2010 Lucha Libre AAA World Wide event
Triplemanía XVIII (Triplemanía 18) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the AAA promotion that took place on June 6, 2010 at the Palacio de los Deportes ("Sports Palace") in Mexico City, Mexico. The show featured eight with the main events being a "dream match" between L.A. Park and La Parka with the rights to the La Parka name on the line as well as Electroshock defending the AAA Mega Championship against Dr. Wagner Jr. The show also featured a performance by El Tri, a Mexican blues/hard rock band after the wrestling portion of the show was over. All four title matches of the event saw the championship change hands, the show also featured appearances of wrestlers from competing wrestling promotions International Wrestling Revolution Group and Los Perros del Mal. The main event between L.A. Park and La Parka originally saw L.A. Park pin La Parka. Later on it was announced that the result thrown out by the Mexico City Boxing and Wrestling Commission due to outside interference, ruling it a no-contest, but the decision was reversed the next day as AAA declared that L.A. Park had earned the rights to the name "La Parka" with his victory. However, three days later AAA announced that they would respect the Commission's decision and declared the match thrown out.
Through TNA and AAA partnership representatives appeared at this event including Beer Money, Inc. (Robert Roode and James Storm), Atsushi Aoki and Go Shiozaki
Production.
Background.
In early 1992 Antonio Peña was working as a booker and storyline writer for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), Mexico's largest and the world's oldest wrestling promotion, and was frustrated by CMLL's very conservative approach to "lucha libre". He joined forced with a number of younger, very talented wrestlers who felt like CMLL was not giving them the recognition they deserved and decided to split from CMLL to create Asistencia Asesoría y Administración, later known simply as "AAA" or Triple A. After making a deal with the "Televisa" television network AAA held their first show in April, 1992. The following year Peña and AAA held their first Triplemanía event, building it into an annual event that would become AAA's Super Bowl event, similar to the WWE's WrestleMania being the biggest show of the year. The 2010 Triplemanía was the 18th year in a row AAA held a Triplemanía show and the 23rd overall show under the Triplemanía banner.
Storylines.
The Triplemanía XVIII show featured eight professional wrestling matches with different wrestlers involved in pre-existing scripted feuds, plots and storylines. Wrestlers were portrayed as either heels (referred to as "rudos" in Mexico, those that portray the "bad guys") or faces ("técnicos" in Mexico, the "good guy" characters) as they followed a series of tension-building events, which culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.
The "Road to Triplemanía" began at AAA's previous major event Rey de Reyes which featured the beginning of new storylines and major turning points in other ongoing feuds. The driving force leading into Triplemanía was the developing "family feud" between AAA president Joaquin Roldan and his son Dorian. At Rey de Reyes Dorian Roldan turned on his father and stated that "a new era was about to begin". Dorian Roldan sided with Konnan and his "La Legión Extranjera" and introduced the returning L.A. Park to the stunned audience. Following the "Rey de Reyes" event Dorian Roldan and Konnan introduced several "outsiders" who sided with "La Legión" including the Pro Wrestling Noah team of Takeshi Morishima and Taiji Ishimori who won the AAA World Tag Team Championship from "La Hermandad 187" (Nicho el Millonario and Joe Líder). Dorian Roldan was also instrumental in having Vampiro turn on Joaquin Roldan during an AAA show on April 18, 2010. During AAA's television taping on May 19, 2010 Dorian Roldan said that his father did not deserve to run AAA since he was not a blood relative of Antonio Peña like he was, just married into the family.
In one of the biggest stories of "lucha libre" in 2010 L.A. Park, the original La Parka, returned to AAA 13 years after he left the company on bad terms. In the intervening years then-AAA owner Antonio Peña had given the mask, outfit and ring name to a new wrestler, creating a second version of La Parka. Over the years AAA and the original Parka have been involved in a legal battle over the rights to the name, until reaching some sort of arrangement to work together again in 2010. L.A. Park's target from the first night has been the new La Parka, claiming that he was just a pale imitation. During an AAA show on March 19, 2010 L.A. Park attacked La Parka and threw him through a table. In order to maintain the illusion that L.A. Park did not actually work for AAA, thus enhancing the tension between the two characters, L.A. Park later claimed that he came to AAA to beat up La Parka, and since he had done that on March 19 he wasn't sure if he even felt like returning to AAA. L.A. Park did however return to an AAA ring as he had another brawl with La Parka on AAA's April 18 television taping. During the event La Parka challenged L.A. Park to a match at Triplemanía XVIII, under any stipulation that the original Parka wanted. During AAA's television taping on April 30, 2010 L.A. Park accepted La Parka's challenge for a match at Triplemanía XVIII. At an AAA press conference on May 12, 2010 it was announced that the match between the two would be for the rights to the name "La Parka". The two signed the official contract for the match during a television taping on May 19, 2010. After signing the contract Dorian Roldan had the police arrest La Parka for piracy by impersonating La Parka. He was released just in time to run in during the semi-main event to attack L.A. Park.
At Rey de Reyes Electroshock won the AAA Mega Championship by defeating Mr. Anderson and El Mesías. After the match Dr. Wagner Jr., leader of "Los Wagnermaníacos" a group Electroshock was part of, came to the ring to congratulate Electroshock, seemingly putting an end to the building tension between the two. On the March 19 show Dr. Wagner Jr. asked Electroshock to give him a shot at the title, something which Electroshock turned down but instead offered to fight him right then and there. After the two were separated by security it was clear that Electroshock was no longer part of "Los Wagnermaniacos". At a later show Silver King, Dr. Wagner Jr.'s brother, interfered in a fight between the two by attacking his brother, siding with Electroshock. Silver King stated that he chose friendship over family and was siding with Electroshock in the storyline. On April 26, 2010 AAA confirmed on their website that Electroshock would defend the title against Dr. Wagner Jr. In the lead up to the title match the two faced off in a Steel Cage match on May 19, 2010, a match that Electroshock won with the help of "Los Maniacos", Silver King and Último Gladiador. In the days before Triplemanía XVIII Silver King stated that their father, Dr. Wagner, had once told him that he was talented enough to not need the family name to make it in wrestling, while his brother needed all the help he could get, which was why he chose to give Dr. Wagner Jr. the family name.
At "Héroes Inmortales III" Sexy Star defeated Faby Apache, with the help of "La Legión Extranjera", to win the AAA Reina de Reinas Championship. Following the match Sexy Star joined "La Legión" and began systematically targeting Faby and her sister Mari Apache. At the 2009 Guerra de Titanes Sexy Star defeated Faby Apache in a "Lucha de Apuestas", hair vs. mask match forcing Faby Apache to have her hair cut after the match. During the winter of 2009 Cinthia Moreno returned to AAA and sided with the Apache sisters against "La Legión". At the 2010 "Rey de Reyes" show the Apaches and Moreno defeated "La Legión" representatives Sexy Star, Rain and Christina Von Eerie. During one interview Sexy Star claimed that the Apaches and Cintia Moreno were nothing but maids, which led to AAA booking a match between Cinthia Moreno, Faby and Mari Apache against Sexy Star, Rain and Jennifer Blade in a match where the person pinned or submitted would have to be the winning team's slave for a month.
Extreme Tiger and Alex Koslov had been feuding for over a year, in a storyline that centered on the AAA Cruiserweight Championship. It began with Koslov becoming the first ever AAA Cruiserweight champion on May 23, 2009, only to lose the belt to Extreme Tiger 23 days later at Triplemanía XVII. Koslov regained the title at the 2009 "Verano de Escandalo 2009" after turning "rúdo". In the weeks following Verano de Escandalo, Koslov lost a match that lead to him being fired (in storyline terms) and the title was vacated. Tiger went on to win the vacant title, only to be the target of Koslov as he returned to AAA as part of "La Legión Extranjera". In April AAA announced that the AAA Cruiserweight Championship would be defended in a "Four Nations" battle featuring Extreme Tiger (Mexico), Alex Koslov (Russia), Christopher Daniels (United States of America) and Nosawa (Japan). Daniels made his AAA debut during AAA's April 30, 2010 television taping in a match where he ended up pinning Extreme Tiger. It was later announced that Jack Evans would replace Alex Koslov in the match, removing the "Four Nations" concept for the match.
For over a year "rúdo" (bad guy) referee Hijo del Tirantes had been helping the "rúdos" win matches, deliberately overlooking any cheating and helping them win by counting faster than referees are supposed to during pinfalls. In the spring of 2010 referee Pierro finally spoke out about the biased refereeing and tried to put a stop to it. During AAA's April 30, 2010 television taping it was announced that each referee would choose three wrestlers to represent them in a match at Triplemanía XVIII where the hair of the referee was on the line. The six men involved in the match were announced at AAA's press conference on May 12, 2010. Pierro's team consisted of Heavy Metal, Octagón and Pimpinela Escarlata, while Hijo del Tirante's team featured Alex Koslov, Chessman and Hernandez. The May 12, 2010 press conference confirmed two further matches and also announced that Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's (TNA) Abyss would wrestle on the show, but did not announce an opponent for him at that time. It was later announced that Abyss would team up with Cibernético to wrestle in an Extreme rules Tag Team match against El Zorro and Vampiro. The two further matches announced were for the AAA World Mini-Estrellas Championship and the AAA World Tag Team Championship respectively. The Mini-Estrellas title would be defended in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match featuring defending champion Mini Abismo Negro as well as Mini Charly Manson, Octagoncito, Mascarita Divina, Mini Psicosis, Mini Histeria and Mascarita Sagrada.
The AAA World Tag Team Championship match was originally scheduled to feature then-current champions Takeshi Morishima and Taiji Ishimori defending against TNA representatives Beer Money, Inc. (Robert Roode and James Storm) and the winners of a tag team match between former champions "La Hermandad 187" (Nicho and Joe Líder) and "Los Maniacos" (Silver King and Último Gladiador). The match between the two teams ended in a draw, which at the time left it unclear which team, if any of the teams would wrestle at Triplemanía XVIII. Two days later it was announced that both teams would wrestle at Triplemanía XVIII making the tag team title match a four-way match. On May 23, 2010 Go Shiozaki and Atsushi Aoki defeated Takeshi Morishima and Taiji Ishimori to win the AAA World Tag Team Championship during Pro Wrestling Noah's Navigation with Breeze - Day 1 show in Niigata, Niigata, Japan. As a result of the victory Shiozaki and Aoki would defend the titles in the four-way tag team championship match instead.
On May 27, 2010 during a press conference for the 2010 Lucha Libre Expo Silver King, Último Gladiador and Kenzo Suzuki showed up