AAA Triplemania XXVIII recap & reactions: Pentagon’s heroic comeback saves tag titles

AAA’s biggest night of the year was a rousing success. Triplemania XXVIII was highly enjoyable from beginning to end. Three matches stood out above rest. Kenny Omega and Laredo Kid put on a classic, Pagano and Chessman went to the extreme in hair vs hair, and the Lucha Bros needed heroics from Pentagon to retain their tag titles.

Let’s start with the triple threat contest for the AAA Tag Team Championship before running through the rest of the show.

Fenix and Pentagon made their way back to Mexico to defend the AAA tag titles against Texano Jr. & Rey Escorpion and Myzteziz Jr. & Octagon Jr. Thanks to Pentagon’s heroic comeback, the gold remains with the Lucha Bros.

This was a fantastic free-for-all with suicide dives, corkscrews, flips, and all other sorts of aerial maneuvers. The pace never slowed throughout. Definitely watch this match. The standout in my eyes was Octagon. He showed that he should be on the international radar to be signed.

Los Mercenarios got mischievous when Rey Escorpion used a bat to bash Pentagon’s leg. Pentagon was escorted to the back by medical staff. Fenix went solo and held his own against the odds, but it was only a matter of time before the numbers were too much.

Myzteziz took flight for a shooting star press onto Fenix. A title change may have taken place if not for Rey Escorpion pulling the referee out of the ring. That’s when Pentagon appeared on the entrance stage. He hobbled down to the ring with one boot missing to superkick Myzteziz. Pentagon shouted in agony, but he still managed to pick up Myzteziz for the Lucha Bros flying butt stomp into package piledriver combo finisher for victory.

Those days training in Vampiro’s Lucha Underground torture dungeon really paid off for Pentagon. He found his intestinal fortitude to rally back and keep the tag titles with Fenix. The ending was a great surprise, because it had been playing out as a way to protect the Lucha Bros in a loss. Lo and behold, the swerve was in for Pentagon to return with cero miedo.

After the match, Taurus was lurking to do harm with his Mercenarios crew. He joined Texano and Rey Escorpion in pounding Myzteziz and Octagon. That set up the surprise return of Hijo del Vikingo for an amazing springboard corkscrew hurricanrana to carry on the feud for the Trios championship.

Hair vs Hair: Pagano defeated Chessman. (Full details here.) These two went to war on their bodies in the main event. Cookie sheets, chairs, tables, and ladders were all involved. There was even a guitar shot to the head of the unsuspecting Hugo Savinovich. In the end, Pagano was victorious with an Air Raid Crash off a stage through a table in the bed of a pickup truck.

Let’s be honest. Pagano and Chessman aren’t the smoothest workers. There was some doubt in my mind that they would be able to deliver the goods as the main event of AAA’s biggest show of the year. Both men far exceeded my expectations. They actually started with decent wrestling moves before violence took over to escalate into a memorable sports entertainment spectacle. My applause goes out to Pagano and Chessman. It was a satisfying conclusion to a satisfying show.

AAA Megacampeonato: Kenny Omega retained against Laredo Kid. (Full details here.) These two tore the house down for a great match with a big fight feel and flashy moves up the wazoo. Omega was able to come out on top with a super One Winged Angel.

This was a bout that I think even Omega detractors might be able to enjoy. The action was exciting, but it was the drama and suspense that really made it special. I actually thought Laredo would pull off the upset on the 450 splash. Instead, Omega kicked out and the match continued for several more minutes. The leg work by Laredo was brutal at the end. I didn’t think Omega would go out submitting (if he was going to drop the title), but he still sold the pain extremely well to make me wonder how he would escape.

Terror Purpura & Venenoide defeated Leyenda Americana & Aracno. AAA and Marvel kicked off their merchandise partnership by introducing four new luchadores. Captain America, Spider-man, Venom, and Thanos were the chosen characters. AAA promised first class talent under the masks, and that promise was kept. If this Spider-man tease doesn’t excite you, I don’t know what will.

Okay, that clip was a joke. Jack Black was not involved in this match.

The good guys had me believing victory was theirs when Captain America hit a DVD and Spider-man followed with a frog splash, but I should have known Thanos wouldn’t go out that easily. He kicked out and later used a low blow to turn the tide. Thanos caught Spiderman in the air for a Drill Claw to win.

This was an interesting experiment worth checking out, and I look forward to seeing them compete again. All four men performed well and should fit right into the AAA universe just fine for future matches. When I saw who was rumored to be under each mask, it all made sense.

After the match, a new Captain Marvel lady entered the ring to declare that this is just the beginning.

Psycho Clown, Murder Clown, & Monster Clown defeated LA Park, Hijo de LA Park, & Blue Demon Jr. This was a standard TV main event trios style with brawling all over the place and no real flow. The story was Los Parks being untrusting of the dastardly Blue Demon Jr. They even threatened Konnan earlier in the day in case Blue Demon got out of line.

Blue Demon started his hijinks by telling Hijo de LA Park to climb up for a flying attack. As Hijo turned his back, Blue Demon tried to steal the pin. A short while later, Hijo used the same tactic to return the favor. That led to Blue Demon grabbing a hammer with intent on smashing Hijo in the skull. Papa Park made the save, but Hijo took the loss on a Spanish Fly from Psycho. After the match, LA Park and Blue Demon brawled on the floor.

Copa Triplemania. Lady Shani outlasted eight other opponents to capture the first women’s Copa Triplemania. The match was contested under Royal Rumble rules with the final two having a regulation singles bout. The order of entrance was Lady Maravilla, Lady Shani, La Hiedra, Faby, Mamba, Hades, Chik Tormenta, Big Mami, and Pimpinela Escarlata. The exoticos and Mami were surprises.

There were plenty of cool little moments throughout. Mami belly bumped everyone in the ring when she entered. Mamba and Pimpi reignited their feud. Hades had a cat tail on her outfit. The countdown clock was a big hit with tick, tick, boom explosion effects. Rudo referee Hijo del Tirantes would humorously lend a helping hand to push out babyface luchadoras for elimination.

The final two were Lady Shani and Lady Maravilla. The ladies went back and forth with submissions and suplexes. Shani gained momentum by tossing Maravilla off the turnbuckles. Shani followed with a bridging suplex and a gutbuster. She applied a standing cloverleaf variation then transitioned to a cruceta leg lock and arm lock to pose like a genie. Maravilla grit out the pain, but she could only take so much and succumbed to the submission.

The Copa Triplemania was a blast of fun. It wasn’t the cleanest in technical action, but it still worked well to entertain. I popped for all three surprise entrants. Big Mami strutting down the runway will never cease to earn a chuckle. If the exoticos plan on rumbling with the women, then I want a match between Mamba and Taya for the Reina de Reinas Championship. I have a feeling they would go hog-wild on each other.

After the match, chaos erupted with luchadores returning to brawl. It was to set up the surprise appearance of Lady Flammer to clean house with rudas Hiedra and Maravilla.

The order of elimination was:

1. Hades by Chik Tormenta
2. Big Mami by Mamba with help from Hijo del Tirantes
3. Pimpinela Escarlata by Mamba
4. Mamba by Faby Apache
5. Chik Tormenta by Lady Shani
6. Faby Apache by La Hiedra, Lady Maravilla, and help from Hijo del Tirantes
7. La Hiedra by Lady Shani
Winner: Lady Shani submitted Lady Maravilla

Poder del Norte (Mocho Cota Jr., Carta Brava Jr., & Tito Santana) defeated Dinastia, Maximo, & Mr. Iguana. Dinastia stepped in for the previously announced Niño Hamburguesa. Poder del Norte used cookie sheets early and often. The tecnicos had heart, but they couldn’t stand toe-to-toe with the rudos. Poder del Norte took out Dinastia and Maximo then focused on Mr. Iguana for the finish. The lizard-man was hit with a triple powerbomb, buckle bomb, and a train of clotheslines and drop kicks in the corner. Cota ended it with a frog splash.

This was a nice little opener. The fan favorites had moments to make you smile, like Maximo’s kiss and Mr. Iguana using his stuffed pet as a weapon. Poder del Norte once again showed why they are the best trios team today. Their cohesive attacks always leave me with a sense of contentment.

Also of note, La Parka was posthumously inducted into the AAA Hall of Fame. He is the 17th member in the select group. La Parka’s style was celebrated with a fitting song and dance to a mariachi mashup of, “Thriller,” with El Charro Gonzalez and skeleton saloon girls dancing along.

Overall, Triplemania XXVIII was a rocking show. The wrestling was luchatastic. The drama kept me guessing. The surprises were truly surprises. All the post-match extracurricular activity built anticipation for future fights. I couldn’t ask for anything more.

Check out the full Triplemania XXVIII show here.

Share your thoughts on Triplemania XXVIII. Which match stole the show? Which luchadores made you take notice?

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