| CMLL 68th Anniversary show | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Mephisto, on the winning side in the main event. | |||
| Promotion | Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre | ||
| Date | September 28, 2001[1] | ||
| City | Mexico City, Mexico[1] | ||
| Venue | Arena México[1] | ||
| Attendance | 10,500[1] | ||
| Event chronology | |||
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| CMLL Anniversary Shows chronology | |||
| |||
TheCMLL 68th Anniversary Show (Spanish:68. Aniversario de CMLL) was aprofessional wrestlingpay-per-view (PPV) event produced and scripted byConsejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL; "World Wrestling Council") that took place on September 28, 2001 inArena México,Mexico City, Mexico. The event commemorated the 68th anniversary of CMLL, the oldestprofessional wrestling promotion in the world. The Anniversary show is CMLL's biggest show of the year, theirSuper Bowl event. The CMLL Anniversary Show series is the longest-running annual professional wrestling show, starting in 1934.
The show consisted of five matches, with the main event being aLucha de Apuestas, eliminationsteel cage match where all seven competitors put their mask on the line, also on the line was the right to use the nameLos Infernales, the winning team would claim the name. The competitors wereÚltimo Guerrero,Rey Bucanero,Tarzan Boy,Máscara Mágica,Mephisto,Averno andEl Satánico. This was the first time aCMLL Anniversary Show featured a steel cage match.
The show featured a total of fourSix-man tag team matches, including a match for theMexican National Trios Championship whereOlímpico,Mr. Niebla andSafari defended the championship against theLos Boricuas team ofGran Markus Jr.,Violencia andPoder Boricua.
The MexicanLucha libre (professional wrestling)companyConsejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) started out under the nameEmpresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre ("Mexican Wrestling Company"; EMLL), founded bySalvador Lutteroth in 1933. Lutteroth, inspired by professional wrestling shows he had attended in Texas, decided to become a wrestling promoter and held his first show on September 21, 1933, marking what would be the beginning of organized professional wrestling in Mexico.[2] Lutteroth would later become known as "the father of Lucha Libre" .[3] A year later EMLL held theEMLL 1st Anniversary Show, starting the annual tradition of theConsejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Anniversary Shows that have been held each year ever since, most commonly in September.[4] Over the years the anniversary show would become the biggest show of the year for CMLL, akin to theSuper Bowl for theNational Football League (NFL) orWWE'sWrestleMania event.[2][5] The first anniversary show was held inArena Modelo, which Lutteroth had bought after starting EMLL. In 1942–43 Lutteroth financed the construction ofArena Coliseo, which opened in April 1943. TheEMLL 10th Anniversary Show was the first of the anniversary shows to be held in Arena Coliseo.[4] In 1956 Lutteroth hadArena México at the location of the original Arena Modelo, making Arena México the main venue of EMLL from that point on.[4] Starting with theEMLL 23rd Anniversary Show, all anniversary shows except for theEMLL 46th Anniversary Show have been held in the arena that would become known as "The Cathedral of Lucha Libre".[4] On occasion EMLL held more than one show labelled as their "Anniversary" show, such as two 33rd Anniversary Shows in 1966.[4] Over time the anniversary show series became the oldest, longest-running annual professional wrestling show. In comparison, WWE's WrestleMania is only the fourth oldest still promoted show (after CMLL's Arena Coliseo Anniversary Show andArena México anniversary shows).[2][4][6] EMLL was supposed to hold theEMLL 52nd Anniversary Show on September 20, 1985 but Mexico City was hit by amagnitude 8.0earthquake. EMLL canceled the event both because of the general devastation but also over fears thatArena México might not be structurally sound after the earthquake.[4][7]
WhenJim Crockett Promotions was bought byTed Turner in 1988 EMLL became the oldest still active promotion in the world.[5] In 1991 EMLL was rebranded as "Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre" and thus held theCMLL 59th Anniversary Show, the first under the new name, on September 18, 1992.[4] Traditionally CMLL holds their major events on Friday Nights, replacing their regularly scheduledSuper Viernes show.[6] The 2001 show commemorated the 68th anniversary of CMLL. Between 1998 and 2002 CMLL broadcast 11 of their major shows onpay-per-view (PPV) television to viewers in Mexico, starting with the 1998Ruleta de la Muerte tournament. The 68th Anniversary show was the first CMLL Anniversary show to be offered on PPV, something that was not offered again until theCMLL 73rd Anniversary Show in 2006.[8] The 2001 event was the first time the very conservative CMLL would hold asteel cage match on their anniversary show.[9]
The event featured fiveprofessional wrestling matches with different wrestlers involved in pre-existingscripted feuds orstorylines. Wrestlers portray eithervillains (referred to asRudos in Mexico) orfan favorites (Técnicos in Mexico) as they compete in wrestling matches with pre-determined outcomes.[6]
During the early 1980s thesix-man tag teams, orTrios, became extremely popular with the fans in Mexico, to the point where it actually became the most common match form. During the emergence of the Trios matchesEl Satánico formed a trio withPirata Morgan andEspectro Jr. known asLos Infernales ("The Infernal Ones"),[10] one of the teams credited with thetrios match becoming the most common match form inLucha libre.[6]Los Infernales existed in various forms from the early 1980s through the mid-1990s. In 1999 El Satánico began teaming with a couple of young wrestlers,Rey Bucanero andÚltimo Guerrero, on a regular basis. The trio, soon dubbedLos Nuevo Infernales, or simplyLos Infernales, won the 1999 version of theCopa de Arena Mexico by defeating the trio ofEmilio Charles Jr.,Mr. Niebla andTarzan Boy in the finals.[11] Following the tournament El Satánico began working a feud with the young técnico Tarzan Boy, with the explanation being that "El Satánico wanted to teach the young kid a lesson".[10] Meanwhile, Rey Bucanero and Último Guerrero experienced their own success as they won theCMLL World Tag Team Championship by defeatingVillano IV andMr. Niebla in a tournament final to win the vacant championship.[12][13]
The feud between El Satánico. and Tarzan Boy was used to turn both Bucanero and Último Guerrero against El Satánico. Bucanero, Guerrero and Tarzan Boy claimed that they deserved the nameLos Infernales and that "old man" Satánico was holding them back.[10] For the storyline El Satánico then recruited two other wrestlers to even the numbers, which on TV was presented as if he used his "Satanic powers" to turn wrestler Rencor Latino intoAverno (Spanish for "Hell") and transformed Astro Rey Jr. into a character known asMephisto.[10] When Tarzan Boy was injured and unable to wrestle Bucanero and Guerrero recruitedMáscara Mágica to even the numbers between the two factions. By the summer of 2001, both factions agreed to face off in one final match to settle the score. The match would include all seven wrestlers and be asteel cage match, the first steel cage match to be featured on an anniversary show.[14] The rules stated that a wrestler could escape the cage after a certain amount of time had passed, with the last two wrestlers in the cage having to wrestle to a pinfall or a submission. The winning team would be given the rights to the nameLos Infernales while the wrestler that specifically lost would be forced to either remove theirmask or have their hair shaved off afterLucha de Apuestas, or "bet match", rules.[4][15]
On July 6, 1996 the team ofBlue Panther,Fuerza Guerrera andEl Signo won theMexican National Trios Championship, a championship that had previously been promoted by CMLL but by 1996 was promoted by rival promotionsAsistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) andPromotora Mexicana de Lucha Libre (PROMLL). Later on, AAA and PROMLL had a falling out and the trios championship became inactive as the champions did not team up on a regular basis.[16] After not being defended since September 1996 the trio came together again on March 30, 2002 at the 2001Juicio Final ("Final Justice") CMLL show. The trio lost the Mexican National Trios Championship to CMLL-regularsOlímpico,Mr. Niebla andSafari, signalling that the championship was back under CMLL's control.[16] During the summer of 2001 the CMLL basedLos Boricuas (Spanish slang for people fromPuerto Rico) had become one of the promotion's mainrudo groups. The group was led byPierroth Jr. and also included veteran wrestlerGran Markus Jr. as well asViolencia,Veneno,Nitro andPoder Boricua. Due to their prominent position in CMLL the team of Gran Markus Jr., Veneno and Poder Boricua were granted a match for the Mexican National Trios Championship.[9]
The first match of the show was abest two-out-of-three falls six-man "Lucha Libre rules" tag team match, the most common match form inlucha libre since the early 1980s. In this case thetécnico team ofRicky Marvin,Sicodélico Jr. andTigre Blanco took on the makeshiftrudo team ofDoctor X,Virus and Mr. Mexico. In the first fall Sicodélico Jr. forced Doctor X to submit while Tigre Blanco forced Mr. Mexico submit at the same time to take the first fall. In the second fall, Mr. Mexico pinned Sicodélico Jr. to win the fall, evening the score. In the third fall all threerudos pinned their opponents at the same time to win the match two falls to one.[1][9] For the second match of the night thetécnico side (Atlantis,Brazo de Plata andEl Felino) won the first fall when they pinned all three of their opponents (Black Warrior,Apolo Dantés andShocker). Therudo team fought back and won the second fall, and then the third and deciding fall as Shocker pinned El Felino and Apolo Dantés pinned Brazo de Plata.[1][9]
For the Mexican National Trios Championship challengersLos Boricuas, represented by Gran Markus Jr, Violencia and Poder Boricua in this case, was accompanied by Pierroth Jr. andLa Nazi. The outside interference helpedLos Boricuas win the first fall over Olímpico, Mr. Niebla and Safari. In the third and final fall, both Mr. Niebla and Safari piled on Gran Markus Jr. to pin him and retain the championship. After the loss Pierroth Jr. berated Gran Markus Jr. over the loss.[1][4][9][15][16] The fourth match of the night featured brothersDr. Wagner Jr. andBlack Tiger on opposite sides as they each captained a trio. In the third and deciding fall Dr. Wagner Jr. pinnedNegro Casas to bring the victory for himself,Universo 2000,Juventud Guerrera andFuerza Guerrera.[1][9]
For the main event, the CMLL ring crew quickly erected a 15-foot tall steel cage around the ring as the participants were introduced. The match started out with a 10-minute period where no one would be allowed to leave the cage, forcing the twoInfernales squads to fight each other. When the 10 minutes were up Tarzan Boy was quick to climb up the cage and over the top, escaping while everyone else was fighting. Moments later he was joined by teammate Rey Bucanero. Mephisto was the first to escape the cage for his team, leaving four men in the ring. Moments later both Último Guerrero and Averno climbed out of the cage. This left El Satánico to fight Máscara Mágica where the only way to win was to pin their opponent or force them to submit. In the end, the veteran Satánico forced his masked opponent to submit to win the match and theLos Infernales name. Afterwards Máscara Mágica removed his mask per theLucha de Apuestas stipulations and revealed his birth name, Antonio Gómez Medina, formerly known as Talismán Jr.[1][9][17]
Following their victory in the main eventLos Infernales ended up facing off against and defeating the reigning Mexican National Trios Champions, Olímpico, Mr. Niebla and Safari at CMLL's next major event,Sin Piedad ("No Mercy"), although the championship was not on the line at the time.[18] They were later able to use their non-title victory to be granted a championship match, winning the Mexican National Trios Championship on June 23, 2003.[16]Los Nuevo Infernales reign as champions lasted 96 days, until they were defeated byLa Familia de Tijuana (Damián 666,Halloween andNicho el Millonario) on September 27, 2003.[16] Averno and Mephisto turned on El Satánico shortly after the championship loss and formed their own group known asLa Trada del Terror (the trio of terror) along withEphesto, putting an end toLos Infernales just over a year after they won the rights to the name.[10]
While Antonio Gómez was forced to remove his mask after the match he kept the ring name "Máscara Mágica" throughout his career, despite never wearing the match again.[17] Following the 68th anniversary show main event loss Último Guerrero, Rey Bucanero and Tarzan Boy decided to change the name of their group toLos Guerreros del Infierno (The Infernal Soldiers).[19] The three blamed Máscara Mágica for the loss, kicking him out of the group afterwards.[9]Los Guerreros del Infierno would go on to become one of CMLL's premierrudo factions in subsequent years with a revolving membership that at one point or another includedOlímpico,Sangre Azteca,Atlantis, Averno, Mephisto,Dragón Rojo, Jr.,Rey Escorpión,Euforia,Niebla Roja andGran Guerrero.[20][21][22] The faction even got their own "minor league" team, known asPandilla Guerrera ("Gang of Warriors").[21] Over the years the group would also be referred to asLos Guerreros del Atlantida (after Atlantis joined) and laterLos Guerreros Laguneros ("The Warriors of the Lagoon") referring to the Lagoon area of Mexico.[23]
The championship loss byLos Boricuas furthered already existing problems between Pierroth Jr. and Gran Markus Jr. leading to Gran Markus Jr. breaking away from the group in the fall of 2001, stating that he was tired of being under Pierroth Jr.'s command.[9] On March 27, 2002, at CMLL's annualHomenaje a Dos Leyendas: El Santo y Salvador Lutteroth ("Homage to two legends") show Gran Markus Jr. defeated Veneno in aLucha de Apuestas, or bet match, forcing Veneno to unmask as a result of the loss.[24][25] In subsequent months Poder Boricua left the group as well, changing his name to "Poder Mexica" ("Mexican Power"), siding with Gran Markus Jr. against the rest ofLos Boricuas.[26] On July 14, 2002 Poder Mexica and Mr. Mexico lost aLuchas de Apuestas match to Veneno and Violencia and as a result Poder Mexica was forced to unmask.[27] The feud betweenLos Boricuas and their former members continued as Gran Markus Jr. won aLuchas de Apuestas match in November, 2002 forcing Veneno to have all his hair shaved off.[25][27] The culmination of the storyline came on March 21, 2003 as Pierroth Jr. and Gran Markus Jr. faced off in main event of that year'sHomenaje a Dos Leyendas show. In the end Pierroth defeated Gran Markus and as a result Gran Markus Jr. was shaved bald.[25][28][29]
The 68th Anniversary Show marked the last time Máscara Mágica and El Satánico wrestled in the main event of the anniversary shows, while the other competitors worked at least one more main event match at a subsequent anniversary show. Tarzan Boy lost aLucha de Apuestas match toShocker and had his hair shaved off at theCMLL 70th Anniversary Show,[30] Rey Bucanero lost a 10-manInfierno en el ring steel cage match in the main event of theCMLL 78th Anniversary Show,[31] and Último Guerrero was unmasked after his loss to Atlantis in the main event of theCMLL 81st Anniversary Show.[32]
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