The AAA high flying unit known as Real Fuerza Aerea AAA formed six years ago this month. Some of the participants had been turning up in AAA TV opening matches since the prior fall, and others had been wrestling under different names or making occasional appearances prior, but not together as a unit name. The first show they were the Fuerza Aerea was established was the 02/25 taping in Morelos, with the trio of Nemesis, Rey Cometa, and Super Fly. Laredo Kid was added the next month. Pegasso, el Angel, and finally Aerostar were added thru the year. The seven man group was overfilled with exciting bright future stars. They were definitely treated that way the first few years.
Not so much today. It’s been a gradual change, and it’s been hidden underneath by another wave of young promising tecnicos taking their place, but things haven’t turned well for any of them.
el Angel: the one least fitting in the group, former Oscar Sevilla put under a mask in a Mistico clone attempt. (Many of these were done with that in mind.) His inclusion in the group seemed more to find a use for an existing wrestler than any great hope of him breaking out. Angel was one of the many mid 2009 long time midcard departures, and has drifted thru IWRG, Perros del Mal and AULL since. He seems to be fading out, appearing less each year.
Nemesis: first member of the original group, but switched between this masked identity and the new Barrio Boy Javi unmasked look depending on what the fringes of the AAA roster required that day. Vanished entirely at some point, until someone with his gimmick showed up in IWRG in 2010 (and did the usual IWRG disappearing act.) AAA never seemed that interested in him; he’s the less successful New Barrio Boy.
Laredo Kid: the one who was supposed to be the breakout future star. Appeared on multiple lists of people AAA totally were going to push that year. Had some injuries and bad breaks that changed plans – most notable the broken leg when Ron Killings fell on him taking a move – and was passed by his partners in the pecking order. Still was good when healthy and got to make angry faces at Super Fly for being Super Fly. Part of back to back *** 1/2+ trio matches in June (Neza & Naucalpan), hasn’t been on TV since. Hasn’t actually been on any AAA spot show outside of his hometown since August. Still wrestling around Laredo, but no longer mentioned by AAA.
Aerostar: dare devil high flyer given the backstory of the last character Antonio Pena came up with (oddly, the Psycho Circus claim the same) and the trainee carrying on the memory of his mentor Abismo Negro. Seems to have done well both with in ring performance and outside goofy skits (everything with Fabi.) Liked well enough to be sent to Japan, that people who failed to catch him on dives were strongly reprimanded for their actions. Not liked well enough to actually make TV in the last three months. Not nearly as hopeless as most people on this list.
Super Fly: also known as “poor Super Fly”. Surprisingly strongest pushed member of the group early, winning Super Calo’s mask. Feuded with Electroshock for a long time, Electroshock treating Super Fly as if he was several levels beneath him and destroying the tecnico. Seemed to be leading to Super Fly getting a big win. Just got destroyed some more. (We were told Super Fly’s bad promos were the problem.) Started to turn rudo, story was dropped, started to turn rudo, actually turned rudo, teased a match with Octagon, didn’t go anywhere, was stripped of his position for being a loser, was turned and destroyed by his partners, was destroyed again making his tecnico debut, and has not appeared since. I’m guessing he won’t be over when he’s back. Super Fly desperately needs a fresh start – the guy seen as a big enough promise to win one of the original AAA gimmicks now needs a new name and/or a new home.
Speaking of people who got new homes:
Pegasso: fringe AAA guy who got lumped into this group, much like Angel, but made a lot more of it. Never got much focus in AAA and they probably weren’t too concerned when he left in 2008. Made it to CMLL, and moved up out of openers, but not much more than. Reached the level of being high enough just to miss out on tournaments and anything interesting. Pegasso’s upside seemed to be the new Starman, a decade long run of wrestling in the same spot on the card against the same group of opponents without getting a real chance. (Ultraman Jr. did win a mask, which seems wildly optimistic for Pegasso.) Downside is a career ending at any moment due to a flare of his knee injury, which – allegedly I’m supposed to say – never actually got the surgery it needed and was just rested for a while. (Segundas don’t pay much, just ask Tony.)
Rey Cometa: core and original Fuerza Aerea member who essentially lost his spot to Aerostar and AAA deciding they only needed about three of these guys at any time. Like his partner Pegasso, made it to CMLL and moved up out of openers. Won a coin flip (or of having a couple more spectacular dive) and became the half of the team that was pushed just enough to make the tournaments, but bomb out of them every time. Earned a Twitter hashtag! Is getting really good at doing the Skandalo stomp, having had 100 matches to practice it. Still doesn’t even seem slightly in consideration to be chosen to even lose in title matches – there’s surprising gulf between Cometa and the likes of Fuego & Titan. Still, Cometa has a bit of forward momentum – if enough guys got hurt, left to AAA, or left to WWE, they’d probably give Cometa a chance. It’s be a chance in a mortally injured company, but that worked out for Cibernetico!
None of these guys have developed in the stars they were hoped to be. The hope is not extinguished for some of them; a few probably just need something closer to the chances they were given when they debuted as a group then the ones they’ve gotten of late.
I’m pointing the finger at booking a lot, because it’s always the easiest bit. There have been other reasons hinted at – lack of charisma in some cases – and there are surely reasons we have no clue about. And it’s possible these were just the wrong guys to pick for those spots. Still, there’s certainly a track record of similar problems with similar characters AAA, before and after these guys. None of these guys would even be considered light heavyweights, and there’s the same size preference in Mexico as there is the rest of the world.
I really like Fenix, and Atomic Boy, and Aregenis has been coming on, and Daga will probably be great. They are having fun matches and I hope they continue to, if it’s in the first match or the last, and I more hope they’re very well compensated for it. However, I’d bet against them still doing it in 2017 in any meaningful way; if history is a guide, it’ll be the guy who are already on top, and the guys who were on top in other groups. Being part of great matches alone just does not get you far in AAA.
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If only the Vipers 2.0 were a better group, the RFA would still be flying today. I really a huge fan of the originals and it was terrible idea to break up the group. If there’s going to be another high flying group, I hope AAA give them better rivals to catch them.
Angel: He was one of Pena’s boys so Pena’s death was basically his 90 days notice. I’m shocked he hung around as long as he did afterwards. Perfectly acceptable midcard guy on the indies and seems to fit in fine with the PdM. If you believe the rumors he fits right in with the stuff that goes on in the locker room on those shows.
Nemesis: Never got the chance to break out in any role so no big loss. Flyers like him are a dime a dozen. Even though we were told differently I still assumed it was him working IWRG since it was the same gear, body and movements.
Super Fly: Fucked. You went over the reasons perfectly. Saddest thing for me was watching Rey De Reyes 2009 when he and Electro Shock were the final two guys in their first round four-way. Crowd was RED HOT to see Super Fly win. A win might have actually accomplished something but instead Electro just beat him again. I’m not really sure where he goes now. Probably a lower card tecnico who pops up on TV once every 2 or 3 months?
Laredo Kid: At least he went out with a bang! I always assumed he was injured until he started turning up on local shows. Guessing he saw the writing on the wall and now only works part-time? He’s another one who got screwed after Pena’s death since he won the Future Star tournament weeks before Pena passed away. The new regime clearly had no plans for him and the feud vs Super Fly was never given the chance to take off. Wouldn’t be stunned if he wound up in CMLL if he ever decided to return full-time but he’d be at Pegasso’s level forever so it may not be worth it.
Pegasso: Has clearly lost a step after the knee injuries he suffered in a short span. Gone are his trademark running 360’s and asai moonsaults. He seemingly won’t do anything that involves landing on his feet. I don’t blame him – health comes first. But if your job is to be a spectacular flyer and you can’t do that any more… well… you’re destined to draw Starman comparisons.:) He should have a job for life barring a major injury, perhaps relegated to a Puebla local down the line.
Then there’s the two guys that I can’t explain…
Aero Star: As you mentioned he has the built-in gimmick to succeed and the people in charge always *say* they like him and have big plans for him. He’s even been given big wins and sent to other countries to represent the company. The problem seems to be he doesn’t match-up well with most AAA main eventers and since the main eventers never change he can’t really join the mix. He’ll get the odd semi-main event and then always seems to find himself back amongst the same group of midcarders. I feel bad for him because he obviously kills himself on a nightly basis just to keep the spot he currently has which is not a spot to brag about. He really needs a rudo to enter the main event scene who he can match-up with and start a feud with. I’m just not sure who that could be. The other problem is Fenix being the wunderkind right now and (presumably) being in the spot that originally was reserved for Aero Star.
Rey Cometa: He’s in the most frustrating position of all because he’s never even been given a chance! In AAA he was just another flyer and in CMLL he’s treated as a midcard guy at best. It makes no sense because he’s popular, he has charisma, he’s experienced and every time he’s been programmed with guys above his level he has fit in seamlessly. You can’t say any of those things about a guy like Delta who gets pushed way more (duh). What it comes down to in CMLL is why Rey Cometa may be fucked… In CMLL you need to be related to someone in power, be sleeping with someone in power/someone from the family of someone in power or you need to be a pet project of someone in power (hello Escorpion! -> at least he deserved it). Rey Cometa has nobody to help him out. There isn’t even anyone in power with any connection to Queretaro so he can’t even play the hometown card. The people in charge see Cometa at a certain level and no matter what he does it will likely never change. The Salazars have Magnus on the way to shove down our throats, the Mar family has Stigma on the way eventually and the Colombos have Dragon Lee to focus on. Panther/Guerrero will eventually bring in some flyers from the Laguna area and the odd man out will be Rey Cometa even if he is the most talented of the bunch. It’s a shame.
Am I the only one that has a problem sometimes telling the difference between Rey Cometa and Pegasso? Especially when they are wearing the same colors. Cometa is usually better when he’s not with Pegasso.
Super Fly reminds me of Ted Dibiase Jr a little bit. Both had the opportunity to be fairly big but it was screwed up by management. He should drop his mask and turn rudo again and team with Tito Santana and company.
After watching Rob’s Aerostar music videos, I’m surprised Aerostar has lasted this long. He does so many great looking dives and some looks painful. Especially when the rudo doesn’t catch him on the way. I fear that one day, he’ll be like Jerry Estrada and all those dives and flashy moves won’t mean anything. Maybe that’s already happened and that’s why he’s disappeared?
Unfortunately, there is a list as long as a gorilla’s arm of guys that have gotten big breaks and never made it to the next level, and no one knows what happened.
I think in Super Fly & Aerostar’s cases, they were victims of the influx of ex-CMLL guys over the last couple of years. AAA seems to have the opposite philosophy of CMLL, in that every time someone jumps to AAA, they get the big push, and the homegrown AAA guys get shoved further down the card. Would Psycho Circus have gotten the push they did if they were highflyers, and not willing brawlers for Damian/Halloween/X-Fly/Perrito/Nicho?
CMLL somewhat works the opposite way, as none of the Invasors has been given any kind of big push at all – not even for cheap masks on a big show. Psicosis has done the most, but has yet to win a significant singles match.
In some ways this isn’t even new with AAA. Look at how great some of those Dark Family/Barrio Boys matches were, and look at them now – Darks are mostly cannon-fodder, Drago is a midcard gimmick, and the others hardly make shows. When Billy Boy was knee deep into his feud with Apache, he looked like he had main event potential.
@Nikita: Ugh… don’t get me started on Drago. My head will explode.