2010s Lucha Libre Trends: the 2013 Atlantis/Ultimo Guerrero fake out ushers in a new era of mega matches

final in a series. Previously: 

• Video streaming sites explode access to lucha libre
• +LuchaTV becomes the dominant force of independent lucha libre
• Lucha Underground & FantasticaMania bridges a chasm between lucha libre and the rest of wrestling
• Arena Mexico transforms into a tourist destination

The 16,000 fans at Arena Mexico united in one chant, one single word, during the biggest match of the year.

Unfortunately, that word was “FRAUDE!” It was September 13, 2013. Volador Jr. and La Sombra were fighting for their masks. Ultimo Guerrero & Atlantis were not, having lost a tag match earlier that night. That outcome led to the crowd melting down for the next hour. The anger never tripped over to rage – the fans were upset, but it never felt like a riot was going to break out. It did lead to a lot of discussion about how this angry response would affect CMLL going forward, what would happen to CMLL and lucha libre after such an adverse reaction.

That crowd reaction led in three unexpected directions. One, CMLL ran the Ultimo Guerrero/Atlantis mask match the following year. They raised prices. They still sold out. There were bad feelings between CMLL & their fanbase, another part of the knot of negative emotions between their most ardent fanbase and the management of the promotion. Still, CMLL didn’t seem to suffer a business cost. That night secondly, led to the creation of Los Ingobernables, a faction that would be a meaningful part of storytelling and merchandising in multiple countries. The final consequence was AAA staring across the city at that ticket money, and wondering why it wasn’t theirs.

AAA’s historically put more effort into the main event of TripleMania, tending to run big matches. (Cibernetico vs. Perro Aguayo, loser loses their hair for the very first time, was the main event in 2013.) It was consistently in Mexico City this past decade, making it their big chance to make an impression on the fans in the media capital. They’ve run Arena Ciudad de Mexico since 2012, and have already had room for more people than CMLL could draw in Arena Mexico. AAA should’ve owned the records for the biggest gate in the history of a Mexican wrestling event. CMLL instead passed them by with the Ultimo Guerrero/Atlantis match, becoming the first $1,000,000 gate in lucha libre history.

The number doesn’t matter much. (Why did we care about a US Dollar number in Mexico anyway?) CMLL outdoing AAA did. It showed AAA there was a higher ceiling than they had reached. It also showed a core group of fans were a lot more willing (and able) to pay for big matches than previously believed if the matches were big enough.

AAA tried to tap this market by bringing in a lot of suddenly available ex-WWE stars. This attempt started the short era of Myteziz, Alberto el Patron, and Rey Mysterio all coming (or coming back) to AAA. AAA took another approach when that ended unhappily. Instead of trying to bring a lot of different names, they’d throw a lot of money at one specific star, to give them the most significant match they could get.

Psycho Clown defeated Dr. Wagner Jr. in a mask match on August 26, 2017, in the most significant match of the decade, and one which may have never happened if the Sombra/Volador/UG/Atlantis match hadn’t raised the bar. AAA gave Wagner a reported $250,000, believed to be the biggest payoff for a mask match in history. They got the most meaningful win possible for the new face of the promotion, Psycho Clown. The match took place in front of perhaps the most massive television audience to ever see AAA, by the stroke of luck of the show airing on over the air TV directly after the Floyd Mayweather/Conor McGregor fight. Parts of TripleMania were a disaster, but the main event came across well at the right time and raised the profile of AAA considerably.

It also changed the path forward for AAA. TripleMania is now the central focus of the promotion, with the last two main events being announced months in advance. Those matches raised expectations while giving AAA confidence they could meet those expectations and still profit. The following year with a four-way mask match, 2019 was a climatic apuesta meeting between Blue Demon and Dr. Wagner. The success of the Psycho/Wagner match has led to profits beyond just that day. The surprising rating number on Televisa increased AAA’s value as a television property, leading to deals with Space, Multimedios, and a previously unthinkable jump from Televisa to Azteca. It opened the door to a content deal on Twitch and opportunities outside of Mexico.

It’s hard to know if this sustains through the next decade. Dr. Wagner & later Blue Demon’s places as star attractions for these matches are hard to replace, and there’s not a prominent crop of slightly younger legends to replace them in epic matches. (People like Octagon, seemingly not on favorable terms with any promotion, may yet find themselves back in demand if they have a willingness to take a big payday.) The pressure to create mega matches each year will remain intense even as the opportunity shrinks. This decade still showed both a change in a willingness to do those ultimate dream apuesta matches and an appetite for them that was unseen before.