more notes from the TripleMania press conference, beer sales banned at Arena Mexico for now

more TripleMania notes

AAA put up the TripleMania press conference on their YouTube. It was available to the world at one point, which may change by the time you see it. There were a few questions with good answers at the end.

• AAA has no idea how many tickets they’ll be able to sell; it’s going to change as the restrictions change.
• the women’s match is technically “Impact Champion” versus “AAA Champion”; if either Faby Apache or Deonna Purrazzo lose their titles before August, the idea is new champion will take their place.
• part of the point of the press conference was to talk about movie theatres showing TripleMania, so Dorian Roldan wasn’t going to undercut that by saying it would be on TV and/or the internet. He did give an answer that implied that’ll the show will be available in the same places it was in December (Space for all of it, Azteca for part of it, AAA’s social media.)
• None of the press asked about international availability; I’ve been betrayed by the Mexican press again.
• Roldan also didn’t commit to a number of matches on TripleMania but said most years have six or seven matches and expected this to be the same.

“6 or 7” isn’t much, but it fits an 8 pm start. They’re starting at 8 pm, they don’t want to go past midnight, that’s about as much as you can do. Roldan talked about working out deals for more international names and more announcements to come, but it’s not hard to figure out what it’s going to look like based on what’s left.

1. Psycho Clown versus Rey Escorpion, mask vs hair
2. Kenny Omega versus Andrade, AAA Mega Championship
3. Deonna Purrazzo versus Faby Apache, AAA vs Impact title
4. a Marvel Lucha Libre match (a lock)
5. a Copa TripleMania (a lock)
6. some multiman match with international wrestlers and Laredo Kid; maybe a ladder too if we’re unlucky
7. a swing match that may not even happen

The swing match could be the typical mixed-tag match, though AAA’s adding female Marvel Lucha Libre wrestlers at a high rate so maybe the extra women will be involved in that. It could be a spot fest along the lines of the Dragon Bane trios from 2019, though that seems more like a pre-show match. Maybe a Pagano-led hardcore match might mix in there. That’s pretty much it. There’s space for either trying to fit as many people everyone in the card or for additionally big matches, and AAA’s been clear which way they feel is better for their promotion.

This reality is why I hope AAA blows off every big match they can for Verano de Escandalo (which wasn’t officially announced at the press conference.) I want Vikingo/Laredo but maybe also run your bizarre Argenis/Myzteziz matches and the big matches in whatever other feuds have been hanging about. Treat it like the TripleMania for the people actually on the AAA roster for 12 months a year and give them the moments they won’t get in August. I’m not against what AAA is doing for TripleMania, but their current strategy will make their day-to-day roster less important over time and increase their reliance on once-a-year wrestlers who one day might not longer be available. Big matches on Verano de Escandalo aren’t going to fix the issue completely, but it’s better than the usual strategy of waiting for another day that’s never going to come.

The Psycho Clown/Rey Escorpion match has gotten some pushback from fans. Most people accept Psycho Clown as the guy who matters most to AAA fans, but some don’t see Rey Escorpion as a TripleMania main event guy or the rivalry at a TripleMania main event heat level. If Psycho/Escorpion was the destination all along, the booking of Rey de Reyes didn’t really set it up. La Empresa got the big angel at the end, but those three who showed up have no obvious role on TripleMania. Escorpion, meanwhile, didn’t appear on Rey de Reyes outside of the briefest run-in. Los Mercenarios won the trios titles the next week, though it was Texano and not Rey Escorpion who got the pin. I’m sure AAA will do more with Escorpion in the next few months, but they could’ve done a stronger build to this point or held off the Escorpion/Psycho announcement for a little longer.

CMLL 

CMLL (TUE) 05/18/2021 Arena Coliseo Guadalajara [Fuego en el Ring]
1) Destello, Destructor, Relámpago Azul b Cosmos, Micro, Temerario
2) Adrenalina, Estrella Oriental Jr., Minotauro b Bobby Black, Carlo Roggi, Mr. Apolo
3) Natuica, Sexy Sol, Stephaine Vaquer DQ Silueta, Soberbia, Valkiria
Silueta DQed for excessive violence
4) Forastero, Sansón, Zanodkan Jr. b Crixus, Flash Jr., Gallo
Zandokan Jr. replaced Cuatrero.
5) Explosivo, Fantástico, Star Black b Joker, Omega, Vaquero Jr. [OCCIDENTE TRIOS, final]

Star Black probably would’ve been around Mexico City CMLL more the last two years if not for injuries and a pandemic, so it’s not too big of a surprise to see his team win this tournament.

CMLL announced special rules for the fans upon their reopening. Most of it has been announced or is standard. Everyone’s got to win masks from the moment they get in the building, please don’t interact with people outside of your group or sit anywhere besides your assigned seats, that sort of thing. The two bits that stand out are everyone must be 10 years or older and there will be no beer sales. That’s likely a safety protocol imposed onto CMLL, though I’m not sure it is possible for many fans to watch a show at Arena Mexico without drinking. “No one under 10 allowed” might be something that would’ve been better said before selling tickets.

CMLL also seemed to quietly change Friday’s opener. Out goes Felino Jr. & Atlantis Jr, in comes Templario & Stuka Jr. Not sure anyone noticed until CMLL posted a standalone graphic for the match.

Today’s Informa has Blue Panther, Cachorro, Los Gemelos Diablos, Stuka Jr., Templario, and Sanely.

Arena Rey Bucanero has a CMLL heavy card on May 29th. There’s also a Bengala hanging near the back of the poster; Super Nova would make the most sense of the three.

Other Notes

Jimmy won Vanguardia’s new Extraordinaria championship on their anniversary show this past weekend. Full results here; the show will air Sunday on Mas Lucha’s channel.

IWRG’s Thursday lineup:

IWRG (THU) 05/20/2021 Arena Naucalpan
1) Lunatik Fly vs Baby Star
2) Miss Delicious & Sussi Love vs Diosa Atenea & Satania
3) Mexica & Relámpago vs Corsario Negro Jr. & Drako and Hijo Del Enfermero Jr. & King Charro
4) Baby Xtreme © vs Aster Boy [IWRG IC Light]
third defense (unless Lucha Time taped more defenses that haven’t aired)
5) Hijo del Fishman vs Hijo del Espectro vs Galeno del Mal

A DTU show on 05/29 in San Nicolas, Hidalgo is getting complaints about locals, who feel it’s breaking current COVID restrictions. I don’t think DTU’s officially announced this show, though the article includes a DTU poster. It looks like it may just be a private show.

An Arena Olimpico Laguna show on Thursday with Mistico & Dragon Rojo has been postponed; the Santos Laguna football club is playing Puebla in the semifinal on Thursday.

Arena Queretaro will re-open on 05/23, with Rey Cometa & Espiritu Negro on the card. It’ll be that building’s first show with fans since March 2020. They ran a donations-encouraged Christmas Day no fans show and got few donations. The 05/23 will not have physical tickets; all will be sold via Whatsapp due to safety protocols.

Federacion Wrestling has added Ricky Marvin and Hijo del Espectro to their Copa Federacion on their debut PPV show.

Gory Guerrero will be inducted into the El Paso Sports Hall of Fame on June 30th. That’s one where I would’ve thought he would already be in; a local radio host had been working to correct that for five years.

Puma King and DMT Azul had an hour discussion of La Empresa. DMT Azul also has a video up explaining his reasons for punching that fan.

Mas Luchas has a new epidose of En+carados.

Arkalis was interviewed on a YouTube show.

Box y Lucha made this week’s issue 3472 free.

LuchaWorld has the latest Lucha Report.