AAA in Tonalá, CMLL weekend roundup, The Crash

AAA TV (SAT) 02/22/2020 Domo del Parque Solidaridad, Tonalá, Jalisco [AAALucha Central, thecubsfan]
1) Aramis, Máscarita Sagrada, Niño Hamburguesa b Arez, Demus, Draztick Boy  (posted by Lucha Libre AAA (Twitch))
10:31. Hamburguesa splash Draztick Boy. Los Ingobernables beat up Sagrada & Hamburguesa after the match, with LA Park sarcastically claiming he was jealous of Hamburguesa’s relationship with Big Mami. They promised to beat up the Clowns in the main event. Konnan was with Los Ingobernables.
2) Lady Shani L La HiedraLady Maravilla  (posted by Lucha Libre AAA (Twitch))
8:02. Hiedra & Maravilla both pinned Shani in a confusing, Rey Escorpion aided finish.
3) Parka Negra & Súper Fly b Hijo de LA Park & LA Park and Arez & Argenis  (posted by Lucha Libre AAA (Twitch))
11:20. Parka Negra fouled and unmasked Hijo de LA Park
4) Hijo Del Vikingo, Myzteziz Jr., Octagón Jr. b Averno, Chessman, Rey Escorpión  (posted by Lucha Libre AAA (Twitch))
15:01. Los Mercenarios (Escorpion/Taurus/Hiedra) attacked Jinetes and asked for an immediate title match. Vikingo accepted.
5) Hijo Del Vikingo, Myzteziz Jr., Octagón Jr. © b La Hiedra, Rey Escorpión, Taurus [AAA TRIOS (posted by Lucha Libre AAA (Twitch))
1:50. Not totally clear if this was a post-match attack or an official match, but Tirantes did count three after Vikingo landed Cuerno de Vikingo on Hiedra. 1st defense since winning the titles way back at TripleMania.
6) Fénix & Pentagón Jr. b Australian Suicide & Taurus and Laredo Kid & Puma King  (posted by Lucha Libre AAA (Twitch))
13:16. Daga was listed in this match but was working Impact instead, causing a cascading set of changes (and Suicide taking his place.) Fenix beat Suicide, then he and Penta were attacked by the OGTs.
7) La Bestia Del Ring, LA Park, Rush Toro Blanco b Monsther Clown, Murder Clown, Pagano  (posted by Lucha Libre AAA (Twitch))
21:48. LA Park speared Monster Clown for the win after Chessman attacked Pagano.

This is a disappointing show in that the other shows have been so high so far this year. It’s hasn’t just been the match quality; there’s a level of organization and coherency present on the other shows that just wasn’t here for whatever reason. Matches 4 & 6 are worth your time but now that we know that AAA can do better, it’s hard to give them a break just for reverting to old AAA.

AAA likely knew they weren’t going to run the original Guadalajara building and weren’t going to have Daga on this show for a while. (Daga/Jack Crist was announced for that show a month ago, before AAA even announced this card, and it says something about the different bubbles AAA and Impact are in that no one really seemed to catch the double booking.) AAA made the choice to update the poster to change the location but not to remove Daga. It’s tough to give them a break on this one. Daga may have given AAA a break here; Konnan frequently drags Daga on Twitter for previous complaints about AAA not promoting him in media. Daga probably could’ve taken a shot back for AAA getting around to promoting him when they knew he wasn’t going to be there and said nothing instead.

Laredo Kid vs Kenny Omega is going to mean something solely on people appealing to people on match quality or on residual fame from Exatlon. I’m not sure AAA could get people to believe Laredo had a real chance to win by just getting some tag wins along the way and it again may not matter. But STILL:

  • Laredo Kid gone for five months on a reality show
  • Laredo Kid returns to TV, immediately beaten up by Los Ingobernables
  • Laredo Kid technically wins the main event but really gets beaten up again and unmasked to end the show
  • Laredo Kid doesn’t factor into the decision on this show
  • Laredo Kid faces Los Ingobernables on the next show so he’s pretty definitely not getting a pinfall then
  • and then he gets a mega title match

It’s AAA, it’s normal, but it’s still so weird if you look at things outside of a Mexican wrestling context. Again, people are going to be into the Laredo Kid & Kenny Omega match for reasons outside of recent AAA TV (half the people seeking it out won’t have watched an AAA TV show in months), but it also feels like if AAA is going to book the Lucha Brothers as the bigger deal at the moment, their tag match needs to be treated like the bigger deal come Rey de Reyes.

Los Traumas won the tag team titles on Saturday night in the Crash, defeating Bestia & Mecha Wolf and Mesias & Oraculo in a cage match. The Puerto Rico team were moved up in a card that was changed a bit and ran late with the cage construction. The Bandido/Dragon Lee vs Gresham/Lethal match was said to be the best match on the show. Jonathan & Tony Casanova, who’ve been working the EMW shows of late, made a surprise appearance here. Ultimo Guerrero, Angel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Rayo de Jalisco, and Canek were announced for the next show in March.

CMLL (SAT) 02/22/2020 Arena Coliseo [CMLL]
1) Angelito & Kaligua b Pequeño Olímpico & Pequeño Violencia
2) Amapola, La Comandante, Tiffany b Avispa Dorada, La Guerrera, Princesa Sugehit
rudas took 2/3
3) Black Panther, Blue Panther Jr., Drone b Misterioso, Sagrado, Tiger
tecnicos took 1/3
4) Fuego b Okumura [lightning]
5) Cuatrero, Forastero, Sansón b Ángel de Oro, Flyer, Niebla Roja
NGD took 1/3, the last when Forastero cheated Niebla Roja.
6) Carístico, Titán, Volador Jr. DQ Euforia, Grako, Último Guerrero
Grako replaced Shocker, getting a pin on Caristico in the first fall. Tecnicos took 2/3, the last by UG foul to Volador.

Fuego wants a mask versus hair match with Okumura.

CMLL (SUN) 02/23/2020 Arena México [CMLL]
1) Eléctrico & Sangre Imperial b Apocalipsis & Príncipe Odín Jr.
2) La Infernal, Metálica, Tiffany b La Jarochita, Skadi, Stephanie Vaquer
rudos took 2/3
3) Cancerbero, Disturbio, Raziel b Fuego, Magia Blanca, Star Jr.
Rudos took 2/3. Magia Blanca suffered an injury.
4) Hechicero, Rey Bucanero, Templario b Dulce Gardenia, El Audaz, Guerrero Maya Jr.
rudos took 1/3
5) Diamante Azul, Kráneo, Niebla Roja b Hijo del Villano III, Luciferno, Mephisto
tecnicos took 2/3.
6) Volador Jr. b Negro Casas
Volador took 2/3, with Negro Casas once again losing a singles match via casita.

Volador talked about it beings honor to defeat Negro Casas. He’s got that honor a lot. Magia Blanca’s bad history with injuries makes every time he leaves a match concerning.

IWRG announced Ayako Hamada would begin training luchadoras for them, in a role similar to what Black Terry has been doing. IWRG has had occasionally women’s matches but rarely constant members of the roster (and usually indie women coming through rather than trainees.) Hamada’s also posted a teaser for her own gym on Twitter.

03/14 MexaWrestling at Arena San Juan

AAW announced The Lucha Alliance (Gringo Loco & Black Taurus) vs Arez & Aramis for their 03/20 show in Chicago. It’s not the only time to see those guys around Chicago soon – Aramis, Gringo and Taurus are on the GALLI show that Sunday night as well – but I really want to see that particular match. The issue is March 20th is CMLL Homenaje a Dos Leyendas. I couldn’t imagine missing one of the two biggest CMLL cards of the year, except CMLL seems determined not to let anyone watch it without being in Mexico City. There’s again no mention of it being streamed or not, which should be taken for granted as it’s not going to stream and it’ll go up on VOD the next day. If I’m just going to be looking at Twitter all night for results, I might as well do it at a wrestling show, or at least that’s my thought right now.

The 01/01 Lucha Memes Toxin vs Dr. Cerebro match will go up tomorrow. Aramis vs Latigo is being held up by the video being delivered back to the person uploading it.

El Hijo de Canis Lupus & Hao vs Dragon Bane & Junta Miyawaki from the NOAH 02/19 show is on YouTube. It’s the only match where they get to wrestle someone besides each other.

Terrorista & Zoe lost their masks to Angel Negro & Arcangel Suicida in an eight-team cage match in Tula, Hidalgo on Sunday. Terrorsita is Oscar Romero Diaz, Zoe is Andrea Vaquez.

LuchaWorld has the Lucha Report.

AAA on Twitch: 2020-02-22 (Tonalá)

a little off target

Recapped: 2020-02-22

Matches:

Aramis, Mascarita Sagrada, Nino Hamburguesa beat Demus, Draztick Boy, Látigo
(10:31, Hamburguesa splash Draztick Boy, good, 00:25:42)

Lady Shani lost to La Hiedra and Lady Maravilla
(8:02, Lady Maravilla top rope double stomp + both Hiedra/Marvilla covered, below average, 00:53:42)

Parka Negra & Súper Fly beat Hijo de LA Park & LA Park vs Argenis & Arez
(11:20, Parka Negra foul/unmask Hijo de LA Park, ok, 01:12:11)

Hijo Del Vikingo, Myzteziz Jr., Octagón Jr. beat Averno, Chessman, Rey Escorpión
(15:01, Octagon Jr. rope flip moonsault Chessman, great, 01:31:21)

Hijo Del Vikingo, Myzteziz Jr., Octagón Jr. © beat La Hiedra, Rey Escorpión, Texano Jr. to retain the AAA World Trios Championship
(1:50, Cuerno de Vikingo on Hiedra, n/r, 01:55:03)

Fénix & Pentagón Jr. beat Taurus & Australian Suicide and Laredo Kid & Puma King
(13:16, Fenix Black Fire Driver Australian Suicide, good, 02:05:04)

La Bestia Del Ring, LA Park, Rush Toro Blanco beat Monsther Clown, Murder Clown, Pagano
(21:48, LA Park spear Monster Clown, ok, 02:31:39)

What happened:

Aramis on target

Chessman attacked Pagano late in the main event, throwing him off the stage. That left the other two Clowns easy pickings for Los Ingobernables.

Los OGTs attacked Penta & Fenix after the tag title match. Averno particularly went after Penta.

Los Mercenarios attacked Jinetes del Aire after their match and demanded a trios title match right now. Vikingo accepted, the two teams fought briefly, Vikingo landed the 630 on Hiedra, and Tirantes counted a pin. The English announcers were confused if this was meant to be a real match or not, though the Spanish announcers were clearer that it was meant to be a defense.

Rey Escorpion seconded La Hiedra, interfering freely (but late needing a distraction to get involved again.) La Hiedra & Lady Maravilla fought during the match, but then both covered Lady Shani at the end. Tirantes counted three while both were covering, but was confused at what to make of it. Escorpion raised Hiedra’s arm, then Tirantes raised both arms.
Nino Hamburguesa & Mascarita Sagrada were this show’s Ingobernable beatdown victims, after the opening match, to make sure the rudos got booed later. Konnan appeared with Los Ingobernables for the first time since Guerra de Titanes, though he never got in the ring with them and only posed with them after. (By including him in that way, it only shows how extraneous he is to the concept.)

AAA advertised Daga despite him working the Impact show instead. Four of the six matches were changed around as a result. AAA had issued a new card a couple of days prior to the event when the venue was moved around but did not update the lineup.

Thoughts:

Fenix connects

Ingobernables matches work best when the crowd loudly reacts to their wild antics. The acoustics of this building (or the micing of it) didn’t allow for that all night. It was a problem and most of all for the main event. The violent beatdown by the rudos came off less so than in previous matches when it felt like no one was reacting to it. It also went on for a lot longer; these are always going to be long matches with LA Park involved, but they didn’t quite have the people for it to work. The holes in this matchup stood out more with a weak atmosphere.

The Lucha Brothers three-way tag was a step below the Guerra de Titanes equivalent, though Australian Suicide seemed to make more out of his involvement here than in that match. It may have been hurt by being yet another match of people doing big moves and someone else breaking them out; no one seems to kickout of moves and the saves aren’t particularly dramatic. Only Suicide near the end got in a near fall during the match, the rest was just more moves. The high points of the action were good and sometimes dangerous, but there were off-track moments and people getting in each other’s way. Fenix was upset about something at one point, but it stood out more when Puma & Taurus went through a table and Penta & Laredo picked the same side of the ring to do a package piledriver and nearly fell off onto them. Laredo came off as a guy in the mix but not a particularly important one, which is weird going into a title match (but admittedly not so weird for AAA.)

Chessman crashed and burned on a tornillo so the Jinetes del Aire match was great. That’s pretty much it. The tecnicos looked good, even without going full out. The rudos worked very hard to keep up with their moves, with Averno especially seeming to do more than usual. This match built better than anything else on the show, and the action held together the best. It was the best match of the night. The two minute title match leading out of it was at least a pleasant change from just having rudo teams beat down the tecnicos after most matches. Doing an actual pinfall was truly weird. The booking felt like an indie show but the action was nice while it lasted.

strange style powerbomb

The early three way tag was a clunky match built around the Hijo de LA Park & Parka Negra feud. Parka Negra usually looks good but didn’t as much in this feud. I can’t say anyone really did; there were a few moments for everyone, but it never came together. Rudo versus rudo matches have worked in AAA but they have the intensity to make this one work, and this just felt like a lot of people thrown together. The six-man suplex was all-time bad, from Arez tripping jumping into Argenis being lost at where to stand to everyone being on different timing. It felt like this was missing someone in charge directing things – both the suplex spot and the match in general.

The worst AAA match of the year isn’t saying much because it’s been a pretty good year. The women’s match effort wasn’t terrible and there will be worse matches than this in most year. It was just such a mess, far below their usual standards. The three way match on Lucha Capital were all better thought out than this one. Rey Escorpion interfering all match but then needing a distraction to interfere again made no sense. Hiedra & Maravilla fighting each other and then getting a pin together made no sense. This went wrong.

AAA concerned they didn’t have all six man match shows, so they added Demus & Hamburgesa to this. The opener didn’t get to the insanity of previous shows, a more solid match building around Mascarita Sagrada highlights. Draztick Boy drew Nino Hamburguesa so he didn’t get to show much, but the crowd loves Hamburguesa so it worked fine for them. The Aramis & Latigo sequence at the start was creative and held together, which doesn’t often work.

Vikingo