AAA On FOX – August 1, 2026 (Verando de Escandalo Week Two): Oh Who Cares? (Includes Full Show)

AAA On FOX
Date: August 1, 2026
Location: Arena San Marcos, Aguascalientes, Mexico
Commentators: John Bradshaw Layfield, Rey Mysterio, Corey Graves

It’s time for the second week of Verano de Escandalo and we have another title match, as Rey Fenix defends the Cruiserweight Title against Mini Vikingo. The big story coming out of last week was Dominik Mysterio joining up with El Ojo, which should create some problems for El Grande American as we get closer to TripleMania. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week’s main event, with Dominik Mysterio betraying El Grande Americano, but for El Ojo rather than Los Perros del Mal.

Last week, Mysterio says you should have expected that because he is the King of the Luchadors.

Latin American Title Qualifying Match: Lince Dorado vs. Mecha Wolf vs. La Parka

Parka dances a bit to start and gets knocked down by the other two. Dorado is sent outside though and a dropkick has Wolf joining him. Parka dances some more and grabs a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker on Dorado. That lets Parka dive, only for the other two to catch and post him. Dorado throws Wolf down though and snaps off a top rope hurricanrana to Parka. Wolf is back up for a dive each to both of them, followed by a DDT for two on Dorado.

Parka is back in with a double rolling cutter and a double flapjack for a bonus. The middle rope moonsault hits Dorado and Wolf on the floor as the fans certainly approve. Parka is knocked down, leaving Wolf to spinning superplex Dorado. Parka’s diving save breaks that up at two and fireman’s carries both of them at once.

Dorado escapes to give Parka a handspring Stunner before taking Wolf off the apron. Back in and Dorado gives Parka a shooting star press for two more. Wolf mists Dorado but gets suplexes by Parka. An overhead belly to belly sends Wolf into the corner and it’s a top rope splash into the Bone Breaker for the pin at 12:05.

Rating: B. This was pretty much non-stop throughout the match and I got into the whole thing. That’s not the biggest surprise as these matches tend to be nuts, but this was even bigger than usual. Parka is just crazy popular right now and it’s great to see the fans responding like that.

Someone films the Psycho Circus….walking? In theory it’s the attacker filming them because who else would it be?

Los Perros del Mal brag about what they’ve done so far and promise that things are growing even bigger next week.

Dinamico/Drago vs. Galeno/El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr.

Dinamico jumps over Wagner to start and it’s off to Drago for a pump kick. Wagner isn’t having that though and knocks them both down, with Galeno making a blind tag. Galeno runs over Dinamico on the floor with Drago getting caught in the wrong corner. Wagner boots Dinamico out to the floor and it’s a splash off of Galeno’s shoulders. The Galeno Special finishes Drago at 2:43. Total squash.

Rey Mysterio was surprised by Dominik Mysterio joining El Ojo but he isn’t backing down. That’s all for this week though, because we have a big main event.

Cruiserweight Title: Mini Vikingo vs. Rey Fenix

Fenix is defending. They shake hands to start and they flip around a lot, followed by a series of kicks. Vikingo’s spinning high crossbody gets two, as does Fenix’s. Back up and Vikingo’s crucifix driver gets two more but Fenix is back up with a rope walk kick to the head. A Death Valley Driver gives Fenix two more so Vikingo gives him a Spanish Fly for the same.

Fenix’s kick to the face doesn’t do much as Vikingo knocks him down and hits a frog splash for another near fall. The super Spanish Fly plants Fenix for two more and Vikingo can’t believe the kickout. Fenix’s Mexican MuscleBuster is broken up so he opts to just knee Vikingo in the back of the head for two more. Now the Mexican MuscleBuster can retain the title at 10:53.

Rating: B+. Much like the opener, this was about taking people and letting them go nuts for a few minutes until one of them got the pin. Fenix was getting exasperated at not being able to put Vikingo away and that made some of Vikingo’s near falls feel even better. I dug this one a lot and it moved Vikingo up even in a loss.

Post match respect is shown. Vikingo goes to the back, where Dorian Roldan whispers something to him to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. While this might not have felt like some big special edition show, it was more than entertaining enough for about fifty five minutes. The two matches that actually got some time were both more than good and the squash match was the kind of entertaining you get from something like that. I’m not sure if it needed to be part of Verano de Escandalo, but I’ll take what I can get here. Rather fun show, as AAA can often be.

Results
La Parka b. Lince Dorado and Mecha Wolf – Bone Breaker to Wolf
Galeno/El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. b. Dinamico/Drago – Galeno Special to Drago
Rey Fenix b. Mini Vikingo – Mexican MuscleBuster

 

 

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NXT – July 28, 2026: A Star Is Brought In

NXT
Date: July 28, 2026
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

We’re just over a month away from Heatwave and the big story coming out of last week was the debut of…that guy who used to be in TNA under the name of Mike Santana. That’s not going to go well with NXT Champion Tony D’Angelo and it might be time for a big title showdown. Other than that, we’re coming up on Lola Vice challenging Kendal Grey for the Women’s Title in the Underground. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week’s main event with Tony D’Angelo retaining over Naraku and….what’s his name debuting.

Commentary is cut off by an invading Grayson Waller, who talks about the things he has done in WWE but then things changed. What happened to him in the last two years? He’s been doing nothing, carried someone for months, and then spent forever pretending to be at a funeral. He could show up to catering once a week for some salt and pepper chicken but he’s here to be the biggest star around.

That means winning the NXT Title and make it mean something again. Who is going to stop him? Cruz Montana? That would be the former TNA World Champion, with Waller loving the new name. Is Tony D’Angelo going to stop him? Waller is going to send him home to his ugly baby. Shawn Michaels needs to send one of his guys out here to get rid of him.

The women are running laps around the men of this place and mocks people who wrestle for a bit and then spend time in the medical room. Or the independent stars who show up here and go nuts in the ring but have no idea how to use a microphone. He knows Michaels is freaking out on the headset but Michaels is also smiling because Waller is speaking the truth.

Waller’s mic is cut off so he grabs the camera and says consider your cages rattled. Where in the world has this Waller been? This was one heck of a rant and if it means something from a serious Waller, I’m interested in seeing where it’s going because this was pretty awesome stuff. I’ll believe it when I see it, but this got my attention.

Tavion Heights and Myles Borne are ready to fight tonight when Mason Rook comes in. Rook doesn’t like what Waller said so he’s going to beat up Kam Hendrix.

Lizzy Rain vs. Izzy Dame

Dame backs her up against the ropes to start and pulls Rain off the top for a crash onto the turnbuckle. Back up and Rain hits a spinwheel kick but a dropkick through the ropes is cut off and we take a break. We come back with Dame hitting an Orton backbreaker but Rain gives her a missile dropkick.

Rain’s springboard elbow is countered into a Blue Thunder Bomb and it’s time to forearm it out. They crash out to the floor before going right back inside with a Death Valley Driver giving Rain two. Rain spears her down but Niko Vance offers a distraction. Cue Shawn Spears to scare Vance with a chair, allowing Rain to hit Thunderstruck for the pin at 12:35.

Rating: B-. This was more about the issues with Vance and Spears but it also saw Rain get a big win, which is the best thing that could have happened for her. She certainly seems to be someone NXT wants to push and it’s slowly starting to come together. Now just find something for her to do long term and she should be fine.

Cruz Montana meets Romeo Moreno and Noam Dar. Saquon Shuggars comes in and the team apologizes for the loss last week. Montana remembers meeting Shuggars and getting into it with him but Shuggars insists he’s a changed man. He hopes Montana will see that and Montana seems open to the idea. Kelani Jordan comes in to say this place is unfair and Montana just walks away as she rants.

The Vanity Project meets with Robert Stone and complain about possibly having to defend against Myles Borne and Tavion Heights. They aren’t scared, but here is Keanu Carver, who wants a match against EK Prosper next week. Stone agrees, saying that was way too easy. Grayson Waller calls and Stone wants him back here because this isn’t done.

Video on Lola Vice vs. Kendal Grey in the Underground, with Vice talking about how hard she worked to get here.

Thea Hail and Jaida Parker are both happy with how things are going and Parker thanks Hail for helping her last week. They have a tag match next week against Nikkita Lyons and Karmen Petrovic.

North American Title: Kam Hendrix vs. Myles Borne

Borne is defending. They go to the mat to start and it’s an early standoff, allowing Hendrix to work on the arm. A clothesline and slam give Hendrix two but Borne is back up with a dropkick to the floor. There’s the dive to take him out again and we take a break with both of them outside.

We come back with Hendrix lifting him up for a one armed powerbomb and grabbing a chinlock. That’s broken up and Borne fires away, setting up a quick powerslam for two. Hendrix cuts off a dive though and hits a running boot for two as Tavion Heights is holding Mason Rook back from interfering. Borne pops back up with Borne Again to retain at 12:01.

Rating: B-. I liked the interference/distraction as it made sense for both of them to do what they were doing. Borne continues to hold onto the title and is turning into quite the star in his own right. On the other hand you have Hendrix, who feels like he has potential but isn’t getting the chance to succeed all that often, which can be rather frustrating.

Post match Rook goes after Hendrix so here is the Vanity Project to jump Borne and Heights. That’s broken up though and the Project is cleared out.

Lizzy Rain loves KFC popcorn chicken. Tristan Angels comes in to say she needs a better role model.

Zaria wants her next title challenger and Wren Sinclair comes in to say she wants her next challenger. Sinclair can have a shot next week and if Zaria wins, she gets a future Women’s Speed Title shot.

Birthright vs. OTM

Nima throws Connors around to start and shrugs off Stacks’ right to the face. Price comes in for a hard chop but some double teaming puts Nima in trouble for a change. That just earns Birthright a double suplex and it’s back to Price to clean house. Stacks is tossed over the top onto the rest of Birthright and we take a break. We come back with Connors getting two off a Swanton but Nima hits a top rope stomp to the chest to get out of trouble. Price comes back in to wreck people but here are Los Perros del Mal. The distraction lets Stacks get in a kick to the head to pin Price at 8:54.

Rating: C+. This made perfect sense and I’m curious to see where it goes with Nima. Having different loyalties with Los Perros and OTM is going to become a problem for Nima sooner than later and that’s not something you see often. If nothing else, it’s nice to see OTM getting to do something other than the random one off matches they’ve had for years.

Post match Price is not happy with Nima.

Kendal Grey is training hard for Lola Ice in the Underground. She’s been training extra hard in amateur wrestling to get ready.

Kali Armstrong wants a title shot but Izzy Dame and Kelani Jordan come in to say not so fast.

Shiloh Hill vs. Tristan Angels

Hill starts fast but runs into some raised boots in the corner. Hill misses a charge into the corner so Angels knocks him outside for a neckbreaker. We take a break and come back with Hill fighting out of trouble but getting crotched on top. Angels catches him on top with a superplex for two and they head outside, with Hill being sent into the steps. A powerbomb onto the announcers’ table gives Hill two back inside and he shoulders Angel in the corner. The super Thunderbreaker finishes Angels off at 10:25.

Rating: B-. There is something of a natural rivalry here but that feels like the end, with Hill getting the better of things to finish Angels off for the time being. That’s a good thing too, as Hill is becoming quite the cult favorite around here and could be moving on to bigger things. At the same time, Angels should be fine as he’s that annoying, which will always work.

Here is Cruz Montana for a chat. He has worked hard to get here and wants to be the kind of star his daughter deserves. Along the way though, he was told that he had reached his ceiling as a tag wrestler. He didn’t accept that and became the biggest star in TNA. Montana is grateful to TNA to everything he did there but now he wants to show he can do this with the biggest names in wrestling. He wants to be NXT Champion, and if he has to go through Grayson Waller, they can meet in any YMCA Waller wants.

This brings out Tony D’Angelo, who introduces himself as the NXT Champion. He’s ready to show Montana what he’ll do to keep his spot and they’re ready to go. Cue Waller, with Montana swinging for him but hitting D’Angelo by mistake. The three of them stare at each other to end the show. We didn’t get much new here, but Montana got his chance to show what he can do and promos like that will get him over around here too.

Overall Rating: B-. Montana already feels like a bigger star than almost anyone around here and that’s a great sign for him. It’s not the best sign for D’Angelo though, as his title reign feels like it is being measured in days. You also have the midcard firming up a bit and that could go a long way in keeping the division interesting. Next week will be more about the women though and that should be able to keep things going. Nice job here, with Montana looking like a big deal right out of the gate.

Results
Lizzy Rain b. Izzy Dame – Thunderstruck
Myles Borne b. Kam Hendrix – Borne Again
Birthright b. OTM – Kick to the head to Price
Shiloh Hill b. Tristan Angels – Super Thunderbreaker

 

 

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

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AAA On FOX – July 25, 2025 (Verano de Escalando Week One): Yeah He Had To (Includes Full Show)

AAA On FOX
Date: July 25, 2026
Location: Arena San Marcos, Aguascalientes, Mexico
Commentators: John Bradshaw Layfield, Rey Mysterio, Corey Graves

It’s the first week (out of three) of Verano de Escalando and that means we’re in for the first of three big main events. In this case that means El Grande Americano/Dominik Mysterio vs. Los Perros del Mal. Other than that, the Mixed Tag Team Titles are on the line and that should be worth a look so let’s get to it.

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

Here is Rey Mysterio to welcome us to the show and talk about how important this city has been to his career. He has some good news for us but here is El Ojo to interrupt instead. Dorian Roldan says that Mysterio has been in charge while El Hijo del Vikingo has been injured and costing Omos a chance at the Latin American Title. Mysterio needs to make Omos the Latin American Champion right now, or violence will ensue. That’s still a no so Roldan threatens him and the villains walk off.

Dominik Mysterio and El Grande Americano don’t trust each other but Mysterio insists that he wants them to face off at TripleMania. Everything seems ok, or at least ok enough. Mysterio leaves and Damian (in a Los Perros del Mal shirt) shows up to say “few are chosen”.

We look at La Hiedra turning on Mr. Iguana but Lola Vice was there to team up with him instead. Now La Hiedra and Laredo Kid want the titles, with Vice suggesting that Hiedra still loves Iguana.

Mixed Tag Team Titles: La Hiedra/Laredo Kid vs. Mr. Iguana/Lola Vice

Iguana and Vice are defending. Kid wrestles Iguana down to start before they both flip over, with Iguana sitting on the mat. A running dropkick puts Kid down so Hiedra comes in for a staredown with Iguana. That doesn’t work for Vice who comes in to strike away, with the hip shaking included. Kid gets struck down as well and the champions get to pose for a bit. Hiedra and Iguana have another staredown on the floor and Iguana seems to be a bit deflated.

Back in and Hiedra chokes Vice on the rope and we hit the chinlock. Vice gets up with a belly to back suplex and there’s the tag to the men. Kid comes back in to kick Iguana down and hits a 450, with the referee just pausing in the middle of the count. Iguana gets up and even Mysterio isn’t sure what happened. The women come back in for a rollup until Vice kicks Hiedra in the head for two more. Iguana is sent into the steps so Vice takes Kid out, only to get Glam Slammed for the pin and the titles at 9:35.

Rating: C+. This was interesting as they had only made a few references to the whole love triangle thing. Instead we got a much more detailed look here and it made for a better story. If nothing else, the title change was a bit of a surprise, though it does feel like it gives the story another extension.

We get the weekly press conference with Rey Mysterio, who isn’t happy with El Ojo. He’s cut off by a message from Penta though, who will be appearing at the August 15 show. Also, action figures are coming and we get a preview for the next two weeks to wrap it up. Not much to be said here.

Los Perros del Mal vs. El Grande Americano/Dominik Mysterio

It’s Daga/Angel Garza for Los Perros. Daga and Mysterio take turns posing until Mysterio slugs away. A slam gets Daga out of trouble and he chops away in the corner, earning himself a trip into the wrong corner. Americano comes in and gets knocked down by Daga, with Garza shaking the ropes to take Americano down again. Garza gets to hammer down right hands in the corner, with Americano actually fighting back for a unique visual.

Mysterio comes back in and gets clotheslined for two. The beating ensues, at least until Mysterio gets in a tornado DDT. Americano comes back in to fight back and helps Mysterio on the Third Amigo. The frog splash gets two but the 619 is broken up (JBL: “I wish I had learned that counter against his dad.”).

Daga gets taken out with a dragon screw legwhip but the referee gets bumped. The 619 connects so Mysterio loads up his hammer, only for the rest of Los Perros to send him into the steps. A Gory Special into a knee to the face gets two on Americano as here are Los Americanos to make the save. Bravo hits a HUGE dive off the lighting structure (with the drone camera going all over the place for a cool visual).

Bronco Nima puts Los Americanos through a table but gets taken out by Americano. That leaves Americano to get piledriven and caught in a German suplex/missile dropkick combination for two each. Americano fights up but Mysterio drops to the floor and walks away. An assisted top rope double stomp finishes Americano at 20:35.

Rating: B. I was surprised by the result as I wouldn’t have expected Americano to lose for a long time. The good thing is that he lost after a bunch of interference and all kinds of big moves so he is certainly protected. Mysterio turning on him was about as obvious as you could get, though I’ll take this over Mysterio leading Los Perros, which wouldn’t have really fit.

Post match Mysterio goes to leave…and here is El Ojo, with Mysterio seemingly being the new leader. Rey knows this is a big problem to end the show. That’s a good move as El Ojo was just kind of floating around doing nothing so this gives them an actual story to be attacked to, which they’ve been needing.

Overall Rating: B. This felt like a major event and that’s a good thing to see. The main event was a big step forward for Mysterio vs. Americano and they should be fine on the way to TripleMania. Oddly enough the title change felt like a big deal as well, which I wasn’t exactly expecting. Good show here, and it did feel like an important event, as they tend to be around here, at least at the start.

Results
La Hiedra/Laredo Kid b. Mr. Iguana/Lola Vice – Glam Slam to Vice
Los Perros del Mal b. El Grande Americano/Dominik Mysterio – Assisted top rope double stomp to Americano

 

 

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AAA On FOX – July 18, 2026: They Have Some Ideas (Includes Full Show)

AAA On FOX
Date: July 18, 2026
Location: Arena Potosi, San Luis Potosi, Mexico
Commentators: John Bradshaw Layfield, Corey Graves

We’re on the way to Verano de Escalando and three week event has a trio of main event matches set. This is the last big push towards the show and we have the new oddball team of Dominik Mysterio and El Grande Americano being ready to face off against Los Perros del Mal. That has a long way to get us to TripleMania but they need something to bridge the gap. 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. He gets right to the point of making amends, which starts with bringing ring announcer Andrea Bazarte into the ring to rehire her for more money. Bazarte is rather happy with the whole thing and is officially back (JBL doesn’t approve). With that out of the way, Mysterio moves on to the vacant Latin American Title. There are going to be four triple threat matches and a four way at TripleMania will crown the new champion Here are the lineups:

• La Parka vs. Mecha Wolf vs. Dragon Lee
• El Fiscal vs. Cruz del Toro vs. Psycho Clown
• Omos vs. Damian Priest vs. Galeno

The fourth match starts right now.

Latin American Title Qualifying Match: El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. vs. Abismo Negro vs. Texano Jr.

Abismo jumps the other two to start fast and Wagner is sent outside. That leaves Wagner to fight up and knock the other two down, only for Texano to get two off a backbreaker. Wagner breaks that up and slugs it out with Texano. Abismo’s Tombstone is broken up and a superplex drops Abismo again. Wagner’s top rope splash gets two with Texano having to make a save of his own. Texano is sent outside and gets punched out by Abismo and his foreign object. Another swing misses Wagner though and it’s the Wagner Driver to pin Abismo at 8:34.

Rating: C+. Perfectly nice opener here with Wagner getting to move on as a former champion. Abismo seems a lot more likely to go up against El Fiscal in the big showdown at TripleMania and Texano…well he exists too. I’m not sure if Wagner is going to be winning the title, but he does fit into the match rather well.

La Hiedra and Laredo Kid mock Mr. Iguana and Lola Vice about how they’re going to win the Mixed Tag Team Titles. Vice says Hiedra still loves Iguana, who does a spit take.

Someone films the Psycho Circus.

La Hiedra/Laredo Kid vs. Faby Apache/Joaquin Wilde

For a shot at Lola Vice/Mr. Iguana, who are at ringside. Wilde sunset flips Kid to start and it’s quickly off to the women. Apache kicks Hiedra down and hammers away in the corner, followed by stereo STF’s to Hiedra and Kid. With those broken up, Hiedra gives Apache a hip attack to take over, leaving Wilde to tornado DDT Kid.

Wilde gets choked in the corner though and Kid gives him a brainbuster for two. That’s shrugged off and Wilde dives over for the tag to bring in Apache to clean house. Apache’s big dive takes out the other three on the floor, followed by a high crossbody for two on Hiedra. Wilde’s backbreaker drops Kid for two more but Apache is back in. Kid grabs her leg though and Hiedra gives Apache a Stunner for the pin at 9:55.

Rating: C+. The Mixed Tag Tam Titles have become a fun idea as they aren’t meant to be taken seriously in the slightest and the teams feel thrown together every time. There is no pressure on them but they have been made to feel important enough because teams want to come after them. That’s more than you get sometimes and I kind of want to see the title match at Verano de Escalando. I wouldn’t have bet on that happening with these belts so well done.

We look back at Dominik Mysterio saving El Grande Americano from Los Perros de Mal.

Rey Mysterio wants to see where this goes and runs down the Verano de Escalando card. Finally, Octagon Jr. is hurt and has a long way to recover but his spot will be waiting for him.

Here are Los Perros del Mal for a chat. The team was around a long time ago and they’re here to go after the weak. They know how to fight and now they’re back because when you’re a dog, you’ll always be a dog. Daga introduces the team and says they’re here to be the nightmares to everyone in that locker room. This includes Dominik Mysterio and they’re ready to face he and El Grande Americano at Verano de Escalando. Cue Mysterio and Los Americanos for the big brawl to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was about getting us ready for Verano de Escalando and the best thing they managed to do was not get dull at the last step. That has been an issue for the company’s previous go home shows but they made it work pretty nicely here. The brawl at the end was the big highlight and at least we have something to get us to a new Latin American Champion over the next few weeks. As usual, it might not be a must see show but it does a good job of keeping me wanting to come back.

Results
El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. b. Texano Jr. and Abismo Negro – Wagner Driver to Abismo
La Hiedra/Laredo Kid b. Faby Apache/Joaquin Wilde – Stunner to Apache

 

 

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

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AAA On FOX – July 11, 2026: Prep Time (Includes Full Show)

AAA On FOX
Date: July 11, 2026
Location: Arena Potosi, San Luis Potosi, Mexico
Commentators: John Bradshaw Layfield, Corey Graves

We’re on to a new taping cycle and the big story coming out of last week was the debut of Damian Priest. That’s quite the big name for AAA and it should be interesting to see what he does in his new surroundings. Dominik Mysterio is supposed to be here as well, but that has been somewhat misleading before. Let’s get to it.

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

Dragon Lee vs. Jack Cartwheel vs. Mini Vikingo

For a future Cruiserweight Title shot. Cartwheel is knocked down to start and Vikingo snaps off a running hurricanrana to Lee. Cartwheel dives onto both of them before backflipping into a standoff with Vikingo back inside. Another big dive hits Vikingo on the floor but Lee catches Cartwheel going up. Vikingo breaks up Lee’s double stomp with a super Spanish Fly, leaving Cartwheel to get caught with the running knees in the corner.

Lee is back up to stomp Vikingo but Cartwheel’s slingshot splash gets two. Cartwheel escapes Lee’s Styles Clash attempt and Vikingo cuts off Lee’s dive. Vikingo is sent over the announcers’ table, leaving the other two to brawl. Back in and Cartwheel Spanish Flies Lee for two, only to miss a shooting star press. A sitout powerbomb drops Cartwheel for two but Lee hits the Styles Clash. Vikingo is back in with a 630 to steal the pin on Cartwheel at 8:19.

Rating: B. I’m running out of ways to talk about how much fun these three ways have been. You know exactly what you’re going to get with them but they wind up being all kinds of entertaining anyway. That’s all it needed to be and they seem to be trying something with Mini Vikingo. It’s a good way to start the show and it worked again here.

Post match respect is shown.

Rey Mysterio goes to see El Grande Americano and warns him about Los Perros del Mal. Americano isn’t backing down but he can’t win this alone. Dominik Mysterio comes in to say Los Perros view Americano as weak and they might be right. Rey is glad to have Dominik here again and leaves. Dominik is ready to face Americano at TripleMania but warns him that it won’t happen if Americano is taken out by Los Perros. Don’t worry though, because Dominik will have his back. Americano isn’t quite impressed.

Mini Vikingo stops Dorian Roldan and Omos, saying they bet on the wrong Vikingo.

Here is El Ojo to deal with the fate of the Latin American Title after the injury to El Hijo del Vikingo. Dorian Roldan says he is here for some sad news, as El Hijo del Vikingo is out for weeks after surgery. Once he gets back, they’re going to sue Rey Mysterio (JBL: “Good.”). For now though, there is going to be a new Latin American Champion and it’s…Omos. Well that got more complicated.

This brings out Rey Mysterio to interrupt, saying he knows what Vikingo is going through as he has had a bunch of knee surgeries in his own right. For now though, Omos has one change to hand over the title…and he does just that. The title is officially vacant and he’ll have an announcement about the crowning of a new champion next week. That was a good head fake but just handing the title to an unstoppable monster wasn’t a great idea.

Damian Priest wants in on the Latin American Title.

It’s time for the weekly Rey Mysterio press conference. Verano de Escalando will be a three week event with a main event each week. First up, Mini Vikingo challenges Rey Fenix for the Cruiserweight Title. Also at the show, Lady Shani and La Catalina are challenging Flammer for the Reina de Reinas Title. Finally, we’ll have a #1 contenders match for the Mixed Tag Team Titles, with Faby Apache teaming with Joaquin Wilde against La Hiedra/Laredo Kid, with the title match at Verano de Escalando. More coming next week.

Money Machine vs. Noisy Boy/Epydemius Jr.

Plata and Noisy start things off with Noisy working on an early wristlock. Plata easily sends him down but Noisy backflips away into a quick pose. Oro comes in to headlock Jr., who flips away into a similar pose as the team seems to have a trend. Jr. grabs an armbar to hand it off to Noisy, whose assisted spinning backsplash gets two.

Plata grabs Noisy from the apron though and a suicide dive cuts off Jr. on the floor. A double big boot gets two on Noisy, who rolls underneath a double clothesline and dives over to tag Jr. Noisy’s spinning super hurricanrana brings Plata down so Jr. adds a big running flip dive. Oro gets dropped with a poisonrana but Plata is back in to elbow Jr. Everyone is down…and here are Los Perros del Mal for the double DQ at 8:00.

Rating: B-. This was a weird choice for a main event but AAA can be a weird show at times. There’s nothing wrong with going in a different direction, though it felt like a matter of time until the real story took place. That’s not a bad thing either, as I wasn’t sure where the whole thing was going. At least we got some nice flips and dives in the meantime.

Post match the beatdown is on and Los Perros call out El Grande Americano. Cue Americano with Los Americanos but the three of them are beaten down as well. Dominik Mysterio runs in with a chair for the real save and issues the challenge for a tag match. JBL is stunned as Americano and Mysterio shake hands to end the show. This doesn’t sound logical for Americano but it’s a long way to TripleMania.

Overall Rating: B-. The point of this show was to set up some things for the future, with Verano de Escalando starting to come together. The good thing is that even those special shows aren’t overly long so there is only so much that needs to be done. As usual, this show didn’t wear out its welcome, which makes even the less important shows like this one easy to watch.

Results
Mini Vikingo b. Jack Cartwheel and Dragon Lee – 630 to Cartwheel
Money Machine vs. Noisy Boy/Epydemius Jr. went to a double DQ when Los Perros del Mal interfered

 

 

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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:

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AAA On FOX – June 27, 2026: That’s Just How They Do It Here (Includes Full Show)

AAA On FOX
Date: June 27, 2026
Location: Foro GNP Seguro, Merida, Mexico
Commentators: Rey Mysterio, John Bradshaw Layfield, Corey Graves

The big story coming out of last week was the return of Los Perros del Mal, who reformed with a new lineup to attack El Grande Americano. That’s not going to go well for Americano, who is probably going to need some help. Either way, it feels almost impossible that he isn’t going after the Mega Title at TripleMania so he has some work to do. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video looks at the return of Los Perros del Mal, who are here and don’t follow rules.

Opening sequence.

Here is Psycho Clown, so we recap the Psycho Circus being attacked by someone, who Clown thinks has been Pagano. Back in the arena, Psycho talks about how he is tired of all this and wants to know what is going on. He calls out the rest of the Psycho Circus but none of them know what happened.

Psycho calls out Pagano, who doesn’t show up. The Circus goes to find him…and find a bloody Pagano unconscious in his dressing room. Psycho, who had been swearing revenge during the search, immediately apologizes and begs forgiveness. Pagano wakes up to forgive him, but there is a message on the mirror saying Psycho is next. Interesting indeed.

The Copa Bardahl, a gauntlet elimination match, is returning at TripleMania. We look at Omos winning the most recent edition of the match in dominant fashion.

Galeno vs. Mecha Wolf

How nice of them to have a match almost halfway through the show! Wolf slugs away but gets sent into the corner for some fast clotheslines. Galeno misses a charge to send him outside, where he cuts off Wolf’s dive. Cue Dorian Roldan and Omos to watch as Wolf gets in a cheap shot on the distracted Galeno.

Wolf dropkicks him into the ropes for some running knees to the back but Galeno strikes away. A backsplash and powerbomb get two on Wolf as Galeno’s arm is banged up. Wolf grabs a springboard DDT to limited avail as Galeno blasts him with a clothesline. The cannonball hits Wolf but Galeno stops to glare at Omos. The Galeno Special finishes Wolf at 5:50.

Rating: C+. It’s almost weird to see Galeno treated as a giant but he’s doing a nice enough job of wrestling like one. That should set up a good match between Galeno and Omos, likely with the latter smashing through him. Wolf was little more than cannon fodder here but he did well in that spot.

We look back at a tag match at last year’s Verano de Escandalo with Los Garza winning the Tag Team Titles.

Rey Mysterio was surprised by Los Perros del Mal returning last week but now they have AAA’s attention. In addition, the former WWE World Champion will be here next week and Vikingo will be defending the Latin American Title in NXT. We also get a quick preview of next week’s show.

NXT Women’s Title: Lola Vice vs. La Hiedra

Vice is defending. Hiedra jumps her from behind to start fast and gets an early two off a Michinoku Driver. It’s quickly broken down into a brawl and they crash out to the floor with Hiedra possibly hurting her hip. Back in and Vice kicks away but walks into a spinebuster for two. Hiedra gets her in the corner for some running boots to the spread out thighs and we hit the seated abdominal stretch.

Vice fights up and they grab stereo running faceplants for a double down. Hiedra is knocked outside for a running seated senton, allowing Vice to get in some dancing. Back in and Hiedra hits a quick Stunner, setting up a wheelbarrow faceplant for two. The spinning backfist connects for Vice but here are Las Toxicas for the cheap shot. La Catalina runs in to even things up a bit and another spinning backfist retains the title at 7:42.

Rating: C+. This was a way to have an outside title on the line and that is a good way to spice the show up a bit. La Hiedra was never going to feel like a threat to win the title but Vice is an established name on this show and it was nice to see her getting in a title defense. It might not be the most important thing here but it was a nice treat for the live fans.

Post match Vice dances with La Catalina but Las Toxicas come in to jump them. Lady Shani runs in for a big return and the save to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I like the Psycho Circus/Pagano mystery and Galeno vs. Omos should work when it happens. At the same time though, this was another show where it felt like not much was really happening and that’s becoming a bit annoying. The good thing though is the show only runs about forty five minutes so one good segment getting about ten minutes is a big chunk of the show. It’s definitely a different style around here, but hopefully they start giving us a bit more on the weekly shows.

Results
Galeno b. Mecha Wolf – Galeno Special
Lola Vice b. La Hiedra – Spinning backfist

 

 

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

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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).

 

 

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On This Day: June 6, 2010 – AAA Triple Mania XVIII: With Double Dancing Skeleton Men

Triplemania 18
Date: June 6, 2010
Location: Palacio de los Deportes, Mexico City, Mexico
Attendance: 17,500
Commentators: Konnan, Alfonso Morales, Jesus Zuniga, Arturo Rivera

 

This is the Wrestlemania of the AAA promotion, which I believe is the biggest wrestling company in Mexico. This show is their latest major show so I figured I’d take a look at it. I figured if I can watch Japanese shows and have no idea what’s going on I can do the same with Spanish ones right? I speak some Spanish so this could be a bit better. The main event is LA Park vs. La Parka for the rights to the name La Parka which is apparently a dream match. Let’s get to it.

 

Again if I mess something up I apologize. Keep in mind I have no idea what’s going on or who half of these people are. Also I don’t know any stories or anything like that either. Please bear with me on this but I’ll do what I can.

 

The opening video is about war throughout the ages, including shots of Hitler. Also we get what I think is the history of Triplemania which had a lot of Konnan in it. There’s a countdown and we go to the arena where pyro is set off.

 

Some good looking women bring down flags and what looks like a coat of arms while what sounds like the score of Rocky IV plays in the background. Actually it doesn’t sound like the score from Rocky IV. It IS the score from Rocky IV. That’s kind of awesome. One of the flags has a man’s face on it and the girls stop by a woman in the audience holding an urn. I think that face is of the founder of the company and I’m assuming that’s his widow? She’s shown on the big screen so I’d assume she’s important.

 

Mini-Estrellas Championship: Octagonito vs. Mini Abismo Negro vs. Mini Charly Manson vs. Mascarita Divina vs. Mini Psicosis vs. Mini Histeria vs. Mascarita Sagrada vs. La Parkita vs. Mini Chessman

 

This is a 9 man TLC match for the World Minis Championship. From what I understand there are often minis that are tributes to the full sized wrestlers. Notice a lot of people being named mini whatever name. Abismo Negro is the champion here. I won’t be saying mini every time so if I say Psicosis for example, I mean the mini, not the big guy. Good luck trying to keep track of who is who here but I’ll do what I can.

 

The entrances take a very long time as you would expect. Oh wait here are three at once. I think they’re called the Mini Vipers. They’re comprised of Abismo Negro, Histeria and Psicosis. Parkita comes out to Thriller which is kind of cool. It should be noted that these guys aren’t tiny. They’re just slightly above the top rope. Divina is in blue. That helps a bit.

 

Manson gets a nice reaction. Octoganito gets a better one though. I think that leaves only Sagrada. No apparently I just missed his entrance as there are 9 people in there. Here we go. The Vipers team is all in pink so they’re a unit I guess. They have a big six sided ring and they stay on a wide shot. It’s FAR bigger than American rings. Parkita vs. Chessman in the ring at the moment. Scratch that as they both dive out.

 

Divina vs. a Viper at the moment. Manson vs. another Viper now. They’re flying in and out but other than the first seconds there haven’t been more than two in there at all. From what I understand this was supposed to be a seven man match but Chessman and Parkita were added to the match at the last minute. Big chair shot to the head of Manson I think.

 

There’s a ladder in the ring which is being used a bit but no one has tried to go up yet. And just as I say that there they go. Psicosis makes an attempt at it but is met by Octoganito. The overhead camera shot is taking some getting used to. Divina, Parkita and a Viper in there at the moment. Divina has a ladder but a Viper has another one, this one shorter. The Viper gets a powerbomb to Divina as Parkita brings in a table.

 

Something draws a pop from the crowd but we don’t see it. Divina vs. a Viper at this point. The Viper is sent to the floor and Divina gets a gorgeous rana to the floor. I think that was Octagonito with the big tope con giro. There are two chairs with the small ladder laid on them. Psicosis and Manson in there with Psicosis going through the pile of stuff.

 

The referees help Manson set up the big ladder. Up he goes but a Viper kicks the ladder out and down he comes. Parkita and a Viper (I think Abismo Negro) fight on the apron with the Viper being powerslammed through a table in a cool spot. Another Viper sets up a table in the ring and kicks Octoganito in the head. Divina hits a baseball slide to take out someone that we couldn’t see.

 

The Viper puts Octoganito on the table as Divina climbs the ladder. Another guy is being carried out on a stretcher and I’d assume it was the Viper that went through the table. Octoganito gets a sunset bomb off the ladder to put the Viper through it. BIG pop for that and Octoganito is able to climb up and win the title. Sweet I had the right person!

 

Rating: C-. This is a very hard one to grade. The problem here is that it was more like a highlight reel than an actual match. There were a lot of people that I have no idea if I saw more than once or not. With only two people in the ring for the majority of the match I often forgot there were 9 in this. It’s certainly exciting, but there was little that got me into it. Also at less than ten minutes, how into it could I get?

 

Octoganito talks to the woman with the urn post match.

 

A Viper is put on a stretcher. It’s not Psicosis so I’d assume it’s Histeria. After some further research I’m right.

 

Sexy Star/Rain/Jennifer Blade vs. Cinthia Moreno/Mari/Faby Apache

 

So from what I understand, the first group of girls here are part of La Legion Extranjera, or the Foreign Legion. In short, it’s Konnan’s team and the top heel group. There isn’t a set lineup for them all the time as a lot of the time it’s just any foreign wrestler. This is the new Foreign Legion though and they have more of a concrete group of people. Whoever is pinned or submits here is the slave of the winning team for a month. Rain you might remember as Payton Banks in TNA. Faby and Mari are sisters.

 

The heels have American flags and are pretty hated. Star gets her own entrance apart from her partners. She’s women’s champion here, called the Reina de Reinas (Queen of Queens). Ok Cinthia is in black. Faby is in gold and Mari is in black and gold. Got it I think. They look like sisters so it helps. Konnan has something to say. It seems that there’s something up with the referee here and he might not be trustworthy.

 

Big brawl to start with I think Blade being triple teamed. No wait that’s Star. Cinthia and the sisters clear the ring as this has been a rout so far. More double teaming as I think Rain is double teamed by the sisters. There seems to be no tagging in this match. Star is in a mask. The heels take over now and the beating is on for Faby. Now the Foreign Legion clears the ring. This is rather back and forth stuff.

 

They beat up Mari now but there haven’t been any covers yet. Now they’re on Cinthia but a double team misses. Big double kick to the back of the head of Blade and the momentum shifts again. Ah I was right: the referee IS cheating and the non foreigners go after him. Ok now we get some regular tagging. Blade vs. Cinthia to start and a long Tumble Weed gets no count as the referee breaks up the pin attempt.

 

Implant buster by Fabi gets no cover as Star breaks it up. Star sends Fabi to the floor and Cinthia follows. Tope by Star takes out everyone in sight. Well everyone in her way on the floor on the other team. Mari drills Star and the champion is on the floor now as well. Mari beats the tar out of the referee but a broom stick from Blade to the back of Mari is enough for the pin and Mari is the slave of the Foreign Legion.

 

Rating: D+. This was kind of a mess but I think a lot of that can be blamed on me not really having any idea what was going on. If nothing else the girls look good and there’s a storyline of the evil referee going on in there. Decent match though and the celebration by the Foreign Legion is rather amusing as they’re nearly orgasmic over having Mari as their slave.

 

Rain says the thirty days start now. Mari says she’ll do the thirty days but she’s kicking their heads in right now. She and her partners get Blade down but some short fat guy runs in and the distraction stops that and Blade gets away. He yells at the referee who yells back. It seems that the guy that ran in is saying the loss wasn’t fair due to the referee cheating. The referee says it counts and Konnan comes in and grabs Mari, throwing her to the Foreign Legion girls, saying down with Mexico or something like that.

 

Tag Titles: Los Maniacos vs. Beer Money vs. Atsushi Aoki/Go Shiozaki vs. Nicho/Joe Lider

 

This is under elimination rules and Shiozako/Aoki are champions coming in. Los Maniacos are Silver Cain (Silver King from WCW who has lost his mask and Ultimo Gladiator). An interesting point here is that the champions are introduced by the wrong name with one guy not getting an announcement at all. Also from what I’ve read, only Konnan knew either their names or Beer Money’s names. Cain basically is something like Mr. America where everyone knows it’s Silver King but officially it’s a different guy as his name is different if that makes sense.

 

The wrong music plays for the champions as it’s Beer Money’s song instead. Ok here is Beer Money to the right music. They’re part of the Foreign Legion tonight. See how the group works now? In the back the final team is coming to the ring but some guy in a suit says Konnan is out there and not to go after them. That would be Nicho/Lider who are La Hermandad 187 (the 187 Brotherhood). Nicho is more famous as Psicosis without the mask. The Japanese guys and Lider almost get into it before the match.

 

No tagging here again it seems. This is going to take some getting used to. Roode and someone are on the floor. Also cut out the wide shots. I can’t see anyone specifically for the most part. Four in the ring and four on the floor at the moment. I think Beer Money is on the floor. It’s the Japanese guys and Los Maniacos in there at the moment. Nicho who is apparently a millionaire is down.

 

Only the champions (Japanese guys remember) are staying in the ring and on their feet the whole time. One hits a frog splash to I think Lider for two. Beer Money vs. Japanese guys at the moment. I know I’m saying Japanese guys a lot but it’s the best description I can give you in a short amount of time. Hermanadad gets in Konnan’s face with chairs but the champions jump them to save K-Dawg.

 

Beer Money works on Nicho with a wheelbarrow/Codebreaker combination. They set for the BEER MONEY thing but Hermanadad gets a pair of rollups for two each. Nicho vs. Aoki at the moment with the champion winning. Storm is ripping Cain’s mask and almost has it off. Nicho vs. Aoki in the ring at the moment and Aoki is sent to the floor. Tope con Giro by Nicho takes down Aoki.

 

La Hermanadad beats on Aoki now until Shiozaki comes in. A middle rope Backstabber out of nowhere to Shiozaki puts him out and the champions are gone! Konnan FREAKS as we’re down to three teams. Storm has a chair now and sets it up in the corner. Beer Money beats on the Hermanadad as we haven’t seen much from the masked dudes. Beer Money screws up and Roode head winds up in Storm’s crotch.

 

Los Manacos get into it again and go after 187 which is what I’m going to say instead of La Hermanadad. 187 is down but get up to hit stereo Downward Spirals to Beer Money. Storm takes what we would call a Mooregasm and then add….something which gets two on Storm. It was some double team move but it was hard to see what it was. Konnan distracts 187 again and a chair to the head of Lider by Storm ends them and we’re down to Los Manacos vs. Beer Money for the titles.

 

Tower of Doom spot doesn’t really work at all but it looked ok and got two for Roode. Nicho goes after Konnan with a chair but can’t hit him. The fans are completely behind Manacos. Cain misses a moonsault and the slingshot DDT kills Gladiator as it’s all Beer Money with the spinebuster to Cain. Heel miscommunication occurs though and it’s Gladiator vs. Storm.

 

There are two referees in the ring for some reason. Spear takes down Storm for two. Roode and Cain have gone off to find a Bingo game or something. Storm hits a powerslam for two. Superkick by Storm misses and Cain hits a Death Valley Driver for the pin and the titles. HUGE pop for that as they’re faces and Mexicans hold the titles again.

 

Rating: B-. This was a more fun match than the rest of them. While it was still hard to follow it was less difficult than the other matches. This lack of tagging thing is something I’m having issues getting used to. Either way, there was more of a flow here and I had a better idea of what was going on which is certainly a good thing.

 

Post match two guys come out and stare down the new champions. These guys are from a promotion called IWRG which is a rival company feuding with AAA. This had never been mentioned on a AAA broadcast until now. This challenge takes WAY too long as the invaders talk forever.

 

AAA now has a videogame. Good to know. Why is the commercial in English? They couldn’t put Spanish text on there?

 

A bunch of guys in matching t-shirts that aren’t wrestlers come out and say they can do a lot of for this country. I think this is some charity thing.

 

We talk about the upcoming hair vs. hair match. It’s a six man match and each team is representing a referee. The referee of the losing team gets their hair shaved. Also, this is a cage match which from what I can find wasn’t announced at all prior to the show. The talking for this match takes way too long. Some people start a chant saying KONNAN OUT.

 

Alex Kozlov/Chessman/Hernandez vs. Heavy Metal/Octagon/Pimpinela Escarlata

 

Kozlov is a Soviet character that looks a bit homosexual. Yes it’s that Hernandez. Kozlov’s team is Team Hijo de Tirantes and the other is Team Pierro. I think you can only win by escape and it has to be all three team members. Team Hijo is of the Foreign Legion also. Escarlata is a transvestite. Ok then.

 

In the gimmick that will never die, Kozlov wants to sing the Russian National Anthem. He’s interrupted by Escarlata who puts what appears to be a g-string on his face. That starts the brawl and remember it’s all three out to win. Hernandez is a monster in this. The Foreign Legion dominates to start with a triple team on Escarlata. Now it’s Heavy Metal’s turn to get beaten down.

 

Konnan talks about the main event which is apparently a huge match. The evil referee cracks Escarlata in the head with a chair through the cage. The non-foreign guys have had zero offence. We talk about how awesome the Foreign Legion is for a bit which is true as they’re dominating here to put it mildly. Octagon wakes up all of a sudden, goes OFF on Chessman and dodges a diving Hernandez before Octagon climbs the cage, escaping easily. Gee what a nice guy. “My team is getting destroyed. I’m out people!”

 

Escarlata and Kozlov go up at the same time so Escarlata kisses him to slow him down. Escarlata gets rammed into the cage and Kozlov is out, making it 2-2. Now Escarlata is kissing Hernandez which lets the gender confused one climb the cage. After kissing the evil referee he escapes to make it Hernandez/Chessman vs. Heavy Metal.

 

Hernandez gets the Border Toss into the cage to Heavy Metal which isn’t a big move in Mexico I guess. With Chessman beating down Heavy Metal, Hernandez starts to bail. Then he channels his inner Jimmy Snuka and FLATTENS Metal with a splash. Hernandez escapes easily but the good (I think) referee stops Chessman, knocking him back to the mat.

 

The problem is that Heavy Metal is still completely dead. Chessman goes up for the escape but instead tries a moonsault. With the key word there being tries as Heavy Metal rolls out of the way and Chessman is down too. Escarlata plays cheerleader outside and the race is on. The evil referee smacks Chessman with a chair and Chessman escapes for the win and the head shaving of the good referee.

 

Rating: B. Pretty easily the best match of the night so far. There was a clear story going on in there with the Foreign Legion being far more talented but they got overconfident and the AAA guys were able to fight them off for a bit. The two huge spots helped it also with them bringing the crowd to its feet. I liked this and thought it worked rather well. Not sure why the cage stipulation was just thrown on but it probable made the match better.

 

Post match the good referee’s hair is shaved to evil laughter in a kind of disturbing moment. They keep telling him to raise his head so he smacks the evil referee and cracks him with the chair he had to sit in.

 

The announcers argue while we take down the cage.

 

Cibernetico/Abyss vs. El Zorro/Vampiro

 

Cibernetico is one of the top faces in the company (or was at this point). Abyss and Vampiro I think you know. El Zorro is a heel and part of the Foreign Legion and after this show would win the world title. This is a hardcore match. Despite being a foreigner Abyss isn’t part of the Foreign Legion for some reason.

 

Cibernetico’s entrance is in a word, epic. I think he’s supposed to be a cyborg or something. He’s clearly one of the most popular people in the company. This is that odd kind of hardcore where you have to tag in and out. Yeah I know just go with it. Cibernetico and Zorro start us off.

 

Cibernetico tights say Main Man. At least there isn’t a target saying “goes here” underneath it. The partners just come in for no apparent reason with Abyss going off on Vampiro. This is during Abyss-A-Mania but it doesn’t seem to be that bad at this point. Zorro has a kendo stick as the announcers argue some more. Zorro beats on Cibernetico with a chair in the ring while the other guys are out on the floor.

 

Vampiro sets up a table but can’t get a moonsault through it. Abyss can’t get his powerbomb through it either so it all evens out. Cibernetico hits the floor and now it’s turning into a regular hardcore match. Vampiro and Konnan point at each other for some reason but the wasted time lets Abyss get his hands on Vampiro. Abyss is thrown at the table which collapses but doesn’t break.

 

Konnan gets in Vampiro’s face again for no apparent reason. Everyone but Abyss is in the ring now and it’s a 2-1 beatdown. I’m not sure what the deal is with two referees. Maybe Gorilla Monsoon is secretly commissioner here or something. Cibernetico dumps Vampiro (to be with Abyss I guess) but has a kendo stick tossed into his leg.

 

Abyss is back in now but can’t get a double chokeslam. He settles for a double clothesline instead and down goes the Foreign Legion. Abyss……moves……very……very……slowly. The Foreign Legion hits the ring, in the form of Christopher Daniels, Kozlov, Chessman, Nosawa (Japanese guy) and Hernandez. Cibernetico is like screw that and beats them up on his own.

 

Zorro takes him down and hammers away with the kendo stick. Cue Abyss who hits Shock Treatment and Zorro is more or less dead. Hernandez misses a chair shot and hits Vampiro by mistake. Konnan grabs Vampiro and throws powder in his face. A chokeslam from Cibernetico ends this.

 

Rating: C+. Not bad here. They got rid of the tagging after about a second and things got a lot better. Decent little match here and the Foreign Legion losing is a good thing for a change tonight. Cibernetico is a guy that it’s easy to get behind so I can see why he’s one of the most popular there. Decent match all around but a bit rushed.

 

The Foreign Legion beats down the winners post match. Konnan and Vampiro stare each other down but La Hermanadad 187 runs in for the save and the beatdown is on with Foreign Legion being left laying.

 

Konnan rants about that for awhile.

 

Cruiserweight Title: Jack Evans vs. Nosawa vs. Extreme Tiger vs. Christopher Daniels

 

Elimination again and Tiger has the title. Evans is the epitome of a guy that likes flippys. Also in this company they have what sounds like a whistle instead of a bell. That takes a lot of getting used to. Tiger and Daniels hit the floor almost immediately as Evans flips a lot to attack Nosawa. Konnan lists off a lot of cruiserweights that are awesome while Nosawa takes over.

 

Tiger vs. Nosawa now in the ring as they don’t have to tag again. AAA really doesn’t like to have to do that do they? Tiger gets a seated senton to the balls of Nosawa. Now that’s just not nice at all. Daniels vs. Tiger now with Daniels in control. Tiger has a mask if I didn’t mention that. Daniels is sent to the floor so it’s down to Nosawa vs. Tiger now. And yes I know it’s Extreme Tiger but I’m not writing both words every time.

 

Daniels pulls the rope down and Evans hits the floor. Big clothesline and Evans does a 360 on the floor. Daniels beats down Tiger in the ring and is joined by Nosawa for a double flapjack. Nosawa and Daniels are Foreign Legion teammates so they’re working together here. Daniels sets Tiger for a Death Valley Driver while Nosawa adds a superkick to the head for a nice double team move.

 

Evans comes in and it’s more or less an unofficial tag match now. Tiger and Evans get Daniels down and double team Nosawa. A double cover after a rather contrived spot gets no pin for either good guy. Someone is bleeding as there’s blood on Daniels’ face. Evans kicks Daniels to the floor and does a huge flip onto him. Tiger throws Nosawa to the floor and hits a 450 out to the floor! You don’t see that often at all. Naturally that only gets two back in the ring. A springboard double stomp to Nosawa is enough to eliminate him through and we’re down to three.

 

This referee counts SLOW. The two good guys beat on Daniels for awhile and they have a chop off. I think it’s Daniels that is bleeding actually. It looked like blood on him earlier but not his own. Daniels tries to leave but Tiger is like get back here baldie. Rollup by Evans gets two on Tiger. Elevated double arm DDT by Tiger gets two on Evans. This referee stops for a long time after two.

 

Some guy comes out in an Extreme Tiger mask and pulls it off to reveal….another mask. The distraction allows Daniels to be able to get a rollup to make it Evans vs. Daniels for the title. Oh great: a Christopher Daniels match. Can’t you hear the excitement in my voice over this turn of events? Four straight backbreakers without dropping Evans by Daniels. Now off to a half crab as just Daniels being in there is putting me to sleep.

 

Spin out powerbomb gets two for Daniels. He’s been on offense the entire time since Tiger was eliminated. Evans is sent to the apron and hits a springboard double knee strike for no cover. Big running knee strike gets no cover again. Instead he tries a 630 but eats knees to the back. Best Moonsault Ever gets two. Daniels tries a belly to back off the top but gets knocked backwards to the mat. A big corkscrew splash gives Evans the title. The referee looks around for help and stops at two as I guess he was crooked also.

 

Rating: B-. Fun match but at 25 minutes or so it’s a bit long. This whole show is over 4 hours so it’s a bit much to sit through when you’re not familiar with a lot of these guys. Still though, this was rather good for the most part. The long period before the first pin and then another crooked referee was too much though which is what’s holding it back. That and the time.

 

Dr. Wagner says he’ll win and be #1.

 

AAA World Heavyweight Title: Dr. Wagner Jr. vs. Electroshock

 

Electroshock is defending champion here. This has apparently been a well built match and is supposed to be a war. Keep that in mind. Electroshock has no mask. Got it. That belt is huge. Fans are completely behind Wagner. They shake hands and here we go. LONG stall to start as we wait for them to actually do something. Two minutes without anything until they finally lock up.

 

Oh wait false alarm as we’re waiting again. And now, another lockup. Electroshock is muscled and Wagner is kind of stocky but well built. Rather technical stuff so far to start and we have a standoff. Test of strength results in Electroshock completely outmaneuvering Wagner and getting him down in a leg lock. The fans aren’t exactly pleased here.

 

And it’s another standoff. This is more like a badly written ballet/dance routine than a match. Back to that stupid test of strength for like the third time so far. And now Electroshock hits the floor out of boredom. Back and it’s another wristlock. There has been a total of one strike, a kick to the back, in this whole match and we’re about 8 minutes into it.

 

Short arm scissors gets neither guy anywhere. They trade some WEAK chops as I’m bored out of my mind here. Where are Gorilla and Jesse to make subtle jokes when I need them? Konnan seems to be praising this match as we’re in leg lock #8475 so far. A lot of hip tosses and arm drags set up a kick to the head by Wagner in the biggest move of the match. We get a replay of it in slow motion and it shows the kick must have missed by four inches. Nice job guys.

 

Wagner is sent to the floor so Electroshock hits a big dive to FINALLY get something going here. Fans are still cheering for Wagner. These guys are really bad about covering up that their strikes aren’t hitting. Electroshock grabs a Fujiwara Armbar and Wagner is in trouble. And then he just lets it go because I guess he wanted to go find an enchilada. Superplex by Electroshock gets two.

 

Can someone do something interesting? The match hasn’t been good from an entertainment standpoint, it’s decent from a technical standpoint, and it’s killed the crowd in general. WAY too much time without them doing anything in particular. The fans cheer for Wagner. Wagner sits there. Rana gets two for Wagner. Abdominal stretch by the champion which is the setup for his finisher but he cheats with the ropes and the hold is broken.

 

It’s 4:45am so excuse me if I nod off for a bit. Hey look: MORE STANDING AROUND! Victory Roll by the Doctor results in about 8 rolls in slow motion and Electroshock gets two out of it. The Dr. hits a front flip off the apron and both guys are down. Maybe they’re taking a nap while they’re out there. I wouldn’t blame them if they did.

 

Electroshock gets his hold which is a kneeling abdominal stretch with a leg lock. Yep that goes nowhere as Wagner reverses into a rollup for two. Wagner’s finisher, a Michinoku Driver, gets two. Medium boot by Electroshock gets him nowhere as Wagner hits an enziguri followed by the second Wagner Driver for the pin and the title. Dude….seriously? That’s the ending? Oh well at least it’s main event time.

 

Rating: D-. Oh my. Oh my indeed. This may have been the least interesting main event I have seen in a very long time. It runs 22 minutes and they were in first gear for about 20 minutes of that. There is, I kid you not, probably seven combined minutes of just standing around doing nothing. This match was very boring and sucked the decent life out of this show. Absolutely terrible and the fans booing in parts was something I’d have done too. Totally boring for the most part and the ending came out of nowhere.

 

Mesias, a former champion hands Wagner the belt and hugs him. Wagner and Electroshock shake hands too.

 

Between replays and the celebration we kill off almost ten minutes.

 

La Parka says he is the real La Parka and will prove it tonight.

 

LA Park vs. La Parka

 

Now this is an interesting one. LA Park is the original La Parka and the one from WCW. He was a major star in AAA but left 14 years ago to go to WCW. The thing was the original owner of AAA, and the guy whose ashes are in that urn, kept the rights to the gimmick and gave them to the guy known as La Parka. LA Park is the new name that the original La Parka used to continue the gimmick without continuing the gimmick. He returned in a shocking moment and said he wanted his name back. This match is for the official rights to the name and gimmick. In short, this is a big match that no one thought would happen.

 

Both come out to Thriller and look almost identical. I’ll try to remember who is who here. Out first is La Parka with the boss of the company, Joaquin. Ok this should be easier: Park has the skulls on his shoulders. That’s easier. Park also has the son of the president with him, Dorian, as the president and his papa are in a power struggle. The fans are behind the heel Park here which is interesting.

 

There’s a chair in the ring which is the signature weapon of both guys. Park dominates to start and grabs the chair for a big shot maybe a minute in. Another chair shot as this Parka (Park for the original, Parka for the new if that helps at all) guy is kind of getting his head kicked in. To the floor now as Park is yelling at Konnan and cuts a quick promo before the third chair shot. Is it the Rock in disguise?

 

Joaquin, the president, gets in his face until Parka saves him. By saves I mean he stands up so Park can get beaten up even more. Park rips at the mask and you can see Parka’s forehead. They’re in the crowd now as this has already had more action than the world title match and we’re not even five minutes into this. Park goes to the back and gets a table. I guess there aren’t table making leprechauns under the ring in Mexico.

 

Parka has not had a single bit of offense that I’ve seen. There’s a fire extinguisher at Parka who is just trying to cover up at this point. Table and chair in the ring now. The fans are totally behind the original Park here and it’s kind of funny since he’s the heel through and through. The table is set up in the corner but Park settles for just beating on Parka a bit more instead.

 

Dorian whispers something to Parka and his dad shoves him away. The referee gets involved and Parka charges to try to tackle Park through the table. Park steps to the side and Parka goes sailing through it. Belt comes off and it’s whipping time. This has literally been one sided the entire ten minutes so far. Park rams Parka’s head into the pieces of the table and the chair.

 

Park busts a piece of the table over Parka’s head to a big reaction. Here comes table #2. Park sets it up in the ring and puts the chair on top of it and goes up. OH MAN IT’S OFFENSE FROM PARKA!!!!!! He gets a few punches in and suplexes/slams Park through the table and onto the chair. The crowd is awake now. Parka is bleeding from the head it seems which makes sense.

 

BIG chair shot from Parka and momentum has completely shifted. Parka rips at Park’s mask as Joaquin is like do it! Parka’s mask is covering maybe half of his face at this point. Into the crowd again goes Park while Parka’s mask looks rather weird. Oh man Parka is busted BAD. Park’s mask is barely staying on too. Back in the ring now and Parka has the belt now so he lays in some HARD shots.

 

A slam gets a pop. Between two guys of relatively average size when do you hear that? Parka goes up but gets crotched by Park. The fans aren’t sure who to cheer for here. Park jumps into the boot of Parka and the new guy has control again. Park goes to the floor again and it’s a too short suicide dive by Parka. The mask is hanging on like a Post-It at this point.

 

Parka celebrates but Park sneaks up on him and hooks in a choke that looks like he’s trying for a Backstabber but keeps Parka on the mat on his knees and pulls back on his chin. Looks great if you didn’t get that. Park starts going for the knees and adds a Backstabber for two. This is that slow counting referee again. Parka fights back and gets what was supposed to be a Codebreaker from the middle rope for two.

 

Big boot by Park gets a close two. Semi-botched DDT by Parka gets two and a ton of booing. They counter each other a bit until something resembling the Eye of the Hurricane gets two for Park. Both guys are gassed bad here. Park charges in the corner but rams the post instead. Park’s mask is more or less gone here. Leg lock by Parka right in front of Dorian.

 

There’s the rope but the referee has to break up the hold. Not often that you see that from a hold put on by a face. Park gets a rollup for two. Park for no apparent reason dives at the referee who was on the floor for no apparent reason. So there’s no referee and Park is more or less dead. Dorian has the chair and Parka gets a clothesline to put Park down again.

 

Parka sets for a tombstone which is illegal in Mexico but Joaquin stops him. An enziguri from Park puts Parka down again. Joaquin has the chair now but Park winds up managing to hit the Tombstone on the chair and Parka is out cold. Another chair in the hands of Park as Joaquin comes in.

 

Dorian says no don’t hit him but Park shoves Dorian down and clocks Joaquin with the chair instead. Dorian gets up and turns face, blasting Park with the chair a bunch of times to avenge his father. Then with both skeleton dudes down, Los Perros Del Mal, a group of invading wrestlers from a promotion of the same name, put Park on top of Parka for the pin to win the name.

 

Rating: B+. This was a WAR. They beat the tar out of each other and it’s only the ending and the exhaustion that is holding this back. It wasn’t a great match from a workrate standpoint or anything but there was a great story out there and the fans were into it. This was supposed to go on next to last with Wagner vs. Electroshock going here instead but this worked far better. Great match and a great way to end the show.

 

Los Perros Del Mal celebrate with a bunch more of them hitting the ring. Parka is taken out on a stretcher and the leader/owner of Los Perros Del Mal say they’re taking over AAA. A bunch of AAA guys and security come out while the fans chant for Los Perros. The leader of Los Perros (Perro Aguayo, Jr.) says wrestling needs a change and that change is Los Perros.

 

Also whether you like it or not, Park is the original and forever the real La Parka. Park says Los Perros will own AAA and Dorian doesn’t know what to do. Park runs down AAA, Dorian and Konnan. Take a guess who would be in a heel superstable in less than a month. If you guessed all three of them, WELL DONE YOU LUNKHEAD!

 

The woman with the urn says the original owner (Antonio Pena. The woman with the urn is apparently his sister and Joaquin is his the woman’s (Marisol) husband. Dorian is Antonio’s nephew/Joaquin’s son) is watching and all that jazz and that AAA will beat Los Perros Del Mal and what not to end the show.

 

In a little followup, later that night the Mexican Boxing and Athletic Commission said that the result of the main event was thrown out due to the interference. The next day AAA had a press conference where Dorian officially turned face (technico) again and said that Park was the official La Parka and that the loser of the main event would have to change his name. This was later dropped.

 

Two weeks after this, the Foreign Legion and Los Perros would merge. There would be a mini group added called La Milicia and then about two months later Los Maniacos, the tag champions, joined and the superstable was called La Sociedad. That feud has gone on since with Mesias fighting Perro Aquayo Jr. and Cibernetico making his own stable to fight Los Perros. Los Perros have a ton of titles now including the world title held by El Zorro. Granted this could be out of date very soon but that’s what Wikipedia is for.

 

Overall Rating: B. I liked this. I liked it quite a bit actually. This is the kind of show I could see myself watching on a regular basis. Now to be fair this is the Wrestlemania of this company but it felt like one of those. There’s a lot I didn’t get because this is my first time watching, but at the end of the day I’d like to see more of this which is exactly the point. Fun stuff, some bad stuff, but overall I liked this and would watch more of it if I had the chance. Good show overall with some bad spots (world title match for example).
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