Mr. Iguana Is Over, Brother: AAA Star Draws Huge Backstage Praise (WWE News)
Worlds Collide standout has a LOT of new fans...
At WWE/AAA Worlds Collide - the first Premium Live Event officially "co-promoted" by the "two" companies since the purchase made earlier this year - Mr. Iguana almost stole the show. Headlined by El Hijo del Vikingo retaining the AAA Mega Championship at the expense of Chad Gable, and generating acclaim for an action-packed NXT North American title Fatal Four-Way, it was nonetheless the anthropomorphic herbivorous lizard who most enchanted the "WWE Universe".
In a sloppy yet endearing trios opener, Mr. Iguana teamed with Aero Star and Octagon Jr. to defeat Dragon Lee, Cruz Del Toro and Lince Dorado. Mr. Iguana instantly delighted the fans in the Kia Forum by flicking up his iguana pal with his foot - he's both an iguana and a keeper of iguanas, if you're unfamiliar with the lore - and catching it on his shoulder in a manner not unlike Mr. Perfect catching his own towel. In a brilliant spot that tore the roof off the place, Lince Dorado generated considerable heat by flooring the iguana hand puppet with - and this was so fantastically unnecessary - a standing Spanish fly.
Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select reports that the reaction of the crowd was echoed by both WWE management and the locker room. Mr. Iguana was rushed to the nearby Intuit Dome to make a cameo appearance at Money At The Bank; he had to be there. Many members of the locker room sought him out for photo opportunities. An accommodating Mr. Iguana was a "pleasure" to work with, shifted impressive volumes of merchandise - there are already plans to produce far more - and a source within NXT is pushing for him to make more appearances on Tuesday nights.
Opinion - It's No Real Surprise
In the era of banger fatigue, where the catchphrase and entrance is once again king, Mr. Iguana, despite not quite being one of the best wrestlers in the world, is a wonderfully irreverent presence - almost the perfect first impression wrestler. Everybody took one look at him and fell in love. "I just think he's neat," the wider wrestling world collectively said.
It's no exaggeration to state that Mr. Iguana, across a single weekend, has scored himself bags of cash on the convention circuit for years to come, and, provided Paul Levesque isn't stupid, at least one surprise appearance in a Royal Rumble match.