I’m done. There are other recaps I’ve done and haven’t quite gotten around to posting, but let’s just get this up so it’s off my way. Warning: it’s 10,000 words. I’m going to put in a request for an editor at the next website budget meeting.
Relevos AAA: It’s easy to correct the dots between Billy seemingly not bothering to put on his wrestling gear and his misadventure with white powder, but I don’t that we can prove it. His level non-participation seems overstated, though he’s also seemed more interested.
Not the best match of the show, surprisingly, but still good. Minis were good, Sexi’s act is better as a ruda, and more obvious statements.
If the feud AAA is building here is Fabi’s hair and Sexi’s mask, why do the finish around Elegido’s mask?
Zorro/X-Pac: where did Charly’s flour come from? Why, after all the stuff about the cane shots, did they use a belt? Couldn’t the exact same bit been done with Zorro taking all 10 cane shots?
Alex/Alan/Crazy/Tiger: the stunt match it figured to be, with Tiger and Crazy laughably indulging all their urges – or at least the ones they felt safe doing in DF. I didn’t really have too big of a problem with the CO finish, because they had a much better chance of actually hitting the spot inside the ring.
In recent years, AAA has had the winner of the title tournament lose in the first defense for this title, the tag team titles, and the Mexican welterweight title. If/when Mini Charly Manson gets in the ring long enough to defend the minis title, you’d expect for him to lose in his first defense too. They’ve only not done this with the heavyweight title, because that’s carefully planned and everything else is an attempt to surprise – though I don’t know why people why people would care that Alex was first out here.
Latin & Marco vs Joe & Nicho – If you had made guess, I would’ve bet the men in the crowd would’ve turned on Marco before Latin, so that was all strange. This was the least memorable match on the show and I’m beyond caring about La Hermandad as a team.
Mesias vs Wagner – a pleasant surprise. Maybe the importance of the situation made it better. At least, it prevented their bad habits – the building was too big for Wagner just to play off one tecnico section instead of working, and it was not the venue for Mesias to turn it into a long crowd brawl. They had to get the match over and did.
Crowd clearly picked Wagner over Mesias. I completely reject what was written in the WON about this match – crowd booed Mesias any time he’d do something to Wagner, only tiring out on that near the end of the match. (That’s another point in their favor, they did 35+ minutes without losing the crowd, or resorting to a CMLL-rific 15 of doing a move, two count, everyone lays down for a while, other guy does a move.) That Wagner would be picked over Mesias is no surprise to anyone, except those in AAA.
Actually, Mesias himself figured out the fan’s picks. I don’t remember the exact point, but he stopped fighting it and went along as a subtle heel, which made the match a lot better. I’m tougher on Mesias than anyone else, but even I’ve got to admit he was really good here. Easily the best match I’ve seen him in and is at least an AAA MOTYC.
I noticed Dr. Wagner’s luchawiki profile the other day, which appears to be mostly have been written in 2006, and reminds me that he easily could’ve lost his mask and started to fade out in 2005, and it wouldn’t have been a huge surprise if he did it in 2004. Obviously, it worked out well for him to stay for the last four. Even more recently, he’s the clear winner of the promotion jumps/indy groups chaos of the last year. Wagner doesn’t have his independence, but he’s got a major promoting pushing him to the top, which is really what he wanted all along.
BTW, next time AAA says they don’t care about the internet, please remember they kept the details about Wagner’s contract status so the people on the internet wouldn’t figure out he was going to win.
The Wagner chair shot to counter Mesias’ pescado was really well done and well shot. There’s not a lot of those moments, so I figure i need to point them out.
I’m begging someone to give me a name for Mesias’ move. I think that’s why I’ve got to buy the video game right there, some poor designer may have had to come up with names for everything and I can start using them even if AAA doesn’t.
Cage Match: chaos. Was it Alan who said it was a perfectly right for AAA? I totally agree.
Putting aside Santo winning – WON says AAA was afraid Santo was going to walk out on the show, so they gave him the win to make sure he’d be happy; not clear if Santo actually threatened to leave or if this was just preventive – the plot points in this match were all weird
- Charly is the one who gets the key, but Cien walks out with it? Pre-tape? Something I missed?
- A half dozen AAA wrestlers are stomping a mudhole in Konnan, but he’s walking to ringside fine a couple of minutes later with no sign of any of them?
- The rudos didn’t seem to have any particular advantage by handcuffing Parka
- Roldan was actually stopping Konnan perfectly fine before Masked Zorro showed up
- The cane shot actually didn’t directly lead to anything – Konnan wasn’t actually stopping anyone from leaving. It wasn’t a difference making spot that didn’t actually make a difference.
- two tecnicos left against one rudo is a odd way to do it for drama (but this may be the Santo thing)
If this was one of the US promotions they were trying to emulate, there’d at least be a storyline wondering if Zorro was actually under the Zorro mask. (And he did look a little odd for reasons I can’t find the words to describe. Maybe it was his gait?) AAA didn’t give the impression that they were going this way, that this instead was all about a symbolic reversion to an earlier Zorro brought on by that slap. I guess we know for sure if there’s more story whenever Zorro turns back up on TV again. Which I hope is soon.
I would’ve been happy with this show if I paid $20 of it. (It was a lot more entertaining to watch than to read updates about, that’s for sure.) This was a good major show for AAA.
” I guess we know for sure if there’s more story whenever Zorro turns back up on TV again. Which I hope is soon.” Your not the only one. This Masked Zorro angle is the only thing I think is interesting in AAA right now.
Billy Boy doing a Coked up werewolf gimmick under a mask would get him in the main event easily. Oh and I thought this was the best he has looked in a while at Mania. Billy Boy not giving a shit is still better than 95% of the roster. As for the finish, I still think they are going to do a Mask/hair vs Mask/Hair match with Elegido/Fabi vs Sexy/Billy probably at the memorial show.
And I’m glad you liked Wagner/Mesias. Seriously a awesome match anywhere but especially for AAA.
“I noticed Dr. Wagner’s luchawiki profile the other day, which appears to be mostly have been written in 2006, and reminds me that he easily could’ve lost his mask and started to fade out in 2005, and it wouldn’t have been a huge surprise if he did it in 2004. Obviously, it worked out well for him to stay for the last four.”
And in a weird way, he can thank Doc Sr. for passing away when he did (right before the 2004 anniversary)… because that kick-started the big fan support for him that really revitalized him in the long run. If Sr hadn’t died, he’d still be a rudo and probably have dropped the hood by now.
@Calabcd44:
I second that.
Latin Lover was cheered from his entrance, and through the match. Then suddenly he breaks up a pin and you hear boos from the crowd. Later he was booed about when he jumped over the top rope. I guess the geeks who made up 30% of the audience decided to let their voices be heard.
Charly Manson made fun of Zorro’s old gimmik by putting on his old Mask and moking the giving of the rose. That was a very Heyman and Russo thing to do, making fun of a guy’s old gimmik. Manson can mock that all he wants but Zorro was a lot more over with his old gimmik than Manson ever will be, and Zorro will go back to that because it’s better than the shit he’s doing now.