AAA Triplemania XXX Chapter 3 recap & highlights: Pentagon Jr. wins bloody mask vs. mask brawl

AAA celebrated their 30th year in lucha libre by culminating with Triplemania XXX Chapter 3. The main event was the Ruleta de la Muerte mask versus mask finale between Pentagon Jr. and Villano IV. A bloody brawl ensued with one man standing tall to take the mask of loser.

Villano IV entered flanked by the Villano family. Pentagon arrived with a huge ceremonial headdress.

The action didn’t wait for the opening bell. Pentagon charged down the ramp, and Villano met him with a back body drop and DDT on stage. Masks were ripped, foreign objects were used, and blood was shed. Villano had the advantage on his stiff punches. Pentagon was better with his kicking arsenal.

Controversy brewed when Pentagon trapped Villano in an Atlantida submission. Villano tapped out, but it was out of vision from referee Marty Elias. Pentagon released the hold thinking he won. Elias made sure the match continued.

Later, a similar instance occurred in reverse. Villano trapped Pentagon in a cruceta knee crank. Pentagon tapped out, however, Elias was out of position once again. Villano thought that was the end. Elias’ blunder meant that the match continued.

In the end, Pentagon went to his bread and butter arm-snapper. After a vicious punt to the head, Penta cracked Villano’s arm for the third time of the evening. That was enough to keep Villano down in defeat on the three-count.

Villano IV removed his mask and awarded the spoils of war to Pentagon. The legend revealed his name as Tomas Diaz Mendoza. He is 57 years old with 42 years experience as a luchador.

The Triplemania main event was as good as it could have been. Keep in mind that one of the participants was 57 years old with limited mobility. Villano IV’s best moments were throwing punches. They look real probably because they are to a certain degree. In terms of presenting an epic fight, Pentagon and Villano succeeded. There were fans with a deep connection to Villano IV that were seen crying as he unmasked. That’s how serious mask versus mask matches can be in lucha libre. That feeling provided a ‘big fight’ aura throughout the contest.

Let’s jam through the rest of the card.

AAA Megacampeonato: Hijo del Vikingo retained against Fenix. Highlights were as plentiful as you would imagine from these two high-flying superstars. The match started with submissions then transitioned to feeling-out counters then progressed into athletic amazement. Flips were popping with 450 splashes, 630 sentons, reverse ranas, and the like. The attitude got chippy at times with Fenix kicking Vikingo in the head and Vikingo ripping Fenix’s mask in retaliation. Down the stretch, Fenix executed two consecutive Fire Drivers but couldn’t keep Vikingo down for the count. Fans went crazy when Vikingo kept fighting. The champ rallied to finish with an inverted 450 splash to retain the gold. (Full details here.)

This match lived up to expectations. Fenix and Vikingo rocked the ring with style and had the crowd jumping. This win should cement Vikingo as a lucha libre superstar with staying power. It was the first defense where he was an underdog. Vikingo fought through adversity to rise to the occasion for victory. If you’re curious about checking it out, then I’d advise awareness that this isn’t a ‘work the body’ type of match. It is two luchadores dishing out crazy moves rather than the American style of in-ring storytelling. For just the appreciation of gymnastics involved, I’d give it two thumbs up.

Hair vs. Hair: Pagano defeated Cibernetico. Falls count anywhere for this lucha extrema. And indeed it was extreme. Pagano cinched in a single-leg crab then twisted forward to stab a fork in Cibernetico’s face.

Cibernetico had help on his side with Los Vipers for a 4-on-1 advantage. Eventually, Pagano received assistance from an unlikely ally. Charly Manson ran down to help Mr. Noa Noa Style. Manson was a long-time minion of Cibernetico during their careers. Konnan also joined in with a baseball bat to make the fight more fair for Cibernetico. There was one more big surprise cameo to mention. The referee was hit with a light tube accidentally from Pagano. Vampiro arrived as backup referee.

Hardcore moments included Pagano piledriving Cibernetico onto thumbtacks, Cibernetico chokeslamming Pagano onto a barbed wire chair, and Cibernetico chokeslamming Pagano onto tacks. The climax carried up stage. A table and ladder were set up. As both climbed to the top, Pagano lifted Cibernetico on the opposite side away from the table. Pagano leaped for an Air Raid Crash threw the stage. Vampiro peaked down and made the count. Cameras didn’t catch the winner. I’ll give the benefit of the doubt as a production tactic to maximize drama when Pagano stood up first out of the hole as the victor.

Cibernetico was stretchered to the back. His haircut took place in the training room. Respect was exchanged by Pagano and Cibernetico after their war.

This was one of those matches where it makes no sense but makes all the sense at the same time. All in all, that was a fun hair versus hair fight. The hardcore action was indeed hardcore. AAA built up each moment for surprise cameos. The finish was badass. For replay value in entertainment, this is my pick of the show. It was ludicrous in the best ways.

Pagano added to his blooper reel, not once but twice. He had trouble leaping through the ropes.

The second attempt wasn’t any better.

AAA Trios Championship three-way: John Morrison, Brian Cage, & Sam Adonis defeated Sanson, Cuatrero, & Forastero (c) and Psycho Clown, Laredo Kid, & Bandido. This contest had a stipulation that the champions had to be pinned for a title change. Since Laredo Kid ate the loss, La Nueva Generacion Dinamita remain champions.

This match had a stupid finish. During the contest, cookie sheets were used as foreign objects in plain sight of referee Marty Elias. The closing sequence came down to Morrison in his Johnny Caballero character and Laredo. Johnny grabbed his hobby horse toy, or in this case his hobby llama named Lorenzo de Llama. Laredo superkicked Johnny then snatched it away with bad intentions. For some reason, Elias would not allow cheating in this case and intervened to grab the llama stick. As the ref’s back was turned, Johnny struck with a low blow to win.

The only convoluted justification I can dream up for the referee’s uneven rule enforcement was that he thought the hobby horse was real and that he is against animal cruelty. I mean AAA sometimes treats Mr. Iguana’s stuffed toy Yesca as a real iguana. Go figure?

Anyway, the coolest spots from this match involved Bandido and Cage. The luchador showed his muscle for a military press on Cage.

Cage shot Bandido into the air on a monkey flip over the ropes to the outside. That was serious leg strength from the Machine.

One note to keep an eye on from this trios match is the rivalry between Psycho Clown and Sam Adonis. They engaged in heated fisticuffs throughout. This appears to be building toward a ‘first blood’ match.

AAA Reina de Reinas Championship: Taya Valkyrie retained against Kamille. No DQ rules. Taya was bloodied early and took a beating throughout. Kamille tried to close with a torture rack spinning powerbomb, superplex, and Canadian Destroyer. Taya rallied by rolling through a flying crossbody for an STF submission to win. (Full details here.)

This was a physical contest. In comparison to round one at NWA 74, round two in AAA was a little clunky and sloppy. I don’t think the No DQ rules helped. The match seemed more concerned about using foreign objects than creating a sizzling flow to the action. The bout was entertaining nonetheless, because there was the champion versus champion appeal. I didn’t know who was going to win until it was over.

AAA World Tag Team Championship #1 contender four-way: Dragon Lee & Dralistico defeated Arez & Willie Mack, Myzteziz Jr. & Komander, and Latigo & Toxin. The PPV opener was all about setting up spots to showcase high-flying acrobatics.

The match wrapped up after Komander hit a shooting star press onto a pile of luchadores on the floor. Los Hermanos Lee rushed with urgency at the window of opportunity. Dragon Lee crushed Toxin in a German suplex. Dralistico followed with a springboard Mexican Destroyer. Dragon Lee leaped over the ropes for a hurricanrana to Latigo. The path to victory was clear. Dralistico sealed the deal on a double underhook piledriver to Toxin. Los Hermanos Lee earned a future AAA title shot against FTR.

I’d say Mack was the scene-stealer for this match. His dancing charisma had the crowd bumping. Mack’s style must be rubbing off on Arez, because the luchador wrestled wearing a fashion scarf. They also executed double Macarena moonsaults. After the match, Mack dueled in a dance-off with Dr. Simi (a pharmacy mascot sponsor). Good times were had by all with AAA’s wackiness.

Show Grade: C+

AAA Triplemania XXX Chapter 3 was tough to grade. The show was all over the place from an A in pomp and circumstance spectacle to an F for the Morrison finish.

On the positive, the extra embellishments made the show feel like a genuine special event from the opening orchestra playing Villano IV’s Pink Panther tune to snazzy entrance costumes to musical entrances. The coolest moves were the coolest of moves. The big spots were eye-popping. Cameo surprises brought smiles to faces.

On the negative, camera production was terrible at times. There were rapid cuts, the long view was too far away, and the focus was put on fans in the middle of moves or during pivotal moments in a match. For example, Psycho Clown hit a sunset flip for a pin then the camera zoomed on a fan during the count then back to the ring for the kick-out. Similar instances happened far too often. For the action, AAA relied on street fighting and multi-man matches. Both elements can feel bogged down as repetitive over the course of the evening.

The bottom line is that Triplemania XXX Chapter 3 was a ton of fun with the WTF factor cranked to the max. It was a wild scene. It won’t ace a critical analysis test, but it sure will leave fans satisfied with excitement.

The PPV replay is available through Fite TV.

Share you thoughts on AAA Triplemania XXX Chapter 3. Which was your favorite match and favorite moments?