Guerra de Titanes preview

One of the many differences between CMLL and AAA is how they book major shows. It’s lucky if CMLL decides to do two notable big matches for a show, while AAA tries to make a card full of heated matches. At the same, when you get the big matches on a CMLL show, they’re usually definitive ends to the feuds (to the point where the feuds are frustratingly never refereed to again.) It’s very rate to get that complete end to a feud in AAA on a big show; more often, the participants are just pulled into a new rivalry without really completing the old one, or the idea is just forgotten somewhere along the line.

This time around, AAA presents Guerra de Titanes as a show with one match that’s definitely the end of the feud, one match that they’ve all but promised is the end of the feud (only it’s hard to believe them), and five other matches that are either mid-issue or no issue. For the end of the year show, it’s not a lot of endings.

Probably could get do a poll for every match, but there’s only one finish that really matters here. Feel free to give your guesses for the rest in the comments.

1) Mascarita Divina vs Mini Histeria, Mascarita Sagrada 2007, Mini Charly Manson, Mini Psicosis, La Parkita, Octagoncito, Mini Abismo Negro, Mini Chessman [AAA MINI, battle royal]

Way back when AAA ran a tournament of minis matches (all of which lasted 3 minutes or less), the idea here seemed to be to elevate Mini Charly Manson as a tecnico to help fill the gap after Mascarita Sagrada 2000 jumped to AAA. It hasn’t worked, because Charly hasn’t worked; knee and nose injuries have sidelined him for big stretches of his reign. After a year and a half, this is Charly’s first known defense.

The minis haven’t gotten a lot of focus later (though that’s much more than the none before), but the matches have been pushing a Mini Abismo Negro/Mini Charly Manson rivalry. Everyone else is in here because they just wanted to get everyone in here, and it’s not going to be clear what the rules are going to be until the match starts. (They can’t really be doing over the top eliminations, can they?)

Abismo makes the most sense to win this, but it’s the minis title and it doesn’t really matter who has the title, so they could go with whomever they feel like that day. It’ll seem dumb if Mini Charly, Abismo or Octagoncito don’t end up with it, but it’s a title that means nothing at the moment. As long as the rules don’t restrict the match, this should be pretty good regardless of the winner.

El Elegido, Extreme Tiger, Pimpinela Escarlata vs Electroshock, Silver King, Último Gladiador

There’s no real story here; this is just a generic WagnerManiacs vs AAA match. All the WagenerManiacs here, and none even making a token appearance in the #1 contenders match, seems to hint at the finish of the main event. But that’ assuming these things are put together with a cohesive vision, which can’t possible be true.

This’ll be okay and then Electroshock will beat Extreme Tiger. Did anyone else see in the match two weekends ago where Electroshock just completely mock Tiger’s height, kill him with a powerbomb, and then Tiger never got a comeback? Somehow, I was still surprised by that.

3) Jack Evans & Marco Corleone vs Joe Lider & Nicho el Millionario [AAA TAG]

Jack & Marco have had promise as a team, but it feels like they got put together a bit at the last second to mean something here. Hermandad eXtreme is hitting their 15th month as champ (a few more defenses than Charly), but they don’t seem to be any bigger deal for the length of the run. Unlike Lider & Nicho, AAA might not go out of their way to have Jack & Marco lose to the main eventers to prove a point, so it might be better to have the titles on them. Maybe?

I dunno. I expect titles to be retained because that’s just the way they’ve done this title. You can count on Lider & Nicho trying to do all sorts of painful thing to Jack, and trying to keep Marco in as little as possible.

4) Fabi Apache vs Sexy Star [mask, hair]

I’d consider this an end, even though Sexi Star still has the Reina de Reinas title. It’s a defining match in the feud – either Sexi Star gets a surprising, status quo changing win over Fabi Apache (not happening) or Sexi Star takes the ultimate loss (this is what’s happening.)

This might steal the show, which would’ve been crazy six months ago. I truly think Sexi Star has gotten better since the rudo turn, but this is going to be the Apaches and Billy Boy and Aerostar and whoever else pulling out all stops to build to the big ending. Fabi’s getting the win, but this is more about the road to that finish.

5) La Parka Jr., Latin Lover, Octagón, Rocky Romero vs Alex Koslov, Chessman, Teddy Hart, Zorro – winner gets a title shot at Rey de Reyes

The timing of the stipulation here makes eliminates a few people. It wouldn’t be a stretch for any of these eight guys to get a title shot, if it was just going to be on a TV show and over a short term. Something like Octagon vs Wagner wouldn’t be very good, but if they setup the match on the taping previously to doing it, it would not be hard to build some interest in it. Teddy Hart vs Mesias wouldn’t be a big draw, but it’d be a unique match up, breaking up the similar main events.

Since this is a title match specifically for Rey de Reyes, there’s a lot less possibilities. Teddy, Alex, and Rocky have never been used as top guys. AAA does have four months to get them there, but a struggling company is going to stick with who they trust. Latin Lover isn’t a full time AAA wrestler, and isn’t going to want to lose a singles match. (It’s going to be a trick to get him to lose here.) That leaves

– La Parka, who’d make a lot of sense against Wagner and not as much against Mesias
– Chessman, who’d make a lot of sense against Wagner and they just did the title match with Mesias last year at Rey de Reyes
– Zorro, who’d make a lot of sense against Wagner and they just did the title match with Mesias last year at Guerra de Titanes

Huh! Funny how that works out. (FWIW, you could say the same thing about Latin Lover as Parka – a match with Wagner is easy, a match with Mesias doesn’t make sense unless Mesias turns.)

This is where I wish I had time to be all the way caught up on AAA TV, because I’ve got no sense about how Zorro & Chessman compare to each other on the Legion depth chart. Zorro is a guy with no momentum at the moment, but he’s also not the guy being put thru tables and stretchered out versus the WagnerManicas. Parka getting the shot makes for a more interesting story, but worse matches and I think they feel like they have to deliver in the title matches. Not sure they always do, but that seems like the idea. Zorro’s my pick.

Depending on who’s left long, this could be good or really not good.

6) Cibernético vs Konnan [street]

A million billion runs in and probably at least one big stunt. Surely they’ll move this away from the Legion/AAA match, just so those guys get a break in between. This was always going to be like the Konnan/Vampiro matches, where Konnan stood on the apron and wathches while Vampiro did spots with Jack Evans and Teddy Hart. Konnan’s more recent health problems shouldn’t change the plan.

Konnan wins, because of reasons already mentioned this week, but the outcome I’m hoping here is something is set up to stop Konnan from being booked in matches or taking bumps, because this is beyond silly now.

7) Dr. Wagner Jr. vs El Mesías [AAA HEAVY]

If I had to do star ratings off the top of my head, I’d go

[poll id=”52″]TripleMania: **** 1/4
Verano de Escandalo: * 1/2 (and it was ** 1/2 when Cibernetico was pinned)
Antonio Pena Memorial: ***

They’re not getting to three stars in this match. The dome cage helps lighter guys do hanging high spots of the cage, but doesn’t play to these guys styles. Wagner wants to go to the crowd, but can’t for this show. Mesias is all about hitting his move out of nowhere and getting the big win, but that won’t work in this match. They didn’t have much of an idea for false finishes last time in a cage, which gives little hope for take 2.

No idea what you do with Mesias if he loses this. There’s no way they could give him a fifth shot, even if it wasn’t int the rules – he’ll be a complete failure with no real excuse. Yet, if this feud was about doing what made most sense for AAA or Mesias, Wagner would’ve lost the title a while back. Mesias getting some attempt of a moral victory without getting the title seems way too possible. Everything I know about how wrestling feuds are supposed to work says Mesias wins this match and wins the title, but AAA’s different. When it comes down to it, I’d rather be wrong picking Dr. Wagner, so that’s what I’ve got.