Triplemanía XXXI was a three-day professional wrestlingpay-per-view (PPV) event promoted and produced by the Mexican professional wrestling promotionLucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA or Triple A). The event was held on April 16, July 15, and August 12, 2023. The April 16 event took place at Mobil Super Stadium in Monterrey, the July 15 event took place at Chevron Stadium in Tijuana, and the August 12 event took place at Mexico City Arena in Mexico City. It marked the 31st year in a row that AAA has held a Triplemanía show and comprises the 40th, 41st, and 42nd overall shows promoted under the Triplemanía banner since 1993. The annual Triplemanía show is AAA's biggest event of the year, serving as the culmination of major storylines in what has been described as AAA's version of WrestleMania or their Super Bowl event. The event aired on PPV via the FITEservice.[1]
The event was themed around the Guerra de Rivalidades tournament, in which four pareja increíbletag teams competed in matches across the first two nights, with the team that lost in the finals initially being scheduled to face each other in a Lucha de Apuestas match on the third night of the event. However, as the finals ended in a draw, the Lucha de Apuestas match was turned into a four-way. In the four-way match, Psycho Clown defeated Sam Adonis to successfully defend his mask and win Adonis' hair; the match also included L.A. Park and Rush El Toro Blanco.
Production
Background
2023 marked the 31st year that the Mexican professional wrestling companyLucha Libre AAA Worldwide (Triple A or AAA) has held their annual flagship Triplemanía show. Triplemanía XXXI comprised three shows – the 40th, 41st, and 42nd overall Triplemanía shows promoted by AAA (AAA promoted more than one Triplemanía event from 1994 to 1997 and from 2019 onward). Since the 2012 event, Triplemanía has taken place at the Mexico City Arena, an indoor arena in Azcapotzalco, Mexico City, Mexico that has a maximum capacity of 22,300 spectators.[2][3][4][5] On January 17, 2023, AAA announced that Triplemanía XXXI would be held across three days in three cities.[6] In addition to Arena Ciudad de México, Triplemanía XXXI was held in Mobil Super Stadium in Monterrey and Chevron Stadium in Tijuana.[6] Triplemanía XXXI was the third Triplemanía event held with events away from Mexico City Arena during the 2020s and the fourth outside Mexico City since 2007.
Triplemanía XXXI featured 22 professional wrestling matches across the three nights, with different wrestlers involved in pre-existing scripted feuds, plots and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed 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 engaged in a series of tension-building events, which culminated in a wrestling match.[7][8]
During a press conference on January 17, 2023, AAA announced that Triplemanía XXXI would be themed around the Guerra de Rivalidades tournament, in which four pareja increíbletag teams will compete in matches across the first two nights, with the members of the team that loses in the finals facing each other in a Lucha de Apuestas match on the third night.[6] The teams participating in the tournament are Psycho Clown and Sam Adonis, Pagano and Rush El Toro Blanco, Pentagón Jr. and Alberto El Patrón, and Blue Demon Jr. and DMT Azul.[9] On February 27, it was announced that Pagano was pulled from the tournament due to an injury and would be replaced by a mystery partner. During a press conference on March 28, Rush's new partner was revealed as L.A. Park.[10]
On October 18, 2021, AAA announced that Kenny Omega would defend his AAA Mega Championship against Hijo del Vikingo at Triplemanía Regia II.[13]
On November 18, it was reported by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Omega would not participate in the event due to undergoing multiple surgeries.[14] The reports were confirmed by AAA on November 22, with the promotion canceling Omega's defense and vacating the Mega Championship.[15] The Triplemanía Regia match was changed to a five-way match, where Vikingo defeated Samuray del Sol, Jay Lethal, Bobby Fish, and Bandido to win the vacant championship. The match between Vikingo and Omega occurred two years later on the March 22, 2023 episode of AEW Dynamite, where Omega defeated Vikingo in a non-title match.[16] During a AAA press conference on April 24, a rematch for the Mega Championship between Vikingo and Omega was announced for Triplemanía XXXI: Tijuana.[17]
Unlike traditional wrestling tournaments, at each round of the Guerra de Rivalidades tournament, the losers, not the winners, are relegated to the next round. The team that lost in the tournament final was intended to compete in a Lucha de Apuestas match at the final night of Triplemanía. Since the finals ended in draw, the Lucha de Apuestas match was turned into a four-way. During the four-way match, Psycho Clown pinned Sam Adonis to successfully defend his mask and win Adonis' hair; the match also involved Rush El Toro Blanco (hair) and L.A. Park (mask).
^Madigan, Dan (2007). "El nacimient de un sueño (the birth of a dream)". Mondo Lucha A Go-Go: the bizarre & honorable world of wild Mexican wrestling. HarperCollins Publisher. pp. 41–50. ISBN978-0-06-085583-3.
