AAA On FOX
Date: May 30, 2026
Location: Arena Monterrey, Monterrey, Mexico
Commentators: Rey Mysterio, John Bradshaw Layfield, Corey Graves

It’s the first week of Noche de Los Grandes and to say this is a big one would be an understatement, as we have the ultimate showdown in lucha libre: a mask vs. mask match. That’s the kind of thing that you do not see around here very often and the big story is El Grande Americano vs. the Original El Grande Americano with the masks on the line. That’s about all you need so let’s get to it.

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

The opening video looks at the importance of the mask and how much it means in lucha libre. Tonight, someone loses everything.

Cruiserweight Title: Laredo Kid vs. Rey Fenix

Fenix is challenging and dropkicks him into the corner at the bell. An early Mexican MuscleBuster is escaped and Kid grabs a quick powerbomb. A kick to the head puts Fenix down but he avoids a middle rope moonsault. Instead it’s a Michinoku Driver for two on Fenix, followed by a Texas Cloverleaf to stay on the back. With that not working, Kid unhooks the turnbuckle pad and avoids a charge into the post.

The Cloverleaf goes on again in the corner, setting up a curb stomp for two. Back up and Fenix hits some clotheslines to send him outside and of course that means a big dive. Fenix’s cross armbreaker sends Kid over to the rope and they chop it out. Fenix flips out of a tornado DDT and kicks him in the head, only to get caught with a running flipping DDT. That’s good for a rather delayed two, with Fenix’s rolling cutter gets a less delayed version of the same.

Another Mexican MuscleBuster is countered into a small package for two so Fenix tries a third time and gets a near fall of his own. The referee notices the exposed buckle and gets in the way, allowing Kid to get in a low blow. The frog splash hits Fenix for two but Fenix sends him into the exposed buckle, kicks him in the head, and grabs another Mexican MuscleBuster for the pin and the title at 11:53.

Rating: B. Build up a challenger against a longtime champion and have him win the title. That’s a classic story that has worked for the better part of ever in wrestling and it worked again here. Fenix finally gets some gold under the WWE umbrella and feels like a star in the profess. It came in a good match as well, which is always a nice bonus.

Post match Fenix gets to celebrate with his family in a nice moment.

Various celebrities and wrestlers are here.

We recap the Latin American Title match. El Hijo del Vikingo is getting a shot because he’s a big star and champion El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. doesn’t think Vikingo and his El Ojo knows much about family.

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

Vikingo, with Dorian Roldan, is challenging. Wagner dropkicks him into the corner at the bell (thankfully Graves points out that Fenix did the same thing in the opener) and snaps off a powerslam. They go to the apron, where a big boot puts Vikingo on the floor. Vikingo is right back up to put him on the steps for a double stomp and quite the crash.

A rather hard baseball slide knocks Wagner off the apron again and Vikingo hits a running shooting star from the apron. Back in and Wagner knees him down in the corner, setting up a running cannonball. The splash gives Wagner two but Vikingo’s crucifix driver leaves them both down.

Cue Omos to crotch Wagner on top though and Vikingo hits a running Meteora. The 450 gets two and here is Galeno, who is quickly knocked out by Omos. Galeno is back up with some chair shots to actually drop Omos and Mini Vikingo runs in with a springboard missile dropkick. Wagner plants Vikingo for two but Omos is back up to knock Wagner silly. The 630 gives Vikingo the pin and the title at 7:20.

Rating: B-. This was all about the interference and that made for a good story, as Vikingo and his family beat Wagner and his family. That’s how the story was set up and El Ojo needed a win of some kind as they haven’t meant much over the last few weeks. Wagner wasn’t doing much as champion either so this is a good move all around.

More celebrities and wrestlers are here.

Tag Team Titles: War Raiders vs. Psycho Clown/Pagano

The Raiders are challenging and the challengers aren’t getting along very well. The Raiders miss a charge to the floor to start and get taken down by stereo flip dives. Back in and Erik gets double teamed down but comes back with some forearms, allowing Ivar to come in. A big dive takes out Clown on the floor and it’s back to Erik to hammer away. The chinlock goes on for a bit before it’s back to Ivar, who just hits Clown in the face.

Clown fights up and knocks Ivar away, allowing Erik and Pagano to come in. Pagano’s middle rope Codebreaker connects and everything breaks down. Something close to an Emerald Frosion gives Pagano two and it’s back to Clown to slug away on Ivar. A suicide dive hits Erik and a Canadian Destroyer gets two on Ivar. Clown adds a top rope splash for two with Erik having to make the save. Ivar fights up and Clown accidentally clotheslines Pagano. The pop up powerslam to Clown gives the Raiders the titles at 9:13.

Rating: B-. This was about putting the Raiders over as a pair of monsters as they have the WWE experience to make this feel even bigger. At the same time they had to do something to move the Pagano/Clown feud forward. We still don’t know who attacked the Psycho Circus (unless it was supposed to be the Raiders) and there is a good chance we’re going to see those two beat the fire out of each other. They had to drop the titles for that to happen and that was more than covered here.

Post match Pagano and Clown go at it until Pagano walks off, with the Raiders laying Clown out. Pagano teases going in for the ave but walks away.

Here is General Manager Rey Mysterio for a chat. Well not so much a chat as much as he sends us to a package on the main event. The video has a comic book theme and looks at the hero in El Grande Americano against his rival, who clearly doesn’t care about Mexico. That’s how this feud should go and there is a reason why the fans have gotten so far behind Americano. Tonight, one has to go away and that is in the form of a mask vs. mask match. This feels absolutely huge and has been one of the hottest feuds I’ve seen in a minute so well done all around.

El Grande American vs. Original El Grande Americano

Mask vs. Mask, no DQ and we’ll go with Americano and Original for their names. Original comes out to a mariachi band and the fans HATE him. American has his own band and comes out in a jacket saying FOR MEXICO (WELL POR BUT I THREW IN THE TRANSLATION) and is an absolute hero.

We get some Big Match Intros but Original grabs a guitar to knock Americano silly before the bell. Original knocks him around but gets punched into the corner, with a suplex bringing Original right back out of it. The suicide dive hits Original, who is right back with a backdrop. A Death Valley Driver plants Original on the floor though and it’s time for a table. Original tackles him for a save and Americano is sent into the steps.

Something like a reverse Angle Slam drops American on to the floor for two back inside and Original is already frustrated. Original starts ripping at the mask, earning himself an Air Raid Crash from the apron through the table at ringside. Americano spends too much time celebrating though and gets German suplexed on the floor. Back up and Original throws a chair at a barricade, with Americano being knocked down off the crash.

They go back inside with Americano busted open and Original pounding on the cut. A suplex gives Original two and a top rope belly to back superplex drops Americano hard. Another slugout goes to Americano, who runs the ropes and flips over for a Blockbuster. Americano rips at Original’s mask and drops him face first onto the steps. They get back inside so Americano can hammer away and load up a chair in the corner. That takes too long (a trend) and Original gives him a German suplex.

Americano is back up but here are Los Hermanos Americanos to put him through the announcers’ table. A Swan Dive gives Original two so here are Los Americanos to go after Los Hermanos. Bravo hits a big dive from the stands to take the other three out and the fans rather approve again. Back at ringside, Original goes after a blind comedian (who was involved in the feud before) but gets Blockbustered off the apron.

One of the musicians hits Original with a guitar and unmasks as Pimpinela Escarlata. Original is up again at two so let’s get a bullrope. A low blow cuts Americano off and Original whips him with the bullrope, followed by a stomp onto a chair. Cue the former announcer (and Americano’s girlfriend) to cheerlead in the crowd. Original yells at her but she has a ticket, which is enough of a distraction for Americano to come back. A DDT onto the chair gives Americano two so they slug it out again.

Original suplexes him into the corner and hits a moonsault for another near fall. The frustrated Original grabs a chair and unloads on Americano’s ankle, setting up the ankle lock. That’s reversed into the knee in the back choke, which is reversed back into the ankle lock. Americano somehow reverses into a suplex but the ankle gives out again, allowing Original to grab Rolling Chaos Theory for two more. Original’s charge hits the post though and the running headbutt finally gives Americano the pin at 33:20.

Rating: A-. I mean…dang man. This was presented as the ultimate battle between these two and that’s pretty much exactly what we got. It felt like neither of them would allow themselves to lose and Original finally fell in the end. They had a heck of a fight and Americano looks like an absolute hero in the biggest match AAA has had since it came under the WWE banner. Awesome stuff here and it actually lived up to the hype.

Post match everyone gets in the ring and Original says he started on this path to learn everything about lucha libre and beat all of the luchadors. He learned about Mexico and its culture along the way but tonight, he could not overcome the Mexican spirit. From now on, even though he is the original, there is only one Grande Americano.

And he unmasks as Chad Gable, with the point of course being the removal of the mask rather than the identity. He talks about his career and introduces his family before promising to be back in AAA. Gable hands the mask to Americano and leaves to a fairly positive reaction, as the fans appreciate Gable being a man in defeat. Americano celebrates for a good while and leaves to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. What more do you want out of a show like this? Nothing was close to bad, they changed three titles, and had the huge showdown with a great moment to close it out. I had a great time with this and it absolutely flew by. This was every bit of the hype you could have wanted and I had a blast watching them pay a bunch of stuff off. If you don’t watch AAA, give it a shot with this one, as you’ll have a fun time.

Results
Rey Fenix b. Laredo Kid – Mexican MuscleBuster
El Hijo del Vikingo b. El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. – 630
War Raiders b. Psycho Clown/Pagano – Pop up powerslam to Clown
El Grande Americano b. Original El Grande Americano – Running headbutt

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

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

AAA On FOX
Date: May 16, 2026
Location: Auditorio General Jose Maria Arteaga, Queretaro, Mexico
Commentators: Corey Graves, Rey Mysterio, John Bradshaw Layfield

We’re two weeks away from Noche de los Grandes and the likely main event is set, with the battle of the Grande Americanos. Other than that, we have the issues between Pagano and Psycho Clown, both among themselves and with the War Raiders. That could go in a variety of directions so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Tokyo Bad Boys vs. Money Machine vs. La Parka/Mr. Iguana vs. NGD

The Boys are Kento/Takuma, Machine is Oro/Plata and NGD are Forastero/Sanson. Oro and Sanson start things off with an exchange of arm cranking until Sanson takes over. Forastero comes in for a triangle choke but Oro manages a hurricanrana to escape. Plata comes in and gets superkicked down but Takuma tags himself in. The Boys double hiptoss Plata but Iguana comes in for a running hurricanrana.

Parka launches Takuma into the air for a big crash but he’s right back with a tornado DDT to put Parka down. Everything breaks down (yep) and Parka gets double teamed but Money Machine is up with some dives to the floor. Takuma hits a big corkscrew dive and Parka follows with a middle rope moonsault. Iguana comes back in with the stuffed iguana, which is used to pull him face first into the buckle. A hurricanrana gives Iguana two and Parka is back in with a springboard crossbody to Forastero. The Bone Breaker finishes for Parka at 10:09.

Rating: B-. You knew what you were going to get with this match and that’s not a bad thing. There were a lot of people flying around and it made for a bit of a mess, but that’s all this was supposed to be. The flips and dives were entertaining and the fans are still into Iguana so it was pretty much a layup. An athletic layup mind you but a layup.

Post match the War Raiders come in and wreck people.

Dorian Roldan can’t get a meeting with his mom about being the new GM, but does find Texano Jr. who basically tells him to scram.

TripleMania will be a two night event. First night’s location still to be announced.

We look at Rey Fenix beating Laredo Kid two weeks ago.

Post match, Fenix said the fans loved that and wanted another shot at the title. Kid called him jealous of Penta, but Fenix said he was proud of his brother. Anyway, the title match is set for next week.

Galeno vs. Drago/Chris Carter

Galeno runs them both over for daring to double team him to start and throws them outside. Back in and Galeno backdrops Drago over the top and punches him in the face on the way down (that was awesome). Cue Omos to watch as the Galeno Special (kind of a spike double arm DDT) is enough for the double pin. Galeno looked good here and that backdrop punch was great.

We look at last week’s brawl with Bayley and Lola Vice saving La Catalina from Las Toxicas.

The six woman tag is set for Noche de los Grandes.

Cibernetico wants to be GM and Dorian Roldan is nervous.

Creed Brothers vs. El Fiscal/Aerostar

Julius takes over on Fiscal to start but Fiscal takes over on Brutus’ arm. Aerostar does the same and gets gorilla pressed into a splash onto Brutus for two. It’s back to Julius, who gets knocked to the floor and the Creeds get to catch a diving Aerostar. They also slam him onto the apron for a huge crash and Brutus steps on Aerostar’s head back inside.

The neck crank doesn’t last long so it’s back to Brutus for a hard shot to the face. The referee has to check on Aerostar, who flips out of a belly to back suplex and gets over to Fiscal to fight back. Fiscal sends the Creeds outside for a big dive and Aerostar hits a springboard dive of his own. Back in and Aerostar gets caught in the ropes, meaning it’s a powerbomb into an ankle lock for the quick tap at 7:20.

Rating: C+. This was a bit more like a regular tag match, as the Creed Brothers got to actually have some success for a change. They’re not exactly the best team on the main roster, but at least they have something to do here at the moment. If nothing else, they’re worth having around for the sake of offering a different style around here and that should serve them well.

Post match the beatdown is on until Los Americanos run in for the save. The Original El Grande Americano runs in to go after Bravo’s mask but El Grande Americano runs in for the save. Well kind of, as he can’t touch Original and has to wait for Rayo to jump Original, allowing Americano to go after the Creeds. Original calls this his house (the fans approve) and the match is going to be about Mexican pride. The match is going to have to work, but Americano’s work building this up has been excellent.

Overall Rating: B. The best thing I can say about this show is it has me wanting to see Noche de los Grandes. They’ve built up the main event very well and the six woman tag should be good. As usual, this show flies by and it has me wanting to see where things go next. Solid effort here, with more than enough stories that I want to see keep going to call it a success.

Results
Mr. Iguana/La Parka b. NGD, Money Machine and Tokyo Bad Boys – Bone Breaker to Forastero
Galeno b. Drago/Chris Carter – Double pin
Creed Brothers b. El Fiscal/Aerostar – Ankle lock to Aerostar

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

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

AAA On FOX
Date: May 2, 2026
Location: Auditorio José María Arteaga, Querétaro, Mexico
Commentators: Rey Mysterio, John Bradshaw Layfield, Corey Graves

We’re coming up on Noche de Los Grandes and we have a heck of a main event for the show, with the Grande Americanos facing off in a mask vs. mask match. This week will see the contract signing and there is a good chance things are going to get intense. Other than that, we are still trying to figure out who has been attacking the Psycho Circus. Let’s get to it.

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

El Ojo is talking about El Hijo del Vikingo’s match tonight. They mention being family, but El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. comes in to ask what they would know about that.

Mini Vikingo vs. El Hijo del Vikingo

Hijo jumps Mini to start and stomps away in the corner as the fans are not pleased. The running dropkick hits Mini again and the big forearms against the ropes make it worse. Hijo rolls him up for two and grabs something like an STF, with Mini’s face being slammed into the mat. Mini tries to fight back but gets kicked in the face and dropkicked to the floor. Hijo sends him into the steps and adds a suplex onto the ramp.

Another drop has the referee ready to stop it but Mini wants to keep going. Back in and Hijo chokes away but Mini actually manages a Code Red for two. Hijo is sent outside for a running flip dive…into a crucifix bomb, which even has Mysterio impressed. They head back inside, where Hijo kicks him in the head and grabs a powerbomb for two, meaning it’s time to look stunned. Hijo takes the turnbuckle pad off but gets sent into it instead.

A 450 gets a rather near fall so Hijo sends Mini into the corner, knocking the referee outside. Mini grabs a hurricanrana and the bell rings but the referee is still down. Hijo gets in a cheap shot and hits a super Rock Bottom but there is still no one to count. Back up and Hijo seems to have messed up his shoulder, even as he grabs a chair. Cue Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. for a Wagner Driver onto the chair, allowing Mini to hit a 630 Phoenix splash for the shocking upset at 12:58.

Rating: B-. This is what you get when you keep stringing out the near falls and hope spots, as Hijo got too cocky and lost it in the end. I had a good time with this and they did a good job of keeping the story going through. Hopefully Hijo’s shoulder is ok though, as that didn’t look great in the end. Either way, nice job by Hijo by making Mini look great (which isn’t a surprise as it’s his younger brother).

Post match Omos comes in to wreck Mini and Wagner. Galeno del Mal (Wagner’s brother) runs in for the save. Hijo was getting his shoulder looked at as Omos came out and was still on the mat at the end of the segment so that’s not a good sign. Also who rang the bell? Wagner?

Rey Fenix vs. Laredo Kid

Non-title. Kid’s running shoulder doesn’t do much to Fenix, who pops up and sticks the landing on a hurricanrana. They trade some flips and flip up to a standoff, allowing Fenix to do his rather springboardy wristdrag. Kid cuts off a dive with a big clothesline though and a basement dropkick gets two.

A Michinoku Driver gives Kid two and a top rope splash connects for two more. Fenix avoids a charge in the corner though and hits a rope walk kick to the head to send Kid to the apron. Fenix kicks him out to the floor and there’s the slingshot hurricanrana. Back in and a top rope moonsault press gives Fenix two and a running springboard kick to the head connects in the corner.

The Mexican MuscleBuster is broken up though and Kid’s Canadian Destroyer gets…one. Back up and Fenix hits the rolling cutter for two and they chop it out from their knees. Fenix charges into a shot to the face in the corner but he catches Kid up top. The Mexican MuscleBuster gives Fenix the pin at 9:40.

Rating: B. These two worked well together, though that’s a pair of losses in a row for Kid. I’m not sure what that’s going to mean, but there is a good chance that this sets up a big showdown at Noche de Los Grandes for the title. Kid has been champion for the better part of ever so it might be time for Fenix to finally get a big win. For now though, you had two guys going nuts for about ten minutes and it was rather entertaining.

Post match Fenix offers a handshake but Kid clutches his belt and shoulders past him.

We recap the Psycho Circus vs. the War Raiders, which is going on at the same time that the Circus is being taken out one by one. Pagano is the most likely suspect and there is going to be a face to face showdown between Pagano and Psycho Clown next week.

Video on Catalina, who is making her in-ring debut next week.

It’s time for the Grande Americanos’ contract signing, with a bunch of security and a few hosts. Dorian Roldan explains the stakes of mask vs. mask but Original has a piece of paper, which he hands to Roldan. Apparently it’s from Original’s attorney and this match isn’t going to happen without some conditions. There can be no physical attacks from now until May 30, and if there is, the attacker has to unmask. Grande is ticked off but signs anyway and Roldan has security leave.

Hold on as there is something else on the paper: the female host/interviewer has to be removed from AAA for attacking Original. She wants Grande to take Original’s mask and leaves. Original signs and throws the pin at Grande before leaving. Grande: “SHORTY!” He has something else to say but the Creed Brothers run in and put Grande through the table. Los Americanos run in for the save to end the show. This is a great example of a story that might be a bit silly but it’s working so well because the fans care about the people involved. That’s how a good story should go and I want to see these two fight so nice job.

Overall Rating: B. This was more of a story heavy show and that’s nice to see on occasion. You can see where a lot of the Noche card is going and I’m liking what is being put together. The wrestling here was still pretty good and I want to see what happens from here. They keep me hooked week to week and that’s not something some much bigger promotions can pull off. This was a solid show and the ending was a hot angle, which is more than good enough for about an hour.

Results
Mini Vikingo b. El Hijo del Vikingo – 630 Phoenix splash
Rey Fenix b. Laredo Kid – Mexican MuscleBuster

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

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

Wrestlemania XXXIX Night Two
Date: April 2, 2023
Location: SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves
Attendance: 67,553
America The Beautiful: Jimmie Allen

After a rather long intermission, we’re ready to wrap up the show and this night has a lot to live up to. The first night was outstanding and now we have the real main event, as Roman Reigns defends the WWE Universal Title against Cody Rhodes. In addition, Gunther defends the Intercontinental Title against Sheamus and Drew McIntyre and we have a Cell match as a bonus. Let’s get to it.

Jimmie Allen sings America The Beautiful.

Kevin Hart gives us the cold open again, this time talking about how the sequel has to be bigger and better. Points for not just redoing the same video from the night before and keeping up with the theme.

Miz and Snoop Dogg welcome us to the show with a quick recap and preview. Snoop is ready to get us going.

Brock Lesnar vs. Omos

The story here is that Lesnar can’t overpower Omos (with MVP). Seriously that’s about it. Lesnar can’t double leg him to start and gets tossed around. Running shoulders don’t do much for Lesnar so Omos hits a headbutt and grabs a slam. Omos throws him around again and hits some forearms to the back. We hit the bearhug, followed by another slam, and another bearhug to keep Lesnar in trouble. Lesnar fights out and is quickly chokeslammed for a near fall. Back up and Lesnar rolls some German suplexes but his back gives out on the F5 attempt. Then Lesnar hits the F5 for the pin at 4:56.

Rating: C-. Well they definitely did the right thing in keeping this short, as the whole thing was about Lesnar doing his power moves but not doing them all that well because Omos is that big. It’s a very basic story and while Omos got in some impressive stuff, it felt more like a way to get Lesnar on the show more than anything else (which granted that’s more or less what it was). Not a great match but the fans liked the big throws so points for that.

Liv Morgan/Raquel Rodriguez vs. Natalya/Shotzi vs. Chelsea Green/Sonya Deville vs. Ronda Rousey/Shayna Baszler

It’s the women’s match of the showcase tag match from last night. Baszler and Rousey (the bullies) didn’t have to qualify here and were just thrown into the match. Morgan Backstabbers Sonya to start and a one kneed Codebreaker makes it even worse. Natalya comes in for the sling shot belly to back drop. The basement dropkick puts Morgan down again but she hurricanranas her way to freedom.

Rodriguez comes in and gets to throw Natalya around, leaving Natalya to hand it off to Green. A missile dropkick has no effect so Sonya comes back in, allowing Green to grab some hair. Shotzi comes in so Baszler throws her outside, where Rousey is waiting on her. That leaves Baszler to get caught in a triplebomb, meaning Rousey has to get on the apron…but the three on one is broken up by Green and Sonya.

Shotzi dives onto people in the ring and on the floor, but Green stops to tell us to get our cameras ready. Rather than face Rodriguez, Green dives onto a bunch of people at ringside. With no one else left inside, Rodriguez powerbombs Morgan onto the pile for the big crash. Back in and Rodriguez fall away slams Shotzi, setting up the corkscrew Vader Bomb. Sonya comes in for the save though and some double teaming puts Rodriguez on the floor.

Green and Sonya celebrate until Natalya and Shotzi are back in for an assisted double Sliced Bread. A Hart Attack gets two on Sonya with Green making the save. There’s the double Sharpshooter to Sonya and Green until Morgan dives off the top for the save. Morgan takes Shotzi down but Rousey and Baszler (now with one boot and limping) come back in to break it up. Rousey armbars Shotzi for the win at 8:22.

Rating: C+. I don’t know if Baszler’s injury put she and Rousey on the floor for so long but they were almost not around whatsoever for a good chunk of the match. The match was pretty similar to its male counterpart but two of these teams felt thrown together and it hurt a lot. Rousey and Baszler winning should set them up as the monsters of the division and they would win the Tag Team Titles in about a month and a half…after Rodriguez and Morgan won them first. As usual, those things are a mess.

We look at Bobby Lashley winning the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal on Smackdown.

Lashley comes out and shows off the trophy.

Xavier Woods and UpUpDownDown preview the Intercontinental Title match.

We recap Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Gunther for the latter’s Intercontinental Title. Gunther is a monster champion and his fellow Europeans want to hit him really hard and win the title. Sheamus and McIntyre are friends but both want the title, meaning they’re willing to fight each other. This falls into the “do we need to draw you a picture here” category. It also falls into the “we saw this video (or something really similar to it) last night” category.

Intercontinental Title: Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Gunther

Gunther is defending and Titus O’Neil is on commentary. Sheamus and McIntyre waste no time in knocking the champ to the floor before starting to lay into each other. Sheamus hits a clothesline and takes McIntyre into the corner for some uppercuts. McIntyre is sent to the apron for the forearms but Gunther is back up with chops for both of them. Gunther sends McIntyre into the post for a crash out to the floor, followed by a big boot to Sheamus’ face.

The Boston crab has Sheamus in more trouble until McIntyre comes in to break it up. McIntyre and Gunther chop it out (and they’re loud chops too) but Sheamus is back in with the uppercuts all around. With Gunther getting back up, Sheamus ties him in the ropes for the forearms to the chest, mixed in with chops from McIntyre. That leaves Gunther down so Sheamus ties McIntyre up in the ropes for almost thirty forearms to the chest.

Gunther is back in to break up the Celtic Cross though and a German suplex drops Sheamus again. The big clothesline gives Gunther two but McIntyre is back up to suplex Sheamus into Sheamus in the corner. There’s a Futureshock to Gunther but the Claymore misses. Gunther powerbombs McIntyre down and goes up but Sheamus is right there with a super White Noise. The Celtic Cross sets up the Cloverleaf so Gunther makes the rope, which means nothing because it’s No DQ.

Sheamus lets go and puts the hold back on anyway, only to have McIntyre come in for the break. That doesn’t go well either as Sheamus knees both of them down but McIntyre cuts off the Brogue Kick. McIntyre headbutts him out to the floor and busts out the big flip dive, leaving everyone down on the floor. Cole to O’Neil: “You never did that!” O’Neil: “AND I NEVER WILL!”

Back in and Sheamus Brogue Kicks McIntyre for two, followed by the Claymore to give McIntyre two of his own. Sheamus drops McIntyre again and covers but Gunther dives in with a top rope splash. Gunther’s powerbomb to Sheamus onto McIntyre leaves them both down, followed by another powerbomb to pin McIntyre and retain at 16:35.

Rating: A. It’s rare that I’ll watch a match back on its own but I’ve seen this one more than a few times now as it’s that kind of brutal. These guys beat the fire out of each other and that is exactly how it was advertised. They didn’t stop and for once it felt like three people having a match. There were stretches where it was two in and one out, but it was a brutal and hard hitting enough match to make up for it. Excellent stuff here, as you probably should have expected.

WWE did charity work this week.

We recap Asuka vs. Bianca Belair for the latter’s Raw Women’s Title. Belair won the title last year at Wrestlemania and has become a huge star during her reign. Then Asuka showed up as an evil clown and Belair is all scared, at least somewhat due to Asuka spraying her with the mist over and over. It’s a simple story but it didn’t exactly work and this never felt like a big feud.

Raw Women’s Title: Bianca Belair vs. Asuka

Asuka is challenging and comes out with a team of masked Asukas, while Belair counters with an all girl kids dance troupe. Eh point to the champ. Belair kicks her down at the bell and hits a dropkick into the corner, setting up the right hands. That’s broken up and Asuka kicks her down, setting up the big missed kick to the head. Asuka puts her on top but Belair flips over her and hits a spinebuster for a fast two.

Something close to a triangle choke has Belair in trouble before Asuka switches to the Asuka Lock. It’s not on quite full though and Belair rolls outside, where she PLANTS Asuka with a sitout powerbomb. Back in and Belair misses a charge into the post, allowing Asuka to pull her into a heel hook. Belair powers out but Asuka grabs an ankle lock, which is rolled away for the break. Asuka is right back up with a missile dropkick for two and things slow down a bit.

They go to the apron where Asuka hits a hard dropkick into the post. Belair sends her into the post to even things up a bit, setting up a deadlift superplex to bring them back inside. Asuka’s kick to the face gets two but a Codebreaker is blocked. A running Blockbuster into a handspring moonsault gives Belair two and frustration is setting in. They go to the corner with Asuka slipping out of a fireman’s carry and hitting a Codebreaker for two of her own. Back up and the mist misses but Asuka slips out of the KOD. The cross armbreaker doesn’t quite work for Asuka though and Belair powers up for the

Rating: B-. This was good but it never hit that next level, save for maybe the final sequence. The story just wasn’t that compelling coming in and it didn’t really feel like a major showdown. Belair retaining the title over a top level challenge is good though as beating Asuka is still an impressive feat.

We look at Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens beating the Usos for the Tag Team Titles in Night One’s main event.

Here are Miz and Snoop Dogg to announce tonight’s attendance of 81,395, giving us a two day total of 161,892. That’s great, but Miz isn’t happy with Snoop for putting him into an impromptu match last night. Dogg: “So you want to do it again?” Of course not, because Miz doesn’t like being humiliated in his town. Snoop says this is the people’s city and introduces….Shane McMahon, because SHANE MUST BE A THING. Shane thanks the fans and sounds like he can barely breathe after his entrance. Time for a match

Shane McMahon vs. Miz

Shane punches him in the corner and yeah they’re as bad as before. Then he drops down, leapfrogs over Miz and….tears his quad on the landing less than thirty seconds in. That brings Snoop in to hit Miz in the face and apparently we have a replacement. Snoop knocks him down again and drops a People’s Elbow for the pin at 2:11. This seems to have been completely impromptu with either the referee telling Snoop to get in there or Snoop coming up with the idea on his own. Either way, major points to Snoop who had no idea what he was doing and gave the fans a very fun moment out of nowhere.

We recap Edge vs. the Demon Finn Balor inside the Cell. Balor threw Edge out of the Judgment Day the night he joined, setting off a feud between the two of them. This led to Judgment Day attacking both Edge and his wife Beth Phoenix, meaning it’s time for the big, violent fight.

The Cell is lowered and we get a voiceover (from Russell Crowe of all people, as part of a movie tie-in) talking about how evil it is as well.

Edge vs. Finn Balor

Inside the Cell and this is Brood Edge (and yes, his Titantron literally says BROOD EDGE), who comes out of the Brood ring of fire with a shiny mask that makes him look like the Terminator while wearing wings, against the Demon. They waste no time in getting the weapons, with Edge grabbing a red chair and Balor grabbing a purple kendo stick (because not only do you need weapons in the Cell, but you need COLOR COORDINATED weapons).

Balor gets the better of things and knocks him to the floor, only to get hammered back inside. Edge knocks him off the apron and grabs a bunch of kendo sticks (two purple, one red), some of which he uses to pin Balor into the corner of the Cell. A dropkick off the apron hits Balor to make it worse, meaning it’s time to set up the table. Balor uses the delay to get out and sends Edge hard into the steps. They get back inside where Edge hits a quick Impaler but the spear is countered with a Sling Blade.

They go outside with Balor being dropkicked through a table, only to come back in with an Unprettier. The Edge-O-Matic gets two more and it’s time to grab a ladder. Edge throws said ladder at Balor’s face and Balor is busted open BAD, meaning we pause for the medic to come inside to check on him (this led to a hilarious reaction from Mick Foley, because apparently YOU CAN PAUSE A CELL MATCH DUE TO AN INJURY).

Edge uses the delay to get a bunch of weapons ready but Balor is back up with 1916. The spear only hits ladder and Balor hits another Slind Blade. Coup de Grace connects for two and Balor climbs the ladder, only to get countered into a super Edgecution for a slightly delayed two.

That takes too long again and Balor is back up with his own weapons shots, including a bunch of chair shots to Edge. Balor climbs up but instead climbs the cage and gets onto the camera platform. This adds a full nine inched above the top rope but the Coup De Grace only hits table. Edge’s spear gets two so he unloads with chair shots to the back. The Conchairto finishes Balor at 18:10.

Rating: B-. This was the modern Cell match and that is not a good thing for the most part. The bell rang and they went straight for the weapons, which didn’t exactly make the Cell itself feel important. It was a violent and hard hitting match but other than one or two spots, I’m not sure how much the Cell was needed. Either use the Cell or don’t, because this was a street fight with the cage blocking the camera view.

We look at the Wrestlemania trailers.

Backlash is coming to Puerto Rico. You should too!

We look at the Hall Of Fame induction ceremony.

Here is the class in the stadium:

Stacy Keibler (who has not aged a day)
Andy Kaufman (represented by his family)
Great Muta (that’s a nice addition)
Tim White (Warrior Award, and his brother looks identical to him)
Rey Mysterio (that’s about as perfect of a choice for an active headliner as you could pick)

Mysterio shakes the other inductees’ hands (bowing to Muta).

We look at Set Rollins’ entrance from last night. Feel free to get on with the show at any time.

We recap Roman Reigns defending the WWE Universal Title against Cody Rhodes. The big idea here is Rhodes wants to finish his story, meaning winning the title in his dad’s honor while also completing his long rise to the top of WWE. Reigns has been champion for two and a half years and isn’t going away that fast, so it’s time for the big showdown. It feels like a main event and Cody is almost the last man standing to fight Reigns.

Smackdown World Title: Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns

Reigns is defending and has Paul Heyman/Solo Sikoa with him. Rhodes gets his big entrance and goes over to say hi to his family, including giving his weightlifting belt to an unmasked Negative One (the son of the late Brody Lee, who makes occasional AEW appearances). Reigns gets a special entrance of his own, with a team of pianists playing the start of his entrance live. We get an ACKNOWLEDGE ME from Reigns before the bell finally rings.

Rhodes hammerlocks him over to the ropes to start and Reigns isn’t impressed. A headlock takeover and a right hand has Reigns a bit more annoyed so he bails out to the floor. Heyman’s advice is that Reigns isn’t here for Rhodes because Rhodes is here for him. Heyman: “NOW SMASH HIM!” Back in and Reigns elbows him in the face, meaning it’s time to raise up a finger. Rhodes manages a dropkick (Reigns is stunned again) for two, with commentary saying that cover wasn’t about getting a pin but rather sending a message to Reigns. What that message is isn’t clear but I’d guess “Eat At Joe’s”.

The Disaster Kick is pulled out of the air though and Reigns hits a powerbomb for two. Some suplexes have Rhodes in more trouble but he’s back up to send Reigns out to the floor. That goes badly for him as well as Reigns drops him face first onto the apron. A hard slam puts Rhodes down onto the ramp but Rhodes gets in one of his own. Rhodes sends him back inside but Sikoa gets in a chair shot to the ribs, allowing Reigns to come back with the apron boot.

The cravate slows Rhodes down back inside until he fights up, only to have Sikoa interfere again. This time it lets Reigns hit a hard clothesline before whipping Rhodes into the corner to stay on his bad ribs. They go back outside with Reigns loading up the announcers’ table but getting backdropped through the other one for the big hope spot. Back in and Rhodes hits the drop down uppercut into the snap powerslam.

There’s the Cody Cutter for a big near fall so Reigns rolls outside, meaning it’s a suicide dive to hit him again. They try to get back in but Sikoa gets in a weightlifting belt shot….which the referee hears for an ejection. The distraction lets Rhodes hit Cross Rhodes for two (with Heyman looking on in fear for a nice visual). Reigns is back with some shots to the head and a release Rock Bottom gets two.

The Superman Punch is countered into a Pedigree (Heyman even reaches through the ropes this time) for two and it’s time to start the comeback. Said comeback is cut off with a Superman Punch to knock Rhodes out of the air for two more. The spear is countered into a sunset flip for two and Rhodes whips out a Figure Four for a change of pace. Reigns turns it over (while slapping the mat on the way there), with Rhodes getting over to the ropes for the break.

A big spear connects for two and now Reigns is stunned for a change. With nothing else working, Reigns hits him in the face over and over before grabbing the guillotine choke. Rhodes can’t spinebuster his way to freedom but he can slip his head out and hammer away at Reigns for a change. The referee gets bumped though and a double knockdown gives us quite the breather. Cody is back up for the Cross Rhodes but the Usos run in to break it up. The 1D drops Rhodes but here are Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn to take out the Usos.

A Stunner into the Helluva Kick leave Reigns down and the other four brawl out into the crowd. Rhodes gets the big dramatic near fall (and thank goodness that wasn’t the pin as Rhodes winning thanks to Owens and Zayn wouldn’t have worked) and they’re both down again. Back up and the slug it out with both of them being staggered off the shots. The Superman Punch is countered with the Flip Flop And Fly into the Bionic Elbow. Rhodes hits back to back Cross Rhodes….but Sikoa comes in with the Samoan Spike. The spear retains the title at 34:36.

Rating: B+. A year removed from this and my goodness I’m still amazed at the guts it took to not pull the trigger here. This was Cody’s chance to win the whole thing and they kept it on Reigns, which is quite the way to go. They beat the fire out of each other and it had the big match feel, but not pulling the trigger here still feels way off. Heck of a main event, but man they had the fans ready for the moment and just didn’t do it.

Replays and a highlight package wrap us up.

Overall Rating: B. There were some weak parts here and there but the good stuff is more than enough to carry this. Much like Night One, you can’t fault the atmosphere and the look/feel of the show, which made for a heck of a showcase for everyone involved. The main event was very good (ending aside perhaps) and the Intercontinental Title match was great, mixed in with some other strong stuff along the way. I liked this one a lot and the slightly shorter running time helped, but it’s just a few ticks below Night One’s instant classic status.

Overall Overall Rating: A-. Wrestlemania has a complicated history but this was going along with the big, epic show feel and it worked to near perfection. It’s one of the best Wrestlemanias ever and what matters is the show feeling as big as possible. Granted it helped that there was some great action, though that ending is one of those things that is going to stick in a lot of fans’ memories for a very long time. I loved the show overall, and my goodness WWE knows how to make these things work so well.

Ratings Comparison

Brock Lesnar vs. Omos

Original: C+
Redo: C-

Women’s Tag Team Showcase

Original: C
Redo: C+

Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus vs. Gunther

Original: A-
Redo: A

Asuka vs. Bianca Belair

Original: B
Redo: B-

Shane McMahon vs. Miz

Original: N/A
Redo: N/A

Edge vs. Finn Balor

Original: B
Redo: B-

Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes

Original: B+
Redo: B+

Overall Rating

Original: B+
Redo: B

Overall Overall Rating:

Original: A
Redo: A-

At least most of them are in in the ballpark. Either way, excellent show.

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AND

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Wrestlemania XXXVIII Night Two
Date: April 3, 2022
Location: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
Attendance: 78,453
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee, Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, Jimmy Smith
America The Beautiful: Jesse James Decker

It’s the second half of the show and WWE has a lot to live up to after the first night. This half is built around the unification match for the WWE and Universal Titles as Brock Lesnar faces Roman Reigns in the BIGGEST WRESTLEMANIA MATCH EVER (THIS YEAR!). Other than that, Pat McAfee is facing Austin Theory in a match that has gotten a lot of TV time. Let’s get to it.

I was in the stadium for this show, sitting in the third deck with the stage on my right.

Jesse James Decker performs America The Beautiful.

Video on Night One.

Mark Walhberg talks about how the sequel is almost never quite as good as the original, but it might be tonight. This is going to be all about the emotions and it’s not edge of your seat, but out of your seat. Points for doing a separate video instead of the same one again.

Here is HHH to get things going. He gets his full entrance and poses on every corner…before being handed a pair of boots. With the boots in the ring, he thanks the fans and welcomes us to Wrestlemania as pyro goes off. HHH goes over to hug his family (including Stephanie McMahon, his children and others) and leaves to the side of the ramp. This would be his retirement due to his heart issues and you can probably imagine he was going to have at least one more big match.

Gable Steveson is here again.

Raw Tag Team Titles: RKBro vs. Alpha Academy vs. Street Profits

RKBro is defending and these teams have been fighting over the titles for weeks, with only the Profits not winning them at some point. Otis cleans house to start before all six get in for the big brawl. With the ring clearing out, Ford hits the big running flip dive to the floor, followed by Gable moonsaulting onto almost everyone. Back in and Otis splashes Riddle but slaps him around instead of covering.

Gable comes in to work on Riddle’s leg but Riddle fights up. Ford is back in and gets over to Dawkins for the tag so house can be cleaned. Otis splashes Dawkins and Riddle but misses a charge into the corner. Riddle Bro To Sleeps Dawkins and Orton comes in to clean house. The Academy is dropped onto the announcers’ table but Otis is back up to take out everyone else. Gable is back up with a Steiner Bulldog for two on Ford but Dawkins breaks up a Vader Bomb.

The Profits hit a Doomsday Blockbuster on Gable before knocking Riddle outside. Dawkins blocks the RKO and hits a spinebuster on Orton before flip diving onto Otis. Ford loads up a frog splash….but Riddle springboards to the top to RKO him back down in an awesome spot. Not to be outdone, Gable goes up but Orton pulls him out of the air into the RKO to retain at 11:32.

Rating: B-. This was the usual wild triple threat match that would have felt fine on a big time house show. Watching Riddle and Orton hit one RKO after another is always fun as they really did have it down to a science. While it was entertaining, I couldn’t have told you this opened the show to save my life as it had absolutely no staying power.

Post match the Profits and RKO are ready to share a drink. Hold on though as they want Gable Steveson to join them. Steveson gets in, but Gable knocks the cup out of his hand. Orton and Riddle look stunned (Orton’s face is hilarious) as Steveson takes his shirt off. Gable demands respect as the ring clears out. Gable even has some advice for Steveson: SHHHHHHHHHHUSH! That earns him an overhead belly to belly and now the toasting can ensue.

Bobby Lashley vs. Omos

No MVP here despite him being Lashley’s manager. Omos powers him down to start and then drives Lashley face first into a knee. Lashley tries to power out of a head vice but gets clotheslined down instead. Omos hits a charge in the corner (or close to it, as he somehow missed a running splash) but Lashley starts hammering away. The Hurt Lock is blocked though and Omos clotheslines him down.

Lashley manages to catch him on the ropes and goes up, only to be pulled out of the air for a fireman’s carry slam. Back up and Lashley charges into a bearhug, which is driven hard into the corner. The bearhug goes on again but Lashley fights out again and slugs away. Somehow Lashley manages a suplex (egads) and a spear to the back sets up the regular version to finish Omos at 6:36.

Rating: C-. This was the spectacle match of the show and it was only so good. There are only so many things that Omos can do in the ring and Lashley made it work as well as it could. Not a good match but they did keep it short and it didn’t get too insane. The suplex worked as a big spot too so it could have been worse, as weak as it was.

We recap Johnny Knoxville vs. Sami Zayn. Knoxville was in the Royal Rumble to do publicity for his new Jackass movie and Zayn freaked out, sending him into an obsessive feud to destroy Knoxville once and for all. Then Knoxville fought back by having Zayn’s phone number flown on a banner above Los Angeles, resulting in Zayn receiving 60,000+ texts. The solution: an anything goes match.

Sami Zayn vs. Johnny Knoxville

Anything goes and Zayn kicks him in the face at the bell to start fast. They head outside with Zayn sending him into the barricade right in front of the Jackass crew. The crew goes after him, allowing Knoxville to come up with a fire extinguisher blast for a breather. Back in and Zayn busts out the cookie sheet to take over before switching over to a crutch. With that broken over Knoxville’s back, it’s time to bring in a table (of course).

Zayn goes for another table….and gets his hand caught in a mouse trap. It seems that there is a table covered in them (because reasons of Knoxville) and the delay lets Knoxville bang some trashcan lids around Zayn’s head. Knoxville sets up the table in the corner but gets suplexed through it instead. The helluva Kick is loaded up but Knoxville whips out an airhorn to cut it off.

Cue part of the Jackass crew, with a guy described as a party boy dancing and stripping (Cole: “It’s Naked Mideon 2.0!”). Zayn takes him out and Knoxville uses the distraction to grab a rollup for two. With the party boy kicked underneath the ring, Wee Man (he’s short) pops out and beats Zayn up, including a slam back inside (the place goes NUTS for that). Knoxville’s tornado DDT gets two as commentary is losing it over this whole thing.

Wee Man pulls out a machine with a boot attached and designed to kick someone low. Instead Zayn kicks him in the face and sends him outside before going up top. That’s fine with Knoxville, who whips out a remote control to spray pyro from the corner Zayn is standing on. With Zayn down in the corner, there’s a bowling ball between the legs and then the boot machine kicks him low again.

Knoxville whips out a tazer (sure) so Zayn runs….right into a giant hand that slaps him in the face. Back in and Zayn grabs a suplex before going up again. This time, Knoxville tongs him low and sends Zayn flying through the mousetrap table. Now the Jackass crew pulls out a giant mousetrap (just go with it) and Knoxville tazes Zayn onto it, with the trap springing for the pin (ignore Zayn’s shoulders being on the trap and not the mat) at 14:33.

Rating: B-. This is the definition of “it wasn’t for me”, but the stadium was going NUTS for the whole thing and they embraced everything insane about the whole thing. It was a total stunt show instead of a match (which is what it needed to be) and Zayn got wrecked by one stunt after another. I never need to see it again, but for a one off, it was goofy fun. Less than three weeks later, Zayn would need something to make him feel better after all this, so he started talking to the Bloodline. Not bad for a next step.

Here’s part of Drew McIntyre beating Happy Corbin last night and then cutting the ring ropes.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Sasha Banks/Naomi vs. Carmella/Queen Zelina vs. Liv Morgan/Rhea Ripley vs. Natalya/Shayna Baszler

One fall and Carmella/Vega are defending. Banks and Naomi ride out in a rather expensive looking car while Liv and Rhea have something of a Catwoman/Donnie Darko theme. Ripley starts and no one wants to fight her until Banks comes in for the staredown. Banks gets powered down but comes back up with an armbar that doesn’t last long. Riptide is blocked and Banks realizes she needs to think twice here.

Naomi comes in but everything breaks down with most of the, going outside. Banks and Morgan both hit dives before going back inside for a staredown. Back to back Codebreakers rock Morgan and Oblivion makes it worse, only to have Natalya take Morgan down. Baszler comes in and stomps on Morgan’s leg as things slow back down. The leg cranking ensues before Carmella comes in to send Morgan into the corner.

Everything breaks down again with Carmella hurricanranaing Ripley off the top. Naomi and Banks hit double Eat Defeat on Morgan and go up, only to have it broken up. That means stereo Towers of Doom, with Morgan and Ripley handling the powerbombs. Everyone is down for a bit until Riptide into a backstabber gives Ripley two on Naomi.

Morgan breaks up Baszler’s cover on Naomi and gets faceplanted for her efforts. A Hart Attack is broken up and Carmella takes Naomi down for some near falls. Banks is back in with a frog splash to Carmella but Vega breaks up the Crossface. The Meteora from the apron hits Vega and Naomi kicks Carmella in the head. A wheelbarrow slam/Codebreaker combination hits Carmella to give Banks the pin and the titles at 10:50.

Rating: C. It wasn’t exactly great and as usual, there were so many people here that it might as well have been a free for all. The wrestling was only so good and the titles feeling so completely unimportant doesn’t help. These feel like thrown together teams fighting over the titles and that doesn’t quite make it feel Wrestlemania worthy. If these titles are supposed to mean something, stop having makeshift teams fighting over them. At least you now have a steady pair of hands in Naomi and Banks to hold them, as they should be fine for a long time to come.

We look back at Miz and Logan Paul beating the Mysterios and then breaking up because Paul wanted to leave as a good guy.

We recap Edge vs. AJ Styles. Edge wanted a special opponent so Styles accepted, only for Edge to go full villain and Conchairto him. Now Styles is back and wanting revenge.

AJ Styles vs. Edge

Styles is bleeding from the side of his face, apparently having hit himself on the set on the way in. Since it’s Wrestlemania, Edge rises up onto a throne surrounded by fire. They stare at each other to start until Styles starts knocking him away. The dropkick looks to set up the Calf Crusher but Edge is straight over to the ropes. Back up and Edge is sent outside, with Styles ramming him head first into the steps to make things more violent.

The springboard 450 hits raised knees back inside, with Edge holding his knee in something that rarely happens off of that counter. Edge’s knee is fine enough for the posing before he kicks away at Styles. The abdominal stretch goes on but Styles goes after the knee to break it up. A shoulder breaker cuts Styles down again though and they’re down long enough that we can look at some of the giant graphics for the match around the stadium.

Back up and Styles misses a hard charge into the corner and they’re both down again. Edge hits a Codebreaker onto the bad arm and it’s time to crank on both arms at once. Styles can’t Pele his way out of trouble as Edge pulls him into an STF, which he switches into a Crossface (sounds like a Samoa Joe fan). That’s broken up with a quick rope break and we slow down again.

Edge misses a spear and Styles grabs a slingshot DDT for the double knockdown (again). Styles goes up top but gets caught by Edge. That doesn’t work either, as Styles slips out and kicks the bad knee, setting up a torture rack spun into a powerbomb for two more. Edge is back up but charges into a German suplex to put them both down again. They slug it out until Styles manages a Pele Kick but the Calf Crusher is blocked again.

The Crossface has Styles in big trouble until he rolls his way to freedom. The Edge-O-Matic gives Edge two and a slingshot powerbomb gets the same. They both take their time getting up and head to the corner, where Styles superplexes him down onto the apron (ouch). Back in and the springboard 450 hits Edge’s back for two. The Phenomenal Forearm and spear both miss so Styles hits the Styles Clash for a rather near fall. Styles loads up the Phenomenal Forearm….but Damien Priest (US Champion at the time) is here to offer him a distraction. The delay lets Edge spear Styles out of the air for the pin at 24:26.

Rating: B. This was a good, hard hitting match that felt like it belonged on the big stage, but the double downs got a bit repetitive as they probably burned off five minutes of just laying on the mat. The distraction finish was a bit annoying as well as it just cut everything else off, but it certainly seemed to set up something for the future. Either way, best match of the night so far.

Tonight’s attendance: 78,354.

Byron Saxton replaces Pat McAfee, who has to get ready for his match with Austin Theory.

Brawling Brutes vs. New Day

Butch is here with the Brutes. New Day has Big E. inspired gear, even down to the singlets, for a nice touch. Butch loses his mind on the floor before the bell and the brawl is on inside. The bell rings and Kofi hits Trouble In Paradise on Holland. Sheamus pulls Kofi outside though, leaving Woods to make a save. Back in and Kofi seems to leave a top rope shot to the face a bit short as Woods takes the straps down.

A running Downward Spiral hits Holland but Sheamus Brogue Kicks Kofi on the floor. Back in and Woods superkicks Holland (he’s taking a beating here)…but Sheamus Brogue Kicks Woods silly. Northern Grit finishes Woods at 1:42. So Big E.’s career might have been ended and his team loses in less than two minutes at Wrestlemania. This place isn’t nice to New Day (as they lost to the League Of Nations here in 2016 as well).

We look back at Cody Rhodes returning and facing Seth Rollins. These recaps might as well have a big sign saying FILLER. Or PEACOCK COMMERCIALS.

The Hall of Fame class is honored again, with only Undertaker coming out in person. Undertaker comes out, waves, and that’s it. I’m not sure why this needed to happen two nights in a row and the way it happened again made me think it was going to be an angle but…yeah nothing, even after it goes on for a good while.

We recap Pat McAfee vs. Austin Theory. McAfee talks about everything he has accomplished from the NFL to his talk show, but he has always been a fan who wanted to wrestle. He even trained to wrestle with Rip Rogers before he came to WWE so he has a background. Vince McMahon was a guest on the Pat McAfee Show and offered McAfee a chance for a match. This wound up being against Theory, who has tormented him ever since, with McAfee chasing after him and annoying McMahon in the process.

Austin Theory vs. Pat McAfee

Vince McMahon personally introduces Theory (as a future Universal Champion). McAfee on the other hand has the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders with him in an appropriate entrance. Some right hands have Theory in trouble early but he goes to McAfee’s throat to cut him down. A jumping back elbow has Theory down again as the fans are rather into McAfee. There’s a hurricanrana for two but Theory plants him and smiles down at Vince.

McAfee manages a quick suplex for a breather and Theory heads out to the apron. They head outside and McAfee grabs a headset to say hi to his parents before pouring ice over Theory. Back in and a heck of a Swanton misses for McAfee so Theory grabs a belly to back slam for two.

Theory goes up but McAfee catches him on top, only to be shoved off. That’s fine with McAfee, who does a pretty sweet moonsault to land on his feet. A jump up to the top (that was cool) sets up a top rope superplex (McAfee shouldn’t be this good this soon) for a delayed two on Theory. Back up and Theory gets in a shot and tries A Town Down, which is countered into a rollup to give McAfee the pin at 9:43.

Rating: B. This was a heck of a celebrity match as McAfee got to show off his athleticism (that jump to the top into the superplex was very good). McAfee is one of those guys who seems to just “get” wrestling and that is one of the most valuable things anyone can have. McAfee had to win after the build to the match and it was good stuff, as McAfee can talk and actually back it up.

Post match McAfee celebrates and Vince is ticked. Vince is so ticked….that he takes his jacket off (the place is VERY interested). The shirt comes off and Vince gets in the ring (Cole: “WHY IS THERE A REFEREE IN THE RING???”). It seems that we’re doing this but Theory jumps McAfee from behind. Let’s ring that bell.

Vince McMahon vs. Pat McAfee

McMahon clotheslines him at the bell and then does it again, earning a YOU STILL GOT IT chant. The stall is on but McAfee Colts Up but McMahon distracts the referee, allowing Theory to crotch McAfee against the post. With McAfee down, McMahon gets a Dallas Cowboys football and punts it into McAfee’s stomach for the pin at 3:44.

Rating: D-. So that’s how the crowd gets killed after being on fire from the McAfee match. One might think it would have been a better idea to put Theory over if they wanted to go this way, but seeing McMahon in the ring for (probably) one last time is a special moment. That being said, this wasn’t a match for the most part and the ending was awful, but what else were you expecting?

Post match Vince and Theory hug and Vince seems a big scared by Theory’s music playing. Then the glass shatters and Vince has a better reason to be afraid. Steve Austin comes out, beats up Theory, gives McMahon the all time worst Stunner (as Vince falls down both before and after) and drinks beer (good thing it was ready in case he made a surprise appearance) with McAfee. Then he Stuns McAfee, who probably could not be more thrilled.

We look at Bianca Belair’s marching band entrance before she won the Raw Women’s Title.

Wrestlemania XXXIX is in Los Angeles.

We recap Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns in a World Title unification match. Reigns has been Universal Champion for a year and a Lesnar has held the title for about five minutes. Now they’re unifying them because Reigns vs. Lesnar must headline at least one major event every year until the end of time.

Universal Title/WWE Title: Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar

Winner take all and Paul Heyman is here with Reigns (the Usos come to the ring with him but head to the back before the match). Heyman and Lesnar handle the intros (Lesnar has done that a time or two) before the latter takes off his gloves to start the match. Reigns hammers away and drives him into the corner a few times without much trouble. Three straight suplexes have Reigns in trouble and a clothesline puts him on the floor. Heyman offers a distraction though (Heyman: “I’ve always loved you. It was Roman’s idea!”) and Reigns hits a spear through the barricade.

Back in and Reigns hits another spear for two and a pair of Superman Punches drop Lesnar again. Lesnar is right back up with five German suplexes but the F5 is countered into a Superman Punch. Another spear is countered into the F5 to give Lesnar two of his own as they’re firmly in their signature formula here. Another F5 is countered and Reigns drives Lesnar into the referee in the corner.

A low blow and belt shot give Reigns two and Reigns spears him from behind (ala Lashley about two and a half hours ago, which commentary does note) for the same. Reigns tries another spear but lands in the Kimura, sending Reigns to the ropes this time. Reigns can be heard telling Heyman that his shoulder is “out”, only to spear Lesnar down for the pin at 12:17 (Heyman looked stunned on the pin).

Rating: C+. Yes the action was probably better than that but I’m so completely done with caring about these two having their same match over and over. WWE treated these two as the biggest stars in the company for so long that this is the only way they can finish Wrestlemania. That doesn’t make it interesting though, as Lesnar didn’t feel like a threat and they did the same match they have done almost every time after their first. But hey, at least the ultra dominant Reigns is now even more ultra dominant right? To be fair that wound up working, but finding a better way there would have been appreciated.

Reigns celebrates and a lot of pyro ends the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a weird one as there are good things about the show, but a lot of it feels like they were trying to fill in time. Too many of the matches came off as things that they needed to do rather than things they wanted to do and it made things a lot less interesting than the previous night. The good stuff is good and it had some moments (one more time for Austin and McMahon, the Knoxville/Zayn stuff and the title unification) but it felt like a pale comparison to Night One, which isn’t something to brag about whatsoever. Not a bad show at all, but you might want to pick and choose.

Overall Overall Rating: B. The show overall is good, but more of the good comes from Night One, which had the action to go with the moments. If they wanted to balance it out a lot more, moving Cody’s return to the other night would have helped, as outside of the main event, the second night didn’t have the deepest lineup. It’s a rather good Wrestlemania overall, but man it feels like an eternity has passed in the last year. Night One is definitely worth a watch though, as it feels like a Wrestlemania. Balance it out a bit and cut down on Night Two (or give us one really long night) and it’s that much better, but this did work.

Ratings Comparison

RKBro vs. Street Profits vs. Alpha Academy

Original: B-
Redo: B-

Omos vs. Bobby Lashley

Original: D+
Redo: C-

Johnny Knoxville vs. Sami Zayn

Original: C+
Redo: B-

Sasha Banks/Naomi vs. Natalya/Shayna Baszler vs. Carmella/Queen Zelina vs. Liv Morgan/Rhea Ripley

Original: D+
Redo: C

AJ Styles vs. Edge

Original: B-
Redo: B

New Day vs. Brawling Brutes

Original: N/A
Redo: N/A

Pat McAfee vs. Austin Theory

Original: C+
Redo: B

Vince McMahon vs. Pat McAfee

Original: D+
Redo: D-

Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar

Original: C+
Redo: C+

Overall Rating

Original: C
Redo: B-

Overall Overall Rating

Original: B-
Redo: B

So the second night was mostly better across the board and then the overall overall rating is barely up? That’s a weird one, but this show was a better sit after a year away so maybe it does have some staying power.

Wrestlemania XXXVII Night One
Date: April 10, 2021
Location: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida
Attendance: 25,675
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Samoa Joe, Byron Saxton
America the Beautiful: Bebe Rexha

Here we have an interesting one, as it’s the first show in a LONG time with fans. While this wouldn’t be a permanent change, it was more than a big deal as it felt like an actual Wrestlemania after the previous year’s…whatever you want to call that at the Performance Center. We’re still doing the two night thing and that should make for a big difference. Let’s get to it.

Just like last year, the theme is pirate related, as we’re in the home of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This means a big WWE themed pirate ship, which looks incredible. WWE knows how to do this stuff and it pretty much never fails.

Here is Vince McMahon on the stage, with a bunch of the roster behind him, to talk about how the wrestlers have worked to get us through the pandemic. There has been something missing though and that is all of the people. McMahon thanks the fans and welcomes us to Wrestlemania. That’s a nice moment and it makes things feel that much bigger.

Bebe Rexha, and her guitar player, perform America The Beautiful.

The opening video talks about how the company is back in business after a very long wait. This is going to be a high seas, high stakes adventure and it’s going to be bigger than the history of history. Hold on though as the Jack Sparrow impersonator from last year comes in to say that line was rotten so we’ll go back to where we were last year.

The video switches into a Pirates Of The Caribbean style look at various stars, followed by a more standard opening video. Sparrow: “Now how’s that for a cold open?” The other voice wants a big finish though, meaning we get the big WELCOME TO WRESTLEMANIA voice. Points for creativity and a bit of humor at least.

Commentary welcomes us to the show…and for the first time ever, we have a WEATHER DELAY. The fans bust out the ponchos as commentary tries to fill in time by talking about the announced opener of Drew McIntyre challenging Bobby Lashley for the Raw World Title.

Thankfully WWE gets smart and lets its wrestlers talk to fill in some time. Shane McMahon is ready to take Braun Strowman out but he doesn’t have a problem with him. Yeah he suggested Strowman was stupid, but think of the things he can do when they’re in a cage tonight.

MVP and Bobby Lashley come in to say this will be the crowning moment of the Almighty Era. It’s all over for Drew McIntyre, who is going to lose his dignity, his consciousness, and the match. McIntyre comes in to tell MVP to keep talking but say it to his face. Mother Nature can’t save Lashley because McIntyre will fight him back here if he has to. Everything is broken up and McIntyre is a bit shaken up, saying he needs to be out there in front of the fans because he’s waited for such a long time for this to happen. McIntyre really doesn’t seem smooth at talking off the top of his head.

The Kickoff Show panel chats a bit with JBL hyping this up as much as he can.

New Day is ready for AJ Styles and Omos because they’re fighting champions. Are Omos and Styles even a registered tag team? New Day knows there are bigger people out there and they really don’t care. Big E. comes in to sing the team’s praises and my goodness this man missed his calling as a preacher. Woods: “I AM DELIVERED!”

Commentary laughs about the rain delay and Cole tries to dub it Wrestlerania, which goes over as well as most of his jokes.

Braun Strowman is ready to prove that bullies do not win as he gives Shane McMahon the beating of his life. Not a bad promo here.

The Kickoff Show panel praise Vince McMahon’s opening of the show. This feels like filler as they try to find someone else to interview, which is fine.

Kevin Owens, naturally in the KO Mania V shirt, talks about meeting Sami Zayn back in 2002 and seeing the passion in him. They’ve wrestled each other around the world, literally doing this hundreds of times. People told them that they wouldn’t make it to the show and now they’re doing it again at Wrestlemania. They’ve been through all kinds of things and now he’s going to Stun someone. If Logan Paul, who is going to be at the match, has something to say about that, he’ll be in the ring. Good stuff here, as Owens can talk and was handed a microphone to do just that.

Cole and Joe are now in ponchos (Saxton’s microphone has died) and now they have about five minutes before the show can start up.

Bianca Belair isn’t scared of Sasha Banks because she’s ready to prove herself. The best thing though is that the fans will be there to see it. You could tell this was off the top of her head and she did fine.

Seth Rollins can’t remember Kevin Patrick’s name (“It’s Mike right?”) and doesn’t like being asked about “Zazaro” swinging him a record number of times. He doesn’t get the disrespect but he’s ready to show why he’s the new Mr. Wrestlemania. Rollins wraps it up and dubs him “Kevin-Mike”. Rollins: “Can we hyphenate?”

Miz and John Morrison are ready for the scumbags that are Damian Priest and Bad Bunny. Priest can never be as moist as Johnny Drip Drip. Miz hypes up the show as being the biggest in the world but I’m trying to get over the Drip Drip thing.

The Kickoff Show says the announcement has been made and the fans are coming back in.

We get a video on Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre for the Raw World Title. Miz cashed in the Money In The Bank briefcase on McIntyre but Lashley beat him a few days later. McIntyre has been on a roll lately but wants to get the title back because he wants his moment in front of fans after beating Brock Lesnar in an empty Performance Center last year. Fair enough. Of note: you can hear some of the production audio leaking over the video, which is always interesting.

Commentary fills in a bit more time as the fans get back to their seats.

Here are Titus O’Neil (this year’s Warrior Award recipient) and Hulk Hogan, this year’s hosts. They hype things up and the fans don’t seem thrilled to see Hogan. We’re kicking it off with the Raw World Title match and thankfully Hogan doesn’t make any major blunders.

Of note: absolutely none of the delay stuff is on Netflix, which goes from the opening video to O’Neil and Hogan’s entrances. This is better than Peacock’s version, which was cut into two parts and all messed up. I’ll call it progress, even with less content.

In what I’m guessing is another issue with the editing, here’s the Lashley vs. McIntyre video again.

Raw World Title: Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre

Lashley, with MVP, is defending. They fight over a lockup and trade knockdowns off some shoulders. With that going even, they hit each other in the face with Lashley getting the better of things. McIntyre’s clothesline puts Lashley on the floor, where he rams McIntyre into the barricade to take over again. A neckbreaker gives Lashley two and he shrugs off McIntyre’s attempt to go after the arm.

McIntyre fights up with the clothesline comeback, followed by the overhead belly to belly. A northern lights suplex gives McIntyre one but Lashley is back with the spinning faceplant. McIntyre charges into a spinebuster for two more and Lashley is getting mad. The Hurt Lock attempt is broken up though and McIntyre sends him into the corner for the reverse Alabama Slam. McIntyre loads up a superplex but gets knocked into the Tree Of Woe. As is his custom, McIntyre sits up for the belly to belly superplex to send Lashley crashing.

The Claymore is countered into the spinebuster…and McIntyre nips up. McIntyre is back with three straight Futureshocks for two and McIntyre seems to know he’s in trouble. The threat of the Claymore sends Lashley outside so McIntyre hits the big no hands flip dive take out both Lashley and MVP.

Back in and McIntyre dives into a Downward Spiral but the Hurt Lock is blocked. Another spinebuster is countered into the Kimura of all things, with Lashley making the rope. The Glasgow Kiss looks to set up the Claymore but MVP yells at McIntyre, allowing Lashley to get out of the way. Now the Hurt Lock goes on and McIntyre can’t even use the corner to roll out. McIntyre passes out at 18:50.

Rating: B. This was exactly what it should have been with two big strong guys beating the fire out of each other. You don’t get that kind of a fight very often and it worked rather well, with Lashley getting a genuinely impressive win. McIntyre didn’t so much get beaten as much as he got caught, though Lashley was looking awesome here, even in defeat. Rather good opener.

Titus O’Neil and the NWO are in the back when Bayley interrupts. She knows they’re the hosts of Wrestlemania and she hosts her own show. She does the Too Sweet deal but no one will do it back to her. X-Pac says he’s a big fan and does it, with Hall pretty clearly having no idea who Bayley is but doing it anyway. The rest walk away. You know this was a blast for Bayley.

Women’s Tag Team Turmoil

For a Women’s Tag Team Title shot on Night Two. Naomi/Lana are in at #1 and Billie Kay/Carmella are in at #2. Even commentary admits that Carmella and Kay are thrown together but Graves would rather just look at Carmella. Naomi takes Carmella down to start and Lana is in for a bulldog and some dancing back up. Lana gets sent into the wrong corner but fights out in a hurry, allowing Naomi to come in and clean house. The springboard kick to the face lets Lana tag herself in and…complete miss on…something commentary didn’t even recognize. A double X Factor plants Carmella but Kay makes the save. Kay rolls Naomi up and Carmella’s assist gets the pin at 2:21.

The Riott Squad (Ruby Riott/Liv Morgan in this case) is in at #3 and Riott starts cleaning house. Morgan gets sent into the wrong corner but fights out rather easily, allowing the tag back to Riott. A backbreaker into a top rope backsplash (crushing Kay between Riott and Morgan’s knees) gives Riott the pin at 4:58.

Carmella isn’t happy and superkicks Morgan (who shoves Riott out of the way) as Dana Brooke and Mandy Rose are in at #4 (with the camera hiding Rose slipping on the ramp). Rose starts fast with a running knee and a Blockbustr for two on Riott, with Morgan making the save. Brooke’s running flipping neckbreaker gets two more but Riott rolls Rose up for two. The Riott Kick connects and Morgan comes back in as everything breaks down. Riott is sent outside and it’s a superplex into Brooke’s Swanton for the…not pin on Morgan as she reverses into a small package to pin Brooke at 9:18.

Even the ring announcer gets the elimination announcement wrong and has to issue a correction. Natalya and Tamina are in at #5 and things slow down. Natalya powerbombs Morgan for two and Tamina grabs a fireman’s carry. That’s escaped as Morgan makes it into the corner and grabs a Codebreaker, allowing Riott’s top rope backsplash to connect for two. Morgan comes back in and charges into Tamina’s superkick. That means a Hart Attack (right after commentary brought up Natalya not wanting to live off of her family’s name) into the Superfly Splash to give Tamina the final pin at 14:06.

Rating: D+. What am I supposed to get out of this? The tag division was basically non-existent at this point with a bunch of thrown together teams just like this. Natalya and Tamina aren’t interesting on their own so having them together isn’t going to make it much better. There was about one regular team in here and that’s not enough to carry a five team match.

Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro

This is over Rollins mocking Cesaro for never winning anything on his own, while Rollins is a big success. They were playing up something like a Rollins political campaign, which didn’t exactly work but a lot of people have tried it over the years. Cesaro charges at him with the uppercut to start but a pair of early Swing attempts are blocked. Rollins grabs a buckle bomb for two and we slow way back down.

A superplex floated into the regular version gives Rollins two more and frustration is setting in. Back up and they strike it out with Cesaro getting the better of things but the Swing is countered again. Rollins kicks him in the headbutt misses the Stomp, allowing Cesaro to get the Swing. Cesaro tries the Sharpshooter, sending Rollins over to the ropes. An uppercut misses in the corner though and Cesaro’s arm is banged up.

Rollins knocks him down again and hits a corkscrew top rope splash for two. Cesaro hits a quick Neutralizer for two, only to get caught in the Pedigree for the same. Rollins yells about surviving the Swing and hits him in the back of the neck, followed by a kick to the back of the head. Cesaro isn’t having this and hits an uppercut into the UFO (because that’s something a human can do). A 23 revolution Swing sets up the Neutralizer to finish Rollins at 11:34.

Rating: B. This was about Cesaro showing that he could do this on the big stage and it worked rather well. It’s something that fans had been wanting to see for a long time and it lead to Cesaro’s World Title shot in the main event of Backlash. They set up the Swing as being the big deal to make Rollins eat his words. In other words, build up the story and then pay it off with the good guy winning. Nice stuff.

We look at Jey Uso winning the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal and Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler retaining the Smackdown Tag Team Titles last night.

Roode and Ziggler brag about their success but think Omos and AJ Styles are going to take out the New Day.

Raw Tag Team Titles: AJ Styles/Omos vs. New Day

New Day is defending. Kingston can’t get an SOS on Styles to start but can escape an attempt at the Calf Crusher. Styles gets knocked into the corner and it’s time for some trombone inspired dancing. A blind tag brings in Woods for an elbow and a near fall so we hit the chinlock (Woods: “AJ! YOU ARE NOT A TAG TEAM WRESTLER! WE ARE EFFECTIVELY CUTTING THE RING IN HALF!”).

The unicorn Stampede has Styles down in the corner and Woods grabs a headlock but has to drag Styles away from the corner. It’s back to Kingston to continue the game of “keep the giant out of here”, including a middle rope double stomp to Styles. An enziguri misses and Kingston is back in with a springboard splash to the back.

Styles gets in a quick shot though and it’s off to Omos, who doesn’t seem pleased with Woods. The kicks to the leg and a dropkick are shrugged off and Kingston is knocked down as well. Some running elbows in the corner set up a backbreaker to Woods and Kingston is swatted away as well. A Phenomenal Forearm off Omos’ shoulders drops Woods and it’s a chokebomb finishes Kingston for the titles at 9:49.

Rating: C. This was a weird one as it was mostly Styles getting beaten up with the champs trying to avoid getting massacred by Omos. That’s a formula that has been done before (the Horsemen basically did the same thing against Kevin Sullivan and the Giant at Bash At The Beach 1996) and it still works. Omos and Styles don’t need to be this all time team, but they were good enough as a way to make Omos look like an unstoppable force.

We recap Shane McMahon vs. Braun Strowman. McMahon has decided to bully Strowman vs. being stupid (making it brains vs. brawn) but then kept running instead of fighting (including faking a knee injury). The result if a cage match and McMahon can’t run anymore.

Jerry Lawler is on commentary.

Shane McMahon vs. Braun Strowman

Inside of a cage (somehow the first non-Cell cage match since Wrestlemania II). McMahon won’t let the door open so here are Elias and Jaxson Ryker (McMahon’s cronies) to chair Strowman down. Strowman is sent inside and McMahon starts chairing away, only for Strowman to take the chair away. A shot to Strowman’s knee cuts him off again but it’s still not good enough to keep Strowman down.

Strowman threatens McMahon with GETTING THESE HANDS but some quick strikes slow Strowman again. McMahon tries to climb out and grabs a metal sheet off the top of the cage. Some shots to the back and another to the head get one on Strowman, who launches McMahon off the cover. McMahon gets launched into the cage a few times and a splash crushes him against the steel again.

The running powerslam is broken up though and a spinning DDT drops Strowman. A Coast To Coast hits Strowman in the ribs for two so Ryker and Elias try to help McMahon climb out. Strowman knocks the two of them off the side of the cage, sending McMahon crashing down. McMahon goes back up and finds a well placed toolbox to knock Strowman off.

That lets McMahon climb down…but Strowman rips the cage open and pulls him back inside for another beating. They both go back up top and stand on top of the cage, with Strowman just throwing McMahon back down. It’s time for vengeance though as Strowman goes back inside, yells at him, and hits the running powerslam for the pin at 11:27.

Rating: C. I’m not sure what to make of this, as Strowman wrecked McMahon the second he got his hands on him, as he should have. At the same time, it wasn’t exactly a great cage match, as it didn’t really come off as something that belonged at Wrestlemania. Maybe Extreme Rules, but not here. Good enough, but nothing special save for McMahon’s big crash.

Here’s some pyro. No idea why, but here it is.

Commentary talks about the Hall Of Fame but Bayley interrupts to call Michael Cole an idiot. She throws us to the package on the 2020 Hall Of Fame class, who didn’t get to have a special induction due to the pandemic.

Here’s the Class Of 2020:

John Bradshaw Layfield (yeah fine)
William Shatner (sure why not)
Bella Twins (moving on)
Jushin Thunder Liger (yep)
Titus O’Neil (Warrior Award, and they might as well rename it after him for all the stuff he does)
British Bulldog (perfectly acceptable)
New World Order (Hogan/Hall/Nash/X-Pac (yes X-Pac) only and….yeah again can’t argue that)

Batista was supposed to be in this class too but it was postponed due to the pandemic. He wasn’t mentioned here.

Wrestlemania XXXVIII is coming to Dallas (close enough), as announced by Steve Austin. Like he’d have anything to do at that Wrestlemania.

Booker T. joins commentary.

Miz/John Morrison vs. Bad Bunny/Damian Priest

Cue a bunch of bunnies to the ring, which brings out Miz and Morrison for their Bad Bunny diss track, Hey Hey Hop Hop (which is far catchier than it should be). This sends us to the video package, which is basically “Bad Bunny is a celebrity, Miz and Morrison don’t like him, Priest stands up for Bunny, tag match is on”. Bunny comes in on a semi truck for quite the visual.

Morrison backs away from Priest to start so it’s off to Miz vs. Bunny instead. Bunny gets in a right hand to the jaw and Miz realizes he’s in trouble. Another punch sends Miz in to the cornere, where Morrison declares it luck. Miz gets serious and drives him into the corner to take over. Back up and Bunny reverses a hiptoss into an armdrag and Miz is sent outside. Bunny’s la majistral gets two and he stops to dance a bit.

Miz slows things down and sends him face first into the ropes but Bunny snaps off a very spinning headscissors, with Priest getting VERY fired up on the apron. Morrison comes in and gets sent into the corner for a running elbow but the second is cut off. Miz gets in a cheap shot from the apron and Bunny is in trouble for a change. A sunset flip doesn’t get Bunny out of trouble as Miz kicks him in the face for another knockdown.

Bunny gets knocked outside and Morrison even busts out a Spinarooni in front of Booker T. Back in and Priest gets drawn into the ring so the double bunny stomping can ensue. Bunny manages to kick Morrison outside though and it’s a tornado DDT, allowing the tag off to Priest to clean house. The kicks set up South Of Heaven to Miz with Morrison making the save.

Stereo head claps and Falcon Arrows get two each and the villains head outside, with Bunny hitting the big dive onto both of them. Back in and Priest’s Cross Rhodes is countered into the Skull Crushing Finale with Bunny having to make the save. Bunny grabs a Canadian Destroyer to Morrison on the floor, setting up a Doomsday crossbody to give Bunny the pin on Miz at 15:14.

Rating: B-. This is a weird one to look at, as it’s ALL about Bunny, who had some pretty good athleticism and can do the big spots well enough. The match did go on a bit too long and that dragged it down a bit, though it gave the fans what they wanted. Bunny was one of the better celebrity wrestlers and Priest was there to do the heavy lifting. Good enough stuff, but it needed to be a few minutes shorter.

We look back at Lashley beating McIntyre earlier tonight.

We run down the Wrestlemania Sunday card.

We recap Sasha Banks defending the Smackdown Women’s Title against Bianca Belair. This was set up as Belair won the Royal Rumble but Banks wasn’t impressed, setting up their title match.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Bianca Belair vs. Sasha Banks

Belair is challenging. They stare at each other to start and then lock up with Banks shoving her down, only for Belair to pop back up. That means more shoving until Belair pulls a leapfrog out of the air. Belair backflips out of a sunset flip attempt and does her dance, allowing Banks to strike back. A wheelbarrow rollup is countered into a double chickenwing, which Banks reverses into a roll out to the floor.

Banks sends her from the apron into the post to set up a suicide dive…but Belair pulls a suicide dive out of the air. Belair gorilla presses her and walks up the steps for a toss back inside. That has Banks realizing this is different and pulls Belair down, only to get dropped with a running shoulder. A slam, with some squats thrown in, has Banks more in trouble but she gets smart by grabbing the hair. That lets Banks hit a running knee for two before she hammers away on the mat.

The chinlock doesn’t last long as Belair fights up and powers her to the apron. Banks tries to jump back inside and gets caught in a spinebuster so they head outside. That lets Banks grab the hair but Belair uses it to pull her into the steps. Banks’ running knees only hit the barricade and Belair heads back inside. A double slingshot suplex (with Belair having to muscle her up as only she can) puts Banks down and Belair starts running her over to pick up the pace.

Belair hits a running shooting star press to the back, followed by a double chickenwing faceplant. The 450 hits raised knees though and Banks knees her in the face, only to charge into a double powerbomb for two. The third powerbomb is countered into a faceplant and they’re both down again. Banks gets creative with a tornado DDT out of the corner and into a springboard to plant Belair for two more. A frog splash gets two and Banks sends her outside for a ram into the steps.

Back in and Banks ties Belair’s hair around Belair’s arm (ouch), followed by the Bank Statement. Somehow Belair gets over to the ropes so Banks goes up, only to miss a top rope double stomp. Belair’s 450 connects this time and the kickout has her screaming in shock. They fight over the hair and Banks gets in the whip, which sounds like a freaking rifle going off. Again, I know it’s been covered, but that’s from someone’s HAIR. How is that even possible? Anyway the KOD gives Belair the pin and the title at 17:17, with Cole screwing up and saying it’s a kickout before going into celebration mode.

Rating: B+. This turned into a fight and it felt like it belonged in the main event spot. The biggest thing here is that Belair elevated herself, which is something that had to happen. While the Four Horsewomen had done some great things, at some point you need a new generation to follow them. People like Belair were at the top of that list and this was the moment where she arrived. That hair whip spot was insane and Belair won clean, so you can’t ask for much more than that, even with Cole screwing up.

Belair celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. It’s a good show with some weak spots, though nothing really stood out as a classic/must see moment. The catch with this one was that it was all about getting to be in front of live fans, which really is a big deal after being cooped up in the Thunderdome for so many months. It’s not exactly a must see show, but there’s nothing overly terrible and it has enough good to carry things through.

Ratings Comparison

Drew McIntyre vs. Bobby Lashley

Original: B-
2022 Redo: B
2026 Redo: B

Tag Team Turmoil

Original: D
2022 Redo: D
2026 Redo: D+

Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins

Original: C+
2022 Redo: B-
2026 Redo: B

AJ Styles/Omos vs. New Day

Original: C+
2022 Redo: C
2026 Redo: C

Braun Strowman vs. Shane McMahon

Original: D
2022 Redo: D
2026 Redo: C

Miz/John Morrison vs. Bad Bunny/Damian Priest

Original: C
2022 Redo: B
2026 Redo: B-

Bianca Belair vs. Sasha Banks

Original: B
2022 Redo: B
2026 Redo: B+

Overall Rating

Original: B-
2022 Redo: B-
2026 Redo: B-

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

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

Rey de Reyes 2026 Night One
Date: March 14, 2026
Location: Auditorio GNP Seguros, Puebla, Mexico
Commentators: John Bradshaw Layfield, Rey Mysterio, Corey Graves

It’s the first of three weeks of one of the biggest AAA shows of the year and they’re starting fast. This week features both the Rey de Reyes finals, plus Dominik Mysterio defending the Mega Title against El Hijo del Vikingo, with some special stipulations. That’s in addition to a Women’s Title match so let’s get to it.

The opening video talks about what it takes to be the best and earn the crown. Or sword in this case.

Commentary sends best wishes to Konnan, who has been having some health issues.

Here is Rey Fenix to get things going. He loves being here and promises surprises for everyone. That includes his favorite wrestler, and his brother, which brings out Penta. I mean, he was already announced for the show so it’s not a surprise but close enough. Fenix even holds the rope open for him in a nice moment before going to leave, but Penta tells him to stay.

Penta greets the crowd and teases a Lucha Brothers reunion, perhaps at TripleMania. They’re the best team in the universe and they’ll be back together. Fenix leaves and Penta talks about some of the legends that have won the Rey de Reyes tournament over the years. Penta talks about how winning the Intercontinental Title is about everyone here and he wants a challenger from Mexico to step up. You could tell how much this meant for Penta and that’s rather cool to see.

Reina de Reinas Title: Flammer vs. ???

It’s open challenge time with Flammer defending against….Bayley. Ok that’s a nice surprise. Bayley headlocks her down to start and they grapple around a bit, with Flammer slipping away. Bayley takes her to the floor for a quick beating but Flammer sweeps the leg and hits a suicide dive. Back in and Flammer pounds away before grabbing the chinlock. That doesn’t last long as Bayley is back up with a running neckbreaker.

The Twisting Stunner over the ropes gives Bayley two and she knees Flammer in the face. Flammer kicks her out of the corner though and rips a pad off the turnbuckle but has to escape the Rose Plant. Bayley gets tied in the ropes for a springboard legdrop but is fine enough to hit a middle rope elbow to the back. A Codebreaker out of the corner gives Flammer two, only for Bayley to knock her down. Cue Las Toxicas for a distraction, allowing Flammer to send her into the ropes. The running dropkick against the ropes retains the title at 11:38.

Rating: B-. And that’s a great way to use a star like Bayley, as she got cheated out of the win and Flammer gets one of the biggest victories of her career. The win gives Flammer the record for longest reign in the title’s history, which is quite the accomplishment. I don’t quite get the star power out of her, but this kind of a win is always going to help.

Video on the Rey de Reyes tournament and what it has meant over the years. This year, the winner even gets a Mega Title shot in addition to the really big sword.

Rey de Reyes: Santos Escobar vs. Original El Grande Americano vs. El Grande Americano vs. La Parka

One fall and for the sake of simplicity, I’ll call them “Original” and “Americano” respectively. The bell rings twice for some reason and it’s already off to Original vs. Americano. Escobar makes the fans wait even longer though, with Parka coming back in to break it up. The fans call Original IMPOSTER as he sends Parka out to the apron. A dropkick sends Original to the floor and Escobar dumps Parka as well.

Americano is back in to hammer on Escobar but Parka is back in to clean house. Parka moonsaults down onto the other three and a spinning torture rack bomb drops Original for two back inside. Original is back up to start working on Parka’s arm and a top rope clothesline drops him for two. Escobar is back in and Original takes over on him as well, with Americano coming back in to the crowd’s delight.

Escobar gets the other three in the corners for some running knees and a superkick gets two on Parka. Americano tells Escobar to bring it though and clears him out, meaning it’s time for the showdown with Original. Escobar breaks it up again and gets his ankle locked, with Americano doing his weird camel clutch to Parka. Both of those are broken up so Escobar takes Parka up top for a superplex and a near fall.

Original German suplexes Parka and Escobar so here is Americano to hammer away. A super Spanish Fly drops Original, with Escobar adding a superkick mid-flip (cool) for two. Original and Americano take the other two down and they both load up the masks. Stereo headbutts leave both of them down and Parka frog splashes Americano for two. Parka and Escobar clothesline each other and everyone is down.

Original and Americano brawl to the back, which JBL points out as being rather dumb. Escobar grabs a chair but gets suplexed for two instead. Parka misses a moonsault and gets faceplanted onto the chair for two. Cue Americano, who points to Los Americanos beating up the Original in a sky box. Escobar avoids a charge in the corner and gets two off a rollup with tights. Cue El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. to stop Escobar from grabbing a chair though, allowing Americano to hit the running headbutt for the pin and the tournament at 19:00.

Rating: B+. This was pretty much non-stop action and the fans were WAY into everything Americano was doing. They’ve got a hot feud here and a mask vs. mask match is about as perfect of a blowoff as you can get. Putting Americano into the Mega Title picture is what the fans want and it comes after an awesome four way. Rather good stuff here, as they did not stop throughout.

Post match Americano laughs at the Original, who has been handcuffed to a railing in the box.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Mega Title: El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Dominik Mysterio

Vikingo, with Dorian Roldan, is challenging and cannot challenge again if he loses. If Mysterio wins, he has to leave Mexico. It’s also No DQ so they both grab an early kendo stick. Vikingo dropkicks him into the corner and ties him in the ropes for a running low dropkick. Some legsweeps put Mysterio down and a chair is tossed at his head (Rey: “Maybe after that hit he’ll recognize me as his father.”).

Vikingo sends him into the steps and a running flip dive knocks Mysterio out of a chair for the big crash. Back in and Vikingo puts a trashcan over Mysterio’s head and unloads with a kendo stick for two. Mysterio fights back and knocks him down for the slingshot hilo but Vikingo blocks the Three Amigos. Instead it’s a Michinoku Driver for two on Vikingo, with Roldan making the save.

Cue Omos for a distraction, allowing Vikingo to get two off a rollup. Omos pulls a trashcan away from Mysterio and throws it back at him, allowing Vikingo to hit a top rope double stomp for two. Vikingo puts on the title but misses a frog splash, only for Omos to break up the 619. There’s a big chokeslam to Mysterio but here is Mini Vikingo to break up the 630. Mysterio goes low to save Mini from Omos and some chair shots put Omos down. The 619 and frog splash retain the title at 12:55.

Rating: B. The key thing here is they didn’t go long, as this was more about just getting everything in and leaving before they overstayed their welcome. The big two promotions could absolutely learn something from that as it made things so much better here. Mysterio retaining is a great way to go, as he is thriving here and it would be insane to take him out of Mexico.

Post match Mysterio celebrates and you can hear Rey having to keep himself from cheering for his son (that’s nice).

Overall Rating: B+. As usual, I had a great time with this as everyone was working hard and you can get into everything rather easily. The tournament final was a blast and the main event was fun, with Bayley being a nice surprise. They knew this was the big show and they did well with it, though good luck following up on it in the coming weeks. AAA continues to be among the best weekly series and that was absolutely the case again here.

Results
Flammer b. Bayley – Running dropkick against the ropes
El Grande Americano b. Original El Grande Americano, La Parka and Santos Escobar – Running headbutt to Original
Dominik Mysterio b. El Hijo del Vikingo – Frog splash

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
Date: March 7, 2026
Location: Showcenter Complex, Monterrey, Mexico
Commentators: Rey Mysterio, John Bradshaw Layfield, Corey Graves

We’re a week away from Rey de Reyes and that means we has one more qualifying match for the show’s namesake four way. Other than that, Dominik Mysterio still has his hands full dealing with El Hijo de Vikingo and El Ojo. This show continues to be a lot of fun and hopefully that continues here. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at the Original El Grande Americano attacking Pimpinela Escarlata last week, with El Grande Americano going on to qualify for Rey de Reyes later in the show.

Opening sequence.

El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Dinamico

Dorian Roldan and Omos are here with Vikingo and Mysterio doesn’t know much about Dinamico, which isn’t a good sign. Or he’s the AAA version of Goldberg. Vikingo dropkicks him into the corner to start and hits a rather loud chop. A dropkick to the back of the head gets two but Dinamico manages to pick him up for a helicopter bomb.

Back up and Vikingo drops him with a clothesline, followed by a top rope Codebreaker for two. A top rope double stomp in the ropes gives Vikingo two but Dinamico hits a rolling cutter. That’s enough to send Vikingo outside, where a suicide dive takes him down again. Back in and something like a wheelbarrow driver gives Vikingo two and a weird wheelbarrow suplex gets the same. Vikingo drives him into the corner and hits the 630 for the win at 6:50.

Rating: C+. Dinamico was basically a warm body here but at least he got in a bit of offense, which helped somewhat. It wasn’t entirely a squash, but this was of course all about Vikingo looking like a big star. I liked it well enough, as Vikingo is already on his way to something rather big.

Post match Dominik Mysterio pops up on the screen to say next week will be different when he shows Vikingo something new.

Video on Flammer, the longest reigning Reina de Reinas champion in history. Therefore, say it with me, at Rey de Reyes, it’s an open challenge.

Rey de Reyes Qualifying Match: Mr. Iguana vs. Abismo Negro vs. Santos Escobar vs. Psycho Clown

We start with a series of knockdowns, with Negro spinning Iguana down for two. Clown sunset flips Negro for two and sends him outside for a big dive. That leaves Iguana to throw his stuffed iguana to Escobar for a dropkick. Back in and Escobar beats up Iguana, followed by a superkick to Clown for two. Iguana distracts Clown and goes up top for a hurricanrana….into an armdrag without hitting the ground (GEEZ) to drop Negro. Even commentary sounds impressed by that and I can’t blame them.

Clown is up with a dive of his own but gets beaten up by a stuffed iguana. That lets Mr. Iguana go up top, with Clown pulling him out of the air with a powerslam for two. Negro is back in to load up a Tombstone but cue El Fiscal to go after him. The two of them brawl out into the crowd, leaving Clown to give Escobar the Psycho Driver. For some reason he doesn’t cover though and here are the War Raiders to go after Clown. Pagano runs in with a kendo stick for the save and Iguana hurricanranas Escobar for two. Escobar goes to the eyes though and hits a kneeling Tombstone for the pin at 9:59.

Rating: B-. This was another wild four way to set up what should be one heck of a four way in a few weeks. What matters the most here is that they had an exciting match, with the finals being something that could go in a variety of ways. The interferences made sense here, though that hurricanrana armdrag was something else.

Rey de Reyes rundown.

Psycho Clown and Pagano head to the back…and Murder Clown is missing. Psycho blames Pagano for not keeping an eye on him but Pagano points out that he came to the ring to help. Psycho even accuses Pagano of being involved in this but things calm down as they hear a noise. It’s….Murder, who was in the bathroom with his headphones on. Everything is fine.

Original El Grande Americano vs. La Parka

The fans are WAY behind Parka here and the early dancing makes it even worse. Parka shoulders him down and dances again before grabbing a headlock. They trade rollups for two each until Americano misses an armdrag, meaning dancing can ensue again. Back up and Americano hammers away but has to bail outside to avoid a moonsault. Parka follows him to the floor and gets dropped knee first onto the announcers’ table. Americano starts in on the knee back inside, with said knee being wrapped around the post.

Commentary hypes up the Mega Title match, with Mysterio saying he’d be fine with his son losing, which is quite the funny line. Americano works on the leg some more and stomps him down in the corner. Another dragon screw legwhip has Parka in more trouble so Americano goes for the mask. That’s enough to fire Parka up and he gets two off a backslide.

They slug it out until Parka starts the clothesline comeback. A half and half suplex gets two on Americano, who is right back with a rolling Liger kick. Americano is right back on the leg but somehow Parka is able to hit a super Spanish Fly for two more. The ankle lock is broken up, as is the Bone Breaker, leaving Americano to twist the mask around. Rolling Chaos Theory pins Parka at 14:06.

Rating: B-. The match got some time and worked well enough, though Parka’s selling of the knee was spotty at best. There’s only so much value in working on the knee if the person with a bad knee is able to hit a super Spanish Fly. The good thing is that Americano is hated around here and AAA is smart to run with the heat that he has.

Post match Santos Escobar and El Grande Americano come out for a four way staredown to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was basically a big preview for Rey de Reyes and that worked out well. It’s going to take place over the next three editions of the weekly show and that should be more than good enough to carry things. As usual, the show is a breezy watch and you can keep track of the stories with ease. Commentary helps a lot, as the three of them work well together and can explain the stories well. Nice stuff here, with the big shows starting next week.

Results
El Hijo del Vikingo b. Dinamico – 630
Santos Escobar b. Abismo Negro, Psycho Clown and Mr. Iguana – Kneeling Tombstone to Iguana
Original El Grande Americano b. La Parka – Rolling Chaos Theory

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
Date: February 28, 2026
Location: Showcenter Complex, Monterrey, Mexico
Commentators: Corey Graves, Rey Mysterio, John Bradshaw Layfield

We’re getting really close to Rey de Reyes and that means there is time for another qualifying match. That’s what we’ll be getting this week and the lineup is, uh, something. Other than that, odds are we get some more on El Hijo de Vikingo vs. Dominik Mysterio so 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 Mega Title contract signing, which resulted in a fight between the two Grande Americanos.

Here is Extra Crispy El Grande Americano to get things going, with commentary arguing over which one is the original. The fans are certainly happy to have him back and he talks about how happy he is to be here with his people in Monterrey. We need to talk about that shorty fraud, who stole his name and can’t even speak Spanish. This is Mexico and he wants to find out if the impostor can speak it at all.

We go to the back, where Pimpinela Escarlata goes to the Original’s locker room. Original speaks some horrible Spanish while Escarlata offers him food with cheese, which he doesn’t seem to understand. Escarlata goes into the locker room to call him a fake and gets beaten down. Grande Americano, the one in the ring, doesn’t seem pleased.

We look back at TJP losing to Laredo Kid last week but beating him down after the match.

Jack Cartwheel vs. Dragon Lee

For a Cruiserweight Title shot. They go with the grappling to start, with JBL saying they remind him of the Acolytes back in the day. Lee avoids an early moonsault but gets kicked into the ropes. A kick to the ribs cuts Cartwheel off but he’s back with a crucifix bomb for two. Cartwheel tries something from the apron and gets kicked to the floor, setting up a running flip dive.

Back in and Lee charges into a Spanish Fly for two but Lee flips him into a sitout powerbomb for the same. Cartwheel is right back with a poisonrana and a springboard phoenix splash for two. Lee gets up for a Styles Clash and two of his own, followed by the top rope double stomp. Operation Dragon finishes Cartwheel at 8:18.

Rating: B-. This was the kind of simple formula of taking two guys and fly through the match with the two of them going nuts. It’s the kind of high flying, fast paced match that is always going to work and they got to look good in the time they had. Lee is someone who has been pretty regularly presented by WWE so a title change isn’t the craziest concept.

Post match Lee says he can win the title but here is TJP to interrupt saying that won’t be easy. Laredo Kid comes out and goes after TJP but hits Lee by mistake. The brawl is on, with Jack Cartwheel getting back into things and standing tall with the title.

A doctor gives an update on Pimpinela Escarlata and it doesn’t sound good.

El Ojo doesn’t seem on the same page over Omos winning Rey de Reyes and El Hijo de Vikingo winning the Mega Title because they would have to face each other. Dorian Roldan says this is part of a big plan.

Pimpinela Escarlata is being taken away in an ambulance and asks El Grade Americano to take his place. FOR MEXICO.

Rey de Reyes Qualifying Match: Ethan Page vs. Omos vs. Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. vs. El Grande Americano

Non-title and Page freaks out over Americano being in the match. He goes out and sits in the front row so Omos tells the other two to bring it. Things are indeed brought and are promptly shrugged off with giant power. Americano’s armbar is broken up with a slam and now Page comes in to offer a partnership with Omos. That lasts about ten seconds before Omos kicks him in the face and shrugs off a double suplex attempt.

Wagner is whipped hard into the corner and a side slam drops Americano. A big boot gets two on Wagner and Page makes the save, which he immediately regrets. Omos picks up the two masked men and boots Page at the same time before leaving all of them down at once. Page goes outside again so Omos gives…well he follows him and cuts off Americano’s dive.

Wagner hits a dive of his own to stagger Omos and some triple teaming actually knocks him down. Back in and Wagner’s frog splash hits Page and Americano at the same time for two. Page and Wagner slug it out with Page getting the better of things and going for the mask. Americano is back up to take over on Page, with a middle rope clothesline connecting.

Omos is back in (JBL: “Eat him Omos! Eat him!”) so Americano goes after him, only to get kind of grazed with a right hand. Wagner and Americano get together to throw Omos outside before slugging it out in the middle. A Death Valley Driver plants Wagner and Page grabs the cover for two. Back up and the Wagner Driver hits Page, with Santos Escobar popping up to pull the referee.

Escobar and Wagner brawl off, leaving Page and Americano to fight on the apron to quite the reaction. Omos is back to grab both of them by the throat but here are Los Americanos to handcuff Omos to the post in a smart move. Back in and Americano gets the weird camel clutch to make Page tap but the referee got bumped somewhere in there.

Cue the Original El Grande Americano with Pimpinela Escarlata’s hat. That’s enough of a distraction for Page to grab a powerbomb for two on Americano. The Original grabs a chair but La Parka runs in to take it away and beat Original with it instead. Back in and Americano’s running headbutt catches Page for the pin at 18:02.

Rating: B+. Well dang that wound up being awesome. This was an Attitude Era style melee with everyone going nuts and all kinds of people getting involved. That can go in a variety of ways but it was very entertaining stuff here, with things going as wild and insane as you would want. The fans were with it the entire time too and I had a great time with this whole thing.

Overall Rating: B. Every week, this show becomes more and more entertaining as it is different enough from what WWE is doing despite WWE stars showing up here. The main event was a lot of fun and Rey de Reyes is looking rather good as a result. Hopefully AAA goes nuts again with the big pay per view, which could be a blast if they keep up this pace.

Results
Dragon Lee b. Jack Cartwheel – Operation Dragon
El Grande Americano b. Ethan Page, Omos and Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. – Running headbutt to Page

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
Date: February 21, 2026
Location: Auditorio José María Arteaga, Santiago de Querétaro, Mexico
Commentators: Corey Graves, John Bradshaw Layfield, Rey Mysterio

We’re getting closer to Rey de Reyes and the show’s namesake match is starting to come together. At the same time, we are getting ready for the Mega Title match as Dominik Mysterio will defend against El Hijo de Vikingo. That could wind up getting a lot more interesting rather soon so let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at Dominik Mysterio vs. El Hijo de Vikingo, setting up their title match at Rey de Reyes.

Opening sequence.

Here is Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr., (in purple, likely a shot at Santos Escobar) who says there is someone who wants his Latin American Title. He gets right to the point in challenging them to come out here and see him face to face (even though you can’t see his face but I think you get the point).

Latin American Title: Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. vs. Belcegor

Belcegor is challenging and starts fast with a dropkick and clothesline. A hanging swinging neckbreaker drops Wagner again but he’s right back up with a headbutt. The running kick in the corner sets up a Death Valley Driver to give Wagner two and a spinning powerbomb gives him three at 2:35.

Post match Wagner calls out Santos Escobar for a fight right now. Escobar pops up on screen, saying it’s going to happen when he wants and on his terms.

We look back at TJ Perkins becoming #1 contender for the Cruiserweight Title.

Cruiserweight Title: TJ Perkins vs. Laredo Kid

Kid is defending and they fight over wrist control to start. Perkins spins out of a headscissors and they pop up to their feet for a staredown. A headscissors sends Perkins outside, where he drops Kid face first onto the apron. Back in and Kid gets dropkicked out of the air, followed by some boot scrapes in the corner.

The chinlock goes on for a bit, followed by a dropkick to send Perkins outside. There’s the expected dive before Kid throws him back inside for a running forearm in the corner. Perkins tries a rollup while grabbing the ropes but gets caught, allowing Kid to reverse a victory roll into a cradle to retain at 5:23 (even though it seemed Kid was pulling the tights and Perkins had the rope in time).

Rating: C+. They didn’t have the time to go very far here and that hurt things a bit, as it was more about the last few moments than anything else. The title only feels so important, partially as it seems Kid is such a dominant champion. Perkins was a fine choice for a challenger, but the ending suggests that this is far from over.

Post match Perkins jumps Kid and sends him into the steps. Perkins hammers him onto those steps and adds a running belt shot, followed by a curb stomp.

Video on Abismo Negro Jr. vs. El Fiscal. These two hate each other and Fiscal is the son of the original Abismo Negro, while Negro has no blood relation. Violence has ensued and it’s time to fight.

Abismo Negro Jr. vs. El Fiscal

They slug it out to start and head outside, with both of them being whipped into the steps. Back up and Fiscal hammers away against the announcers’ table, which is apparently enough for the DQ at 2:33.

Post match the beatdown stays on until security breaks it up. Abismo gets in a cheap shot to take Fiscal down so Fiscal goes after security as well. The fight is on again before eventually being broken up. This was good, with the video making it feel like a personal issue between two people who want to fight.

El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. is leaving when Santos Escobar jumps him and rides off on his motorcycle.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Here are El Hijo del Vikingo (with Dorian Roldan and Omos) and Dominik Mysterio to sign the Rey de Reyes contract. Roldan asks Mysterio for his proposal but Mysterio says he’s going to be champion for a long time, even breaking Vikingo’s record. The rule is that if Mysterio wins, Vikingo cannot challenge for the title again, period. Vikingo says that he’s only going to need one match and if he wins, Mysterio leaves Mexico forever. And it’s going to be No DQ.

Vikingo signs and Mysterio (who is actually left handed) signs as well, with Vikingo calling him an idiot. We see a video of Vikingo in a hospital (impersonating a doctor) and going in to see Mini Vikingo. The regular Vikingo pulls out Mini’s IV and turns his bed over, saying that’s going to be Mysterio at Rey de Reyes. Back in the ring, Mysterio isn’t impressed and wants to fight, but Omos gets in his way. Cue El Grande Americano with a chair to Omos’ back, which doesn’t do anything. Mysterio and Americano leave but here is the Original El Grande Americano to jump Americano. Mysterio watches the beatdown go on to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. There was very little in the way of wrestling this week, but the show ran less than fifty minutes and it covered quite a bit of stuff. The best thing I can say about this series thus far is that while I don’t know who a lot of these people are or how we got here, I haven’t been confused about anything. They’re telling the stories well and I want to see where a lot of this stuff goes. This is an easy watch and different enough from the usual WWE stuff, which is more than enough to keep it around.

Results
Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. b. Belcegor – Spinning powerbomb
Laredo Kid b. TJ Perkins – Rollup while holding tights
Abismo Negro Jr. b. El Fiscal via DQ when Fiscal attacked him on the floor

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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