Triplemania Tijuana recap, reactions: LA Park and Rush headed to mask vs. hair 4way

Even though Hijo del Vikingo versus Kenny Omega for the AAA Megacampeonato was the main event of Triplemania XXXI Tijuana, the feature attraction for lucha libre fans was the Guerra de Rivalidades tournament final.

AAA concocted a scheme pairing rivals together with the losers advancing to mask versus hair at Triplemania XXXI Mexico City on August 12. LA Park and Rush were on one side. Psycho Clown and Sam Adonis were on the other side. Both feuds were heated. Neither team really wanted to win, since they were more interested in securing the lucha de apuestas. That raised an intriguing question of how the finish would unfold.

Just an example of how much the rivals hate each other, Rush attacked LA Park during introductions, even though, they were teammates. Adonis did the same once Psycho Clown came out on stage. The match officially started, and neither Rush nor Adonis were interested in fighting each other. They were too focused on continuing the attacks on their own partners. Masks were ripped, and blood flowed.

Park and Psycho eventually rallied. After about ten minutes, the first action that resembled any semblance of it being a tag team contest occurred when Park and Psycho mixed it up with punches. When Park had Psycho in a submission, Adonis hit Park with the USA flag. Rush took exception, since Park was his rival to fight. Rush and Adonis engaged in fisticuffs.

The closing sequence started with Rush hitting Adonis with a chair. Rush then hit referee Tirantes with the chair, just because he can. No pasa nada, perros. Park speared Rush. Psycho punched Park out of the ring and followed him to fight on the floor. Rush crawled on top of Adonis for the pin. 1, 2, Psycho pulled out the ref and punched him.

All four men were back inside the ring. Rush kicked Park in the groin. Adonis flashed a fireball in Psycho’s face and kicked him in the cojones. Rush covered Park, and Adonis covered Psycho. Once they realized they were pinning their own partners, they had to switch covers. With Rush on top of Psycho and Adonis on top of Park, the referee counted both pins at the same time. 1, 2, 3, draw!

The referee threw his hands up and declared all four would be advancing to the mask versus hair finale at Triplemania XXXI Mexico City on August 12.

In the moment watching that match, the booking felt like a crock of shit. In hindsight, I suppose it serves as an adequate means to an end to deliver the main event of Triplemania XXXI Mexico City. That is if you can trust Park and Rush to show up without contract complications. Trying to be positive, I can give credit that it was a creative way to show how much each pair of rivals hate each other.

Let’s cruise through the rest of the results from Triplemania XXXI Tijuana.

AAA Mega Championship: Hijo del Vikingo retained against Kenny Omega. Don Callis came out during introductions, but Konnan had security escort him to the back to make sure the contest was fair. Vikingo and Omega had a darn good match. Omega went for the One Winged Angel a few times, but he was never able to execute the finisher. Vikingo rallied in the end for an avalanche poison rana, running knees in the corner, and a 630 senton to pin Omega clean. (Full details here.)

Ambulance Match: QT Marshall defeated Pentagon Jr. Bloody hardcore action led way to the ambulance for the finish. Pentagon executed a package piledriver through a stack of tables. Well, the intent was a package piledriver, but the move was not pulled off clean at all.

Aaron Solo was waiting inside the ambulance as a surprise to spray Penta with a fire extinguisher. Solo smashed a light tube on Penta’s head. QT hit a cutter on the floor. QT and Solo loaded the luchador into the ambulance for victory. (Full details here.)

Team Chilango vs. Team Baja: Negro Casas, Chessman, Argenis, & Daga with ambassador Azcino defeated Nicho El Millonario, Damian 666, Rey Horus, & Xtreme Tiger with ambassador Brandon Moreno. The special guests got involved. When weapons started getting used, Azcino confronted Argenis, who was wrestling in his mask even though he lost a mask versus mask match earlier this year. Argenis hit Azcino in the head with a chair. A little while later, Azcino came back for fisticuffs on the outside. Azcino pulled off the mask of Argenis. Former UFC champ Moreno scuffled with Daga and slapped on an armbar.

The primary attraction was legends Negro Casas and Nicho (aka original Psicosis). When Casas went for La Casita pin, Nicho blocked it and shoved Casas into the referee. That allowed Nicho to kick Casas in the cojones behind the ref’s back to set up the winning pin. The home team was victorious.

Vengeance Match: No-contest result for Vampiro, Jack Evans, & Aramis versus Pagano, Bestia 666, & Mecha Wolf. The action was entertaining from the athletic luchadores. You know who qualifies in that group from the participants of this match. AAA tag champs Arez and Komander ran in to fight with La Rebelion. Once the tag champs left, different intruders entered. Texano Jr. returned to AAA with Taurus to attack both Vampiro and Pagano. Texano revealed that he was behind the attacks on Pagano all this time. Texano plans to form a new Mercenarios crew.

Mexico vs. The World: Dalys, Lady Shani, & Sexy Star defeated Kamille, Viva Van, & Natalia Markova. Kamille and Markova came over from NWA. Despite being current rivals, they worked fine together without issue. And no, that is not the original Sexy Star. Down the stretch, La Hiedra came out to attack Dalys with a cookie sheet. They brawled ringside. Sexy Star landed a flying crossbody on Kamille outside. Shani scored a roll-up on Markova, but crooked referee Hijo del Tirantes counted slow on purpose. Shani rose up to blast him with a flurry of strikes.

Van hit a meteora to pin Shani, but the ref was still down. Tirantes, the father, ran in to take control and count the win for Shani on a bridging suplex pin to Van. Afterward, words were exchanged between the two Tirantes. Son slapped father, so father came back with suspenders for a whipping.

Copa Triplemania: La Hiedra survived to win. Royal Rumble style with Willie Mack, Mr. Iguana, Jack Cartwheel, La Hiedra, Flammer, Myzteziz Jr., Puma King, Niño Hamburguesa, Dinamico, Gringo Loco, Laredo Kid, Taurus, and Rey Misterio El Heredero. Misterio was the surprise luchador. He is the son of the original Rey Misterio and the cousin of the world-famous Rey Mysterio Jr. Of note, Argenis ran in to continue his feud with Myzteziz Jr. Antifaz did the same to attack Laredo Kid.

A little bit of story context, babyface Mr. Iguana is in love with heel Hiedra. He has been trying to woo her for a long time, and the ice has melted over her heart. They teamed together for a couple of eliminations, then Flammer dumped Mr. Iguana out of the ring to the protest of Hiedra. Flammer and Hiedra are partners in Las Toxicas.

The nitty-gritty came down to Mack, Cartwheel, Hiedra, Flammer, and Puma King. Las Toxicas did a double kiss, double low blow, double elimination to Mack and Cartwheel. Puma wanted a kiss too, but they pie-faced him instead. Mr. Iguana returned to help Las Toxicas eliminate Puma King. The finish came down to Hiedra and Flammer. When Flammer ran the ropes, Mr. Iguana hooked her foot, and Hiedra tossed her over the ropes to win. Hiedra and Mr. Iguana celebrated together.

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I can’t in good conscience make a blanket recommendation for first-time AAA viewers to watch this event as a whole. If you want to enjoy lucha libre as a sport, then this is not the show for you. If you aren’t familiar with current AAA storylines, then there is a chance you would feel completely lost. AAA has a car crash style for these major events. Sometimes, they pull it off with excellence for maximum entertainment. Other times, it is an overbooked mess with all the nonsense dragging the show down. Overall, Triplemania XXXI Tijuana falls into the stinkier category. To be clear, this is an indictment on the booking. All the wrestlers put in the effort to do their best.

That’s not to say everything about the show was bad. La Copa Triplemania was harmless fun as a Royal Rumble style of match. Lady Shani beating up referee Hijo del Tirantes was a hoot. Jack Evans, Aramis, and La Rebelion had some slick moves in their match. QT Marshall versus Pentagon Jr. is worth checking out for the curiosity factor. Hijo del Vikingo and Kenny Omega put in quality work in the only clean match on the show. That main event is worth watching if you were already interested.

Triplemania XXXI Tijuana will be available for viewing through Fite TV as a single show or a bundle with the other two Triplemania events in 2023.