Ever since Kenny Omega won the AAA Mega Championship back in October 2019 at Heroes Inmortales XIII, there has been heavy criticism regarding him not wearing the belt on AEW or IMPACT Wrestling TV. This, combined with a lack of title defenses due to the global pandemic, has led to Omega having, as of this writing, a mostly forgettable run as Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide’s world champion. Let’s travel down memory lane and revisit the short but rich history of AAA’s biggest prize.
The First-Ever AAA Mega Champion
Back in 2007, a tournament was held to unify a mixture of independent world championships to create the one and only world championship for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide; the promotion was simply known as AAA at this point. The tournament included El Mesías, known for his time in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as Judas Mesias and Lucha Underground and Major League Wrestling as Mil Muertes. The tournament also featured Cibernetico, Chessman, Charly Manson, La Parka, Mr. Niebla, El Zorro and even former WWE Tag Team and United States Champion Kenzo Suzuki.
The tournament ended on Verano de Escandalo in a singles match between Chessman and El Mesías, portrayed by Ricky Banderas; the latter would win the match and the title that night. Banderas was the world champion for 182 days and only defended the title once, at Guerra de Titanes 2007 against Cibernetico and El Zorro in a triple threat match before dropping it to Cibernetico at Rey de Reyes 2008.
The Best Title Matches
Mexican lucha libre is internationally known for having its best matches and feuds revolve around wrestlers betting their masks or their hair. However, the following two matches went against said tradition. They stole the show, delivering two of the best matches in AAA history with only the Mega Championship up for grabs.
Back in 2014, Alberto del Río, now known as Alberto El Patron, was released by WWE in August and quickly showed up in AAA as the conquering hero looking to end El Texano Jr.’s record-breaking 735-day reign. At Guerra de Titanes that same year, they got the chance to main event in a 15-minute classic that featured blood, chairs and even a table spot.
This match is considered one of the best ever thanks in most part to the audience reception to both El Patron and Texano. They arrived to the event as the top babyface and heel respectively. The match was also majorly enhanced by its managers as El Hijo del Perro Aguayo managed Texano and El Mesías managed El Patron; the constant interference from the managers only made the crowd louder and louder throughout the entire match. This only made the story being told in the ring better, with the first-ever champion endorsing Alberto and one of the biggest rudos of all time in Mexico endorsing Texano.
Ultimately, El Patron walked out of Zapopan, Jalisco that night as the new AAA Mega Champion when he made Texano submit with his patented cross armbreaker. Joaquin Roldan, the then-owner of AAA, alongside most of the babyface wrestlers, came out to present El Patron with the championship belt. This match is without a doubt a classic in AAA history, not replayed enough due to El Patron’s negative recent reputation. Regardless, it’s a must-watch for any lucha libre fan.
The next match in our list is considered by some the best match, or at the very least the best title bout, in Triplemania history. The year is 2009 and El Mesías was in his is second reign as Mega Champion. After a recent babyface (or Técnico) turn, one of the biggest active legends in lucha libre at the time, Dr. Wagner Jr., made his surprise debut in AAA at Rey de Reyes 2009. He challenged Mesías right after he successfully defended the belt against Chessman. With the challenge made, Mexican fans could not wait for the encounter between one of the biggest names in lucha libre history in Wagner and the rising fan favorite in Mesías.
The match did not disappoint as these two gave their everything that night in Mexico City in a 39-minute instant classic. Even though it did not main event the show, these competitors made it impossible for any other match to follow them. In the end, after a vicious Wagner Driver, a variant of a Michinoku Driver, Wagner came out victorious in arguably one of the best matches in his illustrious career. Following this, Wagner would be the Mega Champion for 181 days in the first of his eventual 3 reigns, cementing his legacy as one of the best AAA has ever seen.
What do you think of the AAA Mega Championship? Does it rank highly with the other world championships in pro wrestling today?
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