AAA Roundup: Pentaclaus and the Best of 2018

Welcome to a bonus, of sorts, AAA Roundup. Let’s catch up on how luchadores celebrated the holidays and zip through the TV version of Triplemania, Héroes Inmortales, and a Best of 2018 episode.

Happy holidays with AAA

AAA stars posted various photos of themselves over the holidays. They included an advertisement for Aerostar and Psicosis signing autographs at a supermarket, Bengala and Drago on tour with cookie delivery men, Bengala wearing a Christmas hat, Aerostar in front of his Christmas tree, Pagano hanging with Psycho Clown and Murder Clown, Texano with a message alongside Bengala, Lady Shani, and Estrella Divina, and Jeff Jarrett saying he will come for revenge in 2019.

Here are the top four images I came across. We’ll start with Lady Shani in seasonal wear.

La Parka Negra has an appropriately decorated tree.

Murder Clown cooked a turkey. It looks tasty enough.

Murder Clown’s Twitter and Diario RÉCORD

Pentagon has cero miedo of being on Santa’s naughty list, thus, he isn’t concerned about trying to impersonate Papa Noel.

Feliz Navidad y prospero Año Nuevo.

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WWE tryouts in Chile

You may remember reading about Keyra, Vanilla, and Lady Maravilla attending a WWE tryout in Chile. There is no news yet about any of those three being offered a contract, but WWE did post some neat videos of the tryout.

Here is an overall look at the types of drills the attendees did.

And, here is a video of Cezar Bononi and Adrian Jaoude racing in a train tracks drill.

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Gira de Conquista: Triplemania XXVI

I finally got around to watching the Gira de Conquista version of Triplemania XXVI. If you are looking for full coverage, there is a preview and review from back when the event was live.

Part 1 had the Cruiserweight Championship between Australian Suicide, ACH, Shane Strickland, and Sammy Guevara, the Mixed Tag Team Championship between Niño Hamburguesa & Big Mami, Dinastia & Lady Maravilla, Hijo del Vikingo & Vanilla, and Angelikal & La Hiedra, and mask vs hair in Lady Shani vs Faby Apache.

Part 2 had the tag team number one contender ladder match with Bandido & Flamita, Aerostar & Drago, Laredo Kid & Golden Magic, and DJZ & Andrew Everett, the lucha extrema trios bout between Los Mercenarios and Pagano, Joe Lider, & Murder Clown, and Poker de Ases with Hijo del Fantasma, LA Park, Psycho Clown, and Pentagon.

Here are some observations about any edits or new material:

• Part 1 began with a video of setting up the ring and entrance ramp with short comments from various talent. There were also pre-match musings before each bout from competitors. In addition, there were post-match promos from the winners, but nothing memorable was said.
• Both the Cruiserweight Championship match and the Mixed Tag Team Championship match are worth watching if you haven’t seen them before. They can be a little sloppy at times but are full of cool moves.
• Shane Strickland’s rope slip before a super hurricanrana was edited out.
• Prior to the mask vs hair match with Lady Shani and Faby Apache, there was a video with Faby entering the arena and getting ready for the fight.
• I forgot how silly the finish for that ladies duel was; Hijo de Tirantes’ antics, La Parka and Taurus getting involved, and a referee fight. I chuckled hard at all those shenanigans.
• Part 1 closed with Faby Apache walking through the halls with her new haircut and Lady Shani giving a promo about what the win means to her. It was a hard battle. Shani knew it wouldn’t be easy, but she thinks it was harder than she thought it would be. She feels happy to have this quality achievement. Shani was at the point of quitting, but she heard the support of the fans and knew her parents were there. The war is just beginning with Faby. Shani doesn’t think Faby will rest until Faby has Shani’s mask. Shani’s career responsibilities will be bigger with all eyes on her.

• In Part 2, both the tag team ladder match and the trios lucha extrema were wild fights. Those matches do not disappoint. My favorite maneuvers from each were Bandido with a moonsault slam to Drago through a table and Rey Escorpion super powerbombing Pagano into a shopping cart.
• The Poker de Ases main event began with an intro video of highlights leading up to the bout. The match runs for 17 minutes, but I recall the fight being much longer. I didn’t notice any obvious edits, if there were any at all.
• I finally got to see Pentagon’s fireball to Psycho Clown atop the cage. Very cool. When the show aired live, I looked away from the screen and missed it.
• Oh, wow. They didn’t even show the finish to Poker de Ases. After a suicide dive by LA Park, they cut to after the match. Hold on. The match is back in action. It looks like they botched the editing to show the winner prematurely. Mistakes happen, but that is inexcusable. Imagine watching Poker de Ases for the first time and the winner gets spoiled like that. What an embarrassing display of incompetence from AAA.
• Hahaha. A gray-haired adult fan was pissed at the result and threw his Fantasma mask.
• One of my favorites GIFs from the event did not make cut. Here is the young son of Hijo del Fantasma throat slashing to LA Park.

Triplemania XXVI had ten matches total, so that means four did not make the cut for Gira de Conquista. The pre-show trios Llave a la Gloria, a three-way trios match with El Poder del Norte vs Team Elite (Hijo de LA Park, Puma King, & Taurus) vs Team AAA (Mamba, Maximo, & Pimpinela Escarlata), and a lumberjack match for Los OGT’s vs MAD (Juventud Guerrera, Jack Evans, & Teddy Hart) were not shown. Those are understandable decisions. I don’t even remember anything about the three-way trios and lumberjack matches.

The post Poker de Ases hair vs mask challenge with Dr. Wagner Jr. and LA Park was not shown either. That makes sense as well considering that bout was not set in stone at that moment in time. My guess is that we end up with hair vs mask for Dr. Wagner Jr. and Blue Demon Jr. at Triplemania XXVII.

Most surprisingly, the Mega Championship match with Jeff Jarrett, Fenix, Cage, and Rich Swann was not aired. I wonder why. The Megacampeonato is a pretty big deal, especially when the title changed hands that evening. I think they could have easily squeezed it in if they cut down on showing the individual entrances for all the multi-team matches.

Last, the hilarious moment of Vampiro yelling to play his f-ing music was not shown. I was curious how they would edit that staredown with Konnan and MAD. Vampiro was correct about his music. Every time I hear AC/DC’s, “Back In Black,” from the gym next door through my bedroom wall, I look around the room expecting to see Vampiro.

The good news is that the feud with Vampiro and Konnan is not dead. In a recent interview with +LuchaTV, Vampiro stated that if Konnan gets in shape, then he will kick Konnan’s ass. Vampiro will retire Konnan and kick him out of Mexico forever. Konnan returned to the ring with MLW, so perhaps that dream match will come through at Triplemania XXVII.

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Gira de Conquista: Héroes Inmortales XII

The Gira de Conquista version of Héroes Inmortales XII was the final TV show of new matches for 2018. The main event was Dr. Wagner Jr. vs Jeff Jarrett in hair vs hair. If you are looking for full coverage, there is a preview, results, and review from back when the event was live.

Part 1 had the Reina de Reinas Championship match with Faby Apache, Starfire, Keyra, and Scarlett Bordeaux, an in-ring promo with Jeff Jarrett, Hijo del Fantasma, Dr. Wagner Jr., Scarlett Bordeaux, and Blue Demon Jr., a trios triple threat with El Poder del Norte vs Mamba, Maximo, & Pimpinela Escarlata vs Aerostar, Drago, & Angelikal, and Dr. Wagner Jr. vs Jeff Jarrett in hair vs hair.

Part 2 had the three-way tag team championship bout with Los Mercenarios (Texano & Rey Escorpion) vs DJZ & Laredo Kid vs Bandido & Flamita, the Domo de la Muerte tag match with Psycho Clown & Murder Clown against Killer Kross & Monster Clown, and the 2018 Copa Antonio Peña ten luchador Royal Rumble match.

I didn’t notice much difference in the Gira de Conquista version of Héroes Inmortales XII and the live broadcast. My top highlights from Part 1 and Part 2 were the finish to the Reina de Reinas bout with a back and forth suplex fight between Faby Apache and Starfire, Jeff Jarrett getting his head shaved (which will never stop being funny), seeing the unique Thunderdome structure, and Psycho Clown splashing from the top of the dome onto Monster Clown through a table.

One thing AAA didn’t air from Héroes Inmortales XII was Los Macizos attacking Pagano, however, AAA was nice enough to provide a separate video of the footage. Enjoy Ciclope doing a flying splash with light tubes.

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Gira de Conquista: Best of 2018

AAA closed out the television year with a two part Best of 2018 show for Gira de Conquista. The intro package had cool scenes and cooler moves. Jose Manuel Guillen hosted from inside the Pinche Gringo BBQ restaurant, which you may recall if you watched the Lucha Capital tournament on Facebook.

Part 1 had Dr. Wagner Jr. vs Jeff Jarrett in hair vs hair from Héroes Inmortales XII, Hijo del Fantasma vs Texano in mask vs hair from Rey de Reyes, and El Poder del Norte vs Los OGT’s in hair vs hair from Verano de Escándalo.

Part 2 had Lady Shani vs Faby Apache in mask vs hair from Triplemania XXVI, the story of the breakup between Maximo and La Mascara and the formation of Los Mercenarios, and Poker de Ases from Triplemania XXVI.

That is a pretty good selection of the biggest matches of the year in AAA. I have no quarrels about anything that was left out. There was silliness with Wagner vs Jarrett, great tag action with El Poder del Norte vs Los OGT’s, and peak AAA main event syle in Fantasma vs Texano, Shani vs Faby, and Poker de Ases. Which were you favorite moments and matches from AAA in 2018?