AAA wraps up a year-long story with a hair versus hair match Saturday night. Guerra de Titanes wraps up the promotion’s year also with Rush’s debut on Twitch, plus a tag title defense by the Lucha Brothers. The lineup is as overcrowded as the rest of as their big cards but still should have enjoyable action to end the year.
AAA’s Guerra de Titanes airs Saturday at 8 pm on Twitch. It’s streaming both in English and Spanish. You’ll be able to watch it on VOD as part of their $5/month a subscription, though it’s not an ideal time to sign up with the next AAA broadcast likely being well into January. The show will eventually show up on AAA’s YouTube channel, though not until mid-January.
This show is the second major event for AAA this month. It is the first that’ll air. TripleMania Regia took place back on December 1st but is airing on delay; it’ll only be available in full the day after Guerra de Titanes. It’s not a big hangup; there’s only one development that actively plays into Saturday’s show. The more significant issue is running these two shows split attention between them. There’s a big apuesta match on Guerra de Titanes, but anything with “TripleMania” in the name is going to overshadow the rest. AAA has indicated TripleMania Regia would return next year. Hopefully, they’ll figure out a better way to spread them out in 2020.
2019 has been one of AAA’s better recent in-ring years. There’s rarely a lousy Twitch streamed show, and most have been fun. The storytelling isn’t speedy or complete, but the action is compelling enough even to make for those deficiencies. When AAA does hit on a story and can get to a conclusion, those payoffs have been worth the wait. Guerra de Titanes has one of those payoffs, balanced with exciting insignificant matches and a little bit of set up for ideas that might be worth caring about if they too reach an ending.
Aramis, Dinastía, Octagoncito versus Arez, Mini Psycho Clown, Parkita Negra
Máscarita Dorada, Mr. Iguana, Niño Hamburguesa versus Demus, Látigo, Villano III Jr.
The first two matches are the same match with different people. It’s a group of six people in exciting combinations with not much story. Nino Hamburguesa and Villano III are part of the mixed tag title situation, but that story will play out later in the show. The other pairings are fun. Demus & Dorada are spectacular as opponents. Iguana & Latigo hasn’t been opponents often, but they’re two luchadors with complementary skill sets. Aramis is the best Mexican candidate for a 2020 US breakout and gets frequent opponent Arez here. These both will easily be good, though it might be challenging to remember who faced who.
Faby Apache, Octagón Jr., Taya versus Carta Brava Jr., Mocho Cota Jr., Tito Santana versus Abismo Negro Jr., Ayako Hamada, Keyra in a lumberjack match
AAA promises matches to too many people on these big shows, resulting in crammed messes like this: a nine-person mess with even more people standing outside. This assembly is the AAA holiday office party of matches. People who don’t work together much forced to hang out in the same room for an event that’ll feel a lot longer than the clock indicates. Perhaps a few enjoyable moments will happen, but mostly it’s about making sure the boss saw you made an appearance and getting out unscathed by the experience.
Brian Cage, Murder Clown, Pagano, Puma King versus Chessman, Killer Kross, Taurus, Texano Jr. in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match
It’s at least possible to fake reasons for this match occurring. Taurus & Texano spent the year causing problems for tecnicos like Murder Clown, Pagano, and Puma King. Killer Kross destroyed Puma King a lot during the summer in a rivalry quickly forgotten. Murder Clown and Kross have had a lot of dramatic faceoffs without actually wrestling much. Chessman and Pagano are genuinely feuding towards a hair match. Brian Cage is also a prominent human being who was available for this date.
That’s mostly my dot-connecting. This match hasn’t presented in any way beyond putting names on a poster. The TLC stipulation is equally under-explained but likely exists to give a context to Pagano & Chessman doing table and ladder stunts. Pagano remains compelling because there’s only a 50% chance any of his actions will work as intended, and the misses tend to be more spectacular than the hits.
Fénix & Pentagón Jr. © versus ? & Australian Suicide versus ????? & Hijo Del Vikingo for the AAA World Tag Team Championship
This tag title defense would’ve looked a lot more promising a while ago. The Lucha Brothers breakneck schedule has caught up to them, and many of their recent matches are just enough to get by to the next one. Fenix & Penta can flip the switch when required, as Fenix showed in his last AAA appearance. Still, even on an AAA big show, it no longer feels confident they can (or will) be going 100%. It’s hard to turn down money for showing up, and it’s easier to get away with that in Mexico than anywhere else, but there’s a reputation cost. It’d be great to see the Lucha Brothers in top form here; it’d be better to see them in at least half as many matches next year.
Both challenging teams have a mystery element, though there’s no expectation of a shocking surprise, just blanks waiting to be filled in. Hijo del Vikingo’s usual partners are Laredo Kid & Myzteziz. Both were still on the reality show Exatlon back when this lineup was announced, Myzteziz subsequently got kicked off the island, so he’ll likely make his return to TV here. Australian Suicide is teaming with the returning Angelico, except Angelico stated he wouldn’t be on this show a couple of weeks ago. There’s no telling who’ll end up in that spot.
This match is the most uncertain quality on the card. Vikingo getting to mix it up with game Lucha Brothers is exciting, but there’s a lot of variables to that. The outcome is not as hard to nail down: it’s too early for the Lucha Brothers to lose, and there’s no reason to do it to makeshift teams.
Big Mami versus Lady Maravilla, hair versus hair
Big Mami wants to be a mixed tag team champion of the world, and Lady Maravilla has spent the year ruining her life. Maravilla failed at winning the titles conventionally at first. She switched into leading on Mami’s partner Nino Hamburguesa, then tricking him into repeatedly betraying the team and costing them titles. Mami has wisely dumped Hamburguesa as a teammate, wants to get personal revenge on Maravilla, and challenged her to a hair versus hair match. Hamburguesa still wants to make it up to Mami, but his efforts have backfired. It would be costly if he interferes and fails again.
The bit that’s off here is Lady Maravilla is a masked wrestler putting up her hair instead of her mask in a betting match. This set-up has happened in AAA before, typically with two masked wrestlers, but it’s still atypical. Big Mami’s storyline explanation is the natural “my rival is ugly; I’m doing the fans a favor by making sure she’s still covering it up” taunt. There’s an argument here that wagering hair is a better selling point for women than masks. AAA hasn’t had many women lose masks in recent years, but CMLL losers have barely been able to conceal their happiness about being free to market themselves by the revealed face. Lady Maravilla usually has worn an open-top mask with a lot of hair spilling out of the gap; her appearance would be more dramatically changed if she lost all that hair in this match. It’s still going to strike people as strange, but it works in context as sufficient punishment.
This story has worked wonders. Big Mami is not a great athlete or a superior technical skilled wrestler, but she more than makes up with natural charisma. This year-long telenovela storyline has entirely played into her strengths, given fans who liked her an even stronger reason to root for her. Big Mami is, incredibly, the most over luchadora in Mexico to close out 2019. AAA always likes getting heat and a long road to good guy triumph, but any other finish beyond Big Mami getting her hand raised seems crazy.
Dr. Wagner Jr., Drago, Psycho Clown versus Blue Demon Jr., La Bestia Del Ring, Rush
Rush & Bestia del Ring debuted on TripleMania Regia. No one outside of Monterrey has seen that yet; it won’t air until the following day. The big idea coming out of it is Rush, Bestia, LA Park, and Konnan as a united front to destroy AAA. This angle is the eight occasion Konnan has been part of a group with a nebulous goal of destroying AAA. No one’s ever bothered to figure out what exactly that would mean, and it is not what anyone was excited to see with Rush & Park. It does tell fans to stop pining for the LA Park versus Rush match while they’re teammates, and that may be the only real purpose.
Blue Demon Jr. teaming with Rush & Bestia doesn’t seem to have a purpose. His most recent monologue had him declaring he had no friends at all, except for the hammer he used to defeat Dr. Wagner. Demon then used that hammer on Drago, for no apparent reason. Wagner is here to oppose Demon once again, while Psycho Clown is seemingly the AAA that Rush is trying to destroy. This match should be about where any of this is going in 2020 than having a strong 2019 showing.
The Big Mami/Lady Maravilla conclusion makes Guerra de Titanes worth watching for anyone who has followed the promotion this year. The reliably exciting matches and interest in where AAA might be going in the main event add a lot too. This AA show isn’t going to grab a lot of additional attention on another busy wrestling week, but it appears a suitable fun way to end AAA’s year.
