another break and come back with Hartwell and Zaria having a big staredown. That’s broken up and Zaria gets to wreck various people. This includes Izzi Dame again, as she charges back in and is tossed right back over the top. Zaria yells down at Dame and gets eliminated by Armstrong. Dame and Zaria brawl off and Hartwell eliminates Brookside, who pulls Hartwell out from the floor and they have a brawl of their own. Hail and James brawl on the apron, with Hail being knocked out.

So we’re down to Catalina, James, Rain and Armstrong (and Shani on the floor, which feels rather suspicious, though that might just be the mask). Rain kicks Catalina in the face by mistake and gets spinebustered by Armstrong. Catalina is back up for the rapid fire running hip attacks in the corner.

Armstrong isn’t having that though and tosses her out, followed by a powerslam to Rain. James is still on the apron and gets knocked out, leaving us with Rain and Armstrong in the ring. Rain clotheslines Armstrong to the apron and they both have to hang on, only to get back to their feet. They kick it out on the apron, with Armstrong knocking her out…but Shani is in to toss Armstrong for the win at 21:48.

Rating: B-. It’s a battle royal, so you kind of know what to expect. Shani being on the floor for so long was a bit of a giveaway but at least commentary acknowledged that she was still in so it wasn’t treated as a surprise. I’m not sure what they’re doing with Shani as a challenger, but it’s not like anyone but Kendal Grey would have made much sense here anyway.

Post match Kelani Jordan is on the platform to look down at Shani….who unmasks as Wren Sinclair. She had been suspended but apparently is #1 contender anyway. Again, points for acknowledging it and you can easily write that off with Robert Stone allowing her back for the match. Points for a nice moment, even though the fans knew who it was way before the unmasking.

Overall Rating: B-. Well, they started the build to Halloween Havoc in a hurry here and it worked out pretty nicely. We have the Women’s Title match set with a fresh challenger and the NXT Title match will be set next week. The Dusty Classic was good enough to carry the rest of the show, though we’re still waiting to see what kind of creepy Halloween stuff the show will have. For now though, it’s a good first step and that’s a rather necessary thing to have.

Results
Zilla Fatu b. Lexis King – Triple Z
Hank & Tank b. Shido Ash/Viktor Zanov – Powerslam/running neckbreaker combination to Zanov
Shiloh Hill b. Naraku via DQ when Naraku misted the referee
Birthright b. Tokyo Bad Boys – Reverse fisherman’s suplex to Takuma
Lady Shani won a battle royal last eliminating Kali Armstrong

 

 

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 On FOX – September 26, 2026: They’re Still At It

AAA On FOX
Date: September 26, 2026
Location: Coliseo Centenario, Torreon, Mexico
Commentators: Corey Graves, John Bradshaw Layfield

We’re still done with TripleMania and maybe this week will see us getting back to a normal show after last week’s glorified PPV recap. If nothing else, we have Heroes Inmoretales coming up next month and it should be time to start getting ready for the show. That should be enough to carry us this week so let’s get to it.

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

Commentary runs down the card.

We look at Mr. Iguana requesting/receiving a title shot at TripleMania but coming up short. Iguana isn’t done coming for gold though.

Mr. Iguana vs. Taurus

Iguana goes after the arm to start and slaps on a cross armbreaker, which is reversed into a surfboard. That’s escaped as well and it’s back up for a standoff. Iguana knocks him back out of the corner and hits a high crossbody, with Taurus rolling outside. That means a slingshot dive but Taurus sends him into the barricade. Back in and Taurus sends him into the corner and a spear gets two. Another hurricanrana gives Iguana two but gets planted with a sitout powerbomb. Taurus goes after Yessica though, which is enough for Iguana to grab an electric chair DDT for the pin at 6:02.

Rating: C+. Iguana getting a bit more serious and wanting to win something is an interesting change of pace and I’d like to see if they pay it off some how. If nothing else, it’s a good sign that the fans are still with him, as that isn’t always the case when someone has such a big change. Taurus looked good as a monster here too, which you have to with that kind of a name.

Post match Los Vipers run in for the beatdown, with El Fiscal making the save.

We look at Galeno and El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. winning the Tag Team Titles at TripleMania.

The Wagner brothers talk about how important it is for them to carry on the tradition of lucha libre, which runs in the blood of their family. They’re in the NXT Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic to win the thing.

Video on the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, with Cody Rhodes talking about the importance of tag wrestling and promising to present the trophy to the winners.

We go to NXT, where Romeo Moreno/Noam Dar beat Los Americanos in a first round match.

Dinamico vs. Texano Jr.

Texano backs him into the corner to start but gets taken down with an anklescissors for a standoff. An armdrag and dropkick put Texano on the floor, which of course sets up a big dive. Back in and a faceplant drops Dinamico and we’re off to the chinlock. A leg lariat gives Texano two more but Dinamico’s Shining Wizard gets two more. The frog splash misses though and it’s a double bomb to give Texano the win at 5:20.

Rating: C+. This wasn’t quite a squash as Dinamico got in some offense as he continues to slowly move up the ladder. At the same time though, he’s not about to beat a former Mega Champion who has been showing up a bit more frequently in recent weeks. Texano isn’t the most intricate star but he does his thing well and feels important, which can take you a long way.

We look at some luchadors going to a children’s hospital. That’s always great to see.

We get a special look at El Grande Americano on the day of his Mega Title shot at TripleMania, including meeting a bunch of fans at a huge rally.

La Catalina talks about how big a deal it was to win the Reina de Reinas Title. It was the moment of her career and she gets to represent the entirety of Latin America. The title got her back on Raw and yes she lost, but then she won on NXT and is proud to be an honorary Mexican (she’s Chilean). This is just the beginning for her and she’ll see us soon.

Adelicious vs. Lady Shani vs. La Hiedra

Hiedra and Shani brawl to start but get taken down with a double armdrag. The two of them send Shani into the corner for some running shots to the face before going outside. Adelicious is up with the big dive onto the other two and they go back inside, where Hiedra is tossed again. Shani rolls over into a rocking horse on Adelicious, with Hiedra making a save.

Hiedra gets in some kicks but is bulldogged down to give Adelicious two. Shane is up with a choke to Adelicious, with Hiedra Stunnering both of them for two. An iconoclasm gives Shani two as Hiedra makes another save, with Adelicious giving her a Backstabber. Hiedra is back up to pull Shani away from Adelicious’ dive though and a Michinoku Driver gives Hiedra the pin at 8:31.

Rating: B-. Hiedra feels like she has come a long way from being little more than a second to Flammer to feeling like a legit threat to winning the title. She could serve as a good first challenger to La Catalina and it should be interesting to see how Flammer responds to it. You also have Adelicious, who hasn’t been around for very long but is already looking like she can hang with most of the stars in the ring.

Post match Hiedra mocks both of them to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. We’re definitely still in the post-TripleMania period but this was at least somewhat more normal than last week’s show. The good thing is that we did have some more action this time and promises of people showing up in the coming weeks. Odds are the Worlds Collide show threw off some of the taping possibilities, though they did a good enough job of keeping it interesting. As usual, it also helps to have the show be about an hour long as you can only get so dull in that length of time. Not a great show, but it would have served fine as background noise.

Results
Mr. Iguana b. Taurus – Electric chair DDT
Texano Jr. b. Dinamico – Double bomb
La Hiedra b. Adelicious and Lady Shani – Michinoku Driver to Shani

 

 

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 TripleMania XXXIV Night One: Crossing Borders

TripleMania XXXIV Night One
Date: September 11, 2026
Location: MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada
Commentators: Corey Graves, John Bradshaw Layfield

It’s the first TripleMania under the WWE banner and the card is big enough that it’s split up into two parts. There are multiple title matches tonight, though there is a good chance that Rey Mysterio vs. Omos for the latter’s future in AAA will be headlining. We also have the chance that someone could be coming in as a surprise so let’s get go it.

The opening video, as narrated by Rey Mysterio, talks about the risks you have to take in Las Vegas and how it is time for AAA to deal their first hand. The deck of cards theme has me rather intrigued, as they would look great on the wrestling shelf of my card collection (Owning nearly 2,700 decks of playing cards is perfectly normal right?).

Adelicious/Mascarita Sagrada/Mini Vikingo vs. Lady Shani/Mini Abismo Negro/Jack Cartwheel

Shani and Adelicious trade rollups to start and Adelicions cartwheels away…and we pause as Shani falls down without being touched (she might have taken a shot off the cartwheel but if she did, it looked to be a quick grazing). The camera stays on Adelicious as the medics are down to check on Shani (who appears to be conscious) and Adelicious tags in Sagrada for a springboard armdrag to Abismo.

A slingshot hilo gives Sagrada two and it’s off to Cartwheel to face Vikingo. The trade flips of their own for a staredown, with JBL being rather pleased. Cartwheel takes over and Abismo takes over with a slam as JBL rants about Abismo not being mini at all. Vikingo gets in a pop up hurricanrana for a breather but Abismo bites Vikingo’s foot.

The tag brings in Sagrada for a middle rope crossbody and Cartwheel’s saving splash hits Abismo by mistake. Cartwheel monkey flips Sagrada into a hurricanrana to Abismo, allowing Sagrada to actually suplex Cartwheel. Adelicious comes in and dives onto Cartwheel and Abismo, leaving Vikingo to add his own running flip dive. Back in and Vikingo’s shooting star press finishes Abismo at 9:07.

Rating: B-. This was the kind of fun match you would have expected and they were flying all over the place. Vikingo is still one of the smoothest fliers around and it’s cool to see getting a chance to shine as a bigger deal. More importantly though, hopefully Shani just got shaken up and is ok, as that was a scary moment.

LWO vs. Tokyo Bad Boys vs. Fraxiom vs. Los Americanos

Elimination rules. Bravo cleans house to start, including a pop up knee to Wilde. Everything breaks down and we get a Fraxiom vs. Los Americanos staredown. Bravo knocks del Toro outside again and it’s time for the rapid fire suicide dives. Back in and del Toro takes over on Frazer but Wilde is busy applying hairspray. A knee to the face drops Frazer and he gets caught in the Tree Of Woe, with del Toro hitting a heck of a Coast To Coast. The Bad Boys pull Axiom to the floor and pound him down but Wilde hairsprays del Toro by mistake. That lets Fraxiom double kick del Toro down for the elimination at 5:55.

Frazer dropkicks Bravo but Takuma tags himself in to take over. Back up and Takuma hits a heck of a springboard flip dive to hit Axiom and Rayo on the floor but a moonsault lands on raised knees back inside. It’s back to Bravo for an airplane spin and giant swing to both Bad Boys at once, with Takuma being dropped onto Kento. Takuma rakes Bravo’s eyes to escape and it’s a pair of stereo top rope high/lows to get rid of the Boys at 9:51.

So we’re down to Los Americanos vs. Fraxiom, with Rayo splashing Frazer for a fast two. Frazer is fine enough to run the corner for a superplex into a Falcon Arrow and they’re both down again. Bravo comes back in to powerbomb Axiom, with Frazer having to make a save. Back up and Axiom grabs a springboard moonsault DDT for two, with Graves pointing out that it was the same move from the Rey Mysterio/Eddie Guerrero Halloween Havoc match in the same building.

Axiom missile dropkicks Fraxiom by mistake and Rayo gives Axiom the Bitter End. A super hurricanrana into a top rope splash gets two on Frazer in a heck of a false finish. Axiom is back up with a super Spanish Fly into the Phoenix splash from Frazer for a rather near fall, with Bravo making the save again. Frazer grabs both Americanos but gets his fingers snapped to put him in trouble again. A Russian legsweep/springboard headbutt combination finishes Frazer to give Los Americanos the win at 17:42.

Rating: B. This was the insane collection of flying spots and everyone going nuts and that’s all it should have been. It’s a showcase that works every time and it more than worked here. They did drag it out a bit too long in the end, but those false finishes when it was down to two teams boosted it back up. Rather entertaining match.

Marisela Pena is going into the Hall Of Fame at Heroes Immortales.

Video on the four way for the Reina de Reinas title shot at Worlds Collide.

Nattie vs. Roxanne Perez vs. Faby Apache vs. La Hiedra

For a shot at Flammer at Worlds Collide, with Flammer on commentary. It’s a brawl to start with Perez sending Apache into the steps but getting cut off by Hiedra. Nattie is back in to slug it out with Hiedra and hurricanrana her into the corner. Apache comes back too and it’s a pair of stereo surfboards to Perez and Hiedra. With that broken up, Nattie hammers Apache but gets knocked back into the corner.

La Mistica gives Perez two on Apache but Nattie’s Sharpshooter is broken up. Apache’s reverse Figure Four is broken up and Perez gets in the crossface, with Hiedra making the save. Nattie is back in with the Sharpshooter to Perez until Apache makes the save. Hiedra is back up with a Michinoku Driver for two on Perez, which brings in Flammer with the belt. The big swing misses Perez and almost hits Hiedra by mistake. Perez sends Hiedra into Flammer for a crash to the floor before Pop Rox gives Perez the pin at 9:04.

Rating: B-. So it seems like we’re coming up on Hiedra and Flammer splitting, which could certainly be a way to finally end Flammer’s title reign. Perez getting the win was one of two ways to go here, as Apache and Nattie winning just wasn’t that interesting. At the very least, it’s some fresh blood in the title picture and that’s a good idea.

Post match Flammer and Hiedra do not seem pleased with each other.

Some men give Rey Mysterio luck for the night when El Grande Americano comes in. Americano is grateful for everything Mysterio has done for everyone and hopes that Mysterio wins tonight. That would mean Americano can win the Mega Title, but he’ll always be by Mysterio’s side. Mysterio says he was at the first TripleMania but he’s up against a giant. He has the heart that Omos doesn’t have and he’s faced giants before so he’ll end this tonight.

We recap the Latin American Title match. La Parka won the title a few weeks ago and now Mr. Iguana wants a shot, even if he and Parka are friends. Laredo Kid is involved too.

Latin American Title: La Parka vs. Laredo Kid vs. Mr. Iguana

Parka is defending. They trade superkicks to start and Kid takes over before knocking Iguana outside. Kid slaps Parka for a middle rope Vader Bomb, followed by a middle rope moonsault for two. Iguana is back up and gets armdragged down onto Kid for quite the odd landing. Parka moonsaults off the ropes onto the two of them and a rolling cutter gets two on Kid back inside.

A crucifix driver gives Iguana two so Kid pounds him on the mat. Iguana’s Shining Wizard gets two but Kid sends him outside for a suicide dive. Parka gets sent into the barricade, leaving Kid to bust out the big flip dive. Back in and Kid’s 450 gets two on Iguana, with Parka’s great dropkick getting the same on Kid. Parka dives onto Kid, and then goes back up top and super Spanish Flys both of them for the triple down.

Kid’s poisonrana gets two on Parka and Iguana is back in with a top rope headbutt to put Kid down. A spinning bulldog gets two with Parka pulling Iguana to the floor. That and a Doomsday Device have Iguana down again, with the friendship not seeming to matter at the moment. Back in and Parka Bone Breakers Kid for the pin at 12:52.

Rating: B-. Maybe it’s having so many multi-person matches on the show but I couldn’t quite get into this one. It felt more like just a bunch of moves until Parka hit his finisher to win. That’s not the most interesting concept in the world and while I guess we’re coming up on Iguana vs. Parka, this was only so much of a good way to get there.

Trios Titles: Psycho Circus vs. Los Perros del Mal

The Clowns are defending (for the first time in over a year, with Psycho replacing Panic) and Karmen Petrovic is here with Los Perros. Berto gets taken into the ropes to start with the Clowns triple teaming him, including a running splash from Psycho. Daga trips Dave down though and it’s time for a beating on the floor. Dave’s leg is wrapped around the post and Daga hammers away. Dave finally fights out and brings in Murder for a double Samoan drop to Daga and Angel.

Murder goes up for a big dive to the floor but cue El Carnicero to attack Dave, with Psycho giving him a heck of a running right hand. Psycho and Carnicero brawl into the crowd and it’s down to 3-2. Daga suplexes Murder for two and a huge superplex leaves them both down. Petrovic gets up for a distraction though and Berto crashes into Dave over the barricade. That leaves Murder to get caught with a top rope double stomp to give Gaga the pin at 10:36.

Rating: B. This was a better match than most of the show and it might just be due to there being a more coherent story. Carnicero is there to go after the Clowns for whatever reason and they couldn’t overcome the numbers advantage from another good team. It’s not like the titles mean anything but Los Perros desperately needed a win after the last few weeks.

We recap Omos vs. Rey Mysterio. Omos attacked Mysterio (General Manager) and got suspended. Omos came back anyway and the match was set up, with the suspension being lifted if he wins but his AAA career being over if he loses.

Rey Mysterio vs. Omos

El Grande Americano, Dorian Roldan and Dominik Mysterio are here too. Rey is in gear inspired by his Halloween Havoc 1997 attire, which makes perfect sense. We get the bizarre looking staredown before Rey tries to frustrate Omos with the speed. Some kicks to the leg don’t do much to Omos, who sends Rey into the corner (and not exactly gracefully). Back up and Rey tries rolling to the floor, with Omos catching him but then getting dropped onto the barricade.

Omos, in front of Rey’s wife, gorilla presses him back inside as Rey is in big trouble. Some right hands don’t do Rey any good as Omos grabs the bearhug. That’s broken up and it’s right back to the bearhug, with Americano looking more and more desperate on the floor. Rey finally crawls out and knocks him into the ropes, with Omos’ arms getting tied up. Dominik pulls Rey to the floor but here is Americano making a diving save (like a superhero) and knocking Dominik over the announcers’ table.

Rey gets in a chair shot and hurricanranas Omos into the buckle. There’s a pair of 619s and JBL freaks out, as you would expect him to when Rey has success. Another 619 to the knee sets up a regular one to the face and a top rope splash gets two. Dominik is back up to chair Americano, including ramming it into his throat. Back up and Omos hits a big boot into a chokeslam for the pin at 12:36.

Rating: B. This was a perfectly nice story, with Rey trying everything he could to chop the giant down but not being able to get there. That should be the case with a giant like Omos, who is best used as a special attraction like this. Don’t have him out there every week and ruin his special appeal. It worked well here and I had a good time with the whole thing, even if it dragged a bit at the beginning.

Post match Omos drops a bunch of elbows on Rey, who is taken out on a stretcher. Well almost as he’s attached to the stretcher but Omos comes back to take Rey’s neck brace off. The announcers’ table is loaded up and Omos chokeslams Rey (still attached to the back board) through the table to end the show. That’s a heck of a bump and JBL not worrying about Rey at all is always funny.

Overall Rating: B-. The last two matches helped this a lot but this did have some weak points, with the multi-person matches getting tiresome after a bit. Things did get better with the main event and the Trios Titles match, but they really needed to mix things up a bit at first. Overall, good enough show though and the second half should work well, hopefully with a hotter crowd in Mexico.

Results
Adelicious/Mini Vikingo/Mascarita Sagrada b. Mini Abismo Negro/Jack Cartwheel/Lady Shani – Shooting star press to Abismo
Los Americanos b. LWO, Tokyo Bad Boys and Fraxiom last eliminating Fraxiom
Roxanne Perez b. Faby Apache, Nattie and La Hiedra – Pop Rox to Hiedra
La Parka b. Laredo Kid and Mr. Iguana – Bone Breaker to Kid
Los Perros del Mal b. Psycho Circus – Top rope double stomp to Murder
Omos b. Rey Mysterio – Chokeslam

 

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 Ola de Calor – August 30, 2026: The Opposition Party

Ola de Calor
Date: August 30, 2026
Location: Bert Ogden Arena, Edinburg, Texas
Commentators: Rey Mysterio, John Bradshaw Layfield, Corey Graves

This is a rare special event for AAA as we have a much bigger than usual card. It seems to be a way to mess with AEW’s All In event taking place at the same time but that’s hardly a new idea. The big draw here will be the crowning of a new Latin American Champion in a four way so let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at how things are heating up around here and that means AAA is changing. There are all kinds of things going on and now it is time to shake things up around.

Various wrestlers arrive including Dominik Mysterio, who gets on the phone and says “let’s go with Plan B.”.

LWO/Lince Dorado/Mini Abismo Negro vs. Mr. Iguana/Axiom/Noisy Boy/Mascarita Sagrada

Axiom and Wilde start things off with Wilde getting two off a rollup but walking into a dropkick. Back up and Wilde kicks him inside out, only for Boy to come in with a slingshot crucifix. A superkick and anklescissors let Boy flip into a pose, only to get caught with a dropkick from behind.

Del Toro takes over in the corner and it’s Dorado coming back in but a roll across the ring allows the tag to Sagrada. That means del Toro is taken down and Iguana comes in to take over as everything breaks down. Dorada busts out an awesome corkscrew moonsault to the floor and Iguana gets caught in the wrong corner. Abismo’s tilt-a-whirl backbreaker puts Iguana down but Dorado misses a shooting star press.

That and an enziguri allow Iguana to bring in Sagrada to clean house. A rather spinning crucifix gets…nothing on Abismo as he isn’t legal. Everything breaks down and Boy busts out a top rope springboard corkscrew dive. That leaves Sagrada to get in quite the spinning headscissors to Abismo and Iguana throws Yesica at Wilde. That sets up an electric chair spun into a DDT to give Iguana the pin at 9:47.

Rating: B-. This was all it needed to be with a bunch of people getting a chance to do a bunch of dives. Boy continues to look good in spots like this and it was nice to see him doing something like this. Iguana continues to be someone who can get over with the sheer oddness that he presents and it was on full display here. In other words, putting him out there was a layup and they got it right.

Gauntlet Match

We have an unknown number of unknown entrants for a Reina de Reinas Title shot against Flammer at TripleMania. Adelicious is in at #1 d Lady Shani is in at #2 with Shani taking her down a few times to start fast. Adelicious is back with a Matrix into a headscissors and they trade some rollups. Back up and Adelicious’s rather flipping shoulder to the ribs sets up a missed 450. Instead Shani grabs a Texas Tumbleweed for the pin at 2:57.

Thea Hail is in at #3 and goes after Shani’s arm for an early near fall. Shani knocks her right back down and starts on the leg, followed by a quick cross armbreaker. That’s broken up so it’s another Texas Tumbleweed, which is countered into a rollup to give Hail the pin at 7:11 total. La Catalina is in at #4 and starts fast with a suplex. The running hip attack in the ropes misses though and Hail is on the arm. Hail sends said arm into the corner but gets crossbodied for her efforts.

Catalina gets in a running knee in the corner and lifts her into an electric chair, with the arm going on. Hail grabs the Kimura, with Catalina flipping over for the pin at 11:40. La Hiedra (Flammer’s stablemate) is in at #5 and Flammer is NOT happy as Hiedra starts in on Catalina’s arm as well.

Hiedra wraps the arm around the rope but gets her neck snapped across the top. Catalina goes up and gets Iconoclasmed back but is still able to grab a rollup for two. Flammer gets sick of the near falls and grabs her belt, only to hit Hiedra by mistake. With Flammer sent to the floor, Catalina hits a pump knee for the win at 17:35.

Rating: B-. Catalina felt like the strong favorite even though she wasn’t actually announced for the match in advance. The women’s division continues to feel like something of a mess and it’s nice to have one definitive woman seem ready to challenge for the title. Flammer and Hiedra not getting along could be interesting too but we can get there when it’s t he right time.

Tag Team Titles: Los Americanos vs. War Raiders

The Raiders are defending. Erik shoulders Rayo to start but gets sent into the corner. A double elbow gives Bravo two but he’s powered into the corner so the champions can start the beating. Bravo manages to send Erik into the corner but he shrugs that off just as fast. Bravo comes in and gets dropped by Ivar’s clothesline. A flipping escape into the diving tag brings Bravo back in for a rather impressive spinning slam.

The super hurricanrana hits Ivar and Rayo’s Swanton gets two on Ivar. That earns Bravo a heck of a spinning kick to the face but he slips out of a double spinebuster. A snap of the finger slows Erik down and a springboard headbutt connects, with Erik having to make a save. Ivar’s Bronco Buster misses in the corner so Bravo gives him the rather impressive airplane spin. Bravo goes up for the Swan Dive but Erik throws in a belt, with Bravo crashing onto it to give Erik the pin at 10:20.

Rating: B. This was a basic power vs. speed match and the speed team had them in trouble until the cheating came into play. That’s a classic, simple story and these teams made it work perfectly well. The Raiders are a good choice for the titles right now and they very well may hold onto them for quite a while, which isn’t a bad idea as it’s working.

El Carnicero vs. Chris Carter

We get a vignette showing Carnicero being let out of a truck and walking to the arena, looking like something out of a horror movie. The beating is on quickly, with Carter clearly being in trouble. A gorilla press sends Carter crashing out to the floor and Carnicero chokes him down back inside. The beating continues until the referee calls for the bell at 2:24, giving Carnicero the win.

Post match Dave and Murder Clown run in for the save but get beaten down as well. Psycho Clown comes in with a kendo stick to clear the ring. Psycho wants a street fight at TripleMania. This went fine, as Carnicero felt like a monster and gets his big match set up.

Jack Cartwheel vs. Mini Vikingo vs. Nathan Frazer

For a Cruiserweight Title shot and we get a three way handshake to start. Vikingo avoids an armdrag so Cartwheel rolls both of them up for a double near fall. Frazer is sent outside, leaving the other two to trade flips and misses. Back in and Frazer dropkick both of them down before running Vikingo over. Cartwheel and Frazer fight over a suplex until Cartwheel settles for a headscissors.

Cartwheel knocks both of them down for two but Vikingo is back up to send Cartwheel outside. Vikingo hits a big corkscrew dive to knock Frazer again but he gets up to Spanish Fly Cartwheel off the steps. Back in and Frazer wins a kickoff to Vikingo, setting up a reverse springboard Spanish Fly for two more. Cartwheel cuts Frazer off and gives him a crucifix bomb for two before dropkicking Vikingo in the corner.

Frazer cuts Cartwheel off though and Vikingo’s top rope crucifix bomb gets a rather near fall. With the other two knocked outside, Cartwheel moonsaults onto Vikingo but gets dropkicked hard into the steps. Frazer’s big running flip dive hits both of them and he frog splashes Cartwheel for two. Cartwheel muscles Frazer up for a German suplex and a near fall and grabs a fireman’s carry, with Vikingo coming in with a top rope double stomp into the Death Valley Driver.

Everyone needs a breather until it’s time for the circle of forearms. Cartwheel is back up with a space flying tiger drop onto the other two but Frazer superplexes him into a swinging suplex for a rather near fall. Vikingo catches Frazer with a super Spanish Fly but doesn’t cover, allowing Cartwheel to catch him on top. Cartwheel splashes Vikingo for two, with Frazer making the save. Frazer misses the Phoenix splash and gets caught with Vikingo’s Phoenix 630. Cartwheel dives onto the cover for the save and time expires at 20:20 (eh close enough). JBL: “NO! NO!”

Rating: A-. Yes it was a bunch of flips and dives, but it was 20 minutes of flips and dives. It’s an incredibly athletic spectacle and they didn’t stop for almost the entire thing. This was a good example of knowing what you’re getting into with the match and it’s really a lot of junk food, but DANG this was fun to watch.

Post match Rey Fenix comes out to praise all three of them and announce a four way for the title at TripleMania.

Latin American Title: El Fiscal vs. La Parka vs. Damian Priest vs. El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr.

For the vacant title. Priest and Fiscal go straight to the floor, leaving Parka to backbreaker Wagner for two. Priest is back in to wreck everyone, with Wagner being kicked outside. The Broken Arrow gets two on Parka and a lifting Downward Spiral plants him for the same. Wagner is back up to superkick Priest into a brainbuster but Fiscal is back in with a moonsault.

Parka is up with a moonsault of his own and then runs Wagner over for two more. Fiscal kicks Priest in the head, which just makes Priest mad. Wagner superkicks Fiscal and a Spanish Fly takes Parka down. Priest punches Fiscal out of the air and gives Fiscal and Wagner a Razor’s Edge each. South Of Heaven hits Fiscal but Parka makes the save and gives Fiscal a Bone Breaker for the pin and the title at 9:23.

Rating: B. Well, the fans love Parka so there are worse ideas. I wasn’t expecting this one but Fiscal can move on to a big blowoff with Abismo Negro Jr., Wagner can do whatever and Priest can head back to the main roster. This was another action packed match and the ending was quite the surprise so we’ll call it another success.

Here is General Manager Rey Mysterio for a contract signing. It’s his job to put together the biggest TripleMania card possible and that includes the Mega Title being defended. It’s time to make the match official but here is Dominik Mysterio, with Dorian Roldan, to interrupt. Roldan gets to a different point, as he wants Omos’ suspension lifted. Omos wants to apologize but Rey doesn’t seem sure.

Dominik says Roldan is wasting his time here but Rey brings out El Grande Americano to sign the contract. Americano brings up Dominik calling himself the King Of The Luchadors but Americano doesn’t buy it. At TripleMania, Americano will prove him wrong and signs the contract. Dominik says that he’s not signing until Omos’ suspension is lifted. Rey threatens to strip the title and give it to Americano but that’s not how Americano wants to win.

Cue Omos through the crowd and of course he has a ticket. Omos pats the top of Rey’s mask and Rey goes after him, with Americano breaking it up. Dominik jumps Americano and sends him into the steps, followed by the beating with a chair. Rey saves Americano and says if Omos wants to come back to AAA, he has to beat Rey at TripleMania. If Rey wins though, Omos is gone forever. Now Dominik signs. There was a lot here but having Rey on the card is a good idea.

Los Perros del Mal vs. Penta/Dragon Lee/Rey Fenix

Fenix and Berto start things off with Fenix missing some running flips and grabbing a sunset flip for two. Fenix gets sent into the wrong corner though and it’s Garza coming in for a suplex and a six count (three near falls). A running boot in the ropes gets two and it’s back to Berto for some choking in the ropes. We pause for Berto to mock the Penta strut but Fenix gets in a pop up hurricanrana. That’s enough for the tag off to Penta to clean house and it’s off to Lee, who gets sent into the wrong corner.

That doesn’t last long either as Lee flips out and brings in Penta to chop it out with Daga. They kick each other down for a double tag off to Berto vs. Fenix, with Berto getting two off a kick to the head. A rolling cutter drops Berto so it’s back to Garza to take over on Lee. Everything breaks down and Berto powerbombs Fenix for two. Penta and Lee hit stereo running flip dives and Berto’s moonsault is kicked out of the air. The Mexican MuscleBuster gives Fenix the pin on Berto at 11:55.

Rating: B. I get that you can’t have the good guys lose with the tournament final coming up on Monday, but Los Perros feel more and more like the Nexus every single week. They don’t really win anything and while they might be intimidating, it stops mattering as much when they just lost in the main event. It was another fast paced match, but Los Perros don’t feel like they matter whatsoever.

Post match Los Perros run back in for the beatdown to end the show. You really couldn’t have had them do that after pinning Lee?

Overall Rating: B+. The last three matches more than carried the show, with only the women’s match feeling a bit less than important (which isn’t due to the action we saw here). Overall, this felt like an extended version of the weekly TV show and that’s a good situation to have, as it’s regularly one of the most entertaining things throughout the week. I wouldn’t want this to be something that is regularly done, but I’ll absolutely take it for a special like this.

Results
Mr. Iguana/Mr. Iguana/Noisy Boy/Mascarita Sagrada b. LWO/Lince Dorado/Mini Abismo Negro – Spinning electric chair DDT to Wilde
La Catalina won a gauntlet match last eliminating La Hiedra
War Raiders b. Los Americanos – Swan Dive onto a belt to Bravo
Mini Vikingo vs. Nathan Frazer vs. Jack Cartwheel went to a time limit draw
La Parka b. El Fiscal, Damian Priest and El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. – Bone Breaker to Fiscal
Penta/Rey Fenix/Dragon Lee b. Los Perros del Mal – Mexican MuscleBuster to Berto

 

 

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 On FOX – August 8, 2026 (Verano de Escandalo Week Three): That’s A Wrap? (Includes Full Show)

AAA On FOX
Date: August 8, 2026
Location: Arena San Marcos, Aguascalientes, Mexico
Commentators: John Bradshaw Layfield, Rey Mysterio, Corey Graves

It’s the last night of Verano de Escandalo and that means it’s time to get ready for the build towards TripleMania. That could mean quite a few things, but we do have another title match with the Reina de Reinas Title being defended in a triple threat match. Dominik Mysterio is here too so let’s get to it.

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

Latin American Title Qualifying Match: Cruz del Toro vs. El Fiscal vs. Psycho Clown

Del Toro and Fiscal tease an alliance but instead Clown helps Fiscal get rid of del Toro. Back in and a pop up powerbomb gives Fiscal two on del Toro but Clown sends Fiscal outside. The dive is broken up so del Toro hits a big dive of his own onto the two of them. They all get back inside with Clown hitting a heck of a clothesline to del Toro, who is right back up with a super hurricanrana to Fiscal.

Clown sunset flips Fiscal into the rope for no count so del Toro covers them both for two each. Back up and Clown Psycho Drivers del Toro onto the apron, followed by a Cactus Clothesline to Fiscal. Cue a masked monster in the crowd to take out Psycho Clown, punch some fans, and rip off part of his mask. That leaves Fiscal to toss del Toro off the top and hit a frog splash for the pin at 7:59.

Rating: B-. This was more about the monster (and likely Psycho Circus attacker) being revealed and taking out Psycho Clown. That’s something we’ve been waiting to see for a long time now and hopefully the future of the story winds up working. Fiscal winning is a good thing too as I’ve liked what I’ve seen from him in recent months.

Rey Mysterio announces a tournament for the right to face Roman Reigns for the Raw World Title on September 14 in Mexico on Monday Night Raw. Yeah that’s big.

AAA was at the Summerslam version of Axxess.

Noisy Boy vs. Jack Cartwheel

They start with an exchange of headscissor escapes and both miss stomps on the apron. Boy is back up with a springboard cutter to take over and kicks Cartwheel in the head. Cartwheel is right back up to strike it out before going up top. A super headscissors brings Cartwheel down, leaving Graves to say that they’re just making stuff up now. Cartwheel sends him outside for the big running flip dive, followed by a Red Arrow for the pin at 4:32.

Rating: B. Oh good grief this was exactly what it should have been, with the two of them flying around and getting to show everything they could do. It made for a heck of a showcase, with Cartwheel getting to look great in the process. Odd name aside, Boy did well here too and it made him look like a bigger star at the same time. Rather impressive stuff here.

Post match here is Karmen Petrovic to signal Los Perros del Mal for the beatdown on Cartwheel. Daga says he warned us of this and here is Damian 666 (an original member of the team) as the newest member. That’s a big addition and he seems happy to be here.

We get a sitdown interview with Dominik Mysterio, talking about how he wasn’t happy with El Grande Americano not trusting him. Everything changed with Americano won Rey de Reyes and Mysterio left AAA for a bit. Americano went on to become the Mexican national hero but Mysterio will beat him at TripleMania.

As for Dorian Roldan, Mysterio joined up with him after Rey Mysterio became GM, because they both know what it’s like to have fathers in powerful positions. Omos will be here with Mysterio next week, and here is Liv Morgan to leave with Mysterio (along with give a hard glare at interviewer Andrea). That wraps up a bit of a loose end, as well as helps get us focused on Mysterio vs. Americano, as it should be.

Reina de Reinas: La Catalina vs. Lady Shani vs. Flammer

Flammer is defending and both of the other two have pinned her in recent months. Rey Mysterio has to leave commentary to “do some GM stuff”, which has JBL rather annoyed. Flammer gets knocked outside to start fast and Shani takes her down again with a dive. Catalina dives onto both of them before hitting Flammer with a running dropkick back inside. Shani is back up to take the other two down but Flammer gets in a running dropkick to both challengers.

That’s broken up as Catalina is up with a double missile dropkick before Gory Bombing Flammer onto Shani for two more. Shani’s spinning sunset flip gets two on Flammer with Catalina making the save. Catalina splashes Shani for two and then spears Flammer on the floor, followed by a running knee to Shani back inside. That’s fine with Flammer, who sends Catalina outside and steals the retaining pin at 9:10.

Rating: C+. This was fine and felt like a house show triple threat, right down to the most basic three way finish imaginable. The women’s division continues to feel like something that doesn’t really matter all that much in AAA and this didn’t do much to change the feeling. The match was completely fine, but nothing that felt like a big deal in any way.

Overall Rating: B-. This is one of those things you have to get used to, as AAA doesn’t exactly go all out for its final nights of a big event. Instead, these things tend to be front loaded and that’s a rather different way to go. The Cartwheel vs. Boy match was a blast and Clown being attacked definitely felt big, but the show itself, as usual, could have been any regular week. That’s just kind of how it works around here though so it’s hard to get that mad.

Results
El Fiscal b. Psycho Clown and Cruz del Toro – Frog splash to del Toro
Jack Cartwheel b. Noisy Boy – Red Arrow
Flammer b. La Catalina and Lady Shani – Running knee to Shani

 

 

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 On FOX – July 4, 2026: More To Come (Includes Full Show)

AAA On FOX
Date: July 4, 2026
Location: Foro GNP Seguro, Merida, Mexico
Commentators: Rey Mysterio, John Bradshaw Layfield, Corey Graves

It’s a holiday in America and that probably means absolutely nothing for this show, which is doing quite well without the American side of things. The big story coming out of last week continues to be whomever is attacking the Psycho Circus. Other than that, we have a former World Champion here and that should be making for an interesting situation. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here is Rey Mysterio for a chat. Mysterio talks about how he wants to bring the best to the fans in Mexico so join him in welcoming former WWE World Champion, Damian Priest! JBL: “As an old guy in a cowboy hat used to say, business is picking up!” Priest runs down some of his resume and says he’s dominated in WWE but never in AAA.

He isn’t here to make friends and doesn’t care if you’re good or bad, because he’s ready to destroy. Priest tells us to rise because El Campeon is here. This was a nice moment and Priest should fit in well around here. If nothing else, it’s nice to see him doing the serious stuff instead of paling around with R-Truth.

Lady Shani vs. Flammer

Non-title and the rest of Las Toxicas are here with Flammer. Shani armdrags her down to start and they shove each other a bit, with Shani getting the better of things. Flammer trips her to the mat and hammers away, followed by a kick to the leg in the corner. A spinebuster puts Shani down and Flammer shakes her head a bit, followed by the choking in the corner.

Flammer sends her into another corner but Shani reverses into a choke. An armdrag sends Flammer into the corner for a facewash, followed by some kicks to the head. Shani grabs a bodyscissors and rolls her around into a cradle for two. Flammer is back up with a hammerlock drop for two so she goes outside to grab the title. Cue La Catalina to cut that off and Shani grabs a Backstabber. An Iconoclasm is enough to pin Flammer at 8:56.

Rating: C+. This was a way to set things up for later and it’s a nice enough way to make that happen. The thing I like here is that it wasn’t the cleanest finish in the world, with Flammer costing herself rather than just getting beaten on her own. Someone has to end that title reign and while it feels like Catalina is an option, Shani at least feels like a serious challenger.

We look at Pagano being attacked last week and Psycho Clown begging his forgiveness while swearing vengeance.

We recap El Grande American saying he wanted the Mega Title and then being beaten down by the reformed Los Perros del Mal.

El Grande Americano didn’t see that coming and challenges Los Perros del Mal to show up and meet him next week. He just won’t be alone.

Dinamico/Drago vs. Money Machine vs. Mr. Iguana/La Parka

Plata and Iguana start things off, with Plata offering to buy Yesica. Iguana steals the money instead runs runs up the corner for a hurricanrana. Drago tags himself in and flips around a bit, only to get dropkicked by Oro. That’s shrugged off so Drago can hit a running shooting star but it’s off to Dinamico, who gets dropped by Parka.

Money Machine double teams Parka down, with a spinning splash getting two. The two of them are sent outside though and Drago shooting stars onto them as well. Parka flips Dinamico outside as well, leaving Drago to high crossbody Iguana for two. Money Machine takes over on Parka but get dropped by a springboard dive from Dinamico. Back in and Drago dives into a cutter from Parka, who hits the Bone Bender for the pin at 6:57.

Rating: B-. This was about all you needed it to be as they had a fast paced and high flying match. You pretty much know what you’re getting with a match like this and they did exactly what you would have expected. The fans still seem to love Iguana and Parka so giving them a win in a match like this makes perfect sense.

We look at a three way match from Verano de Escalando in 2009.

Rey Mysterio says Damian Priest is from Puerto Rico but represents the culture. As for next week, both Priest and Dominik Mysterio will be here.

Abismo Negro Jr. vs. El Fiscal

Fiscal fires off the clotheslines to start and hits a Backstabber. Back up and Abismo’s hammering doesn’t get him very far as Fiscal hits a clothesline to the floor, setting up the big suicide dive. Abismo misses an elbow off the steps and gets sent into the post but manages to escape a tombstone. They clothesline each other and here are Los Perros del Mal go jump both of them for the double DQ at 4:24.

Rating: C+. These two have quite the story and commentary explained it again rather easily here. It felt like we could be in for a big fight but the ending was more about setting things up for later. Hopefully they get the chance to have their big match at some point in the future because it feels like they’ve earned it.

Los Perros beat the heck out of both of them (though more Fiscal) to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was definitely more about setting things up for the future than doing much here. That’s not a bad thing either as I want to see what is going to happen with most of these stories. Now all they have to do is actually make those stories work and we should be in for something good. AAA continues to be the easiest show to watch anywhere and hopefully that gets even better on the way to TripleMania.

Results
Lady Shani b. Flammer – Iconoclasm
Mr. Iguana/La Parka b. Money Machine and Dinamico/Drago – Bone Bender to Drago
Abismo Negro Jr. vs. El Fiscal went to a double DQ when Los Perros del Mal interfered

 

 

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 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 TripleMania XXV: Get Those People A Raise

TripleMania XXV
Date: August 26, 2017
Location: Arena Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
Commentators: Kevin Gill, Gabe Ramirez

This is of course AAA’s biggest show of the year and heck if I know why someone requested it. Granted it might have been more than a few years ago that someone wanted me to look at it so there is probably something big that stuck out. I have no idea what is going on here but these shows have been hit or miss to say the least. Let’s get to it.

Keep in mind that I don’t follow the promotion so I have no idea what is going on with characters, backstories etc.

A bunch of men, I believe the broadcast team, is introduced.

The ring announcer (one of the four) introduces a bunch of people in costumes. I’m guessing these are sponsor mascots or something? Wrestlers are with them and handing out things to the fans so they’re certainly supposed to be good.

We get some English commentary from Twitch, which confirms that we are still on the preshow here and yes those are sponsor mascots.

La Parka, Faby Apache and Vampiro seem to be judging the first match. Ignore the arena being mostly empty, with almost no noise whatsoever for an almost eerie feeling.

Pre-show: Llave de Gloria: Dragon Solar/Pardux/Solaris/Ashley vs. Hahastary/Bronco Gonzalez/Chicano/Fetiche

This seems to be the finals of some kind of tournament as independent wrestlers are fighting for a contact. It’s a brawl to start with Ashley’s dive being left short on the floor. She’s fine enough to get back in and hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker on…someone commentary doesn’t feel the need to identify (which makes me think they don’t know who is who here). Instead they give a basic explanation of rudos vs. technicos as everyone gets in a shot to just about everyone else. Even commentary points out that there is one winner to the whole thing so the team aspect is pretty much worthless.

Ashley dropkicks Chicano (thank goodness for names on the back of gear) down but Chicano elbows her in the face. Solaris comes in for a save with a hurricanrana but gets dropkicked out of the air. Everything breaks down the Chicano team takes Ashley down, including a slingshot powerbomb.

Solar gets in some hurricanranas for a breather and it’s Ashley coming back in to pick up the pace. Solaris and Pardux come in with stereo missile dropkicks and Ashley hits a big dive onto most of her opponents. Fetiche is backdropped onto a pile of people on the floor, followed by a corkscrew dive from Solaris. Back in and Solar rolls up Gonzalez for the pin at 6:40.

Rating: C. This was a VERY weird one as they didn’t bother trying to do anything more than have a big exhibition of spots. Ashley stood out a bit more than anyone else but commentary clearly had NO idea what was going on here or who was who. That makes things all the more confusing, and I spent most of the match trying to figure out their names. Granted there wasn’t anything more here than having a bunch of people trying to get noticed, which only worked well enough.

Pre-Show: Llave de Gloria: Angel Mortal Jr./Tiger Boy/Villano III Jr. vs. Angelikal/The Tigger/El Hijo del Vikingo

Same idea as the first match but three on three and thankfully there are a lot more fans in the building for the entrances. For some reason we start with music in the background as Tigger and Villano get things going (commentary seems a lot more familiar with this batch). They flip around to start and neither can get anything more than a fast one, as you might have expected.

Angelikal comes in to hurricanrana Mortal as the pace stays fast. Angelikal clears the ring by himself before being pulled outside, allowing Vikingo to come in. Vikingo climbs the rope for an anklescissors out of the corner to Tiger. Mortal comes in and launches Vikingo into a hurricanrana to tiger on the floor.

Back in and Villano and company start taking over on Tiger’s arm. A double electric chair missile dropkick hits Angelikal and a springboard Codebreaker into a wheelbarrow suplex gets two. Angelikal is right back up with a hurricanrana, leaving Vikingo and Tigger to hit running flip dives to the floor. Back in and Tigger and company hit a 450/moonsault/shooting star press for the triple pin at 7:33.

Rating: C+. Much like the opener, this was a bunch of people trying to get in as much as they could to showcase themselves. Unlike the opener, this one didn’t have as many people around and it made things that much easier to follow. If nothing else, commentary knowing who they were watching helped just as much. Do this alone instead of both matches and it’s a much better pre-show.

The ring announcer (as translated by Ramirez) welcomes us to the show and pitches the official program. The Spanish broadcast team is introduced (the matching ties are nice) and so is the president of the company.

The National Anthem is played, with a live military band.

The announcer hypes up the crowd about the main event.

The opening video (with the camera just pointed at the screen) looks at TripleManias past, set to Dream On by Aerosmith.

We get some banners of various deceased legends, including company founder Antonio Pena (whose wife, the president, is holding his urn, because that’s not at least a little creepy).

Hernandez/La Hiedra/Mamba/Mini Psycho Clown vs. Big Mami/Dinastia/Estrella Divina/Mascara de Bronce

This is an Atomicos match, which I believe means a man, a woman, an exotico (man dressed as a woman) and a mini. Bronce starts with Clown (not that much shorter) and sends him outside for a good looking step up flip dive. Mami comes in but gets dropped by Hernandez, only to come back with a kiss. Everything breaks down fast and Bronce breaks up Hernandez’s slam attempt on Mami (and he was struggling).

Clown sends Bronce outside for a bit flip dive, followed by a springboard corkscrew dive from Dinastia. Hernandez cuts off Bronce’s dive and powerbombs him onto the pile, followed by Hernandez hitting his own huge dive. Mami dives off the middle rope to crush everyone and it’s time to head back inside. Hernandez and Bronce fight to the back and Clown rolls Dinastia up for two. Dinastia’s standing moonsault gets two, with Mamba making the save. Hiedra gets in a chair shot to Mami though and Mamba steals the pin at 6:56.

Rating: C. This was all over the place and in this case, that’s exactly the point. These things are designed to be pure chaos with everyone going all over the place and it went well enough. The dives were impressive and the fans were into a lot of it, making it a rather fun opener. Just maybe don’t have the villains win to kick off the show?

The ring announcer again polls the fans about the main event.

Reina de Reinas Title: Lady Shani vs. Ayako Hamada vs. Rosemary vs. Sexy Star

Star is defending and this is one fall to a finish. Of note, Rosemary is from Global Force Wrestling, because that was a thing at this point. Rosemary suplexes Star to the floor to start but Shani and Hamada take Rosemary down. Back up and Rosemary slugs away but Star is right back for some shots to everyone. Hamada grabs a chair and takes out Star, only to have Shani kick the chair into Hamada’s face.

Now it’s a trashcan being thrown…well in the vicinity of the ring, as Hamada doesn’t clear the top rope in a bit of an embarrassing miss. Rosemary grabs a full nelson with her legs on Shani and Hamada cranks on one of Shani’s legs for a tap….but that doesn’t count because it’s a double submission so we keep going (I’ve always thought that should be an elimination or something, as it’s hard to fathom tapping to two people not having some kind of consequence.).

Shani is put in a chair and has a trashcan put on top of her but topples over due to unconsciousness. Star comes back in and gets WHACKED with a trashcan lid. She’s fine enough to powerbomb Hamada out of the corner for two, with Rosemary having to make the save. Shani is back up with some kicks to Rosemary, who pulls her into something of a Last Chancery. That’s broken up by Star, who gets Stunnered by Rosemary. Star is able to Iconoclasm Rosemary off the top and grabs a cross armbreaker to retain at 9:57. She takes her sweet time letting go too.

Rating: C-. It was pretty much just a bunch of weapons stuff while commentary praised Sexy Star as being this huge deal. As for the match, there was little to no flow or story to it other than Star making a comeback at the end. Rosemary and Hamada are capable of more and I’ve seen Star be ok. Shani was billed as a hardcore specialist and that was only kind of on display here. It wasn’t horrible, but the ending was out of nowhere and it felt like they were told “go do stuff and then finish it now”.

Oh and one more thing: the armbreaker that Star used on Rosemary wound up being a shoot, legitimately injuring Rosemary and more or less banishing Star to the indies for the rest of her career. Pretty much, no one of note was going to put up with her attacking a wrestler for no valid reason and that was it. The title would be vacated a few weeks later as Star was done with AAA. If a wrestler legitimately attacks someone else in the ring without just cause, I’m not sure what kind of a future they would be expecting to have.

With THAT out of the way, Martha Villalobos, a legend and former champion, comes out to present Star with the belt in a moment I’m sure AAA won’t want to have back immediately.

The ring announcer shills the program.

Vampiro and someone who seems to be a sponsor are here to announce the winners of the Llaves a la Gloria. Third place is Ashley, second is El Hijo del Vikingo and the winner is….Angelikal. As a bonus, Vampiro has the rest of the contestants get inside, where they are told they will be the first group of students at the new AAA school.

Tag Team Titles: Andrew Everett/DJZ vs. Monster Clown/Murder Clown vs. Aerostar/Drago vs. Dark Cuervo/Dark Scoria

Cuervo/Scoria are defending and this is one fall to a finish. The Clowns whip out a belt to start the whipping but Aerostar and Drago take over on DJZ. An assisted tornado DDT gets two on Everett but the champs are back in to double clothesline Drago. Back in and the Clowns get to clean the ring save for Aerostar, who gets whipped with the belt. Aerostar fights back and sends the Clowns outside for the suicide dive.

Cuervo and Scoria hit dives of their own, followed by the rather large Murder Clown hitting his own big flip dive. Back in and Murder Clown gets caught on top with a Tower Of Doom. Aerostar is raised up the lighting grid and then asks to go even higher. We get some near falls but keep cutting up to Aerostar as they keep going up. He finally hits the dive to clear out the pile and three wrestlers run in for a beatdown.

Commentary doesn’t know who they are and they’re ejected just as fast (Apparently they’re El Poder del Norte, a heel stable. Thanks review from someone else, because commentary is rather worthless on this show.). The champs fight back but a third Clown (he has purple hair) comes in to help take them out. Cuervo and Scoria fight back, only to have Marty Martinez (from Lucha Underground) run in and help the Clowns as well. A top rope splash gives Murder the double pin on the champs for the titles at 13:28.

Rating: D+. The huge dive was impressive looking and there were some cool spots, but this was another match where it felt like they weren’t really doing much of anything until the ending when everything went nuts. The Clowns felt like the bigger deal but the whole match felt like a bunch of teams thrown out there for the sake of having a Tag Team Title match. Well that and so Aerostar could do a crazy dive because he seems to be a little nuts.

Post match the Clowns keep up the beating and Marty leaves with the purple haired clown.

We get a speech from the President of the company (the widow of founder Antonio Pena), who talks about wrestlers who have passed away during the TripleMania years.

We get a video on the wrestlers who have passed away. Nothing wrong with something like that.

BUY MERCHANDISE!

Torneo TripleMania XXV

So from what I can tell this is a ten trios (30 people) battle royal with lumberjacks. It also seems that there are teams from different eras to give it a bit of a theme. We’re also doing staggered entrances ala the Royal Rumble (90 second intervals), so it’s Team Ex-AAA (Heavy Metal/Pirata Morgan/Villano IV) in at #1 and Relevos Incredibles (Australian Suicide/Faby Apache/Pimpinela Escarlata) in at #2 to start. It’s a brawl to start as the lumberjacks (with straps) get into it on the floor.

Los OGT’s (Averno/Chessman/Super Fly) are in at #3 and a lot of stomping/near eliminations ensue. Granted I’m not completely sure who is almost out as, again, commentary seems to have no idea who is who, but why let that stop you? Los Vipers (Histeria/Maniaco/Psicosis), who even I’ve heard of, are in at #4 and Psicosis has a huge snake around his neck. The Vipers start cleaning house as I don’t believe anyone has been eliminated yet. Los Guapos (Decnis/Scorpio Jr./Zumbido) are in at #5 as this is rather hard to keep track of, a statement commentary makes as well.

A high crossbody completely misses for I believe Histeria and Los Perros del Mal (Halloween/Joe Lider/Mr. Aguila) are in at #6. We get some rapid fire pinfalls (no names mentioned and no word on if those individuals or their teams are out) and the Mexican Powers (Crazy Boy/Lanzelot/Nina Hamburguesa) are in at #7. They get to clean house for a bit, including the nearly 400lb Nino coming off the top with a missed Swanton, until La Parka y sus Amigos (La Parka/Argenis/Bengala) are in at #8.

As they come to the ring, everyone gets on Nino for the pin, followed by Los Vipers getting to clean some house. Los Leyendas (Blue Demon Jr./El Cobrade/El Intocable, the Legends) are in at #9 and get to clean more house. Team GFW (Moose/Bobby Lashley/Jeff Jarrett) are in at #10 to complete the field….or at least they should be, as it’s just Lashley on his own.

Lashley gets to wreck some people on the grounds of he’s Bobby Lashley, but the clock starts counting down again. Commentary is confused (it’s not that hard) and it gets even worse when no one comes out. Moose comes out on his own and just kind of stands around awkwardly, which isn’t his style.

Jarrett finally comes out and…..yeah there’s no way around it: Jarrett was very out of it (quite possibly drunk) at this show, to the point where he can barely get down the steps to the ring. To his credit, he would take time away from the ring shortly after this (and at least one other incident) and reportedly got clean, so good for him for dealing with his problems. As for tonight though, Jarrett takes FOREVER to get to the ring, as he is throwing tortillas to the crowd, which isn’t going well whatsoever. For some reason Moose and Lashley are fighting each other on the floor as Jarrett gets inside. Jarrett punches a bunch of people and kicks Parka low, leaving him the only one standing.

Parka finally gets up and slugs it out with Jarrett as we actually have something resembling a match for a second. A DDT plants Jarrett for the pin (POP) and we pause for Parka’s music, even though the match isn’t over. Commentary isn’t sure what is going on (shocking) as Jarrett is yelling at fans. The rest of the OGT’s clear house and go for Parka’s mask….until Chessman shoves Super Fly (his partner) off the top and out. So we’re down to Chessman, Averno and Parka, but Averno hits Chessman (again, his partner) low for a pin. Then Parka small packages Averno for the final pin (thank goodness) at 26:41.

Rating: F. I spent the better part of half an hour watching this and I have no idea what was going on. The problem is that commentary didn’t seem to either, to the point where there might have been five names mentioned here, with most of them being Team GFW. I’m sure this was about getting Parka a moment and having a bunch of names in there, but it’s a case where if you aren’t already a fan, this isn’t going to make things better. The fact that the only reason I knew most of the names was the show’s Wikipedia didn’t help, but it isn’t like there was commentary or a graphic to tell me who was involved.

On top of that, it was a terrible battle royal, where the rules weren’t clear, some people (Lashley/Moose) just left, I had no idea who was eliminated (or how to eliminate someone for that matter) and nothing was clear in the slightest. You can do something like this with the Gimmick Battle Royal, but that was about four minutes, not almost twenty seven (longest of the show so far). Absolutely horrible here and one of the worst matches I’ve seen in a very long time for more reasons that I can count (ok I can count them but I don’t want to waste any more time on this mess).

Post match La Parka, Bengala and Argenis get a belt, with Parka getting all of the glory.

El Mesias vs. Pagano

Street fight and they start in the aisle (as commentary didn’t seem to think this match was scheduled next) with Mesias knocking him into the ring. Pagano scores with a spinwheel kick, as commentary is surprised he included a wrestling move. A springboard bulldog drops Mesias again but he’s back with a shot to the face. Back up and Pagano knocks him into the corner, only to get sent outside.

Mesias gets in some chair shots as we get at least the third arena wide shot of the match (about five minutes in). The beating goes around the ring, with Mesias sending him into a trashcan. They go up the aisle with Mesias getting a suplex but having a beer thrown into his face. Back to the ring they go, with some barbed wire being brought in because of course it is. Pagano gets the better of a slugout and runs him over, setting up a Russian legsweep.

Mesias is knocked outside so Pagano hits a running flip dive, followed by a hanging piledriver back inside. And now the barbed wire, which Pagano puts in front of his chest on a missed moonsault. Pagano is back with a Regal Roll into a Lionsault, which has commentary questioning the impact of the barbed wire. Mesias is knocked outside for an apron dropkick as things slow down.

They get back inside with Mesias whipping out a barbed wire bat, which is kicked away. The fans are rather displeased as Mesias hits a faceplant onto the bat. Back up and Pagano gets in a bat shot to Mesias’ knee….which is enough to warrant a referee stoppage at 16:40, because I guess just covering Mesias was out of the question?

Rating: D. This was slow, plodding, didn’t get overly violent until near the ending and then had a dumb finish on top of that. If Mesias is hurt then it’s understandable, but it was his leg. Have Pagano cover him for a fast pin instead of just stopping everything cold in a street fight. Other than that, this just wasn’t good and both guys appeared to be moving in slow motion for a lot of it. If you want this to be some violent match then go there rather than do something this lame.

Post match Rey Escorpion, in street clothes, comes in to deck Pagano and then go after Mesias, who is on a stretcher.

AAA World Title/AAA Latin American Title/AAA Cruiserweight Title: Johnny Mundo vs. El Hijo del Fantasma vs. Texano Jr.

Mundo (John Morrison/etc) is defending, comes out to Born In The USA, and this is a ladder match. Fantasma would go on to become known as Santos Escobar while Texano would go on to continue to be known as Texano Jr. The challengers chop it out to start and Mundo gets knocked down for trying to bring in some weapons. Texano grabs a chair to blast Fantasma and starts ripping at the mask, allowing Mundo to add a top rope elbow.

Mundo dropkicks a ladder into Texano and superkicks Fantasma for a bonus. A pair of tables are set up at ringside but everyone realizes that there are belts to grab and go for the ladder. Texano clears the ring, leaving Fantasma to load a table against the barricade. Mundo dropkicks Texano off the top but gets knocked off a ladder (which was nowhere near high enough anyway as the belts are WAY up there). Fantasma hits his great dive into Texano into (but not through) the leaning table.

Texano is back up and sends Fantasma through the table, followed by a Swanton onto Fantasma onto the broken table. With Fantasma VERY busted open, Mundo goes up but gets pulled down by Texano. Mundo bridges a ladder on the middle rope but takes too long posing, allowing Fantasma to dropkick him down. Fantasma drops Texano onto the bridged ladder, seemingly busting him open too.

The ladder is set in the middle as the belts come down a bit. Mundo’s climb takes too long as well and Texano shoves the ladder over, sending Mundo down and onto (not through) a table at ringside. Fantasma dives over a ladder bridged into a standing one to forearm Texano, only to get knocked into the ladder. More tables are set up in the ring, with Fantasma backdropping Texano onto the bridged ladder for a nasty crash.

Cue Kevin Kross (Karrion Kross, Mundo’s lackey) to make the save but Mascara de Bronce comes out to stop Kross, who was climbing for some reason. Now it’s Hernandez (another Mundo lackey, or stooge as commentary puts it) to get knocked outside as well, leaving Bronce to hit a heck of a springboard moonsault to take him down.

Kross chokeslams Bronce onto the apron but Fantasma takes him down. Mundo ladders Fantasma in the face but all three wind up climbing. Fantasma knocks Texano down for a big crash, leaving Mundo to get in a low blow to drop Fantasma as well. All three belts are pulled down and Mundo retains at 22:49.

Rating: B. It wasn’t a classic or anything but for a triple threat ladder match with a bunch of interference, this could have been a lot worse. Mundo feels like a star and has the gold to prove it while the other two felt like they had him multiple times, only to come up short. Maybe it was everything else being so bad/horrible, but I had a good time with this one as Mundo feels like a much bigger deal here than in WWE.

Post match Mundo brags about his win and calls out…Vampiro. Mundo throws down the title and here is Vampiro to interrupt. Vampiro won’t look at him, as Mundo demands that Vampiro put the belt on him. Mundo yells at him, spits at him and shoves him, which is finally enough for Vampiro to grab a chokeslam. With Mundo on the floor, Vampiro threatens violence before leaving as well.

With everyone else gone, Fantasma and Texano trade chair shots to the head and both are left laying. Well that was cringe inducing.

Video on Dr. Wagner Jr. vs. Psycho Clown, both of whom have been training rather hard. They don’t seem to like each other.

Dr. Wagner Jr. vs. Psycho Clown

Mask vs. Mask and this is billed as the biggest lucha match of the decade. Hold on though as a woman has to sing the National Anthem before we’re ready to go. We’re ready to go and Clown misses a dropkick, allowing Wagner to clothesline away as commentary isn’t sure how many falls this is (it’s one). Wagner chokes away in the corner before they go outside, with the brawl heading into the crowd.

Back in and Psycho hits a spinwheel kick as the fans aren’t sure who they like here. Wagner ties him up on the mat but Psycho is right next to the ropes. We get the expected mask ripping before Wagner hits him in the head with the chair. Psycho is busted open so Wagner enjoys some of it on his hand. There’s another chair shot to knock Clown even sillier, as commentary wonders what happens if you rip off a mask in a mask vs. mask match.

They head outside with Wagner slowly beating on Psycho, who can barely stagger away. Clown gets knocked up and back down the apron but manages to make a comeback with some clotheslines back inside. Clown knocks him outside and hits the dive but the running flip dive only hits mat (instead of Wagner’s son, who is ringside as well). Back in and Clown rips at Wagner’s mask for a change before whacking him in the face with a chair.

A hanging DDT gets Wagner out of trouble for two. Clown gets a quick rollup for two, with commentary pointing out how slow the referee has been to get into position (Jesse Ventura would not approve). Wagner knocks him outside and hits the big flipping dive, setting up a Samoan drop into the fans.

Back in and a top rope superplex gives Wagner two, followed by Clown’s Samoan drop getting the same. Wagner shrugs off a kick to the face though and hits the Wagner (Michinoku) Driver for two more. Another Wagner Driver gets another near fall and the fans are rather interested. Clown grabs a superplex of his own into a Backstabber and a Code Red gives him the pin at 28:40.

Rating: B+. What mattered here is it felt like a struggle as these two did not want to lose everything. It made the match feel that much more important and I don’t think anything else could have come close to headlining. Clown is someone who has felt like a star every time I’ve seen him, but Wagner has always felt like a legend. The ending felt like a very big deal and that is how you want your main event to go. The action was more than good enough, but the atmosphere made it feel that much bigger.

We get the big ceremony of the unmasking, but first Wagner has to announce his real name (Juan Manuel Gonzalez Barron) and hometown (Torreon). He praises Clown and talks about being a legend, before unmasking and thanking Clown. There are kids crying in the crowd as Wagner huddles with his family. As Wagner and company leave, Clown stops him to say it was an honor and praise Wagner. Clown celebrates and we get a highlight package of the main event to end the show.

There really isn’t a translation to this kind of thing in America, but egads it comes off like the biggest deal in the world in a situation like this. Wagner is a legend and now everything about him has changed because of one match. That’s a pretty major deal and they treated it as such with the post match time.

Overall Rating: D+. The last two matches are very good and they bring the show up about as high as it can go. The problem is that everything before that was an absolute disaster with one of the weakest stretches I’ve ever seen as there wasn’t a good match to be seen in the first two or so hours of the show show. I’m not sure what went wrong, but if this show didn’t have the two main events, this could have been an all time disaster. As it is, it’s WAY too long and not good, but at least it could have been worse (barely).

 

 

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.




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?

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.