AAA roundup: Guerra de Titanes review and Rey de Reyes preview

Hey hey, it is lucha libre day. Let’s get caught up on what came (Guerra de Titanes) and what will come (Rey de Reyes).

You can watch Guerra de Titanes on YouTube (Part 1, Part 2) and Twitch as a subscriber. Rey de Reyes can be viewed for free on Twitch on Sunday, March 4 at 6pm CT.

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Guerra de Titanes Review

To begin without spoilers, I’ll list my match rankings if you want to watch before reading on.

Enjoyable:
AAA World Trios Championship: Averno, Chessman, Super Fly vs Carta Brava Jr., Tito Santana, Mocho Cota Jr. vs Aerostar, Drago, Raptor vs Mascara de Bronce, Angelikal, Bengala (video)
AAA World Cruiserweight Championship: Lanzelot vs Australian Suicide (video)

A notch below but still enjoyable:
AAA Reina de Reinas Championship: Lady Shani vs Faby Apache (video)

Not bad if you like one of the participants but not necessary viewing:
AAA Mega Championship: Johnny Mundo vs Dr. Wagner Jr. (video)
AAA Latin American Championship: El Hijo del Fantasma vs El Texano Jr. (video)

Pass:
Street Fight: Dark Cuervo, Dark Scoria, and La Parka vs Monster Clown, Murder Clown, and Dave the Clown (video)
Bull terrier match: Psycho Clown vs Rey Escorpion (video)

On to the show...

The opening video package features luchadores making faces with a globe. The catchphrase is, “This year will be the world.” I’m not sure what that means, but world domination via lucha libre stars couldn’t be that bad, could it?

Cue the AAA theme, also known as a song from Rocky IV. That jam always pumps me up. Do do do do, dodododo, doo doo. Excuse me while I put on spandex pants to exercise with wood.

Speaking of, foxy ladies walked around the ring with flags honoring AAA’s fallen owner and posed with Marisela Peña holding her husband’s urn.

http://www.luchalibreaaa.com/actualidad/fotos-guerra-titanes-2018-desde-la-cdmx/

Australian Suicide defeated Lanzelot to become new Cruiserweight Champion

Lanzelot was the reigning champion. Commentary mentioned that he is a nephew of Super Crazy. Australian Suicide is not to be confused with TNA’s Suicide. Zero relation. Australian Suicide’s outfit reminded me of Andy Dick screaming, “Revolution,” in an episode of NewsRadio.

Highlights include Lanzelot ball dropping Australian Suicide on the railing then drop kicking him into the crowd, Australian Suicide with a shooting star press off the railing onto the floor, and Lanzelot moonsaulting three times off each rope. That trio of moonsaults was cool. I’ve never seen that before. It felt very fresh.

The finish involved tactics of ill repute. Australian Suicide was on Lanzelot’s shoulders, then Australian Suicide twisted Lanzelot’s mask around so he couldn’t see. That led to a fireman’s carry position into a knee to gut slam as Australian Suicide became the new Cruiserweight champion.

This bout was very good, especially as an opener to get the crowd popping. It was mostly fast-paced with a couple of flashy moments. The bad was that they were painfully obvious about moving into position to take a move at times, although, it wasn’t so distracting as to take away from the overall enjoyment of the match.

One thing that needs to be said is that that referee is stank. Every three count is more like a nine count. In kayfabe, I don’t understand how the luchadores can put up with that nonsense. They would yell at him after every pin attempt, but I would take it a step further and give that ref a nine count to the face backstage when the camera wasn’t watching. On the winning three count, the ref acted emotionally and physically exhausted. Why? It is only the first bout of the evening. I feel sorry for whoever has him ref their match later.

Faby Apache defeated Lady Shani to become new Reina de Reinas Champion

Lady Shani was the reigning champion, however, Taya should be the real Reina de Reinas champ. I’m out of the loop on the storylines, but I thought Faby was a babyface. Nope. She got booed routinely whenever taking control of the fight.

There weren’t any amazing highlights, but that isn’t an indictment on the match itself as a whole. It was rough house and hard hitting.

The finish came after a butterfly face suplex, powerbomb, then German suplex all from Faby to Shani. Faby pinned after each maneuver and was finally victorious after the German suplex.

The match was enjoyable and I wouldn’t mind watching it again. They have a nice chemistry of physicality. AAA has already announced a mask vs hair match between these two at Triplemania XXVI, which I assume will be in August.

La Parka and friends defeated a trio of evil clowns

The clowns ambushed the tecnicos backstage to start the street fight. That led to a big body tables splash, then the clowns put a pummeling on La Parka. Poor guy suffered a ripped mask, bloodied up from fists, and stabbed in the head with a broken broomstick. After Cuervo and Scoria made the save, it was mostly one-on-one exchanges of action until someone rolled into the ring as a replacement. There were zero tags the entire match, because, “No hay reglas.”

The finish saw La Parka pin a clown after Rock Bottoming/chokeslamming him on top of two unfolded folding chairs.

I have no reaction about this match. It was what it was. The fight did not give me a desire to watch any of them again, but I wouldn’t change the channel either.

Poder del Norte (Carta Brava Jr., Tito Santana, Mocho Cota Jr.) won a four-way trios bout to become new Trios Champions

Los OGT’s (Averno, Chessman, Super Fly) are the reigning champions. I couldn’t figure out what OGT stands for.

This bout was elimination style. Another team match with zero tags, but at least it was fast-paced action. Lots of flying and teamwork maneuvers. Highlights include... well, pretty much everything. There was never a dull moment. The best of the best would be Bengala with a back flip off the upper level down onto the masses.

Los OGT’s were first to be eliminated. They were in control until Angelikal pinned one of them via surprise hurricanrana, while the other two were showboating. An interesting note is that the YouTube video has pixelations on Angelikal after Los OGT’s ripped his mask. That is the sort of attention to detail I enjoy. Angelikal had a fresh mask for the rest of the bout.

Team Superhero (Aerostar, Drago, Raptor) was next to be ousted. The elimination occurred when Raptor was pinned after a powerbomb, super flying splash, then three-man pile on to secure victory.

Bengala’s huge leap led way to the finale. Unfortunately, it did not work out in his team’s favor. On a ref distraction, Bengala was clubbed in the cojones. 1, 2, 3. New champs, Poder del Norte.

After the match, Los OGT’s returned to clean house on Poder del Norte. I saw that part on the Space channel broadcast, however, it seems to have been cut from the YouTube version.

This match was a bunch of fun. It was easily the best bout of the evening as it was all over the place in a good way. In contrast to the earlier street fight, I will definitely pay attention when any of these luchadores wrestle on screen. They grabbed my interest to see more.

Psycho Clown won the Bull Terrier match via disqualification

It was supposed to be a dog collar match, however, both refused to put it on and began wrestling without it. Boy was that ref a sorry sack. Eventually, he convinced Psycho Clown to collar up. When it was Rey Escorpion’s turn, the ref handed the collar to him, but he used the chain as a weapon instead.

This was a basically a brawl with no memorable maneuvers. The best part was when Rey Escorpion, still not collared, touched all six turnbuckles. The ref refused to acknowledge his efforts since he wasn’t wearing the dog collar. That’s when four staff members rushed the ring to ambush Rey Escorpion, so the ref could finally put the collar on.

To win, one man had to touch all six turnbuckles. As Psycho Clown had victory in his grasp, the evil clowns from the street fight interfered to beat him up.

Maximo and La Mascara ran down to make the save. It was supposed to be a major deal, because they are Psycho Clown’s brothers in real life. Since I’m not in sync with the storyline or real life, this big debut went over my head.

My feelings about the match? Next!

El Hijo del Fantasma retained via disqualification to remain Latin American Champion

Texano is, “El Tijuana Sound Machine.” Is that a reference to flatulence?

El Hijo del Fantasma (aka King Cuerno) was the reigning champion. He came out to, “Welcome to the Jungle,” by Guns N’ Roses. That song is a guarantee to get my attention. Fantasma is, “The most sensual chocolate of lucha libre.” He was flanked by his father, Chocolate Sr.

Cage match! The referee left the ring. I guess escape is the only path to victory.

Lots of escape attempts early. At one point, the crooked ref opened the door to give Texano a chair. Texano could have just walked out and won the match, but he accepted the chair and continued the fight.

Later on, Fantasma was atop the cage primed to climb down, but that scumbag ref struck again. He threw water on him. You might say, “Water was enough to stop him?” Well, it was a bottle from one of the announcers. They asked if it was only water, implying that booze was also in there. That would explain why it burned Fantasma’s eyes.

Shortly after, Bengala ran down to mouth-water mist Texano. The announcers said they were hermanos, which I think was meant in the friend sense and not actual brothers. I guess that was a shocking turn.

Immediately after that, a commission doctor in a white lab coat came to the ring with Vampiro. He called the match due to Bengala’s interference. Fantasma grabbed a microphone and set up a mask vs hair match for Rey de Reyes.

This match was good enough until the bullshit ending. If you are familiar with King Cuerno and Texano in Lucha Underground, then their fight was what you would expect it to be. The ending was garbage, but it did salivate my taste buds to see them finish the feud at Rey de Reyes.

AAA Mega Championship: Johnny Mundo vs Dr. Wagner Jr.

Johnny Mundo was the reigning champion. He was flanked by Hernandez. Dr. Wagner Jr. (“Sugar daddy of the ladies in the gym”) had his son by his side. That fink Vampiro was special referee.

Swerve!

About five minutes into the match Wagner attempted a pin, however, his own son walloped Vampiro with a chair. Hijo de Wagner Jr. then threw the chair into Hernandez’s hands to frame him. (Let’s pretend Dr. Wagner Jr. didn’t sneak a peak at Hernandez to see him empty-handed seconds earlier.)

Johnny Mundo pulled a classic Mundo by kicking Wagner in the nuts. Then Mundo super kicked Vampiro just because.

In a dope move, Mundo danced on the middle rope then backflipped over the top rope back into the ring.

About ten minutes in, the match went off the rails starting with Hijo de Wagner Jr. blasting papá with a chair. Hijo then too-sweeted Mundo and embraced with a hug. Hijo beat papá some more.

Mundo went for one of his patented fancy rope boing maneuvers. Vampiro finally came to and tried to move Wagner, but Wagner already moved himself as Mundo missed. A misguided superkick by Hijo took out Hernandez, while Vampiro took out Hijo with a superkick of his own.

During a tense staredown, Mundo sucker punched Vamp. Six punches later, Vampiro goozled Mundo for a chokelsam. Vamp pulled Wagner on top, and made sure the replacement ref’s hand counted three. New champ, Dr. Wagner Jr.

Lame. Poor storytelling too. The match itself before the finish was alright. The finish was poop. Mundo is a hated heel with a long title reign. Wagner won through no action of his own. I try not to be Mr. Smart Guy in regard to booking, but I don’t see how this makes Dr. Wagner Jr. look better. All the interference certainly didn’t help determine who is the best luchador. I’m not criticizing the result, only the way they got there.

Final Thoughts

AAA is in desperate need of law and order, or at least honor. There were way too many masks ripped on one show. Lanzelot, La Parka, Angelikal, Drago, Bengala, Mascara de Bronce, Psycho Clown, and El Hijo del Fantasma all had their mask fussed with to varying degrees. That is eight out of thirteen masked luchadores on the card; a whopping 61.5 percent. The referees need to enforce the rules to maintain the mystique of the masked luchador. Masks are a huge part of the culture. It doesn’t feel fight to treat them like rip away undies.

I will also say there was too much blood, or the bleeding was too frequent. Most of the time, blood was not used as a storytelling device. It was more as a cover up of ripped-masked luchadores. Just like with the masks, it was too often to make much of a meaningful impact.

If you are a fan of title changes, four of the five championships on the line received new homes. I liked it as a fan who jumped in after months away. It is clear who the big dogs are at the moment.

The announcers were quite enjoyable. They have a nice mix of whackiness while giving off that good guy / bad guy vibe of humor. It reminded of the good old days in WWF commentary.

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Rey de Reyes Preview

AAA’s Rey de Reyes is coming for you at 6pm CT, Sunday, Sunday, Sunday! View it live on Twitch. Be ready.

Rey de Reyes is a tournament similar to King of the Ring, except the winner gets a badass sword instead of a crown. In truth, I’m not sure if they do that every year, but I sure hope so. Just look at 2017’s winner, Argenis. Praise be to Crom.

I don’t really know the storylines, but a tournament is always cool by me. Plus, two Lucha Underground stars are featured in the main event. Here is the full card as advertised.

http://www.record.com.mx/lucha-aaa/triple-revela-cartelera-completa-para-rey-de-reyes

Rey de Reyes Tournament

There will be 16 competitors in two rounds of four-way fights. The winners of round one advance to the final four-way. The current twelve participants earned their way via trios victory over the past few weeks. Each first round match will also have a secret entry luchador. The matches are:

La Parka vs Dinastia vs Venum vs Luchador Sorpresa
Hijo del Vikingo vs Angel Mortal Jr. vs Cuervo vs Luchador Sorpresa
Bengala vs Scoria vs Mascara de Bronce vs Luchador Sorpresa
Angelikal vs Dave the Clown vs Pimpinela Escarlata vs Luchador Sorpresa

I’m familiar with less than half of the field, so it will be nice to experience new luchadores. Then there is La Parka, which I’m not entirely sure is the same La Parka from the WCW days.

I’ll be rooting for Bengala and Pimpinela Escarlata due to their entertaining exposure from Lucha Underground. I assume Lucha Underground will be filming Sunday, so I wouldn’t expect any major players to show up for the tournament.

My eye will be on Mascara de Bronce, Angelikal, and Hijo del Vikingo. Mascara de Bronce has been getting the slow push as a star of the future. Angelikal impressed me with his high-flying during Guerra de Titanes. I don’t know Hijo del Vikingo, but how would it not be awesome if a viking’s son won a huge sword?

I’m going to predict Argenis returns to become two-time Rey de Reyes. I don’t know why he isn’t on the card yet, but wielding double swords would be very cool.

Sillas, Mesas, y Escaleras: Averno, Chessman, Super Fly vs Mocho Cota Jr., Tito Santana, Carta Brava Jr.

First off, Tito Santana is not the same as the WWE legend. Different dude with no relation to Chico. I just wanted to clear that up in case anyone got all excited, although, it would be awesome to see Tito go, go, go.

Sillas, mesas, y escaleras would translate to CTL in the TLC parlance. I’ll leave it you to come up with a double meaning in the comments for SME like tender, loving, care for TLC. Or we can just run around the room chanting, “Smeee!” Ni, ni, ni. Oh wait, I mean smeee. We are the lucha libre fans who say, “Smeee!” (Uh-oh, what have I done? I wish that idea didn’t pop into my head. Now, I’m going to be smeeeing all night.)

This is a championship rematch of sorts. Los OTG’s lost the belts in a four-way at Guerra de Titanes. The bad news is that both these teams are mask rippers. The good news is that none of them wear masks. I’m expecting this bout to steal the show.

Eight Luchador Tag Match: Dr. Wagner Jr., Psycho Clown, La Mascara, Maximo vs Hijo de Wagner Jr., Hernandez, Monster Clown, Murder Clown

I have little idea about the storylines for this match. Sorry. I don’t know why rivals Dr. Wagner Jr. and Psycho Clown, who unmasked Wagner permanently, are teaming up. I don’t know why Dave the Clown is separated from his clown family. Dave’s not here man.

What stands out most is father against son in the Wagner family. Also via Wikipedia, “Maximo along with La Mascara made their debut in Guerra de Titanes to help his brother Psycho Clown and thus forming his team called, Los Mosqueteros del Diablo (“The Musketeers of the Devil”).” So, there’s that.

I’m most interested in seeing Maximo. He’s new to me but has a reputation as an exotico. La Mascara intrigued me with the fluidness of his super kicks at Guerra de Titanes. Best of all, Hernandez! I love Fernandez hossing it up.

Mask vs Hair: Hijo del Fantasma vs Texano Jr.

For those unaware, Hijo del Fantasma’s alter-ego in Lucha Underground is King Cuerno. His mask will be wagered against Texano Jr.’s hair. With the way Fantasma has been growing his hair out, it would make more sense to do a hair vs hair match. I’m uncertain if Fantasma’s Latin American Championship is also on the line.

Side note: It will be interesting to see if the loser also loses a similar match duirng the upcoming season of Lucha Underground. Super Fly lost his mask in Lucha Underground after losing it earlier in AAA. I’d love to see a Famous B and Beautiful Brenda appearance, but that wouldn’t make sense to the AAA crowd.

This is a tough match to predict. On one hand, Fantasma could become an even bigger star if he is a handsome fellow underneath that mask. And Texano losing his hair wouldn’t matter much. He already shaves the sides of his head. On the other hand, Fantasma is the good guy is this long, bitter feud. He is the perfect body of lucha libre and the chocolate champ. I’m going to pick El Hijo del Fantasma. He wanted the bout to end the rivalry, and I think he will live up to his words.

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Which were your favorite matches and moments from Guerra de Titanes? Opinions about the booking? Who’s tuning in 6pm CT, Sunday on Twitch for Rey de Reyes? Who do you want to see as surprise luchadores in the tournament? Predictions? Are you rooting for a maskless Hijo del Fantasma or a hairless Texano Jr.?