AAA is a Mexican-based pro wrestling group and one of the biggest pro wrestling companies in the world, with affiliations across the United States with not only Lucha Underground, but also Global Force Wrestling/Impact Wrestling. Twitch has grown as one of the biggest streaming platforms, and has dabbled in airing smaller independent pro wrestling events. On August 26, they will air AAA’s biggest annual event – TripleMania. The event will air live on Twitch across the world and on Telivisa throughout Mexico, with the main event set to air after the Mayweather-McGregor fight. That fight will actually be on Televisa – basically giving it the equivalent of being broadcast on a major broadcast network in the United States.
The main event will feature Dr. Wagner Jr., who Lucha Underground fans will recognize as someone who is incredibly underused against Psycho Clown in the biggest mask vs. mask match of the past decade. Given the rich history of the mask in lucha libre, losing it can be career-changing – and while that wouldn’t be a death knell for the 52 year old Wagner Jr., it could be tough for Psycho Clown to rebound from. Players of the AAA: Heroes del Ring game on the PS3 and 360 may be familiar with Psycho Clown, whose family works all throughout wrestling.
Beyond merely airing the upcoming TripleMania, major matches from past shows are being aired – and even being shown without commentary. This is an interesting move because it brings an arena-style feel to the matches while retaining a TV presentation. AAA goes big for TripleMania, and the entrances are on-par with what fans would see at a WWE show – but a notch below what you would get on a WrestleMania-level event. The best of matches include the work of LA Park – the original La Parka that was in WCW, including his incredible brawl with the replacement La Parka that was over a decade in the making. WCW and Lucha Underground star Vampiro is also featured in one of the bouts during the marathon, as are Lucha Underground and upcoming GFW star Taya Valkyrie and the late WWF, WCW and TNA star Hector Garza.
This marathon isn’t just a great way to get an idea of what Mexican wrestling is – it’s a chance to do so absolutely free. Plus, the video quality is outstanding. As someone who has been watching lucha off and on for 20 years where if you were lucky, it was available in standard definition in the past decade, having so much of it in pristine quality is a blessing. Plus, the music has been kept intact – meaning the LA Park vs. La Parka war features “Thriller” and anything with Dr. Wagner Jr. keeps “Bad Medicine”. For anyone who has gotten into lucha either due to Lucha Underground on El Rey or even some of AAA’s modern talent like El Hijo Del Fantasma being featured on GFW Impact Wrestling, give this marathon a chance. The actual show begins at 5PM PDT and will run through 10PM PDT or 8PM EST through 1AM EST. It will be a long night of action, but it will be a historic night for combat sports as a whole with Mayweather vs. McGregor and the marriage of Ronda Rousey to Travis Browne.
Hopefully, Twitch is used by more wrestling companies to expand their audience and expose new fans to their product. Even if it doesn’t lead to new viewership, it could lead to an increase in shirt sales on ProWrestlingTees. Any lapsed lucha fans should definitely check this marathon out and enjoy at least the major matches of TripleMania XXV, which will be broadcast in English once again – but without the Lucha Underground team of Matt Striker and Vampiro handling things. AAA’s production has been spotty before, but with this not being on PPV, maybe they will run into fewer issues and ensure a smooth viewing experience for everyone. This show should easily have the best video quality of any iPPV-esque show on the market, and if it does well, maybe we’ll see Twitch partner with AAA for some kind of on demand streaming service down the line.
