AAA Mini Line - 08/18/07 (#638)
Recapped: 08/20-21/07
This is the second half of the TripleMania show
Octagon talks about 15 years of TripleMania
Match 1: Cinthia Moreno, Oriental, Octagoncito, Pimpinela Escarlata vs
Cassandro, Mini Abismo Negro, Alfa, Fabi Apache
Toreo de Cuatro Caminos, 07/15/2007
Winner: Rudos
Match Time: 9:15
Notes: Cassandro is wearing a short hair wig. I'm typing this as he enters,
and I don't know if he's going to take it off or if we're supposed to think it's
real, but it looks fake. Fabi and Alfa come out together to Gran Apache's music.
This was great. Everyone was working a thousand miles per hour and looking good doing it, and there was an obvious effort not to slow down the match to do pauses to wave at the crowd. The crowd still got into it. This match flew by, and felt like far lass than 9 minutes. Most of the match was rival vs rival, but they started to mix it up during the second half (man/women vs man/woman, an extended bit with Oriental/Octagoncito vs Mini Abismo of note.) Cassandro got her wig yanked off in her first exchange with Pimpi, and the announcers explained why he was bald, named dropping Hijo del Santo and Los Angeles. Cassandro stood out in this match, especially by hitting the post at about a million miles per hour on a failed charge. Pimpi looked the best in ages, it was that kind of match. Octagoncito had a tough spot, because he was basically supposed to be Mascarita Sagrada here - he wasn't quite, but it still was a pretty awesome night for him that anyone would be happy with.
At one point, the Morenos reversed Whips to send Alfa and Fabi towards each other. Fabi and Alfa held up, but Cinthia and Oriental shoved them into each other, and they kissed. Crowd was amused, Fabi was not. Alfa seemed apologetic.
Cinthia got Fabi with a farmer's roll, the fastest spinning one I've seen her do, but the ref - not one of the usual TV crew, but apparently a house show one - slow counted a two (and probably wasn't going to get to three.) Cinthia ended up shoving the ref down. Fabi railed back with a German suplex, but Oriental broke that up with a top rope splash. Oriental tossed Fabi by the hair, while brought in Alfa, and Oriental backslide him for a slow one.
Both men off the ropes, Alfa with a hipblock takeover into a half crab and armlock submission, but Cinthia breaks it up with - a drink thrown at the face. Cinthia held Alfa for a dropkick, but Oriental hit his sister (hard.) Oriental misses a clothesline on Alfa, Fabi got in a kick, and Alfa got in a tiger suplex on the rebound. The camera shot missed the impact. Oriental sold it like death.
Match 2: Gran Apache & Laredo Kid
vs Super Calo & Super
Fly in a parajes incredible match where the losers advance
Toreo de Cuatro Caminos, 07/15/2007
Match 3: Fuerza Guerrera vs Juventud Guerrera in a street fight
Toreo de Cuatro Caminos, 07/15/2007
Both repeats from last week. They had time to fill, it turns out, and yet no Guapos match.
Match 4: Super Calo vs
Super Fly in a mask match
Toreo de Cuatro Caminos, 07/15/2007
Winner: Super Fly
Match Time: 7:30
Other Match Notes: Laredo is back out as Super Fly's corner man. Unknown
Referee is the ref. Gran Apache is actually back out with Super Calo, but with a
chair. Super Calo doesn't want to waste any time before fighting, but the ref
keeps them apart till everyone can get introduced. Calo is successful in jumping
Fly, and is able to drop him and legdrop him before we get the whistle, and
before another break.
Calo is hurrying like he's got somewhere to be. Whip, big boot. Oh, now he stops to pose. Snap mare, off both sets of ropes, quebrada, it'd be nice to see the ref's count here, but we can't. Ah, it's a two. Dropkick. Calo hangs Super Fly in the Tree of Woe, and backs all the way up - running dropkick. Calo celebrates, and goes for another - it connects. Both hit more to the chest than to the head, but that's the idea. Calo goes for Super Fly's mask, which is quickly destroyed. Maybe he got ripped it before? That was too easy. Super Calo rudely suplex Super Fly onto the top rope. Calo walks over to Apache, who slides him in the chair. The ref decides to argue with Apache about that, instead of doing anything directly about the chair, and so Calo is free to hit Super Fly in the head with it. At least they did a ref distract. Ref does yell at Calo after the fact. Fly falls off the top rope into the ring, and the ref counts - one....two...no. Did Calo pull him up? I hope not. I'm going to pretend not. Announcers are talking about Winners, that's nice. Calo tries for a cross armbreaker, but Fly won't let it happen. You know, if Calo did just pull him up, which we're deciding didn't just happen, it'd be awful dumb of him to immediately try a submission after. It's like pulling a guy up, and then immediately pinning him again. Calo covers, one two - did Fly kickout, out did Calo just roll off? I don't know. Whip, Fly ducks a clothesline and get in a backbreaker, his first move of the match. There's another, and a third. Perhaps another move? No, he's going for the mask. The top of Calo's mask, the cap, comes off quickly and easily, almost as if it was designed that way. Look at the blond hair. Fly giving him angry chops. Dropkick to the head, mostly the hair. Whip, big backdrop. Fly looks, then decides he should so something, running senton one two NO. Calo just thru Fly off there. Both a little sow up. Fly with a right hand, and both back up toward opposite ropes. Fly attacks first, kicking Calo's legs out from underneath him. Armbar, by Fly into a wristlock, into a fujiwara armbar. Yes, Super Fly is going to win the match without having doing one flying move! Or not. Whip, Fly runs to a different set of ropes, grabs the chair, and hits Calo on the rebound. Great shot of the ref, having ended his phantom argument too soon, and realizing his goof off turning around before he should've. Of course he's not going to do anything. Fly asks the crowd if they want one more. Whip, ref argues with Laredo Kid for two seconds, then stares at the chair shot right in front of the camera just to make it clear he sees, as Fly hits Calo in the head. Ref doesn't DQ, but does at least get the chair out. Calo is bleeding, and Fly is biting at the forehead from a reverse chinlock position. Not much blood yet, though Calo's blond hair is turning red. Corner whip, Calo springboards up and comes back with a dropkick. Fly sneaks to the apron, slingshot is countered by a Calo dropkick. Fly to the floor, and Calo follows with a slingshot senton! That's killer.
Either's there's a slight clip here, or these guys made in quick during the replay. Calo charges Super Fly in the corner, Super Fly moves, and Calo hits the corner. HANDSPRING MOONSAULT SUICDA! Looks effortless, as usual. Again, they return quickly to the ring after we're shown a replay. Both end up standing, looking for support. Chop and punch exchange is even for a few rounds. Both guys go for the hair/mask, grab each other's heads, and end up head butting each other. Both down, one two Fly gets up before Calo, but they're both beating three. Another microclip, as we look at Apache, and then see Fly sitting on the top rope, and Calo climbing to join him. Super Fly stand on the rope as well - top rope 'rana blocked into a powerbomb, jackknife cover, oen tw-NO! Calo kicked out real quick there. High angle German suplex one two THREE!
Crowd cheers. Laredo checks on his guy. Apache stands out side, stunned, and is slow coming in. Reaction shots, and break.
As we return, Calo is still laying on the mat. He's conscious, but distraught. He leans up, and Super Fly reaches to pull off his mask, but Super Fly kicks him away, refusing. Calo waves no at the crowd, stands, and falls back down. Super Fly uses the opening to for the mask again, but Calo won't let him have it. Calo keeps waving his finger no. I guess he's going to take it off himself. And he does, though we get a shot of the back of Calo's head. AAA PRODUCTION AT WORK! It takes a while for us to get the shot of his face, because he's got it in his hand, kneeled over and crying. Jesus Z forces the microphone on him so he can say his vitals - Rafael Garcia, from Mexico City, 15 years wrestling. Replays of the match. No post match with the Stone family is shown.
BACKSTAGE (what is this, RAW?): Crazy Boy is acting like a nut preparing for his match. Joe Lider has a barbed wire 2x4. Lider breaks a light bulb tub with his arm, he's so fired up/dumb.
Match 5: Ozz & Cuervo (w/Scoria) vs Crazy Boy & Joe Lider (w/Extreme Tiger) in a ladder
match for the AAA World Tag Team Titles
Toreo de Cuatro Caminos, 07/15/2007
Winner: Mexican Powers (2nd Champions)
Match Time: 15:15
Other Match Notes: The Mexican Powers have big foam cowboy hats and
poncho flags. I dunno. wonder if Extreme Tiger's shirt actually has his
name on it for the biggest show of the year. We didn't get a good look at it,
but I think it does. Tiger tries to springboard into the ring, and can't quite
make it. Hijo de Tirantes is the ref. This is pinfall rules, there just happens
to be ladders at ringside so they can do spots off of them, and of course that
means no pinfall means anything before they come into play.
First dive is 30 seconds in, though I suspect some clipping. It's 2:00 before the first ridiculously pointless high risk move (Crazy Boy moonsault side slam on Ozz.) Scoria throws in a ladder, hitting Crazy Boy and getting us to point of the match, though Crazy Boy is quickly belly to belly suplex into the ladder, breaking it. Two more are in within five seconds. It takes no time to get to ladder hilarity. Lider tries to use a ladder to wedge Cuervo into the corner, like he's seen in WWE and other rings many times. The problem is, the other rings have 4 sides, and shorter angle corners. The ladder won't hold Cuervo in a ring with these wide angle corners (6 sides!), so Cuervo has to pretend to be stuck so Lider can get in his missile dropkick to the ladder.
This match is a total homage to actual good ladder matches. Lider does the slow climb up the ladder, which would be great if there was something he was crawling too. (I guess it's a flying move here, but why the slow climb.) Ozz decides it's easier to set up another ladder and climb along side of Lider to stop him, rather than just pulling him down. This is because that's how they do it in the WWE ladder matches. I'm not playing close enough attention to commentary to see if that's how they're saying it here. Anyway, Lider boinks his head hard on the mat off the Ozz sunset powerbomb off the ladder, but it's only two. Ozz climbs up halfway the ladder, and is stopped by a Crazy Boy ladder thrown. Tirantes helps hold the ladders as the battle into a Diamond Cutter off the ladders - that's a Hardy Boys spot they're recreating. Scoria comes in to dive on everyone, but Extreme Tiger goes up top and dropkicks the ladder away from him. That looked safer than I thought it might be. I really need to stop typing spots, or we'll never be done.
Slingshot into the ladder, CHECK
Lots of time spend setting up the ladders, CHECK
Ladder hits into the groin via chair, CHECK
Ladder to the face via teeter totter spot, CHECK
Ladder tipped over with someone on it, CHECK and DOUBLE CHECK
Slingshot legdrop over a ladder, CHECK
That one was great, because after Lider did it, the ladder started to fall on Cuervo, and Cuervo stopped selling to push it out of the way as it landed. I'm waiting for the Terry Funk ladder around the neck spot. REF BUMP, that's fantastic. Lider gets put thru a table by a super high Escoria legdrop, which must've taken forever to get right because there's a big cut in the setup. Extreme Tiger made the comeback from there - really, Escoria and Tiger hadn't been involved much before then. Extreme Tiger really likes his reverse 'rana, but it's slow. Ozz's Canadian Destroyer did get a slight reaction this time. Crazy Boy has to work to find usable ladders to set up the next spot. It looks like Ozz side slams Crazy off the ladder, but I think it's just a bad (unfair) camera angle and it was a giant DDT. Took a couple replays for me to figure it out, because both start moving after the top rope move. Crazy puts a ladder on Ozz, spends plangent of time adjusting him, hits the ladder with a chairs, pushed the ladder down ( the ladder gets in the way still), hits the chair on the ladder a couple more times, and kinda sorta hits the chair assisted moonsault. None of Crazy Boy actually landed on the ladder (which is smart!), just the chair. Hijo de Tirantes made a lightning quick recovery and a lightening quick count for the title change.
Fans cheered, but Crazy Boy was more thrilled then them. Lider was still down and hurting from the table bit, and got carted out but we don't see it here.
IN THE LOCKER ROOM: Konnan cuts a promo, with Killings, X-Pac, Alicia, Kenzo, Mesias, Rikishi and Black Pearl being introduced. This was totally pre-taped, but we're acting like it's live. It's not much of a locker room, it's more of a large closet. Also, everyone in Mexico is a little too into the pupil altering contacts.
Promo: Chessman talks about how he's not losing his hair
Promo: Mesias says, instead of him celebrating 15 years, perhaps they should be celebrating him.
Match 6: Mesias, Kenzo Suzuki, X-Pac vs Cibernetico, Chessman, Mesias in a cage match, loser
loses hair
Toreo de Cuatro Caminos, 07/15/2007
Loser: Kenzo Suzuki
Match Time: 16:52
Other Match Notes: X-Pac and Alicia have US flag outfits. X-Pac says
something over the ring announce microphone, but it's clipped. Kenzo has a
Japan flag which he losses on the way to the way to the ring as well as Shinzaki
like tattoos. Konnan limps to the ring behind him. Dark Family, except for
Scoria, is with Mesias. The cage is still suspended over the ring when the
wrestlers enter, and only starts lowering when they're all in the ring. It's a
domed cage, with an escape hole at the peak. The cage is still being lowered as
we go to break, but it's down and people are fighting after the show returns.
Pepe Casas and Hijo de Tirantes are watching from the outside, as is Konnan and
Alicia.
It's quite a challenge to climb out, because of the curved dome - the angle's gonna to change as you go up. X-Pac ends up hanging from the top of the cage like they're monkey bas, and Chessman spots him - a huge spear results. They're down for a while. More of a bump than I'd figure X-Pac would be taking here, at this point in his career. Match is otherwise a slow cage brawl, with no definite advantage early on. The gaps in the cage are big - a mini could slip thru them without ducking. After X-Pac recovers, he grabs Charly and Alicia steps up onto the apron to use hair spray in Charly's face, but the Charly moves and X-Pac gets it. Charly whips X-Pac into the cage, with Alicia getting knocked to the floor, but the structure really didn't give all, so X-Pac didn't actually seem to bump her. Charly climbed up the cage from there, but X-Pac pulled him off. X-Factor for Charly, but Chessman recovered to superkick X-Pac. Chessman started climbing up the cage, but the rudos yanked him down by the legs. There's no easy bump off the cage. While Kenzo held down Chessman, Mesias got to the top of the cage, but apparently couldn't get over the top. Chessman and Charly climbed after him and knocked him down, and Kenzo cleared the tecnico off in turn. Mesias is bleeding, though I don't know why. Cibernetico gets a big run on the rudos, including a Stunner on Mesias, but Kenzo takes him out when he goes to climb the cage. Konnan gets involved, using a cord that's attached to to the bottom of the cage to choke out Chessman. Cibernetico and X-Pac have a laughable bad exchange over a chair shot. X-Pac is not into taking it, but sure is to giving it. I guess that's how wide the cage is - big enough for Konnan to slip in a few chairs. Charly fights off people and goes over the top first. X-Pac climbs up after, and then realizes he can just slip thru the bars at that height - the gaps are very wide at the top - so he does instead of going all the way up. I guess that counts?
X-Pac and Charly fight on the outside, mostly X-Pac just shoving Charly into objects to buy time to set up tables. Chessman climbed out next, but Mesias came behind him, literally right behind him, on the other side of the dome. Crowd cheered for Cibernetico to beat Kenzo, but were soon back watching Mesias and Chessman, as they fought on the top side of the cage. This is dumb of them, but the crowd reacts each time Mesias throws a punch and Chessman teases falling off the cage. Mesias is finally able to kick Chessman off, and Chessman does a controlled dive to the floor, to the table. He hits the table perfect, but the table does not split down the middle (that's a heck of a table), and Chessman takes a horrific bounce off the table. Really, it's the bounce that's much scarier than the fall itself. Hijo de Tirantes and Charly Man rush over, pushing a cameraman an out of the way. It looks like they're checking for a pulse at first. For some reason, the doctor was backstage during this match (couldn't they have smartened him up a little bit and had him at ringside?), so we see him come rushing to the ring as Mesias celebrates.
Kenzo and Mesias fight in the ring. Alicia "meows" into Arturo's microphone, for some reason. We do see Chessman again, and they're pouring water down his throat and messaging his chest. He seems conscious, but not aware of where he is, and that's the last we see of him on this show. Kenzo works over Cibernetico in the cage. Mesias and Konnan tell him to bring Cibernetico over to the ropes, and Mesias throws fire, but Cibernetico moves and Kenzo gets it. That spot was well timed, how about that. Kenzo's blinded, and Cibernetico chokeslams him. He climbs out, which is impressive considering his knee problems, and wins the match.
Charly and Hijo de Tirantes climb to the top of the cage to celebrate with Cibernetico (who's bleeding, and I didn't even notice before.) I would guess Chessman is supposed to be up there, and they're letting him know how he is. The barber sneaks into the cage, thru a gap, and shaves Kenzo. Rudos watching from outside, tecnicos celebrate on the apron. We see the whole head shaving, not just a little bit of it, and then Kenzo bows to all sides of the ring.
Replays, including the dive. You can see the table break apart underneath, but nto crack. They need to fix those to break a lot better than they're doing, because non-breaking tables makes it worse.