Tag: AAA Capital

Recapped: 12/04/2019

Matches:

Hijo Del Vikingo beat Carta Brava Jr., Pagano, Psycho Clown in a tournament semifinal
(Vikingo 450 splash Carta Brava, good, 00:06:58)

Puma King beat Bengala in a tournament semifinal
(11:28, Puma King sitdown powerbomb, good, 00:26:13)

Taurus beat Rich Swann, Willie Mack in a tournament semifinal
(9:21, Taurus Rodeo Driver, good, 00:47:36)

Keyra beat Big Mami, Lady Shani in a tournament final
(11:31, Keyra dropkick to the face, good, 01:08:42)

Hijo Del Vikingo beat Puma King, Taurus in a tournament final
(12:17, Vikingo 450 splash, excellent, 01:35:15)

What happened:

Hijo del Vikingo & Keyra won the 2019 Lucha Capital

Thoughts:

Lucha Capital concluded with a superb final. They had a good story and executed it very well. Taurus was full-on monster, with Puma and Vikingo barely able to stand up to him without working together. It took very big shots to do so, and it felt like a huge thing when Vikingo got Taurus up near the end. Taurus impressively destroyed them all the way; his backbreaker looked killer in both matches, and the double German suplex spot was impressive. Vikingo needing such a big effort to triumph in front of a crowd super excited to seem do so made it the moment even bigger. This was a total success.

The women’s final was a slight step down from last week’s, though still really good in different ways. Big Mami was the star even if she didn’t win, stealing moments of the match and coming off as the overwhelming crowd favorite. Shani went with it, being a little more ruda than usual. The crowd was suitably angry about a pinfall that should’ve been counted quicker and I wish they would’ve just spent a lot more time teasing that win. The finish seemed like something went wrong; Keyra standing Big Mami up to trip her back down for the dropkick may have been Mami finished from doing more.

Taurus/Swann/Mack was the weakest of the three semi-finals and still a pretty entertaining match. Swann deserves credit for surviving that Taurus backbreaker. The whole match was set up for Taurus to look like a monster, with non-regulars Swann & Mack sacrificing a bit to get over the guy who was going to have a bigger match on the show. It is intended to work that way but shouldn’t be taken for granted.

One aspect which had been missing from these Lucha Capital matches has been some urgency. They were frequently hard-worked, but it never felt like the matches meant something. They found that urgency in these matches on this show, with it really the change in tone standing out as frustrated Puma King pounded the mat when he couldn’t put Bengala away. The wrestling was at a high standard too, Puma pulling out some of his bigger offense and Bengala looked more varied while funneling into a long stretch of every move feeling like it meant something important.

The opener was probably not the first time someone’s won with a top rope move following the stacked up superplex but it does seem very rare. It was a nice surprise way of getting Vikingo through while not really taking a win away from Psycho (or even Pagano.) The four people in the match allowed for smoother action than the three ways. Carta Brava and Vikingo were great together, and Psycho clown is weirdly Pagano’s best normal opponent. This match was a hot start to the show.

Recapped: 11/20/2019

Matches:

Eclipse Jr. beat Parka Negra and Látigo
(9:36, Eclipse twist rope flip moonsault Latigo, good, 00:08:03)

Lady Maravilla beat Vanilla and Big Mami
(10:57, Lady Maravilla frog splash Big Mami, ok, 00:24:01)

Willie Mack beat Bengala and Arez
(9:26, Willie Mack frog splash Arez, ok, 00:44:32)

Pagano beat Niño Hamburguesa and Mocho Cota Jr.
(8:19, Pagano Air Raid Crash Mocho Cota Jr., below average, 01:04:02)

Aerostar beat Murder Clown and Abismo Negro Jr. 
(10:54, Aerostar torito Absimo Negro Jr., below average, 01:22:40)

What happened:

Monster Clown attacked Aerostar after the main event as part of the build to their participation in the TripleMania Regia cage match.

Thoughts:

It’s really not working out for Abismo Negro Jr. Taking all the pins is beside the point if he’s blowing major spots during the match, as he did all the way to the finish here. This was overall a strange main event that went too long anyway, and they didn’t have the work to save it.

The Pagano three way was fine if not particularly memorable until the final minute. Pagano seemed to submit Mocho Cota, or at least it seemed that way to everyone except Copetes. The next minute was lost luchadors and a referee doing a slow count for lack of any better idea. It was a bad mistake that took a long time to recover from and it was the lasting memory of the match.

Arez, Bengala, and Mack did a lot in their match, it just was one of those matches that flew my mind. They had some good sequences integrating multiple people, it was thought out, and it still felt like another in an unending sequence of three-way matches. Fatigue with this concept set in strong with this match and made it hard to enjoy these matches. Perhaps this one would be better with isolation, though there were still moments that could’ve gone better.

The women’s match was angle heavy with the Big Mami/Lady Maravilla issue and felt like it went too long to keep my interest. Big Mami trying power moves was an interesting change in character, though it didn’t totally work. The crowd liked this match more than I did.

The opener went for it in crazy ways. It didn’t always work, with maybe not everyone moving in concert with each other. It seemed like it might fall apart due to injury when the Eclipse moonsault dive spot didn’t work out, but it got better from there. Enough of it did come together, like the press slam DDT spot, and Parka Negra came across as a killer in stretches. Worth watching if you understand what you’re getting into.

Recapped: 11/13/2019

Matches:

Laredo Boy beat Drago Kid and Parkita Negra
(10:18, Laredo Boy top rope huracanrana Parkita, good, 00:07:13)

Mr. Iguana beat Mamba and Villano III Jr.
(7:31, Iguana Chilana Driver Villano III Jr., good, 00:24:01)

Lady Shani beat La Hiedra and Hades
(11:05, Lady Shani submit Hiedra, good, 00:39:47)

Hijo Del Vikingo beat Flamita and Carta Brava Jr.
(10:40, Vikingo 450 splash Flamita, great, 01:01:18)

Psycho Clown beat Taurus and Súper Fly
(9:41, Psycho Clown powerslam Super Fly, ok, 01:22:02)

What happened:

The Laredo Boy/Drago Kid/Parkita Negra was a bonus non-tournament match.

The announcers confirmed next week is the final round of the group stage.

Thoughts: 

This was the strongest show of this Lucha Capital season. Most of the matches were really good, one match was particularly strong, and the main event was fine. It was the one where the three-way structure hurt the flow of the match the most, or maybe the fifth three-way match of the night was the problem. The fans still loved Psycho Clown and they were trying, it just didn’t come together.

It came together in a big way in the Vikingo/Carta/Flamita match, the most must-see match of this year’s tournament so far. Vikingo had a minute run early on that was incredible, and came back later with a springboard move so shocking that the AAA cameras never caught it. Flamita was fully engaged in this one, moving at top speed, and the Poder del Norte wrestlers continue to impress as individuals in this tournament. This was Vikingo’s night and the smoothest one yet on his return.

The women’s match started at high speed. It couldn’t quite keep up the pace, but the action remained solid through. Hades continues to look great since returning, with a couple of cool dives. Hiedra & Shani matched up well in the ending stretch. Tirantes deciding to starts slow counting didn’t help, but this was as complete a women’s match as they’ve had on this season.

Mr. Iguana’s trickier stuff didn’t get enough rudo help but enough other stuff worked to make his match enjoyable. I was skeptical of the Yesca spots in this promotion but they seem to be getting him over to this fanbase. He also survived lots of hard hits from Villano III, including that huge kick to start the match. Villano III Jr. is only lunatic willing to take a flip bump from the top rope to sell a Spanish Fly from a stuffed animal.

Drago Kid & Laredo Boy continue to do well. Parkita Negra did the best, with a great dive and impressive offense. The match stalled a bit after his dive and having all of these go ten minutes isn’t great, but they had enough action to keep the fans interested.

Recapped: 11/06/2019

Matches:

Máximo beat Dinastía and Tito Santana
(11:50, Maximo rope walk plancha Santana, ok, 00:07:53)

Faby Apache beat Keyra and Ayako Hamada
(8:52, Faby Apache sit down powerbomb Keyra, ok, 00:28:56)

Rich Swann beat Dave The Clown and Argenis
(9:36, Rich Swann phoenix splash Dave The Clown, ok, 00:46:57)

Puma King beat Octagón Jr. and Drago
(9:29, Puma King press powerbomb, good, 01:06:15)

What happened:

Maximo, Faby Apache, Rich Swann, and Puma King won their matches.

Thoughts: 

The main event was the best match, the one where everyone seemed to be on the same page and the plans for the match didn’t fall apart. It made relative sense, it had a lot of exciting spots. It didn’t seem like it developed any more than just a lot of spots, but that’s about the most to expect out of the three-way matches. The powerbomb off the apron onto Octagon Jr. was a good use of three-man match even if it wasn’t fast enough to make it look great. Other one on one moments did look good. Wish there were just those.

If you wanted a lot of Dave the Clown, you got a lot of Dave the Clown. That wasn’t really good. Swann tried, Dave just knows how to do some moves and no idea how to put them together. He also isn’t big on selling for other people. Argenis was as forgettable as always.

The women’s match was easily disappointing. There were a few spots of great impact, including the finish. There was a lot of stuff where people weren’t on the same page or meshing. Keyra had a bad night, looking off multiple times even when left on her own. This is the worst of the four women’s matches they’ve had so far.

The opener couldn’t end quick enough. Maximo is really good at getting a reaction by doing nothing, and he was doing nothing early. He’s most in house show mode of anyone in this tournament. Tito & Dinastia were better, but not everything was working there. The double Code Red spot killed the crowd. Lots of the matches are longer than they need to be and this one didn’t need to go 11.

Recapped: 10/30/2019

Matches:

Bengala beat Mamba and Abismo Negro Jr.
(10:55, Bengala top rope headscissors Mamba, ok, 00:03:37)

Keyra beat Vanilla and Lady Shani
(10:01, Keyra German suplex Vanilla, good, 00:21:41)

Octagón Jr. beat Carta Brava Jr. and Mr. Iguana
(11:16, Octagon Jr. moonsault powerslam Carta Brava Jr., good, 00:42:19)

Psycho Clown beat Murder Clown, Pagano
(11:04, Psycho Clown Code Red Murder Clown, ok, 01:00:46)

What happened:

Bengala, Keyra, Octagon Jr. & Psycho Clown all won their matches.

Thoughts:

The crowd dug Psycho Clown and the main event. It didn’t seem as good on video, peaking with Murder Clown’s top rope splash and then just going on a while longer because they had more moves to do. Pagano had a relatively safe day, Psycho and Murder were fine, this just was less than some of the other matches on the show.

The Octagon Jr. felt laid out well, with the action moving well from pairing to pairing. Iguana’s still new here and very willing to take just about anything, which helped Carta Brava look like a killer. That helped Octagon look great for beating him in the end. The Poder del Norte rudos have delivered well in these three-way matches and everyone got a big moment.

Vanilla is only on TV once every two months, which makes it easy to forget she and Keyra seem to hate each other. This brought back memories of their Guadalajara brawl. Keyra hit hard, Lady Shani hit back hard, Vanills survived for a while until she was killed in the end. Vanilla did give Keyra a brutal corner powerbomb, though she could use some of the creativity of Shani’s mat work. Keyra’s hard face kick right before the finish was a signature spot. This could’ve used Shani not disappearing for a long time before the finish, but was otherwise flew by.

The opener will play better in highlights than it did in real-time. It was slow, with a few moments of the match coming to the halt. Some of that was to play to the crowd, filled with fans who more into Abismo Negro Jr. then anyone has been so far. It struggled to find any rhythm. Abismo Negro Jr. was breathing very hard by the end.