‘Dirty Dom’ winning the Mega championship the first step toward what AAA will become under WWE

Dominik Mysterio has become the AAA Mega world champion.

“Dirty Dom” picked up the company’s top championship at Worlds Collide Friday night, defeating former two-time champion El Hijo del Vikingo in their 20-minute main event bout to close out the night. The move makes the young Mysterio a double champion, obviously holding both the Mega title and the WWE Intercontinental title.

I think before we continue we need to point out that putting the title on Mysterio is smart. I don’t necessarily fully agree with it, nor that it was done on a non-traditional AAA show (Worlds Collide has never been a notable show for AAA, with only one event in 1994). Additionally the show took place outside Mexico in front of a very animated, pro-Dom Las Vegas crowd. The fans went so far as to boo Vikingo when it seemed like he was about to win. There’s no arguing that as well known and beloved as Vikingo is in Mexico, even with his exposure on AEW television, he’s simply not as well known to the more insulated WWE audience.

There are a lot of loaded variables here. However, I also don’t think you can look at the AAA roster on its own merits and argue they can match up to Mysterio in terms of character value and drawing power as a young, crossover athlete who can engage Mexican and U.S. audiences. Vikingo will probably claim a third title down the road, perhaps even from Dom, but right now there’s not a better option from WWE’s point of view. If WWE’s desire is to push the AAA brand as a mainstream commodity under their banner, the title change makes sense.

‘Mega’ ‘Dirty Dom’ and the Path Forward

With Mysterio as the new top champion in AAA, the companies have someone who can appear on regular WWE television in addition to the key AAA shows. Without an ounce of disrespect to Kenny Omega, Vikingo and AEW, the AAA Mega title appearing on WWE television carries more optic value than when Omega was the “belt collector” and carried his championships on AEW, Impact and AAA shows. That isn’t to say any one wrestler is better than the other, but in terms of viewership and optics it goes without saying. WWE simply has the larger footprint and more of a global reach.

Mysterio as AAA champion is going to accomplish a handful of positive objectives. First, AAA is going to be getting more exposure as a brand outside Mexico than it has ever received. Its partnership with AEW was rocky at best and ended poorly. However, now under WWE and with them having a fixed narrative creatively compared to the competing separate interests of AEW and AAA, that’s going to mean a balanced, coherent approach to how Mysterio is used as champion to both promote WWE and its brand of wrestling and the style of Lucha used in AAA. Secondly, that crossover is going to allow AAA-contracted wrestlers to appear on bigger stages than they ever have, and for some, bigger payouts than they’ve ever received. For example, when Vikingo inevitably surfaces on WWE TV, his stock should rise the more exposure he receives. He deserves it because he’s a fantastic wrestler.

WWE is home to a number of talents who can crossover into the Lucha wrestling community and excel. I would have included Andrade in this list prior to Saturday, but if you look at who they have access to you can run Mysterio against Dragon Lee, Vikingo, Rey Fenix and Penta easily in succession on AAA shows. That is one aspect in which his crossover value gets high marks, and doubly so against talents who also have roots in the wrestling community. Additionally, I’m sure we’ll see Mysterio defending against WWE-contracted talents on WWE programming. Even if he isn’t defending and is defending the IC title instead, the strap will be present and visible. That creates value to an audience of Netflix users who can watch WWE programming whenever they want.

Dom vs. Rey is an Inevitable Showdown

Considering how Worlds End concluded, a main event matchup between Rey Mysterio and his son seems likely. Father and son competing for one of the top two traditional prizes in Lucha Libre is the perfect stamp on where it’s felt like their family feud has been headed for some time.

For those who didn’t watch the show, Rey was forced and goaded into not only handing his son the AAA Mega title, but he was ordered to fasten the belt around his son’s waist before being motioned to leave by Dom. This feels like another layer to the story they’ve been cultivating between them for the last several years. That’s especially so since Dominik’s heel turn and his subsequent rise as a character. Frankly, he’s thriving past where I thought he’d develop to. He’s not the same kind of athlete Vikingo is or his father was, but he’s very good in the ring and is a better character that has more potential in that regard.

Naturally we have to talk about what’s next. I think Mysterio is going to have a solid run as AAA champion and the experience of carrying that weight will only help his development. He’s still young, and with both he and Vikingo being 28 years old, they can be built around for the next decade. Although a continued feud and possible title switch back to Vikingo would not be ridiculous, I think Dom will likely hold the championship into 2026 and I think he will defeat all those people I mentioned.

I feel like that’s where Rey and Dominik becomes the match to make.

Rey Mysterio’s career is winding down and it only seems sensible to have his final match be against his son to resolve their storyline once and for all. For some time I’ve imagined it had to be a match where if Rey loses then he has to both give up his mask (again) and retire. Now with Dom having won the AAA title, I think that scenario is easier to make since the younger Mysterio is calling himself the King of Luchadors and carries the championship to back up the claim.

You can really do this any time, but with WrestleMania a mere six to seven months away that would probably be the spot if they were ever going to. What happens after that is anyone’s guess, but I think that’s the only real way to end their story and push Dom toward what’s next for him. I think you accomplish that with Rey putting over his son on the way out.

The New Era of AAA

Whatever the destination is, Dom Mysterio winning the Mega title is a turning point for AAA under WWE. This is the first major move the company has made since acquiring AAA at WrestleMania, and it feels like the first step toward whatever the company is going to become now under WWE leadership.

I’m in no place to discuss the cultural impact of that move, nor weigh the positives and negatives of WWE corporatization of AAA. That being said, WWE has a history of sanitizing company properties after acquiring them. That was true of ECW, and “WCW” was a shell of itself during the Invasion angle in 2001. Although I feel like HHH and company are going to show infinitely more respect for AAA than Vince McMahon showed WCW 24 years ago (and as recently as Sting’s run), the concern some might have had about what AAA was going to represent for the Lucha community in Mexico can’t have wavered too much post-Worlds Collide.

That’s not something anyone not of the culture can truly say one way or the other, but from the outside looking in Mysterio winning the AAA title does appear to be movement toward the WWE-ing of AAA. What that means for the brand and its core roster is unknowable at the moment, but over the next year I think that becomes crystallized. I don’t think the concerns of someone like Wrestling Headlines columnist El Gringo Loco necessarily have been averted in the months since WrestleMania, and I don’t think — at the risk of speaking for him — that Worlds Collide did anything to disarm that concern. There’s also no stopping that transformation at this point. There are clear positives and negatives here, but where that leaves AAA, its pre-purchase roster/fans and how that’s viewed within Mexico is what matters most.

From a pure fan perspective, as well as a sterilized business point of view, a Mysterio vs. Mysterio money match for the AAA Mega title is a bout that sounds great on paper. The repercussions of that showdown can easily create something memorable between father and son. That’s especially so should it somehow be coupled with a Dom Mysterio face turn (it really wouldn’t be that hard). However what matters most is how that impacts and affects the definition of what Lucha is in the sphere of where it calls home. That is for that community to determine.

The younger Mysterio’s title run will be a net positive that will shine a bright light on the top title in AAA and its fantastic roster. A potential match with his father is the no-brainer match to make, and I think if that happens it will be a love letter to Lucha as a style and they will do their best to pay homage to Lucha as best they can. Regardless, for now, the future of what AAA and WWE’s brand of Lucha is rests squarely on Dominik Mysterio’s shoulders. No matter what the corporate structure wants, what that means is up to him.