AAA Triplemania XXX Chapter 1 results: Ultimo Dragon upsets Pentagon Jr. in mask vs. mask tournament

AAA is celebrating their 30th year as a company by hosting three separate Triplemania XXX events. Chapter 1 kicked off Saturday night (Apr. 30) from the Palacio Sultan baseball stadium in Monterrey, Mexico. The feature attraction was the Ruleta de la Muerte mask versus mask tournament with legends returning to the ring to tussle with current stars.

Ruleta de la Muerte opening round contests all went down at Triplemania XXX Chapter 1. The lineup included:

• Psycho Clown vs. Canek
• Blue Demon Jr. vs. Rayo de Jalisco Jr.
• LA Park vs. Villano IV
• Pentagon Jr. vs. Ultimo Dragon

Pentagon Jr. and Ultimo Dragon opened the PPV broadcast with what turned out to be my favorite bout of the evening. The 55-year old Japanese luchador showed he still has what it takes to compete with the best. Just look at these flashy kicks.

Ultimo Dragon also took to the air for a flying crossbody.

Penta worked his game coming close to securing an armbreaker, but he couldn’t get full extension. Ultimo Dragon rallied with a Mexican Destroyer and finished with an Asai DDT.

Even though Ultimo Dragon is the innovator of the Asai DDT, I was still expecting Pentagon to kick out. When he didn’t, that started the show on a good note for unpredictable results in the Ruleta de la Muerte. Ultimo Dragon moved well despite his age. He hit signature spots and avoided getting too fancy. It was the type of performance that would satisfy his fans if that turns out to be his last match.

As for the rest of the old-timers, it was clear that matches were planned around their physical limitations. A few squirrelly finishes were utilized to protect the losers. Overall, the tournament matches still had a sense of excitement in the air.

The second Ruleta de la Muerte bout was LA Park versus Villano IV. LA Park reportedly clocks in at 56 years of age, while Villano IV is reportedly his senior by one year. Luchador ages are rarely official until they lose their mask and announce their birth dates. LA Park brought his brawling style that has kept his career hot in his twilight. Villano didn’t back down from the fight. He waited on stage to attack as soon as LA Park made his way onto the entrance ramp. Villano hit a DDT on the hard surface to take the early advantage.

All of the Ruleta de la Muerte matches were No DQ, and luchadores made use of the lack of rules. Ripped masks and chair shots led to blood from both men. LA Park turned up the heat with a powerslam through a table. Villano rallied back with DDTs but couldn’t keep LA Park down for the count. Both men exchanged low blow strikes then engaged in fisticuffs on their knees.

As LA Park climbed the corner, Villano shoved the referee into the ropes knocking LA Park down to the mat. Villano pounced for a standing senton, but LA Park kicked out on the cover. Villano grabbed the ref in frustration. That lack of concentration allowed LA Park to score a roll-up for victory.

The third Ruleta de la Muerte match was between Blue Demon Jr. and Rayo de Jalisco Jr. Blue Demon Jr. is no spring chicken at the age of 55, but he has competed in AAA more recently than his 62-year-old counterpart. Blue Demon made it dirty early with cookie sheets and wrapping a chain around his fist for punches. Unfortunately, he never got to use his trusty hammer.

This fight also had dueling low blows. Jalisco had momentum when his rival’s music hit. Cien Caras and Mascara Año 2000 were on stage as a distraction for La Nueva Generacion Dinamita to attack. Jalisco ducked a guitar swing, snatched that instrument, and smashed Blue Demon to win. Blue Demon was taken out on a stretcher.

The fourth and final Ruleta de la Muerte contest on the show put Psycho Clown against Canek. The 69-year-old veteran has a claim to fame of slamming Andre the Giant. Canek still sported musculature and did a flexing pose during the match.

This was another fight with brawling, ripped masks, and blood. Canek was close to victory on a shoulder submission. Psycho rallied with a suicide dive and a spear into a wooden board. When Psycho climbed the turnbuckles, Canek lifted him up for a slam down to the mat. Psycho ran into a spinning kick, then the music of Canek’s rival played aloud. Enter Dr. Wagner Jr.

Wagner carried a baseball bat to the ring. His beef on this night wasn’t with Canek. Wagner struck Psycho to set up a standing elbow drop from Canek to win. Afterward, Psycho grabbed a chair, but Andrade ran in to beat up the clown. Wagner and Andrade formed a new alliance to destroy Psycho Clown (Full details).

Due to the format of the Ruleta de la Muerte tournament, the losers advance to the semifinals. Pentagon Jr. will wrestle Blue Demon Jr., and Villano IV will wrestle Psycho Clown at Triplemania XXX Chapter 2 in Tijuana on June 18. The losers will advance to the grand finale at Triplemania XXX Chapter 3 in Mexico City on October 15, where the ultimate loser will officially lose his mask.

Results from the rest of the card include:

• Sammy Guevara and Tay Conti won the AAA mixed tag titles (Full details). Sammy was not medically cleared to compete, so he put La Parka Negra in his place. In the end, Sammy hit Arez and Chik Tormenta with his crutch. Parka Negra tagged in Sammy to make him a legal participant, so Sammy and Tay could pin the champs. The teams of Latigo & Maravilla and Komander & Sexy Star also competed in the four-way match.
• Latin Lover returned to AAA for an honorary award. Jeff Jarrett, Karen Jarrett, and Rey Escorpion interrupted. Fisticuffs ensued. Vampiro made a surprise appearance to help Latin Lover clean house (Full details).
• Johnny Caballero & Taurus defeated Jack Cartwheel & Laredo Kid and Dragon Lee & Dralistico in a three-way. Cartwheel was the surprise luchador and lived up to his name by cartwheeling to the ring. John Morrison’s drip stick came into play for the finish. Johnny tried to spray Laredo in the eyes, but the moistness splattered in the referee’s face instead. Laredo snatched the toy to smash over Johnny’s head. As Laredo hyped the crowd, Johnny landed a kick to the groin and a roll-up to win.
• Pagano, Bandido, & Taya Valkyrie defeated Andrade, Cibernetico, & Deonna Purrazzo via disqualification. You read that right. A DQ was called in AAA. It had more to be with referee bias than following the rules. Latigo ran in to protect the main man Cibernetico. He sprayed a fire extinguisher in Pagano’s face. Pagano fell off the turnbuckles and crashed through a table. Cibernetico grabbed the foreign object and frosted referee Hijo del Tirantes with whiteness. The ref was not happy and awarded the victory to the tecnicos.
• Young Bucks defeated Fenix & Hijo del Vikingo (Full details). After dramatic pinfalls on Fenix, Vikingo attacked for a springboard maneuver, but the Bucks caught him for a Meltzer Driver to win. Afterward, Fenix shoved Vikingo. John Morrison, Sammy Guevara, and Tay Conti ran down to join the Bucks in beating up Fenix and Vikingo. Pentagon made the save to clean house.

Triplemania XXX Chapter 1 was a fun show offering the spirit of lucha libre. AAA lived up to their reputation that anything can happen on their major shows. There were upsets, surprise appearances, and a title change. Even though many finishes were cheap, the action in the ring was full of cool moments, such as this cartwheel delight from Jack Cartwheel.

And this from corkscrew plancha from Laredo Kid.

And this flipping piledriver from Bandido and Andrade.

And this leapfrog dropkick electric chair reverse rana involving the Young Bucks, Fenix, and Hijo del Vikingo.

Lucha! Lucha! Lucha!