It was a strange week for WWE heading into WrestleMania 41. The buildup to the show was lackluster at best. Nick Khan was calling WWE the underdog and taking shots at AEW in an interview. Triple H and Roman Reigns strangely decided to praise President Donald Trump in talks with the media. Then the WWE Hall of Fame started at 1 am and lasted until 4 in the morning. Finally, on Saturday all the focus looked like it would be on the WrestleMnia card, but then Triple H dropped a bombshell on the pre-show when he announced that WWE had purchased the Mexican wrestling promotion Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide. This is a big deal for WWE, but it is bad for professional wrestling. Itâs just the latest example that shows WWE is trying to take over wrestling and become a monopoly.
WWE Buys Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide
Triple H Made The Announcement Before WrestleMania 41
- AAAâs owners were there for the announcement.
- Rey Mysterio, Rey Fenix, Pentagon, Stephanie Vaquer, and others were on hand.
- El Hijo del Vikingo was surprisingly on the WrestleMania pre-show stage.
On the kickoff show for WrestleMania 41, Michael Cole sat down with Triple H, along with the now former owners of Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (most commonly just called AAA), Marisela Pena and Dorian Roldan, to make a huge announcement: WWE has purchased AAA. Standing behind them were several luchadore stars, including Rey Mysterio, Rey Fenix, Penta, Dragon Lee, Andrade, Stephanie Vaquer, and most surprising of all, El Hijo del Vikingo. Also announced was a joint WWE NXT and AAA show for Saturday, June 7 in Los Angeles called Worlds Collide.
During WrestleMania 41, Chad Gable as El Grande Americano took on Fey Fenix, but before the match Americano jawed with a renamed Vikingo, who kicked Gable in the face, then helped Fenix up after he took the loss.
Following the show, Triple H spoke about the AAA acquisition, saying that WWE wants to continue to grow lucha libre without massively looking to revamp anything. He added:
âIt has such a cultural impact in South American, Central America, Mexico. Then, you come into the United States, there was a New York Times article where they talked about the power of Lucha Libre and what it means, especially in markets in the US like [Los Angeles]. The intent is to grow it, to grow that brand. NXT started [small] and over time it became massive. When done right. Shawn [Michaels] mentioned it last night; when you look at WrestleMania now, most of it came directly out of NXT. A large percentage of it. Thatâs the success of it. Mexico, AAA, Lucha Libre, it opens up the door for those athletes as well to not only grow to be the biggest thing in lucha, but if their desires are to go beyond that.â (h/t Fightful)
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What Is Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide?
Many Big Name Luchadores Have Wrestled For AAA
- AAA and CMLL are the top luchadore promotions in Mexico.
- Names like Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero, Psicosis, and La Parka wrestled there in the â90s.
- Alberto El Patron is the AAA Mega Champion.
If youâre a casual wrestling fan, you might be wondering, what the heck is AAA? Along with CMLL, it is the top lucha libre promotion in all of Mexico. Founded in 1992, it became a hot spot for a different kind of wrestling that you didnât often see in America outside the peak days of WCW Nitro in the cruiserweight division.
A very young Rey Mysterio wrestled there, as did Eddie Guerrero, Psicosis, and La Parka in the mid-90s, before joining WCW. WCW even had a joint PPV with AAA in 1994 called When Worlds Collide. In the 2000s, they worked with TNA for a bit, but in later years they struggled financially and were seriously hurt by COVID. These days theyâre still going and have a few big names, like El Hijo del Vikingo, but there has also been controversy, such as their signing of Alberto El Patron, who is the AAA Mega Champion. El Patron is the former Alberto Del Rio in WWE, who was accused of physical abuse a few years ago by his former girlfriend, Saraya. He was also arrested for battery and sexual assault on another girlfriend, although those charges were dropped. WWE has shown no interest in working with him since, so will he be part of WWEâs version of the company?
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WWE Is Monopolizing Pro Wrestling
WWE Is Trying To Take Over With TNA, Evolve, And ID
- WWE once bought WCW and ECW.
- WWE ruled the UK wrestling market with NXT UK.
- The Rock posted a video of him wearing a New Japan Pro Wrestling shirt.
WWE buying AAA is not a good look for them or pro wrestlingâs survival outside of Endeavor and TKO. Itâs not only reminiscent of WWE buying WCW and ECW over two decades ago, but itâs just the latest proof of what the goal is today: WWE wants to take over every market. Itâs not too far off from Vince McMahon destroying territories in the early 80s. Not too long ago, WWE started NXT UK, which really hurt the UK indie scene, as WWE took so much of their top talent. NXT UK only went under because of COVID. In 2020, they purchased the American indie promotion Evolve, which recently became a show on Tubi. Then they started WWE ID, with the goal being to take indie wrestlers and give them a path forward to working with WWE.
Triple H and company arenât just after the big promotions anymore, but theyâre going after the smaller ones now too. Itâs not just about working with TNA, which has been much more of an advantage for WWE than TNA, but now itâs about going into smaller American indie companies and now one of Mexicoâs top spots to take their talent and put them under the WWE banner. It might not stop there either. The Rock recently grabbed headlines after he posted a video to social media that had him wearing a New Japan Pro Wrestling shirt while looking quizzically at a Rubikâs Cube. Many fans thought this was trying to insinuate that he was trying to figure out how to buy NJPW, which is the last thing wrestling needs.
Partnering with wrestling companies to work together like AEW does with NJPW and CMLL is fun and beneficial for everyone involved, but WWE wanting to own everything will destroy it. Indie and luchadore wrestling still has that romantic feel to it. Itâs about the art of the sport and nothing else. WWEâs massive, corporate, âsports entertainmentâ fingerprints all over everything will ruin that. WWE is already big enough. A wrestling monopoly will only turn fans who donât like WWE away from what has been their only alternatives.