Triplemanía I (Referred to as just "Triplemanía" the first year) was the first ever
Triplemanía
Triplemanía is the biggest annual professional wrestling event promoted by the Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) promotion and is traditionally held in August each year. A majority of the shows have been presented as pay-per-view events, with some ...
''
lucha libre
Lucha libre (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term used in Latin America for professional wrestling. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has developed into a unique form ...
'', or
professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...
show promoted by
Asistencia Asesoría y Administración
Antonio Peña Promotions, S.A. de C.V. d/b/a Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide is a Mexican Lucha Libre (professional wrestling) promotion based in Mexico City, Mexico. Commonly referred to as simply AAA (pronounced "triple A"; an abbreviation of its ...
(AAA). The show took place on April 30, 1993 in
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of ...
,
Mexico
Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...
's
Plaza de Toros
A bullring is an arena where bullfighting is performed. Bullrings are often associated with the Iberian Peninsula, but they can also be found through Iberian America and in a few Spanish and Portuguese ex-colonies in Africa. Bullrings are o ...
bullfighting
Bullfighting is a physical contest that involves a bullfighter attempting to subdue, immobilize, or kill a bull, usually according to a set of rules, guidelines, or cultural expectations.
There are several variations, including some forms w ...
arena. The Main event featured a "Retirement" match between
Konnan
Charles Ashenoff (born Carlos Santiago Espada Moises; January 6, 1964),''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'', Dave Meltzer, ed., May 10, 2010, issue.Sims, Steve"Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame/Founded by Dave Meltzer - Konnan". Accessed August 1, 2016. O ...
and
Cien Caras
Carmelo Reyes González (born October 18, 1949) is a Mexican retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Cien Caras ("Hundred Faces"). He is best known for his appearances with the Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre.
Personal l ...
, where the
storyline was that the person that lost would have to retire from professional wrestling. The match was billed as the first time such a stipulation had ever been used in ''Lucha Libre'', while it was rare, retirement matches had happened in Mexico before that time. The semi-main event featured the zenith of the storyline feud between
Perro Aguayo
Pedro Aguayo Damián (18 January 1946 — 3 July 2019) better known as "(El) Perro Aguayo" (Aguayo the dog) and El Can de Nochistlan (The Nochistlan Dog) was a Mexican wrestler through the 1970s to the 1990s.
Aguayo was the first person ever ...
and
Máscara Año 2000
Jesús Reyes González (born 10 March 1958) is a Mexican '' Luchador'', or professional wrestler, best known under the ring name Máscara Año 2000 or Máscara Año Dos Mil. His ring name is Spanish for "Mask of the year 2000", originally referr ...
as the two fought in a ''
Lucha de Apuestas
Lucha libre (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term used in Latin America for professional wrestling. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has developed into a unique form ...
'', or bet match, where Aguayo put his hair on the line and Máscara Año 2000 bet his
wrestling mask
A wrestling mask is a fabric-based mask that some professional wrestlers wear as part of their in-ring persona or gimmick. Professional wrestlers have been using masks as far back as 1915 and they are still widely used today, especially in Lucha ...
on the outcome of the match.
The show was the first major show for AAA, taking place just short of a year after
Antonio Peña
Antonio Hipolito Peña Herrada (June 13, 1951 – October 5, 2006) was the founder of the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) in 1992. Peña's promotion reached its height of popularity in the e ...
and a number of wrestlers broke away from
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as ''Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre'' (''EMLL'') (''Mexi ...
(CMLL) to establish AAA. With time the annual Triplemanía show(s) would become AAA's biggest show of the year, serving as the culmination of major storylines and feature wrestlers from all over the world competing in what has been described as AAA's version of
WrestleMania
WrestleMania is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event held annually between mid-March and mid-April by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Since premiering in 1985, 37 editions followed, ...
or their
Super Bowl event.
Production
Background
In early 1992
Antonio Peña
Antonio Hipolito Peña Herrada (June 13, 1951 – October 5, 2006) was the founder of the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) in 1992. Peña's promotion reached its height of popularity in the e ...
was working as a booker and storyline writer for
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as ''Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre'' (''EMLL'') (''Mexi ...
(CMLL), Mexico's largest and the world's oldest wrestling promotion, and was frustrated by CMLL's very conservative approach to ''
lucha libre
Lucha libre (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term used in Latin America for professional wrestling. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has developed into a unique form ...
''. He joined forced with a number of younger, very talented wrestlers who felt like CMLL was not giving them recognition they deserved and decided to split from CMLL to create
Asistencia Asesoría y Administración
Antonio Peña Promotions, S.A. de C.V. d/b/a Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide is a Mexican Lucha Libre (professional wrestling) promotion based in Mexico City, Mexico. Commonly referred to as simply AAA (pronounced "triple A"; an abbreviation of its ...
(AAA). After making a deal with the ''Televisa'' television network AAA held their first show in April, 1992.
Peña's ideas included playing up the show aspects of wrestling, elaborate entrances, fireworks and shows that would rival those put on by the
World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and va ...
(WWF), particularly their
WrestleMania
WrestleMania is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event held annually between mid-March and mid-April by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Since premiering in 1985, 37 editions followed, ...
shows. Originally he wanted to hold three shows of that caliber close together, which combined with the nickname for AAA, Triple A, led to him creating the
Triplemanía
Triplemanía is the biggest annual professional wrestling event promoted by the Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) promotion and is traditionally held in August each year. A majority of the shows have been presented as pay-per-view events, with some ...
concept. In 1993 they only put on one Triplemanía show but in subsequent years Peña's vision for multiple Triplemanías would come true.
Peña and the AAA management staff booked the ''
Plaza de Toros
A bullring is an arena where bullfighting is performed. Bullrings are often associated with the Iberian Peninsula, but they can also be found through Iberian America and in a few Spanish and Portuguese ex-colonies in Africa. Bullrings are o ...
''
bullfighting
Bullfighting is a physical contest that involves a bullfighter attempting to subdue, immobilize, or kill a bull, usually according to a set of rules, guidelines, or cultural expectations.
There are several variations, including some forms w ...
arena for the first Triplemanía event, which was considered a huge financial gamble for a promotion that was not even one year old.
The arena could normally accommodate 41,262 spectators for bullfighting, but with additional seats on the actual floor of the arena around the ring the capacity grew to over 48,000.
Storylines
The Triplemanía I event featured eight
professional wrestling matches
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
with different wrestlers involved in pre-existing
scripted
''Scripted'' is the debut studio album by American rock band Icon for Hire. It was released on Tooth & Nail Records on August 23, 2011, and went on to break the label's new artist record for albums sold during the first week of release.
Backg ...
feuds,
plots and
storylines. Wrestlers were portrayed as either
heels
The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg.
Structure
To distribute the compressive forces exerte ...
(referred to as ''rudos'' in Mexico, those that portray the "bad guys") or
faces
The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may aff ...
(''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.
To help make the show a success Peña relied greatly on the rivalry between
Konnan
Charles Ashenoff (born Carlos Santiago Espada Moises; January 6, 1964),''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'', Dave Meltzer, ed., May 10, 2010, issue.Sims, Steve"Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame/Founded by Dave Meltzer - Konnan". Accessed August 1, 2016. O ...
and
Cien Caras
Carmelo Reyes González (born October 18, 1949) is a Mexican retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Cien Caras ("Hundred Faces"). He is best known for his appearances with the Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre.
Personal l ...
to sell tickets. Konnan and Cien Carasa had been rivals back when both were in CMLL, in fact Konnan had defeated Cien Caras in a tournament final to become the first
CMLL World Heavyweight Champion
The CMLL World Heavyweight Championship ( es, Campeonato Mundial de Peso Completo del CMLL) is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship established in 1991 and promoted by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). CMLL introduced the ...
and Caras had later won the title from Konnan, holding the title when they both jumped from CMLL to AAA. The two had previously wrestled each other in the main event of the
EMLL 58th Anniversary Show[CMLL was previously known as Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre but changed their name in 1991.] and the rivalry was a natural one between the charismatic ''tecnico'' Konnan and the cheating ''rudo'' Cien Caras, especially when he brought his brothers
Universo 2000
Andrés Reyes González (April 18, 1963 – May 1, 2018) was a Mexican professional wrestler, or luchador, who was best known under the ring name Universo 2000. Reyes made his professional wrestling debut in 1985 and worked for Consejo Mundial ...
and
Máscara Año 2000
Jesús Reyes González (born 10 March 1958) is a Mexican '' Luchador'', or professional wrestler, best known under the ring name Máscara Año 2000 or Máscara Año Dos Mil. His ring name is Spanish for "Mask of the year 2000", originally referr ...
to help him gain an unfair advantage during matches. With his growing popularity Konnan was offered several roles on TV and had hopes of pursuing an acting career, which led to Peña and Konnan devising the idea of a "retirement match" stipulation for the Triplemanía main event. It was billed as if it was the first time ever such a stipulation had been used in Mexico, which was more a work of marketing than fact but was a stipulation that helped sell out the ''Plaza del Toros'' stadium.
Event
The under-card matches were all held under "single fall" rules and not the traditional
best two-out-of-three falls rule that most ''lucha libre'' matches used at that point. That stipulation was saved for the championship match, the ''Apuesta'' match and the main event. Prior to the show opening Televisa commentator Arturo Rivéra showed shots from outside the ''Plaza del Toros'' where people were being turned away as the bullfighting arena was at maximum capacity. Besides the paid attendance in ''La Plaza del Toros'' an estimated 6,000 fans watched the show from the arena's parkinglot where AAA had erected giant screen televisions to accommodate the additional fan interest.
[
For the ]Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship
The Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship (''Campeonato Nacional Semicompleto'' in Spanish) is a national Mexican singles professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the ''Comisión de Box y Lucha Libre Mexico D.F.'' (''Mexico Ci ...
match between Lizmark
Juan Baños (December 18, 1950 – December 16, 2015) was a Mexican '' luchador enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestler better known by the ring name Lizmark. The name was taken from the German battleship Bismarck. He was a multiple-time ...
and La Parka
Adolfo Margarito Tapia Ibarra (November 14, 1965) is a Mexican '' luchador enmascarado'' ( masked professional wrestler), who currently performs as L. A. Park for Major League Wrestling in the United States, where he is a former MLW World Tag ...
Lizmark had Volador in his corner, who was the uncle of La Parka. La Parka had Solomon Grundy in his corner for the match. The title match originally ended in a 15-minute time limit draw without either wrestler even winning a single fall. Both Lizmark and La Parka requested five more minutes, which was approved by a representative of the Mexico City boxing and wrestling Commission. During the final five minutes Lizmark is able to pin La Parka and retain the championship.[ The mixed ''Trios'' match that pitted ]Máscara Sagrada
Máscara Sagrada (born November 6, 1959) is a Mexican '' Luchador enmascarado'' (or masked professional wrestler) who has worked for every major Mexican wrestling promotion over the last 20 years. His ring name is Spanish for "Sacred Mask" and is ...
, Love Machine, and Mascarita Sagrada
:''At least three wrestlers have wrestled under the name "Mascarita Sagrada". This article is about the original.''
Mascarita Sagrada (Spanish for Little Sacred Mask, real name not known, born January 11, 1965) is a Mexican Mini Luchador enmascar ...
against Jerry Estrada
Jerry Estrada (full name, Gerardo Hernández Estrada; born January 10, 1958, Monclova, Coahuila) is a semi-retired Mexican ''luchador'' (professional wrestler). For most of his career, he has portrayed a ''rudo'' (heel, those that portray the " ...
, Blue Panther, and Jerrito Estrada was broken down into the two main storylines; Love Machine/Blue Panther and the Sagradas against the Estradas for most of the match. In a call back to the ''Luchas de Apuestas'' match between Blue Panther and Love Machine the previous year Panther used a Kneeling reverse piledriver
Kneeling is a basic human position where one or both knees touch the ground. Kneeling is defined as “to position the body so that one or both knees rest on the floor,” according to Merriam-Webster. Kneeling when only composed of one knee, and ...
, a move that according to ''lucha libre'' traditions is outlawed and led to Pather's disqualification. To underscore the "lethal" nature of the move Love Machine was checked on by ringside physicians and removed from the ring on a stretcher.[
During the main event cameras panned to the front row where former ]World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and va ...
(WWF, now WWE) wrestler Jake "The Snake" Roberts
Aurelian Smith Jr. (born May 30, 1955), better known by the ring name Jake "The Snake" Roberts, is an American professional wrestler and actor currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he performs as manager to Lance Archer. He is be ...
was seated, with the storyline explanation being that he bought a ticket to the show and was supposedly just there as a fan. During the first fall of the match Roberts kept distracting Konnan, yelling loudly and reaching out towards him as he passed by on the outside of the ring. After losing the first fall to Cien Caras Konnan got into a fight with Roberts at ringside, diverting his attention from the referee's count and failed to get back in the ring before he was counted out. Due to the count out Konnan was forced to retire and Jake Roberts immediately became one of the most hated ''rudo'' wrestlers in AAA by the end of the show.[
In 2016 ]La Parka
Adolfo Margarito Tapia Ibarra (November 14, 1965) is a Mexican '' luchador enmascarado'' ( masked professional wrestler), who currently performs as L. A. Park for Major League Wrestling in the United States, where he is a former MLW World Tag ...
(second version) revealed that he was one of the wrestlers who worked the security detail for the first show.
Aftermath
Konnan took time off from wrestling to pursue his acting career, but it did not turn out as he had expected and Konnan returned to AAA four months later. Peña and AAA used the controversial finish to the match as a storyline to explain that Konnan had petitioned the Mexico City Boxing and Wrestling Commission to reinstate his wrestling license and allow him to return.[ He returned to AAA and immediately continued his feud with Cien Caras as well as continue the storyline with Jake Roberts, facing and defeating both of them at AAA's ''La Revencha'' show on August 28, 1993. The storyline would expand and pit Konnan against Robers as well as his newfound allies ]Eddy Guerrero
Eduardo Gory Guerrero Llanes (October 9, 1967 – November 13, 2005) was an American professional wrestler. He was a prominent member of the Guerrero wrestling family, being the son of first-generation wrestler Gory Guerrero. Eddie Guerrero is ...
and Love Machine, better known as '' La Pareja del Terror'' ("The Terror Team") while Konnan had back up in the form of Blue Panther and Perro Aguayo
Pedro Aguayo Damián (18 January 1946 — 3 July 2019) better known as "(El) Perro Aguayo" (Aguayo the dog) and El Can de Nochistlan (The Nochistlan Dog) was a Mexican wrestler through the 1970s to the 1990s.
Aguayo was the first person ever ...
. Roberts and ''La Pareja del Terror'' defeated Konnan, Aguayo and Blue Panther in the main event of ''La Lucha del Honor'' in the Los Angeles Sports Arena
The Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena was a multi-purpose arena at Exposition Park, in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. It was located next to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and just south of the campus of the University of ...
. The storyline with Jake Robers culminated a year after it started at Triplemanía II-C
Triplemanía II-C was a major ''lucha libre'', or professional wrestling event Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) that took place at the '' El Toreo'' bullfighting arena in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico on May 27, 1994. The show was t ...
, as Konnan defeated Jake Roberts in a ''Luchas de Apuestas'' match, forcing Roberts to be shaved bald.
The storyline between Blue Panther and Love Machine continued past Triplemanía, with the two facing off in another ''Luchas de Apuestas'' match two months after Triplemanía. During the match the previously ''tecnico'' Love Machine began to act more and more like one of the bad guys, berating his opponent during the match, pulling Panther's shoulders off the mat during pinfalls etc. In the end he intentionally and in full view of the referee Love Machine used the piledriver move on Blue Panther, drawing both the disqualification and disapproving boos from the crowd. While he was shaved bald as a result Love Machine did not seem to care, celebrating that he hurt Blue Panther. With one match AAA flipped the roles of Love Machine and Blue Panther, turning Panther ''tecnico'' out of sympathy and making Love Machine an arrogan anti-Mexican ''rudo''. In a subsequent match where Love Machine and a partner wrestled ''La Pareja Atomica'' ("The Atomic Team") of El Hijo del Santo
Jorge Ernesto Guzmán Rodríguez (born August 2, 1963) is a Mexican '' luchador enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestler and political activist, best known under the ring name, El Hijo del Santo ("The Son of the Saint"). Guzmán is the yo ...
and Eddy Guerrero, Love Machine stole El Hijo del Santo's mask, put it on and then attacked Guerrero pretending to be El Hijo del Santo. Moments later he returned the mask to El Hijo del Santo and ducked out of the ring as Guerrero came to. At this point Guerrero attacked his own partner, leaving with Love Machine after the match. Together Guerrero and Love Machine would become known as ''La Pareja del Terror'' ("The Terror Team") and formed the basis of a group known as ''Los Gringos Locos
LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to:
Science and technology
* Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation
* Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers
* Level of significance, a measure of statistical significance ...
'' that became the most hated ''rudo'' team, not just in AAA but in all of Mexico at the time.
Reception
John Molinario, who writes about wrestling for the Canadian Online Explorer
Canoe.com is an English-language Canadian portal site and website network, and is a subsidiary of Postmedia Network. The phrase Canadian Online Explorer appears in the header; the name is also evidently a play on words on canoe (or ''canoë'' i ...
, stated that the first Triplemanía show demonstrated that AAA "had arrived and they weren't going anywhere."[ He also stated that it was a "stellar card" and set the standard for ''lucha libre'' from that point on.][ Wrestling commentator and ''lucha libre'' expert ]Mike Tenay
Michael William Tenay (born March 1, 1955) is an American podcast presenter and retired professional wrestling play-by-play announcer known for his time as an announcer for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TN ...
noted that "To be able to take the lion's share of the market like that so immediately sort of put AAA as a promotion on the map. Pena's own marketing plan for Mexican wrestling was so revolutionary he was on top for that era. With a promotion that was less than a year old he did a tremendous job of creating stars."[
]
Results
Footnotes
References
{{italic title
1993 in professional wrestling
Triplemanía 1
1993 in Mexico
Events in Mexico City
April 1993 events in Mexico