MLW Azteca Review - January 20, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

MLW World Tag Team Champions 5150 (Slice Boogie and Danny Limelight) def. Aerostar and Drago

This was set up when Aerostar and Drago went after 5150 last week. There was no chance they'd win as 5150 heed into a rivalry with The Von Erichs, but I thought they had a nice showing. Aerostar and Drago are both really good and a blast to watch, which is why I wish they had gotten a bit more offense here. All in all, it was an enjoyable opener and 5150 keep rolling with wins. I'm looking forward to their upcoming clash with The Von Erichs.

Proximo def. The Crash Junior Champion Toto (Non-Title)

Toto came down to the ring with his Crash title, which is why I acknowledged him as a champion above (I believe that's the proper name for it) despite the belt not being on the line here. This was my first exposure to both men. It was a decent match that had some stalling and awkward moments. It was a fun little sprint on the whole, but I wish we had gotten more of an idea of who both guys were before they were put on the show for no reason.

Pagano def. Richard Holliday in a Barrio Brawl

This was a cinematic match, something I didn't think we'd see again now that crowds have returned for all of the promotions. Honestly, I don't know if this was helped or hurt by the approach they took with it. It was a pretty brutal brawl, but it may have gone on longer than it should have. The shoddy editing didn't help, either. Pagano winning was what needed to happen considering he betrayed Alexander Hammerstone two weeks ago and beat Savio Vega in last week's main event to keep his momentum going.

Mads Krugger def. Bestia 666 in a Tijuana Street Fight

We've been seeing vignettes for weeks promoting Bestia 666's MLW arrival, though I was already familiar with him through his work in the NWA (where he's currently one-half of the NWA World Tag Team champions). He was impressive, even though he didn't mesh all that well with Krugger. I haven't seen a ton of Krugger in my few months of watching MLW, but it's clear they're trying to protect him and keep him unbeaten. It was obviously the right outcome, but the match itself didn't do a ton for me. I was bored by most of it and the stipulation made it more of a mess than anything, even though the effort was apparent.

Overall Show

We were in yet a different venue for this week's show, though it may have been the same one from two weeks ago. Either way, I question doing two hardcore matches on one episode. I realize one of them was cinematic, but there has been a lot of hardcore wrestling on this Azteca series. It hasn't been my cup of tea, personally, but these shows have featured some solid stuff, including the in-depth look at Jacob Fatu on this edition. We also got a vignette with an hourglass in it, making me think that we're getting the MLW return of Killer Kross very soon. That's worth getting excited about. Next week, we'll get El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Aramis for the AAA Mega Championship and Alexander Hammerstone vs. Octagon Jr. for the MLW World Heavyweight Championship.

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