Triplemania preview & predictions: Blue Demon/Wagner mask vs hair, AAA vs AEW, Cain Velasquez debut, more!

Tonight (Saturday, August 3) is the night for lucha libre’s biggest event of the year. AAA will be presenting Triplemania XXVII. The evening will feature two legends colliding in mask vs hair, a fight against AEW, a former UFC champ making his lucha libre debut, women in a slobberknocking TLC bout, and much more.

The pre-show starts at 8 pm ET and the main show at 9 pm ET. You can view it live for free on AAA’s Twitch channels (Spanish and English). Good news for English commentary. Matt Striker will be in the house. There are rumors that his partner will be Vampiro, Konnan, or a mystery person with experience but little fanfare. I’m pulling for it to be Vampiro. His unfiltered thoughts are a hoot. Vamp and Striker have already resumed their unique repartee with Vampiro stating his desire to punch Striker in the balls.

Let’s jam on the storylines to get you up to date with the goings-on in Mexico.

Mask vs Hair: Blue Demon Jr. vs Dr. Wagner Jr.

Lucha Libre AAA

Blue Demon Jr. vs Dr. Wagner Jr. in mask vs hair is a contest three years in the making and spanning back 50 years when their fathers fought. The current story began last year when Psycho Clown replaced Wagner as a tag partner for Blue Demon. Blue Demon felt disrespected and turned on Wagner at Héroes Inmortales. Things escalated from there.

AAA has kept the feud fresh for television with various formats including a bloody street fight and a cage match. Shenanigans galore have been used, such as family member interference and face powdering.

This will also be an unofficial career vs career match. Both luchadores have stated that they will retire if they lose, but I don’t believe them. Wagner is still being booked all over and probably makes too much money to quit now. Blue Demon stated that he would participate at the Madison Square Garden show in September even if he loses his mask. I don’t see any reason why Blue Demon wouldn’t also wrestle at the Los Angeles Forum show in October. With two maskless shows under his belt, why not more?

As far as what to expect in terms of quality, your guess is as good as mine. Their singles matches on television have been pretty good in terms of entertainment, but let’s not forget that both men are 53 years old. Blue Demon proposed a classic match. That would be an interesting twist considering all the stipulations they’ve burned through. It may start crisp and clean, but it will probably break down into a bloody brawl by the end.

Prediction: Blue Demon Jr.’s identity remains a mystery. He is undefeated in his 18 luchas de apuesta. I think Blue Demon wants it more. Wagner seems arrogant and may not have the fire necessary to survive.

AAA vs AEW: Pentagon, Fenix, & Laredo Kid vs Young Bucks & Kenny Omega

The interpromotion challenge between AAA and AEW is an extension of the feud between the Lucha Bros and the Young Bucks. I don’t know the ins and outs of the AEW side of the rivalry. On the Mexican side of the fence, the Young Bucks showed up as a surprise at Rey de Reyes to take the AAA tag team titles from the Lucha Bros. That led to a rematch at AEW’s Double or Nothing and another rematch at AAA’s Verano de Escándalo, where the Lucha Bros regained gold. This particular trios pairing will be a rematch from AEW’s Fyter Fest.

One unlikely wrinkle to keep an eye on could be conflict between Fenix and Laredo Kid. Laredo is a tecnico, but he has a strong desire for Fenix’s Mega Championship. Fenix is never around to develop that story, so Triplemania could be the moment to kick that potential feud into high gear.

Prediction: Mexicans win in Mexico. I’m going to say that Vampiro gets involved on behalf of the AAA talent. Konnan represents all foreigners, so I could see AAA using that to revisit the epic feud between Konnan and Vampiro. A match between the two was supposed to happen at some point, but Vampiro’s dangerous health probably put a halt to that.

Cain Velasquez, Cody Rhodes, & Psycho Clown vs Texano, Taurus, & a surprise luchador

This trios match is all about the luche libre debut of Cain Velasquez. Velasquez is an MMA fighter and former UFC Heavyweight Champion. He was the one to dethrone Brock Lesnar in 2010.

Velasquez’s involvement with AAA began when he badmouthed lucha libre as not being real in comments that may have been confused in translation. Luchadores took exception and challenged him to step in the ring.

The most likely person to be the surprise luchador is Killer Kross. He has a monster heel persona in AAA and has a style that would blend nicely with Velasquez to make him look good. Rey Escorpion would be the backup plan. It is a simple, logical pick to join as a member of Los Mercenarios with Texano, Taurus, and La Hiedra. My random off the wall pick is Jeff Jarrett. He was the most hated heel in AAA. What better a way to make the fans happy than by having him submit to Velasquez. I know Jarrett currently works for WWE, but stranger things have happened.

Prediction: Cain Velasquez shines in victory. Cody Rhodes and Psycho Clown will do the heavy lifting, but I think Velasquez will have some quality moments with high-flying sprinkled in.

Tables, Ladders, Chairs for Reina de Reinas Championship: Keyra (champ) vs Lady Shani vs Taya vs Tessa Blanchard vs Faby Apache vs Chik Tormenta vs La Hiedra

The thing about women in AAA is that have a very rugged style. It often looks like old school clobbering. There is no finessing around. Add in tables, ladders, and chairs, and we should have ourselves a pier six donnybrook.

This particular bout has no real story, but there are some individual feuds. Keyra won the Reina de Reinas Championship from Lady Shani at Verano de Escándalo. Taya and Tessa Blanchard still hate each other from their Impact fights. Taya and Lady Shani had a friendly rivalry that never materialized.

Prediction: Taya wins in a show-stealer. I’m expecting unintentional blood in this bout. Someone is going to get busted open.

Copa Triplemania

The list includes La Parka, Pagano, Averno, Chessman, Super Fly, Puma King, Aerostar, Drago, Eclipse Vengador Jr., and more surprise entrants. This might be a battle royal, an elimination match, or something else entirely. You want a format? AAA ain’t got to show you no stinkin’ format.

These types of bouts in AAA are usually a clusterf—k. One wildcard to keep an eye on is Aerostar flying from the heavens. He may be looking for retribution from his difficult landing at Verano de Escándalo that sent him to the hospital.

Prediction: Pagano. It’s not a party without a clown.

Hijo del Vikingo, Myzteziz Jr., & Golden Magic vs Poder del Norte vs Pimpinela Escarlata, Maximo, & Mamba

Hijo del Vikingo, Myzteziz Jr., and Laredo Kid are Trios Champions, but this contest could turn into an impromptu title bout. Fake chairman La Parka is a mentor for the champs. He recently proposed that the squad break up to allow Laredo Kid to move on up to bigger things. La Parka propositioned adding Golden Magic as a replacement. Everyone seemed receptive to the idea.

The champs biggest rivals are Poder del Norte, which consists of Carta Brava Jr., Mocho Cota Jr., and Tito Santana (No, not that Tito Santana). Poder del Norte lost the titles in December at Guerra de Titanes.

This trios bout is another strong contender to steal the show. Expect awesome high flying from Los Jinetes del Aire, fantastic teamwork from Poder del Norte, and exotico antics from Las Fresas Salvajes.

Prediction: Poder del Norte. These dudes are freaking awesome as a team. I’ll always pick them.

Mixed Tag Championship: Niño Hamburguesa & Big Mami (champs) vs Sammy Guevara & Scarlett Bordeaux vs Lady Maravilla & Villano III Jr. vs Australian Suicide & Vanilla Vargas

Niño Hamburguesa and Big Mami have been Mixed Tag Champions for 772 days and counting. As cited by LuchaBlog, this will be their eleventh defense. The only story for this bout is Lady Maravilla practicing her maneating ways by trying to seduce Niño Hamburguesa. Niño has been reluctant to inflict any pain to Maravilla inside the ring in mixed tags matches. It has been obvious that she was wrapping him around her finger, but Hamburguesa may have finally made a breakthrough at the go-home show.

Prediction: Niño Hamburguesa and Big Mami retain. Those two hefty souls are magic together. They are so much fun that they should keep the titles forever unless facing superior competition such as Daga & Tessa Blanchard or Killer Kross & Scarlett Bordeaux. Otherwise, let the good times roll.

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What are your predictions for each match? Which one are you most looking forward to? What or who are you picks for show-stealer, stinker, bloodiest, biggest botch, and unintentional funniest?

Triplemania XXVII will take place tonight, Saturday, August 3. The pre-show starts at 8 pm ET and the main show at 9 pm ET. You can view it live for free on AAA’s Twitch channels (Spanish and English). Check back to Cageside Seats for full coverage of the event.