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Post by makaiclub on Mar 16, 2024 17:46:26 GMT -5
Forgive the cute title, I like to think that I am a creative person. It's an illness really.
The plan with this thread is to document myself watching early AAA, ideally tracking the long road from them putting 50,000 in the building for Triplemania I to putting on a highly touted American PPV called 'When Worlds Collide'. I've seen the show in parts, but I found a key interest in everything surrounding that show. I'm a few months ahead from where this thread will start, so forgive me if I forget a few of the details of the matches. Enjoy me marking out to Cien Caras despite him not doing much to deserve it. Lucha!
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Post by makaiclub on Mar 16, 2024 17:53:06 GMT -5
Note: If you're looking up these matches using these dates, you may be keen to know that these were often aired later on tv so it may offer a different date than one's I put here
Mask Vs. Hair Match: Perro Aguayo vs. Mascara Año 2000 - AAA TripleMania I - 30/04/1993
Tremendous lucha. The stakes were high with the mask and hair on the line. The first two falls were short but the finishes were both DQs, giving some tension and heat to the match. Both wrestlers bleed, with Mascara Año 2000’s mask turning into a dark shade of red. Perro had help winning the match, taking 2K’s mask much to the horror of the crowd. ****
Retirement Match: Konnan vs. Cien Caras - AAA TripleMania I - 30/04/1993
God bless the balls on Peña. He packed in 50 thousand for this main event and went full on "story over match mode" and some of the crowd still bawled over Konnan losing via count out. The match was very short. The falls were sudden and roughly executed - the first one in particular - and the finish in a retirement match ended with a count out victory as one of wrestlers, Konnan was busy fighting with Jake Roberts. It's kinda insane. They get to this all time big main event and the match story is “I'm thrown off by the new guy at ringside”and it still works in a way. The camera cuts to people crying that Konnan has to retire after being counted out. Magic. The match wasn't good though. **1/4
WWA World Welterweight Title Match: El Hijo del Santo (c) vs. Heavy Metal - AAA Sin Limite - 14/05/1993
The first fall didn't blow me away but there was some solid grappling from Santo’s side. The variety in his head scissors attempts are truly wondrous. The second fall was really short but the shock that this match needed. Metal took a hard electric drop bump from the second rope. The third call was a nice closing fall with some spectacular dives. ***1/2
Mexican National Light Heavyweight Title Match: Lizmark (c) vs. Jerry Estrada - AAA Sin Limite - 18/06/1993
This was an awesome Lucha title match that was filled with tricks and submission and counter wrestling that pushed the other. Lizmark took the first fall after a pretty solid, sportsman-like start with clean counters and holds being applied. Estrada naturally began digging into some of his tricks and eventually regained the fall with the Cerrajera submission. And the third fall was rugged and aggressive lucha with none of the clean action in the first fall. It was really exciting action with Estrada locking on the Media Cerrajera once more for a teasing finish and Lizmark being able to fight back and struggled to apply an abdominal stretch for the win. ****
Blue Panther, Fuerza Guerrera & La Parka vs. Eddy Guerrero, Love Machine & Lizmark - AAA Sin Limite - 02/07/1993
What a fun match. Love Machine really ramped up his babyface fire (yes, he had yet to turn heel or rudo yet) and had some hot exchanges with Blue Panther, whether it was hitting great looking northern light suplexes or brawling on the outside. La Parka’s charisma stood out as well. ***1/4
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Post by elliott on Mar 16, 2024 18:19:29 GMT -5
Awesome! Looking forward to reading along!
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Post by tetsujin on Mar 16, 2024 19:46:25 GMT -5
Yeah great thread, really looking forward to cherry pick your most recommended stuff. I'm very curious about AAA, most of my lucha libre exposure was through CMLL. Keep going!
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Post by makaiclub on Mar 19, 2024 15:19:00 GMT -5
Thanks for the comments.
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El Hijo del Santo, Eddy Guerrero & Love Machine vs. Blue Panther, Fishman & Fuerza Guerrera - AAA Sin Limite - 23/07/1993
And this is the heel turn that sets the tone for the next year. Love Machine turned heel already but Eddy turning on Santo (after being masterfully tricked by Love Machine, who attacked him while wearing a Santo mask). Eddy attacked Santo, who was just on the receiving end of a triple team beat down by the other team, then Love Machine joined him, then Fuerza Guerrera joined in. Blue Panther got attacked also, being a main rival of Love Machine, and got his masked removed. The action was secondary but I do have to admire Hijo del Santo's tope where he wiped out Guerrera. ***
WWA World Welterweight Title Match: Heavy Metal (c) vs. El Hijo del Santo - AAA Sin Limite - 13/08/1993
This felt like an inferior repeat of their previous match. The action wasn't totally compelling outside of certain moments like Santo's diving. The mat work wasn't that great either. Heavy Metal kinda stinks and needs a push which he didn't get. The crowd went nuts for the Camel Clutch finish, at least. **1/2
Hair Vs. Hair Match: MS-1 vs. Cien Caras - AAA Sin Limite - 13/08/1993
Cien Caras is the hot rudo but he got out-rudo’d by the Infernales. Tirantes was constantly being manipulated by Satanico and then distracted by Mascara Ano 2k, which allowed for MS-1 and Satanico to cheat and double team on Caras. Eventually Ano 2k loses his shit and attacks Satanico, getting the DQ for his brother and giving the fall to MS-1. MS-1 continues working the arm, as he did during the first fall and Satanico kept on pushing his luck. But with no Mascara Anos 2K to distract the ref, Tirantes caught Satanico and awarded the fall to Cien Caras via DQ, making it 1-1. And the final fall is finally mano v mano and it delivers on that with solid action built around struggle and drama. The pop when Cien Caras gets the pin and gives MS-1 his comeuppance was awesome. As was Touch and Go (The entrance music of Cien Caras) getting played while MS-1 is getting his hair shaved. ****
Mascarita Sagrada & Octagoncito vs. Espectrito & Jerrito Estrada - AAA La Revancha - 28/08/1993
The Minis got a great reaction from the hot Los Angeles crowd. Sagrada got a big pop and Octagoncito got an even better response as the match progressed. The crowd was electric but the action was nothing more than solid. The rudo team had some neat double team moves, like when they launched Sagrada six feet in the air. Sagrada had some cool spots when making his hot tags (Octagoncito was the one bumping and selling for the mspt part) but this didn't peak too high. The finish was nice with Sagrada pinning with a sunset flip. ***
Heavy Metal, Jerry Estrada & Psicosis vs. Misterioso, Rey Misterio Jr. & Volador - AAA La Revancha - 28/08/1993
This was a pretty good trios match with the tecnicos winning the first fall and the rudos having to catch. We get some good Rey v Psicosis spots that would become famous worldwide in a few years. Nothing spectacular but it was awesome to see in context. One of the best moments of the match was Misterioso teasing a tope onto Heavy Metal, who cowered away on the outside before smacking Psicosis and Estrada on the apron. That was a cool spot. Volador had some great moves as well like his quebrada onto Heavy Metal. And his team work with Misterioso is always good. Tirantes had one of his signature moments, not counting the tecnicos pin but counting the pin after Estrada fouled Misterioso and pinned him. Boo. Speaking of Estrada; many people said that he looked out of it in this match (on drugs). I dunno about that but this wasn't one of his better performances. ***1/2
Fuerza Guerrera, Eddy Guerrero & Love Machine vs. Blue Panther, El Hijo del Santo & Octagon - AAA La Revancha - 28/08/1993
Love Machine and Guerrero have their immigrant schtick down pat already, doing swimming gestures on the mat which angered the LA crowd (aka a lot of Mexican immigrants). There was so much heat for the rudos and the match was mostly built around adding fuel to the fire. The wrestling was really great at times. Santo and Eddy have tremendous chemistry and they had some great exchanges with Santo finding multiple ways to arm drag Eddy around the ring, which pisses Eddy off. The second fall meanders in little but the third fall picked up back where the first fall left off with Los Gringos Locos bullying Blue Panther and antagonising the tenico side any time they could. Cool semi main event that brought LGL’s character work into the mix. ***1/2
Three Way Elimination Match: Jake Roberts vs. Konnan vs. Cien Caras - AAA La Revancha - 28/08/1993
Another AAA main event where the story and the chaos is the focus and not who is winning the falls. Let's try to make sense of things. First things first, watch the handheld version of this to see the entrances. Powerful stuff. The seconds are just as important to the match than one of the wrestlers (Cien Caras) is, with Diamond Dallas Page and Los Gringos Loco, who accompanied Jake Roberts, attacking Cien Caras after he'd been eliminated by Konnan (via an assist from Roberts). This led to a handshake between Cien Caras and Konnan later in the match. Roberts was being a huge dick at ringside, spitting on people, throwing drinks into people's faces, attacking Mascarita Sagrada, slamming him onto the floor. Then when it's finally him vd Konnan alone, he has no interest in wrestling and quickly gets the DQ. Everyone gets involved. It's very chaotic and slightly incoherent but it's quite a sight ultimately. ***1/2 for everything
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