AAA TV (FRI) 04/08/2016 Gimnasio Olímpico Juan de la Barrera, Ciudad de México, Distrito Federal [AAA, R de Rudo]
1) Atomic Boy, Ludxor, Niño Hamburguesa, Venum b El Apache, Mamba, Soul Rocker, Súper Fly
Atomic Boy’s first TV appearance since July 2013 (at least partly due to injury.) Hamburguesa splash on Soul Rocker for the win.
2) Faby Apache, Maravilla, Mary Apache b La Hiedra, Lady Shani, Taya
Faby tried to persuade Mary that her best times were on the tecnica side teaming with her sister. Mary didn’t seem to agree; she beat La Hiedra but refused to celebrate with Faby and Maravilla. The rudas attacked Mary, Faby and Maravilla made the save, and Mary finally made peace with them.
3) Averno, Chessman, Ricky Marvin b Bengala, Drago, El Elegido
Ricky Marvin defeated (the new) Bengala via German suplex
4) Argenis, Australian Suicide, Jack Evans b Daga, Joe Lider, Pentagón Jr.
Angelico returned, helping Jack pin Pentagon Jr. The Perros del Mal regrouped after the match, but were then destroyed by Pagano, Damian and Halloween. The group is going by La Nueva Familia Fronteriza, and Pagano’s tag line is “you can’t have a party without a clown.”
5) Garza Jr., La Parka, Octagón Jr. b Brian Cage, El Mesías, Texano Jr.
Brian Cage was announced for this card on 04/04 and became the mystery person in this match. Texano came out at the start of the show. Mesias confronted him, and wanted Texano to join him in his new found admiration of Donald Trump. Brian Cage joined the segment and allied with Mesias, but Texano didn’t want much to do with him. The issues led to the rudos losing, Texano being beat by Parka. Cage & Mesias destroyed Texano post match, dropping him with a martinete.
6) Psycho Clown © b Dr. Wagner Jr. [AAA LA]
First defense. Mascarita Sagrada and Villano IV, who were the seconds at Rey de Reyes, were the seconds again. Hijo del Tirantes helped Dr. Wagner Jr. thru the match, was knocked out later, Psycho pulled Wagner’s mask, and Piero ran into make the count.
Air Date: 04/16 & 04/23
The standout bit from these shows is the winners from Rey de Reyes both losing. Texano took the loss to La Parka (off all people) and got destroyed by Mesias & Cage. Pentagon took the loss to Jack Evans and was beat up by La Familia (for the second show in a row.) It’s not for nothing – Texano vs Cage (and maybe Mesias) and Perros for La Familia appear to be the big matches for Verano de Escandalo – but it’s a tough way to build new stars. It’s also not so different than what was done in the prior booking regime, where the philosophy seemed to be keeping the rudos as strong as possible in hopes of making it a big deal when the tecnicos finally won. The reaction to Psycho Clown winning in the main event would be a good barometer to how well that’s working now, and I’m not sure how they reacted.
Another thing back: Rey Mysterio. He was announced as returning soon, no date given. My uninformed guess is he’s back at Verano de Escandalo to set up a big match for TripleMania. The substory is AAA, said to be cash strapped recently, suddenly does have money to bring in Mysterio and Cage. Not really clear what changed.
Also maybe coming back soon: Hijo del Fantasma, who was writing himself into the Texano vs Mesias/Cage feud on Twitter last night, saying he’d be back in a few weeks. (With Leon announced, the first show where we might see him is Xalapa on the 29th.) Fantasma was understood to be trying to leave both LU & AAA for WWE, but unable to do so because he signed a 7 season deal with LU. Something obviously changed and it looks like he’s sticking around.
The new Bengala appears to be a shorter than Drago in the photos, which makes him pretty short. No shoulder tattoo. We’ll have a better idea of who he is when it airs in a few weeks. AAA is a little short on people – that’s probably part of the reason Atomic Boy is back around – so it might be someone working double duty. Losing in his first match also might mean it’s a one off Bengala appearance, or someone not expected to be around much.
Next taping is a week from Monday in Leon.
