AEW Star To Face Ultimo Dragon At TripleMania XXX Monterrey
AEW star Penta El Zero Miedo's opponent in the first round of AAA's TripleMania mask tournament has been made official. At a press conference where AAA unveiled the brackets for the tournament, it was announced that Penta, under the name Pentagon Jr., will battle Japanese pro wrestling legend Ultimo Dragon at TripleMania XXX Monterrey in April.
Other matches in the field include AAA top star and occasional GCW wrestler Psycho Clown facing lucha libre legend Canek (one of the few wrestlers who slammed Andre the Giant), a battle of former WCW luchadors as LA Park takes on Villano IV and lucha legend Blue Demon Jr. going one on one with fellow lucha legend Rayo de Jalisco Jr. In contrast to most tournaments, the losers will advance to the next round at AAA's TripleMania XXX Tijuana show in June. The losers of the semi-finals will then face each other in a mask vs. mask match at TripleMania XXX Mexico City in October, where the loser will be forced to unmask.
This will be the second-ever matchup between Penta El Zero Miedo and Ultimo Dragon and the first on a big stage. The pair had previously wrestled at SoCal Pro Wrestling's Super Clash X on September 15, 2018, with Penta emerging victorious over Dragon. Best known for his runs in New Japan Pro Wrestling and WCW during the 1990s, where he once held ten titles at the same time, Ultimo Dragon has remained active in his 50's. He is currently working for Dragon Gate in Japan, a promotion whose style he helped pioneer.
The stakes may be high for Penta El Zero Miedo in Mexico, but his situation in AEW also remains tense. The former AEW World Tag Team Champion is currently missing his tag team partner Rey Fenix, who has been out ever since dislocating his left arm in a match with the Jurassic Express. It has left Penta and Death Triangle ally Pac to fend for themselves against Brody King and Malakai Black, the Kings of the Black Throne. Penta and Pac came up short to King and Black last week in tag team action on AEW Dynamite.
AAA TripleMania XXX Monterrey will take place in Estadio de Beisbol Monterrey in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico on April 30. The show will be broadcast internationally on FITE TV. AAA's next event, Rey de Reyes, will air on February 19 on FITE TV from Veracruz, Veracruz, Mexico, and will see Hijo del Vikingo defend the AAA Mega Championship against John Hennigan, the former John Morrison, in his first match following his WWE release. The show will feature English commentary from Joe Dombrowski and Larry Dallas.