AAA held their first TripleMania XXVII press conference today. There will be three of them between now and August 22nd. All matches on this year’s TripleMania will have something on the line, be it a mask, a hair, a belt or a trophy. Three of those matches were announced today.
- A Heroe o Villano five-man match. This is a tournament featuring international and AAA stars. AEW & Impact were mentioned. (No MLW.) No names were announced; Dorian set they were still finishing deals with people. The teaser image they used includes silhouettes of Laredo Kid & Kenny Omega. It’s possible those were just place holders.
- A Pagano versus Chessman hair versus hair match. A point of emphasis was this was going to be like a Pagano match you see on the indies (lots of weapons) and a no rules match.
- The finals of a four-team tournament, where the losing team will be in a mask versus mask match.
- The four teams are Aerostar & Drago, Parka Negra & Dave the Clown, Octagon Jr. & Myzteziz and Pentagon Jr. & Fenix.
- The tournament matches will take place before TripleMania. The semifinal matches will take some in April or May. The losing teams advance to a final on 05/23 Verano de Escandalo show. The team which loses that match wrestles in a mask match at TripleMania.
That last one is the most intriguing. Pentagon Jr. & Fenix having a mask match at TripleMania would be amazing and likely one of the most memorable AAA matches of all time, but it has zero chance of happening. Octagon & Myzteziz just got their AAA gimmicks and have about the same zero chance of losing. Dave the Clown & Parka Negra are the two lowest important people in this match, but would AAA run a Dave the Clown versus Parka Negra mask match at TripleMania? They’d have to work very hard the next few months to get people to care about one. Fans would care about Drago & Aerostar more but that’d be a big career move for either. “Something changes” seems likes the slight favorite.
The part I didn’t grasp at first is everyone besides the final two are still going to do something else at TripleMania. Penta & Fenix aren’t going to be in the mask match, so they may (and probably will) have another TripleMania match to be announced.
Pagano versus Chessman is more of a toss up than it might seem at first glance. The rudo normally loses his hair in this situation, but Pagano has lost his hair before and been fine. Pagano also seems like he’s at the ceiling of what AAA is going to do with him. It’s pretty high, it’s a good place to be, but this does not appear to be a scenario where Pagano has to win because they’re going to make him co-face of the company with Psycho Clown. I’d guess Pagano is going to win but I don’t feel sure about it.
Heroe o Villano seems to generally be the subtitle of TripleMania XXVII. Not sure if that’s good or bad for Villano III Jr. Specifying five names (specifying a number at all) suggests AAA has in mind already who they have in that match but the deals with the international talent weren’t done in time. Putting Impact & AEW people in the same match may be politically difficult.
That’s three matches. There were eight last year. It can fill out quick
- A Reina de Reinas match seemed to be confirmed during the Q&A.
- The Mixed Tag title is the most likely other championship to be defended on the show, since it’s an easy way to include a lot of midcard people.
- Copa TripleMania is also likely for similar reasons.
- LA Park vs Rush or whatever else turns out to the main event
- that leaves room for just one more match if they’re sticking with eight. (They don’t have to stick with eight.)
Dorian Roldan was surprisingly non committal on how the show would air, only that it would be available for everyone to see. I’ve been taking it for certain it’d be the same Twitch/AztecaTV/Space combo as last year. Dorian mentioning international names and markets opens the possibility of an international PPV, though he never said that. It’d be a big challenge with NJPW & WWE NXT offering shows that same night. Maybe Impact’s Impact+ service could be an option, but that’s just spitballing. I’d prefer it be on Twitch and think it’s best for this year if it’s freely available.
Dorian also got “is Park vs Rush going to happen???” question and avoided giving a firm answer. You could read it as a saving a storyline twist or not getting them to agree to the match. These matches AAA’s announced have value but none seem the level of the recent big TripleMania singles matches; if Park/Rush isn’t happening, something else still needs to be added.
Tickets for TripleMania were meant to be on sale today. They’re not on SuperBoletos last time I checked.
In addition to TripleMania, TripleMania Regia was also formally announced. It’ll take place on October 10th, in the Monterrey baseball stadium. The idea is to do big matches there again. The 2019 TripleMania Regia was a clear success and it was just a matter of announcing a date for the second.
CMLL (TUE) 03/10/2020 Arena México [The Gladiatores]
1) Apocalipsis & Inquisidor b Bengala & Leono 
Rudos took 1/3.
2) Akuma, El Coyote, Espanto Jr. b Arkalis, Magnus, Robin
Rudos took 1/3.
3) Cancerbero, Okumura, Raziel b Drone, Pegasso, Stigma
Rudos took 1/3.
4) Blue Panther Jr. b Dark Magic [lightning]
8:30.
5) Shocker, Terrible, Vangellys b Kráneo, Star Jr., Volcano
Rudos took 1/3.
6) Ángel de Oro, Niebla Roja, Valiente b Ephesto, Gran Guerrero, Mephisto
straight falls, Valiente using the ropes to beat Gran Guerrero, setting up Valiente/Gran Guerrero next week.
Valiente & Gran Guerrero talk up their next match. Blue Panther Jr. celebrates his win, as do Raziel & Cancerbero. Espanto Jr. & Akuma invite Coyote to join Ola Negra; I think they need Grako too to make that work.
I’ve been trying to watch both Puebla and Tuesday Arena Mexico on Tuesdays, waiting until after the Tuesday show completes to start. That doesn’t quite work when the Tuesday show ends at 10:30. I made it a match and a half (and apparently missed a fall finish in the opener because my recap has it as straight falls.) It was not particularly exciting and doesn’t look like it got better.
CMLL (TUE) 03/10/2020 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [CMLL]
1) El Divino, Mr. Samuray, Sonic b Jabalí, Príncipe Odín Jr., Ráfaga
Divino’s return from injury. Tecnicos took 1/3.
2) Demonio Maya, Disturbio, Hijo del Signo b Fantástico, Magia Blanca, Oro Jr.
Rudos took 1/3.
3) Misterioso, Pólvora, Sagrado b Black Panther, Esfinge, Fuego
Rudos took 1/3
4) Cavernario, Euforia, Último Guerrero b Diamante Azul, Stuka Jr., Volador Jr.
Rudos took 1/3.
5) Carístico b Sansón
Caristico took 1/3 for the win.
A narrow variety of fall patterns on this show.
Felino told the press Cavernario can’t say Peste Negra is done because only the CMLL office can decide those things and he’s still in the group until the office says different. CMLL, as a promotion, does not appear to believe in free will. Free fight yes, free will no.
The head of the Mexico State boxing and lucha libre commission is Juan Jose Herrera. He’d like to update the rules for the state; they’ve been static for 15 years and he feels the wrestling regulations need to be updated. They have new rules, but they have no idea when they’ll actually be approved. This article goes into details about the legal reasons there, which aren’t as interesting but just mean this could last forever this way. The lucha libre aspect is the commission says extreme matches are banned, but there’s currently nothing on the actual rules that say it’s banned. The new rules would change that.
Zona 23 comes up, though not referred to by name. The story the commission says is they want to stop those shows. They’re extreme wrestling and they’re also an unlicensed show. The commission can get them for the last part. Except, the commissioner claims they haven’t done it because the Tultitlan has told the commission to leave those events alone. Zona 23’s next show is this Sunday.
A new Boxing and Lucha Libre commission was formed in La Paz, Baja California.
The Gladiatores write up on the Tr3s Caidas show mentioned Rey Horus was explained as off the show due to a recent injury. I think he’s OK for the ROH shows and this might have been taking a weekend off to be read for those.
03/28 RIOT (“Trusa”) in Monterrey’s Arena LLF
- Demonio del Aire vs Jack Evans
- Alex Zayne & Blake Christian vs Kratoz & Prometo
- Aramis vs Iron Kid
- Willy Banderas vs Facade
- Arez vs Erik Ortiz for the RIOT Championship
- Mr. Iguana vs King Rex – changed
Iguana goes from facing a nacro to a dinosaur. As I write this, RIOT says they have another change coming…
Flamita & Rey Horus were announced for the 04/19 NWA The Crocket Cup. This an eight-team tournament scheduled to be held in Atlanta. Four teams are left to be announced and there was a CMLL team (Guerrero Maya/Stuka) last year.
Toxin announced he’s starting Kriminal Lucha Libre in April.
Tiger and Audaz are announced for the 05/28 WrestleRex show in Pittsburgh.
LuchaWorld has the latest Lucha Update.
Lineups
IWRG (MON) 03/16/2020 Arena Naucalpan
1) Baby Star vs Voltrex
2) Legendario & Shadow Boy vs Neza Kid & Rey Halcón Jr.
3) Lady Cat & Perla Lagunera vs Diosa Quetzal & Lilith Dark
4) Baby Xtreme, Hijo del Alebrije, Metaleón vs Arkángel Divino, Lunatik Xtreme, Último Maldito
5) Black Warrior, Hijo De Payaso Pura Santa, Payaso Pura Santa, Payaso Pura Santa Jr. vs Black Terry, Chicanito, Death Metal, Puma de Oro
6) Diva Salvaje, Jessy Ventura, Pasion Kristal vs Herodes Jr., Hijo de Pirata Morgan, Shun Skywalker
Monday is a holiday in Mexico (Benito Juarez’s birthday observed), so Arena Naucalpan is one day off from usual and in the afternon. I assume it’ll still stream. Semi-main is a IWRG vs Welcome to Mi Barrio special.
The Crash (SAT) 03/28/2020 Auditorio de Tijuana, Tijuana, Baja California
1) Terror Azteca vs Próximo, Legacy King, Latino, Ángel Jr., Rencor
2) Adam Brooks & Chris Dickinson vs Steve Filip & Tome Filip
3) Black Danger, D Luxe, Gelus vs ?, ??, Oráculo
4) Dinámico © vs Iron Boy [The Crash JUNIOR]
3rd defense
5) Arandú, Tony Casanova, Zarco vs El Dragón (Chihuahua), Hijo Del Impostor Jr., Súper Nova
6) Dragón Lee (Indie), El Bandido, PCO vs Bestia 666, Damián 666, Mecha Wolf
7) Rayman & Rayo de Jalisco Jr. vs Hijo de Pirata Morgan & Pirata Morgan
This is the full card, with an added multiman opener. The last two matches being in that order surprises me.
Ultimo Guerrero and the Chavez Brothers were announced for this show and do not appear on it. That’s typically CMLL stopping them from appearing because they object to someone else (Dragon Lee?) on the card.