On the night before AEW Grand Slam Mexico, several members of the roster wrestled at Arena México at CMLL’s Semana Internacional card.
AEW was represented by International champion Kyle Fletcher, TNT champion Kevin Knight, TBS champion Maya World, Hyan, The Swirl, and members of the Don Callis Family for the ten-match show.
The venue was far from packed, with the upper decks appearing empty on the broadcast, but we did not see an announced figure.
Results:
- Max Star over Leon Cage in 8:43
- Kira & Candela over Maya World & Hyan in 9:06
- Calavera Jr. I & II over Blake Christian & Lee Johnson in 9:34 (Recommended)
- Austin Aries over Esfinge in 8:58
- NJPW STRONG Openweight Tag Titles: Ángel de Oro & Niebla Roja © over DOUKI & Yujiro Takahashi in 8:58
- Último Guerrero, Xelhua, Zandokan Jr. & Neón over Volador Jr., Brian Cage, Hechicero & El Clon in 11:26 (Recommended)
- Soberano Jr. over Komander in 9:19
- Bárbaro Cavernario over Bandido in 15:30
- TNT Championship: Kevin Knight © over Titán in 12:16 (Recommended)
- Kyle Fletcher over Máscara Dorada in 11:53 (Recommended)
The card opened with RevPro’s Leon Cage defeating Max Star in a ten-minute lightning match to kick things off. Cage is only 19 but has been wrestling for five years. He was working as a heel and getting a decent reaction from the crowd. Max Star went for a Quebrada and the attempt by Cage to superkick him upside down didn’t look like it connected. Cage hit a moonsault off the post to the floor and won with the Phoenix Splash in an average opener.
TBS champion Maya World & Hyan face Mexican National Women’s tag champ Kira & Candela with Aubrey Edwards as the referee. Kira looked the best of the four and hit a rolling Stunner on Maya on the edge of the apron, followed by a suicide dive to both. Kira leaped off the back of Candela into a Canadian Destroyer on Maya. The finish was a total mess as Hyan ran into the corner and dropkicked the buckle, missing her target, then just rolled into position for a top rope moonsault by Kira, and it ended.
Calavera Jr. I & Calavera Jr. II had a really fun match with The Swirl’s Blake Christian & Lee Johnson. They worked a fast pace in the limited space they had. Christian went all out, including hitting a springboard 450. One of the Calaveras did Neón’s leaping springboard moonsault from the ramp to the floor but only did the one springboard, instead of Neón’s double. Calavera Jr. II used an O’Connor roll on Johnson for the win out of nowhere.
MLW National Openweight Champion Austin Aries had a non-title match with Esfinge. It never really got to the next gear as Aries turned it up with his closing sequence of running dropkick into the corner and Brainbuster to win in under nine minutes.
In one of the few title matches on the show, Ángel de Oro & Niebla Roja retained the NJPW STRONG Openweight tag titles against DOUKI & Yujiro, who are over from New Japan during the G1 Climax. The match wasn’t anything special despite Yujiro’s best effort. Niebla Roja used a Liger Bomb on Tetsuya Naito’s forgotten ex-teammate and the duo held onto the titles.
The show really picked up at the midway point with the crowd heat growing tremendously for the second half of the show. Último Guerrero, Xelhua, Zandokan Jr. & Neón defeated Volador Jr., Brian Cage, Hechicero & El Clon with Don Callis coming out with his clients. This was a great house show-style eight-man tag where the crowd sounded rabid. Guerrero was beaten down and outnumbered, and the place went wild when he began his comeback. Neón did his flying sequence, including the double springboard moonsault from the ramp to the floor, and ended with Guerrero submitting Volador Jr.
Soberano Jr. beat Komander in a match that had its issues. They came out with the intention of having a memorable match, and with Komander it comes down to his “hit rate” on the most ambitious maneuvers. There were some mess-ups in this match, but they still wrestled at a high level. They struggled for a Poisorana and ended up on the floor, where Komander finally hit it. Soberano Jr. hit a Fosbury Flop and followed with a Tornillo off the top. Unfortunately, they lost their balance toward the ending sequence, and Soberano Jr. continued and hit a driver for the pin. Not a perfect match but still enjoyable.
Earlier this week, CMLL changed the Bandido vs. Bárbaro Cavernario match from an ROH title match to a non-title match and spelled out the outcome. Cavernario did his splash off the top to the floor and blocked a pair of attempts at the 21 Plex. Bandido landed the X Knee, but another 21 Plex was caught. While Bandido was speaking with referee Aubrey Edwards, Cavernario connected with a low blow into a school boy for the pinfall. Not enough to get the “recommendation” as it wasn’t the highest level for either guy and was missing an ingredient to elevate it.
Kevin Knight retained the TNT Championship against Titán in a strong performance by Knight, who shined in this one. He had a ton of heat (as did all the AEW performers) and Titán had a great match. He worked for Llave Inmortal and on the second try, he locked Knight’s hands but the champion broke free to reach the rope. Knight ran from the ramp and landed a flying cutter inside the ring, a coast-to-coast dropkick for a two-count, and won with the UFO Splash. This was very strong.
In the main event, Kyle Fletcher was victorious against Máscara Dorada in a match where they filled everything into the twelve minutes. The heat was tremendous, and Fletcher was the best heel on the show. He really played it up and seemed in the zone throughout the match. Dorada hopped over the top rope to the edge of the apron and slipped but recovered and seamlessly transitioned to a springboard corkscrew to the floor. It was rather impressive to see the save. Dorada hit a 450 splash, and it was a rabid reaction when Fletcher survived. Fletcher stuck Dorada with a knee from behind, a lariat, a lawn dart to the corner, and won with the Brainbuster. This was tremendous, and I’d love to see these guys get a chance to run this back. Fletcher has a big match with Speedball Mike Bailey on Wednesday but still put forth a great main event on the eve of Grand Slam Mexico.
