wrestling / TV Reports
Cook’s AAA TripleMania XXX Monterrey Review
Image Credit: AAA
Loading...Hey kids! Steve Cook here with you for the first installment of AAA’s TripleMania XXX. They’ve got three TripleManias this year since people get excited for that brand name. Makes sense, right? We’ve got a full card of stuff, so let’s get it started!
Cook’s AAA TripleMania XXX Monterrey Review
We get a neat video with classic TripleMania moments & tributes to those who have passed away over the years.
Joe Dombrowski & Larry Dallas are our English commentators, live from the Monterrey Baseball Stadium. Marisela Pena is shown at ringside with Antonio Pena’s urn.
Ruleta de la Muerte First Round Match: Ultimo Dragon vs. Pentagon Jr.: OK, so this is the beginning of a tournament where the losers advance, and the loser of the final at the third TripleMania event in Mexico City will unmask. We get videos recapping the careers of the wrestlers, and Dragon’s entrance theme is incredible. The announcers are drowned out by the videos early on, we’ll see if that continues all night. Penta is accompanied during his entrance by his kid, Fenix & Taya.
ZERO MIEDO! Dragon with the headstand headscissor, then a seated headscissors. Another headstand headscissor, then they exchange arm drags. Penta teases tearing Dragon’s mask. Dragon headscissors him outside, then teases an Asai moonsault. Penta blocks that and superkicks Dragon on the floor. Sends Dragon bouncing off the ringpost. Back in the ring, Penta hits an enziguri in the corner. Penta jumps off the top rope into a Dragon dropkick. Penta & Dragon exchange overhand chops, then Dragon goes to the kicks. Two count after Penta gets kicked down. Penta goes for the armbreaker, Dragon fights out of it. Penta reverses La Magistral for a two count. Penta sent outside onto the ramp, then Dragon hits a plancha. Penta places Dragon atop the turnbuckle, but Dragon hits the Panama Sunrise. Dragon hits the Asai DDT and gets the three count!
Winner: Ultimo Dragon (8 minutes via pinfall)
Match Rating: **1/2
These guys didn’t really get enough time to hit the next level, but what they got was decent. Dragon looked solid for his age. Pentagon will be in the semi-finals of the tournament at TripleMania Tijuana. Code of Honor is adhered to after the match. Dragon shows respect to Marisela, Antonio Pena gave him the Ultimo Dragon gimmick back in the day.
Sammy Guevara tells Tay Conti that he has a plan. They kiss.
AAA World Mixed Tag Team Championship Match: Arez & Chik Tormenta (c) vs. Latigo & Maravilla vs. Komander & Sexy Star II vs. Parka Negra & Tay Conti: Sammy has a crutch, but he’s still in good enough shape for some tonsil hockey. Parka Negra replaces Sammy in the match due to Sammy’s injuries. The wrestlers eventually pose for their pre-match picture with the belts.
Tormenta & Tay get into it early on. Forearms are exchanged, Tay gets the upperhand and hits a German suplex. Knee to the side of Tormenta’s head. Tay gets caught on a dive attempt and is rammed into the ringpost. Maravilla poses, then goes at it with Komander. Some kicks from Maravilla, a rollup then a dropkick to the back of Komander for two. Komander does some pretty flying, taking Maravilla out of the ring. Parka Negra comes in, hits a flying headbutt on Komander. Sexy comes in, evades some offense from Negra. Sexy with a headscissors into an arm drag. Arez & Latigo attack Sexy with some cookie sheers, as the Vipers-affiliated teams have decided to pool their resources against Sexy Star. Neckbreaker powerbomb combo, then double knees from Tormenta. Latigo’s relationship with his fellow Vipers comes to an end. Tay hits a Gotch style piledriver! This has completely broken down, as one expected it would. Parka Negra gets kicked around, then Komander hits a tornado DDT. Sexy with a running knee, Komander goes up top, walks the ropes and hits a shooting star for two. Maravila dropkicks Sexy off the ropes. Komander gets rolled up and suplexed out of his boots for two. Latigo kisses Maravilla, which apparently isn’t usually a thing. Komander headscissors Latigo to the floor, then goes up top, walks the ropes and hits a plancha onto Latigo. He’s holding his knee after, and we’re down to Tormenta & Sexy. Sexy dives onto her own partner on the floor. Tormenta with the tope Homicida! Negra stops Tay from diving, then does a Parka style dance. Asai Moonsault by Negra, then Tay comes off the top rope with a flip dive. Arez kicks Maravilla, then Spanish Flies her onto the folks on the floor. Arez & Tormenta come off the top and cover Tay & Negra, but Sammy breaks up the count! Sammy comes in and hits Tormenta & Arez with the crutch! It’s metal! Hijo del Tirantes seems to have no issue with any of this. Tay hits the Tay-KO, she & Sammy cover the Vipers to win the belts!
Winners: Tay Conti, Parka Negra and Sammy Guevara? (12 minutes via pinfall)
Match Rating: **
Not a surprising result, as AAA loves having US-based stars carrying their belts around on other wrestling shows. Match was a bit of a mess, but that was also expected.
Ruleta de la Muerte First Round Match: L.A. Park vs. Villano IV: How come the Villanos didn’t come out to the Pink Panther theme in WCW? There was some corporate synergy with them and Hanna-Barbera, I’m pretty sure. Park’s video is the first to have English commentary & graphics instead of Spanish. Villano waits in the aisle, something tells me this won’t be a technical classic.
Park has some difficulty removing his ring jacket, but gets it off and starts punching Villano in the aisle. DDT on the ramp by Villano, who takes it to Park early. They ender the ring, Villano with a shoulderblock and he rams Park’s head into the turnbuckle. Villano tears at Park’s eyehole, exposing a good bit of Park’s face. Villano uses a chair on Park on the floor, a couple of shots to the head. Another shot to Park’s head, and now they go through the crowd. They make their way back to the ring and Park has been busted open. Well, that’ll help cover his face. Villano strikes away at Park. Villano goes for a suplex, Park blocks it but gets headbutted down. Cover gets 2 for Villano. Park tries to fight back for a second, but Villano punches him down. Villano pulls Park up on these covers, which seems ill-advised. Villano accidentally punches the referee, and now Park is fighting back. Crowd is digging this as Park gets the chair and hits Villano on the skull. Villano gets clotheslined into the crowd and his mask ripped by Park. Another chair to the head of Villano. Park sets up a board to drive Villano through, and powerslams him through it! Back in the ring, a cover gets two. Villano hits a DDT and gets a two count. Villano gets a chair and hits Park in the leg with it. He hits Park in the knee and ankle with the chair. Villano fouls Park while the referee is turned around, but the cover only gets two! Park fouls Villano in response, and that gets a two count! They punch away at each other on the mat. Park gets another near-fall. Park gets crotched on the top turnbuckle, Villano hits a running senton for two. Villano with a rollup for two. Villano goes for the figure four, but Park rolls him up for three!
Winner: LA Park (19 minutes via pinfall)
Match Rating: ***1/2
This went much better than people were expecting. Thankfully they went with the Park brawling match that he’s known for, which can hide weaknesses very well. Villano hasn’t been very active in recent years, but he looked decent enough here. The fans seemed really into this, though the crowd audio isn’t the best. Mutual respect is shown afterward between two legends.
Bit of a pause in the action as the network broadcast in Mexico starts.
Latin Lover makes his way to the ring after a video package. He’s presented an award and thanks the fans. Jeff Jarrett, Karen Jarrett & Rey Escorpion interrupt him! He tosses an announcer into the ring and talks shit to Marisela Pena. Latin Lover isn’t impressed. Jarrett talks about how he’s the King of the Mountain and has dominated AAA for twenty years. He gives us his title history. Karen tells the announcer to shut up and talks some stuff. Latin Lover is ready for a fight, but Jarrett says he’s nothing but a dirty Mexican. Latin Lover attacks Jarrett and things are breaking down. Here comes VAMPIRO! He goes after Jarrett! Karen holds Latin Lover for a hit, but that doesn’t work. Lover gives her a kiss! Security types try to break this up, it takes them awhile but eventually we get Latin Lover & Vampiro celebrating.
Dragon Lee & Dralistico vs. Taurus & Johnny Caballero vs. Laredo Kid & Jack Cartwheel: Yep, that’s another new name for the wrestler formerly known as John Morrison. Dragon Lee & Laredo Kid go at it to start us off. Cartwheel does some gymnast-style moves, Johnny comes in to hit some flipping moves of his own. Accidentally crotches himself on the top rope. Johnny & Laredo Kid fire away on each other. Laredo & Cartwheel showing some teamwork early on, but their dives get broken up by Lee & Dralistico. Now it’s a big ol brawl on the floor. Back in the ring, Johnny & Taurus get the advantage. Dralistico with a rana on Taurus, then a springboard rana. Laredo stops the dive attempt. Missile dropkick by Laredo. Johnny drops Laredo down, then goes after Cartwheel. Cartwheel sweeps Johnny’s legs, then hits a splash. Dragon Lee dropkicks Cartwheel down. Cartwheel & Dragon Lee exchanging some moves now, Dragon Lee hits a PK for two. Taurus hits a crucifix bomb on Dragon Lee, then Samoan drops him. Dragon & Dralistico hit some double teams. Double flip dives to the floor! Tornilo by Laredo Kid, then Johnny hits a corkscrew plancha! Johnny rolls Laredo in the ring for the two count. Taurus & Laredo stumble off the top rope, but Taurus ends up slamming Laredo down. Dragon Lee with a sitout powerbomb on Taurus. Cartwheel misses a standing shooting star and there’s a lot of attempted moves going on here. Lee ranas Taurus to the floor. Cartwheel cartwheels into a dive! Dralistico with the springboard shooting star press! Johnny has the water gun, he accidentally sprays the referee! Laredo gets the temporary upper hand, but Johnny fouls him and rolls him up for three.
Winners: Taurus & Johnny Caballero (14 minutes via pinfall)
Match Rating: ***1/4
Lots of crazy moves as you’d expect with the people involved here. Surpried that Dragon Lee & Dralistico didn’t win here since the Hardys are coming in to face them at the second TripleMania show, but Caballero going over is never too surprising. Commentators seem to think it’ll set up a match between Caballero & Laredo Kid for the cruiserweight title, which sounds fun to me.
Ruleta de la Muerte First Round Match: Rayo de Jalisco Jr. vs. Blue Demon Jr.: Two veterans going at it here. Rayo de Jalisco Sr. lost his mask to Blue Demon Sr. in Monterrey many years ago, so obviously there’s some bad blood here. 11:15 Both men trying to get cheers from the audience. Rayo smacks Demon down. Demon fights back, punching Rayo in the corner. Irish whip leads to a smack in the corner. Demon tears at the mask of Rayo. Demon punches Rayo down. Demon’s getting out some plunder. Cookie sheets, a hammer, a chain, the good stuff. Cookie sheet to the head of Rayo. Demon wraps the chain around his hand and punches Rayo with it a couple of times. He wraps the chain around Rayo’s neck. Back into the ring, cookie sheet to the head. Here comes the hammer! The referee doesn’t want Demon to use the hammer, and takes it away. Rayo gets sent into the cookie sheet into the corner, but he fights back with said cookie sheet. Demon introduces Rayo to the ringpost. Rayo tries to fight back occasionally, but Demon dominates. Clothesline in the corner. Those Rayo Irish whips aren’t going too well. Rayo with a backdrop, then some headbutts on the mat get two. Demon fouls Rayo and gets a two count. Rayo with a foul of his own, cover gets two. Demon with a sunset flip, another nearfall. Rayo with the abdominal stretch. Roll up ends in the ropes. Rayo with a strike in the corner, then a slam. Rayo comes off the first rope, meets Demon’s feet. Rayo tosses Demon off the rop and gets a two count. Legdrop gets two. Demon gets kicked off a Sharpshooter attempt, then Rayo goes for the surfboard. Hold on, we’ve got some music playing. It’s Cien Caras! He’s still mad about losing his mask to Rayo back in 1990! NGD, Caras’s sons, attack Rayo, but get taken care of! Blue Demon gets hit with the guitar and Rayo covers for the three count!
Winner: Rayo de Jalisco Jr. (14 minutes via pinfall)
Match Rating: *
The Caras family continues attacking Rayo afterward. Cien’s hitting Rayo with his cane! Rayo’s hitting random people with cookie sheets while Demon remains out from the guitar shot. A stretcher is brought out for Demon while the Carases continue attacking Rayo. Cien Caras making an appearance was cool, the match was a bit rough to say the least. We’re talking about a 62 year old & a 55 year old here, so I don’t think anybody was expecting much better than what we got.
Pagano, Bandido & Taya vs. Cibernetico, Andrade El Idolo & Deonna Purrazzo: Andrade has Jose the Assistant with him, as one would expect. Deonna & Taya start things off with some shoving. Taya with the armdrag. Taya hits the spear, Deonna rolls out and Cibernetico rolls in. Ciber sends Taya out, and Pagano comes in. The rain has arrived in Monterrey. Ciber & Pagano doing actual wrestling moves is somewhat shocking. Pagano with a shoulderblock. Clothesline by Pagano. They chop each other. Bandido enters the match with a missile dropkick. Andrade knocks Taya off the apron and faces off with Bandido. Both men run the ropes and do backflips. Bandido with the headscissors, sent onto the apron then climbs the ropes. Tornilo by Bandido, then he gets sent to the floor. Deonna & Taya fight, Pagano & Ciber fighting too. A table enters the ring and is placed in the corner. Bandido sent head first into the corner. Pagano is whipped towards the table, emds up spearing Ciber through it. Bandido with a big dive onto Andrade. Taya with knees for Deonna. Pagano & Ciber fight in the crowd, Bandido & Andrade fight on the ramp. Back in the ring, Deonna wants some of Pagano. Slaps from Deonna. Pagano punches her down. Andrade with the Cactus clothesline on Pagano. Deonna & Taya going at it. Taya with a curb stomp on Deonna, that gets two. They collide in the middle of the ring, Andrade & Bandido both try pinning them for near-falls. They exchange strikes. Andrade smacks Bandido down for a two count. Bandido with the press slam, he goes up top, hits a frog splash for two. Bandido hits a springboard rana on Andrade to the floor! Pagano & Cibernetico going at it in the ring. Pagano drops Ciber on his head for a two count. Pagano dives onto Ciber on the floor. He sets up the busted table. places Ciber on it. but a Viper comes down to break that up. Lots of moving parts here. Deonna sets Bandido up, then Andrade accidentally kicks her head off. Bandido piledrives Andrade as a counter, Taya goes upop top and dives onto Andrade & Deonna. Bandido follows her with a moonsault. Pagano gets sprayed with a fire extinguisher and he falls through the table. Ciber sprays the referee with the extinguisher. Andrade gives it to Hijo del Tirantes too. Tirantes raises the faces’ hands, I’m guessing it’s a disqualification.
Winners: Pagano, Bandido & Taya (19 minutes via disqualification)
Match Rating: ***
Some good action and some goofy booking? Yeah, that’s kinda par for the course around here. At least one match per AAA show ends awkwardly with a weird decision that doesn’t make a lot of sense. Part of the promotion’s charm, I’d say.
Ruleta de la Muerte First Round Match: Canek vs. Psycho Clown: Canek is 69 years old in case you’re scoring at home, or even if you’re alone. HE WRESTLED LOU THESZ. Also unmasked the Blue Blazer and slammed Andre the Giant. Psycho Clown’s theme music will stay in your head for weeks. Tieup, Canek with the wristlock, Psycho takes him down and they exchange pinfall attempts. Psycho misses in the corner. Canek with the backdrop, then a clothesline. Psycho with a dropkick & Canek goes outside. Psycho misses the dive. The doctors are quick to check on Psycho. Canek sends him face first into the ringpost a few times. Canek rips Psycho’s mask, exposing most of his face. Canek gets a chair and hits Psycho with it. Nearly hits the referee too. Canek with some headbutts, then he clotheslines Psycho over the guardrail. Psycho gets backdropped into the audience. Canek poses in the ring, Psycho brings a couple of chairs in. Canek with the suplex. Elbowdrop gets two. Canek with a Rings of Saturn variation. Psycho with a running forearm in the corner, then a running low dropkick gets two. Another dive from Psycho, this one gets more of Canek. Psycho gets a board out from under the ring and hits Canek with the cookie sheet. Psycho tears at Canek’s mask. He gets the chair and whacks Canek in the head with it. Psycho spears Canek off the board and covers him for two. Canek tosses Psycho off the top and covers for two. Canek kicks Psycho in the corner, and some familiar music starts playing…it’s DR. WAGNER JR.! He’s got history with both of these guys, but it’s Psycho Clown he’s here to attack tonight. Psycho took Wagner’s mask at TripleMania XXV, and Wagner hits him with a bat to cost him this match.
Winner: Canek (13 minutes via pinfall)
Match Rating: **1/2
Gotta say that Canek wasn’t too bad for a man of his very advanced age. Wagner continues striking Psycho with the bat afterward. Psycho gets back up, but Andrade attacks him! Andrade & Wagner celebrate together. Andrade takes Psycho’s mask off and Wagner grabs the microphone to talk about everything being bien. He invites Andrade to join him in his quest to run Psycho Clown out of wrestling, and Andrade is down with that. They double suplex Psycho off the board.
Hijo del Vikingo & Fenix vs. The Young Bucks: Vikingo & Fenix enter via sports car. Konnan is out with the Bucks for reasons. Vikingo starts for his team and he immediately starts flying around like a crazy person. Big kicks to Matt Jackson. Vikingo jumps from the ring post to the ropes and dropkicks Matt. Fenix & Vikingo mock the Bucks pose. Double dropkick to Matt & the Bucks are all frustrated. They & Konnan walk up the ramp for a quick break in the lockerroom. Matt & Nick hit a couple of superkicks to change the pace. Vikingo gets doubleteamed in the ring.
Fenix comes back and hits a couple of kicks. Fenix with a springboard arm drag, but Konnan tosses a drink in his face! Hijo del Tirantes ejects Konnan from the proceedings. The Bucks run into superkicks from Fenix & Vikingo. Vikingo walks the ropes into a tornilo! Fenix walks the ropes into a corkscrew! Frog splash from Fenix, 450 from Vikingo! Tornado DDT by Vikingo gets two. Vikingo gets facebusted. Fenix with a crazy cutter on the floor. Matt misses a dive, Vikingo does not. Shooting star to the floor. Vikingo misses a shooting star in the ring and gets buckle bombed. Fenix springboards into a double superkick. Doubleteam leads to Vikingo being forced to poison rana Fenix for a two count. Powerbomb gets two on Vikingo. Sharpshooter by Matt. Nick puts one on Fenix. Everybody superkicks everybody, including Fenix accidentally hitting Vikingo. Fenix walks the ropes and kicks Matt. Vikingo with a 630 on Matt on the ramp! Fenix hits a musclebuster for a two count. Fouls on Fenix & Vikingo by Nick. The Bucks hit the Lucha Bros assisted piledriver, but it only gets two. BTE Trigger on Fenix gets two thanks to Vikingo. Vikingo gets caught and Meltzer driven for a very awkward three count from Hijo del Tirantes.
Winners: The Young Bucks (16 minutes via pinfall)
Match Rating: ***3/4
Multiple three counts are done, as the Bucks want to assert their dominance over AAA’s champion. Fenix shoves Vikingo (rumor is they’re going to have a match soonish, so they need to set that up), he then gets superkicked by the Bucks. Vikingo gets another low blow. Johnny, Sammy & Tay make their way down to the ring & join the fun. Pentagon Jr. comes down to clear the ring, even superkicking Tay!
Fireworks & pyro go off as the show closes. We find out the semifinals will be Pentagon Jr. vs. Blue Demon Jr. & Psycho Clown vs. Villano IV.
