In doing “Into the Vault” since 2019, we haven’t gotten many shows that hit silver medal and none that reach gold medal levels—tons of bronze, though. AAA When Worlds Collide is a show that could go deep into silver medal territory.
Taking place on November 6, 1994 in Los Angeles, WCW did AAA a solid and handled the production on this event. It would draw 13,000 fans and featured a tidy five matches.
The Best
From the start, AAA When Worlds Collide aims to wow with a minis match that was actually enjoyable and good. Sure, Jerrito Estrada and Espectrito were either a bit sloppy or just stiff but that added to their rudo approach. Also, they had Mascarita Sagrada and Octagoncito being ridiculously smooth in the ring.
These two teams filled in each other’s gaps. The heel team of Jerrito and Espectrito weren’t as impressive in-ring but they had the charisma that their opponents lacked. However, their opponents handled all the flashier stuff and kept this thing from getting too sloppy. This was PPV after all.
After that bout, we got a pretty fun trios match with both captain’s fall and checkmate rules. While not an official term for this stipulation, if the captain couldn’t be defeated by the opponents, the opponents could win the match or the fall by defeating the captain’s partners.
Fuerza Guerrera teamed up with Madonna’s Boyfriend (Louie Spicolli) and Psicosis to take on Heavy Metal, Latin Lover, and Rey Misterio Jr. Everyone in this match did their job well although Latin Lover was kind of awkward at points. The match had a better pace than the opener and there was some cool aerial warfare from rivals Rey Jr and Psicosis.
I’ve never been a big fan of Latin Lover—who became quite the crossover star for AAA—but Heavy Metal was always an intriguing luchador because you could see he was meant for more. He’s a “What if” wrestler for sure.
The third bout was mostly a straight-up competitive affair with Blue Panther, Jerry Estrada, and La Parka taking on Tito Santana, The Pegasus Kid (Chris Benoit), and 2 Cold Scorpio. Of the two teams, I preferred the team led by Blue Panther. That is a good team but things got rough for Panther after La Parka and Estrada went at it.
Meanwhile, across the ring, the tecnicos were working extremely well. Tito Santana was an odd fit for this match being a heavyweight who wrestled the American style but he did well with Benoit and Scorpio—who had extensive experience in Mexico and Japan.
While an enjoyable match, the last two bouts really ramp things up. Embroiled in a blood feud with Eddie Guerrero, El Hijo del Santo teamed up with Octagon to face Guerrero and Pareja del Terror partner Art Barr. First off, this match was awesome and is the Match of the Show.
Secondly, Art Barr was ridiculously good in the ring. You actually see a lot of stuff that Guerrero would do later in tribute of Barr who would pass later that year. As a matter of fact, Guerrero said that Barr took it from him and 2 Cold Scorpio named it.
The fact is that, Barr hits a Frog Splash that was so damn nice that I let out a “Damn, son.” On the line were the masks of El Hijo del Santo and Octagon as well as the hair of Pareja del Terror. The drama in this match was thick. After Pareja del Terror took the first fall, the tecnicos snuck the second fall, tying this bout up.
It’s the final fall where the drama thickens as Octagon to taken out with an Art Barr piledriver—which is illegal in lucha libre and which Octagon sold like death. El Hijo del Santo has to go it alone against Pareja del Terror but has some help from Blue Panther as payback for spiking Octagon! Santo gets the pin on Barr while Guerrero is posing.
El Hijo del Santo survives an onslaught from Guerrero and manages to roll him up for the win and the hairs. Not exactly the most exciting finish but Guerrero was really giving the younger Santo that work.
In the main event, we have Konnan taking on Perro Aguayo in a cage match. I liked this match—I liked them all actually—as it was definitely a brawl between these two. Konnan could throw hands and Aguayo was throwing hands before Konnan was born.
This was good sh** with blood, chaos outside the ring between Los Gringos Locos and assorted tecnicos who interfered and had a finish that was better than the semi-main event’s. Definitely go out of your way to watch the last two matches on this card.
AAA When Worlds Collide Verdict: Gold Medal (9/10)
Everything about this PPV is what I’ve always wanted in a show: a couple of matches that are given time, hot feuds, matches with stakes, a good brawl with blood, and a hot crowd who are truly invested in the wrestlers’ victory or defeat. This was as close to a top-to-bottom perfect show as we’ve gotten on “Into the Vault”.
The Match of the Show for AAA When Worlds Collide goes to El Hijo del Santo and Octagon vs. Pareja del Terror. Our runner-up is the main event between Konnan and Perro Aguayo.
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