AAA Lucha Fighter tournament semifinals recap: Pentagon vs Hijo del Vikingo will knock your socks off

AAA is back for week 3 of their live, empty arena Lucha Fighter tournament. Next week is the finale, so week 3 was called the semifinals. 8 men and 4 women battled to advance. The show featured Pentagon and Hijo del Vikingo putting on an outstanding contest, while LA Park and Dr. Wagner Jr. had a legends clash.

If you missed out on the action so far, get caught up with week 1 and week 2.

The week 3 card had the following matchups:

• Big Mami vs La Hiedra
• Lady Maravilla vs Lady Shani
• Texano vs Psycho Clown
• Chessman vs Pagano
• Hijo del Vikingo vs Pentagon
• LA Park vs Dr. Wagner Jr.

Hijo del Vikingo vs Pentagon is the show-stealer. Definitely watch that match. LA Park vs Dr. Wagner Jr. is a legends fight, and those are always cool to see. Chessman and Pagano upped their game with neat moves. The rest of the matches were hard hitting.

Watch AAA’s Lucha Fighter week 3 episode here.

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Jesus Zuniga welcomed us to the broadcast as emcee and ring announcer. Jose Manuel Guillen and Rafael Ayala handled commentary. Piero el Internacional and Copetes Salazar were the referees.

Let’s run through the notable moments and match finishes.

La Hiedra defeated Big Mami. Hiedra had to break down Mami to overcome her size. Mami took control with a spear and running smashes in the corner. Mami climbed the corner to finish it, but Hiedra sprang up to deliver a brutal powerbomb off the turnbuckles to win.

After the match, Hiedra put the boots to Mami. Lady Shani came out for the save.

Lady Shani defeated Lady Maravilla. A physical bout in which you could feel the tension between competitors. Shani finished the job with a sitdown flapjack then a standing surfboard variation to win via submission.

Lucha Libre AAA

After the match, Maravilla disputed the loss and tried to rip off Shani’s mask. Big Mami ran down for the save. Mami flattened Maravilla with a running splash.

Psycho Clown defeated Texano. Psycho was on a roll with a suicide dive then a tope con hilo. Texano turned the tide by focusing on Psycho’s arm and shoulder. Despite the pain, Psycho pulled out a flurry of roll-ups then a Mexican Destroyer to win.

Afterward, Texano tried to whip Psycho with a bull rope, but Psycho escaped to the back.

Chessman defeated Pagano. Chessman stifled Pagano’s early momentum with cookie sheet strikes. Pagano returned the favor. Each hit their signature maneuvers but couldn’t secure the three count. Pagano had the move of the match with a step-up cannonball down to the floor.

In the end, Pagano charged to hit Chessman with a cookie sheet. Chessman dodged and the referee cowered behind. The ref was scared of being hit. Pagano stopped short, so Chessman kicked him in the cojones to win.

Pentagon defeated Hijo del Vikingo. Vikingo made an uncharacteristic attack to suicide dive Pentagon prior to the opening bell. Vikingo kept up the pressure with a twisting plancha then a springboard moonsault.

Vikingo’s plan was to score a quick win. He climbed the corner and hit a shooting star press, but Pentagon kicked out on the cover.

Pentagon slowed the pace down to make it an ugly fight for a while. Vikingo came back with speedy headscissors then a springboard flipping splash. That led to a slap fight on the apron. Pentagon got the upper hand with a Mexican Destroyer.

The final flurry of action began with a reverse hurricanrana from Vikingo. He went high-risk for an inverted 450 splash. Pentagon got his knees up then attacked Vikingo with an armbreaker. Snap! A package piledriver ended Vikingo’s evening.

LA Park defeated Dr. Wagner Jr. Evenly matched mat work to start. The action escalated to heavy blows and strategic counters. Wagner hit the first big impact with a running cannonball off the apron.

Wagner followed up with a rope-hung DDT, two dragon screws to the knee, and his finisher slam. Park kicked out on the cover. Wagner became frustrated with referee Piero. Wagner threatened Piero in the corner. As Wagner turned around, Piero pushed him into a spear from Park. That was the winning move.

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Week 3 was lots of fun in the ring with a variety of flavors. Hiedra used strategy to escape with victory. Lady Shani and Lady Maravilla upped the intensity.

Chessman and Pagano actually had some solid moves in their encounter. It gives me hope that their hair vs hair match at Triplemania will be pretty good. Psycho Clown and Texano told the story of targeting a body part. That doesn’t happen often in modern lucha libre.

Pentagon and Hijo del Vikingo tore the house down. Despite defeat, that was the type of performance from Vikingo that shows he can believably compete in the Megacampeonato picture and even carry the company one day. Credit to Pentagon for taking so many flashy moves. He did his part to put over Vikingo.

LA Park and Dr. Wagner Jr. had a neat legends clash. It’s cool that we got that matchup in the semifinals. The way Wagner lost leaves the door open for a future fight with a longer limit and higher stakes. Book it!

The finale has been whittled down to Chessman, Psycho Clown, Pentagon, and LA Park for the men. The women’s final will be Lady Shani versus Hiedra. The minis final will be Dinastia versus Laredo Boy. Next week should be rocking.

Share your thoughts about the show. Which match was your favorite in week 3 of Lucha Fighter? Who are you predicting to win each tournament?

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