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AAA had high hopes for tonight's Triplemanía XXIII show. Arrangements to bring the show to the United States and Canada via traditional pay-per-view (PPV) and worldwide via internet PPV with English language commentary were the icing on the cage of being able to book main events with stars WWE had helped make household names like Rey Mysterio and Alberto El Patron.
Unfortunately, those were dashed in a hurry by production issues.
There will be much discussion about the quality of wrestling, booking decisions and whether AAA set fan expectations properly. But none of that mattered when there were multiple issues making it impossible to hear announcers Matt Striker and Hugo Savinovich at the same time, or without a loud buzzing noise, or sometimes at all.
Video issues arose from time-to-time as well, and the last impression fans who made it to the end of the show got was the feed cutting during the middle of a post-main event angle that saw Myzteziz turn heel on Mysterio.
Both the company and the Executive Producer of the English-language version have made statements apologizing:
AAA ISSUES STATEMENT ON TRIPLEMANIA XXIII PPV AUDIO ISSUES
MEXICO CITY - We thank all of you for giving AAA your Sunday night. No excuse undoes a night plagued with audio difficulties. Fans purchased this event with a level expectations and it was our goal to exceed those expectations. We are still investigating the source of the issues with our audio malfunctions, but we thank you for giving us a shot. Audio issues can occasionally happen with live televised sporting events and luckily were resolved in time for tonight's main events.
Everyone and we do mean everyone's desire at AAA was and is to give you a flawless pay-per-view experience. Unfortunately, tonight that didn't happen and we are as frustrated and as disappointed as you with these technical issues.
On behalf of everyone, we apologize and thank you for support and patience.
Hopefully you enjoyed the matches and consider trying AAA again.
Nothing is more frustrating & devastating than the production issues with the audio we've had tonight. No excuses. You deserve better.
— Court Bauer (@courtbauer) August 10, 2015
@CaptinTweets the audio in the truck experienced a catastrophic failure. I'm still waiting for a precise reason.
— Court Bauer (@courtbauer) August 10, 2015
Many fans, especially those giving AAA a chance for the first time, didn't sound like they'd be giving the company another look based on this experience - including some that asked for and were given refunds by their PPV provider:
My TripleMania experience is the definition of buyer's remorse.
— Kyle Decker (@kfd2010) August 10, 2015
@LAWradio I watched Triplemania online. I just sent an email to request a refund.
— Shawn Pennington (@USCpunk88) August 10, 2015
@Shawhelp I ordered AAA Triplemania PPV tonight (August 9) and would like a refund. It is full of technical and audio difficulties
— TW (@Wizalters) August 10, 2015
@s1rude chances I ever order another AAA PPV are very, very slim.
— Aaron (@aaronlnicholson) August 9, 2015
Tough night for fans hoping for more options on their wrestling menu.
You can check the results of the show and live reaction from your fellow Cagesiders here. Bill Hanstock will have his reactions in the morning.