Pro Wrestling Chronicle

Hello everyone. My name is Carlos Lopez, and I am the newest member of the PW Chronicle family. Johnny P has asked me to come aboard and share my knowledge about Lucha Libre with the Chronicle readers. But, before we delve into the subject, I’d like to share a little about myself and how I came to love lucha libre.

Like most great things, my love affair with Lucha Libre began in the 1980s. During my elementary years, I was fortunate enough to be able to visit my mother’s family in Mexico during the summers. Outside of watching Thundercats and He-Man dubbed in Spanish, the most enjoyable thing for a kid to do was go to the weekly lucha shows, where EMLL (the only large promotion at the time) would send its D or E level performers. While I was too young to realize that the wrestlers were crap, I wasn’t too old to be mesmerized by the bright masks and high-flying acrobatics. While I would return to my tried-and-true wrestling love of WWF at the end of every summer, there was still a part of me that fondly remembered and longed for the flamboyancy of lucha libre. Cue the 1990s.

It was around 1991 or 1992, that the WWF and I stopped seeing eye-to-eye. While I was growing and needed more substance to my entertainment, the WWF simply wouldn’t budge, instead preferring to cram an increasing amount of cartoon characters on camera. It was time for me to move on. This could have been the point where I abandoned wrestling for good, like many of my peers. Luckily for myself, lucha libre was going through something of a renaissance at the time. This was the beginning of AAA and the re-invention of lucha libre. It was at this time that Rey Misterio, Eddie Guerrero, Juventud, etc were tearing it up in Mexico. I was lucky enough to watch the shows every Sunday afternoon, and being fluent in Spanish, I was able to understand everything that was going on. By 1996, however, the Mexican economy imploded and the top lucha stars (except for Santo) left for ECW/WCW. Americans were finally exposed to lucha style wrestling, and at the same time, I could see my favorite wrestlers without worrying about wrestling shows being pre-empted for soccer. That’s a win-win situation. The rest, as they say, is history.

But, enough about me. In Mexico, there is a second renaissance of sorts going on, with AAA being the undisputed king of “sports entertainment” , while CMLL has the top draw in Wrestling Observer Wrestler of the Year™ Mistico. Lucha is also making more inroads into the US. CMLL has a working relationship with TNA and is an integral part of the World X-Cup. Meanwhile, AAA has a working relationship with ROH in the works that will send some of their best wrestlers to work with the best in the US. Right now is a great time for anyone to be a lucha libre fan. Hopefully I can help the PW Chronicle readers become lucha fans.

In my next installment, I will present a short history of lucha libre. Until then, I am Carlos Lopez, signing out.