TM18 - Background

Background

The event featured eight professional wrestling matches with different wrestlers involved in pre-existing scripted feuds, plots and storylines leading up to the matches.

The "Road to Triplemanía" began at AAA's previous major event Rey de Reyes which featured the beginning of new storylines and major turning points in other ongoing feuds. The driving force leading into Triplemanía was the developing "family feud" between AAA president Joaquin Roldan and his son Dorian. At Rey de Reyes Dorian Roldan turned on his father and stated that "a new era was about to begin". Dorian Roldan sided with Konnan and his La Legión Extranjera and introduced the returning L.A. Park to the stunned audience. Following the Rey de Reyes event Dorian Roldan and Konnan introduced several "outsiders" who sided with La Legión including the Pro Wrestling Noah team of Takeshi Morishima and Taiji Ishimori who won the AAA World Tag Team Championship from La Hermandad 187 (Nicho el Millonario and Joe Lider). Dorian Roldan was also instrumental in having Vampiro turn on Joaquin Roldan during an AAA show on April 18, 2010. During AAA's television taping on May 19, 2010 Dorian Roldan said that his father did not deserve to run AAA since he was not a blood relative of Antonio Peña like he was, just married into the family.

In one of the biggest stories of lucha libre in 2010 L.A. Park, the original La Parka, returned to AAA 13 years after he left the company on bad terms. In the intervening years then-AAA owner Antonio Peña had given the mask, outfit and ring name to a new wrestler, creating a second version of La Parka. Over the years AAA and the original Parka have been involved in a legal battle over the rights to the name, until reaching some sort of arrangement to work together again in 2010. L.A. Park's target from the first night has been the new La Parka, claiming that he was just a pale imitation. During an AAA show on March 19, 2010 L.A. Park attacked La Parka and threw him through a table. In order to maintain the illusion that L.A. Park did not actually work for AAA, thus enhancing the tension between the two characters, L.A. Park later claimed that he came to AAA to beat up La Parka, and since he had done that on March 19 he wasn't sure if he even felt like returning to AAA. L.A. Park did however return to an AAA ring as he had another brawl with La Parka on AAA's April 18 television taping. During the event La Parka challenged L.A. Park to a match at Triplemanía XVIII, under any stipulation that the original Parka wanted. During AAA's television taping on April 30, 2010 L.A. Park accepted La Parka's challenge for a match at Triplemanía XVIII. At an AAA press conference on May 12, 2010 it was announced that the match between the two would be for the rights to the name "La Parka". The two signed the official contract for the match during a television taping on May 19, 2010. After signing the contract Dorian Roldan had the police arrest La Parka for piracy by impersonating La Parka. He was released just in time to run in during the semi-main event to attack L.A. Park.

At Rey de Reyes Electroshock won the AAA World Heavyweight Championship by defeating Mr. Anderson and El Mesías. After the match Dr. Wagner, Jr., leader of Los Wagnermaníacos a group Electroshock was part of, came to the ring to congratulate Electroshock, seemingly putting an end to the building tension between the two. On the March 19 show Dr. Wagner, Jr. asked Electroshock to give him a shot at the title, something which Electroshock turned down but instead offered to fight him right then and there. After the two were separated by security it was clear that Electroshock was no longer part of Los Wagnermaniacos. At a later show Silver King, Dr. Wagner, Jr.'s brother, interfered in a fight between the two by attacking his brother, siding with Electroshock. Silver King stated that he chose friendship over family and was siding with Electroshock in the storyline. On April 26, 2010 AAA confirmed on their website that Electroshock would defend the title against Dr. Wagner, Jr. In the lead up to the title match the two faced off in a Steel Cage match on May 19, 2010, a match that Electroshock won with the help of Los Maniacos, Silver King and Último Gladiador. In the days before Triplemanía XVIII Silver King stated that their father, Dr. Wagner, had once told him that he was talented enough to not need the family name to make it in wrestling, while his brother needed all the help he could get, which was why he chose to give Dr. Wagner, Jr. the family name.

At Héroes Inmortales III Sexy Star defeated Faby Apache, with the help of La Legión Extranjera, to win the AAA Reina de Reinas Championship. Following the match Sexy Star joined La Legión and began systematically targeting Faby and her sister Mari Apache. At the 2009 Guerra de Titanes Sexy Star defeated Faby Apache in a Lucha de Apuesta, hair vs. mask match forcing Faby Apache to have her hair cut after the match. During the winter of 2009 Cinthia Moreno returned to AAA and sided with the Apache sisters against La Legión. At the 2010 Rey de Reyes show the Apaches and Moreno defeated La Legión representatives Sexy Star, Rain and Christina Von Eerie. During one interview Sexy Star claimed that the Apaches and Cintia Moreno were nothing but maids, which led to AAA booking a match between Cinthia Moreno, Faby and Mari Apache against Sexy Star, Rain and Jennifer Blade in a match where the person pinned or submitted would have to be the winning team's slave for a month.

Extreme Tiger and Alex Koslov had been feuding for over a year, in a storyline that centered around the AAA Cruiserweight Championship. It began with Koslov becoming the first ever AAA Cruiserweight champion on May 23, 2009, only to lose the belt to Extreme Tiger 23 days later at Triplemanía XVII. Koslov regained the title at the 2009 Verano de Escandalo 2009 after turning rúdo. In the weeks following Verano de Escandalo Koslov lost a match that lead to him being fired (in storyline terms) and the title was vacated. Tiger went on to win the vacant title, only to be the target of Koslov as he returned to AAA as part of La Legión Extranjera. In April AAA announced that the AAA Cruiserweight Championship would be defended in a "Four Nations" battle featuring Extreme Tiger (Mexico), Alex Koslov (Russia), Christopher Daniels (United States of America) and Nosawa (Japan). Daniels made his AAA debut during AAA's April 30, 2010 television taping in a match where he ended up pinning Extreme Tiger. It was later announced that Jack Evans would replace Alex Koslov in the match, removing the "Four Nations" concept for the match.

For over a year rúdo (bad guy) referee Hijo del Tirantes had been helping the rúdos win matches, deliberately overlooking any cheating and helping them win by counting faster than referees are supposed to during pinfalls. In the spring of 2010 referee Pierro finally spoke out about the biased refereeing and tried to put a stop to it. During AAA's April 30, 2010 television taping it was announced that each referee would choose three wrestlers to represent them in a match at Triplemanía XVIII where the hair of the referee was on the line. The six men involved in the match were announced at AAA's press conference on May 12, 2010. Pierro's team consisted of Heavy Metal, Octagón and Pimpinela Escarlata, while Hijo del Tirante's team featured Alex Koslov, Chessman and Hernandez. The May 12, 2010 press conference confirmed two further matches and also announced that Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's (TNA) Abyss would wrestle on the show, but did not announce an opponent for him at that time. It was later announced that Abyss would team up with Cibernético to wrestle in an Extreme rules Tag Team match against El Zorro and Vampiro. The two further matches announced were for the AAA World Mini-Estrellas Championship and the AAA World Tag Team Championship respectively. The Mini-Estrellas title would be defended in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match featuring defending champion Mini Abismo Negro as well as Mini Charly Manson, Octagóncito, Mascarita Divina, Mini Psicosis, Mini Histeria and Mascarita Sagrada.

The AAA World Tag Team Championship match was originally scheduled to feature then-current champions Takeshi Morishima and Taiji Ishimori defending against TNA representatives Beer Money, Inc. (Robert Roode and James Storm) and the winners of a tag team match between former champions La Hermandad 187 (Nicho and Joe Lider) and Los Maniacos (Silver King and Último Gladiador). The match between the two teams ended in a draw, which at the time left it unclear which team, if any of the teams would wrestle at Triplemanía XVIII. Two days later it was announced that both teams would wrestle at Triplemanía XVIII making the tag team title match a four-way match. On May 23, 2010 Go Shiozaki and Atsushi Aoki defeated Takeshi Morishima and Taiji Ishimori to win the AAA World Tag Team Championship during Pro Wrestling Noah's NOAH Navigation With Breeze - Day 1 show in Niigata, Niigata, Japan. As a result of the victory Shiozaki and Aoki would defend the titles in the four-way tag team championship match.

On May 27, 2010 during a press conference for the 2010 Lucha Libre Expo Silver King, Último Gladiador and Kenzo Suzuki showed up during International Wrestling Revolution Group's (IWRG) to continue an AAA vs. IWRG storyline that had been building for approximately a month at that point in time by claiming that they would show up during IWRG's show at the Lucha Libre expo. A few days later IWRG booker Marco Moreno mentioned the possibility that the IWRG wreslers may repay the interrruption by appearing at Triplemanía XVIII in some form. After months of speculations Dorian Roldan announced that AAA had begun to work with the Perros del Mal wrestling promotion, owned and operated by Perro Aguayo, Jr. and that Los Perros del Mal would be in attendance for the Triplemanía XVIII event, although their specific role was not announced.