AEW's Penta El Zero M Involved In Emotional Unmasking At Triplemania XXX: Mexico City
The final of AAA's Rulete de la Muerte tournament played out last night.
In the culmination of the Rulete de la Muerte tournament that's played out across all three of this year's Triplemania XXX events, last night's Mexico City show saw Penta El Zero M defeated Villano IV in a Mask vs. Mask contest.
Picking up his first ever Mask vs. Mask victory, Penta secured the win by pinning Villano IV after a third arm breaker.
Post-match, Villano IV unmasked and was revealed as 57-year-old Tomas Diaz Mendoza. Mendoza, Penta and plenty of those in attendance were all extremely emotional at the conclusion of this bout.
the face of Villano IV is revealed, his mask is no more#TripleManiaXXX pic.twitter.com/daArKbP86f
— Tripping Balls (@IsThisWrestling) October 16, 2022
The mask of Villano IV belongs to @PENTAELZEROM #TripleManiaXXX pic.twitter.com/rFUmfojpGg
Advertisement— JJ Williams (@JJWilliamsWON) October 16, 2022
While this was the first time that Penta El Zero M had competed in a Mask vs. Mask match, he had previously put his mask on the line twice before - first against Sami Callihan in a Mask vs. Hair offering, then in a four-way cage match back at Triplemania XXVI.
The Rulete de la Muerte tournament has spanned Triplemania XXX: Monterrey in April, Triplemania XXX: Tijuana in June, and last night's Triplemania XXX: Mexico City. Starting off with eight competitors paired off in four singles matches at Monterrey, the losers of those four bouts advanced to the semi-finals at Tijuana. With Penta losing to Blue Demon Jr., and Villano IV losing to Psycho Clown in June, that put Penta and Villano IV on a collision course for last night's event.
For Tomas Diaz Mendoza, he made his in-ring debut in 1982 and took on the Villano IV moniker and mask the following year. While he's competed extensively for AAA and CMLL over the decades, Villano IV is also fondly rememebred by many for his spell in WCW from 1996 to 2000, where he often teamed with his brother Villano V.