Corey Graves has offered a clear comparison for fans trying to understand where Lucha Libre AAA fits within WWE’s expanding wrestling landscape: WWE is Major League Baseball, while AAA is the Savannah Bananas.
Graves, who calls AAA action on a weekly basis while continuing in his color-commentary role on Monday Night Raw, used the baseball analogy while discussing the different presentation, atmosphere and audience appeal of the Mexican lucha libre promotion. WWE acquired Lucha Libre AAA last year, bringing a historic company with its own deeply established identity into a new relationship with the global wrestling leader.
Rather than framing AAA as a lesser version of WWE, Graves presented it as a different kind of entertainment experience. His point was that both products remain rooted in professional wrestling, much as Major League Baseball and the Savannah Bananas are both rooted in baseball, but their delivery can attract viewers for very different reasons.
“I’ve used the analogy quite a few times lately, because I’m a big baseball fan,” Graves said. “If you’re a Major League Baseball fan, WWE is Major League Baseball. AAA to me is sort of, and I mean this in the best way possible, like the Savannah Bananas. It’s still baseball. All of the things that you know and love about baseball still take place. It’s just through a very different lens. It’s about these insane characters, costumes, pageantry and the action.”
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Graves sees AAA as an event-driven alternative
The Savannah Bananas are based in Savannah, Georgia, and have built a substantial following through Banana Ball, a baseball format that places a heavy emphasis on entertainment, showmanship and a party-like in-person environment. Graves believes that model provides a useful point of reference for what makes AAA resonate, particularly for audiences who may not approach wrestling in the same way they approach a traditional weekly WWE television program.
AAA has long been defined by elements that are immediately recognizable within lucha libre: bold masks, visually striking gear, larger-than-life personas, rapid multi-person action and an atmosphere where crowd energy is a major part of the performance. Those qualities are not new to the promotion or to Mexican wrestling culture. Graves’ comparison instead focuses on how those qualities could connect with a wider American audience as AAA continues to receive greater exposure.
“You have a lot of people who can’t sit through a nine inning Major League game who will spend their last dollar on tickets to go see the Savannah Bananas because it’s an event,” Graves continued. “It’s a happening. That’s kind of how Lucha has always been in Mexico. Now this is an opportunity to bring that to an American audience in Las Vegas.”
That distinction is important as WWE works with AAA while preserving the promotion’s separate character. AAA is not simply WWE programming with a different roster. Its foundation comes from lucha libre traditions, where the visual identity of a wrestler, the importance of masks and rivalries, and the sheer speed of the action can be as central to the experience as any single match result.
For Graves, the comparison also acknowledges that not every fan will prefer every style. The idea is not that one format replaces another; rather, the two can coexist and serve distinct audiences. A viewer who enjoys WWE’s major-event structure, serialized storytelling and broad global scale can also find something different in AAA’s pageantry and more unpredictable visual presentation.
Different presentations, same wrestling foundation
Graves emphasized that the fundamentals remain intact even when the presentation changes. AAA still offers wrestling matches, athletic competition and performers with considerable in-ring ability. What changes is the lens through which those ingredients are delivered. The characters may be louder, the aesthetics more extravagant and the overall show may feel more like a full-scale spectacle designed to make every appearance memorable.
That is why the Savannah Bananas analogy is more nuanced than a simple comparison between sports and entertainment. Baseball remains baseball in either setting, and Graves sees professional wrestling operating in a similar fashion. WWE and AAA both work within the wrestling medium, but each can highlight different aspects of it.
WWE’s presentation often places enormous focus on globally recognized premium live events, long-running television narratives and stars who perform in front of massive audiences. AAA, meanwhile, can lean into the sensory impact of lucha libre: elaborate entrances, masks, costumes, high-flying sequences and the kind of personality-driven action that makes a live crowd feel involved from the opening bell onward.
Graves’ phrasing also reflects the value of presenting variety under the wider WWE umbrella. Wrestling audiences are not uniform. Some fans gravitate toward a methodical singles match with major championship stakes, while others are drawn to frenetic trios action, colorful characters and the cultural traditions attached to lucha libre. The availability of both approaches gives viewers more entry points into the genre.
“Whereas if you, and a lot of people don’t, Savannah Bananas aren’t for them, but they still like baseball,” Graves said. “You get both. It’s kind of the closest way I can explain it without betraying everything.”
AAA’s identity remains central to its future
The key word in Graves’ comments is “different.” He did not describe AAA as an attempt to duplicate WWE. Instead, he pointed to the things that have made lucha libre distinctive for generations and suggested those traits can be introduced to new fans without losing their purpose.
That challenge is especially significant as AAA enters a higher-profile period. Any expansion into new markets raises questions about how a promotion balances accessibility for unfamiliar viewers with respect for the traditions that made it meaningful in the first place. Graves’ comments indicate that the theatricality and character-driven spectacle are not obstacles to overcome. They are central to the appeal.
For longtime lucha libre viewers, those elements are foundational. Masks carry history. Costumes establish identity before a wrestler even begins a match. The pace of the action can turn a bout into an escalating display of timing and risk. The communal reaction inside an arena is part of the show, not merely background noise. Bringing that environment to new audiences requires more than translating language or placing familiar WWE faces around the product; it requires allowing AAA to feel like AAA.
Graves is in a notable position to explain that difference. Working as the voice of AAA while remaining a fixture on Raw gives him firsthand exposure to both presentations. His baseball comparison is designed to be accessible, but it also signals an appreciation for the fact that wrestling can thrive when it does not all look or feel the same.
TripleMania 34 begins with Night 1
The conversation arrives following the first night of AAA TripleMania 34, which took place on September 11. TripleMania remains AAA’s signature event series and a major showcase for the promotion’s mix of established stars, dramatic spectacle and lucha libre tradition.
With Night 1 now complete, attention naturally turns to the broader significance of TripleMania 34 and AAA’s continued visibility. The event series offers a platform for the promotion to display exactly the qualities Graves highlighted: action that moves at a different rhythm, performers whose presentation is inseparable from their in-ring work, and an environment intended to feel like more than a conventional sports card.
Graves’ comparison will not perfectly capture every aspect of AAA, nor is it intended to reduce lucha libre to a novelty. Instead, it gives newer viewers a simple framework. WWE and AAA share the same broad medium, but they offer separate experiences. One does not have to displace the other. For fans open to both, the contrast may be the point.
As AAA continues to reach audiences beyond its traditional base, its greatest strength may be the very thing Graves identified: it is an event, a happening, and a wrestling presentation that embraces its own color, pace and personality.
Darryl Polo
Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.