AAA announces 04/27 TripleMania Monterrey lineup (Alberto/Nemeth)

AAA TV (SAT) 04/27/2024 Estadio de Béisbol Monterrey, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon
1) Estrellita, Faby Apache, Reina Dorada, Sexy Star vs Dalys, Flammer, La Hiedra, Maravilla
2) El Elegido vs Pimpinela EscarlataAntifaz del NorteSúper CalóAerostarChessmanNiño HamburguesaMr. IguanaCharly MansonAbismo NegroHeavy MetalTbaTba [Copa Baradahl]
3) ?, ??, Negro Casas vs ?????, ??????, Dr. Wagner Jr.
4) Laredo Kid, Octagón Jr., Psycho Clown vs Parker Boudreaux, QT Marshall, Sam Adonis
5) El Mesías, Pagano, Vampiro Canadiense vs Cibernético, Dark Cuervo, Dark Ozz
6) Alberto el Patrón vs Nic Nemeth [AAA MEGA]

AAA ran a press conference on Monday evening to announce this card. AAA no longer streams their own press conferences live, so we’re reliant on Roberto Figueroa’s stream. No mention of a stream for this show. Larry Dallas had previous mentioned he’d be doing TripleMania again this year, so presumably this will air on FITE.

This TripleMania lineup is a big test of Monterrey’s nostalgia for mid-2010s WWE and for Vampiro’s career. There’s nothing else going on here. Nemeth (then Dolph Ziggler) traded the “World Heavyweight Championship” in 2013 when it was WWE’s secondary heavyweight championship. The main events exist to replay a 11 year old feud, actually fitting for a year that’s mostly about celebrating a (not always successful) past.

I don’t expect the match itself to be much good, but it is notable that Nick Nic Nemeth is the current NJPW World TV IGWP Global Champion. (It’s notable enough that AAA brought it up.) Nemeth doesn’t appear to be under contract to NJPW, so he’s allowed to take bookings where he wants, but NJPW typically doesn’t want their champions taking singles losses. Alberto el Patron is also not taking singles losses. The simplest solution is Nemeth losing the NJPW title prior – maybe at Windy City Riot on 04/12. It’s also AAA, so the finish doesn’t have to make sense.

Latin Lover will second Vampiro in his trios match. The old storyline with La Secta was Cibernetico teamed up with them, then brought in Mesias, and then all those guys betrayed Cibernetico. It’s at least possible they’ll go down that road again – they ran the big mystery group angle at the end of the Mexico City tapings that could tie into that.

Dorian Roldan briefly discussed problems with politics in wrestling before announcing match four. Neither Marshall or Boudreaux were identified as with AEW. (Komander and Penta are both missing from this show.) There’s a chance match 4 could be good, but it could end up being more angle than match.

Dr. Wagner Jr. appeared at the press conference and there was a lot of talk about the family history of both Wagner and Casas. It led you to believe it’d be family members teaming with them, but then Dorian Roldan said it would members of AAA roster instead. Whomever it is, they’ll be announced over the next month. El Hijo del Dr. Wagner looked like he has NOAH commitments around that day, for what it’s worth.

The Copa TripleMania is presented as Copa Bardahl Retro, though most of the Retro names appeared in previous Copa TripleManias. Konnan previously acknowledged he tried to get in Juventud Guerrera for one of the spots, so expect that sort of name from the past as the two mystery people. The Copa TripleMania, as always, will be long and terrible.

AAA gives their women one important match a year so they can say they do something with them. This is not that match. Curious why Reina Dorada is here and not Lady Shani, but it’s not going to change the match much.

This is a six match card, down from the usual seven. That’s the most positive news I can come up with: maybe it’ll be quicker. It’s a depressing card with little hope for good matches. I’m not sure there’s a match on this show that’ll get more than three stars from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter – though that’s as much about the quality as the chance that Dave Meltzer is actually going to find time to make time to watch it. It’s about as inconsequential as any of the second tier Rey de Reyes/Verano de Escandalo show from both match importance and quality. You’re going to have a dozen other chances to see Vampiro’s last ever match in “X” before the year ends, so the only reason to care is if you’re a big Alberto fan or you just have to watch all the TripleManias every year.

Don’t be mistaken: this will do a nice number, because it’s a TripleMania and because only one of them happen in Monterrey every year. AAA seems to be in a mindset where the concern is just getting through the next show, riding out this nostalgia wave until it fades out. There may be consequences for not creating new stars on the other side of this wave, but that’s tomorrow’s problem.

2021 AAA TV reviews catch up

first in a series?

AAA is really good this year. It has the talent to be great. Their strongest ability has been bringing useful talent on board, and they’ve been less impressive in using that talent. AAA cooling their heels while waiting for COVID to clear out has taken energy from the shows, as has the no-fans locations. AAA has a history of getting its own way promotion gets in its own way, and at least it’s still a very watchable product. I would prefer they invest money in a giant portable tent to cover the ring for these outdoor shows rather than outsider talent, but you can’t have everything.

Reviews by tape dates. I suspect AAA’s next two shows will be some unaired matches from these tapings, but this is otherwise everything going into TripleMania.

February 4th

  • Arez vs Latigo vs Aramis [great]: ended up airing on a catch up show, exactly what you’d expect out of these guys in a short TV match. Exactly what you’d expect out of AAA too, with no sign Latigo & Arez are about to become a regular team.

(rest of the episode got its own review)

February 7th

March 11th

  • Arez, Chik Tormenta, Latigo vs Flammer, La Hiedra, Lady Maravilla [good]: this is not a good moment because AAA booking the two new rudo groups against each other revealed they were using the “CMLL Hat” booking strategy. The two rudo teams do mix well; Latigo & Arez are the right sizes to work against them.
  • Octagon Jr. & Laredo Kid vs Abismo Negro Jr. & Taurus: Mostly suffers from being in the shadow of the previous match.
  • Rey Escorpión & Taurus vs Laredo Kid & Psycho Clown great]: this didn’t air on space for months, until right after Escorpion/Psycho was announced for TripleMania. Do you give them credit for saving this for when it might matter more, or is it a vote against them for not airing a really strong match for months? A lot of sometimes boring Mercenarios beatdown just works a lot better here, Psycho Clown is great at coming back and Laredo Kid is Laredo Kid. Seems like just a normal TV match and is much better than that.

March 13th (aired out of order)

  • AAA skipped over this entire taping when cutting down the lag on the YouTube uploads, so I never put it up on YouTube either.
  • Arez, Látigo, Parkita Negra vs Aramis, Niño Hamburguesa, Octagoncito [good]: another one for “Parkita Negra would be considered one of the more exciting rudos in AAA but he’s typecast as a mini and so AAA has little use for him” file. It’s really hard to fit the name on the label. He’s about the same size as his partners and used 1/8th as much. It’s almost like he’d better off leaving AAA but moving to Mexico City, working those indies for a year to build his name, and then hoping they bring him back in a different role. It seems impossible for him to work his way out of the position he’s in.
  • Aerostar & Myzteziz vs Argenis & Parka Negra [good]: Parka Negra got a title shot in like his third match and has never done much since. He’s been really good and got more out of Aerostar than most this year.
  • Arcano vs Venenoide [good]: the Marvel Lucha Libre stuff is aggressively fine or weird, this was a nice Taurus performance with a few things changed.
  • Hijo del Vikingo & Laredo Kid vs Abismo Negro Jr. & Taurus [good]: it’s only in doing a post like this where I really notice how often AAA ran this exact same match with a rotating Laredo Kid partner. Hijo del Vikingo started the year looking off and started to regain his form by this point. Abismo Negro Jr. is more a little more shaky.
  • This was the taping where Poder del Norte crossed a very imaginary line; they’re doing the same matches they’ve done well for years, but they’ve stale enough that they don’t feel like going out to watch. They shouldn’t break up or anything, but they need to add some new stuff to their routines. Poder del Norte more need a purpose, they just can’t count on AAA giving them a direction – if they were going to do it, it would’ve happened by now.

March 20th (AutoLuchas)

I actually wrote about the May 1st show because it was Rey de Reyes. The other matches didn’t rate. The trios title match was an underwhelming end to the Jinetes del Aire run.

May 3rd

May 31st

  • Latigo vs Laredo Kid [excellent]: An outstanding match. They took it from cool matwork early and escalated into big spots later. Probably the best Latigo’s looked in AAA; Latigo’s always good, but this time he came off as an impressive wrestler as he does outside of AAA. Laredo’s Germans looked painful and were a good adjustment for a smaller than usual opponent. There were a couple of spots that didn’t look like they went as planned, though they did such a good job of adjusting that’s it’s hard to be sure. I can’t really articulate why this is higher than Arez/Laredo Kid, which says more about my weakpoints than these guys.
  • Vikingo/V3/Abismo might be worth watching if you’re looking for another match from this set; I didn’t feel strongly about it.

June 2nd

  • outdoor taping with no covering where it rained and everyone was slipping. Pass on all of this.

July 3rd – Verano de Escandalo

July 5th

All the ratings in a table

rating taped match
excellent 05-31 Laredo Kid © vs Látigo for the AAA World Cruiserweight Championship  (posted by ) HUASCA DE OCAMPO PARTE 1 | PROGRAMA COMPLETO | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by Lucha Libre AAA) Laredo Kid © vs Látigo for the AAA World Cruiserweight Championship (posted by luchablogdos) LAREDO vs LÁTIGO | HUASCA DE OCAMPO | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by luchalibreaaatv)
great 02-04 Arez vs LátigoAramis  (posted by Google Drive) AREZ vs LÁTIGO vs ARAMIS | TLAXCALA | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by Lucha Libre AAA) Arez vs Látigo vs Aramis (posted by luchablogdos) Luchas NUNCA ANTES VISTAS | GIRA 2021 | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by Lucha Libre AAA)
great 02-07 Fénix & Laredo Kid vs Abismo Negro Jr. & Taurus Fénix & Laredo Kid vs Abismo Negro Jr. & Taurus (posted by luchablogdos) TLAXCO PARTE 2 | PROGRAMA COMPLETO | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by luchalibreaaatv)
great 03-11 Rey Escorpión & Taurus vs Laredo Kid & Psycho Clown  (posted by Google Drive) ADIÓS la MÁSCARA de PSYCHO CLOWN | VALLE DE BRAVO | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by Lucha Libre AAA) Luchas NUNCA ANTES VISTAS | GIRA 2021 | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by Lucha Libre AAA) Rey Escorpión & Taurus vs Laredo Kid & Psycho Clown (posted by luchablogdos)
great 03-20 Laredo Kid vs Arez for the AAA World Cruiserweight Championship  (posted by ) ¿LA MEJOR LUCHA del 2021? | CAMPEONATO MUNDIAL CRUCERO | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by Lucha Libre AAA) COYOACÁN PARTE 2 | PROGRAMA COMPLETO | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by luchalibreaaatv) Laredo Kid vs Arez for the AAA World Cruiserweight Championship (posted by luchablogdos)
great 05-01 Dinastía vs ToxinAramisLátigoArez for the AAA World Cruiserweight Championship and in a Number One Contenders Match match  (posted by Google Drive) Dinastía vs Toxin vs Aramis vs Látigo vs Arez (posted by luchablogdos) LOCURA y VUELOS en REY DE REYES | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by Lucha Libre AAA) REY DE REYES 2021 | EVENTO COMPLETO | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by Lucha Libre AAA)
great 05-03 Látigo vs Villano III Jr.Abismo Negro Jr.Hijo Del VikingoAramis [Copa Hijo del Perro]  (posted by ) Látigo, Villano III Jr., Abismo Negro Jr., Hijo Del Vikingo, Aramis [Copa Hijo del Perro] (posted by luchablogdos) Látigo, Villano III Jr., Abismo Negro Jr., Hijo Del Vikingo, Aramis [Copa Hijo del Perro] (posted by luchablogdos) ZACATLÁN PARTE 1 | PROGRAMA COMPLETO | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by luchalibreaaatv)
great 05-03 Picadura Letal & Venenoide vs Araña Voladora & Arcano  (posted by Google Drive) NUEVOS PERSONAJES de MARVEL LUCHA LIBRE EDITION | LUCHA COMPLETA (posted by Lucha Libre AAA) Picadura Letal & Venenoide vs Araña Voladora & Arcano (posted by luchablogdos) ZACATLÁN PARTE 2 | PROGRAMA COMPLETO | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by Lucha Libre AAA)
great 07-03 Kamikaze vs KomanderHijo Del VikingoAramisLátigoToxin [Alas de Oro]  (posted by Google Drive) ESPECTACULAR Torneo ALAS DE ORO | VERANO DE ESCÁNDALO | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by Lucha Libre AAA) Kamikaze, Komander, Hijo Del Vikingo, Aramis, Látigo, Toxin [Alas de Oro] (posted by luchablogdos)
good 02-04 Abismo Negro Jr. & Texano vs Laredo Kid & Octagón Jr. Abismo Negro Jr. & Texano vs Laredo Kid & Octagón Jr. (posted by luchablogdos) OCTAGÓN sin MÁSCARA | TLAXCALA | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by Lucha Libre AAA) TLAXCALA PARTE 1 | PROGRAMA COMPLETO | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by luchalibreaaatv)
good 02-04 Mr. Iguana & Niño Hamburguesa vs Arez & Látigo El NUEVO equipo de RUDOS | TLAXCALA | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by Lucha Libre AAA) Mr. Iguana & Niño Hamburguesa vs Arez & Látigo (posted by luchablogdos)
good 02-07 Drago Kid & Laredo Boy vs Arez & Látigo Drago Kid & Laredo Boy vs Arez & Látigo (posted by luchablogdos) La PESADILLA de los MINIS | TLAXCO | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by Lucha Libre AAA) TLAXCO PARTE 1 | PROGRAMA COMPLETO | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by luchalibreaaatv)
good 02-07 Aerostar, Mr. Iguana, Niño Hamburguesa vs Carta Brava Jr., Mocho Cota Jr., Tito Santana Aerostar, Mr. Iguana, Niño Hamburguesa vs Carta Brava Jr., Mocho Cota Jr., Tito Santana (posted by luchablogdos) Mr Iguana ATROPELLADO en TLAXCO | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by Lucha Libre AAA) TLAXCO PARTE 1 | PROGRAMA COMPLETO | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by Lucha Libre AAA)
good 02-07 Laredo Kid © vs Octagón Jr.Aramis for the AAA World Cruiserweight Championship Laredo Kid © vs Octagón Jr., Aramis for the AAA World Cruiserweight Championship (posted by luchablogdos) TLAXCO PARTE 2 | PROGRAMA COMPLETO | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by luchalibreaaatv)
good 02-07 Arez & Chik Tormenta vs Drago Kid & La Parkita Arez & Chik Tormenta vs Drago Kid & La Parkita (posted by luchablogdos) TLAXCO PARTE 2 | PROGRAMA COMPLETO | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by Lucha Libre AAA)
good 03-11 Arez, Chik Tormenta, Látigo vs Flammer, La Hiedra, Lady Maravilla Arez, Chik Tormenta, Látigo vs Flammer, La Hiedra, Lady Maravilla (posted by luchablogdos) La LOCURA de HIEDRA | VALLE DE BRAVO | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by Lucha Libre AAA) VALLE DE BRAVO PARTE 2 | PROGRAMA COMPLETO | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by luchalibreaaatv)
good 03-11 Laredo Kid & Octagón Jr. vs Abismo Negro Jr. & Taurus El VUELO de LAREDO y OCTAGÓN | VALLE DE BRAVO | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by Lucha Libre AAA) Laredo Kid & Octagón Jr. vs Abismo Negro Jr. & Taurus (posted by luchablogdos) VALLE DE BRAVO PARTE 2 | PROGRAMA COMPLETO | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by luchalibreaaatv)
good 03-13 Arez, Látigo, Parkita Negra vs Aramis, Niño Hamburguesa, Octagoncito  (posted by Google Drive)
good 03-13 Aerostar & Myzteziz vs Argenis & Parka Negra  (posted by )
good 03-13 Arcano (2021) vs Venenoide  (posted by Google Drive)
good 03-13 Abismo Negro Jr. & Taurus vs Hijo Del Vikingo & Laredo Kid  (posted by )
good 03-20 Faby Apache, Laredo Kid, Niño Hamburguesa vs Carta Brava Jr., Mocho Cota Jr., Tito Santana  (posted by ) COYOACÁN PARTE 1 | PROGRAMA COMPLETO | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by luchalibreaaatv) EL PODER de FABY APACHE | LUCHA COMPLETA | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by Lucha Libre AAA) Faby Apache, Laredo Kid, Niño Hamburguesa vs Carta Brava Jr., Mocho Cota Jr., Tito Santana (posted by luchablogdos)
good 03-20 Hijo Del Vikingo & Psycho Clown vs Chessman & La Parka Negra  (posted by ) COYOACÁN PARTE 2 | PROGRAMA COMPLETO | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by luchalibreaaatv) Hijo Del Vikingo & Psycho Clown vs Chessman & La Parka Negra (posted by luchablogdos) PSYCHO y VIKINGO vs PARKA NEGRA y | LUCHA COMPLETA | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by luchalibreaaatv)
good 05-01 Octagón Jr. vs TaurusVillano III Jr. for the AAA Latin American Championship  (posted by ) LUCHA POR EL CAMPEONATO LATINOAMERICANO | REY DE REYES | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by luchalibreaaatv) Octagón Jr. vs Taurus vs Villano III Jr. for the AAA Latin American Championship (posted by luchablogdos) REY DE REYES 2021 | EVENTO COMPLETO | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by luchalibreaaatv)
good 05-01 Faby Apache vs Lady ShaniFlammerChik TormentaLady MaravillaSexy Star in a AAA’s Reina de Reinas Tournament match  (posted by ) Faby Apache vs Lady Shani vs Flammer vs Chik Tormenta vs Lady Maravilla vs Sexy Star [AAA REINAS] (posted by luchablogdos) Lucha por el REINA DE REINAS | REY DE REYES | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by luchalibreaaatv) REY DE REYES 2021 | EVENTO COMPLETO | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by luchalibreaaatv)
good 05-01 Laredo Kid vs Texano Jr.Murder ClownAerostarDragoAbismo Negro Jr.Hijo Del VikingoMyzteziz Jr. in a AAA’s Rey de Reyes Tournament match  (posted by ) 2021 AAA Rey de Reyes (posted by luchablogdos) COPA HIJO DEL PERRO AGUAYO | ZACATLÁN | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by Lucha Libre AAA) REY DE REYES 2021 | EVENTO COMPLETO | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by luchalibreaaatv) TORNEO REY DE REYES | LUCHA COMPLETA | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by Lucha Libre AAA)
good 05-03 Arcano (2021) vs Venenoide  (posted by Google Drive) ARACNO vs VENENOIDE | MARVEL Lucha Libre Edition (posted by Lucha Libre AAA) Arcano vs Venenoide (posted by luchablogdos) ZACATLÁN PARTE 1 | PROGRAMA COMPLETO | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by Lucha Libre AAA)
good 07-03 Deonna Purrazzo vs Lady Shani  (posted by ) Deonna Purrazzo vs Lady Shani (posted by luchablogdos) SHANI vs DEONNA PURRAZZO | VERANO DE ESCÁNDALO | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by Lucha Libre AAA)
good 07-03 Komander & Octagón Jr. vs Toxin & Villano III Jr.  (posted by ) Komander & Octagón Jr. vs Toxin & Villano III Jr. (posted by luchablogdos) VERANO DE ESCÁNDALO 2021 PARTE 2 | EVENTO COMPLETO | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by luchalibreaaatv) VILLANO DESATADO en VERANO DE ESCÁNDALO | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by Lucha Libre AAA)
good 07-05 Abismo Negro Jr., Arez, Toxin vs Aramis, Dinastía, Kamikaze  (posted by ) ¿NACE una NUEVA FACCIÓN? | LUCHA COMPLETA | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by luchalibreaaatv) Abismo Negro Jr., Arez, Toxin vs Aramis, Dinastía, Kamikaze (posted by luchablogdos) AMEALCO PARTE 1 | PROGRAMA COMPLETO | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by luchalibreaaatv)
good 07-05 Carta Brava Jr., Mocho Cota Jr., Tito Santana vs Hijo Del Vikingo, Lady Shani, Laredo Kid  (posted by ) AMEALCO PARTE 1 | PROGRAMA COMPLETO | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by luchalibreaaatv) Carta Brava Jr., Mocho Cota Jr., Tito Santana vs Hijo Del Vikingo, Lady Shani, Laredo Kid (posted by luchablogdos) SHANI y VIKINGO ¿LESIONADOS? | Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (posted by Lucha Libre AAA)
good 07-05 Octagón Jr. vs Faby ApacheVillano III Jr.Taurus © for the AAA Latin American Championship

 

AAA in Tlaxcala (2021-02-04)

Results

all matches taped on February 4th in Tlaxcala

week 1
La Hiedra & Lady Maravilla b Faby Apache & Lady Shani [ok] (AAA YouTube/outside Mexico YouTube)
Abismo Negro Jr. & Texano b Laredo Kid & Octagón Jr. [good] (AAA YouTube/outside Mexico YouTube)
Hijo Del Vikingo & Psycho Clown DQ Chessman & Rey Escorpión [ok] (AAA YouTube/outside Mexico YouTube)

Hades attacked the rudas after the opener for no obvious reason except to give Flammer a reason to appear, lay her out and establish the new trio.

Texano demanded a trios title match after the second match.

Escorpion unmasked Psycho Clown for the DQ in the main event. Octagon made the save, only for Texano to attack him again and repeat the trios challenge.

week 2
Arez & Látigo b Mr. Iguana & Niño Hamburguesa [good] (AAA YouTube/outside Mexico YouTube)
Murder Clown & Octagón Jr. b Abismo Negro Jr. & Taurus [ok] (AAA YouTube/outside Mexico YouTube)
Carta Brava Jr., Mocho Cota Jr., Tito Santana b Hijo Del Vikingo, Laredo Kid, Pagano [ok] (AAA YouTube/outside Mexico YouTube)

The announcers bring up Arez & Latigo defeating Dinastia & Lanzelot the week prior, pushing a winning streak. (That match aired on Azteca but was not shown on Space and hasn’t been put up on YouTube.) Arez & Latigo are going with black and yellow as a team color scheme, but don’t get a name during this run of shows.

A Pagano promo at the start of the show leads to Poder del Norte attack and Vikingo & Laredo making the save. This is the match where Laredo Kid takes a chair shot to the head and ends up with his skull opened; he disappears from the match and it’s 3v2 most of the way. Vikingo takes the pin.

week 3
Taurus beat Hijo Del Vikingo [ok] (Google Drive)
Flammer, La Hiedra, Lady Maravilla beat Big Mami, Hades, Lady Shani [ok] (Google Drive)
Chessman & Texano Jr. beat Laredo Kid & Pentagón Jr. [ok] (Google Drive)

Texano interfered to help Taurus beat Vikingo, with the trios title challenge coming up once again.

Chessman attacked Lady Shani after the ruda trios picked up their first win together. It wasn’t particularly clear why; maybe we missed some angle where Shani objected to Chessman’s hair extensions.

Texano fouled Laredo Kid and Chessman unmasked Penta in the main event. Penta earlier issued an open challenge for the tag titles and threw out a challenge to Averno, who hasn’t been an on-screen character for a year (and still hasn’t resurfaced many weeks after this promo, but neither has Penta.)

Notes

This was AAA’s first attempt at taping at a tourist spot. The bullring has been used for lucha libre events in the past, but I’m sure it never sounded this empty. The wide-open area caused the sound to escape more than it has on future tapings; it was a strange feeling set of shows.

What wasn’t strange was the booking. This is Konnan-led AAA, so the rudos are going to get heat for a while. Nine matches aired, rudos won seven, the tecnicos took one by pinfall and one by DQ (after which they were immediately beaten up.) The plan is always for the tecnicos to get theirs later on a bigger show but, with no idea when that might be, it feels a little much. The direction was half establishing new acts (Hiedra/Maravilla/Flammer and Arez/Latigo) and half putting things back where they were this time last year (the trios title match and the open challenge were Rey de Reyes 2020 concepts.) It’d be nice if something happened on these tapings that also concluded on these tapings, but that’s just not what AAA is going to offer in general, and specifically not when they seem to be restarting from square one.

The matches weren’t as good as they had been on AutoLuchas, at least in this taping. Vikingo & Taurus was OK by normal standards and disappointing by their own past ones; they had ideas that didn’t work but just looked off otherwise. The women’s matches aren’t completely coming together, though the ruda team has some ideas. The novelty has worn off a bit of Murder Clown’s flying act.

The positives included Arez & Latigo looking great as a team, all about strange double team moves in a way that separates them from the more established rudo teams. The opener on week 1 was the best of Laredo Kid’s many appearances, though the second-week main event deserves credit for not falling apart after Laredo was pulled from the match. This is a series of bits that might be important later, but the matches themselves aren’t the strongest.

AAA Autoluchas episodes 4, 5, 6

Episode 4

  • Chessman & Súper Fly beat Pagano & Psycho Clown
    (10/11 2nd, 14:14, ok, Lucha Libre AAA)

    • Chessman snuck in a foul on Pagano
  • the Maximo/Iguana vs Carta/Mocha from 10/04 3rd show
  • Laredo/Octagon from 10/04 3rd show

Psycho Clown has really grown out his hair during the pandemic. The light tower dives are a great example of those things that looks silly on TV but might be coming off better live. There’s a large stretch here that’s just a repeat of another Psycho Clown but, so much that’s the way. The finishing sequence with Chessman and Pagano was no good and a reminder their singles match could be a fiasco.

Episode 5

  • Murder Clown beat Abismo Negro Jr. and Octagón Jr.
    (10/10 1st, 8:34, good, Lucha Libre AAA)
  • Carta Brava Jr. beat Mr. Iguana and Dave The Clown
    (10/04 2nd, 9:01, ok, Lucha Libre AAA)
  • the Faby Apache/Hades match from the 10/04 3rd show
  • Texano Jr. beat Drago
    (10/11 2nd, 11:34, good, Lucha Libre AAA)

Notes

  • AAA’s started to air promos during these shows, with individual wrestlers making random challenges (similar to the Stronghearts & Daga promos put on social media a month or so ago.) These challenges have a low success rate of going anywhere, but for the sake of keeping track:
    • Texano challenged Jinetes del Aire, Laredo Kid (for the megachampionship if should win it) and Murder Clown
    • Psycho Clown challenged Rey Escorpion, who hasn’t been otherwise seen or mentioned.*
    • Mr. Iguana suggested he and La Hiedra challenge for the mixed tag titles (this aired on the previous show too)
    • Pentagon Jr. challenged Averno

The main event started with a lot of time left in the file, but they handled it pretty well. Texano seems to be doing better in this structure or just is more motivated after a break. He found interesting ways to (literally) tie Drago down before the comeback. His run of wins would feel like they were going someplace in another setup.

There’s a lot of three ways on these shows and I tire of that setup quickly. The second one had a lot of chair play and didn’t feel like it meant much, though Dave the Clown successfully basing for Mr. Iguana is stunning. The first one effectively played off Murder Clown’s size, which proved to be too much for the smaller guys. Octagon had a great looking dive.

Episode 6

These are all from the early evening Dia del Muertos show (the one that didn’t stream)

  • La Hiedra & Lady Maravilla beat Faby Apache & Lady Shani
    (11/01 1st, 10:14, ok, luchalibreaaatv)
  • Parka Negra beat Carta Brava Jr., Dinastía
    (11/01 1st, 9:27, ok, luchalibreaaatv)
  • Murder Clown beat Chessman, Abismo Negro Jr.
    (11/01 1st, 7:44, good, luchalibreaaatv)
  • Laredo Boy & Laredo Kid beat Octagón Jr. & Octagoncito
    (11/01 1st, 10:50, great, Lucha Libre AAA)

Notes

  • Hiedra & Maravilla seem to be an official team, which was teased earlier this year
  • Poder del Norte again beat up the tecnico after their match

Maybe the strongest individual episode, at least for all news stuff. Octagons versus Laredo could’ve just worked for the novelty but they also tried to kill each other so that was cool too. It’s a pleasure to see Octagoncito back in the mix, it is too bad Laredo Kid tried to merge the two Octagons into one at the end of the match. They wrestled this was an urgency and pace that you’d expect out of these guys individually, but maybe no in a match on a drive-in show. The level of teamwork was unexpected, since these ‘partners’ really don’t get to work together that much, but they came off as natural duos. Laredo Boy was a little hesitant at times but by no mean a problem. Definitely a match to seek out among the Autoluchas batch.

The second three-way was the better of the two easily. Parka & Carta played out the rote script of two rudos working together and being shocked when both wanted to win the match. Chessman, Abismo, and Murder Clown were just guys going after each other the whole match. Abismo’s continued to put on good performances during this run of shows, and took advantage of facing bigger guys to fly a bit more than usual. Chessman seems in good form going into the TripleMania match.

The women’s match didn’t come through via execution of moves, but it’s still worth a look. The personality shown by the rudas was almost enough to make up for some atypical sloppiness. Maravilla has come so far in her character work; she did a great job of getting every bit out the spot where Copetes inadvertently saved her from a tapatia. Hiedra & Maravilla doing male effeminate embracing spots plays a little bit different as women. Their act could get over big with crowds once those exist again.

AAA Lucha Fighter (1×3): 2020-05-02

Vikingo!

Recapped: 2020-05-02

Matches:

La Hiedra beat Big Mami
(9:30, powerbomb, ok, 00:11:45)

Lady Shani beat Lady Maravilla
(5:27, submission, ok, 00:26:58)

Psycho Clown beat Texano Jr.
(8:13, Canadian Destroyer, ok, 00:40:26)

Chessman beat Pagano
(6:59, foul, ok, 00:57:21)

Pentagón Jr. beat Hijo Del Vikingo
(9:44, Factor Miedo, great, 01:10:37)

LA Park beat Dr. Wagner Jr.
(7:47, LA Park spear, good, 01:27:40)

What happened:

Wagner argued with Piero on a two count, and Piero shoved him into LA Park’s spear. Chessman snuck in a foul on Pagano.

Big Mami and Lady Maravilla exchanged attacks after each match.

Psycho Clown suffered a shoulder injury in his match but still won his match.

The announcers were not on set for this taping, calling the matches instead from what appeared to be a TV studio. (They were shot as if they were separated though they had the same furniture behind them.) Maximo and Vanilla were also shown commenting on social media and appeared to be in a TV studio somewhere. AAA used crowd noise for the first match and then for some of the entrances later on.

Thoughts:

Vikingo outside in springboard 450 splash

The early mat exchanges between LA Park and Dr. Wagner played out as you’d expect from two guys proving they could do something other than brawl, right before they start brawling anywhere. The Wagner/Park match never got to that second part, ending when it just felt like it was about to get going. These guys were going at a measured pace, which also suggested a longer match than it happened. It was still enjoyable for how it lasted and shocking for how relatively straightforward it was, but the shortest singles match they’ve had is probably not going to be one people need to seek out much later.

Pentagon Jr. figured to be one of the least invested performers in this tournament. AAA is his side job and this could’ve just been something to fill time while waiting for the ability to return to AEW. Penta’s also been getting by with a lot of help from his charisma and crowd connection, which weren’t going to be in play here; he’d stand out more here if he was just coasting. Pentagon instead has turned into the MVP of the tournament so far. Hijo del Vikingo was great here, pulling off moves no one in the world is even trying, but he wasn’t really asked to do more than his flashiest high spots in this match. A match with Octagon Jr. or Myzteziz Jr. would’ve been less exciting but it’d be hard to find another rudo who could’ve pulled off Penta’s side of it. The match structure, especially Vikingo’s desperate attempt to end it before Pentagon even got started, was remarkable. Penta gleefully beat up on Vikingo and did in such a way that there was no question who everyone was supposed to be cheering for in this match. (Perhaps Pentagon is better at playing a complete heel with no crowd rooting him on for being evil.) They built well into Vikingo’s comeback and his near chances at winning, making Vikingo look as good as possible before he took the loss. This was different than Hamburguesa being smothered, as it should’ve been. It was same in being another strong Pentagon performance.

Mami spash

Chessman defeating Pagano was standard AAA booking leading into TripleMania. (You’d have to go back to their similar TripleMania apuesta to find a time where Texano actually beat Psycho Clown.) It’s still hard to believe Chessman’s going to get the same outcome there but it is hopeful that AAA is booking their matches as if TripleMania is still happening. It’s equally hopeful these two had a match that didn’t fall apart. AAA doesn’t seem to be editing these, so Pagano putting together a move heavy match where he doesn’t have a major flip is a positive sign. The execution of the moves still aren’t pretty – the neckbreakers look worse than the dives to me – but Pagano’s not going to be a guy with pretty looking offense and probably shouldn’t be one. This is close to a border line match but I can’t imagine someone sitting down to watch this who wasn’t a big Pagano fan already. Chessman still has looked better in this tournament than recently though.

The action in Psycho Clown/Texano Jr. was fine, but it wasn’t memorable enough to overcome the obvious outcome. Texano hasn’t won these matches for about six years and this wasn’t about to be a different outcome. It was about as dramatic as a Tuesday CMLL lightning match, where maybe Psycho Clown’s shoulder injury was more meaningful than anything they had in the match.

Shani/Maravilla was the better of the two women’s matches easily, so it was strange it went so short. Maravilla comes across as a lot more aggressive than she used, making it a bigger deal when Shani’s able to turn the table and put on holds. Maravilla still needs to keep it up at all times; her stomps are not so good.

La Hiedra’s strategy of doing nothing and just getting hit by Big Mami worked out for the win – she just pulled Mami off the ropes for a powerbomb – and worked out better for the quality of the match. They didn’t do a whole, so nothing went wrong. It was a better result than last week but it wasn’t something anyone will need to see again.

AAA Lucha Fighter (1×2): 2020-04-25

Laredo Kid Spanish Fly

Recapped: 2020-04-25

Matches:

Big Mami beat Vanilla
(5:39, Gori Special, below average, 00:14:26)

Lady Maravilla beat Keyra
(7:13, Maravilla back bridge neck crank, ok, 00:28:27)

Lady Shani beat Faby Apache
(8:05, powerbomb, bridge cradle, good, 00:45:03)

Chessman beat Myzteziz Jr.
(7:11, spear, ok, 01:00:14)

LA Park beat Laredo Kid
(10:35, hanging DDT, great, 01:17:22)

Pagano beat Octagón Jr.
(4:43, rebound inverted suplex, ok, 01:35:44)

Pentagón Jr. beat Niño Hamburguesa
(8:26, top rope double stomp, good, 01:47:50)

What happened: 

amigas

Lady Maravilla did a promo about beating mixed tag champion with Villano III for years to come. It seemed only to exist to set up a mixed tag title match to come. She also attacked Big Mami after her match (with Faby Apache making the save), only for Mami to do the same to her and Keyra after her match.

Laredo Kid attacked Chessman after his match for no explained reasons. Carta Brava Jr. ran out for the save, only for Laredo Kid to attack both of them. This bit made no sense. Myzteziz was laying hurt on the mat being checked on (though seemed fine late), so perhaps his part was missing wand would’ve explained it.

Lucha Fighter did a more thorough job of explaining the concept, though they’re hazy on some details. It remains a single-elimination tournament. Next week is the semifinals, which makes sense for the women’s tournament (four people left) but not the minis (two people left) or the men (eight people left.) The minis could just be skipped. The size of the men’s field suggests AAA is going to sidestep having to pin most of these people by doing a non-elimination four-way match or a battle royal similar to Lucha Capital. It also leaves open a question of what would be left for the final week – surely it can’t only be the three final matches.

There were many run-ins on the show, nearly one after most matches. Many seemed to have little or no purpose on this episode. (Also, if we’re to believe this was live, as insisted by the announcers, that meant AAA had Carta Brava Jr. come to a show he didn’t have a match on, simply to catch a dive. That seems non-essential.)

The announcing did mention some of the people’s donations via SuperChat, so either the commentary was live or they had people working the chat room.

Those still alive:

  • Men: Hijo del Vikingo, Dr. Wagner Jr., Texano Jr., Psycho Clown, Chessman, LA Park, Pagano, and Pentagon Jr.
  • Women: La Hiedra, Big Mami, Lady Maravilla, Lady Shani
  • Minis: Laredo Boy, Dinasita

Thoughts:

Faby may be the best

The main event was truly an extended squash. Hamburguesa got in offense solely to prolong the match. He was never in danger of actually winning a thing. He was only in danger of suffering, the suffered Pentagon was more than happy to provide. Pentagon showed respect to Hamburguesa before and after the match, while enjoying destroying him in between it. He had fun doing it and the joy was infectious.

I will never think about Pagano & Octagon Jr. again. It was fine for a TV match. Pagano worked a technical style and nothing went wrong. Octagon was steadier than his teammate Myzteziz but didn’t steal the show.

They took away the crowd, so LA Park could not brawl among them, could not rely on them to go nuts for spots, could not steal the drink trays in between. LA Park still did great. It’s like he’s a great wrestler. He did a great number of things with Laredo Kid that I was sure were not happening when the match started, especially taking the Spanish Fly spot. LA Park also seemed to be watching his Kenny Omega taped judging by the V-Trigger spots. I doubt we’ll ever get an interview with LA Park where he’s totally open and introspective about his wrestling thoughts but he seems like a guy who makes a point of adapting his style to the times. He adapted to the situation here, going heavier on the action in a short time. Laredo helped a lot, sold big, wasn’t totally hurt by this, but this was another LA Park show. (It’s also got to be the shortest LA Park singles match in quite a while.)

Chessman rare singles TV matches in the last decade have tended to be lumbering brawls, and he’s not looked like his younger self in basing for tecnicos. It was a pleasant surprise to get him doing as much as he did for Myzteziz Jr. in their match. The tecnico seemed a little hesitant at times, but Chessman was right there with him for his high spots. Maybe Chessman getting the win motivated him, but he came off as the better guy of the two in the match.

Chessman doing this at a decent rate of speed, as opposed to the slower CMLL version

The best women’s match was easily the Shani/Apache encounter. Shani’s progressed that she can go hold for hold with Faby. She’s also not afraid to kick hard, knowing the hard kick is coming back the other way. Faby teasing being stopped early by a shoulder injury seemed like a bad sign – not that she was actually hurt, but that it felt like a veteran who was very unhappy about being asked to lose and might tank the match – but she did great as a sarcastic ruda here. Clapping on the tapatia for the non-existent fans was nice. They mixed up what they did well, and Faby can still go at a high level.

The running theory on Dr. Wagner’s tired performance last week is it was actually his second or third match that night, with AAA quietly having taped earlier that day. That might have happened with Lady Maravilla too. Or maybe she was just gassed from the run-in prior, or not having wrestled for a month, because she looked exhausted early on. She got a second win later on, but Keyra carried most of a match that doesn’t really live up to the ones they’ve had in the past (or might again in the future.) The kicks to the face were nice and the last few minutes were good, but better is expected here.

Vanilla is a limited wrestler. Big Mami is a very limited wrestler. Putting them in a cold match was not ideal. Mami’s limitations are easier to overlook in a bloody match where she’s fighting for her life with the crowd rooting her on. The empty arena just showcased her kicks that came nowhere close to the intended target and struggles selling. Vanilla probably can be carried to a good match with a strong opponent but wasn’t the person who could make this Mami match work. In a better situation, Mami is left out of a tournament like this entirely; she’s instead wrestling at least two matches (and maybe a third based on the promos.)