AAA Worldwide: Vampiro is the kind of schmuck who walks into a 6-on-1 beating

You might be wondering why such harsh words are being used toward Vampiro. Look at this photo. It should be clear.

Lucha Libre AAA

What kind of schmuck walks into a 6-on-1 beating? Vampiro. That’s who. We’ll get to why that occurred, but, first, let’s set the scene for this week’s episode of AAA Worldwide as the road to Triplemania (August 25) continues.

AAA vs Elite (Part 1). All matches were one promotion against the other. It isn’t quite WWE vs WCW. That would be AAA vs CMLL. Not quite WWE vs Impact either. This would be more like WWE vs Ring of Honor (ROH), I guess. I’m not sure if Elite has reached ROH levels of popularity in Mexico. The Elite talent is definitely worthwhile though.

During the show, MAD came out to the ring for a promo. Killer Kross and Cage ran down the aisle, which seemed odd due to editing. A picture showed them beating up some luchadores.

Konnan talked smack to the crowd and addressed La Parka’s actions from last week. Konnan’s main sales tactic is to convince the luchadores that AAA has no loyalty. AAA is only loyal when it is convenient. I didn’t understand all the insults. Konnan will do what he wants, when he wants, wherever he wants, and nobody will stop him.

Cue Vampiro’s music. Vamp sauntered out in a neck brace with a chair. The announcers said he had a death wish.

Lucha Libre AAA

Jack Evans pointed and laughed. I can’t blame him. The above photo cracks me up for some reason. Neck braces in wrestling for the win!

The rough translation for Vampiro’s Spanish is, “AAA is my company. I work for Marisela Pena. The hate I have in my pinche heart for you (Konnan)... It doesn’t matter that my neck is broken. Something about kicking Konnan out.” Then Vampiro called Konnan a son of a bitch.

What did the five fingers say to the face? Ask Konnan. He slapped the taste out of Vampiro’s mouth. The rest of MAD giggled with glee. Vampiro got up, said an expletive phrase about beating up Konnan, took off his jacket, then got pummeled by everyone. I laughed heartily.

What a dumbass. I understand Vampiro has to protect AAA, since he is the Director of Talent. However, there are smarter ways to go about it. Walking solo into the wolf den doesn’t help anyone, especially when he has a broken neck.

Los OGTs ran out to save the day. Averno said to name your stipulation. Cage, hair, whatever you want. Vampiro proposed the OGTs make it a foursome of MFers with himself to fight those pendejos. Four-way fist pound in the middle of the ring.

Lucha Libre AAA

I like the way that story played out. Simple, straightforward, and to the point. Battle lines are being drawn. I don’t see any match announcement yet for Triplemania, but I am eager to watch whatever fight gets booked out of this segment. I’ll even ignore how last week Vampiro said his ring career was over then wants a 4 vs 4 bout the very next week. Don’t let details get in the way of a good story.

Los OGTs are tough son of a guns, as seen in their feud with El Poder del Norte. But, I’m not betting on them to handle Kross and Cage. Those two are behemoths. Even more so in the height challenged lucha libre world. That said, I sure want to see the OGTs try.

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That wasn’t the only business for MAD. In a backstage scene, Faby Apache was asking Taurus why he didn’t come to help her against Lady Shani. Taurus said he previously raised a question that she join them. Faby needed time to think. It is not an easy decision.

Enter Konnan. The decision is an easy one. Faby got beat up by Shani and who from AAA came to help? (Nobody.) Konnan dissed the loyalty in AAA. If Faby wants support, MAD will be there, but she needs to make that choice to join their side.

If I had my booking druthers, I would use this for Taya’s return to AAA. (There is no evidence that Taya will return.) MAD could get fed up with Faby’s stalling and have Taya show up with MAD to destroy both Faby and Shani. (Not during their Triplemania match though. I want to see that bad blood match play out.) Bow down to Lucha Royalty.

To keep track, the MAD lineup now consists of Konnan, Jeff Jarrett, Juventud Guerrera, Killer Kross, Teddy Hart, Jack Evans, Cage, El Hijo del Tirantes as a ref, and an invitation to Faby Apache. I think Taurus is part of the group, or at least MAD adjacent. El Hijo del Fantasma might be loosely associated as well.

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Other action:

AAA vs Elite: Part 1 emanated from Gimnasio Olímpico Juan de la Barrera in Mexico City. The show was sponsored by World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth. That is a pretty nice sponsor. I’ve never played World of Warcraft, but the video game graphics in the advertisement look fantastic.

Team AAA (Faby Apache, La Hiedra, & Vanilla Vargas) vs Team Elite (Zeuxis, Keira, & Lady Maravilla)

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The match (at 12:00) was high-energy and fast-paced. It started out with champ vs champ, Faby Apache vs Zeuxis. A rousing display of mat wrestling ensued. It was a pleasant tease for if they ever fight one-on-one.

Match highlights include teamwork from Team Elite with a neck crank variation on the opponent followed by a low dropkick direct to the opponent’s face, Lady Maravilla with a Spanish Fly from the middle turnbuckle, and Vanilla Vargas with a flying crossbody to the outside.

The finish was between the champs. Some fisticuffs. Running double knees to the face of Faby. Zeuxis went high-risk and missed a moonsault. Double underhook German suplex with a bridging pin by Faby. Kick out at two. Faby continued the pressure with a powerbomb pin. Kick out at two. Third time was the charm. Faby with another powerbomb pin for the win.

I don’t know if the final powerbomb pin was sloppy, storytelling, or injury. Probably all three. Faby struggled a little and fell over on the pin part. They reshuffled position, but Zeuxis’ shoulders were clearly off the mat. Zeuxis disputed the loss afterward, so I can see how they might have been telling the story of the champ not being beaten cleanly. It protects the Elite champ from looking inferior.

Win for Team AAA: Faby Apache pinned Zeuxis

After the match, Lady Shani stormed the ring with a kendo stick to attack her rival, Faby Apache. A chair shot to Faby’s head. Faby seized control after Shani played to the crowd. Chair shot to Shani’s head. “She put it on her like a sombrero!” Cachetadas from the duo until officials broke it up. Both had a little bit of blood. Their mask vs hair match at Triplemania is going to be fierce.

Team AAA (Maximo & La Mascara) vs Team Elite (Trauma I & Trauma II)

There was a short gym scene before the match. La Mascara was talking to Maximo about less partying and more training. Maximo said Mascara was jealous of Maximo’s friendship with others. Maximo thought Mascara’s problems with Psycho Clown were causing Mascara to take it out on Maximo. It sounded like a married couple argument. Maximo’s last line was, “Ya relajate, (bleep).”

The Traumas are sons of Negro Navarro, if you know who that is. I don’t. The Traumas had interesting masks. Horns with pink mohawks.

Maximo and La Mascara were in control for most of the match (at 31:30). Highlights were a topetazo by Maximo and just a regular tope by Mascara.

Lucha Libre AAA

The finish involved miscommunication once again between Maximo and La Mascara. La Mascara set up one of the Traumas for a flying splash by Maximo, but the other Trauma attacked Mascara. Before Maximo could stop his momentum, he splashed onto Mascara. The Traumas took advantage with a pair of leg locks for the victory.

Win for Team Elite: Trauma I and Trauma II via double submission

After the bout, La Mascara ditched Maximo. Maximo shook hands with his opponents then raised their arms. An exotico ran out in support for Maximo. I’m not sure why. Emotional support?

Team AAA (Aerostar & Argenis) vs Team Elite (El Hijo de LA Park & Taurus)

Lucha Libre AAA

This match (at 54:00) was mighty. It was a little of the strong vs speed story. The strong guys, Team Elite, were still quick, just not as quick as Team AAA. Taurus and El Hijo de LA Park worked well together. They had some nifty tandem maneuvers.

Highlights include Aerostar flipping to the outside but being caught by Taurus for a powerbomb onto the ring apron, a powerbomb by Taurus to Aerostar then a second powerbomb teamwork move into a back cracker by El Hijo de LA Park, a super plancha by Aerostar off Argenis’ shoulders, some sort of reverse piledriver neck breaker move by El Hijo de LA Park, and a springboard flying head scissors by Aerostar (“Impresionante! Si Ud. quiere la lucha, aqui, aqui esta la lucha!”).

For the finish, El Hijo de LA Park took out Aerostar with a suicide dive. Taurus entered the ring to execute a tremendous spinning Michinoku Driver. The ref became dizzy from watching the spins.

Win for Team Elite: Taurus pinned Argenis

After the match, La Parka Negra attacked El Hijo de LA Park. La Parka on La Parka violence isn’t cool. La Parka Negra hit a twirling Rock Bottom-esque slam then took the mask of his adversary.

Killer Kross and Cage ran to the ring to beat up some luchadores. Just because to close the show, I suppose. Kross ripped the mask off Argenis. “If you want it, come and get it.”

Lucha Libre AAA

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I would give Part 1 of AAA vs Elite a thumbs up. The main event was the most enjoyable. If you only have time for one AAA match this week, that should be the one. Well, aside from laughing at Vampiro getting stomped. That wasn’t a match, but it sure was funny.

Last week, I talked up Taurus as a sight of interest. This week, we got to see him in extended ring action. Boy, oh boy, did he deliver. To be honest, I was expecting him to be oafish. Taurus was fleet of foot, had quick combo strikes, and even executed a corkscrew suicide dive. The dive didn’t connect full flush, but the fact that he corkscrewed was impressive.

Part 2 of AAA vs Elite next week should be dandy. Can AAA come back from a 2-1 deficit? Expect more MAD chaos, possibly with Kross and Cage wrestling. Most importantly, what’s the story behind Psycho Clown and this flaming guitar?