Recapped: 05/14/2017
Matches:
All matches were taped in Auditorio de Tijuana on 04/21/2017.
Dark Cuervo & Dark Scoria defeated Australian Suicide & Bengala for the AAA World Tag Team Championship (6:17, double submission, via Lucha Libre AAA, good)
Taya defeated Ayako Hamada to win the AAA Reina de Reinas Championship in a street fight (17:00, ref stop, via Lucha Libre AAA, great)
Carta Brava Jr., Mocho Cota Jr., Soul Rocker defeat Dr. Wagner Jr., Faby Apache, Psycho Clown to win the AAA World Trios Championship
(8:37, pinfall, via Lucha Libre AAA, ok)
What happened:
This is long.
Prior to the main event, a still bloody Taya (w/Kross) sarcastically wished Faby luck and made a comment about Mary. Faby slapped Taya immediately, and Kross just as quickly started choking Faby. Psycho Clown and Dr. Wagner show up, and Taya gets Kross to back off so they can leave.
Mocho Cota demanded the trios title match no matter what Vampiro had to say about it or who Faby had to team with. He was shocked that Faby, looking sad, actually turned up. They teases she was just going to hand the belts over to Poder del Norte, and then she revealed she had actually tag partners. Cota wanted to know who these tag partners were, and Wagner’s music played. (And Psycho’s video played oops.) The rudos freaked out over these partners.
Monster & Murder run in for no particular reason – I guess Wagner had a pinfall chance off a DDT, but he wasn’t going to win on it and there’s no real reason for Murder & Monster to be involved here. No one bothers to distract Piero this time, and the interference that would’ve been a DQ on another show is all OK this week. Monster & Murder take out Poder del Norte and act like they want to be friends with Psycho, but Wagner & Psycho send them out. They try to do stereo spots where the Traidor clowns catch Carta & Soul Rocker diving, and then Psycho & Wagner knock them over with their own dive. It does much worse for Murder & Carta first, but Wagner’s dive on them looks cool. Mocho and Faby are left, Faby gets a near fall on a picture perfect German suplex, then dropkicks Piero by mistake. She gets a visual three on a huracanrana, but Taya sneaks back in, and hits her with a chair. Cota covers, and Hijo del Tirantes comes in for three count. I think he might be a heel again. Psycho consoles Faby as the champs leave. Wagner loos like he’s about to say something but never gets around to it before they cut away.
Taya wears a Vancouver Canuck jersey to the women’s title match. Ayako has a Perros del Mal shirt and has the scratch logo as facepaint. Both wrestle in jeans for the street fight. Taya bleeds off a chair shot to the head (with her hands up); for once, AAA keeps the cameras away while someone’s cutting themselves to not expose it.
There’s a weird spot double ko spot where Piero counts two, holds up at three because for them to get up, but neither woman seems to move. Fans notice. Late in the match, Ayako misses a moonsault to the floor – it’s her second miss, but this one’s thru a table. Taya brings her in, Ayako kicks out as a surprise, but Taya puts her in a chinlock surfboard and Ayako passes out in the hold. Piero stops the match and the title changes hands.
Vampiro interrupts the post match so he can put over the match as the best thing ever. It does work in getting them a round of applause Meanwhile, Ayako’s put on a backboard.
Scoria & Cuervo did an interview quickly mentioning Bengala & “Aerostar” as their opponents. Poor Suicide didn’t even get mentioned, and they really focused on Pagano & Mesias anyway.
The champs beat up Suicide & Bengala after the match for no real obvious reason. Pagano & Mesias walked in for the save, but also brawled with Suicide & Bengala. Aerostar & Drago also ran in and attacked, and security came in behind them. Cuervo & Scoria snuck away while the other teams kept fighting.
Suicide melted down backstage after the loss, freaking out about people getting involved in his matches all the time (which didn’t actually happen this time) and talking about being pushed over the edge. Seemed like a character change is coming.
The upcoming events schedule lists a 06/30 Puebla taping, which wasn’t previously on the schedule. Not sure which it replaces yet.
Noti AAA had a obituary video package for El Apache and scenes from a mass for Joaquin Roldan & Apache with Marisela talking about them both. There was also hype for the Pachuca taping.
Thoughts:
The main event was a mixed bag. Crowd was totally into it when everyone was involved, and not as much when it was Wagner in there alone – AAA is doing about as good as can with Poder del Norte in the moment, but the lack of a build up to this spot they just don’t buy these guys as threats to top guys on their own. The works was (mostly) ok and Mocho Cota is doing well for a guy who’s suddenly been given a lot of talking time, but they’re not getting past their opening match stigma and nothing done here is going to help them. AAA’s given up their ideas about rules making sense in about the usual length of time, so they could have everyone out there to set up the six way match for Verano de Escandalo, but they still didn’t explain it in a way people would know it’s coming.
Ayako/Taya was most compelling AAA match so far this year, the first one I’m recommending. This came off as an attempt to match the lunacy and violence of some of Taya’s bigger Lucha Underground matches, and Ayako is definitely up for some crazy times. I thought one moonsault to nowhere was big, she decided to do two. The blood added a lot to the feeling of the match being out of control. The solid/smoothiest of the moves wasn’t consistent – Taya tossed a chair to Ayako quite a few times and the kick or whatever that followed looked good only about half of those times – but they got the emotion right and a little bit of messiness works for a street fight. Ayako being back around has been a huge help for AAA, and great for Taya – this is her best singles match in her run, I think. The passing out finish isn’t one usually done here and I wasn’t sure how it was going to get over as it was happening, but the crowd reacted loudly to the finish. It also sets up a rematch nicely, and they’re going to have interest in doing one.
La Secta’s title defense was better than the title switch match easily, a full out sprint for the six minutes it lasted. Cuervo & Scoria didn’t do much interesting but also didn’t have time to do all that much, with the match instead being built around giving Bengala & Australian Suicide as many near falls as possible before they got finished off. They had some nice team work and Suicide’s top rope moves looked pretty. If they were only going to go a short time, they got the most they could out of it. Post match idea of Cuervo & Scoria slipping away fits with the Pagano/Mesias stuff seems to be pushing the idea that they’re the really good at manipulating other people, which is at least a character trait. Mesias & Cuervo’s punch battle was not so good.
