NWA The World Is A Vampire: Mexico: Part 1 Review - May 13, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Komander and Octagon Jr. def. Cyon and Homicide

I'm not sure exactly when this was filmed, but it may have been before Komander signed with AEW. Nonetheless, he's had a handful of entertaining matches so far in AEW and thus I was happy to see him here. I normally couldn't care less about anything involving Cyon, but he's at least competent and he held his own in this outing. The other three guys were largely why this was fun.

AAA La Leyenda Azul Blue Demon Champion Arez and La Hiedra def. Aron Stevens and Natalia Markova

I'm familiar with Arez from the appearances he's made in MLW in the past. Obviously, he's a hell of an athlete. I believe this marked the first match we've seen Stevens have since he "retired" from the ring a number of months ago and moved into a managerial role, so it was weird that he wrestled here without explanation. The match itself was okay, tough I could have done without some of the silly shenanigans and there were some messy moments.

NWA Junior Heavyweight Champion Kerry Morton def. Jack Cartwheel and Sal The Pal in a Three-Way Match

Cartwheel had a few matches on AEW programming not too long ago. I'm not the biggest fan of his shtick, but he's undoubtedly impressive. He meshed really well with Morton and Sal here in what was an enjoyable three-way match. It was also refreshing to see Sal work for a change and not do character stuff the entire time. Moron continues to come in his own as champ and excel in the role.

Psycho Clown def. Trevor Murdoch in a No Disqualification Match

Much like Arez, I've also seen Psycho Clown work in MLW. He's known for the hardcore matches, so I wasn't really surprised by what we got here. It was basically a brawl with weapons, but at least they made the most of the stipulation. Murdoch has been doing a whole lot of nothing lately, so it was nice to see him in a somewhat important match for a change, even if he came out on the losing end.

Overall Show

This was Part 1 of a two-part series that was filmed at Smashing Pumpkins' recent festival in Mexico. I really liked the theme of AAA vs. NWA, though AAA winning three of the four matches doesn't send the strongest message about the NWA's current roster. I don't think it's a stretch to say that show featured the best bell-to-bell action we've seen on any NWA program in a long time, specifically the opener and the three-way. I realize that's not a very high bar, but this was far better than your average edition of NWA USA (which would have aired in place of this). The hype for Crockett Cup in between confirming all the teams set to compete was also well done.

SEE MORE: NWA Reviews, The World Is A Vampire Reviews