Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Anniversary Shows

The Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Anniversary Show is the biggest annual professional wrestling event promoted by Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), held in September every year, commemorating the creationg of CMLL, then known as Empressa Mexican de Lucha Libre (EMLL), in September 1933 by Salvador Lutteroth. Since Lutteroth build Arena Mexico in Mexico City, Mexico it's been the home of CMLLL and the host of all Anniversary shows held since then. The first show was held in 1934 and since then 78 shows have been held, making it the longest-running annual wrestling event in history and making CMLL the oldest wrestling promotion in existence.^[1]

EMLL's first show

Promoter Salvador Lutteroth held his first show on September 21, 1933 in Arena Moreno, the future site of Arena Mexico. The show featured at least 4 matches, but it may have had more matches as records from the era are sparse.^[2]

Anniversary show history

A year after EMLL's first show Lutteroth held the "1st Anniversary Show" on September 21, 1934 and since then the Anniversary show has been held on a Friday in mid to late September each year as the "biggest show" of CMLL's year. The Anniversary show has always been held in Mexico City, EMLL/CMLL's home town, and held in Arena Mexico since 1955 when it was built. When EMLL changed name to Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre in 1990 the events became known as the "CMLL Anniversary Shows" but kept the numbering as it was the same organisation, just "rebranded". CMLL promotes the event as the "Anniversary of Wrestling in Mexico" and not just the Anniversary of the promotion, but that is more a promotional statement than the truth as several promoters had been promoting wrestling in Mexico since the early 1920s, Lutteroth was the first to run a large scale organized promotion and soon became the dominant promotion but was not the first to promote professional wrestling in Mexico.^[3]

The show often features high profile Luchas de Apuestas matches where the competitors "bet" their mask or hair, the main event of at least 29 Anniversary shows have been Apuestas matches, including the last nine in a row. The Anniversary shows has seen the high profile mask loss of such wrestlers as Mano Negra, Cien Caras, Universo 2000, Black Warrior and Blue Panther. A large number of wrestlers have lost their hair at the Anniversary show, with the most recent being Negro Casas who was shaved bald after losing an Apuesta match against Místico on the 76th Anniversary Show.^[4] The Anniversary shows often see "special guest appearances" of well known wrestlers from the United States, Canada or Japan.

Dates, venues, and main events

References