Mexican National Atómicos Championship

The championship is a national title which means that non-Mexican citizens are prohibited from either challenging for or actually holding the championship.[1] The title is also an Atómicos championship, meaning it is restricted to four-man tag teams.[2] As is the case for every Mexican National titles, the championship is generally not allowed to be defended in any other type of match than a regular match.[2] As it was classified as a national title, it officially prohibited non-Mexican citizens from challenging or holding the championship,, just like all other Mexican national championships. There have been instances where those rules have not been strictly enforced, but in the case of the atómicos championship, all champions were native Mexicans.[3]

As it was a professional wrestling championship, the Mexican National Atómicos Championship was not won not by actual competition, but by a scripted ending to a match, determined by the bookers and matchmakers.[lower-alpha 1] On occasion, the promotion declares a championship vacant, which means there is no championship holder at that point in time. This can either be due to a storyline,[lower-alpha 2] or real-life issues such as a champion suffering an injury being unable to defend the championship,[lower-alpha 3] or leaving the company.[lower-alpha 4]

The Mexican National Atómicos Championship was created in 1996 specifically for the AAA promotion to control. The first champions were crowned after an eight-team tournament that saw Pierroth Jr., Villano III, Villano IV, and Villano V become the inaugural champions after defeating Damián 666, El Hijo del Espectro, Halloween, and Karis La Momia.[lower-alpha 5][lower-alpha 6] In late 1996 Los Villanos left AAA for Promo Azteca, which meant the championship was inactive at that point.[lower-alpha 7] In 1997 Pierroth Jr. left AAA as well, with no reference made to the atómicos championship for about a year. In August AAA held an eight-team tournament that saw Los Vipers (Histeria, Maniaco, Mosco de la Merced, and Psicosis) defeat Los Payasos ("The Clowns"; Coco Amarillo, Coco Azul, Coco Negro, and Coco Rojo).[lower-alpha 8][lower-alpha 9]

Over the next four years Los Vipers and Los Vatos Locos ("The Crazy Guys"; Charly Manson, May Flowers, Nygma, and Picudo/Silver Cat) traded the championship between the two teams.[lower-alpha 10][lower-alpha 11][lower-alpha 12][lower-alpha 13][lower-alpha 14][lower-alpha 15][lower-alpha 16][lower-alpha 17][lower-alpha 18][lower-alpha 19] By December 2, 2002, Oscar Sevilla and Los Barrio Boys ("The Neighborhood Boys"; Alan, Billy Boy, and Decnis) won the championship, ending the Los Vipers/Los Vatos Locos dominance of the title.[lower-alpha 20] The Black Family (Chessman, Cuervo, Escoria, and Ozz briefly held the championship for 21 days,[lower-alpha 21] before Sevilla and Los Barrio Boys regained the championship.[lower-alpha 22] The Black Family won the championship for a second time on August 20, 2004,[lower-alpha 23] beginning a 789-day reign.[8]

In October 2006 Psicosis and his new team, the Mexican Powers (Crazy Boy, Juventud Guerrera, and Joe Líder) won the championship,[8] only for a reorganized Black Family, now known as La Secta del Mesias ("The Sect of the Messiah"), to claim the title on May 20, 2007.[9] The last atómicos champions, Chessman and the Psycho Circus (Killer Clown, Psycho Clown, and Zombie Clown) were stripped of the titles on January 25, 2009, by AAA Commissioner Vampiro, in a storyline where they attacked Vampiro after winning the championship.[10] In December 2008, AAA announced that they would no longer recognize or promote any non-AAA branded shows such as the atómicos championship, the Mexican National Tag Team Championship, and the UWA World Light Heavyweight Championship.[11] While AAA introduced the AAA World Tag Team Championship and the AAA World Trios Championship, later on, they never created an AAA World Atómicos Championship.[9][12]

The Mexican National Atómicos Championship was actively promoted by AAA from August 9, 1996, until January 24, 2009, a total of 4,551 days (12 years, 168 days).[2] In that period of time, 11 different teams held the championship, for a combined 17 reigns.[2] Los Vipers members Histeria, Maniaco, El Mosco de la Merced, and Psicosis hold the record for the most reigns as a team, a total of four, while Psicosis also held it as part of Mexican Powers, putting his individual count at five.[2] The Black Family's (Chessman, Cuervo, Escoria, and Ozz) second reign, from August 20, 2004, to October 18, 2006, was the longest individual reign at 789 days. The Black Family's two reigns combined to 820 days, the most combined days of any team.[2] Cuervo, Escoria, and Ozz held the championship both as part of the Black Family and La Secta de Mesias, putting their individual reigns at 1,420 days.[2] The shortest reign was also the final reign, as Chessman and Los Psycho Circus were stripped of the championship only 6 days after winning it before it was abandoned.[2] The championship was only vacant once during its history, as the original champions, Los Villanos and Pierroth Jr. left AAA in late 1996. After this, the championship was inactive for more thab year until a tournament was held in August 1998.[2]

• Official AAA website