In Mexico, one of the top wrestling promotions is Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide, which has a history dating back to 1992 when founder Antonia Peña staged an exodus from the country’s longest-running promotion, CMLL. Currently, the top title in the promotion is the Mega Campeonato AAA, or the AAA Mega Championship as it is known in English. Established in 2007, the title has been held by some of the top wrestlers in the world, including Rey Fenix, Dr. Wagner Jr., and Kenny Omega.

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Fans may not be familiar with the AAA Mega Championship as much as they are with other titles, so let’s take a look at the belt’s history and what fans should know about it, including its appearances in US-based promotions like Impact Wrestling and All Elite Wrestling.

10 The Inaugural Champion Was Determined In A Tournament

El Mesias vs. Chessman in AAA

When the AAA Mega Championship was introduced in 2007, its inaugural champion was decided via a tournament called the Champion of Champions Tournament. The single elimination bracket featured a strong array of talent including El Mesias, former WWE star Kenzo Suzuki, Cibernetico, Mr. Niebla, Chessman, Charly Manson, El Zorro and La Parka — the second one, not the one who appeared in WCW. The finals would come down to El Mesias vs. Chessman, with Mesias coming out on top to become the first Mega Champion.

9 The Tournament Unified Four Titles

AAA Mega Championship

The decision to create the Mega Championship stemmed from AAA's decision to stop allowing non-AAA titles to be defended under its umbrella, with the tournament functioning as a way to unify four distinct singles belts that were floating around the promotion. Those belts were the El Mesias’ IWC World Heavyweight Championship, La Parka’s GPCW SUPER-X Monster Championship, Chessman’s UWA World Light Heavyweight Championship, and Charly Manson’s historic Mexican National Heavyweight Championship. As a result, the field of competition included the four champions and their #1 contenders, with the outcome being that the winner of the tournament was the champion of champions, hence the name of the tournament and the name of the Mega Championship.

8 Appeared As “The Mexican Heavyweight Championship” In Impact

Jeff Jarrett in Impact Wrestling with “The Mexican Heavyweight Championship”

Over in Impact Wrestling in 2010, Jeff Jarrett was feuding with Kurt Angle, with their ultimate match carrying the stipulation that Jarrett had to move to Mexico if he lost. Double J did indeed lose, and thus began to show up in AAA, which had a working relationship going with Impact. There, he proved successful, defeating El Zorro at Triplemania 19 to capture the Mega Championship.

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During his 274 days with the belt, Jarrett brought the Mega Championship to the Impact Zone, where it was referred to as the “Mexican Heavyweight Championship” and had the AAA logo covered up as Impact wasn’t allowed to namecheck the promotion.

7 El Mesias Held The Championship Four Times

El Mesias with the AAA Mega Championship

The AAA Mega Championship has a number of multi-time champions including three-time champion Rey Wagner (a.k.a. Dr. Wagner Jr.), two-time champion El Texano Jr., and two-time champion Jeff Jarrett. But the wrestler who held it the most times was El Mesias, better known to North American fans for his run in Lucha Underground as Mil Muertes as well as a weak run in Impact as Judas Mesias. Since 2007, El Mesias has held the belt four times for a total of 721 days, with his last run being a 259-day reign in 2012.

6 Johnny Mundo Won The Belt In A Winner-Take-All Match

Johnny Mundo as a triple champion in AAA

Winner-take-all bouts between champions offer some of the highest takes possible in pro wrestling, and the AAA Mega Championship was defended under such circumstances at Rey De Reyes in August 2017. There, AAA Mega Champion El Texano Jr., AAA Latin America Champion Johnny Mundo (a.k.a. WWE’s John Morrison), and AAA Cruiserweight Champion El Hijo del Fantasma (a.k.a. WWE’s Santos Escobar) all put their belts on the line in a three-way match, with Mundo coming out on top. At October’s Heroes Inmortales 11, Mundo all three belts in three different matches, losing two titles but retaining the Mega Championship.

5 Showed Up In Lucha Underground

El Patron Alberto with the AAA Mega Championship in Lucha Underground

Many of the above-mentioned stars showed up in the beloved series Lucha Underground, which was partially owned by AAA and thus shared a lot of stars. While AAA itself was rarely acknowledged on the show, the Mega Championship did end up making its way to the show late in the first season with the introduction of Alberto El Patron (formerly WWE’s Alberto Del Rio), who held the title at the time. El Patron had ended Texano Jr.’s 735-day reign with the belt — a record at the time — so in Lucha Underground the two had a rematch in the form of a Bullrope match, but Texano was unsuccessful.

4 Signing To WWE Caused Alberto El Patron To Vacate The Title

El Patron Alberto with the AAA Mega Championship

In AAA, Alberto El Patron was referred to as El Patron Alberto, though he wrestled for the company in the early 2000s as the masked Dos Caras Jr. In 2014, El Patron returned the company, and his aforementioned Mega Championship Title reign began three months later. It was a landmark win, as El Patron was the first wrestler to hold CMLL’s and AAA’s top heavyweight titles, but would not reach a satisfying conclusion.

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In 2015, El Patron made a surprise return to WWE while still Mega Champion, resulting in AAA stripping him of the title after a 337-day reign. According to El Patron himself, WWE had allowed him to return to Mexico to drop the belt, he blamed AAA’s lack of organization for those plans falling through.

3 Part of Kenny Omega’s “Belt Collector” Storyline

Kenny Omega as AAA Mega Champion

In late 2020, All Elite Wrestling star Kenny Omega captured the AEW World Championship from Jon Moxley under unscrupulous circumstances, turning heel and kicking off his big “belt collector” storyline. As part of it, he ventured to Impact Wrestling and AAA, where he captured their top singles titles as well. It was at AAA’s Heroes Inmortales 13 that he won the AAA Mega Championship, defeating fellow AEW star Rey Fenix for the title, and defended it on AEW shows against Jack Evans and Sammy Guevara.

2 Kenny Omega Is The Longest Reigning Champ

Kenny Omega with the AAA Mega Championship in AEW

In addition to those AEW matches, Kenny Omega defended the belt in AAA as well, scoring strong title defenses against talent like Dragon Lee, Laredo Kid, and another AEW cohort in Andrade El Idolo. Omega’s reign would last 765 days, the longest to date and beating the 735-day record previously established by El Texano Jr.. However, injuries would get the best of Omega, forcing him to vacate the title in November 2021 as he sought to recover from surgery on a hernia as well as his knees.

1 El Hijo Del Vikingo Won The Vacant Belt In 2021

El Hijo del Vikingo wins the AAA Mega Championship at TripleMania Regia 2021

Before vacating the belt, Kenny Omega was set to defend the Mega Championship against AAA standout El Hijo del Vikingo at Triplemania Regia 2 in December 2021. The former two-time Trios Champion got his shot, albeit in a five-way main-event for the vacant belt against Jay Lethal, Samuray del Sol, Bobby Fish, and Bandido. El Hijo del Vikingo would come out on top in the effort, becoming the youngest champion at 24 years old as well as the smallest, as he’s billed at 5’6”.