WWE/AAA WORLDS COLLIDE REVIEW

- Kelvin Kately, Senior Editor 

AAA and WWE presented their first event since the monumental announcement that WWE had acquired the legendary promotion at WrestleMania 41. A lot of buzz surrounded this event and adding this to the same weekend that we got Money in the Bank had fans very curious to see what the two companies would give the fans. In the aftermath, they did not miss. History was made and excitement was created. Here is your Worlds Collide review! 

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To start, having the greatest luchador to ever lace em’ up narrate the opening gave me goosebumps. You could feel the pride in Rey Mysterio’s voice as he welcomed the audience that gave him his worldwide notoriety into the world that made him. Another great touch was having the announce team of Konnan and Corey Graves, but placing them in the spot traditionally held for the Spanish announce table. The actual Spanish team were in the primary spots. It was a very subtle message that, along with the two national anthems, let us know that this was a different WWE product. It was very well done and let us know that this show was going to be special!

Latino World Order and Lince Dorado vs. Octagón Jr., Aero Star, and Mr. Iguana

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After a great opening speech by Rey Mysterio, we got a fun opening match with a brand new star being made right in front of our eyes! Introducing Mr. Iguana to this audience was a great move and the crowd loved him instantly. I immediately fell in love with this show because it gave us a meaningful match for L.W.O. I can see them being a force in AAA, even with a loss. Everyone looked amazing in this match and the post match involvement from Dirty Dom led to a great Intercontinental Championship match between him and Octagon Jr. It was chaotic and the best way possible! Immediately, it gave a lot of credibility to AAA. 

Winner: Octagón Jr., Aero Star, and Mr. Iguana

Stephanie Vaquer and Lola Vice vs. Chik Tormenta and Dalys

My compliments to the chef because you cooked with this one! Dalys and Chik Tormenta are not well known to the American audience, but their respective legacies are incredible. I was actually hyped for this one because having a new rising superstar like Stephanie Vaquer put eyes on these women was a great move, while bringing more attention to her MITB match. This match definitely did not disappoint and I pray we get Dalys vs Vaquer match on WWE television. Not to be left out, I thought Lola Vice made a very good case for herself in this match by proving her style can match the Lucha Libre style. Great match! 

Winner: Stephanie Vaquer and Lola Vice

Legado del Fantasma vs. El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr., Pagano, and Psycho Clown

Again, Legado del Fantasma being involved made them feel way more important. If AAA is going to get a television deal (please be the case), these men absolutely need to be a focal point. Santos Escobar has it. He just does. It was at this point that showing the Street Profits in the pre-match gave me a great idea. AAA has tag team titles. The Lucha Bros had those titles at one point. Could we see them reunite to get them? I digress. This match featured three crowd favorites in El Hijo, Pagana and Psycho Clown. With those styles it created a very fun atmosphere and in my opinion, one of the loudest matches of the night. Personally, the drama in this match had me on the edge of my seat! I can not stress this enough, every man in this match has a story to be told. The history between Psycho Clown and Pagano alone would be amazing TV. But this was a great introduction!

Winner: Legado del Fantasma

Ethan Page (c) vs. Je'Von Evans vs. Rey Fenix vs. Laredo Kid

Fatal Four Way for the NXT North American Championship

Personal favorite moment for me was watching Laredo Kid on WWE programming. He has been busting his butt for years and to see him in a match of this magnitude on this stage was heartwarming, to say the least. I think he was the only other AAA champion showcased besides Vikingo as well. Aside from that, this match very nearly stole the show. This was high drama all match, where I genuinely didn’t think Ethan page would leave this match as champion. Narrowly, he escaped with a bit of craftiness. 

Winner: Ethan Page

El Hijo del Vikingo (c) vs. Chad Gable

AAA Mega Championship

Some say if you’ve seen one El Hijo del Vikingo match, you’ve seen them all. They are completely wrong. I’m going to go out on a limb and say this match is the frontrunner for Match of the Year. It’s also time for us to give Chad Gable his flowers. If anyone has been responsible for giving credibility to Lucha Libre being popular in WWE, it’s arguably Chad Gable. It’s hard to say Vikingo entered a new level, because he has been operating on a very high level for a very long time. But this match put him on a different level. This was an epic match to end an epic introduction. Someone had to lose this match on paper. But we all won with this one. If you haven’t watched this match, stop reading and go watch it! 

Winner: El Hijo del Vikingo

Post show thoughts:  

This was very refreshing, and as positively as this show was received, the fans need to hold WWE accountable for maintaining the precedent they set with this show. We have seen re-iterations of companies under WWE that fell flat (ECW). AAA actually still felt like AAA. Yea, there was some glam to it. But for the most part, it still had the feel. Don’t change this too much. You have something here. The announcing of Lilian Garcia, the commentary from Corey and Konnan, the promos in English and Spanish all felt different and it made me want to watch this on a weekly basis. Please, build on this!