There was a lot of talk about Worlds Collide, because it was competing in Chicago against AEW All Out. When WWE finally aired the show, it was then competing against AEW Dynamite. Beyond that aspect, Worlds Collide was a really fun show with talent from WWE, NXT, and AAA. It deserves to be talked about on its own merits beyond the ‘wrestling war’ in counterprogramming.
The marquee attraction was CM Punk wrestling in a mask in his hometown. Worlds Collide also featured Oba Femi stepping to Omos, the
Lucha Brothers’ tag team reunion, Roxanne Perez challenging for the AAA women’s title, and much more.
Let’s run through the results with a recap of the action.
CM Punk, Rey Mysterio, & El Grande Americano defeated Dominik Mysterio, JD McDonagh, & Omos. Rey and Grande received rowdy reactions entering for the main event, then the roof blew when Punk arrived to, “This Fire Burns.” Punk wore the Straight Edge Society mask, then it was removed to reveal a special lucha libre SES mask.
The six-man tag bout took a little bit of time to truly heat up. Once the action started rocking, the rocking didn’t stop. The story of strategy was how to neutralize the giant Omos. The answer was to hit him in the nuts. When Omos tried to step over the ropes to step to Punk, Rey and Grande anchored Omos’ feet as Punk repeatedly kicked the ropes into the Nigerian jewels.
That kept Omos down for only so long. The giant was in a grumpier mood. The heroes united for triple-team offense to knock Omos out of the ring. A suicide dive from Punk was the blow to keep Omos out of the finish. Rey connected on a double 619 to Dom and JD. Grande smashed a diving headbutt on the Dirty one. Punk finished JD with the GTS to win.
The action wasn’t over. After the villains attacked, Oba Femi strut to the ring to confront Omos. The giant shoved the Ruler, so Oba clotheslined Omos out of the ring.
The whole main event scene was a blast. The vibe stayed true to AAA storylines. Dirty Dom tried to get the upper hand on his father, but Rey showed him up in the end. Grande and Dominik engaged enough to keep the rivalry simmering over the AAA Mega Championship. Omos was feared as a giant. The showdown with Oba was icing on the cake. I look forward to seeing the masked CM Punk ride again as a special attraction, even though, we may never know his true identity.
Lucha Brothers (Penta & Fenix) defeated Los Perros del Mal (Daga & Berto) via disqualification. Los Perros entered to their classic theme song, so that wasn’t just a one-off at Triplemania 34. The Perros had a much more formidable performance in the ring than at Ola de Calor. It helped to have Angel and Karmen Petrovic ringside for interference.
The Lucha Bros reunion lived up to the hype with cool moves, such as Fenix jumping off Penta’s shoulders for a splash. They rocked down the stretch. Fenix shocked Daga for a rolling cutter, then Penta stepped off the pinning pile for a Mexican Destroyer to Berto. Daga kicked out. As Fenix set up his finisher, that’s when the match was marred by disqualification. Angel and Karmen created distractions, and Daga hit a low blow on Fenix. The referee saw the illegal hit and called for the bell. It wasn’t about winning anymore at that point. Los Perros wanted to make a statement of pain. Too bad the Lucha Bros rallied to stand tall in the end.
The DQ result was the right call to book here. Los Perros can’t be losing clean again so soon after winning thetrios titles. The cheap shot feeds fuel to the rivalry to continue in AAA. After the Ola de Calor match, I lost interest in this rivalry, because it was too lopsided in favor of the Lucha Bros at that point. Los Perros redeemed themselves at Worlds Collide to fight tough. The cheating finish leaves me wanting more. It would have been better if Los Perros stood tall, but I understand leaving the crowd happy so they can cheer for Penta and Fenix.
AAA Reina de Reinas Championship: La Catalina (c) defeated Roxanne Perez to retain the title. Catalina overcame Roxanne’s tactics of cheating often. The champ escaped Pop Rox to counter for a bridging back slide to win. Roxanne attacked after the match. (Full details.)
That was a fun match for Catalina’s first title defense. She scored a spunky babyface victory that makes it easy to root for her. Without reliance on Judgment Day, Roxanne opened up her bag of tricks for maximum heeling. She demonstrated her potential to be a star. Catalina and Roxanne showed good chemistry as rivals, and I hope we see more of this in the future as a full-blown feud.
Mini Vikingo defeated Axiom, Je’Von Evans, and EK Prosper. Winner of the four-way receives a shot at the AAA World Cruiserweight Championship held by Fenix. Wild high-flying pace. The finish was bonkers. Evans leapfrogged over Axiom then bounced back for an OG cutter. Prosper landed a froggy moonsualt onto Evans. Prosper covered Axiom, and Vikingo crashed the pile with a shooting star press. With Evans and Prosper dazed, Vikingo made the most of the opening for a phoenix 630 senton on Axiom to win.
I was pulling for Evans, so we could see a crazy matchup against Fenix. The luchador winning makes sense to run the title match in AAA. It’s starting to feel like now or never for Vikingo to dethrone Fenix. He’s had his shots already. Another loss would leave me wanting to see fresh contenders rotate in to challenge Fenix. However, that loss could finally be the catalyst for Mini Vikingo to turn rudo and join Dorian Roldan. Of course, if Vikingo wins the title as a tecnico, then that heel idea is moot. Mini Vikingo as champ could be set up as a target for the return of Hijo del Vikingo from injury.
Fatal Influence defeated Las Toxicas. The advertised trios match was modified to a standard tag team match with Jacy Jayne and Maravilla on the outside. In terms of AAA storylines, the question was if there would be issues between Flammer and La Hiedra. They worked fine as a team until the end. Flammer was in control to connect on her dropkick finisher, but Hiedra made a blind tag when Flammer ran the ropes. The referee didn’t count Falmmer’s pinfall, because she wasn’t the legal wrestler. Once the confusion settled, Hiedra came into the ring to lift Lainey Reid for a driver. Reid countered for a roll-up to win. Tension brewed between Las Toxicas after the match.
The blind tag bit was awkward. Remember that in lucha libre outside WWE, tags are not necessary. Hiedra seemed just as confused as everyone else that she was the legal wrestler. It’s obvious that’s what the finish was supposed to be, so maybe Hiedra is playing stupid in character for plausible deniability to string along the story with Flammer.
Dragon Lee defeated Jack Cartwheel. The athleticism was amazing with so many flips. If you’re reading this without ever seeing Cartwheel wrestle, then it probably sounds cheesy to say he works cartwheels into his offense. But, it works with great excitement. This exchange is just clowning around, and it’s still cool.
Those flipping skills come in handy, such as when Cartwheel flipped out of a hurricanrana off the apron to land on his feet.
In the end, Dragon put his knees up to block the Black Arrow. Operation Dragon finished the job for Lee to earn victory.
If you are curious about WWE acknowledging PAC on this program, it happened here for the cruiserweight bout, which is a division that the man named Neville had thrive on 205 Live. Cory Graves said kind words about his former tag team champion partner.
La Parka, Mr. Iguana, Mascarita Sagrada, & Adelicious defeated Vanity Project (Brad Baylor, Ricky Smokes, Myka Lockwood) & Mini Abismo Negro. Lockwood had the move of the match with a standing backflip slam.
In the end, the luchadores went wild with dives outside. Mascarita rallied on Abismo for a spinning headscissors roll-up. It was like La Mistica from Mistico except with a pin instead of an armbar.
Thumbs all the way up for Worlds Collide. If this had been a live special from WWE and AAA without competing against AEW All Out, I think the show would have been the talk of the weekend. The action was entertaining, and the vibe was the type of fun AAA brings to the table.
If you’re looking to cherry-pick a few matches to watch, I’d say Dragon Lee versus Jack Cartwheel was the best wrestling. The main event with CM Punk was enjoyable as a spectacle. The grandeur was in full effect to elevate the energy even higher, and the second half of the match was exciting. The women’s title bout showcased two rising stars. The cruiserweight four-way was all gas and no breaks.
Share your thoughts about Worlds Collide Chicago. Which matches were your must-see? What were your favorite moments?
