AAA on Televisa: 2016-08-27 

Recapped: 09/04/2016

What happened: Pagano beat Psycho in a cage match, meaning Hijo del Tirantes would be referee for their mask match. Mary Apache refused El Apache’s request to return back to the rudo side. Garza Jr. replaced Fenix as Fantasma’s partner (who was still promoted for the TripleMania anyway.)

What was good: The three way tag match was the best match, but you wouldn’t miss much if you skipped the show entirely.

Where can I watch it: It’s on AAA’s channel.

TripleMania is 24 hours away, so they use today’s matches to hype that in place of the usual previously segment.

Psycho Circus are in the ring to start the show, with Psycho Clown talking about winning the cage match and winning at TripleMania. Familia Fronterizos music plays, and they come thru a side entrance instead of a stage. Pagano sells Psycho talks too much, and attacks Pagano. They brawl, in the seats on the floor, and they immediately put up the TripleMania plug on the ring below them. Their teams pull

Match 1: Big Mami, Mary Apache, Niño Hamburguesa vs El Apache, Lady Shani, Taya
Auditorio Benito Juárez, Veracruz, Veracruz, 08/19/2016
Video: thecubsfan

Winner: rudos (Apache powerbomb Mary)
Match Time: 8:13
Notes: Before the match, El Apache demands Mary come back to the ruda side – he’s angry with Faby betraying him, not Mary, she can come back. Mary says Apache turned on his daughter, and she knows they’re going to win at TripleMania. Apache slaps her daughter, and the match is on. Taya’s wearing new gear, with “WL” and no sign of the Perros de Mal logo. This is foreshadowing. Shani has replaced Sexy star as Taya’s BFF, even to them posing booth on the ropes (and having a similar breakup and get back together.) Mary lands the senton on Taya, who’s dead for a minute after, but Apache immediately powerbombs his daughter for the win. Niño seemed to disappear in this match.

Review: [ok] Not a lot to it for seven minutes. Mary Apache as a fiery Faby-like babyface is a trip. She’s still been essentially wrestling as her normal ruda destroyer self, but here she’s doing springboard armdrags and fake handshakes and such. She’s good at it too, of course, and it makes you wonder what her career could’ve been like with different chances. Big Mami was fortunate to have Shani & Taya working with her and making her offense look more impressive.

Match 2: Garza Jr. & Hijo del Fantasma vs Aerostar & Drago and Daga & Joe Lider
Auditorio Benito Juárez, Veracruz, Veracruz, 08/19/2016
Video: thecubsfan

Winner: Aerostar & Drago (Dragon pin Lider)
Match Time: 7:08
Notes: Garza is left a surprise on the matchup graphic. Fantasma introduces him as his (new) partner. Fenix has apparently walked out of AAA in-between tapings and is not mentioned. Garza is working much more rudoish than Fenix. Lider nearly loses Drago on a powerbomb before the finish, and has trouble getting it the cradle.

Review: [good] Not a strong positive recommendation, it fits with other matches where there’s just a few spots that kind of pull the whole thing up. The finish really comes out of nowhere, with no build, and the crowd isn’t really into the match after Garza is done stripping. Garza Jr. works to his gimmick in just about as hard as Joe Lider, and it distracts from the match just about as much. When they have to stop fighting so Garza can point to the ladies in the crowd, it’s not so helpful, and it’s probably be for the best that he play at least subtle heel since he’s going to get booed anyway. Camera work nearly misses Aerostar diving into the crowd. Aerostar also does reversals I’ve never seen and can’t begin to describe. Lider had a not great night and it’s making me miss that time Daga had his own faction again.

Noti AAA is run through of all the TripleMania matches. Fenix is promoted as Fantasma’s partner thru the show, even though they knew since this taping (for a week) that he probably wasn’t going to be on the show.

Match 3: Monsther Clown, Murder Clown, Psycho Clown vs Damián 666, Nicho el Millionario, Pagano in a cage match
Auditorio Benito Juárez, Veracruz, Veracruz, 08/19/2016
Video: thecubsfan

Loser: Psycho Clown

• Nicho escapes (6:34)
• Monster Clown escapes (7:10)
• Murder Clown escapes (7:29)
• Damian escapes (7:29)
• Pagano escapes (16:12)

Match Time: 16:12
Notes: Rudos jump the Psycho Circus on the outside, with Pagano ripping up Psycho’s mask and brawling with him into the crowd for a while before they get into the cage. Tirantes has a Pagano image on the back of his suspenders and helps the rudos. They make it in after two and half minutes (which is included in the time.) The cage is littered with weapons, and the rudos continue to dominate for a while, with the Clowns turning it around on a Nicho missed corner charge. Nicho climbs up to the top as the Clowns are beating the other two, and hangs out there for them to notice so he can tell them off as he leaves. Clowns set up for the flying sit on Damian, only Monster leaps onto the cage instead and climbs out (That makes sense in a cage match where the loser loses his mask, but that’s not what this is.) Damian and Murder bail at the same time, leaving Psycho and Pagano once again. The escaped guys go to the back, which is strange. Pagano bleeds after Psycho grinds the barbed wire bat on his head. They have a bit of a normal match and do many spots pulling each other off the cage into big moves. Damian and Nicho return to stop Psycho from climbing out after he’s superplexed Pagano thru a wood table, and climb back in. Murder climbs into join them, but is attacked coming down. Monster only then shows up, and does the required planchas onto everyone – but only gets Murder. All three rudos climb up, with Psycho fighting Pagano on top of the cage as the others escape. Pagano pulls out handcuffs from his gear (maybe the others gave it to him?) and tries Psycho to the top of the cage, then escapes on his own. Pagano immediately announced Hijo del Tirantes will be the referee for this match.

Review: [ok] it’s a lucha libre cage match, but it’s not as bad in that way as the other cage matches – they clear out the unimportant people relatively quick, and give the final two plenty of time. (Their segment went longer than the undercard matches.) So that was good. The problem is it’s still yet another Pagano/Psycho match and I’m so completely done with this. Watching this after TripleMania doesn’t help. It was fine if it was what you were looking for, and didn’t have the laughably botched spots of their bull terrier match, but I got nothing out of this.