AAA kicked off the year with a new TV deal with Fox in Mexico and the first TV taping on Saturday night (Jan. 17, 2026) from Mexico City. The feature bout was El Grande Americano battling Hijo del Vikingo
to become #1 contender for the AAA Mega Championship held by Dominik Mysterio. In the end, El Grande Americano was saved by Rey Mysterio.
Rey opened the show with criticism about his son. Rey scoffed that Dirty Dom thinks AAA wouldn’t exist without him carrying the company on his back as champion. Later in the program, El Sucio de Los Sucios took full credit for the FOX television deal, celebrities in the crowd, and increased exposure for AAA. Dominik will have statues erected in his honor.
Vikingo is embracing the rudo side superbly. The fans already booed loudly at the mere mention of his name by Rey. Backstage, Vikingo and Dorian Roldan big-timed the interviewer, Andrea Bazarte. Vikingo asked rhetorically why fans love the fake Mexican known as El Grande Americano when they can root for a real man like himself. Vikingo doubled down. Everyone who supports EGA is an idiot. The best part of Vikingo’s trolling came next. He closed the door to finish the interview, then he opened back up to call Andrea stupid too for hanging with Americano.
Vikingo heeled it up in the ring as well by poking Americano in the eye to halt the momentum of the the alleged foreigner. Roldan added distractions and physical interference on the outside. When Americano attempted a superplex, Roldan grabbed Vikingo’s legs to block the maneuver. The referee caught this instance and ejected Roldan.
On commentary, Rey put over Americano slowly turning babyface. Sure, the crowd loves EGA already, but he has been a true rudo up to this point. When Americano shook hands with Rey at Guerra de Titanes, Rey felt something there. During this match, the process of turning was teased. Americano was going to cheat with the loaded headbutt, but he tossed the steel aside and decided to wrestle clean instead.
During the Roldan ejection, Americano crawled outside to retrieve the foreign object. That’s when a massive foot stomped on his hand. That foot belonged to the giant Omos. Vikingo landed a dive on Americano, then he finished with a 630 senton to win. Vikingo earned the title shot against Dirty Dom.
After the match, Americano went on the attack for running headbutts. Omos is so tall that Americano was colliding into his shoulder rather than reaching his head. Omos brushed him off and delivered a big boot. Rey ran in with a kendo stick to save Americano. Roldan called off Omos, and El Ojo faction exited.
That is an interesting dynamic building between Rey and Americano. The babyface turn is unfolding little by little. Rey’s status as a beloved legend will give the rub of approval once Americano sees the light. EGA is hugely popular as is. This story could end up making him a mega star in AAA.
The other big news from this episode was the return of Escobar Santos to AAA. Santos was a superstar back when he was El Hijo del Fantasma. The scene began with El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. talking about representing the greatest legacy in lucha libre, Los Wagner. He also claimed to have the most beautiful mask. Wagner hyped up the AAA Latin American Championship by issuing an open challenge to any luchador. That’s when Santos arrived in the ring from behind wearing the Fantasma mask. The two men stared at each other. The fans lost patience and chanted for them to kiss (Beso, beso, beso!). Santos leaned in to whisper in Wagner’s ear. The fans got excited for erotica. Boom! Santos punched Wagner, then he revealed himself by taking off the Fantasma mask. I am shocked at the lack of response the crowd gave Santos. They were dead silent when he appeared in the ring. This man was a huge star previously in AAA, so it’s not like they didn’t recognize him. When Santos removed the mask, the crowd reacted a little bit, but there wasn’t a pop.
This episode was very light on wrestling. There were about ten minutes of ring action in the first hour before the main event. Fan favorites Niño Hamburguesa, La Parka & Mr. Iguana won the first bout over the rudo trio of Abismo Negro, Taurus & Histeria. La Parka hit a moonsault outside, then Hamburguesa landed a suicide dive onto the pile. Iguana cleaned up for the Iguanarana on Taurus to win.
The second bout was the Reina de Reinas champion in non-title action. Flammer received cheating help from Las Toxicas to defeat Lady Shani. When Shani had momentum, La Hiedra distracted the referee. Lola Vice ran out to fight with Hiedra. Meanwhile, Maravilla trifled with Shani. Flammer took advantage for a dropkick to knock Shani down, then she closed with a running dropkick in the corner. Being that this was a non-title contest, I thought perhaps Shani would have success to set up a future title shot. Well, that did not happen. Time will tell if this is the first chapter of a feud or if Shani takes a backseat to another contender.
The next episode should be more action-packed. AAA advertised three title bouts, but no opponents were named. All we know is that Psycho Clown & Pagano will defend the tag titles, El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. will defend the Latin American belt, and Laredo Kid will defend the cruiserweight strap.
There is also supposed to be a massive announcement from Penta. He mentioned the Rey de Reyes tournament, so that could be a hint. Rey de Reyes is similar to King of the Ring, except the winner receives a huge sword instead of a crown. WWE better keep the tradition of the sword. Rey de Reyes is scheduled for March 14 from Puebla.
The full episode is available for free on WWE (video in English), WWE Español, and AAA YouTube channels outside Mexico.
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