ASISTENCIA ASESORÍA Y ADMINISTRACIÓN
TRIPLEMANIA XXVII
AUGUST 3, 2019
MÉXICO CITY, MÉXICO
ARENA CIUDAD DE MÉXICO

AAA’s biggest show of the year is here to bring us chaotic lucha libre action that will feature Blue Demon vs. Dr. Wagner Jr. in a Mask vs. Hair match, Kenny Omega’s first-time bout in Mexico City and a former UFC Heavyweight Champion making his pro wrestling debut alongside All Elite Wrestling’s Vice President and AAA’s ace, Psycho Clown. Also, Triplemania XXVII should be used to push international viewers to buy a ticket for AAA’s show in Madison Square Garden, a show that is having very low ticket sales.

But this is AAA and anything and everything can happen.

If you need a primer for this show and the latest on AAA, check out thecubsfan/luchablog’s preview.

PRE-SHOW: ASTROLUX, ARKÁNGEL DIVINO & DRAGON BANE DEF. AREZ, TOXIN & ARAMIS

This delivered everything promised on paper: six of the best indie luchadores in Mexico going absolutely nuts with dives in a tremendous showcase of agility. First few minutes were shaky, but after they got over the jitters, the match kicked off into a high-octane frenzy. Every 10 seconds there was someone diving, or doing a cool move from the top rope: the match was flowing like water. Astrolux owned, Dragon Bane was an absolute maniac, Arkangel’s huracarranas were top-notch, both Arez and Aramis looked like stars and my only nitpick was Toxin, who looked subpar compared to all other 5 guys, but still managed to do some impressive moves to keep the match going.

During the last minute, we saw Astrolux taking almost everyone out with an incredible step up Spanish Fly from the ropes to the outside. Dragon Bane and Arez were the only ones left standing. Dragon hit a standing Spanish Fly and a 630º Splash for the win. Fantastic stuff. I do not understand how these guys are yet to be signed by AAA, and I hope The Young Bucks were watching backstage to take advantage of their unsigned status. ****

AAA MIXED TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
LADY MARAVILLA & VILLANO III JR. DEF. BIG MAMI & NIÑO HAMBURGUESA ©, SAMMY GUEVARA & SCARLETT BORDEAUX, VANILLA & AUSTRALIAN SUICIDE

A very fun match with a pinch of AAA trademark storytelling. Sammy and Scarlett showed some cool tag team moves, but after the first few minutes, Sammy faded away, a shame because he was looking good. Villano got a huge pop for lifting and delivering a Samoan Drop to Niño Hamburguesa, just moments after botching a move with Lady Maravilla. Australian Suicide and Vanilla delivered some sweet dives and were very important to keep the energy of the match going.

But this was all about Niño Hamburguesa and Big Mami, who—as usual—were super over in the building and almost managed to blow the roof off it by doing some risky dives. The match finished with more development of one of AAA’s longest storyline this year: while Big Mami was destroying Villano III Jr. on a corner, Lady Maravilla fouled Niño Hamburguesa and rolled him up for the three count. This was in line with the feud because Niño is in love with Lady and has lost many matches due to his personal feelings; Maravilla has manipulated Hamburguesa all these months and finally delivered the death blow by hitting him in the nuts and stealing the Tag Titles from him. What a story.

After the loss, Big Mami took the microphone and expressed her anger at Maravilla for hurting Hamburguesa, and said she wanted a singles match with her. The match itself was very fun, with lots of dives and the crowd losing it’s mind to the magic provided by Hamburguesa and Mami. Also, I’m happy that Villano got a win in this big show because he’s lowkey having a great, underrated year in AAA. ***¾

Konnan came out and cut a fantastic promo where he insulted the bejeezus out of the Mexican crowd and compared himself to national icons like El Chavo del Ocho. Nobody interrupted and he returned to the back.

Tributes to Perro Aguayo and Silver King were shown. Silver King was inducted into the AAA Hall of Fame. I hope the tributes make their way to YouTube because they were absolutely fantastic.

AAA TRIOS CHAMPIONSHIP
LOS JINETES DEL AIRE (HIJO DEL VIKINGO, MYZTEZIZ JR. & GOLDEN MAGIC) DEF. LAS FRESAS SALVAJES (MAMBA, PIMPINELA ESCARLATA & MÁXIMO) AND EL PODER DEL NORTE (TITO SANTA, MOCHO COTA JR. & CARTA BRAVA JR.)

I’m just going to use some bullets to exemplify some of the action that was on display here:

  • Mamba countering Golden Magic’s springboard plancha with a dropkick
  • Myzteziz’ doing a Tornillo to a bunch of guys on the floor
  • Tito Santana tope suicida into a Sunset Powerbomb to Hijo del Viking on the floor
  • Poder del Norte doing a tope suicida into Canadian destroyer to put Máximo through a table
  • Triple sunset powerbomb + vertical suplex spot at the same time featuring all 9 competitors
  • Crazy Pinzas by Vikingo to take out Carta Brave on top of a Careta (see gif below)
  • Springboard Double Moonsault by Golden Magic to the outside of the ring

And that is just a sample of the craziness that was going on here. In the end, Hijo del Vikingo survived a backbreaker from Carta Brava Jr., then hit a DVD to the corner and got the pinfall after El Cuerno del Vikingo (Inverted 450º).

I’m starting to sound repetitive but yes, this was another fun, chaotic multi-man match with tons of insane, creative dives. It was an excellent decision giving the spotlight and the win to Vikingo, because he’s already over in every crowd in Mexico and it would be wise for AAA to push him to the main event soon. ****

PAGANO WON COPA TRIPLEMANIA

A Royal Rumble style match that for the first time ever, was very well booked.

Instead of the traditional clusterfu%k that this Cup delivers every year, AAA smartly put rivalries in it. We got Monster Clown and Aerostar continuing their hot feud by ripping each other masks and using chairs for destruction, also Aerostar literally entered the ring by diving off a custom platform in the ceiling; then, we got the huge surprise of Konnan entering the match… wearing a shirt with Donald Trump in the front and ‘Mexico is for Nacos’ in the back. Of course, some minutes later ‘Back in Black’ blasted off and Vampiro came out to a huge ovation. Vampiro and Konnan had a fun little brawl that ended with Vampiro eliminating his arch-nemesis; mercifully, La Parka was quickly eliminated by Chessman thanks to a distraction by Dave the Clown. The finish of the match saw Chessman and Pagano (another hot feud in AAA) battling in out for the Cup, this was totally over in the arena and it boosted the last minutes of the bout. Other luchadores in the match were Eclipse Vengador Jr., Daga, Drago, Superfly, Murder Clown, Puma King and Rey Escorpión.

This year’s Copa Triplemania used its time with effectiveness, built some rivalries, delivered a nice surprise in the form of the Vampiro/Konnan battle and was quite entertaining. Triplemania has been a home run so far. ***¾

Lights went out… and LA Park, Hijo de LA Park and LA Park Jr. appeared to beat Pagano and destroy his new, shiny trophy. While his sons were holding Pagano, LA Park took the mic and said the following:

“Don’t forget cabrón, that you started as a dog’s butt. I’m on the top and you stayed behind. If these people want an extreme Hair vs. Mask Apuestas match, we will give it to them.”

He then turned to Marisela Peña (AAA’s owner) and said: “I almost forgot, Señora: your headache is here.”

To say that this promo and LA Park’s appearance was a huge hit is an understatement. This was absolutely fantastic and helped set up a match that should be extremely entertaining and I’m sure could draw very well. Oh, and the social buzz was bonkers for Park: this man is a living, breathing ticket selling machine.

AAA REINA DE REINAS CHAMPIONSHIP – TLC MATCH
TESSA BLANCHARD DEF. TAYA, CHIK TORMENTA, LA HIEDRA, AYAKO HAMADA, LADY SHANI AND FABY APACHE

Due to an injury, Keyra was unable to defend the championship. She came out in a wheelchair to apologize to the crowd, but Tormenta attacked her. Before she could cause more damage, Ayako Hamada (!!!) made her comeback to AAA to save Keyra.

And as expected, we got a tremendous brawl with no room to breathe. We saw Taya using a grappler, Tessa hitting Taya with a Canadian Destroyer on a bunch of chairs and Chik Torment giving Shani a DVD into a table. That was the first half of the match. Then, Lady Shani gave Hiedra a DDT on a bunch of thumbtacks in the ramp. A couple of seconds later, Ayako Hamada did a moonsault from the top rope to Lady Shani on a table (unfortunately the table didn’t break). Then, Tessa knocked Chik Torment off the top rope, but Chik didn’t hit a ladder on the way down, painfully landing on the floor in a scary manner. Paramedics rushed to attend her while Tessa and Taya battled in the middle of the ring. Tessa got the better off Taya and climbed the ladder to become Reina de Reinas champion. ***½

CAIN VELASQUEZ, CODY & PSYCHO CLOWN DEF. BLACK TAURUS, KILLER KROSS & TEXANO JR.

The big draw of this match was, of course, Cain Velasquez’ debut as a professional wrestler. And the man delivered big time: Cain looked confident and quickly impressed the crowd with some nice tijeras, kicks and arm drags. He never looked out of place; of course, Black Taurus was right there to help him out, making him look great. Cain showed potential and in a matter of seconds awoke my interest to see more from him in the pro wrestling world.

Surprisingly, there was a nice Cody chant which warmed my heart (I was expecting zero reaction from the Mexican crowd) and the man gave us a solid wrestling showcase with Black Taurus, who looked fantastic every step of the way; this is huge for the big man, because we all know how important Cody is right now.

Texano did a good job playing a coward heel when needed, but also bumping around to make everyone look good. Killer Kross, who was the ‘surprise’ participant of this match, kept teasing a big fight with Cain, creating some important storytelling and playing his role perfectly to heat up the crowd. Oh, and Psycho Clown was excellent, pumping up the crowd from the ring, outside the ring and in the corner while waiting for the tag. One of my favorite spots of the night was Cain kicking someone’s face while Psycho was using a broomstick to destroy the other rudos. Not much can beat that awesomeness. For the finish, Cody took Taurus out with a tope suicida and Psycho crushed Killer Kross on a table with a plancha from the top rope, leaving the window open for Cain to make Texano tap out with a Kimura lock.

The reality is that the booking of this match was genius: AAA put Cain next to AEW’s vice president, assuring it would get international exposure. They also put him next to their ace Psycho Clown, which meant the crowd would always be invested, protecting Cain from a potential dead crowd embarrassment. And their opponents were Texano, a guy that is always solid hand for any type of storyline; Black Taurus, a superb worker can help you get anyone over and Killer Kross, the man that has been training with Cain, which I’m sure helped him feel more secure and comfortable throughout the match. And in the end, the booking worked perfectly: this was a showcase of five consummate professionals helping a debutant get over. And since that debutant is a former UFC Heavyweight Champion, we can say the match was a total success in terms of buzz, crowd investment and of course, business. ***¾

The Mercenarios (Rey Escorpión and Hiedra) tried attacking Cain Velásquez after the match but were quickly dispelled by Cody and Psycho. Killer Kross did angry faces and since he wasn’t pinned or submitted, it’s possible we can see a program with him and Cain.

PENTAGÓN JR., FÉNIX & LAREDO KID DEF. KENNY OMEGA & THE YOUNG BUCKS

After so much chaos, watching this match was a relief because it was worked at a much steadier pace, giving me a chance to catch my breath. However, for that same reason, it felt kind of flat. I cannot say this was bad, but I wanted it to end so bad. I was exhausted after so much AAA insanity and I was ready for the main event. It didn’t help that I never felt like Kenny and the Bucks had their working shoes on and that Luchador of the Year Contender, Laredo Kid was barely featured.

There were a couple of good spots like Kenny taking Fénix’ mask off and then trying to give him a One-Winged Angel only for Fénix to counter with a reverse rana while smoothly taking his mask from Kenny’s head. I also enjoyed the Mexican team doing a triple low blow followed by triple Canadian destroyers, but there wasn’t any new noteworthy stuff besides that.

To be honest, this felt like a well-worked afterthought: a good match out of place that should’ve been used to push Laredo Kid, but ended up being nothing just a footnote. ***¼

After the match, Kenny Omega challenged Fénix for the AAA Megachampionship. Fénix accepted but only if the bout happened in AAA and México. I can tell you, Mexican fans on social media were losing their minds at the prospect of watching a Kenny Omega singles match, and that kind of washed away the poor taste this 6-Man tag had left.


MASK VS. HAIR
BLUE DEMON JR. DEF. DR. WAGNER JR.

The entrance for this match was hilarious. Both men came out in separate rigs facing each other while Bon Jovi and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers blasted in the background. Then AAA showed a video package and now the luchadores made their way to the ring.

Then, the war started. Wagner was bleeding within minutes and shortly after, Blue Demon smashed a glass bottle on his head. Then – seemingly out of nowhere – Demon took a freaking hammer and started hitting Wagner over and over again, without remorse. But it wasn’t long until Demon was cut open too, and that’s when we knew it: this match was going to be unforgettable. Demon started LEAKING blood, and the contrast between the legendary blue colour of his attire mixed with red hot blood, was astonishing. This was a blood orgy. The visual of Blue Demon Jr. leaking blood while trying to submit a bloody Wagner with a Fujiwara armbar was absolutely incredible.

Unfortunately, this match was also featuring Hijo del Tirantes as the referee. And during the many times Demon had Wagner on a submission hold, he would suddenly pop up and start waving his arms creating confusion as to whether Wagner had tapped out or not; it wasn’t a submission, in reality, Tirantes was just being a clown trying to get himself over (as always). After much drama, Wagner recovered and hit the Wagner Driver two times, sending shocks throughout the arena… even I jumped out my seat thinking he had actually won the match, but my emotion ended as Tirantes botched a two count and almost destroyed the match in the process. Wagner hit a third Wagner Driver, but this time the son of Blue Demon Jr. stopped Tirantes. Then we got a couple of minutes of absolute nonsense where the family of both competitors entered the ring, distracting the referee. Blue Demon Jr. got up, took a big cinderblock and crashed it on Wagner’s head! That was it. Demon had triumphed.

Wagner vs. Demon was a spectacle. A crazy lucha brawl where blood flowed freely and violence ran rampant. It surpassed all expectations and delivered what a blow-off Apuestas match should be: hate… hate disguised as a wrestling match. ****¾

FINAL THOUGHTS

I have been praising AAA throughout the year as one of wrestling’s most consistently fun companies, and I’m happy to say that Triplemania XXVII was a home run. If you like their style, I’m certain this is high on you Show of the Year Contender list. It had a hot opener with young indie luchadores creating art, insane spotfests, excellent announcing by José Manuel Guillén and Hugo Savinovich, LA Park surprise appearance and superb promo, plunder matches, great booking (Vikingo winning and Copa Triplemania), and a perfect blood spectacle to cap off the show. Also, it created tons of social buzz thanks to gifs of the Wagner vs. Demon match, Cain Velasquez’ solid debut and the Kenny Omega AAA Megachampionship challenge, which generated much joy in mexican fans. Oh, and I didn’t see a single negative comment about the show on Twitter, something that nowadays is very hard to achieve.

Between writing this review, chatting with friends in two languages and the social media tornado of positivity and banter, I had an absolute blast watching Triplemania XXVII, and to be honest there hasn’t been many things in wrestling that have managed to produce so much happiness in my soul in such a warm way. Triplemania was an experience where a bunch of people from many countries appreciated and celebrated 4 hours of wonderful, fun, unequalled lucha chaos.