Hey, it’s AAA Sin Límite! It’s the Lucha Libre World Cup!
The show started with a sweet, atmospheric video, with tons of Aztec shit and a fella dressed as an owl, dancing. Words flashed on the screen – “el ombligo de la Luna, habrá una batalla sin igual… Llegó a hora” – at the navel of the moon, there will be a battle like no other. It is time.” YASS!
The combatants were announced by nation, like that Olympics thing, and the whole thing felt BIG TIME. The arena looked HUGE, even though it probably wasn’t that big, and there’s so much everyone can learn from this production.
They also announced the judges, who would be there if any of the matches went to time-limit draws. They had Canek, Fantasma, Dos Caras, some Villanos, commentator Arturo Rivera, and Los Hermanos Dinamita. That’s a Hall of Fame right there.
Backstage, The Dream Team – el Patrón Alberto, Rey Mysterio Jr & Myzteziz – were shown admiring the trophy. For some reason there was also a cake next to it, complete with candles. MEXICO!
All the early matches were clipped highlights, and they started off with The Dream Team versus Team NOAH. NOAH sent Taiji Ishimori, Atsushi Kotoge, and Yoshihiro Takayama, who’s a freelancer but what the hey.
The early part of the highlights was Myzteziz being triple-teamed by Team NOAH but Alberto & Mysterio Jr made the comeback, with the action spilling to the outside.
Back in the ring, Myzteziz made Ishimori submit to the La Mística armbar to take the Dream Team through to the semi-finals.
The next match was Team Mexico versus Team Ring Of Honor/Lucha Underground. Team Mexico had been decided over the past few weeks of Sin Límite, with técnico Psycho Clown making the cut, along with rudos Texano Jr and el Hijo del Fantasma. For the opposition, ACH & Moose represented ROH, while Brian Cage fought under the Lucha Underground banner. He’s a regular here now, anyway.
All they showed of this was the overtime bout between Texano Jr and Cage. If a result wasn’t reached in the first fifteen minutes of the match, there would be an overtime bout featuring two singles. If that was a draw, then they’d do another, and then another, before finally going to the judges.
In overtime, Cage pinned Texano Jr after two powerbombs and a discus clothesline, to take his team through to the semi-finals, and a meeting with the Dream Team. The crowd did not like Team Mexico going out.
Next up was Team Legends versus Team All-Japan. The legends team featured Blue Demon Jr, Dr Wagner Jr, and Solar, while All-Japan sent Kenzo Suzuki, Koji Kanemoto as Tiger Mask III, and Masamune, who – like Takayama & NOAH – doesn’t actually work for All-Japan but why split hairs?
The match was joined very much in progress, with Dr Wagner Jr going wild on Tiger Mask, dropping the strap and hitting the Wagner Driver for a nearfall, which was broken by Suzuki.
Suzuki then slapped Solar, who sent him to the outside, faked a topé and then hit a slingshot plancha.
Back in the ring, Masamune got a nearfall on Blue Demon Jr, who got one of his own back right away with a bridging Northern Lights. A spear and a whacky el Pulpo submission later, with Wagner Jr & Solar keeping the other Japanese out of the ring, and Team Legends got the win.
The final quarter final was Team TNA/Lucha Underground versus Team Rest Of The World. TNA sent Matt Hardy and Mr Anderson, who were joined by Johnny Mundo from Lucha Underground, while the ROTW featured Drew Galloway (Scotland), Angélico (South Africa), and Mesías (Puerto Rico).
When the match was joined, Hardy & Anderson were beating on Mesías outside the ring, Johnny Mundo was half-dead on top of the turnbuckles, and Galloway was down and struggling to get across the ring to tag in Angélico.
Angélico didn’t wait, and ran across the ring and flipped OVER Mundo and out onto Anderson & Hardy. That dude KILLS me. They showed the judges table and they all sat there quietly thinking, “that dude KILLS me.” Mundo then hit a flip plancha off the turnbuckles out onto Angélico.
The match went to a draw and so Mundo and Galloway fought in overtime. Mundo got a nearfall on Galloway with a running knee and then set him up for the End of the World, but Galloway rolled him up for a two-count. Mundo escaped and locked on an armbar, which Galloway fought his way out of. A double crossbody wiped them both out.
Galloway got back up first and took Mundo down with a kick to the knee. He then carried him to the top rope and hit a Kryptonite Krunch for a two count. That looked ouchy. Galloway took Mundo up top again but Mundo elbowed Galloway to the mat and hit the End of the World for the win. It’ll be Team TNA/Lucha Underground versus Team Legends in the semi-final.
With four matches done in under twenty minutes (of highlights time), it was time for the semi-finals, and they were both Mexico versus USA affairs.
The first, The Dream Team versus Team ROH/Lucha Underground, was joined with Moose and el Patrón Alberto in the ring. Moose took Alberto up top but Alberto powered out and hit the foot stomp, and he was going to follow that up with a double underhook something when ACH & Brian Cage ran in and beat him down.
They hit a triple-team power bomb but he kicked out at two. Moose then took him down with a clothesline and made the cover, but Rey Mysterio Jr broke the pin. Mysterio Jr & Myzteziz sent ACH & Cage outside and then Myzteziz hit a sweet topé suicida out onto them, before Mysterio Jr finished the job with an Asai moonsault.
Back in the ring, Moose laid some slaps into Alberto but he fought back and hit a flying armbar, followed by a superkick, and finally the cross armbreaker for the win. The Dream Team were through to the final!
The other semi-final – Team Legends versus Team TNA/Lucha Underground – saw Solar slapping around the Americans, before the legends hit simultaneous dropkicks on their younger opponents. Blue Demon Jr then took Mr Anderson down with a topé suicida to the outside.
Dr Wagner Jr hit a cannonball off the apron onto Matt Hardy, while back in the ring Johnny Mundo took Solar down with a clothesline. He whipped him into the corner and followed up with a splash but Solar ducked out and ran in and hit a monkey flip.
Mundo was up immediately but Solar ducked a clothesline and hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for a nearfall. Changing tack, Solar locked on a surfboard and dropped it into a cover but Mundo kicked out.
Mundo then hit a running knee and the End of the World for the win, although it looked like no-one told the referee that was the finish because he initially claimed it was only a two-count – hey, it was a TNA match, after all.
That put Team TNA/Lucha Underground into the final, to face The Dream Team, and with fifty-six minutes left on the show, you’d think they’d probably be showing a good chunk of that, if not all of it.
BUT! there was a third-place match! Team Legends took on Team ROH/Lucha Underground, which started straight into the overtime. I don’t mean that the highlights started there, that’s how they did the match live, too. Because I don’t know why.
The legends selected Dr Wagner Jr, but there seemed to be a bit of heat between Moose & ACH as to who would get the nod, with ACH winning out. Oh, wait, despite announcing Wagner Jr, the Legends chose Blue Demon Jr. Eh.
Blue Demon Jr wanted a handshake at the start, and ACH – being from ROH – should have given him one. Instead he kicked him in the face and then they did some lucha, with Blue Demon Jr no-selling a dropkick and ACH hitting a round-the-world huracanrana.
They skipped ahead to ACH hitting a 450 splash, but Demon Jr got his knees up and locked ACH in a whacky submission. ACH rolled it through for a nearfall and then Demon Jr hit Eddie Guerrero-style rolling suplexes for a nearfall of his own.
Demon Jr got ACH in a headlock and ACH backed him into the corner. He looked up and saw the clock, which was almost out of time, and hit a running forearm and then a 450 splash but the time ran out at the two count!
So Dr Wagner Jr got to fight Brian Cage, and Cage went right after him with kicks and clotheslines, and then hit a standing moonsault for a nearfall. The crowd started getting behind Wagner Jr and Cage missed a moonsault out of the corner. Wagner Jr came back with a legwhip and got a nearfall with a majistral cradle and one of the photographers at ringside looks like Dean Malenko.
Cage hit back with a superkick and an F5 and that was the win, and third place, for Team ROH/Lucha Underground. I liked that.
And so to the final – the Dream team versus Team TNA/Lucha Underground. There’s forty-six minutes of TV time remaining so I don’t expect a single cut.
Rey Mysterio Jr, who’s come as Green Lantern for the final, started out with Matt Hardy. Mad to think these two were going at it in WWE not so long ago. It’s almost like there’s a proper opposition to New York again.
They traded holds, with Mysterio Jr notably working the left side, and then Johnny Mundo tagged in. Mundo grounded Mysterio Jr with wristlocks before falling prey to a wheelbarrow armdrag. They went to the mat again, before Mundo tagged in Mr Anderson.
Mysterio Jr made the tag to Myzteziz, who went after Anderson with all the fury of a man who doesn’t believe Mr Anderson should be in this kind of company. El Patrón Alberto came in and hit the ten punches up top, and then made an early cover for a two-count.
The Dream Team made another quick tag but Anderson managed to bull Myzteziz over into the American corner, where Hardy and Mundo double-teamed him for a two-count.
Anderson came back in and continued the beating, holding Myzteziz in a chancery for Hardy to hit a forearm to the back off the top. Hardy and Mundo did some more double-teaming before Mundo took over and I just realised we’ve not had a rudo breakdown all show.
Mr Anderson kept up the heat on Myzteziz, until he charged into the corner and Myzteziz moved. Anderson hit the ring post and Myzteziz made the hot tag to Alberto, who came in and took Anderson apart, hitting a Super Shining Wizard for a two-count.
Alberto then went up top but Hardy scooched over and crotched him on the top turnbuckle, allowing Anderson to tag out to Hardy. Hardy hit some legdrops on Alberto and got a nearfall, and then went right back to wearing Alberto down well away from the Dream Team corner.
Alberto fought back and took Hardy down with a clothesline. He inched over to his corner but Hardy stopped him making a tag and dragged him back to the (nominal) rudo corner. Mundo tagged in and laid kicks on Alberto, much to the displeasure of the crowd.
While Mundo made a cover for a two-count, they showed the judges watching intently. I should hope so.
With less than five minutes remaining, the Americans were still working over Alberto, but he hit a diving DDT off the top rope to earn himself some time. Slowly, slowly, he made the tag to Rey Mysterio Jr, who ran wild on Johnny Mundo, getting a nearfall with a low dropkick.
Mysterio Jr set Mundo up for the 619 but Hardy came in to stop it, and then ended up on the ropes himself, with both men getting the 619. Mysterio Jr then hit a springboard splash onto Mundo for a two count, broken up by Anderson.
Myzteziz came in and took Anderson out of the ring while Alberto took Matt Hardy up top. His superplex attempt was blocked by Mundo & Anderson, but they were caught by Myzteziz & Mysterio Jr, who tried to do a super Tower of Doom spot. Anderson punched Myzteziz away but Mysterio Jr followed through and did his part, and they all came toppling down in an untidy heap.
Only Myzteziz and Anderson were unaffected, and they got up and clotheslined each other to leave everyone lying in the ring. The clock ticked down to two minutes…
Mundo threw Myzteziz out of the ring but Mysterio Jr caught him with a victory roll for a two-count. Matt Hardy came in and kicked Mysterio Jr, and then got a nearfall, before Alberto threw Mundo out of the ring and dropped Hardy on his arm. He set up the cross armbreaker but Anderson broke it. Fast & furious, this.
Mundo reappeared and the Americans beat on the Mexicans, with the crowd getting super hot. Anderson got a nearfall, broken by Myzteziz kicking him in the head, and then Myzteziz got one with a Michinoku Driver, broken by Mundo.
Hardy and Mundo dumped Myzteziz and Mysterio Jr out of the ring, and Hardy hit a Twist of Fate to set Alberto up for Mundo’s End of the World. BUT! the time ran out! Alberto was saved by the bell! He recovered at the announcers’ table, getting a drink of water from Vampiro and pouring the rest of the bottle over his head!
As per the rules, the match went into sudden death – muerte súbita – overtime. The Dream Team chose Myzteziz and Team TNA/Lucha Underground picked Mr Anderson.
Anderson went on the attack early doors, taking Myzteziz down and laying in some kicks and blows for an early nearfall. He trapped him in the corner but Myzteziz fought his way out, sending Anderson across the ring. He hesitated and that allowed Anderson to come back for another nearfall.
The judges, who hadn’t had a decision to make all night, were shown watching on. Anderson stayed on top of Myzteziz, wearing him down with more kicks and stomps and headlocks.
Myzteziz fought back, and got a nearfall of his own with an inside cradle, but Anderson kicked out. Anderson came right back with two nearfalls of his own, both men trying to end this before the time ran out.
Myzteziz hit a sunset flip but Anderson was too near the ropes and grabbed them to break the count. Anderson hit back with a double axehandle and then climbed up top for a flip dive, which Myzteziz dodged. Myzteziz then went up top himself and got a nearfall with a frog splash and the crowd almost bought it as a finish.
The clock ticked down in the background as Anderson hit the Mic Check for a nearfall, and then tried pin after pin after pin until the time ran out.
For the second bout of overtime, Team TNA/Lucha Underground went with Matt Hardy, while el Patrón Alberto fought for the Dream Team.
Alberto attacked before the bell but Hardy fought back, hitting clotheslines and a bulldog for an early two-count. Hardy then took Alberto to the mat, wearing him down before el Patrón fired back, bulling Hardy into the corner and laying in kicks.
Hardy soon got another nearfall, though, after Alberto sent him across the ring and ducked early for a backdrop. Hardy hit a clothesline but only got a two-count.
The two engaged in a slap battel, before Alberto hit some clotheslines and a lungblower for a nearfall. At half-time in overtime, Alberto looked for a superkick but Hardy dodged and hit a move for a two-count. Dos Caras, Alberto’s dad, looked concerned in the judge’s area.
Hardy showboated in the ring, waiting for Alberto to get to his feet, then hit a Twist of Fate for a nearfall. Hardy still looked very much on top but Alberto suddenly came back and dropped Hardy on his arm, following up with a superkick, but was too weakened to add the customary cross armbreaker.
Time ticked down and Alberto made it over and dropped Hardy on his arm again. He locked on the cross armbreaker but Hardy lasted eleven seconds and time ran out.
So, then, final overtime. Rey Mysterio Jr versus Johnny Mundo, in what will probably be one of the headline matches at Triplemanía. If this one goes to a draw, the judges will decide! That’ll perk the old fellas up!
They started out tentatively, but Mundo caught Mysterio Jr and started laying in stomps and kicks. Mysterio Jr came back and hit a huracanrana, which sent Mundo onto the ropes. Mysterio Jr then hit the 619, climbed up top for a splash, and made a cover for a two-count.
Mysterio Jr kicked Mundo back onto the ropes and lined up another 619, but Mundo delivered a superkick to take the diminutive one down. The crowd began to BOOOOOOOOO! really loudly but Mundo could only get a two-count with the subsequent cover.
He got another nearfall with a corkscrew neckbreaker, and then dragged Mysterio Jr over to the corner for the End of the World. Mysterio Jr woke up and pulled Mundo down for a two-count, which Mundo kicked out of and then hit a knee to the face.
Mundo went up top for the End of the World but Mysterio Jr moved and Mundo landed on his feet. Mysterio Jr climbed up top and hit a sit-down splash and a springboard crossbody for a nearfall. It’s a good job I have a pause button.
Another Mysterio Jr nearfall, this time from a kick to the head, took us into the last ninety seconds. Mysterio Jr tried another victory roll but Mundo countered it into a front slam, and made the pin but Mysterio Jr grabbed the ropes.
Wasting no time – because there really wasn’t any to waste, Mundo went up top and hit the End of the World, but only got another two-count, and must have been wondering how he’d put Mysterio Jr away.
Looking to really end it, Mundo took Mysterio Jr up top and lifted him onto his shoulders, but Mysterio Jr fought out and hit a victory roll off the top for the win! The Dream Team are the champions! Not that it was obvious or anything!
The final, the only match aired in its entirety on Sin Límite, was great. It just didn’t let up from the opening bell, and all six men were just ace.
After the match, the luchadors surrounded the ring as the judges massed on the stage and handed out awards. Angélico won Best Dive for his insane flip over the turnbuckles, Rey Mysterio Jr won Wrestler of the Night, and the final got Match of the Night.
Then the third place team and the runners-up came up for the medals, like a proper authentic sporting competition or something.
Finally, the winning team were called up and given the trophy by some dude in a tracksuit and a ticker-tape parade awaited them on the ramp.
Backstage, the Dream Team were stood by the trophy and the cake, and it’s clear that what we saw earlier was actually a spoiler, only we didn’t know it.
A Mariachi band came in and played for them and one of the Mariachis took his guitar and smashed it over el Patrón Alberto’s head. It was Jeff Jarrett! He shouted, “you know who I am!” as Johnny Mundo and Averno took out the others.
While Konnan and Brian Cage stood by, Karen Angle screamed obscenities at Alberto, and Jarrett described him as nothing more than “an Indian,” which I’m pretty sure is racist. Disappointingly, no-one ended up with the cake in their face.
Konnan cut a talky at the camera, as Mundo and Averno posed with Myzteziz and Mysterio Jr’s masks, and Jarrett – who was not wearing opera gloves – told us that we should never disrespect who the King & Queen of the mountain were. Like that’s even a thing. And that’s your show!
That was a Fun Show and an Exhausting Show. It didn’t let up, from start to finish, with only the regular adverts for Verano de Escándalo breaking up the action. That’s what’s next for AAA – and actually takes place tomorrow (on iPPV if you want to watch it) – but we’ve got another two weeks of TV before we get to see it on Sin Límite. See you back here next week, then?
(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)