The Thomas & Mack Center was once a premier arena for boxing’s biggest and best matchups throughout the ’80s, ’90s, and early 2000s, so it is fitting that Triple A holds their ‘Worlds Collide’ PLE at The Pavilion (home of UNLV) inside the famed venue on the eve of one of the biggest fights in boxing history. The Mexican Canelo Alvarez, facing off with America’s Terence Crawford, represents the same cultural pairing that was necessary for WWE and AAA after the acquisition created the need for a hybrid promotional presentation.
Utilizing WWE’s own rostered Luchadores as well as versatile talent that can flawlessly work crossover matches, the success of this current era rests on the young talent that is Dominik Mysterio. Dom has clearly gotten over with the crossover fandom, and it felt like only a matter of time before he was placed firmly in the top position from within the promotion.
It has been made very clear that no Mysterio has ever held the AAA Mega championship title belt, and that is primarily because the title was only established in 2007—the year after Rey Mysterio won his first WWE world championship at WrestleMania 22 in 2006. That set up the pre-match encounter between father and son as Dom got Rey to agree to a last-minute stipulation where if he wins, then the Hall of Fame Luchador will have to come to the ring and raise his son’s hand in victory.
Vikingo’s gear was in honor of Mexican Independence Day, but he has remained the perpetual heel in the eyes of Triple A fans this summer—booed in every big match. This is a difficult spot for both champion and challenger, given the amount of youth in this match. The Rock/Hogan WMX8 comes to mind whenever you have a situation where the long-term storytelling of a heel/face goes completely out the window to a determined (and possibly hostile) crowd.
Vikingo worked heel more than we’ve seen on this crossover cards, while Dom ‘played the hits’ often and early, though he missed a 619 attempted in the first 5 minutes of this match. The crowd continued chanting “Dirty, Dirty Dom,” as Dom attempted to slow down the pace of the match to more of his liking.
Konan, who has done terrific work on commentary throughout the summer, made sure to clarify that Rey’s inability to win ‘the big one’ in Mexico was based on the strict weight classes that lucha promotions utilize. The comment served as the soundtrack for Dom’s style work, amplifying the contrast between the persona and work signature he has created for himself as he separates his star from his father’s shadow.
Vikingo displayed much of his high-flying prowess since the summer soft launch, but tonight he showed fans more of his raw power. He was in control when The Judgment Day’s Finn Balor and JD McDonagh ran down for the assist. Even though Vikingo was able to stave off the immediate interference and subsequent near-fall, it took Dragon Lee and Rey Mysterio himself, chair in hand, to even the odds. Still, Dom had the loaded mask and was primed to win until Vikingo hit the super kick.
After the masked men came out to rid The Judgment Day from ringside, Vikingo placed Dom in position for the 630 and landed it. And when it seemed like the champ would retain, El Grande Americano popped up from under the ring to break the ref’s count.
Vikingo, always the fighting champion, still managed to gain the momentum before he let El Grande’s presence at ringside distract him. Grande, fighting to keep his mask from being ripped off by the champ, was able to slip a foreign object to Dom, who used it to successfully set up the Frog Splash victory.
The crowd erupted enthusiastically as Rey Mysterio walked down to the ring in his navy blue suit, being shoved by his disrespectful son until he wrapped the Triple A Mega title around Dom’s waist as he held the IC title in hand. He told Rey to ‘kick rocks’ after the deed was done, and that is when ‘the boys’ came to down to celebrate in the ring.
However, Rey ended up embracing El Grande Americano, much to the confusion of Finn and the gang. This is sure to continue playing out as Dom’s days as a heel seem to be coming to an end.
This feud has been boiling all summer, and now the multi-national program is at a place where innocent casualties in the form of La Yesca and Demonito have been roped into the gang warfare. After several events of teasing, the next showdown, both Mr. Iguana and Finn brought with them their stuffed allies—though Finn’s can only survive in the darkness of his black sack, apparently.
The match and its style are fun and entertaining, similar to gimmicks like Orange Cassidy and Dan Hausen (Mr. IgHAUSEN?). Mr. Iguana produces ‘sports entertainment spots’ that take a bit of creativity and licensing. However, when done right, it is the kind of match that can entertain the entire family, from both mom and dad, right down to the kids ranging from 3 to 18 years of age.
There was a hilarious moment when Demonito popped up on his own, demanding to get involved before Finn insisted he make himself scarce to ‘not get injured’ (Finn is now capable of love storyline?). Eventually, Mr. Iguana tried to take out Demonito but was surprised to find the mysterious puppet had teleported out of the sack.
After Finn and Demonito got the jump on Mr. Iguana and La Yesca, it did not take long for the more experienced duo in Iguana-Yesca to reestablish their momentum. That is when La Yesca dove to the outside, landing on Demonito to take him out of the action. It was a terrific final sequence leading to Lola Vice gaining the pinfall victory over Perez.
With a versatile assortment of styles from wrestlers representing multiple promotions, including WWE (RAW), NXT, and, of course, AAA itself, but how they were able to blend their performances in an exciting exhibition that served to prove each man belongs to a wider group of wrestlers thought to be the best in the biz today.
They did not get a ton of time, but that only showed how precise and effortless it was for this foursome to blend a cohesive story with meaningful spots. In the end, Dr. Wagner’s reign as champ will continue as he picked up the pinfall victory.
The New Day was booked to compete for the tag titles, but we learned early in the night that Xavier Woods was too injured to compete despite ‘risking bloodclots’ by getting on an airplane to support his friend Kofi and his proxy Grayson Waller. Woods, not in competition against Psycho Clown and Pagano, was still busy in the building during the show as they continued their efforts to get Penta’s Mexican Destroyer banned.
Waller led The New Day to the ring with the petition to ban the move in hand, while Woods took a fan’s phone and purposely dropped it on the walkway to the ring and kicked it further down the aisle. The narrative for the match was Waller replacing Woods, and if he could help the legendary tag team add a whole new promotion’s tag team title to their legacy, it would seemingly ensure an official place in the group—making the duo a full-fledged three-man faction once again.
Waller wore boxing trunks in the ring, perhaps a nod to the boxing match tomorrow night pitting Canelo versus Crawford, and did much of the early work. There were some huge spots, including a Tope Suicida that Pagano landed on Waller before then landing on his head.
Despite being ‘too injured’ to compete, it did not stop Woods from attempting to rack up the winning assist for the night. Unfortunately for him, Psycho Clown got into the head of the infamous Trambone player, then, when he ripped his face off, exposing a ‘muscles and nerve endings’ version of his face, Woods wanted no part of it.
Psycho Clown and Pagano picked up the win against The ‘Half Day,’ but the celebration was short-lived as the lights went black until moments later, the single piano note that begins The Wyatt Sicks entrance theme music. The crowd went crazy as the faction revealed itself to the crowd before physically introducing themselves to the champs in a violent post-match beatdown.
After tiptoeing around the Triple A tag champs booking, the promotions have gone all in on a ‘champions vs champions’ feud, and the stuffed animal section of the WWE shop is likely to skyrocket in sales.
The opening match on an AAA card plays an important role in the overall presentation of the show, and unlike North American culture and wrestling traditions, the closer you are booked towards the end of the show, the more prestigious the match and wrestlers. In Lucha, they are like the kicker kicking off the ball, the quarterback calling the first play set to establish a bigger game plan, and the mascot/stadium announcer meant to get the building hype.
This match delivered in every facet of the assignment as the fast-paced nature of each superstar played into the overall narrative of the match. The little wrestlers have always had a place in lucha culture, and they were the heart and soul of this match as they performed physical feats in the form of wrestling. The faces took the victory in this one, led by one of the summer MVPs of this new AAA era, Octogan Jr.
Natalya continues to find her stride in foreign territory, picking up the win in yet another terrific veteran performance. The match was a solid change of pace from the opener while still managing to deliver an alternative look for this versatile card.
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