AAA Verano de Escandalo Night Three Review – 08.08.26

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AAA’s Verano de Escandalo is on Youtube this evening from Arena San Marcos in Aguascalientes, Mexico. The American announcing team for tonight’s show includes Corey Graves, John Bradshaw Layfield, and AAA GM Rey Mysterio. Tonight ends the big show in the Hot Springs, so let’s watch some lucha!

Then, Now, Forever…..TOGETHER

Entrances: Lady Shani gets greeted by some fans. La Catalina looks fierce in red. AAA Women’s Champion Flammer looks confident and ready to go ahead of the big triple threat for her title.

Graves throws to the graphic showing the tournament progress around the Latin American Championship. We have another big triple threat on tonight’s card and the winner will join La Parka and El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. as a participant in the big fatal four-way at Triplemania.

AAA Latin American Championship Qualifier: Cruz del Toro vs El Fiscal vs Psycho Clown

Rey Mysterio says there are no updates on the condition or location of Pagano, so that’s kind of fun. del Toro wants a handshake with Psycho who declines. Fiscal and del Toro shake hands, and then Fiscal and Psycho send del Toro to the floor with superkicks. Fiscal and Psycho run the ropes and Psycho stops the momentum with a reverse thrust. They take turns exchanging running lariats and Psycho snaps off a powerslam for two as a returning del Toro breaks it up. Del Toro hits a springboard kick and covers Psycho for two. Fiscal tosses del Toro into a sit-out powerbomb and Psycho breaks Fiscal’s cover up at two.

Psycho puts the boots to del Toro and wants to rip his first mask off, but Fiscal intervenes. Psycho hits a lofted forearm but then runs right into a del Toro rana. Del Toro does the Ronaldo before crushing Fiscal and Psycho with a beautiful torneo. Del Toro runs Psycho back in and ascends, but Psycho slips the Phoenix splash attempt and mashes del Toro with a lariat. Fiscal wants the Martinete on Psycho but del Toro breaks it up with a dropkick. Psycho bails and Fiscal rams del Toro with a back elbow. Del Toro snaps off a top rope rana and covers Fiscal but Psycho breaks it up with a flying splash at two.

Psycho gets a sunset flip for two and clubbers away on Fiscal. Fiscal reverses into an overhead suplex and del Toro covers Psycho for two. Del Toro covers Fiscal for two and blasts a returning Psycho with a roundhouse. Psycho yanks del Toro up for a Psycho Driver on the apron before ducking Fiscal and sending him to the floor with a lariat. Psycho follows and tosses Fiscal back in but a recovered del Toro blasts Psycho with a kick that sends him to the barricade. A huge man in a mask looms up behind Psycho and starts blasting him with lariats before dragging Psycho over the barrier. Some “fans” try to intervene so the big man beats the crap out of them before biting one of them on the back of the neck. (Shoutout to Freddie Blassie and Becky Lynch!) The monster continues destroying Psycho and yanks his first mask off. The big guy plants Psycho through some chairs with a chokeslam. Back in the ring del Toro misses a top rope move but immediately responds with a kaman giri that staggers Fiscal. Del Toro mounts Fiscal and goes to the top but Fiscal drops del Toro down. Fiscal’s splash ends things in a hurry.

So the monster that attacked Psycho was never named, but sources tell me that it’s NXT/Evolve talent Drake Morreaux under the mask. It remains to be seen what he’ll be called in AAA but this is a good opportunity for him because this Clowns saga has been going on for FAR too long without a Big Bad to be the focus. In terms of Fiscal joining the four-way, it’s good for him to be away from the never-ending feud with Abismo for awhile. A decent opener here, overall, but the Psycho attack really kind of took the starch out of the finish. 3.25*

Winner – El Fiscal (splash on del Toro)

Graves drops a cute “something out of the bayou” hint when describing the new monster, post-match.

Here’s the pre-recorded announcement from Rey Mysterio regarding the big tournament just announced that will see the winner face WWE Men’s World Champion Roman Reigns at Raw in Mexico City on September 14th. The tournament will start on Raw this Monday night. We go to a break.

Here’s some highlights from last weekend’s Summerslam and the AAA participation in it.

Noisy Boy vs Jack Cartwheel

Noisy and Cartwheel hit some acrobatics and Cartwheel wins the skirmish with a dropkick. Cartwheel drives an elbow in and then sends Noisy to the floor with a kick. Noisy rises up to prevent a Cartwheel tope and then mashes him with a springboard cutter that gets two. Noisy clubbers away and then works an elbow lock. The crowd seems fully distracted by something going on behind them while Noisy and Cartwheel slug it out. Noisy sweeps the leg and then mashes him with a back handspring splash that gets two. Noisy and Cartwheel slug it out and Noisy hits a knee. Cartwheel snaps off a crucifix driver that gets two.

Cartwheel ascends but Noisy springs up for some fisticuffs. Noisy joins Carthweel up top and fires off a reverse Frankensteiner before covering and getting two. Cartwheel hits a Slam Stand Elbow and Noisy bails. Cartwheel hits the SPACE FLYING TIGER DROP and destroys Noisy with a 450 twisting splash that finishes things.

JBL loves Cartwheel so he was really enjoying this sprint. Noisy has some flash to him and acquitted himself well here. I’m assuming this sets up Cartwheel with a chance to face Rey Fenix at some point but we’ll see. This was fun for a sprint and had the announcers falling all over each other to praise their work. 2.75*

Winner – Jack Cartwheel (450 torneo splash)

Post-match sees Karmen Petrovic emerge on the ramp and here are Los Perros del Mal arriving to destroy Carthweel and Noisy. Cartwheel gets utterly destroyed by a Bronco Nima lariat before Daga crushes him with a Hidden Blade. They hold Cartwheel up for a Petrovic running kick before standing over the fallen Cartwheel and posing. Daga grabs a mic and wants to know where his DOGS are at. Daga calls the locker room weak and that’s why they returned. Daga says they’ve learned from the best and says once a dog, always a dog. Daga brings out Damian 666 who emerges with a kendo stick as Mysterio recalls fighting Damian when he was a kid. Damian is embraced and is handed a new t-shirt, which he happily holds up before putting it on. JBL advises the entire dressing room to run. Damian puts his dog tag back on and tells the crowd to bark for him. God forgives, the Dogs do not. JBL: “Good luck Rey.” Mysterio: “Yeah….”. We go to a break.

Here’s AAA Mega Champion Dominik Mysterio sitting down with Andrea Bazarte who mentions that Mysterio’s condition for this chat was that he would ONLY talk to Bazarte. Mysterio mentions he has police outside in case something happens. Mysterio mentions teaming with El Grande Americano to form Los Gringos Locos 2.0 caused EGA to question whether or not Mysterio was with Los Perros del Mal. That told Mysterio all he needed to know and he told EGA to his face he had nothing to do with Los Perros. Mysterio mentions EGA winning Rey de Reyes to get the title shot at Triplemania he was fine with it but then EGA shook Rey Mysterio’s hand and that did not sit well. Mysterio puts over EGA becoming a Mexican hero but wonders where he’ll be when Mysterio beats him in the middle of the ring at Triplemania. Mysterio says EGA will always be second best to the King of the Luchadores and will not be defeated by anyone. Bazarte asks why Mysterio teamed up with Dorian Roldan and it has to do with Marisela Pena giving his father the GM job. Mysterio sympathizes with anyone touched by Rey Mysterio’s treachery and that’s why he joined El Ojo. Mysterio mentions having a giant at his disposal now. WWE Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan enters the interview room and Mysterio makes his exit after promising to see EGA in Torreon next week. Penta will also be in Torreon.

Here’s a look back at La Catalina’s entrance into AAA alongside Bayley and Lola Vice as they defeated Las Toxicas. Lady Shani was added to this main event after Catalina’s assistance allowed Shani to pin Flammer in a non-title match.

AAA Women’s World Championship: Flammer (C) vs La Catalina vs Lady Shani

Shani is in all gold, while Catalina wears only red. Flammer is in black and white and JBL is wildly excited about her entrance. We make fun of Liv Morgan not defending often enough but this is Flammer’s 10th defense in over a 1000 day reign. Jesus Zuniga does in-ring intros and we’re off.

Catalina and Shani immediately take turns smashing Flammer around as the bell sounds. They combine on a double….Hip Attacks (?)… that staggers Flammer. Shani and Catalina square off and Shani trucks Catalina down before putting the boots to her. Shani splashes Flammer on the outside after an interference attempt. Catalina ascends for a cross-body on both opponents. Catalina heaves Flammer back in and hits her with a high boot when Flammer charges. Catalina acrobatically flips out of the corner she was occupying to Flammer’s disgust. Catalina smashes Flammer with a running shotgun dropkick, but Shani returns and womps Catalina down with a slap. Shani runs wild on Catalina and Flammer with running boots. Shani kicks Catalina down and then drops Flammer with a helicopter bulldog. Shani is on the apron and slugs it out with Flammer in the ring. Catalina charges over and blasts Shani with a forearm as Flammer ducks out of the way.

Flammer nails Catalina with two running shotgun dropkicks and then mashes Shani with a double stomp. Flammer covers Shani for two. Flammer drives Shani to a corner and then stands up Catalina in the opposite one for some chops. Flammer mounts Shani and Catalina in corners but they both recover quickly. Catalina drives a charging Shani down with a high boot and then slips a Flammer charge by bailing to the apron. Catalina rams Flammer into a turnbuckle a few times and then ascends for a double dropkick on Flammer and Shani. Catalina slams Shani and then yanks Flammer into a Gory Special. Catalina covers both opponents for two.

Catalina drapes Flammer over the second rope, but she’s prevented by doing more damage by Shani from the floor. Flammer uses that distraction to mash Catalina with a Hip Attack but Shani charges in to start smashing Flammer in a corner. Shani sets up Flammer and mashes her with a running dropkick. A recovered Catalina snaps off a sunset flip and yanks Shani into an extended amateur leg roll. Flammer breaks up Catalina’s cover and Shani yanks Flammer into a roll of her own. Catalina breaks that cover up at two. Shani and Catalina slug it out while ascending and Flammer joins things by powerbombing Shani for two. Catalina hits a splash on Shani and Flammer breaks up the cover at two.

Shani is left alone in the ring as Flammer eats a Catalina spear. Catalina returns to the ring to slug it out with Shani. Catalina hits a sunset flip, Shani counters, and they both get two. Shani hits a backstabber and a bridging cover on Catalina that gets two. Shani gets tripped up over the second rope and eats a Hip Attack from Catalina. Flammer flies back in after Catalina delivers a running knee and steals the pin on Shani after dumping Catalina to the floor.

Flammer’s endless reign continues on and we’ll see if she gets a singles defense out of this at one of the big upcoming shows. At some point someone has to take this title off of her but she managed to steal this one without any help from Hiedra or Maravilla, so full credit to her. I thought Shani was solid here and Catalina did her normal flashy stuff. I wouldn’t call this great or anything but it had a terrific pace and the crowd was fully into hoping that Flammer would finally lose. 3.25*

Winner AND STILL AAA Women’s World Champion – Flammer (stolen pin on Shani)

I thought Verano de Escandalo, as a whole, delivered in spades. Tonight’s matches were solid affairs but nothing too memorable happened unless you’re excited about a 65 year old Damian 666 coming back to the scene to join up with Los Perros. I thought the women’s title match was decent as was the opening triple threat, but the booking of the finishes kind of left me a bit cool. We are entering a massive moment for AAA over the next six weeks and let’s hope everyone stays healthy and gets through all the upcoming huge events.