Prepare your breakfast or brunch for an early serving of lucha libre. WWE AAA Ola de Calor is the first half of a doubleheader with NXT Heat Wave to counterprogram AEW All In. Since the AEW PPV emanates from London, that means a start time at 12 pm ET for AAA from Edinburg, Texas.
The AAA card came together nicely for a hot trios story as Penta’s family battles Los Perros del Mal. At least one new champion will be crowned as the vacant Latin American title is up for grabs in a four-way. There is potential
for surprise with a gauntlet match to determine the #1 contender for the Reina de Reinas Championship. And even more is scheduled for the event, including the contract signing between Dominik Mysterio and El Grande Americano for the Mega Championship bout at Triplemania 34.
AAA Ola de Calor airs on the WWE YouTube channel for most of the world.
Let’s break down the show with predictions. Booyaka! Booyaka!
AAA OLA DE CALOR PREDICTIONS
Penta, Fenix, & Dragon Lee vs. Los Perros del Mal (Daga, Angel, & Berto)
Josh Jagler: With TripleMania right around the corner, Los Perros really need a win here to set them up for something of substance in a couple of weeks. With Penta and Fenix squaring off on Raw on Monday, my bet is they try to keep their shoulders off the mat, which means Dragon Lee takes the pin here. Pick: Los Perros del Mal
Sean Rueter: I wouldn’t feel great about having any of the faces eat a pin, but I’d feel okay with any of the heels doing so. Perros will end up standing tall, but via their heinous post-match actions. Pick: Penta, Fenix, & Dragon Lee
Kyle Decker: I should note that I don’t watch AAA. But after I did predictions for TNA which I also don’t watch and got a mean 40% accuracy rate, they just had to have me back to do these AAA ones. This one feels like with my WWE knowledge, I will guess that the person who is going to soon challenge Roman Reigns (whether it’s Fenix or Penta – and it’ll be Penta) isn’t going to lose here. Pick: Penta, Fenix, & Dragon Lee
Manolo H. Pizzazz: Los Perros need to save face after they jumped out Bronco Nima to woo Penta, then Penta dumped them anyway. If AAA wants to present Los Perros as stars, then they have to rack up important wins in this early phase of their redevelopment. Also to keep in mind, the Mega Champ, presumably El Grande Americano at Triplemania, will need challengers that feel serious. Undercutting Los Perros in this match is shortsighted for the future. Pick: Los Perros del Mal
AAA Latin American Championship: La Parka vs. El Fiscal vs. El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. vs. Damian Priest for vacant title
Josh Jagler: Damian Priest winning is a pretty logical way for his partnership with Truth to end amicably, but I’m not sure throwing the title on him in his first AAA match is the way to go. Wagner held the title recently, and I’m not sure they’d go right back to him. Down to El Fiscal and La Parka, I lean towards the guy who has recently made appearances on multiple other WWE shows. Pick: La Parka
Sean Rueter: I wish I liked Dr. Wagner’s grandson more, because I really liked Jr. I think WWE thought a lot of us would like him more. Might be worth another shot. Pick: El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr.
Kyle Decker: So we have a running joke in the offices that I wish El Fiscal was called that because he was fiscally responsible (I know it means the Prosecutor.) And one of the scenarios is he’s insistent on taking public transportation to the arena to save money but he misses the match because it’s running late. So that takes him out of the equation. I don’t see Priest winning. I’m going with a classic. Pick: La Parka
Manolo H. Pizzazz: Picking a men’s WWE star to win a AAA title is often a safe bet. Pick: Damian Priest
AAA World Tag Team Championship: War Raiders (c) vs. Los Americanos
Josh Jagler: Rayo and Bravo have been a pretty big part of El Grande’s rise, and it’s about time for them to pick up some gold for their efforts. This would allow the War Raiders to be more involved on SmackDown and also set up a TripleMania moment with all three Americanos holding AAA gold. Pick: Rayo & Bravo Americano
Sean Rueter: x Pick: x
Kyle Decker: Don’t they still need to do a tag title match between the Raiders and Priest/Truth on SmackDown? Pick: The War Raiders (said in Chris Berman voice)
Manolo H. Pizzazz: The War Raiders no tienen cultura. Bésame culo. Sí, Los Americanos tienen cultura. Bésame mucho. Pick: Los Americanos
Gauntlet match for #1 contender to AAA Reina de Reinas Championship (Held by Flammer)
Josh Jagler: La Catalina feels like the obvious and most likely winner here, unless a certain somebody with a previous affinity for hugging makes a surprise AAA return and wins it. Pick: La Catalina
Sean Rueter: How many women are left in AAA after Lola Vice’s move to the main U.S. roster? Didn’t Lady Shani just come back? That’s the ticket Pick: x
Kyle Decker: Ah shoot – I don’t even known who could possibly be in this. And the WWE dot com roster page for AAA isn’t much help. I’ll go with the person who I know is in the women’s division. Pick: Flammer
Manolo H. Pizzazz: It’s only a matter of time before La Catalina wins the Reina de Reinas title. Odds are sooner than later, such as at Triplemania. Pick: La Catalina
Mini Vikingo vs. Nathan Frazer vs. Jack Cartwheel for #1 contender to AAA World Cruiserweight Championship (held by Rey Fenix)
Josh Jagler: This match has the potential to steal the show, but the choice that makes the most sense to face Fenix next has to be Vikingo. Not sure where they go with his recent run-in with Dorian Roldan, but I bet that his earning a title shot is part of it. Pick: Mini Vikingo
Sean Rueter: With El Hijo del Vikingo out injured (again), they’re been reenacting his angle with Dorian Roldan and Mini Vikingo. That means not only is MV the only AAA regular in this match, he’s also got a storyline going. He’s winning. Pick: Mini Vikingo
Kyle Decker: Jack Cartwheel is an incredible name. I hope he’s mainly a mat technician. Pick: Jack Cartwheel
Manolo H. Pizzazz: Cartwheel hasn’t had a shot at Fenix yet, and I want to see him rewarded for his work in AAA. Pick: Jack Cartwheel
El Carnicero in-ring debut
Josh Jagler: Very rarely does it make sense for a debuting star to lose their first match, especially when they’ve presented as a powerhouse like this guy has been. There’s really no reason for him to lose. Pick: El Carnicero
Sean Rueter: PLOT TWIST! El Carnicero is actually Giovanni Vinci! Pick: Apollo Crews
Kyle Decker: Is this a squash match? Did they name an opponent? Upon Googling, Carnicero is also the name of a Steak House in Miami. As an FYI. Pick: El Carnicero
Manolo H. Pizzazz: Not much mystery on this pick. The debuting monster will win. The bigger question is if El Carcinero will be impressive for a ‘rookie’ in the ring. Pick: El Carnicero
Will there be violence at the contract signing? AAA Mega Champion Dominik Mysterio vs. El Grande Americano at Triplemania 34
Josh Jagler: I’m thinking the way this goes down is that the recently suspended Omos comes out wearing a mask as El Gigante Americano and attacks El Grande. Pick: Of course there will be violence!
Sean Rueter: I’ll do you one better: why is… wait, that doesn’t work here, unless we want to get philosophical about why violence is popular. Pick: Did the Cueto family love underground fighting?
Kyle Decker: Law of averages means eventually there will be a contract signing that is peaceful and respectful. Any time now. Pick: No violence
Manolo H. Pizzazz: Violence at contract signings are one of the simple pleasures in watching professional wrestling. Pick: El Grande Americano will make Dirty Dom squeal.
Those are our picks for AAA Ola de Calor. Share your predictions in the comments.
