Los Perros del Mal’s AAA Revival Could Have Ended After One Appearance

Los Perros del Mal’s return came with a lot more riding on it than fans realized. Karmen Petrovic says the revived faction essentially had one shot to prove itself—and if the Mexican crowd didn’t buy it, the whole thing could have been “one and done.”

Speaking on the Battleground Podcast, Petrovic opened up about the pressure surrounding AAA bringing back a name carrying more than two decades of history. When the idea was first presented, she wasn’t immediately excited. She was nervous.

“It’s something that’s so indescribable. When the idea came across the table that this was going to happen again, at first I was so nervous because, of course, something that has such a legacy and carries so much weight. I was kind of nervous cuz I was like, I don’t know if, like, we’d be able to uphold this, like, standard for everything that they’ve created before us.”

And there apparently wasn’t any guarantee they would get months of television to figure it out. According to Petrovic, the plan was to run with the new Los Perros del Mal, put it in front of the audience and see what happened. If fans didn’t respond, that could’ve been it. That put everything on their debut.

“But it was kind of like, ‘Hey, listen, we’re gonna, like, run with it and let’s see how the crowd reacts to it.’ So it was kind of like a one and done if it didn’t work. So that’s, like, everything that was on the line. So being able to just be 110% in this idea of, like, okay, we have to give everything we can because of the weight that it carries and the legacy that, like, has been built already. It felt like immense pressure, but when it happened and when we debuted and when we walked out that day and the Mexican crowd accepted us and with everything that’s happening online right now as well, we had the most social views across WWE and AAA platforms.”

The gamble apparently paid off in a big way. Petrovic claimed footage surrounding the group exploded across WWE and AAA’s social platforms almost immediately.

“Within, like, 12 hours it hit, like, 15 million views. So, it was definitely well welcomed and I hope that we can just carry the legacy to the best of our ability and just create—keep creating, um, this amazing faction and keep bringing eyes in to not only Triple A but WWE as well.”

Los Perros del Mal returned on the June 20 edition of AAA on FOX, when Daga, Angel Garza, Humberto Carrillo, Bronco Nima and Petrovic attacked El Grande Americano before revealing the legendary faction name.

There was plenty of history built into the lineup. Daga was part of the original Los Perros del Mal, while Angel and Berto are nephews of Hector Garza, one of the defining members of the original faction.

We had previously reported that the revival had been on a list of major planned angles for roughly a year and believed Jeremy Borash originated the idea. AAA also received the blessing of Perro Aguayo Jr.’s family before bringing the name back.

But having the history behind them didn’t guarantee the new version a future. Petrovic and the rest of Los Perros del Mal walked out carrying one of lucha libre’s most recognizable faction names knowing the audience could decide whether they ever got to do it again. Instead, they got the reaction they needed—and what could have been a one-night experiment suddenly had somewhere to go.

Did the new Los Perros del Mal do enough with their debut to earn the right to carry on the faction’s legacy, or does the original group set a standard that’s simply impossible to match? Let us know what you think in the comments.

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