Hey, it’s AAA Sin Límite! And, yeah, this review is a week late. That’s because I got the show a week late because AAA were a week late putting it up on their YouTube channel. But considering AAA have had the week from hell, I can’t get too mad at that.
Where to start? Well, Rey de Reyes, one of their big three pay-per-views, was supposed to take place last Sunday at a bullring in Guadalajara. But it rained. They waited to see how many people turned up – because, in Mexico, business is pretty much all walk-up – and when it looked like not many were coming, they announced they’d hold it the next day, indoors.
But then someone remembered that the next day was a public holiday and they wouldn’t be able to get their permit rubber-stamped because all government offices were closed. So they moved it to last Wednesday night, again indoors, and the show went off without further problems, although with a much-reduced crowd than they’d have hoped for.
Oh, and the El Patrón Alberto versus Brian Cage match got pulled, because El Patrón Alberto had to leave for Australia. And, in between the Monday cancellation and Wednesday’s show, a bus crash killed one of AAA’s backstage workers and injured a few more. Like I said, bad week.
But that was nothing compared to what happened on Friday night, when el Hijo del Perro Aguayo, working an independent show in Tijuana, died in the ring. I don’t mean he went down badly with the audience, he actually died. We don’t know what happened yet, but it’s so, so very tragic. He was working a tag match, with Rey Mysterio Jr on the opposite team, and they’d just begun a program in AAA that would eventually lead to el Hijo del Perro Aguayo going through Mysterio Jr, and Myzteziz, to get to the AAA MegaCampeón El Patrón Alberto. It’s sad that that will never happen, but not as sad as the loss of el Hijo del Perro Aguayo, as a son, father, and brother, and as one of the best wrestlers in Mexico.
Next week’s show, and the Rey de Reyes show which will air on Sin Límite two weeks after that, will have matches featuring el Hijo del Perro Aguayo. It will be weird to watch them, but the show must go on…
This week’s show opened with a re-cap of recent events in AAA. I like that. One of the better things about Marvel Comics, as opposed to DC – bear with me – is that they have a page at the front of the comic which tells you what’s been going on. That way you can jump in at any time.
They also re-showed the awesome history of AAA video, which takes us from the early days to the present time, with a heavy emphasis on the current stars. Again, it gives you a sense that things have been building towards what you’re watching, which makes it important.
Our first match is Australian Suicide & Argenis versus Daga and Super Fly. Super Fly was out first, and he looked cool. Some luchadors look really awkward after they’ve lost their mask but he actually looks better.
Daga did not come out to Perros del Mal music, like he did the other week. Is he with them or not? Lucha confuses me sometimes. Oh, and I just realised that Daga is supposed to be like “dagger”. That’s cool.
Hey, it’s Argenis! He didn’t have a broken arm, despite Pentagon Jr breaking it on Lucha Underground the other week. It’s like Lucha Underground is completely fictional or something!
Australian Suicide completed the entrances. I like him, he’s alright. For an Australian.
Just like the other week in Ecatepec, the crowd seem to favour the rudos. Well, they’re chanting “RUDOS! RUDOS!”, anyway. Daga and Australian Suicide started out with holds and reversals, holds and reversals. Mexico has been great at keeping traditional wrestling alive, alongside all the flippy floppy dives and superhero characters. It’s almost a perfect form. Daga and Australian Suicide work really well together. I’d like to see a singles match between the two but they almost never happen in Mexico.
Daga has “Warriors” written on his pants, except that it’s spelled “Warrior’s”, with a butcher’s apostrophe. Warrior’s what? Argenis must be a grammar Nazi, too, because when he came in he kicked Daga right up the bum. And then he knocked Super Fly off the apron with that upside down flip into the ropes thing that I don’t know the name of. Good stuff.
Argenis backdropped Super Fly out of the ring and then tried to huracanrana him, but Super Fly caught him and threw him into the barriers. Just when you thought that looked ouchy, Daga backdropped Australian Suicide onto the apron, which looked like it sucked.
Los rudos then laid the slaps into Australian Suicide, and got the heat on the wonder from down under. Daga even blew some snot onto him as he lay on the mat. That’s just not cricket (or lucha).
Miscommunication between Daga and Super Fly led to an Australian Suicide comeback and the hot tag. Argenis ran wild, threw Daga outside, and then hit a quebrada onto him. Super Fly then went up top and moonsaulted out of the ring onto both men. Australian Suicide, not to be outdone, then hit a twisting plancha on all three. Good dives. And almost a count-out – referee el Piero was up on the turnbuckles, counting, which looked ace.
Back in the ring and it was MOVE!, MOVE!, MOVE!, everyone down. Everyone got up, and then everyone was down again. ACTION! Daga locked on a rear naked choke on Argenis, and Super Fly hit a super powerbomb on Australian Suicide, and el Piero kinda didn’t know which one to go for, but opted to count the pin, and los rudos came away with the win. That was a great match. A perfect lucha opener.
After the break, Los Hell Brothers were in the ring, and Averno was cutting a talky. The crowd, who were chanting “RUDOS!” before, didn’t seem to like Los Hell Brothers. They may be a rudo crowd but they won’t cheer for any old shit. Seriously, the people couldn’t care what he was saying. It’s like he was Roman Reigns out there.
Then Chessman started talking. He looks ridiculous. He’s a grown man with bad hair and terrible face paint. I realise I’ve just described Sting and my point stands.
Averno & Chessman cut their talkies on one of those mic’s that comes down from the ceiling. Cibernético had a regular one, all to himself. That was weird. He cut a talky of his own, and the crowd gave zero fucks. What an odd segment.
The next match was Drago & Súper Nova versus Joe Líder & el Hijo del Pirata Morgan. Two of these guys are very familiar to me – Drago from being a standout on Lucha Underground and Líder from being a shitarse on this show. Having said that, the last match I saw him in on Sin Límite was great. Maybe he’s turned a corner?
Hey, it’s a pirate! They’re pretty big on el Hijo del Pirata Morgan, by all accounts. You can see why – he’s got that look. That young el Hijo del Perro Aguayo, Heavy Metal, Hector Garza look.
Líder has his staple gun again. Things never go well for him when he brings that out. It’s like he’s a guy who wants to do these insane spots with hardcore weapons but has to do them on himself because no-one else is an idiot.
Drago has that freaky black tongue goo thing that he has on Lucha Underground. It unnerves me. He used to be a wrestler called Alan. Nothing else, just ALAN. Of Los Spice Boys. He’s definitely traded up. And that’s coming from an Alan.
Súper Nova has one of those MF Doom masks and TECHNO TECHNO TECHNO music. This probably makes him the coolest man in Mexico. Certainly cooler than the referee, who is old man Rafael Maya. He’s so unhip he has his name on his shirt pocket. I bet his wife did that because he kept losing it.
The camera showed Líder’s belt – he’s one half of the AAA Tag Team champions – in the corner of the ring, which means he’s actually taken it off to wrestle for once.
El Hijo del Pirata Morgan and Súper Nova started out. All these guys look really young. Let me fire up WIKIPEDIA~! and find out. Oh, el Hijo del Pirata Morgan is twenty-three, Súper Nova is twenty-eight, Líder is thirty-eight, and Drago is THIRTY-NINE! I am a poor judge of age.
Los rudos got the heat on Súper Nova to start. Líder did a FACEWASH! I loves me a facewash. Drago came in when Súper Nova rolled out of the ring – lucha rules – but he fared little better. During the beatdown, I noticed that el Hijo del Pirata Morgan has a skull on his trousers, right over his crotch. I imagine if he opened his flies his cock would come out of the skull’s mouth. Don’t judge me.
Los rudos were still on top but Súper Nova came in for a bit of hope. Then Líder got his staple gun out and stapled Súper Nova in the shoulder. Ouchy. The old man ref mildly rebuked him.
More rudo bullying ensued, then comebacks and dives happened! During this, Líder grabbed the staple gun again but Súper Nova dropkicked it out of his hand, picked it up and stapled HIM – in the HEAD. We have colour!
Súper Nova then hit a rana off the top rope by Súper Nova onto Líder, el Hijo del Pirata Morgan locked in a cross armbreaker on Súper Nova, which was broken up by Drago, who hit a tilt-a-whirl DDT on el Hijo del Pirata Morgan, and the subsequent pin was broken up by Líder! Líder then put a submission on, over the ropes, on Drago but Nova broke it up and hit a dive out onto el Hijo del Pirata Morgan. ACTION!
Uh oh, Líder got the thumbtacks out and spread them, liberally and colourfully, over the mat. The referee, again, issued a mild telling off. Useless twunt.
Líder tried to powerbomb Drago on the thumbtacks but Drago rolled through for a pin. He got ouched on the thumbtacks and looked to have forgotten what he was up to, but then remembered a covered Líder for a nearfall. Back on their feet, Drago did pin Líder, with a crucifix roll-up. That was an okay match – sloppy in places but it held together just about.
They showed the Brian Cage hype video, and then the talky he cut from what looked like his doorstep. They added a further bit, to hype the match at Rey de Reyes, which we now know did not happen. Bad times.
Oh, and here’s El Patrón Alberto, answering back. He says they’ll fight at Rey de Reyes. *shakes head*
They then showed last week’s main event, which featured Cage and El Patrón Alberto, to further hype the match. Poor AAA.
Hey, it’s Rey Mysterio Jr! They did a video on him signing with AAA, and showing some footage of him as a youngster. He’ll make his AAA re-debut at Rey de Reyes. That one actually did happen.
Our main event for this show was La Parka & Los Güeros del Cielo (Angélico & Jack Evans) versus Los Hell Brothers (Cibernético, Averno & Chessman). Los Güeros del Cielo means The Sky Blondes, although neither of them are particularly blonde. One thing they are, though, is loved by the ladies. And EVERYONE loves La Parka. As we saw earlier, NO-ONE loves Los Hell Brothers. This could get quite hot.
Los rudos attacked before the bell and we had ourselves a rudo breakdown from the off. Seeing as how el Hijo del Tirantes is the referee, he couldn’t give two shits about the heeling going on. He affected a practised nonchalance that was like Serge Gainsbourg in a titty bar.
The theme of the beatdown appeared to be SMASH LA PARKA’S LEGS WITH CHAIRS. Ironic, really. In that he was The Chairman in WCW, not that after a lifetime of enjoying being able to walk he was crippled.
Averno and Chessman kept smashing Jack Evans into the ringpost, either balls or head first, like they were filming multiple takes of the same spot, and La Parka was in a tree of woe in the ring, getting creatively beaten.
It’s Evans & Angélico & La Parka versus Los Hell Brothers at Rey de Reyes, of course, which explains all this heat. Because the HOPE will come on pay-per-view. HOPE costs 230 pesos!
Oh, but wait – La Parka’s alive! And hitting a topé suicida onto Cibernético! Maybe HOPE is free today? The others got in on the act, too – Jack Evans did a standing moonsault onto Chessman, from a base of standing on Chessman’s chest. Double sucks to be Chessman. And Angélico kicked Averno a lot and then flip plancha’d onto him. JACK EVANS SPACE FLYING TIGER DROP!!!
Back in the ring, La Parka and Chessman went at it. Chessman got a nearfall holding the ropes, and then La Parka got one of his own without holding the ropes. Because he’s a stand-up guy. Or skeleton. And then La Parka small packaged Chessman for the win!
Los Hell Brothers put a MASSIVE beatdown on La Parka afterwards, while Joe Líder came out to beat on Angélico, and Daga put the boots to Evans. EVIL WINS THIS DAY!
That was an okay match which never really came together. And that makes it an Okay Show overall, with a great opener giving way to building the pay-per-view, which is maybe what free TV should be about.
AAA have bigger challenges ahead than an Okay episode of their TV show and, as one of my highlights of the week, I hope they can continue to move forward without any of the shit they’ve suffered this past week. Sad times.
(You can see this show every week on AAA’s YouTube channel. The stars of AAA will be appearing at London’s Albert Hall on July 11th – details on luchafuture.com)