At Lucha Libre AAA’s next big event, TNA authority figure Santino Marella will be teaming up with a wrestler from WWE NXT.
It’s been announced that a mixed tag match with Marella & Lola Vice facing Mr. Iguana & La Hiedra will take place at AAA Verano de Escandalo on Friday, July 11. There are no U.S. broadcast plans for the show as of now.
Marella is the on-screen Director of Authority in TNA and still competes in the ring. Vice (former MMA fighter Valerie Loureda) is featured in WWE as a member of the NXT women’s division. She wrestled at the recent WWE-AAA Worlds Collide event, where she and Stephanie Vaquer defeated Dalys & Chik Tormenta.
Mr. Iguana also wrestled at Worlds Collide, making a strong impression on the American audience and officials in WWE. He and La Hiedra are the current Mixed Tag Team Champions in AAA, but this was not announced as a title match.
WWE is in the process of acquiring Lucha Libre AAA with the deal expected to be finalized in the coming weeks. The Verano de Escandalo card will also see WWE wrestlers Angel & Berto defend their newly won AAA Tag Team titles against Laredo Kid & Octagon Jr.
AAA Verano de Escandalo 2025 —
El Hijo del Vikingo & King Vikingo vs. Alberto El Patron & El Mesias
La Parka, Aerostar & Nino Hamburguesa vs. Murder Clown, Dave the Clown & Panic Clown
AAA Tag Team Champions Angel & Berto defend against Laredo Kid & Octagon Jr.
Pagano, Cibernetico & El Fiscal vs. Histeria, Taurus & Abismo Negro
Mixed tag match: Mr. Iguana & La Hiedra vs. Santino Marella & Lola Vice
AAA on Sunday night presented one of their major supercards with Verano de Escandalo. The show featured a double main event that saw The Lucha Bros win the AAA World Tag Team titles in a show stealer over The Young Bucks in the first of two top matches on the card.
Dr. Wagner Jr. and Blue Demon Jr. continued their bloody feud in a tag match that closed the show. Wagner teamed with Psycho Clown on one side while Blue Demon partnered with Taurus.
The English language broadcasters opened their version of the show with a rundown of the upcoming card. The announcers actually knew the product well. That always helps.
Mascots threw shirts into the crowd and hyped them up for the beginning of the card. As hyped as they were for the start of the show, the crowd would nonetheless crap on the finish of the opener. The first match ended in an upset that crowned AAA’s new top Women’s Champion.
Keyra defeated Lady Shani and Chik Tormenta to win the Reina de Reinas Championship
Keyra pinned Shani using a cradle to win the Reina de Reinas title from her. She powerbombed Shani and followed through with the cradle for the win.
The stream — or at least the English language version — had technical difficulties just as the match was about to start. Things were restored as the match got underway.
They worked hard, with some highlights being a lungblower on the apron and a collection of dives. The announcers and some in the crowd appeared in disbelief upon seeing the title change. Others outright booed the finish.
The next segment on the show was a confrontation that led to a beatdown in an angle to further interest in the Tag Team title match later on.
Pentagon Jr. and his brother — AAA Mega Champion Fenix — came to the ring wearing their masks and street clothes. The crowd chanted “Cero Miedo” before The Lucha Bros began to cut a promo. Fenix first put over the town. Pentagon said they are back to prove they are the best tag team in the world. No matter what happens, Pentagon said they have to win the tag titles tonight.
Konnan interrupted their promo as he menaced to the ring with a chair in hand. He got on the mic to heel on the town and insult the fans. He told The Lucha Bros that he discovered them, and then accused them of turning their backs on him. Konnan said the actual best would take the titles back to the United States.
Pentagon responded by saying Konnan was once beloved by the fans, but then he turned his back on them. Penta said that the fans themselves made The Lucha Bros. Penta called Konnan old before also threatening him. Konnan hit Pentagon with a cheap shot punch. A scrum ensued.
The Young Bucks ran in to attack The Lucha Bros. They hit them with belt shots and administered a beatdown. They were repping AEW by wearing company merch as they laid a beating on Pentagon & Fenix.
Faby Apache defeated Hijo del Tirantes (w/ Chik Tormenta)
Apache pinned Tirantes after a missile dropkick into a trash can. They brawled for much of the match with weapons being used at various times. That trend would continue throughout the rest of the show.
This match itself pitted a women’s wrestler against a heel referee to settle an ongoing feud. Chik Tormenta was in Tirantes’ corner as his second, and she interfered freely. Might as well have been a handicap match because she interfered so often. Tirantes wore wrestling gear, but still had on his trademark suspenders.
Tirantes bullied Apache at the outset. Chik held Apache so Tirantes could hit her in the head with a cookie sheet. They got heat on Apache until she fired up and started getting receipts with the cookie sheet. A Frankensteiner off the apron on the floor from Apache had Tirantes reeling.
However, Tirantes soon cut her off with a haymaker punch. Apache countered with a hurricanrana and La Casita for near falls. She went to apply La Tapatia, but Chik jumped in to break it up. With Devil’s Wings, Tirantes got a two count. There were more shots to the head from the cookie sheet.
Faby soon fired up into a final comeback before she delivered a missile dropkick into a trash can that Tirantes was holding. Then she covered Tirantes for the pinfall.
Tirantes offered a handshake afterwards, but that was only a swerve as he and Chik attacked Faby to get their heat back.
Australian Suicide & Sammy Guevara defeated Mamba & Maximo
Guevara pinned Mamba after a trifecta that included a senton bomb, a 450 splash, and finally a Shooting Star Press. Guevara flipped off Mamba at the outset — who then kissed his finger. They did a lot of comedy early on before setting up the heat spot.
Maximo squared off with Suicide, and then there was more comedy until the rudos took control. They got heat on Maximo. The tecnico comeback led to dives. Stereo senton bombs netted Maximo & Mamba dual near falls.
A Fosbury flop by Suicide was followed by Guevara doing a corkscrew dive over the ropes to the outside. Guevara flew into a senton bomb on Mamba. Suicide followed with a 450 splash. Guevara then executed a Shooting Star Press on Mamba to score the pinfall.
Taya Valkyrie & Laredo Kid defeated Tessa Blanchard & Daga
Kid pinned Daga after a Spanish Fly off the top rope.
Taya shined early on. Daga got in her face, prompting Laredo Kid to jump in and square off with Daga. That led into a flurry of high spots. The tecnicos cleared the ring, but the rudos soon turned the tide. Blanchard worked over Taya. Daga also got heat on Taya while he dashed a hope spot.
Blanchard stomped mudholes and tossed Taya across the ring with a hair mare. Taya soon cut off Blanchard with a spear. After a hot tag to Laredo Kid, he proceeded to run wild and clean house. A quebrada netted Kid a two count, but Daga soon cut him off. Kid answered back with a handspring back elbow.
Out of nowhere, Blanchard flattened Laredo Kid with a cutter. Taya hit a flying crossbody to the outside, and Kid followed with a moonsault off the ring post to the floor. Taya got near falls on Blanchard and Daga.
Daga hit a left hand and a superkick on Taya. Daga and Tessa hit a double superkick, then a backcracker and a codebreaker had Taya out on her feet. A near fall was broken up by Kid.
More flying and superkicks. A Phoenix Splash from Kid on Daga led to a 2.5 count when Blanchard broke up the pin. Blanchard got a near fall of her own where Taya jumped in to make the save. Taya hit a Northern Lights suplex and got a bridge for two as Daga broke it up.
Daga retrieved brass knux hidden in his knee pad. Blanchard held Kid and Daga swung for the fences with the knux. At the last moment, Kid ducked and Daga hit Tessa with a KO punch using the knux. Daga and Kid then climbed the turnbuckles for the finish.
Kid hit a Spanish Fly off the top to pick up the win, ending what was the best match so far. The match arguably ended up being the best of the undercard before the double main event.
Puma pinned Chessman after a powerbomb onto a ladder. This was a wild brawl where Aerostar was apparently injured during one sequence. He was carried away on a stretcher in a scary scene.
The rudos dominated early on as weapons were used liberally. They attacked Pagano, with Bordeaux even joining in to hit Pagano with a cookie sheet.
Aerostar appeared to injure himself during a high spot from a lighting scaffold above the ring to the floor. Officials and medics checked on him. They kept the match going before they soon went home. Puma powerbombed Chessman off the middle rope through a ladder bridge for the pinfall.
Kross and Bordeaux attacked Puma after the match for a beatdown. They unmasked him and paraded around with Puma’s mask. The crowd was nevertheless muted for much of this after seeing Aerostar leave on a stretcher.
Hijo Del Vikingo, La Parka & Myzteziz Jr. defeated La Hiedra, Rey Escorpion & Texano Jr.
Vikingo pinned Hiedra using a 450 splash to end a wild brawl mixed with a parade of dives. Brawling along with walking and talking was paired with high flying.
Myzteziz wiped out as he mistimed a dive. Meanwhile, Parka fought with Hiedra. From there things settled into a more normal trios match. Then came some more scary spots. Vikingo did some crazy flying.
Parka squared off with Texano. Escorpion took out Myzteziz when he caught him on a dive and powerbombed him through some chairs. Back in the ring, Hiedra got a near fall on Vikingo — but Vikingo recovered to fire up and deliver an inverted 450 splash on Hiedra for the pinfall.
The Lucha Bros (Pentagon Jr. & Fenix) defeated The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) to win the AAA World Tag Team Championship
This was a wild and great match with lots of action — almost too much to recall. They put together another compelling chapter in their recent rivalry.
The match itself was everything you’d expect it to be and more. There was a flurry of Jackson brother high spots early on as they got heat on The Lucha Bros. The Bucks heeled on the crowd while taunting them in between doing high spots. Matt did a series of Northern Lights on Fenix.
Matt threw Pentagon into the front row at ringside. They fought in the seats at ringside. Nick flipped into a shotgun dropkick on Fenix in the ring.
Pentagon and Fenix fired up into a comeback. Fenix used a double cutter to drop the Jacksons. Moments later, Fenix went for a dive through the ropes and ricocheted into rows of ringside chairs. Meanwhile, Pentagon got a near fall in the ring.
There were more unique and wild Buck spots. A double sharpshooter spot by the Bucks led to rope breaks. Nick hit a frog splash on Fenix. Pentagon hit a Canadian Destroyer on Matt as they all briefly went down. Fenix was soon back up to walk the ropes and leap into a foot stomp.
A Penta Driver on Matt got a close near fall. After another Penta Driver, Nick pulled Tirantes out of the ring. Nick ran through some signature high spots and wiped out Tirantes in the process. A Meltzer Driver on Pentagon got a near fall. Another ref bump.
Nick fouled Pentagon and unmasked him at another point. Fenix also fouled Matt and hit a Diamond Cutter, but there was no referee to count. Another official ran in to count to two.
A combination of a Penta Driver from Pentagon and a double foot stomp by Fenix was the beginning of the end. Fenix leapt into a somersault dive on Nick. Pentagon then pinned Matt to win the titles.
Fenix now holds two championships after winning the tag titles and also holding the AAA Mega title. The English language announcers teased an upcoming part four in the ongoing series between The Young Bucks and Lucha Bros.
Dr. Wagner Jr. & Psycho Clown defeated Blue Demon Jr. & Taurus
Wagner pinned Blue Demon after a table spot and a Wagner Driver to end this bloody chapter of their ongoing rivalry. Like most of the other Wagner-Blue Demon matches in their recent feud, things got bloody rather quickly.
Psycho Clown got the Hogan treatment with the final spot among the main event entrances. He danced around and high-fived and hugged fans like he was one of the Fabulous Ones. The English language announcers pushed him as the ace of the company.
They all brawled early and often. Blue Demon and Wagner fought into the crowd. Taurus and Psycho Clown brawled around the ring. Demon and Wagner kept fighting through the crowd. Taurus hit Clown with weapon shots. At this point while in the crowd, Wagner got color and bled. The brawling continued.
There were far too many unprotected shots to the head using sheets and such. That was very off-putting.
Wagner wore the crimson mask and sold big. The rudos poured on their onslaught. They pummeled Wagner & Psycho Clown.
A comeback by Wagner and Clown led to Clown doing the Cavernario tope suicida through the turnbuckles. Wagner jumped off the apron into a senton.
Wagner got his receipts for the earlier weapon shots. Blue Demon got color as Wagner ripped at his mask and bit his head.
Clown cleaned house with a broom as he broke it over the back of Taurus. Demon was sent into the front row. He sat there bleeding with half his face exposed while Wagner hit him with a metal sheet. Wagner and Psycho Clown cleared the ring and danced around before striking a pose.
Wagner hit a stunner on Demon off the middle rope. Demon still kicked out seconds later. A table was set up in the ring. A drop toe hold on Taurus got Psycho Clown a two count. Clown hit a Del Rio stomp for another two count.
Clown started dancing around and doing comedy spots with the ref. Then he dove over the ropes into a somersault on the floor.
Wagner countered an attempted powerbomb with a backdrop that put Blue Demon through a table. A Wagner Driver then led to the deciding pinfall.
We’re doing a weekend poll for Money in the Bank, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected].
We’re looking for reports from tonight’s NXT show in Asbury Park, NJ to [email protected].
WWE MONEY IN THE BANK FROM THE XL CENTER IN HARTFORD, CT, ON SUNDAY AT 6 P.M. EASTERN ON THE WWE NETWORK
Seth Rollins vs. A.J. Styles for Universal title – On paper, this should be one of WWE’s best main events in a long time. You have two of the company’s best three main roster performers in their first meeting since about 15 years ago on the indie scene. The over-under is ****1/4. Rollins is at -530 to win, which are strong odds.
Kofi Kingston vs. Kevin Owens for WWE title – The over/under here is ***1/2. Logically it’s too early for Kingston to lose the title. Figures to be a good match.
Men’s Money in the Bank match: Randy Orton, Drew McIntyre, Ricochet Baron Corbin, Sami Zayn, Ali, Finn Balor and Andrade – On paper, this looks fantastic. The over/under on Kambi is **** and Drew McIntyre remains the betting favorite to win.
Women’s Money in the Bank match: Natalya, Dana Broke, Naomi, Nikki Cross, Bayley, Mandy Rose, Ember Moon and Carmella – The over/under is ***1/2 which is pretty high but we’ll see. Bayley has gotten money bet on her today and is now the favorite at +100, ahead of Mandy Rose at +250.
Becky Lynch vs. Lacey Evans for Raw women’s title – This is the biggest match on the show for a specific person, which is Evans. Either she sinks or swims in a high profile match. The over/under is **1/2 and Lynch is a -460 favorite to win the match.
Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair for Smackdown women’s title – The over/under is ***1/4, which sound low considering how great their Evolution match was. Flair has had late betting to make her the favorite by only slightly at -115. Lynch had been the favorite all week.
Roman Reigns vs. Elias – The over/under here is *** and Reigns it the heavy favorite to win. Shane could get involved here since there was talk of Reigns vs. Elias & Shane handicap matches.
Shane McMahon vs. The Miz cage match – Miz is favored based on the 50/50 rule. The over/under is **1/2. It will probably be either really good or really bad. I don’t see an in between. It just depends on stunts and how they get over.
Samoa Joe vs. Rey Mysterio U.S. title – This match on paper is great but it’s been treated as an afterthought. The over/under is only ***1/4.
Tony Nese vs. Ariya Daivari cruiserweight title – The over/under here is ***, which is much lower than the expectations when Buddy Murphy was the star of the division..
Daniel Bryan & Rowan vs. Usos non-title – The over/under is ***1/4, which seems way low given the talent involved, but preshow matches are usually hurt by lack of crowd caring and time constraints. Non-title means anyone can win and they could have them win a non-title to set up a title program.
Raw will be Monday night in Albany, NY.
Smackdown and 205 Live will be Tuesday night in Providence, RI. The only match announced is Lucha House Party vs. Singhs.
NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS WEDNESDAY AT 5:30 A.M. EASTERN AT TOKYO KORAKUEN HALL ON NEW JAPAN WORLD
With less than a month until the show, WWE has revealed the name and announced the first three matches for their return to Saudi Arabia.
The third show in WWE’s controversy-filled 10-year deal with the Saudi General Sports Authority will take place at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah on Friday, June 7. It will air live on the WWE Network and is titled “WWE Super ShowDown,” which is the same name the company used for their event in Melbourne, Australia last October.
A look at the new AEW television deal with TNT and other aspects of starting up is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Look at the detail of the two nights being considered and the arguments for each night, international television, streaming, why the price is what it is, and how long talks have been going on for the TNT deal.
Read a lengthy bio on Silver King, a breakdown of what happened in the ring when he passed away and what lessons can be learned by it. Look at the start of his career, and his going to All Japan as a teenager.
Read the updates on the next two WWE PPV shows.
Read a detailed article on Lars Sullivan, from his background, to his fine, to the questions asked, to what got him in trouble, why he was fined now, why he wasn’t before and a lot of the questions regarding all this.
Also look at changes to WWE Network, Vince McMahon talks the move to FOX, WWE gets award nominations, tons of new news on the XFL, what happens to Vince McMahon when the XFL starts, why Percy Watson left the company, and an update on the Mauro Ranallo’s situation.
Have a look at the legend of Tom Magee, the match with Bret Hart and the WWE documentary.
Read complete coverage of UFC 237 with match-by-match coverage and poll results.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
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SUNDAY NEWS UPDATE
Bryan and I have a show up right now talking about Ric Flair, Ashley Massaro, AEW’s situation with Pac and last night’s UFC show. We will be back tonight talking Money in the Bank and the rest of today’s news. You can send e-mail questions to tonight’s show to [email protected].
Ric Flair will be undergoing heart surgery tomorrow morning unless something changes.
A Young Bucks vs. Pentagon Jr. & Fenix rematch from Double or Nothing will be on AAA’s Verano de Escandalo show (their version of SummerSlam) on 6/16 from Merida. The AAA tag titles will be at stake in the match.
Bobby Fish was kicked in the head on Friday night in his NXT match in Philadelphia which is why he didn’t wrestle on last night’s show in Belair, MD.
There was a WWE talent meeting earlier today headed by Stephanie McMahon. It was mostly the same rah-rah type speech they do from time-to-time. The only thing notable is that they directly addressed AEW as their competition. They were pushing the WWE brand hard, the same social media and YouTube stats they always talk about with the idea of having 1 billion followers (adding every form of social media for every performer related to the company), and then said that they are having to compete with video games, movies, other streaming services as well as now AEW. In giving this speech, at no time have they ever mentioned a competing wrestling company.
Chris Brookes is not the mystery guy who will debut in New Japan on 6/5 at Sumo Hall and work against Juice Robinson. Brookes was instead announced today as coming to DDT and DDT even did a video as a complete spoof of the New Japan video for the Robinson opponent but listing it as Brookes starting with DDT on 6/15.
WWE
The NHL released the Stanley Cup finals schedule. Game one goes head-to-head with the 5/27 Raw and Game four goes against the 6/3 Raw. The NHL rarely hurts Raw like the NBA. The Warriors-Trail Blazers go head-to-head with Raw tomorrow, so they’re going to need a hell of a PPV bump or ratings will be really bad. Smackdown goes against the Bucks-Raptors and Smackdown usually isn’t helped as much by PPV. As noted, it’s likely an all hands on deck Raw tomorrow for that reason, to the point they canceled the Smackdown house show in Lowell for tomorrow.
PW Insider reported that Scarlett Bordeaux has asked for her release from her Impact contract.
Tessa Blanchard debuted last night for AAA.
Regarding weekend talk, the biggest thing was last night’s Deontay Wilder title defense on Showtime which was the second most searched for item on Google yesterday with 500,000, behind the Golden State Warriors at 2 million. Arnold Schwarzenegger taking that dropkick got 200,000 searches as did the FA Cup. Yesterday’s UFC show didn’t even have 50,000 to crack the top 20.
Melbourne Championship Wrestling from last night in Melbourne: Ritchie Taylor b Kane Khan for the Intercommonwealth title tournament, Lochy Hendricks b Fun Time Phil-DQ in another tournament match, Danny Psycho b DCT, Brat Pack b The Parea to keep the tag title, TD b Jett in the IC tournament, Steph DeLander b Avary, Slex & Seb Costello b Gino Gambino & Sebastian Walker. Tome & Stevie Filip returned after going to New Zealand for the Fale Dojo. (thanks to Kevin Chiat)
Top results from last night’s KSW show from Gdansk, Poland:
Erko Jun (3-0) b Akio Szostak (3-3) via KO in :36. Jun is a Polish celebrity heavyweight
Norman Parke (27-6-1) b Artur Sowinski (19-11) via straight 30-27 scores at 163 pounds
Damian Grabowski (22-5) b Karol Bedorf (15-5) via TKO in 3:56 of the second round in a heavyweight fight
Robero Soldic (16-3) b Krystian Kaszubowski (7-1) with KO in 1:25 to keep the welterweight title
Scott Askham (17-4) b Michal Materla (27-6) via TKO at 1:23 of the third round to win the vacant middleweight title
Travis Banks is working the 7/13 Southern Rumble show for SPW/MCW in Invercargill, New Zealand.
Trent Baretta was at last night’s UFC show in Rochester, NY.
Ed in San Antonio presents PODER~! at the FSW arena on Friday 5/24 – Showtime is at noon – Main event: Bryan Alvarez vs. Logan Stunt
Empire dinner on Friday 5/24 at 8:30 p.m. at Texas de Brazil – Price is $82 – All you can eat meat and salad, sodas, tea, and coffee, plus dessert included
Empire suite party on Friday 5/24 for those who were not able to get the Q&A package – Price is $25