The first Rey de Reyes qualifier took place tonight on AAA’s Lucha Libre show on FOX in Latin America at the Auditorio Arteaga in Santiago de Queretaro, Mexico. With La Parka already advanced, tonight’s main event, a fatal four-way, will get us one step closer to the finals of the tournament. After tonight, two more entries will get their chance to compete in the fatal four-way to crown the winner by knighting him with a sword (that’s right, the winner receives a sword).
AAA Mega Champion Dominik Mysterio Kicks Off The Show
Dominik Mysterio kicked off the show with a promo segment that began with him going over his accomplishments, namely his win over John Cena at the GOAT’s final major PLE—Survivor Series this past November. The win is, of course, on top of the fact that Dom remains a double champ, holding both the WWE Intercontinental title and the mega title for AAA.
It was not long before Vikingo came out with his new oversized enforcer, Omos, and the curator of this combination in Dorian Roldan. The team stood behind Vikingo as he promoted the March 14 show in his hometown of Puebla, Mexico—a right the former champ earned after defeating El Grande Americano (the Ludwig version) on the January 20 episode of AAA’s weekly TV.
“Dominik is the worst of the Mysterios,” Vikingo said in Spanish with Omos towering over him in the background.
Dom responded by saying he would ‘whip Vikingo’s a** in front of his friends and family,’ a comment that Vikingo did not take well.
Vikingo, triggered by the idea of coming up short in the town he called “Mexico’s greatest,” then upped the stakes by challenging Dom for more than his Mega championship, asking Dom to put up his infamous ‘Eddie-style’ mullet. Vikingo did not mention whether he would put his own hair on the line, but he did give Dom two weeks to decide.
Rey de Reyes Qualifying Match: El Grande Americano vs. Rey Fenix vs. Dragon Lee vs. Octagón Jr.
Before the match, El Grande Americano was seen having a conversation with Dom, the first time we had seen the two since their misunderstanding led to a split after months in which Grande had assisted Dom in title defenses in both WWE and AAA. The winner of the Rey de Reyes tourney will receive a shot at the title, and Grande had no problem reminding Dom of that factoid.
As Americano was on his way out to the ring, the ‘OG’ El Grande Ameicano (Chad Gable version) handcuffed his doppleganger to a pipe before replacing him in the match. We got a tease of this showdown (like Doink V Doink at WM9), but tonight was the first major aggression shown outside the ring.
The bearded OG (Original Grande) looked as good as he ever has, and he even managed to kick out of the 450 splash from Octagon Jr. At that moment, the camera cut back to Ludwig Grande, where he was attempting to get out of the cuffs before cutting back to Rey Fenix hitting a ‘Goodbye Amigo’ onto the OG.
OG managed to break up yet another near fall, this time on the part of Fenix, and that is when Fenix attempted to strip OG of his ‘American Made’ lucha mask. It appeared OG loaded his mask before landing headbutts on his opponents, one of them in midair. The final diving headbutts came on Octagon Jr., and OG picked up the pinfall victory.
Original Grande was unable to celebrate his win – advancing him to the Rey de Reyes finale with La Parka and two others TBD – as Grande Americano was able to break his cuffs and chased the OG out of the ring. As this feud heats up, it is interesting to note that OG is playing the heel to Grande Americano’s face.
The show closed out with Corey Graves dropping a bomb on commentary, asking for clarification on whether OG’s win qualifies him for the finals or whether it qualified the man who was originally entered in the match. This could be the crux for a Grande vs. Grande matchup.
AAA Mixed Tag Team Championship Match: Ethan Page & La Hiedra (replaced Chelsea Green) (c) vs. Mr. Iguana & Lola Vice
Ethan Page found out last minute that his mixed tag team partner would not be available to help him defend their AAA mixed tag titles, so La Hiedra stepped up to substitute. Green is dealing with a foot injury, and she was seen wearing a walking boot via FaceTime.
Mr. Iguana and Lola Vice, a team that has missed their shot at the titles, took full advantage of the lack of chemistry between the champions. In the end, La Yesca, Mr. Iguana’s ringside mascot, distracted Ethan Page, which allowed for Vice to hit her finisher for the pinfall win over La Hiedra.
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