SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
WWE & AAA WORLDS COLLIDE
JUNE 7, 2025
INGLEWOOD, CALIF. AT KIA FORUM
AIRED LIVE ON YOUTUBE
REPORT BY RICH FANN, PWTORCH COLUMNIST
Commentary by Corey Graves, Konnan
-A short video kicked off the show, narrated by Rey Mysterio Jr. in Spanish, and highlighted the events that led to AAA’s acquisition by WWE, the stars featured in the show, and key personnel from AAA including Konnan.
-In the arena, Corey Graves introduced himself and his co-commentator Konnan from the stage.
-Marisela Peña, Shawn Michaels, Blue Demon, Paul Levesque stood by as the Mexican national anthem was sung, followed by the United States national anthem.
-Rey Mysterio Jr. walked down the aisle to unanimous cheers, as Konnan & Graves laid out the history of Mysterio and his legendary status in Lucha Libre. Mysterio talked about his experience 31 years ago at the first Worlds Collide, and how he is pleased to see his first love, lucha libre, shared with the world.
(1) AEROSTAR & MR. IGUANA & OCTAGON JR. vs. CRUZ DEL TORO & DRAGON LEE & LINCE DORADO (L.W.O.) – Six Man Tag match
Mr. Iguana’s kick flip of his “iguana” to his shoulder never gets old. All three competitors entered together, and showed love to Rey Mysterio, who remained in the ring. The LWO, alongside Lince Dorado came in to cheers. As Konnan was going to outline the competitors, Graves pointed out Liv Morgan & Dom Mysterio in the crowd. Konnan noted lucha libre is not American wrestling and fans should focus on it with that in mind.
In the ring, Octagon Jr. and Cruz started things off. Both men exchanged moves, as Konnan regaled Graves with a story regarding Octagon Jr. as a child earning money at his family’s shop to buy Mysterio shirts every week. Both men tagged out and Mr. Iguana took on Lince Dorado. Iguana caught a chop and froze on the ground legs up. Iguana then grabbed his trusty iguana Yesca, who he used for a great sequence into an armdrag. A failed move led to Iguana scolding Yesca and tagged out to Aerostar. Aerostar and Dragon Lee had a great exchange, and culminated in Iguana and Octagon hitting stereo tope con giro, and Aerostar finished with a tope suicida.
As the teams struggled to get advantage, Iguana and Del Toro exchanged moves, until Yesca was assaulted by Lince Dorado. Iguana went into a rage with the crowd behind him. A triple superkick dropped Iguana and Yesca. Iguana was put in the corner where Iguana ate a stomp from the top rope. Octagon Jr. then got in, but ate a super frankensteiner from Dorado. Iguana then popped back in for a headbutt, but was himself defenestrated by a Cruz del Toro dropkick. Back outside the ring, Dragon Lee destroyed Iguana outside. Before Lee could celebrate Aerostar came flying from of nowhere to drop him. Cruz then followed with a tornillo to all outside. Back inside Dorado and Octagon were the men legal, Octagon gets the win.
WINNER: Octagon Jr via pinfall in 15:00.
-Post-match, Dom Mysterio to a chorus of boos, and berated the crowd for loving his dad. Octagon Jr. would not stand for it, and punched Dom. Octagon Jr and Dom brawled until refs separated the pair, and Mysterio declared he would defend the Intercontinental title against him later that evening at Money in the Bank.
(Fann’s Thoughts: Excellent way to kick off the show and allow the personalities of the wrestlers to shine. Mr. Iguana and Yesca by far transcended knowledge and language to provide an entryway into the occasional fun whacky side of AAA. Dom being added as an antagonist for the ending and the set up for a match at Money in the Bank was brilliant.)
-A video package then aired that highlighted the creative drive and passion of AAA, the history of the league and the traditions of the promotion. Mascarita was featured, as well as Latin Lover, Negro Casas, and musician That Mexican OT. A package aired that prepped the tag team match upcoming, and in arena Tiffany Stratton and Io Sky were shown in attendance.
(2) CHIK TORMENTA & DALLYS LA CARIBENA vs. LOLA VICE & STEPHANIE VAQUER
A primer by Konnan on Tormenta & Dallys ended with Konnan’s explanation of Negro Casas and his importance to the AAA fanbase. Konnan then explained the history of Vaquer and Dallys as they squared up. Dallys missed a move, but turned the mistake into a Guerrero special into a stretch pinfall. Vaquer attempted the Devil’s Kiss, and instead was powered up by Dallys into a smash. Tormenta entered the ring and Vaquer suplexed her and had the opening to tag out. While this occurred, Konnan explained that Tormenta was one of the “strong style” persuasion, with hard hits and stiff shots. Vice however was ready for it, and hit a series of kicks and punches that forced Tormenta to tag out.
Dallys ate a series of kicks and knees to the ribs, but while Vice dropkicked Tormenta, Vice was charged out of the ring by Dallys. A sit-out gourdbuster got Dallys a two count. After Dallys attempted another pinfall, Vice was able to tag out to Vaquer. Vaquer was a house of fire, and shut down both of her opponents. A dragon screw to Dallys in the corner only got a two count. Vaquer and Vice hit a double Devil’s Kiss to the adoration of the crowd (and Konnan). Vaquer went for the SVB but was countered. La Atlantida by Dallys got 2.9, and Vaquer’s SVB got the pin.
WINNER: Stephanie Vaquer via pinfall at 12:24.
(Fann’s Thoughts: Could’ve been much worse. Vice and Vaquer did a great job of leaning into the power (and stiffness) of their opponents, and the relationship of student Vaquer being her teacher was the focus at the end, as well as the risk of Vaquer going into Money in the Bank.)
-Chuey Martinez talked with Chad Gable and Gable’s relationship with the fans of lucha libre. Gable mentioned the importance of his win today, as well as El Grande Americano being the face of lucha. Gable finished with a “Vive Mexico”.
-Another video previewed the six-man match, and added the history of Psycho Clown being involved in the match that cost Santos his mask.
-Chavo Guerrero featured in the crowd, as well as Fools Gone Wild, and the Street Prof
(3) ANGEL & BERTO & SANTOS ESCOBAR vs HIJO del DR. WAGNER JR. & PAGANO, PSYCHO CLOWN
Legado Del Phantasma entered in camo and were ready for war. Konnan e &plained the history of Pyscho Clown’s 21 other relatives prior to the match. Berto apparently also would take Psycho Clown’s father to the airport, so this match is special to him.
El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. began the match with Berto, and Wagner was big with the crowd, as he stopped Berto’s offense with a hurricanrana. Angel tagged in and double teamed Wagner, until he tagged out to Psycho Clown. A psycho elbow cracked Angel, and Psycho Clown got the crowd fired up. Los Garza were single-handedly handled with a hilarious standing switch that culminated in a double german suplex. Psycho Clown then dove from the apron through the second rope to Escobar near the table. Pagano was then tagged in to a double dropkick, and an attempted double facebuster only hit Berto, which gave Angel the ability to kick the brawler. Tiger Feint by Pagano allowed him to throw Angel outside. Pagano attempted a tope suicida, but Escobar moved Berto, which meant Pagano did a full speed flat back bump to the floor.
Triple Kicks back in the ring brought Pagano to the ground. Berto hit a rolling moonsault for two, as he stared the faces down in midair, which was a cool touch. Konnan mentioned that Berto (and Graves) were the type of men to steal your wallet then help you look for it, which got a chuckle out of me. A blockbuster by Pagano opened space for a tag to Psycho Clown. A basement dropkick to Angel, and a code red to Berto only got a two count. El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. tagged in and cleaned house.
A tornillo placha, tope and tope suicida dropped Legado del Phantasma outside to the roar of the crowd. Back in the ring, a hockey fight broke out. Berto ate a Psycho Driver on the apron, and Santos was saved by Angel. Pagano hit a middle rope Code Breaker, and the crowd moved from in to out of the ring near the timekeeper. As Escobar preened, Dr. Wagner hit a knee for a 2.9. Wagner shouted “viva la raza” and went to the top rope for a frog splash. Escobar cut him off with a super rana for another near fall. A Phantom Driver was enough for Escobar to get the win.
WINNER: Santos Escobar via pinfall at 14:47.
(Fann’s Thoughts: Fun match that allowed most of the 6 to shine, but because of the lack of a big fight setup, Pagano’s normal penchant for ultra violence wasn’t able to be fed into. Going into Triplemania season, this sets up some strong matchups for Legado del Phantasma. Psycho Clown and the good Dr. showed well.)
(4) ETHAN PAGE vs. LAREDO KID vs JE’VON EVANS vs REY FENIX- NXT North American Title match
Evans and Fenix had an extended fight in ring, which showcased how amazing they are with body control and flexibility. Right when Fenix took advantage, Page snuck back in to try for a quick pin. Another scrum led to Laredo Kid, then Fenix getting great dives to the outside, then a ddt to Page got a nearfall for Fenix.
Konnan asked aloud, “why would you want tables in a match like this?” as fans chanted for tables with Page on the top rope as Evans punched him. Page hit a splash from the top for a two count, then a spinning slam was broken up by Fenix.
A Fenix spider-kick attempt was countered by Laredo Kid, who hit a Michinoku Driver and a twisting moonsault. Laredo then countered Page and threw a forearm in the corner. Fenix then stood up and ate a DDT from Laredo. Evans broke up the pin to prevent the match ending, but all four men were laid out.
Evans attempted a full ring somersault legdrop but didn’t quite make it. However, his mid air cutter did, but Page cut off the pinning win. Evans lost it and began to rain punches on Page, but used the top rope to drop Evans. Fenix took over with multiple splashes, and screamed “viva mexico” and his northern lights bomb was kicked out by Evans. An Ego’s Edge was broken up at the last nanosecond by Evans from the top rope. A Twisted Grin by Page, after he cleared the ring of Evans and Laredo allowed the title to be retained.
WINNER: Ethan Page by pinfall at 22:18.
(Fann’s Thoughts: Really fun four-way. At some point Evans has to win a title, the guy is ridiculously good and constantly being in the losing role isn’t helpful. I would love to see Evans and Fenix as members of the AAA visiting crew for big shows. Laredo Kid has been a good get for TNA and AEW in the past, and his appearances in NXT lead me to think he could similarly be a fun add to NXT as well.)
-A Triplemania ad aired prior to the main event.
(5) EL HIJO DEL VIKINGO vs. CHAD GABLE – AAA Mega Championship match
Main event time.
Both men started the match with a focus on limbs – the arm of Gable and the ankle of Vikingo. The crowd chants of “Vikingo” and “Gable Sucks” were clear declarations where the crowd’s loyalties lay. A modified armlock by Vikingo was quickly countered into an ankle lock by Gable, which led to a break and a show of respect by both.
Gable sent Vikingo to the corner, and before Gable could shoulder block Vikingo the AAA champ slipped through the ropes, which set Gable’s shoulder to be a new target. A meteora from Vikingo sent Gable to the floor, and Vikingo followed up with a walking 630 to a standing Gable. Phenomenal.
A running shooting star press from the apron was countered by knees up of Gable. Gable yelled “lucha sucks!” at the fans, then set up a table to German suplex Vikingo. Both men stopped attempts to be slammed through it, but an inside out clothesline dropped Vikingo. Gable back in the ring got a two count.
Gable went for an abdominal stretch, but his arm was still hurt from the earlier sequences. A german suplex with bridge only got him two, again because of the arm. Vikingo continued on the defensive, with a long range double stomp getting 2.9.
A Gable niagra driver for 2.9, after Gable kicked out of a second rope twisting 450 by Vikingo. Gable then went for a moonsault, landing on his feet. The pair fought for supremacy on the ropes, with Gable hitting a second rope sitout powerbomb that nearly won him the AAA championship.
Gable muttered to himself “he’s just a luchadore” as Vikingo continued to fight on. Vikingo then hit the top of the post Mexican destroyer onto the apron. Phenomenal visual. Gable kicked out, and a Vikingo attempt to put Gable through the table led to Gable shoving him off the top rope to the floor. Gable then set up Vikingo and put him through the table with a top rope moonsault outside. The crowd lost its’ mind.
Vikingo fought through the pain to hit an insane poisoned rana, then hit a ferocious 630 to retain his title.
Winner: El Hijo del Vikingo by pinfall at 30:11.
(Fann’s Thoughts: How is Chad Gable going to wrestle in a few hours? This was the match of the night, a phenomenal introduction of El Hjio del Vikingo to those who haven’t seen his excellent matches with Kenny Omega and others over the years. I was thoroughly impressed with the match, the presentation and respect for the AAA mega championship and Konnan and Graves’ commentary.)
The Mexican wrestlers hoisted Vikingo on their shoulders with a Mexican flag as the show closed.
FINAL THOUGHTS: A fun first experience of AAA and WWE potential working together. If AAA can maintain its baseline wild spirit, coupled with some fun additions from WWE and TNA, these shows can help the bottom line for the promotion and perhaps introduce new fans to the world of Lucha Libre. I would recommend watching this show if only to see some fun matches and interesting personalities outside of the beaten path.
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