Three championships were on the line Saturday night as AAA presented the opening installment of Héroes Inmortales XVIII from the Gimnasio Olímpico Juan de la Barrera in Mexico City.
Dominik Mysterio was looking to reclaim the AAA Mega Championship from El Grande Americano, La Catalina faced two members of Las Tóxicas with her Reina de Reinas Championship at stake, and Los Perros del Mal defended their World Trios Championship against an unlikely trio of challengers.
By the time the final bell sounded, all three championships remained with their respective holders. Getting there, however, involved plenty of interference, questionable tactics, and one particularly familiar family rivalry.
Let’s head south of the border and see what happened.
AAA World Trios Championship: Los Perros del Mal vs. La Parka, Mr. Iguana & Niño Hamburguesa
Winners: Los Perros del Mal — Retain the AAA World Trios Championship
Ángel, Berto, and Daga opened the evening by defending their championships against La Parka, Mr. Iguana, and Niño Hamburguesa.
The challengers wasted little time getting aggressive, attacking the champions before the opening bell and attempting to establish an early advantage. Mr. Iguana became the primary target once Los Perros del Mal took control, with the champions using frequent tags and coordinated offense to prevent him from reaching his partners.
La Parka eventually entered the match and mounted a comeback, delivering several impressive moves that threatened to bring the championships home to his team.
Unfortunately, Karmen Petrovic became involved at ringside, distracting the referee at a critical moment. Daga capitalized with a low blow against La Parka, allowing Ángel to secure the pinfall with a roll-up.
The champions celebrated, but their evening wasn’t finished.
After Los Perros del Mal continued attacking their opponents, Big Mami made her return, storming the ring and going after Petrovic. The surprise appearance sent the champions and their associate retreating before Big Mami could finish what she’d started.
Stinger’s View: A lively opening contest featuring a nice mixture of traditional lucha libre action and heavyweight brawling. I particularly enjoyed the challengers’ willingness to take the fight directly to the champions.
Unfortunately, the finish was another case of interference deciding a championship match. I understand that Los Perros del Mal are supposed to be villains, but I’d still like to see championship matches decided without somebody at ringside sticking their nose into the action.
Big Mami’s return was a fun surprise, though, and certainly gives AAA something to build on.
AAA Reina de Reinas Championship: La Catalina vs. Flammer vs. La Hiedra
Winner: La Catalina — Retains the AAA Reina de Reinas Championship
La Catalina entered Héroes Inmortales facing a difficult assignment: defending her championship against two members of Las Tóxicas.
Flammer and La Hiedra initially worked together, using their familiarity as teammates to isolate the champion and deliver a series of double-team attacks. Lady Maravilla accompanied the challengers and attempted to keep their increasingly strained relationship from falling apart.
Of course, there’s one rather significant problem with having two teammates challenge for the same singles championship.
Only one of them can win.
As the contest progressed, Flammer and La Hiedra began arguing over pinfall attempts and opportunities to claim the title. Their cooperation deteriorated, allowing La Catalina to fight her way back into the match.
The champion connected with several impressive offensive maneuvers, including an attack from the top rope to the outside.
The decisive moment came when Lady Maravilla introduced the championship belt into the proceedings. The resulting confusion between Flammer and La Hiedra allowed La Catalina to take advantage, connecting with a Busaiku Knee against Flammer to secure the three-count.
Stinger’s View: This was probably the evening’s most interesting match from a storytelling standpoint.
The situation with Flammer and La Hiedra made perfect sense. They could cooperate for only so long before their individual championship ambitions got in the way.
I particularly liked that La Catalina retained by capitalizing on their mistakes rather than relying on somebody to rescue her.
The ongoing problems within Las Tóxicas should make for an interesting storyline over the coming weeks. Sometimes the simplest wrestling stories are the most effective, and two partners fighting over the same championship is about as straightforward as it gets.
AAA Mega Championship: El Grande Americano vs. Dominik Mysterio
Winner: El Grande Americano — Retains the AAA Mega Championship
The evening’s main event featured El Grande Americano defending the AAA Mega Championship against former champion Dominik Mysterio.
Dominik wasn’t coming alone, either.
Dorian Roldán accompanied the challenger, while the imposing Omos eventually made his presence felt at ringside. Their involvement created an uphill battle for Americano almost immediately.
Roldán attacked the champion with a steel chair during the introductions, allowing Dominik to seize an early advantage. The challenger followed with a 619 and attempted to finish the match before Americano could recover.
The champion survived the initial assault and began fighting back, trading offense with Dominik as the contest developed.
Omos eventually appeared at ringside, creating another distraction for the champion. Dominik took advantage whenever possible, but Americano continued refusing to surrender his championship.
Late in the match, Americano connected with an Aztec Headbutt that appeared sufficient to secure the victory. Omos prevented the pinfall by pulling the referee out of the ring.
That brought out Rey Mysterio, who confronted Omos and attacked him with a steel chair.
The chaos continued as Dominik attempted to use the chair himself, only for Rey to intervene again. Americano then connected with another headbutt against Dominik, allowing the recovering referee to count the pinfall.
El Grande Americano had survived, and the AAA Mega Championship remained around his waist.
Stinger’s View: Well, would you look at that? Dominik Mysterio tried to win a championship with a little help from his friends, and his father showed up to ruin the party.
Some things never change.
The match itself was entertaining, and I appreciate that Americano looked resilient despite the odds being stacked against him. Dominik is particularly effective in this role because he’s so easy to dislike, and having Omos standing nearby makes him even more obnoxious.
That said, I have mixed feelings about the finish.
On one hand, Rey coming to his son’s opponent’s aid makes sense given their history. On the other, we had another championship match featuring outside interference and a steel chair.
I would have preferred to see Americano beat Dominik without so many moving parts, but at least the champion ultimately secured the pinfall.
And if there’s one thing we’ve learned over the years, it’s that Dominik Mysterio’s family problems aren’t going away anytime soon.
Looking Ahead: Rey Fénix and the Cruiserweight Championship
AAA also addressed the status of Mini Vikingo, who had been scheduled to challenge Rey Fénix for the AAA World Cruiserweight Championship during the second installment of Héroes Inmortales.
With Vikingo sidelined by injury, Fénix indicated that he wanted to preserve the opportunity for him when he returns. In the meantime, the champion is expected to issue an open challenge during the October 31 broadcast.
It’s a disappointing development for Vikingo, but the open challenge creates an interesting opportunity for another competitor to step forward.
Stinger’s Final View: Three Champions Survive
The opening night of AAA Héroes Inmortales XVIII delivered three championship defenses, some enjoyable wrestling, and enough interference to keep the referees busy for the rest of the month.
Los Perros del Mal escaped with their championships thanks to questionable tactics, La Catalina survived the implosion of her challengers’ partnership, and El Grande Americano overcame Dominik Mysterio and his associates to retain the company’s biggest prize.
Of the three matches, I particularly enjoyed the story surrounding La Catalina, Flammer, and La Hiedra. The tension between the challengers gave the match a natural progression and produced a finish that advanced their rivalry while protecting the champion.
The return of Big Mami was another noteworthy moment, while Rey Mysterio’s involvement in the main event ensured that his ongoing issues with Dominik remain part of AAA’s championship picture.
Match of the Night: La Catalina vs. Flammer vs. La Hiedra
Biggest Development: El Grande Americano retains the AAA Mega Championship
Biggest Surprise: Big Mami returns
Biggest Frustration: Outside interference in two of the three championship matches
Héroes Inmortales continues October 31, with Rey Fénix’s Cruiserweight Championship open challenge among the attractions.
Until next time, this is Stinger, signing off from the rafters.
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