AAA Héroes Inmortales XII recap and review: Athleticism, light tubes, and a Thunderdome

AAA’s Héroes Inmortales XII is in the books. The show went down last night in Puebla, Puebla. If you have ever watched AAA, then the show most likely filled expectations. Equal parts amazing athleticism, high drama, crazy confusion, and face-palming moments. That mix always creates a wild, fun show.

There were a few lineup tweaks to differ from the advertised card. Andrew Everett recently injured his knee against Puma King in Tijuana. He was still present ringside but was replaced by Laredo Kid in the tag team championship three-way. Angelikal replaced Laredo to team with Aerostar and Drago in a trios three-way. The Copa Antonio Peña only had ten competitors; eight of which were advertised. There was also a Dome of Death for Killer Kross and a partner against two Clowns.

Read about the main event here of hair vs hair in Jeff Jarrett against Dr. Wagner Jr. This recap and review will hit the rest of the card.

Faby Apache retained the Reina de Reinas Championship

Faby Apache defeated Starfire, Keyra, and the unsurprising surprise of Scarlett Bordeaux. Earlier in the week, Bordeaux was announced to appear but without official mention of being included in the match.

Odds were stacked against Faby in a four-way match against young challengers, but Faby was confident nonetheless. It started 3-on-1 against her as the other ladies ganged up. The crowd dynamic was a little weird. They rooted for the ruda Faby. I’m not sure if it was the 3-on-1 that turned the crowd.

Action was constant. Highlights include Faby doing a surfboard submission to Starfire then Keyra lying on top of Faby for a pin attempt and Bordeaux with a cradle snap suplex.

The finish was down to Faby to Starfire suplexing it out. Starfire hit a double underhook facebreaker onto her knees. Faby did the same except into a facebuster. Starfire’s turn again with a tiger German suplex. Faby finished the game with a dragon suplex to win.

After the match, Lady Shani hit the ring to challenge Faby to a Reina de Reinas match at a later date. Faby accepted but stiffed Shani on the handshake. As much as the crowd cheered Faby during the bout, it was clear that they felt Shani was the babyface in that heated feud.

El Poder del Norte are trios kings

The champs, El Poder del Norte, defeated the teams of Mamba, Pimpinela Escarlata, Maximo and Angelikal, Drago, Aerostar in a non-title three-way.

The action was typical exciting trios mishmash. Highlights include Aerostar rope bouncing, plenty of leaping to the outside, and a twisting corkscrew by Aerostar.

In one confusing moment, Angelikal connected on a big splash pin attempt, but the referee stood there and never counted. Angelikal would have had a win or at least a long two count. It was weird.

For the finish, Angelikal and Mocho Cota Jr. were alone in the ring. They fought for position up on the turnbuckle. Cota earned the upper hand with a super Spanish Fly. That was enough for victory.

After the match, Monster Clown attacked Aerostar. El Poder del Norte kept Drago away from making a save. I guess there was a new storyline that Aerostar wants the challenge of flying solo. In a promo on a different day, Monster attacked Aerostar. I suppose this was continuation of that. It would not be the final encounter of the evening between those two.

Texano Jr. and Rey Escorpion retained tag team gold

Texano Jr. and Rey Escorpion defeated the number one contenders, Flamita and Bandido, and another team of Laredo Kid and DJZ.

This match had the most impressive high-flying maneuvers of the evening. Highlights include a standing Phoenix splash by Bandido, Dirty Dancing big air by Flamita, a twisting corkscrew by Bandido, a frog moonsault by Laredo, a double hurricanrana by DJZ to two opponents at the same time, a double superplex by Texano to two opponents at the same time, and a 360 splash by Laredo off the apron to the floor.

For the finish, DJZ found himself alone against both Texano and Rey Escorpion. Rey Escorpion crushed DJZ with a muscle buster set up into a piledriver type maneuver. It looked like Texano was trying to light his bull rope on fire, but I didn’t see any flame. One hot whip lash then a pin for the win.

Pagano won the Copa Antonio Peña

Lucha Libre AAA

This year, the ever evolving Copa Antonio Peña bout was a ten luchador Royal Rumble contest. Elimination was over the top rope only. The time intervals were sixty seconds. There was an annoying alarm noise for the ten second countdown. The order of entry was as follows:

1. El Hijo del Vikingo
2. Super Fly
3. Espectro
4. Kahos
5. Niño Hamburguesa
6. La Parka Negra
7. Chessman
8. Averno
9. Hijo del Fantasma
10. Pagano

The order of elimination was as follows:

1. El Hijo del Vikingo by Super Fly
2. Super Fly by ? (The camera missed it during Averno’s entrance.)
3. Chessman by Hijo del Fantasma
4. La Parka Negra by Hijo del Fantasma
5. Averno by Kahos
6. Kahos by Niño Hamburguesa
7. Espectro by Pagano
8. Niño Hamburguesa by Hijo del Fantasma
9. Hijo del Fantasma by Pagano
Winner: Pagano

The bout was a bit lackluster until the final three. It was a shame that Vikingo was tossed without getting a chance to do anything memorable. Espectro and Kahos were surprises that the announcers put over with great enthusiasm.

The end included Niño Hamburguesa, Hijo del Fantasma, and Pagano. The three fought a little until Hamburguesa was eliminated by Fantasma with a low blow on the corner. Fantasma pushed Hamburguesa out to end Niño’s night.

In a head-scratching moment, Fantasma tried to pin Pagano after a super hurricanrana and a frog splash. The referee explained it was over-the-top to win. I can’t fault Fantasma. I think I heard the announcers say the final two would be pinfall or submission, but I could be wrong.

Fantasma’s Mercenarios mates would make their way to the ring. Texano punched Pagano with a bull rope wrapped fist, and Rey Escorpion whacked Pagano with a chair. That led to an attempt of odds evening by Hamburguesa. He smashed Fantasma with a chair, while Fantasma was on the top turnbuckle. Fantasma fell, but not to the ground. He fell into the waiting arms of his buds for a cool spot. Texano and Escorpion rolled Fantasma back into the ring without his feet touching the ground.

I’m not quite sure how the final elimination went down. The camera was focused on something else as Pagano tossed Fantasma.

After the match, two perpetrators of violence ambushed Pagano.

Lucha Libre AAA

They destroyed light tubes in spectacular fashion. The last blow was a flying splash with light tubes onto Pagano. In a promo, they announced their names. Ciclope and Medio Extremo. After seeing that, I would hate to meet Full Extremo.

Welcome to the Thunderdome

In a neat surprise, the tag match of Killer Kross and Monster Clown (surprise partner) against Psycho Clown and Murder Clown was turned into a Domo de la Muerte match. Imagine a dome over the ring. Four men enter, three men leave through the roof. Tables, ladders, and chairs were at the ready for use.

Lucha Libre AAA

Violence, ripped masks, blood, and bruises abound. The fight was a giant brawl. Top highlights include a two-man powerbomb to Murder off a ladder and Kross spearing Psycho while he was hanging from the top of the cage. My favorite moment was Killer Kross pretending not to hear the referee’s admonishments. The ref leaned in closer to the cage. Kross thumbed him in the eye.

Murder escaped first with a helpful boost from Psycho. Kross vamoosed second. That left Psycho against Monster and led to a truly whoa-tacular moment. Psycho climbed to the top hole then decided to splash down upon Monster through a wooden board. Psycho later escaped to give his team the win.

Afterward, Aerostar charged into the ring for payback on Monster Clown. On the mic, Mr. Spaceman said that Monster always attacks from the back. Aerostar can play that game too. Aerostar left holding Monster’s mask.

The main event between Jeff Jarrett and Dr. Wagner Jr. closed the show, which you can read about here.

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Héroes Inmortales XII was a very enjoyable event. It was far from perfect, but AAA knows how to put on a show. The first three matches were solid and entertaining. The last three kind of diminished in quality but still had their memorable moments. For example, the Jarrett vs Wagner fight was no classic in any way but the finishing hijinks were humorous. Overall, the show hit all the right notes. High-flying, cool suplexes, surprise appearances, post-match altercations, extreme antics of violence, and that over-the-top feeling that makes AAA what it is.