AAA INVADES WRESTLECON
MARCH 31, 2022
FAIRMONT HOTEL
DALLAS, TEXAS

Watch: FITE / FITE Fest 2022 Bundle

Natural Classics def. Ryan Kidd & Christi Jaynes

This was an unadvertised match. In true AAA fashion, the show started late with a dark match airing live on the PPV feed. Stevie and Tome Filip were pretty good and I wouldn’t mind seeing them more often on other AAA cards. The issue with that tough is that I have no clue where you’d fit them on the standard AAA show. Maybe a multi-man tag? Who knows. **

Lumberjack Match
Taya Valkyrie, Nino Hamburguesa & Microman def. Rey Escorpion, La Hiedra & Mini Abismo Negro

There is nothing quite like a AAA opener lumberjack match. If you’re looking for a spreadsheet stuffer, this is not for you. This was a fun nothing match filled with ass-based offence from Taya and Hiedra, Abismo and Nino putting in the work rate, and then Escorpio and Microman antics. Microman may be a foot tall but my man packs a wicked mini 619 in his little frame. Microman rolled Abismo up for the win. Not a great match but a lot of fun. Microman was thrown in a trashcan by La Empresa after the match. Weird, I thought kidnapping was La Hiedra’s gimmick. **½

NWA World Tag Team Championship
La Rebelion © def. Aero Star & Drago

I really liked this. I have not seen much of La Rebelion but they impressed me and felt different than everything else on this card. They aren’t the best workers in the world but they looked awesome in their entrance gear and felt gritty on a show full of colourful characters. A few botches here and there took away from the match quality but this built to Damian 666 (who was the second for Mecha Wolf & Bestia 666) eventually getting his comeuppance by the tecnicos. After distracting the referee, Damian ate a dive from Aero Star to start the finishing sequence. Wolf hit a sick tope to Aero Star after that, where Aero Star took a hellacious bump on the guardrail, and then La Rebelion double-teamed Drago for the win. Not a must-see match but a fine undercard title match. I want La Rebelion to come back to AAA but I don’t know where they would fit on the card. Maybe they’ll be a mainstay on some of the AAA US shows. ***

Octagon Jr., Aramis & Mr. Iguana def. Arez, Abismo Negro Jr. & Faby Apache

I’m not sure why Faby Apache was teaming with Los Vipers but I’ll take it. She was the weakest link in this match but tried hard. If handled properly, Octagon Jr. is going to be the next breakout star for AAA. He has the look and the skills to match. Arez and Aramis are always a fun pairing and really kicked this match off in high gear. Things escalated when Abismo grabbed Yezka and the rudos destroyed the poor iguana. Abismo hit a piledriver, Arez hit a package piledriver, and then Faby hit a double legdrop! Thankfully the referee was there to give Yezka CPR to save his life. The poor iguana was stuffed with those moves! The tecnicos made their comeback after Yezka’s near-death experience with some sick dives and triple-team maneuvers. Iguana finally got the win around 14 minutes in. You should give this a watch. While the lumberjack match was your standard AAA undercard affair, this was your higher on the card AAA spot fest match. These six luchadors worked extremely hard and put on a potential Match of the Night. This was extremely my type of wrestling. ****

No Disqualification
Pagano, Drago Kid & Jack Cartwheel def. Puma King, Sam Adonis & Gringo Loco

I’m sure La Empresa has their set of fans but I am not one of them. They are perfectly fine but I had no interest in them third from the top, especially after the last match. I thought we would get some wild shenanigans from Pagano but he felt like an afterthought in this match. Jack Cartwheel impressed (well except for him missing a standing Shooting Star Press and eating nothing but mat). The real star of the match was Drago Kid, who was flying all over the place and was given a good base in Gringo Loco. Drago Kid was wild and he’s going to be one to watch. La Empresa did their job as the rudo team getting an ass whooping but this went way too long. Pagano got the win on Loco. I’d like to see more of Drago Kid and Gringo Loco. I’m not sure AAA will push Drago Kid hard enough to wrestle with an American guy but they should put him in some of the upcoming TripleMania shows. One of those guys who catches your eye with absolutely wild dives. Unfortunately, this is AAA and he will most likely be stuck in the lower card with the likes of Arez and Aramis.  ***

AAA Cruiserweight Championship
Laredo Kid © def. Flamita & Bandido

Flamita was standard Flamita here but billed as “a demonic creature”. While the last match went long, this was too short at just under 10 minutes! Flamita left the ring at the start of the match to let Bandido and Laredo Kid go at it but then intervenes and takes control. This was too fast to note things down at points. Laredo hit a beautiful 450 on both Bandido and Flamita at one point. The best spot of the match was definitely Bandido overpowering both guys and slamming them down after a contrived setup in the corner. I’ve linked it below so you can see how wild it was. In the end, Bandido and Flamita were both on the top rope but Laredo threw Bandido off so he could hit the Spanish Fly on Flamita for the win. All three guys will have great weekends but this did not disappoint at all. They went out and had one of the best eight minutes matches you’ll see this year. This was a great AAA spot fest sprint that any of the three could reasonably win. I was personally hoping for Laredo to lose the belt so he could move on to bigger and better things but I am perfectly fine with him keeping it if it continues to be the spot fest title in the US expansion. That depends entirely on Vikingo’s US status, I guess. Overall, the best match of the night and something I would describe as a must-see match, especially at that length. ****¼

Psycho Clown def. Taurus

This was shorter than I thought it would be. Psycho Clown is over like rover, brother, and should be a star of the weekend. The masks in this match were incredible; show these two guys to a “casual” fan and they will instantly want to see more of these two. This was never going to be Misawa/Kobashi but the work rate was pretty good and really got the crowd invested. Speaking of, Psycho Clown hit a very nice dive and celebrated with a child. The clowns are for the children! Because this is AAA, disqualifications do not matter and we got some plunder. Psycho whips Taurus right between the horns and then hits a spear through the table for the victory! A good match that was probably a great match live. Psycho Clown connects on a personal level when you attend these shows in person but it somewhat hinders the viewing experience a bit when jumping in for a show on FITE. Not something you should go out of your way to see but still a very fun main event to a very fun show. Not a bad way to end AAA’s first US show since the 2019 Madison Square Garden (Hulu Theatre) show. ***½

Now, wait a damn minute! “Double J” Jeff Jarrett is here at the Fairmont Hotel and he’s with La Empresa and Karen Jarrett! Using his Global Force Gold (and probably his game changing payday), Jarrett has been secretly financing La Empresa’s invasion of AAA! Jeff steals Vlad the Superfan’s cane and beats up Psycho Clown. There goes the mask! The King & The Queen of AAA are back! Wild!

Overall Thoughts

AAA Invades WrestleCon was a fun show and really captured the spirit of Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide. It felt like an authentic AAA lucha show and not a fake lucha show with random luchadors and non-luchadors. Larry Dallas on the English commentary team did a fantastic job and I am looking forward to his reunion with Lenny Leonard on these shows going forward. The only matches that you should go out of your way to watch are the Octagon Jr., Aramis & Mr. Iguana vs. Arez, Abismo Negro Jr. & Faby Apache and the Cruiserweight title three-way. A good night of wrestling and a great first step in AAA’s American expansion post lawsuit.