WINC Watchlist: 3 Must-See Mr. Iguana Matches

Two months ago, luchador Mr. Iguana was about as recognizable as long-time tag team partner Nino Hamburguesa, which is to say no one outside of hardcore lucha libre fans recognized him at all. But his fortunes changed in early June, when Iguana was fortunate enough to work the opening match of WWE's Worlds Collide event. He took full advantage of the opportunity, and by the time Worlds Collide was over, his unique look, comedic styles, high flying ability and "pet iguana" Yezka had combined into a performance that made the 37 year old veteran an overnight sensation.

Though he's only appeared on WWE programming sparingly since then, and may have even gotten into trouble for things he said during an interview, Iguana seems poised to make some good money from an upcoming WWE run, and has already parlayed his new found fame into a mixed tag match involving fellow comedic wrestler Santino Marella this past weekend. Still, aside from the Marella match, the Worlds Collide match, and the fact that his whole gimmick may be a reference to marijuana, there's a lot American fans don't know about Iguana. In particular, there's a lot of matches of his that they haven't seen from his time in AAA and other promotions. As such, it feels like an opportune time to take a look at some must-see matches Iguana has been a part of that didn't involve a WWE banner or well known WWE names across from him.

TripleMania XXVIII, taking place in December 2020, may be among the most unique TripleMania's, given it's the only one to take place with no fans thanks to the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. And given AAA's swoon in quality shortly after, it's considered among the last real strong shows AAA produced before WWE bought them, bolstered by Kenny Omega defending the AAA Mega Championship against Laredo Kid and Pagano taking Chessman's hair in a wild main event. The show was also the first (non Regia branded) TripleMania Iguana participated in, having joined AAA after TripleMania XXVII last year. And it was a bit of a wonky situation, as he was set to team with Maximo and Hamburguesa initially, before Hamburguesa was removed and replaced by Dinastia.

The match wasn't all great for Iguana, as a) he lost and b) was rocked by a dropkick near the end. But till that point, the high action opener gave Iguana his first real chance to strut his stuff in a high profile situation, doing his usual comedy while also providing his underrated style of high flying, the kind that continues to sneak up on people to this day. It didn't hurt either that Iguana was given three (at the time) world class bases in Poder del Norte's Carta Brava Jr., Mocho Cota Jr., and Tito Santana (not the one you're thinking of), to work with. A luchador is often only as good as the base they work with, and Brava, Cota, and Santana were the perfect opponents to make Iguana shine like a star. In fact, the match would've likely been Iguana's breakout if fans had been there.

This edition of Copa Bardahl Cibernetico, previously known as the Copa TripleMania at past TripleMania's, represents a bit of an issue when it comes to locating "must see" matches for Iguana during his AAA tenure. For one, there are definitely matches Iguana wrestled in AAA, on the Mexican indies, or even the American indies, that probably represent what he brings to the table better than this. The problem is a) too many of those matches have been lost through time/lack of availability and b) they lacked the importance of Copa Bardahl/TripleMania, a tournament that itself isn't of the greatest significance, but at least has become a staple of AAA's biggest show. There's also the fact that those other matches didn't feature big Iguana wins, whereas this match did.

To date, Iguana's victory at the 2021 Copa Bardahl Cibernetico represents the high point of when he's competed on TripleMania, which doesn't exactly reflect all that well on AAA or their usage of Iguana during his tenure. And compared to the other choices on the list, the match isn't a massive home run, filled with typical battle royal tropes that made it difficult for Iguana and other luchadors to really showcase their ability, and a finish that was immediately overshadowed by a post-match attack on Iguana, and his pals Aramis and Octagon Jr., by the NGD trio. So why is this match here? Because in a sea of mediocrity, it at least represents the first time AAA felt Iguana was worthy of even a semi-big win, and a sign that they saw something in him, the same something that got him the Worlds Collide booking to begin with.

The final "must see" match of Iguana's is another one that is more based on accomplishment than it is a high octane performance. One of the recurring aspects of Iguana's AAA tenure, besides feuding with the Tokyo Bad Boys and teaming with Hamburguesa, has been his love/hate partnership with La Hiedra. Much like an earlier AAA story involving Hamburguesa developing feelings for Lady Maravilla, who feigned interest in Hamburguesa throughout, the Iguana/Hiedra dynamic has seen Iguana remain the well liked technico while Hiedra has been the questionable ruda, at times seemingly leading Iguana astray. Nevertheless, the two have remained partners, and it finally paid off for them in December 2024, when they defeated Crazzy Steve and Havoc to become the new AAA Mixed Tag Team Champions.

Again, those looking for the performance they got from Iguana at Worlds Collide will be disappointed, though it's not his fault. Though Iguana does wrestle a more serious match than normal by leaving Yezka in the back and doing some nice grappling with Steve early on, he isn't allowed to do a whole lot of high flying due to match time, and the fact that he and Hiedra are on the defensive for most of the match. It also won't surprise many to know that there was an obvious  clash of styles between the lucha team and the US team of Steve and Havoc, leading to the match being just so-so. But it's again not about the match quality; it's about the accomplishment, which was the biggest in Iguana's career to that point, and if nothing else, a sign that AAA at least saw some value in him, opening the door for his true breakout just a few months later.