AAA on Televisa: 2016-01-30 

Recapped: 02/04/16
Part one of Guerra de Titanes (01/22/2016, in Mexico City)

What happened: Dr. Wagner had a choice between getting a Mega Championship match and kicking Psycho Clown in the head. He decided to kick Psycho Clown in the head.

Joe Lider helped Averno & Chessman win the vacant tag titles, then immediately explained he didn’t want them to have the tag team titles. He declared his team with Pentagon was the best. Averno Chessman attacked him, but were attacked by La Sociedad.

Mesias, Averno and Chessman are out of La Sociedad. (It would make some sense if they were now all allied, but that didn’t appear to be going on.)

What was good: I liked parts of the tag title match, but it’s a reach.

Where can I watch it: It’s on plenty of places, including on AAA’s channel.

The Mega championship is displayed on a table in the entrance way. Mesias comes to the ring in street clothes to start the show. His music sounds like they’ve redone it with strings. Mesias says he’s a four time champion, he’s number one, he’s going to win the championship. It sounds like his promo is being edited but it seems like his microphone is just dying. As he says he’s going to win and go to Rey de Reyes, Texano Jr. interrupts. Like Mesias, Texano cut down the crowd and declares he’ll be champion. Tonight, they’ll make a good teem and beat the ugly clown and the nurse, and then Texano will win the title at Rey de Reyes. Psycho Clown interrupts to call Texano Vaquerita again, mention beating Texano for his hair, and Texano cheating him in their title matches. Dr. Wagner gets last entrance and apologizes for interrupting party. Wagner points out he beat Mesias at TripleMania, and he wants his belt back. Wagner claims little Texano would ask for Wagner masks back at El Toreo. Wagner tells Psycho about the battles he had with Brazo de Plata, but they’ll work together to go to Rey de Reyes. Mesias and Texano jump Psycho Clown. Security breaks it up as Wagner stays away from it, untouched.

Match 1: Faby Apache, Goya Kong, Maravilla vs Keira, Lady Shani, Taya [lumberjack strap]
Gimnasio Olímpico Juan de la Barrera, Ciudad de México, Distrito Federal, 01/22/2016
Video: RUDO VISION, thecubsfan, Lucha Libre AAA

Winner: rudas (Taya double stomp Goya Kong)
Match Time: 7:11
Notes: Almost everyone has new outfits, though Lady Shani and Maravilla stick out the most. Sexy Star walks out to the ring in a neckbrace due to an accident, but otherwise doing her enterance. Sexy tells the fans she knows the fans all paid to see her, but she’s not wrestling tonight due to an injury. She’s specifically picked the person to replace her: Keira. (Keira’s more dressed up than you’d expect for someone getting a last minute call.) Mamba, Apache, Mini Charly Manson, Mr. 450, Pimpinela and Dinastia are lumberjacks.

Shani gets tossed out of the ring in the first minute to demonstrate the lumberjack belt bit. The tecnicos hit her, but the rudos do not, and also do not when Taya’s thrown out to them a moment later, and make the save when Keira’s thrown out. There’s a very abrupt edit where Keira goes from the floor to being on the apron, and the rudas take over the match from there. Copetes gets thrown out, as always in this match, and the match completely descends into chaos at that that point, with Gran Apache chasing his daughter into the ring, getting dropkicked out himself, and his fellow lumberjacks strapping him too. That’s apparently the turnaround, and the tecnicas just start their offense at that point – for a minute, anyway. Taya double stomps Goya in the back and in the front and goes a sport of splits legdrop into the pin.

Review: [below average] there was not much to this match at all. Some Goya Kong comedy, the usual lumberjack bits, the rudas doing not much in offense, Faby getting in her offense and then an abrupt finish on the first pin attempt of the match. These matches often get overtaken by the lumberjacks, but there really wasn’t much distract from. I was honestly surprised when it ended because it felt there had to be more to this that. The entrances were longer than the match. The entrances were fine – Lady Shani looked liked a star walking out, and then was quickly turned into Goya’s stooge – but this had little action.

Joaquin Roldan, Jack Evans, and Angelico (on one crutch, but not totally using it) come to the ring with the tag team belts. Jack and Angelico are not very happy and not hiding it. Joaquin explains tonight there was scheduled to be a match to decide who got the next title shot. Joaquin explains Angelico suffered an accident so plans had changed. Angelico explains he won’t be able to wrestle for many months, so he’s going to do what’s correct and give up the tag belts. Crowd isn’t happy. Konnan and company interrupts. (Roll call: Taya, Sexy Star, Fantasma, Kahn-El-Mal and Joe Lider, who does hilariously mock Angelico’s limp.) Fantasma talks about himself, before Konnan takes over to insult the crowd. Konnan’s mic has some bad feedback. Konnan says they don’t care about the little brothers of Ricky Martin giving up their belts, because they listen to other music. Konnan says he’ll introduce the next champions, introducing Averno first. (Averno has a new t-shirt! Still a hoodie.) Chessman gets his own entrance with valet. Konnan and Joaquin argue about who has the best luchadors – Joaquin says AAA has the best luchadors, and will end the Sociedad this year, with plenty of surprises.

Match 2: Aerostar & Fénix vs Máscara Año 2000 Jr. & Villano IV and Averno & Chessman for the AAA World Tag Team Championship
Gimnasio Olímpico Juan de la Barrera, Ciudad de México, Distrito Federal, 01/22/2016
Video: RUDO VISION, thecubsfan, Lucha Libre AAA

• Fenix 450 splash Mascara Ano 2000 (6:10)
• Averno Devil’s Wings Aerostar (9:15)

Winner: Averno & Chessman
Match Time: 9:15
Notes: There’s a commercial break, but this bleeds in from the last match, with Aerostar scaring off half of Sociedad with his flame can. Some of the group passes by Mascara on his way, too quickly to know if he’s still meant to be allied with them. He wear his mask to the ring. Fantasma does hug Villano IV. Announcers mention Pentagon and Joe Lider wanting a shot at the titles and Joe Lider hung around ringside for no clear reason. After Fenix took out Chessman with a tornillo, Joe Lider snuck in and cracked Aerostar with a chair. Averno immediately beat him with the Devil’s Wings to win the title.

Lider congratulated the champions. Konnan returned again. Averno thanks Lider, Konnan and La Sociedad for their support and says they brought tag titles to them. Konnan says the titles are the Sociedad’s, but Lider has something to say. Lider says the real champs are himself and Pentagon. Averno doesn’t take that well, or Joe pointing out they were never beat, and just the general insults. Averno grabs the microphone back to insult Lider, and to slap him. Chessman adds a spear. Chessman and Averno tease attacking Konnan, but Fantasma, Taya and Kahn-El-Mal run into attack, and Fantasma lays out everyone with chair shots.

Review: [good] Conflicted – I expected this to be good, there were parts that were good, but overall it really wasn’t nearly as good as it could’ve been. Borderline grade at best. This match was handicapped by having Mascara and Villano in it. The match would slow down whenever they were in, they showed no chemistry as a team, and Villano’s got to stop doing topes because he seems to not have actually gotten to his target since 2014. Maybe there’s a brawl they could’ve had with Averno & Chessman that might have been good, but instead we got Mascara & Villano in the ring for most of the first segment since they were out first, and they were the worst team. The rest of the match indicated that there was a much better match to be had just between Averno, Chessman, Fenix and Aerostar, only they really just got four minutes to do it and were rushing the whole away. The tecnico team, who were thrown out there with no importance, decided to do every tag bit and double offense spot they could think of, and it was pretty fun while it lasted. Aerostar & Fenix felt like an actual team, even more than the guys who actually won the belts. The production didn’t do them a great help, shooting their double dive spot from behind a light tower, and they really didn’t have enough time to get the match into any sort of groove. This wasn’t the match ending on the first pinfall attempt, but it wasn’t a very dramatic ending.

Averno insulting the crowd suggests they’re still meant to be heels, so I guess it’s banking on the idea of the Perros del Mal being the cool rebels at the same time as they’re presented as the evil invaders? I’m not sure. I have no understanding why Joe Lider wanted to help Averno & Chessman to be champions if he was going to challenge whoever won regardless. What difference would’ve it made to him if Fenix & Aerostar or Villano IV & Mascara won?

The Dinastia/Mini Charly Manson from 2014 is repeated on the UTDN/YouTube version of the show.

The Mesias, Wagner and Psycho Clown promos lead into the title match.

Match 3: Dr. Wagner Jr. & Psycho Clown vs El Mesías & Texano Jr.,  winning team fights for the AAA World Heavyweight Championship
Gimnasio Olímpico Juan de la Barrera, Ciudad de México, Distrito Federal, 01/22/2016
Video: RUDO VISION, thecubsfan, Lucha Libre AAA

Winner: rudos (Texano powerbomb on Psycho Clown, Mesias spear on Dr. Wagner)
Match Time: 9:07
Notes: Psycho Clown has his flaming ax guitar. There are no tags, with people coming in and out as if this was a four way match. Dr. Wagner plays tecnico, but accidentally kicks Psycho Clown in the head on a double team four minutes in. Texano tries to steal a pin from Mesias about six and a half minutes in, which makes no sense. They argue, and Wagner lays them both out. Psycho grabs Texano, Wagner grabs Mesias, and they both drop them with big moves (a Canadian Destroyer and a Wagner Driver.) Tecnicos have the very obvious win, but Wagner lets go of his pin and kicks Psycho Clown in the head to break up the pin. Crowd boos, though not as much as you’d think. Psycho attacks Wagner and the brawl while the rudos watch. The brawl isn’t much good. Rudos mercifully get involved and hit their own finishes for their own double pin.

After a replay, Wagner and Psycho are vanished from the ring. Texano tells Mesias he’ll need a lot of luck at Rey de Reyes. Mesias, switching to tecnico mannerisms, says he doesn’t need Konnan, and attacks Texano. Fantasma (wearing a half King Cuerno mask) runs in to make the save, but Mesias does better than Averno & Chessman and gets away without being touched.

Show ending replays have Psycho and Wagner brawling into the crowd after the match, which appears to have been edited out from the match. It’s shown only briefly.

Review: [below average] the match was a match. Never did you a see a more turn taking exhibition, with tecnicos being dropped with big shots and then getting up 10 seconds later to get in their own big move. It was essentially another strange multiman match on a show with a lot of strangness.

It’s the finish that I really hated so much. Mesias looks to have a really good chance at getting himself and Texano the title match, only Texano steal an utterly meaningless pin for no reason. Psycho Clown and Dr. Wagner Jr. are absolutely going to win and go to Rey de Reyes, only Wagner lets go of his pin and attacks Psycho Clown to cost them both the title match. Wagner could’ve waited five seconds, still kicked Psycho in the head, and gotten a title match out of it. Instead, Dr. Wagner makes the single most moronic decision than he could’ve made with no provocation. Dr. Wagner is a Traitor, but as much a Traitor to himself as to Psycho. It’s a cartoonish level of stupid evil that leads one to pity Wagner, not to boo him.

(And for his part, if Psycho wanted the title so much, why does he start idiotically brawling with Wagner instead of trying to find another way to win the match? The title was supposed to be his big deal, and he found the first excuse to give up on it.)

These guys spent the opening promo talking about how much they wanted the championship, did the same thing in the ending promo, but, in between, they rather attack each other than get closer to the championship. Actions speak louder than words, and I’m not sure why I should care about a title which the people fighting for it don’t care all that much around. That Wagner thing was just utter trash.

I thought they were setting up a Wagner/Psycho when I saw the results. They got quickly shuffled to the side on TV that I’m much less certain it’s happening.