TripleMania XX preview

AAA’s will celebrate twenty years of TripleMania today in Arena Ciudad de Mexico. The show does not have the excitement level of previous years, but AAA has strongly built up it’s top matches.

Again, this show will not be airing anywhere. The last few TripleManias have been on PPV in Mexico, but AAA made the decision to keep this year’s show off. It seemed motivated by running a new and larger arena than in years past (22,000 instead of 16,000), but it’s actually never been clear how many people were actually ordering the PPV in Mexico. Mexico does not have widespead PPV adoption, and AAA can’t have been making much money on them if they’re skipping it. AAA’s said the show will be airing in the normal taping order, which would mean starting on TV on 08/19, but they’re also scheduling enough other TV tapings that they could skip it.

Tickets are not sold out, but seem to be moving okay. The expected last day walkup should push them over the 75% capacity mark CMLL did Friday. According to the SuperBoletos ticket website, all of the middle price tickets are gone, and all that’s left is are the cheap upper level tickets (which should move fast today) and the very expensive ringside tickets (which may not.)

1) Fabi Apache, Fenix, Octagoncito, Pimpinela Escarlata vs Dark Dragon, Mini Charly Manson, Sexy Star, Yuriko

Standard relevos AAA opener, as seen on a major show. It’s a good match to warm the crowd up with a mix of comedy and wrestling. Fenix beating Dark Dragon to expose them to a bigger crowd is my guess, but it’s the last important (and most random) outcome of the show.

2) Octagón, Semental, Texano, Toscano vs La Parka, Monster Clown, Murder Clown, Psycho Clown

A bundle of the visible Consejo vs Psycho Circus feud and the invisible Octagon vs Parka feud. The rudos are technically supposed to get along based on Joaquin Roldan’s ruling that all rudos have to get along (or else), but maybe what was enforced for Semental and Gran Apache won’t be enforced as much on TripleMania. El Consejo have expressed their great displeasure at teaming with an Octagon (a great traitor to el Consejo!) and it seems likely this match will end up with rudo in-fighting. I’m picking a tecnico win.

The bigger question is if this will prompt Octagon to return back to the tecnico side just as Parka did after similarly not getting any traction as a rudo. Octagon works as a tecnico on spot shows, because that’s still how the fans identify him. On the other hand, AAA doesn’t use him on TV much any way, so maybe there’s no sense in doing angles with him if they won’t be following up on them.

3) Chessman & Juventud Guerrera vs Extreme Tiger & Halloween and Joe Lider & Psicosis and Jack Evans & Teddy Hart [relevos suicidas, cage]

This is a cage match. I’m like 80% sure this is a cage match. They haven’t made it clear in the lead up, and the story they’re telling makes no sense for a cage match, but they keep using the word “jaula” in the build up, so there you go. It’s a cage match because there’s always a cage match on TripleMania (because they paid for a cage?) It’s a match that would be better served in storyline and match quality aspects without a cage, except for those who love people doing spots off the top of the cage. Every single guy in this crew has been willing to do such in the past, and that’s what kind of match this will be.

The rules are the final team left will meet in a hair vs hair (or hair vs mask) match. This needs a bit more explanation in a cage match, because it implies the teams will be together at all times. That would make sense if it’s still pinfall elimination and not escape the cage rules, but there’s no telling if those which are the actual rules.

My hunch for months has been Halloween will take the loss as a reward for staying with AAA (and Perros del Mal). Lider and Psicosis and Teddy and Jack figure to be dragged out longer, as AAA likes to do. There’s a lot of sentiment that Teddy will be the one taking the loss as punishment, but since he’d still be getting the payoff for losing his hair and doesn’t have much to lose, it does not seem like a real punishment.

AAA Hall of Fame

AAA originally announced three wrestlers would be going into their Hall of Fame on this show. They haven’t said much about it lately. If it’s still happening, it’s probably while they’re putting up or taking down the cage. Cien Caras, Mascara Ano 2000, and Universo 2000 would fit the bill, would play in to the mask match, and were very important to AAA in their early days. If they couldn’t get the three, AAA may have just drop this idea.

4) Electroshock & LA Park vs Jeff Jarrett & Kurt Angle [seconds hair]
Park & Electro represent Joaquin. Jarrett and partner represent Dorian.

Abyss, for no particular reason I can figure except someone put him on the poster months ago, is also in Mexico with the Jarretts.

AAA’s directed it’s focus on the top three matches. This is the one with the finish most in doubt. The rudos humiliated LA Park the last time we saw him, and evil boss Dorian getting his head shaved is something they can replayed in every TripleMania history package for the next twenty years. However, AAA downplayed the LA Park attack on TV and says they’re doing more with TNA down the road. It makes no sense for Jarrett or LA Park to lose here if that’s not over, so either Joaquin looks like a fool for choosing Electroshock on his team or AAA paid Kurt Angle a lot of money to come to Mexico and lose. AAA couldn’t pay Sting enough money to have him lose, and AAA loves to keep it’s rudos as strong as possible. I keep going back and forth on this, but at this very moment, I believe the rudos win and Joaquin gets shaved. I may change my mind before the end of the next paragraph.

The match quality is another question mark. This will be the first time the Americans have worked with Electroshock, who the Mexicans sometimes find difficult. The Jarrett’s have been focused on inciting the crowd, which makes for loud live reactions but very tedious matches on television. Kurt Angle has been good in TNA of late, but house show reports often mention how he takes it easy so he’ll have enough left for TNA’s TV. The hope is Angle will see TripleMania as something equally important, but there’s no guarantee  of that. (Especially if he’s going to lose.) This could go a lot of different ways.

Dorian Roldan and Vampiro have been going back and forth on Twitter about Vampiro appearing on TripleMania. Vampiro attacking Chessman would make the most sense normally, since that’s the match they’re setting up, but the cage bit makes that tough (and Chessman doesn’t seem a logical loser – though it sure would explain why he was added to that match.) There’s no cage stopping Vampiro from interfering in this match, or showing up afterwards to make sure Dorian doesn’t leave without getting his hair cut.

5) El Mesías vs el Hijo del Perro Aguayo [AAA HEAVY]

Perro Aguayo returned to AAA two years ago on this show. The debut might have been his best moment in AAA so far; there’s been a lot of wasted chances and down moments in the meantime. Perro burned off a lot of good will, but has been much more reliable this year. This could be Perro’s new greatest moment. Mesias has had great matches at TripleMania with everyone who’s shown up to work, Perro just needs to hold up his part of the deal. I expect Aguayo to win the title.

There should be the usual Perros del Mal interference. Cibernetico and Hector Garza are expected to be in their allies corners. The Perros have been strongly hinting at some surprise, and playing word games to imply the Traumas will be debuting in AAA here. It is probably just a game; Traumas are booked in Monterrey at a 4pm show today (and they’ve promised they’ll be there), there’s no way they could be in Mexico City unless they no-showed. Zumbi hinted on Twitter that he’d be showing up TripleMania, but it read like he was just making a joke.

6) Dr. Wagner Jr. vs Máscara Año 2000 Jr. [mask]

Wagner’s winning! Going out on a limb there, I know. This isn’t really about that, or the bottle that’ll be used in the end. This is even about Wagner, who will win one more big match and add one more big show to his resume. This is really about Mascara Ano 2000 Jr. biggest and last chance to make it. Mascara is not going to vanish tomorrow if he has another disappointing outing, but he will never be in a position like this again in his career (even if things go well!) You can change everyone’s impressions with one great match at one great time. This is the time, this is Wagner at TripleMania. If Mascara has anything at all, it’s got to be here.

Just like the last few matches, and maybe numbingly so, this match also figures to have a lot of interference. Any Dinamitas who wants to show up and help out will be there, as probably will be a lot of Wagner family members. There still might be room for an exciting match in between everything else.

TripleMania starts at 6:30 pm Central Time according to the tickets, though AAA typically starts TV tapings late. I’ll be covering it as best as possible based on Twitter and blog posts. Live coverage will start around 5pm with the CMLL show in Arena Mexico. There will be a chat on the site, though I still need to figure out exactly how I’m pulling that off. Tune in and find out!