Dr. Wagner Jr. is off tonight’s Arena Mexico show, as well as next week’s anniversary show, meaning that both big outside attractions who have greatly picked up attendance, Wagner and L.A. Park, are gone after two shows.
Marco Corleone will replace Wagner Jr. at next Friday’s anniversary show.
CMLL claims that Wagner Jr. called the office and said that next week’s show “didn’t suit his interests.” CMLL then told him not to bother coming.
Wagner Jr. and Park were there to be back in the spotlight for a few weeks, feud with each other, and continue that feud on independent shows forever. With Park being fired last week, Wagner Jr. figured there was nothing to build his future business staying.
The first AAA PPV in the U.S. in 21 years is today’s TripleMania 23 from Arena Ciudad in Mexico City.
We’re looking for your thoughts on today’s show, as well as today and yesterday’s G-1 shows from Japan, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com
We’re opening the show with audio difficulties.
MINI PSYCHO CLOWN & MAMBA & DAGA & SEXY STAR VS. DINASTIA & PIMPINELA ESCARLATA & GOYA KONG & DRAGO
Goya Kong is Porky’s daughter and looks just like him. The finish saw Pimpinela make Sexy submit to version of a backbreaker. The guys and minis were really good, he women not so good more comedy and the exoticos were what they were. Some of the wrestling was really bad and the flying was tremendous. Everyone but Kong did dives and there were multiple dives. Pimpinela was kissing Matt Striker in the cheek after the match.
They are now honoring Tropicasas, the father of Negro Casas who is retiring as a referee at the age of 82.
The announcers are really struggling.
So Striker compared Tropicasas with Terry Funk. Because both wear a headband.
Marisela Pena was almost in tears as Tropicasas came out. He’ll be doing his final match tonight.
They are doing a photo spread of Los Villanos, including showing Ray Mendoza, their father, who was one of the biggest stars in Lucha Libre history and a major star in California as well.
LOS VILLANOS III & IV & V VS. THE PSYCHO CIRCUS
The Villanos came out wearing their masks. Two of them have to take their mask off after the match per commission regulations.
Holy shit. Think of the worst match that you ever saw. That would be a fantastic match compared to this. One of the Villanos used a low blow to pin one of the clowns. Psycho Clown had Villano III pinned a couple of times but he refused to pin him because it was Villano III’s last match. The announcing was hilarious as Matt Striker even said when they were throwing punches that they aren’t slapping their legs. Hugo Savinovich’s mic was off so Striker was having a conversation with someone we couldn’t hear. Between the technical problems, the wrestling and the announcing I don’t know that I’ve ever seen anything worse. I knew this would be bad, but it was at a different level.
At least the post match was touching. The clowns are hugging Tropicasas. The two Vilanos, Vilanos III and Villano V unmasked with some of the younger members of te Villano family in the ring. Joaquin Roldan was thanking Villano III.
Villano III and Tropiecasas were thanking the fans on the way out. The Psycho Circus led chants for Villanos after.
CAGE MATCH WITH THE BELTS HANGING ABOVE THE RING FOR AAA TRIOS TITLES. CHESSMAN & CIBERNETICO & AVERNO DEFENDING AGAINST JACK EVANS & ANGELICO & FENIX AND PENTAGON JR. & EL HIJO DEL FANTASMA & EL TEXANO JR.
Yes, we have the best flyers in the world and they are in a cage match. We will be having all sorts of dives off the cage here no doubt.
This was awful due to the production. The cage kept the flyers from doing their thing past Fenix doing a moonsault block on Penataon and Evans did a flip off the thing over the ring, like a scaffolding made of metal. Evans and Angelico ere both knocked off the cage to the floor. It ended up with Averno, Fantasma and Angelico were on the scaffolding. Angelico was knocked off the scaffolding into the ring. Averno gave Fantasma a low blow and he fell into the ring. Averno then grabbed the belt to win. Cibernetico speared Texano through a table in the ring and Chessman was knocked off the cage by Fantasma off the cage onto two tables that didn’t really break at all.
This match made the least use of some talented guys and poor Matt Striker trying to announce this travesty. By the end, we did get Hugo Savinovich back.
BLUE DEMON JR. & LA PARKA VS. MESIAS & ELECTROSHOCK
Demon Jr. made Electroshock submit with a combination scorpion and armlock after Parka had hit Mesias with a tope. Some of this was pretty bad and other parts were okay. Demon wasn’t bad considering his age and Parka tried given how beat up he is.
Striker just said we may never see a wrestler have such a great career for as long a period of time as Blue Demon Jr. Did anyone tell Matt that it’s not his father in the match.
Next is the tribute to Perro Aguayo Jr. & Hector Garza. They are both being inducted into the Hall of Fame tonight.
Joaquin Roldan was out and Hugo was translating, except we couldn’t hear his translations. The Garza family is out. They are having wrestlers talk about Garza. Lots of clis of Perro Jr. & Garza. Perro is now talking.
His father Humberto accepted the plaque. His brother and kids were out. The Aguayo family is out and the fans are chanting. The family has the urn. Perro Agauyo Sr. isn’t there. They are now showing a Perro video. They showed him as a baby with Andre the Giant and Abdullah the Butcher. They had his mother being interviewed. They showed his father on the screen saying he was the best son you could ever have.
They are now playing his music. They are showing lots of fans with Perros Del Mal shirts. This was the best thing on the show.
ALBERTO EL PATRON VS. BRIAN CAGE IN A HAIR VS. HAIR MATCH
Alberto won with the armbar a low blow and throwing Cage into a chair in the corner. This was more the idea that Cage, Fantasma and heel ref Tirantes were conspiring against Alberto. Cage wore a Trump for President tank top. It was more of a brawl with lots of chair shots to the head, although not severe, and table breaks. It looked like Cage blew out his right knee during the match so he was doing the match with one leg. He did every spot planned and went several minutes. It looked like the knee went out on a missed moonsault. Alberto juiced early on. Fantasma and Fenix got involved until Cage threw Fenix into Fantasma who backdropped him on the ramp. Alberto ended up giving El Hijo del Tirantes a spinning backbreaker and superkick. Rafael el Maya came out as the new ref after Cage power bombed Alberto off the middle rope through a table but Alberto kicked out. They are shaving Cage’s head. Alberto used a step up enzuigiri and a short power bomb and buried Cage under the Mexican flag since this started with Cage burying Alberto under the American flag. Alberto kissed Marisela Pena when it’s over.
REY MYSTERIO JR. VS. MYZTEZIZ
This was a really good match. Mysterio won with Myzteziz’s own La Mistica finish by tap out The announcers didn’t know it was Myzteziz’s move. Tons of near falls with the slow counts. Myzteziz used the 619 and frog splash to Rey but Rey kicked out. There were table breaks and all kinds of cradles for near falls. Mysterio did a Thesz press on him over the post. Myzteziz bled from being rammed into the post several times which he immediately recovered from. Averno, Pentagon and Joe Lider all atacked Myteziz after the match while Rey is hanging out with Marisela Pena. Rey ran in to clean house but they are beating him down. Lider used the staple gun on Rey. Looked like first they were pushing Pentagon Lider vs. Myteziz & Rey for the tag title. Averno went for the mask of Myzteziz. They are all beating on Rey as he hung upside in the coner. The doctor is with Myzteziz in one corner. Rey & Myzteziz cleaned house together. They used a double 619 on Pentagon and Lider. Myzteziz got the staple gun and stapled Lider in the head, chest shoulders and arms. Mysterio gave Averno a head scissors and went for the 619 n Averno but Averno ran off. Myzteziz went for a tope on Averno but missed. Averno started attacking him until Mysterio used a spinning head scissors on Averno on the floor.
They announced another show on October 4th from San Luis Potosi.
Rey talked to Myzteziz after but Myzteziz blew something in his face and cut a heel promo on him and called the fans dogs He asked for a rematch with Mysterio in an anything goes match with no referee in front of these people and I want to embarrass you as the idol you claim to be. He wanted a a mask vs. mask match and power bombed Mysterio through a table again. That should only happen at TripleMania. Mysteziz press slammed him into a codebreaker. They rolled the credits while Konnan turned on Rey and the announcers were calling it as the show credits rolled. Konnan was inviting Myzteziz to join La Sociedad as the show went off the air.
It was excellent because Kevin was the one that had originally called me because Woman (Nancy Sullivan) was working at the time which you remember was his wife at the time. I think that she was the one that told him, ‘look, this Konnan’s I believe you can do something with him especially since you don’t have any Latino’s’. He called me and when I got there he really helped me out a lot. I was actually going to do a program with Hogan at one point for Mexico and the United States. I think what happened and I’m not sure, I have ask him about this and it is something that I want to ask him the next time I see him is, this is what I really think happened.
I got there and they really had big plans for me but I don’t think they thought I didn’t know how to wrestle the American style which Paul E made that same mistake. When I went in there, he put me in there with some American guy and we had some terrible match and I told Paul E, I don’t know how to wrestle American style. They think just because you speak English, that you could also wrestle the style and I think the same thing happened with Kevin. So I had to be deprogrammed. I had to learn how to wrestle American style. By the time, I learned I think my stock fell in their eyes. But Kevin was always like a mentor to me there.
About the most under rated faction he was a part of in WCW:
I think the one that comes to mind is the Filthy Animals. Imagine this in the same faction. You had Torrie Wilson, Billy Kidman, Eddie Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, Disco Inferno, Konnan and then for a while there we had Juventud (Guererra). So there is a lot of talent right there and they just didn’t do anything with us. The problem with WCW was and we all know and it’s been well documented and I know this is going to sound redundant but you had an owner that was a mark for the stars and the stars dictated what they wanted and they made sure that none of us got through. So none of us did, a lot of these guys had there to go to WWE. I give Vince credit for that.
Chris Jericho and Rey and (Chris) Benoit and Eddie had to leave WCW to become stars, would never had happened had they stayed. The funny thing about that group was I’ll tell you how it was formed. I had actually gone to Vince Russo who had just taken over and I said, ‘look, they’ve been burying us since before you got here and I don’t know if you have any plans to do anything with us but let me get a bunch of my friends, put us together and let us have fun and if you want bury us then at least we’ll be together and we’ll get buried together’. So I basically got a bunch of my friends which were the people I just named. Torrie was actually going out with Billy so we just brought her into the fold. That’s basically how the group came about. We did some angle where we buried Ric Flair in the desert, somewhere in Vegas I believe and nothing ever happened after that. We just knew they weren’t going to do anything but at least we were having fun being together.
Pollock: It’s headlined by yourself & Myzteziz. Now the term “dream match” is often thrown out there quite a lot. For anyone who has any concept of the history of Lucha Libre over the past 20 years you are 2 of the definitive stars. For the 2 of you this always seemed like a huge, logical match in WWE.
Mysterio: I definitely think this is something that not only we wanted but the fans demanded. I think it will define our legacy. We both have similarities in our styles, in our outfit… Over the years he has spoke highly about how he has admired my career for so long. I saw him wrestle in Mexico & many times on TV & he was the future of Mexican wrestling at the time. It’s definitely a dream match – without a doubt. I know we’re gonna go out there & put everything on the line & give the fans exactly what they deserve.
Pollock: How is Rey Mysterio’s health today now in 2015?
Mysterio: It’s incredible. I’ve had a lot of time to heal up & my body is actually thanking me now for getting that opportunity to rest – to strengthen up my quads from all the damage over the years on my left knee. My right knee – thank God, knock on wood – it’s in great condition. Now I’ve just gotta stay in shape & keep doing what I love but on my own terms – not like in the early 30’s.
Pollock: You’ve spoken about the stem cell treatment that you’ve got on your left knee. Who introduced you to that & has it been the ultimate game-changer for your knee?
Mysterio: The person who introduced me to that was former WWE wrestler Charlie Haas who’s a great friend of mine. He introduced me to this doctor who was doing the treatment at the time and I said I was willing to try anything to see if there’s any improvement on my knee whatsoever and sure enough it did help. It was temporary but – again – this is one of those treatments that you have to constantly be on top of it – at least 2 or 3 times a year. (Transcribed by Joseph Bernard)
The LAW: Live Audio Wrestling can be heard every Sunday night at 11pm ET on TSN 1050 Toronto, TSN 1410 Vancouver, SiriusXM 167 and online at www.liveaudiowrestling.com.
Last week, we got the first third of Ultima Lucha. In yet another Dario Cueto creation, the big supershow was split into a one hour show and then a two hour second part. First, he created the Royal Rumble and then the iron man match. Hopefully one day, his list of inventions rivals that of Thomas Edison. Cage beat The Mack in a hardcore match via a cinder block curb stomp, while the Disciples of Death defeated Team Havoc, and Drago won the main event beating Hernandez in a “fans strap the heel” match. It set the table nicely for the season, and possible series finale here.
The show begins with a tribute to the original rudo “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and a recap of the show’s history. We see Puma, his debut, his title win, and the history of Vampiro and Pentagon’s issues. Every match, including Texano vs. Blue Demon Jr. gets a history video to provide some context to everything. We even see a rundown of the Cueto-Black Lotus storyline, which will either be concluded or furthered tonight. Striker and Michael Schiavello are here to call the action. Our opener is Johnny Mundo vs. Alberto, with Mundo in slick red and black gear. Schiavello puts Alberto over huge and sounds perfect calling the action here.
Johnny Mundo vs. Alberto El Patron
Alberto chases Mundo, but Mundo stays on the floor. They fight out there near the window that Mundo smashed him through, and Alberto kicks him and smashes him into the wall below the window and then into the announce table. The left arm of Mundo is smashed into it a few times and Mundo runs under the ring. Mundo throws powder into the eyes and is rammed into the fencing and then the announce table. Alberto is tossed into the dirty wall and comes up covered in more dust.
Mundo gets some mounted punches on the floor for a 2 count. A reverse superplex prevents the End of the World and Alberto pounds the mat for a “si!” chant. We get a mini Frye-Takayama exchange that Mundo wins and uses to shove Alberto’s head into the buckle. Alberto moves away and gets some running lariats and a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. A back stabber gets 2, but Mundo avoids the kneeling superkick for a Pele kick and a two count. Mundo gets a 2.5 count off a rope-hung back stabber. Flying Chuck misses and Alberto lariats him to the floor. A suicide dive by Alberto is countered by a kick and Mundo sending him to the floor.
Mundo gets an over the top corkscrew dive and a “this is awesome” chant. Mundo goes for a corner kick, but Alberto counters with a rope-hung double stomp. Alberto gets the armbar, but Mundo rolls through it and gets to the ropes. Alberto kicks his back and puts him in a tree of woe for stomach kicks. A corner shoulder charge is countered and sends Alberto into the post. Mundo counters a top rope exchange gets a surfboard double stomp and the End of the World for 2.5!
Mundo puts the ref in his place for a superkick, and Alberto gets the armbar! Mundo stomps out of the armbar, but Mundo is locked into a rope-hung armbar. Melina in some very short pants and a very small shirt comes down and hits Alberto with his title. Mundo and Melina share a kiss, but Alberto attacks Mundo. He clears out the fans and tosses Mundo into their chairs before tossing him through a glass door! Alberto grabs an attacking Melina and spanks her before grabbing his gold and holding it high. Mundo is shown caked in blood while Striker yells “holy shit!” Striker says this was violent, but Vampiro vs. Pentagon will be even more graphic. We get a quick recap of both Pentagon Jr. and Vampiro looking cool to set up their match.
We see Dragon Azteca enter the area that Black Lotus and Matanza are in. Dario tells Azteca that he broke the treaty and threatens him with Matanza’s key before revealing that he doesn’t need it – Black Lotus attacks Azteca under the belief that he killed her parents. She murders him with a blow to the spine and Cueto frees her and says that this place is too dangerous and he’ll have to build a new temple. Matanza is coming with them to protect her. This was bizarre, but great. Pentagon Jr. comes out in a new white, black, and red shirt – so someone is bleeding a ton on it. Vampiro comes out with the paint as the world’s most badass priest.
Pentagon Jr. vs. Vampiro – Zero Fear Match
Striker says he knows Ian, but he’s never seen this Vampiro before. He’s never seen this demon inside Ian while Schiavello says that it’s the most violent luchador of the past versus the most violent one of the present. Vamp eats a few chairshots to the back while Matt talks about him having six back surgeries and they fight to the top of the crowd. Vamp fights back with kicks and headbutts, but he eats an AA onto the concrete after Pentagon removes the mats. Pentago beats the daylights out of him with chairshots on the ground. The ref threatens to stop it, so Pentagon chokes him with a cord and Striker says it’s being stopped and we’ll go to a break.
After the break, Vampiro is loaded onto a gurney, but he rises and comes back to the ring to a huge “Vampiro” chant. Striker talks about Vampiro winning out over Ian here and he gets a spin kick. Vamp unleashes the tacks and slams Pentagon onto them! Vamp goes for a skytwister press and misses, landing on the tacks! Pentagon gets some light tubes and smashes Vamp’s head and neck before blood gushes from the wounds and Pentagon licks his own now bloody arm. This is easily the most disgusting act since Lynn-Corino in ECW.
Vamp eats a big kick and Pentagon gets more tubes. Vampiro is walking around like he’s about 100, and a victim in a slasher film on El Rey. Vamp and Pentagon exchange chops before Vamp hiptosses Pentagon into the light tubes! Vamp nearly rips the mask clean off of Pentagon, licks his blood and smashes the tubes onto Pentagon – whose white shirt is being put to good use now. Pentagon trips him up, and they fight up top for a super belly to belly by Vampiro!
Vampiro is a bigger star in this one match than he ever was in WCW, and it’s amazing to see his legend grow in retirement. Pentagon appears to have lost a war with an axe murderer in the corner while Vamp gets a table and a lighter. Vamp eats a spinebuster through the flaming table and in one of the scariest scenes in a while, the extinguisher blast goes from the far side of the right, not the side close to him – so it doesn’t hit him at all. He stops, drops, and rolls to the floor and his skin is clearly singed. Pentagon Jr. wins this unholy war. Vamp calls him a crazy MFer and wants him to break his arm – so Pentagon Jr. obliges! He calls out to his master and Vampiro tells him that he’s here, and he’s proud of his son.
Some will say that this story makes no sense, but they’ve been planting the seeds for “Vampiro” to be a separate part of “Ian”. It’s a bit like Batman and Bruce Wayne – one is a mask and the other is the real person, or for wrestling, the three faces of Foley. In terms of having these two men go to war in a battle of generations, you don’t really have to look much further than the Cactus vs. Funk wars where you had two men who had the underlying respect as Vamp and Pentagon had at least on one side with Vampiro saying that Pentagon Jr. was just like him in his prime. This was the most violent match on US television in ages, and given his age and many injuries, Vamp looked far better than I expected going in.
Gift of the Gods Title Match
Striker talks about the history of the medallions while Ryck debuts new red and black tights with Evans taking a crazy bump to the floor. Ryck teases a dive and everyone comes in to kick his ass – glorious. Aerostar gets an around the world headscissor onto Fenix and lands a dive to the floor. Fenix catches Aero coming off to the floor with a gorgeous powerslam. Tornado kick from Evans hits Cuerno and a 450 dive to the floor is met with a kick. Bengala gets a draping butterfly backbreaker and hits Sexy, but Ryck prevents a pin. Ryck gets a facebuster before a group piles on to prevent a pin. Ryck tosses Sexy onto Evans on the floor.
Big Ryck gets a series of muay thai knees on Bengala and attacks he and Fenix on the floor. Aerostar goes op to the top of a third story structure and dives onto a pile. Sexy goes for something, but Marty flaps behind her and she chops him before going for a Fujiwara armbar. He goes near Melissa Santos, who doesn’t want this creep anywhere near her. Sexy Star dives onto a pile while fans do the Lucha Dragons’ “lu-cha” bit – so at least that’s over to one audience in wrestling.
Sexy Stars gets a flying rana to Ryck after avoiding a corner charge. Cuerno kicks her, stands on her, and hits the Thrill of the Hunt. He tosses her aside to go to war with Fenix. Bengala gets a monkey flip to Fenix tossing him into Cuerno in the corner. Bengala gets a corkscrew dive, but Cuerno lands the ARROW DIVE TO BENGALA! Evans get s front choke to Aerostar , but Aero turns it into the 187, but Sexy Star kicks him to prevent a pin. Sexy rolls him up in a wacky lucha cradle for 2.
Ryck kills her with a Ryck Bottom. Daivari attacks Ryck with a chair, leading to an Evans springboard 450 for 2! Cuerno kills Evans with a lariat and a 450 sell. Cuerno gets a dragon sleeper surfboard, but Fenix dives onto them. Evans gets a series of crazy kicks and Cuerno is sent to the floor while Evans gets 2 off a bridge to Fenix. Standing octopus hold is executed onto Fenix, but he turns it into a Fire Driver for the win! Fenix wins the Gift of the Gods title and holds it while Cuerno looks like he’s ready to kill him.
Texano vs. Blue Demon Jr.
Texano comes down to face Blue Demon Jr. Blue Demon has The Crew with him, and they’re now upscale with new suits and blue ties. Striker says that he now aligned himself with them to extend his success. Demon asked Cueto to make this a no DQ match, so it is – and we’ll see it unfold after a break. Texano gets lariats and a superkick and a senton for 2. Texano chops away in the corner while Striker says Texano earned his legacy while Demon had his handed to him.
Tilt a whirl backbreaker to Demon and a seated powerbomb gets 2. The Crew attacks and Chavo comes down to save…Demon from any further abuse and hits Texano with the chair. Demon hits him with it as well and wins this short match. Striker says the aging veterans have aligned to regain their glory. Mil Muertes vs. Prince Puma is up next! But first, we get a slick chant-heavy video hyping up Puma. Mil Muertes comes down in new black, white, and purple gear that looks five million times better than his old blue and black pinstriped gear. Puma comes down amid his people without Konnan.
Mil Muertes vs. Prince Puma – Lucha Underground Championship
Muertes starts with punches and stomps, but he eats a flurry of kicks and a headscissors. Mil sends him to the floor and into the stands. They fight onto the steps and Muertes gets sent into the crowd. Catrina gets involved and Puma grabs her to spin her around and use her heels as a weapon! Puma is sent ass over teakettle into the chairs on the floor. Puma runs up the wall to avoid a wall smash, and we see the giant red welts on Mil’s side.
Puma gets a table and sets it up, but eats a gut punch. A fan yells at Puma to “fight, goddammit!” – well, at least Lucha Underground fans care a lot. Muertes grabs the giant wooden staircase and plants it ringside before powerbombing him into them! Puma dropkicks a chair into his face on the floor, but eats a much harder chairshot going for a suicide dive. A jumping knee gives Puma some hope as does a double stomp out of a German suplex flip counter!
Puma charges into the corner and eats a hard punch. Puma avoids a charge and sends Mil into the chair while a one-man Alarm Clock gets 2.5! A phoenix splash misses, but a snap powerslam from Mil gets 2! Puma lands a back-rolling Pele kick out of a corner charge counter before getting a deadlift-up suplex for 2.5 resulting in a suplex city chant. A big right hand hits Puma on the apron, but a high kick hits the challenger. Mil fights back with a Big E spear from the apron through the table – and they hit on the corner of the table! Mil powerbombs him through the remnants of the table and lifts him into the ring for a 2.9! Mil gets a spinning uranage and slams him down violently.
Puma avoids a spear with some parkour and hits a series of big kicks. Muertes lands for the 630, which hits for a 2.9! A second 630 misses and the spear hits resulting in a twist and a flatliner for a 2.9! Puma kicks away in the corner and goes for the 630, but the stone is lifted so he rises. Puma goes up top, but eats a super flatliner – Mil Muertes wins the gold! The Disciples of Death enter the ring while Striker talks about the Age of Death in Lucha Underground.
Black Lotus and Cueto grab all they can from his office, before he rushes in to grab the red bull. They leave in a limo and in the trailer, we see a wall destroyed and finally catch a glimpse of Matanza. Back at the Temple, Fenix leaves with his title in a slick gold Trans-Am before being hunted by Cuerno in a Chevy truck. Marty has kidnapped Sexy and says she’ll meet his sister. Angelico and Havoc promise to get the gold while he and Ivie leave for one last ride. Drago and Aerostar say they’ll meet again as Drago bursts into flames. Vampiro and Pentagon Jr. meet and says they’ll take things to a very dark place. El Dragon Azteca’s mask is seemingly placed on a new owner and we see a Lucha Underground? sign. Dario Cueto is shown in front of the Temple one last time as the lights go out and a To Be Continued notices pops on the screen.
Wow. This was a stellar show overall – with only the Demon-Texano match dragging it down in any way, and that was short. While the show’s future is uncertain, the to be continued notice seems to indicate that it will be continuing in some form or fashion – it just isn’t known when. It’s been a real treat to cover the show from day one, and I’m very thankful to Dave Meltzer for bringing me into the fold to cover it and to Josh Nason for helping me provide the most image-intensive coverage of the show online.
The show itself has raised the bar for expectations when it comes to backstage promos. After decades of seeing them done the same way from nearly every company, we have one treating the show as a drama that happens to involve wrestlers – and it changes things in big ways. For the first time in decades, we were presented with characters that in most cases, had never been seen before in North America. The producers found a way to craft interesting, if at times corny stories, but everyone fit their role nicely.
If the show doesn’t go on, then at least guys like Pentagon Jr. have now established themselves in the U.S, and it’s amazing to see how over he was nearly instantly as a babyface despite being the most vile act on the show. He’ll be able to get solid bookings in the U.S. for years now thanks to just this one season, while Ricochet’s stock rose quite a bit. Johnny Mundo showed that he could be more than he was in WWE even if his acting still isn’t quite up to snuff. Alberto came off like a legend here at times, and that holds even more true for Vampiro. His character has morphed from reformed crazy man to someone who has embraced the crazy, and every story turn made sense for his character.
They even found a way to make the long-tired heel owner a completely fresh act. Dario was greatly aided by having an actor play him who had no background in wrestling, so he played it as another role – as a result, he was a better actor than 99% of people in wrestling and gave the character a good mix of sinister and silly. The overarching storylines were nutty, but interesting and even with Black Lotus turning heel, it was done so in a very logical way that can be explained away later as her believing Cueto due to the confinement and developing a bit of Stockholm syndrome.
Lucha Underground deserves far greater ratings success than it got, and hopefully it will get a new lease on life in either streaming media like Netflix or Hulu or a Blu-Ray release. Given the sheer size of the show and it being shot in HD, a digital or streaming release is far more likely. Hopefully the entire back catalog is put back up on some on demand services – as that was the only way for myself and many others to actually watch this gorgeous show in HD. The closing montage alone was beautiful and far more artistic than anything WWE has done even with their new mandate to treat things like they’re shooting movies.
To see the roughly 500 screenshots taken for the show, just click here.
Donald Wood: The biggest news for wrestling fans is that you will be main eventing Triple A’s Triplemanía 23 against Myzteziz (formerly Sin Cara) in a dream match on Sunday, August 9th on PPV. For fans watching Triple A for the first time thanks to the English commentary, what can they expect from the show overall and from the main event between you and Myzteziz?
Rey Mysterio: Well that match between us is going to a legacy defining match. There is a lot of animosity and egos that are going to come into play that night. I have to point out that this match was made for the fans by the fans. The fans were the number one critiques on who is better? Rey Mysterio or Myzteziz. At one point I left Mexico to continue my career globally and a new star came about. He is known now as Myzteziz, but back then he was known as Mistico and then Sin Cara when he joined WWE. I would have to say the fans in their eyes see a lot of similarities between us. We even tagged at one point in the WWE and now here we are against each other thanks to the fans.
Mike Chiari: You and Myzteziz teamed together in WWE and it seemed as though there were always rumors about the two of you facing each other, and that match possibly happening at WrestleMania. How close did that match come to happening in WWE, and why do you think it never did?
Rey Mysterio: Due to the fact that I had already previous injuries on top of my knee benched me for quite some time. When I came back we started teaming up and we were heading somewhere. There wasn’t a concrete story line, but we were going out there and putting on one hell of a show for the fans. We were barely at the stage of getting the fans acclimated with our style and who Myzteziz was. His injuries came into play as well and then of course he was released. Then of course later on my release with me not wanting to resign with the WWE so it didn’t happen and we parted ways. We didn’t give the WWE the time to invest in both names and the product. Now it is happening at last here in Triple A.
Brandon Galvin: You’re often credited by fans as being one of the most influential luchadors in wrestling history, especially when it comes to your impact on pro wrestling in America. I know this was a long time ago, but do you recall getting that sense when you were first working ECW and WCW or do you look back now and feel that you were a pioneer of sorts?
Rey Mysterio: I think I look back now and feel blessed that I was a pioneer for that style. I want to pause a second and mention the one person that opened the doors for us and that was Eddie Guerrero. He was the first runner up with ECW and he was having great matches with Dean Malenko and Chris Benoit. Then of course when Eddie signed with WCW, Pauly talked to Konnan and brought him in, then Konnan brought us in: Psychosis, Juventud, Parka, and myself. We kind of replaced Eddie’s style and gave the fans a treat of lucha libre. Now I go back and think that, “wow, we really opened the eyes of the American audience to what lucha libre is, that it’s not just a style, it’s part of our culture.
Donald Wood: There were plenty of rumors surrounding why and how you departed WWE, including that the company flew you into Buffalo for a special meeting and extended your deal without your approval. Can you address the validity of these reports and why you decided it was time to leave WWE earlier this year?
Rey Mysterio: The initial meeting in Buffalo went well. Both parties, they agreed to continue to move forward on the Rey Mysterio brand. There was no rumors, no animosity, no bad feelings between us. I feel like resigning with the company due to the fact that I had a large amount of injuries on my body. That was the number one reason why I was on the bench so long. So when it came around to resigning, they were ok with me wanting to depart and do my own thing. There was no hard feelings and we departed in an amicable way. It was my time to think for myself and act upon myself and that was the best thing I had done for myself in years. I have had time to rest and my body feels a thousand times better. I’m calling my own shots and doing things I have never been able to do in my career. I never had the freedom to do them but now I do.
Donald Wood: Would you ever be open to returning to WWE later in your career?
Rey Mysterio: Yes of course. I think that’s what every wrestler would want, there’s nothing better than dictating your own future and not over working your body. You can’t keep running on fumes constantly when you are older. You don’t see the same Rey Mysterio you see when I was 25 years old. I think it’s good to understand from both ends that I can’t deliver the way I used to when I first signed with the WWE. To make sure talent last, you have to take care of it.
Mike Chiari: Lucha Underground is a promotion that’s picked up a ton of steam over the past year, and it’s a company that many fans have naturally linked you to since it has a good working relationship AAA. If and when the second season of Lucha Underground is green lighted, what are the odds we’ll see you working with them? What’s your level of interest there?
Rey Mysterio: I’m a big fan of their product and I watch it on occasion. They are doing a wonderful job and I think it’s great that they give an opportunity to the future talent of Triple A. I sit down and think if we had that type of promotion going on when Triple was filled with Psychosis, Juventud, Parka, Pentagon, Konnan, then lucha libre would have been introduced years ago to the United States. Unfortunately it didn’t happen but I think everything has its time to be exposed and now it has happened for Lucha Underground. I think if the time is right and I am interested I don’t see why not. If the opportunity came to come back to the WWE with a 50/50 terms base I would do that as well. It’s good to know you have options and when the options come I will be the first to jump on it as long as it favors both parties involved.
Brandon Galvin: There’s been so many exciting chapters so far in your career, but mine was when you made your debut in WWE and were working with the likes of Kurt Angle, Edge and Eddie Guerrero among others. Was that a special time for you from an in-ring perspective and is there a point in time where you feel like you were having your best matches?
Rey Mysterio: I definitely think that was probably a good phase that I was living. I had so many great opponents and team mates around me that we were able to perform at a very high level. I had Eddie, Edge, Kurt Angle, and Triple H was there doing his thing too and the Rock was still around too. The roster in general for WWE, SmackDown, and Raw was so stacked, it was definitely the funniest stage in my career and the most memorable stage for giving the best matches I had in me.
Donald Wood: One interesting note is that you worked for Paul Heyman in ECW, Eric Bischoff in WCW and Vince McMahon in WWE, so you’ve seen all different kinds of leadership types. Using your unique perspective, what are some of the differences between the three men and who did you enjoy working for the most?
Rey Mysterio: They all are very different and we left out Antonio Pena, the creator of Triple A. God rest his soul. He was the first one to see what was behind Rey Mysterio and gave me the opportunity to be nationally known. With all four of those bosses I have had, they are all very different. Geniuses were Pena, Pauly, and Vince. Marketing wise and character wise, they were just on top of their game and I think the fact that it was their company and obligation to take wrestling to another level and they have. They all did at their time and I feel blessed to have worked with all three of them. One is no longer around, I don’t know where Eric is, and Pena rest in peace. I feel honor to have been a part of all four major companies at points in my career.
Mike Chiari: You’re obviously one of the most accomplished and popular Superstars in WWE history, but unfortunately one of your last matches in WWE was the 2014 Royal Rumble and you were actually booed as the 30th entrant since fans so badly wanted to see Daniel Bryan. Do you feel like you were unfairly put in a no-win situation? Are there any hard feelings about the way that played out?
Rey Mysterio: No hard feelings at all. One thing I have learned through the years is I have never been political about certain things and I take things lightly through my whole life. At the moment, I couldn’t believe or understand what was going on. After the match I was able to sit down and digest what was going on, and sure enough it was the fact that the fans weren’t given what they wanted. At one point I remember talking to Konnan about it, thinking if they would of let me walk down to the ring, then when the fans were booing, let me go back into gorilla and give my spot to Daniel Bryan to be number 30.
Brandon Galvin: You’ve been a massively popular fan favorite throughout your WWE career, but was there ever a time that you wanted to turn heel and see how it would be to play a villain?
Rey Mysterio: I think that actually happened some sort of way after I lost my mask and the Filthy Animals were created. That was the first time I was able to experiment what it felt like working without the mask. In a way, it was not being a complete baby face, but somewhere in-between. A cocky Rey Mysterio, a new stage in his career, no mask, so I was able to play with the fans a little more and interact with the fans in a different way. I really enjoyed that phase of my life even though I thought working without my mask would have been a heart breaker.
Last week, the build for Ultima Lucha was finalized. The Gift of the Gods title was debuted, and each of the seven medallions will be used in it to determine title shots for season two (if there is one). Other than the creation of a new title, it was a very good and effective show. Johnny Mundo and Texano had a fun match, while Cage and The Mack had a short match that built up this week’s falls count anywhere main event with a long post-match brawl all over the place. Fenix also won a battle royal to get his medallion back, and he defended it against Party. Puma laid out Mil Muertes to close the show and build up their title match next week.
The show begins with a recap of the events that led us to tonight’s show – with a Cage vs. Mack rundown. We see Drago get his revenge and get a title shot, only to have Mil Muertes steal it. More recaps show the trios champs are attacked by the Disciples of Death, while Hernandez talks smack to the fans leading to a fans get the straps match. Dario Cueto meets with Black Lotus in her cell, while he is in a slick tuxedo. Matanza grunts in the background and we hear Dario talking about him as a monster not through size, but his circumstances. Dario tells her that Matanza didn’t kill her parents – El Dragon Azteca did. They close the scene by showing her beating up a chalk outline of a person on the cell wall and nailing the heart. This took some twists and turns and I loved it.
Ultima Lucha gets its own logo on the screen while Vampiro and Striker welcome us to the show. We get the card tonight and each match gets its own poster in the building – they look beautiful, so hopefully they monetize those and try to sell them. The opener is The Mack vs. Cage. Mack comes down, but he gets jumped by Cage on the steps.
The Mack vs. Cage – Falls Count Anywhere
Cage has a new black and yellow singlet and tosses Mack onto the top of Dario’s office. Cage slams him down hard and Striker says the ceiling has been reinforced. Exploder suplex on the bleacher from Mack to Cage! Fire extinguisher to the face of Mack leads to a stop sign shot and a DDT onto it for 2. Mack breaks a board on Cage’s back and hits him with a cooler full of Miller Lite. Mack takes a sip of a “Mackweiser” and hits a stunner for 2. Odd to use a Budweiser reference for Miller Lite. They fight up top and Mack kicks him and hits a sitiout powerbomb off the apron through a table on the floor! This gets 2 and a “this is awesome” chant.
Mack and Cage brawl up the steps to Cueto’s office ceiling once again. Sitout spinebuster on top of a garbage can from Mack gets 2. Cage gets a discus lariat over the railing into the crowd. Deadlift suplex from the railing to the ceiling gets 2! Cage gets some cinder blocks and curb stomps his head through one of them for the win. The trios tag title match is up next, and it’s hyped up with Angelico’s crazy dives.
After a break, we come back to the Temple where we get a rundown of next week’s two hour finale for the season. Striker makes a clear difference between Ian Hodgkinson and Vampiro, treating Vampiro like a split personality of Ian’s – which has been hinted at for a month or so now. The Disciples of Death come down with Catrina, and the Disciples do actually have names – but we don’t get graphics. One is in a gold mask, one is in silver, and the other is in purple – so that will be the key difference used here. The champs come down with Ivelisse still on crutches.
Team Havoc vs. Disciples of Death – Trios Tag Title Match
Bario attacks Ivelisse and Vamp praises the tactic. The black and gold disciple lands a torture back powerbomb to Angelico. Striker points out that this could be the first title change yet on Lucha Underground – which is amazing statistic given that it has LU and AAA’s top title on it. Flying knee sends one Disciple down for 2. A Disciple gets a stretch muffler onto Ivie’s good leg, but Havoc saves her. Havoc’s double handspring elbow gives them a breather for a second. Striker talks about how everyone wants an “Ultima Lucha Moment”, and Angelico runs up the wall to attack a Disciple. He then dives off of the office ONTO THE FLOOR. This man is nuts and he’s got blood coming from his mouth. Catrina stalks Ivie, and we get a catfight – which Striker prefaces by saying “I love ya, Joey!” Catrina wins the fight bonking her with the stone and giving her team the win. This was the worst Trios tag title match so far, but still fun. Catrina licks Ivie’s face and she holds her stone high while the champions hold their titles high as well. Striker toasts to Vampiro and the fans come down, with complete bios for some by Striker. Hernandez comes out without a top, and has painted in his Superman logo – either for legal reasons or due to the shame of using the Man of Steel version of the logo.
Hernandez vs. Drago – Believer’s Backlash Match
Hernandez crotches him up top and sends him to the floor – but the fans help him back in. Hernandez goes out there and gets whipped on the back and face. His forehead is just a strap-shaped red mark now. Drago hits a billion kicks and clotheslines him to the floor to eat more lashes from the Hot Tub podcast guy. Fallaway powerbomb hits Drago while the fans in the crowd and on the floor cheer. Hernandez gets a splash, but Drago gets the knees up and lands a running tornado DDT. Way of the Dragon only gets 2 for Drago.
Hernandez lifts him up and Striker calls it a Last Ride, but he border tosses him to the crowd on the floor. Supermex dive is met with yellow mist while fans lose their minds. Hernandez goes under the ring, leading to fans waiting for him and Drago setting up a table on the other side. Drago has nunchuks and nails Hernandez onto the table. Big splash off the top rope to the floor and through the table! Drago sends him in for another splash and the win! To close the show, we get yet another rundown of the two hour finale. El Dragon Azteca arrives and fights someone to get into the Temple despite being threatened with the possibility of death. This was a pretty fun show – not as good as many weeks, but still solid.
On Tuesday, AAA announced that Hugo Savinovich and Matt Striker will be the English language broadcast team for its TripleMania PPV show on 8/9 from Arena Ciudad in Mexico City.
Savinovich had already been official as one of the two broadcasters. Striker had been in the lead for the second spot, which was finalized a few days ago.
The show is the company’s first-ever TripleMania show on traditional PPV in the U.S. and its first PPV show in nearly 21 years. Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Myzteziz is the main event, in addition to Alberto El Patron vs. Brian Cage in a hair vs. hair match.
Last week’s show was all about solidifying the build towards Ultima Lucha. We got a lot of top-notch work towards Pentagon Jr. vs. Vampiro, while the ancient medallions were the focus of the show. Sexy Star won one medallion and defended it against Marty the Moth, beating the creeper with La Mistica to close out her mini-series to defend her medallion.
The show begins with a recap of the medallions, the turn of Blue Demon Jr., Texano’s babyface turn. It’s one of the most abrupt videos yet, but effective. Dario meets with Ryck and says that they’re not seeing eye to eye, but he had big plans for Ryck. He was blinded by Daivari’s money, and Dario apologizes for his word choice. Dario says that tonight, he’ll reveal the power of the medallions and what means more to Ryck – money or power. Ryck says he wants both and gets money from Dario through intimidation. Serio Arau is our house band, and they have some fantastic hairstyles amidst this group. Vamp says that Prince Puma will speak tonight and we’ll get Mundo vs. Texano. Actually, that will be our opener as Johnny is walking down now.
Johnny Mundo vs. Texano
Mundo calls Texano something that actually gets bleeped, which is astonishing. Vamp says that Johnny has the abs, but Texano’s a real “shit-kicker” who can lift practically. Johnny sweeps the knee, but eats a dropkick. Texano gets a seated buzzsaw kick for 2. Texano lands a pair of punches, but a third one gets blessed from above, and countered. Johnny kicks him and gets an apron kick and apron-assisted spinning neckbreaker. Johnny knees him against the barricade and gets a spinkick against the fencing. This gets 2, so Johnny goes for some mounted punches.
Johnny gets a chinlock, but eats elbows to the gut. Texano chops away, so Johnny ducks – and eats a chop to the back instead. Rough Ryder gets 2 for Texano while Vamp says that Mundo is 260. Pounds!? Mundo crotches Texano on the top and eats a big kick for 2. Texano gets a pair of kicks after avoiding the End of the World and the Crew comes down and attacks Texano for a DQ win. Alberto comes down for a save, so logically, we should get the Crew against Texano and Alberto next week. Alberto runs wild and Texano whips them. Alberto and Texano share a glance, but haven’t made peace. This was really good stuff – excellent start to the show.
Cueto tells Hernandez that Ultima Lucha will begin next week and he’ll face Drago there. Dario says that he’s been reading tweets, and the fans hate Hernandez. He’ll make a strap match where the fans have straps and can attack them – it’s the Believers Backlash match. Hernandez downs some Miller Lite and says he’ll paint the canvas red with the fans’ blood if they attack him. Cage and Mack are in the ring. Vamp says that Mack is a big jumbly bumble bee that he wants to hug.
Cage vs. The Mack
Mack gets a flash pin, resulting in Mack and Cage fighting all over the ringside area. They brawl with security and Dario tells them to hold up, so he’ll find anything laying the Temple and use it to beat each other up. Dario says that Ultima Lucha will be starting next week and they’ll start it with Mack vs. Cage in a falls count anywhere match. After a break, he’ll say what the medallions mean.
Dario says that whoever has the medallions can get the Gift of the Gods title belt, but there won’t be any cashing in. He must have one week of notice to advertise the match, and if the GotG title-holder waits too long, they’ll have to defend the title and risk the medallions. A seven way medallion match will happen at Ultima Lucha, so the medallion-holders come down with Cueto doing a hilarious intro for Big Ryck and Bengala. Striker says that Ryck got his through a deal with Dario. Dario has them place their medallions in the belt, which still leaves one medallion left to be placed because Fenix was destroyed. Dario puts that medallion up for grabs in a battle royal – but with a pinfall at the end ala TNA’s gauntlet match. Fenix returns and Dario is greatly unamused by this development. Dario tells him that he’s late, but he’ll let him enter the battle royal.
Medallion Battle Royal
Fenix is mid-ring and then Marty the Moth comes down to join the fray. Vinny Masarro bonks Fenix into the buckle. Famous B gets a crotch chop and a pedigree before doing Hogan’s big legdrop. Ricky Mandel is tossed out. Arenis eats a Pele kick from Famous B to take him out. Killshot goes up top, but Daivari tosses him to the floor to prove the risk of that position. Vinny hits a giant lariat on Famous B. Vinny eats a neck snap to take him out. Mascarita Sagrada hits a monkey flip to take he and someone else out. Marty the Moth, Famous B, Daivari, and Fenix are the final four. B is double teamed and eliminated. Fenix takes Daivari out, ending the battle royal portion and just making it a Marty vs. Fenix match for the medallion.
Fenix vs. Marty the Moth
Marty gets a big dropkick for 2. Marty gets a slam and Fenix goes to the floor. Marty feigns a dive, but bows instead. Fenix gets a Tajiri-style springboard back elbow mid-ring. Fenix does a wacky triple-jump armdrag. Big flip dive to the floor to Marty. Fenix counters a wonky tilt a whirl with an even wonkier rana for the win. Fenix regains his medallion and thanks the fans in the crowd. Dario comes out and is fairly pissed, but Fenix won fairly. Puma speaks next.
Striker and Vamp talk about Ultima Lucha. Next week’s show is one hour long, and the August 5 show is two hours long. They run down the card, and show the build-up for every single match on the card. Puma comes down in black jeans, a yellow hoodie, and a new mask with black and red. Before he can speak, Mil Muertes and Catrina come down. Muertes looks even bigger and more of a badass in his suit. The Disciples of Death attack Puma, who fights back with a series of wacky kicks. Mil Muertes stares at him, but doesn’t move as his goons eat more offense. Finally, he comes down and we get a quick brawl. Puma takes the challenger down and hits the 630 – it hits, which doesn’t bode well for Puma.
An announcement will be made officially later today that TripleMania, AAA’s biggest event of the year, will be airing live on PPV in the U.S. and Canada on Sunday, 8/9.
The show will be airing from 7-10 p.m. Eastern time live on all the major PPV carriers, through inDemand, Dish, DirecTV, Bell Canada Satellite and Rogers in Canada, headlined by the first-time ever match with Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Myzteziz.
The show will be priced at $19.95 for SD and $29.95 for HD.
Two other matches announced for the show are Alberto El Patron vs. Brian Cage in a hair vs. hair match, and a trios match with Los Villanos III & IV & V facing The Psycho Circus in what will be the retirement match for Villano III, one of Mexico’s most enduring stars of the modern era.
Most of the AAA-based stars of Lucha Underground are expected to perform on the show. The complete lineup is expected to be released on Friday.
This will be the first live AAA PPV show in the United States since the 1994 When World’s Collide show, which was, at the time, considered one of the best PPV shows in history.
