Mid 20th Century
181-501: José Alberto Rodríguez Chucuan (born 25 May 1977) is a Mexican-American professional wrestler , professional wrestling promoter , sports commentator , and mixed martial artist , signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) as a commentator. He also makes appearances for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) as a wrestler, where he is the current AAA Mega Champion in his second reign. In professional wrestling, he
362-408: A rudo (villain) . He turned his attention away from the matches and instead try to win the approval of the fans, often costing his team the match because he was distracted. Caras himself explained this behavior by stating that he "hurt his shoulder, but bravely stayed in the arena". After hinting at a change for weeks Caras finally cemented his villainous persona on 11 April 2009, the second member of
543-469: A car . On September 24, AAA announced that it would return to its first performances in early October after the announced project. In December 2020, FactoryMade Ventures , one of the co-producers of Lucha Underground , filed a lawsuit with AAA; claiming to have exclusive rights to distribute AAA events and merchandise outside of Mexico. On February 2, 2021, the company signed an alliance with SECTUR to promote Mexico's tourist destinations. Bearing
724-446: A " gimmick " consisting of a specific persona , stage name , entrance theme , and other distinguishing traits. Matches are the primary vehicle for advancing storylines, which typically center on interpersonal conflicts, or feuds , between heroic " faces " and villainous " heels ". A wrestling ring , akin to the platform used in boxing , serves as the main stage ; additional scenes may be recorded for television in backstage areas of
905-515: A Last Man Standing match to win his first World Heavyweight Championship. Del Rio made his first successful title defense on 27 January at the Royal Rumble , defeating Big Show in another Last Man Standing match, after Rodriguez duct taped Big Show's legs to the ropes. After repeated attacks from Big Show to both himself and Rodriguez, Del Rio and Big Show faced off in a singles match on 17 February at Elimination Chamber , where Del Rio submitted him to
1086-524: A WWE contract in August 2012 and was assigned to the promotion's developmental territory NXT under the ring name Memo Montenegro, but was released in July 2013. Rodríguez graduated from Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí where he earned a degree in architecture . Growing up in a family of wrestlers Rodríguez decided to take up Greco-Roman wrestling , training under Leonel Kolesni and Juan Fernández. He earned
1267-413: A background in authentic wrestling no longer mattered. After this time, matches became more outlandish and gimmicky and any semblance professional wrestling had to catch wrestling faded. The personas of the wrestlers likewise grew more outlandish. Gorgeous George , who performed throughout the 1940s and 1950s, was the first wrestler whose entrance into the arena was accompanied by a theme song played over
1448-520: A carny term for a shooting gallery gun whose sights were not deliberately misaligned. Wrestling in the United States blossomed in popularity after the Civil War , with catch wrestling eventually becoming the most popular style. At first, professional wrestlers were genuine competitive fighters, but they struggled to draw audiences because Americans did not find real wrestling to be very entertaining, so
1629-513: A central authority. Nor could any of them stomach the idea of leaving the NWA themselves to compete directly with McMahon, for that would mean their territories would become fair game for the other NWA members. McMahon also had a creative flair for TV that his rivals lacked. For instance, the AWA's TV productions during the 1980s were amateurish, low-budget, and out-of-touch with contemporary culture, which lead to
1810-574: A champion that Curley put forth: Dick Shikat . The National Wrestling Association shut down in 1980. In 1948, a number of promoters from across the country came together to form the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The NWA recognized one "world champion", voted on by its members, but allowed member promoters to crown their own local champions in their territories. If a member poached wrestlers from another member, or held matches in another member's territory, they risked being ejected from
1991-672: A degree. Vince Russo, the boss of WCW in 2000, completely disregarded kayfabe by routinely discussing business matters and office politics in public, which alienated fans. I watch championship wrestling from Florida with wrestling commentator Gordon Solie . Is this all "fake"? If so, they deserve an Oscar . Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide Promociones Antonio Peña, S.A. de C.V. d/b/a Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (Commonly referred to as simply AAA (pronounced "triple A"; an abbreviation of its original name Asistencia, Asesoría y Administración de Espectáculos , lit. ' Assistance, Advisory, and Administration of Spectacles ' )
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#17328985789812172-410: A fee, a visitor could challenge the wrestler to a quick match. If the challenger defeated the champion in a short time frame, usually 15 minutes, he won a prize. To encourage challenges, the carnival operators staged rigged matches in which an accomplice posing as a visitor challenged the champion and won, giving the audience the impression that the champion was easy to beat. This practice taught wrestlers
2353-414: A genuine sport, and the phrase "professional wrestling" therefore has a more literal meaning in those places. A notable example is India's Pro Wrestling League . In numerous American states, professional wrestling is legally defined as a non-sport. For instance, New York defines professional wrestling as: Professional wrestling means an activity in which participants struggle hand-in-hand primarily for
2534-466: A handicap match between El Patrón and LAX on the 27 July episode of Impact , which he won. After the match, he was attacked by the others members of LAX, but was saved by Dos Caras and El Hijo de Dos Caras . The following week, The Patron Family was defeated by LAX after an interference o LAX newest member, Low Ki . El Patron was scheduled to defend his Unified GFW World Heavyweight Championship against Low Ki at Destination X . On 12 July 2017, El Patrón
2715-447: A lack of funding and support, Mexico did not send a wrestling team that year. After not competing at the 2000 Olympic games, Rodríguez turned to the family business, and trained with his father to become a professional wrestler. He made his debut appearance on 9 May 2000 as Dos Caras Jr. when he ran in during an AAA (now known as Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide) show to save his father from a beat down from El Texano and Pirata Morgan . Over
2896-516: A ladder match for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship. On 23 May episode of Raw , Del Rio slapped Big Show after he had gotten into a confrontation with Ricardo Rodriguez. After competing in a match, Big Show was run over by Del Rio's car, driven by Rodriguez, leaving him sidelined with a storyline knee injury. Big Show made his return three weeks later, chasing Del Rio out of the ring and beating Rodriguez down. On 19 June at Capitol Punishment , Del Rio defeated Big Show via referee stoppage, when he
3077-405: A legitimate sport. Firstly, wrestling was more entertaining when it was faked, whereas fakery did not make boxing any more entertaining. Secondly, in a rigged boxing match, the designated loser must take a real beating for his "defeat" to be convincing, but wrestling holds can be faked convincingly without inflicting injury. This meant that boxers were less willing to "take dives"; they wanted to have
3258-467: A lot. On 25 June 2010, episode of SmackDown , Rodríguez appeared on a taped promotional video as the unmasked Alberto Del Rio. Thereafter, a vignette aired every week on SmackDown promoting his character as an arrogant rich Mexican aristocrat, espousing his own virtues of honesty, integrity and mental faculties. After two months, Del Rio wrestled his first match at a house show in Brisbane , Australia and
3439-754: A match against Gus Sonnenberg in January 1929. Bowser then broke away from the trust to form his own cartel, the American Wrestling Association (AWA), in September 1930, and he declared Sonnenberg to be the AWA champion. This AWA should not be confused with Wally Kadbo's AWA founded in 1960. Curley reacted to this move by convincing the National Boxing Association to form the National Wrestling Association , which in turn crowned
3620-400: A match at WWC Aniversario . On 24 September 2014, the storyline with Rodriguez continued, when he was depicted calling Ortega to confirm the presence of El Patrón at Aniversario. However, after being announced he was unable to make an appearance and the storyline digressed, with Hernandez supplanting him at Aniversario. On 7 November 2015, WWC resumed the angle with El Patrón, beginning with
3801-610: A match for the number one contender for the Lucha Underground Championship. However, on 13 May 2015, Alberto was defeated by Hernandez after Mundo threw him against a window, losing his opportunity. Then, Alberto and Mundo feuded until Ultima Lucha , where Mundo defeated Alberto after an interference from Melina , Mundo's girlfriend. Del Rio made a surprise return to the WWE at Hell in a Cell on 25 October 2015, with Zeb Colter as his manager , and defeated John Cena to win
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#17328985789813982-424: A mysterious opponent. However, during a press conference on 21 August, AAA did not mention El Patrón's match as part of the final card. Rodríguez explained he would not appear since he had a unsuccessful discussion with Dorian Roldán over money and they did not find an opponent for him. Roldán said that Rodríguez had no communication with the promotion, so they did not include him in the final card. On 24 August 2014,
4163-440: A new city, attendance was high because there was a waiting fanbase cultivated in advance by the cable TV shows. The NWA's traditional anti-competitive tricks were no match for this. The NWA attempted to centralize and create their own national cable television shows to counter McMahon's rogue promotion, but it failed in part because the members of the NWA, ever protective of their territories, could not stomach submitting themselves to
4344-489: A no contest after Sheamus attacked Big Show. On the 31 December episode of Raw , Big Show chose to defend his title against Ricardo Rodriguez. As Rodriguez was about to lose the match, Del Rio attacked Big Show from behind, causing a disqualification and re-igniting a feud between Del Rio and Big Show. On the 11 January episode SmackDown , as Del Rio's character transitioned into a hero of the Latino fanbase, he defeated Big Show in
4525-553: A non-title match to Rob Van Dam , after Ricardo Rodriguez's interference backfired, which led to Del Rio viciously attacking Rodriguez post-match. On the 9 August episode of SmackDown , Del Rio again lost to Christian in a non-title match. On 18 August at SummerSlam , Del Rio successfully defended the World Heavyweight Championship against Christian. Upon Rodriguez's return, he aligned himself with Rob Van Dam, accompanying him to matches and helping him defeat Del Rio in
4706-413: A non-title match to earn a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship. On the 13 September episode of SmackDown , Del Rio defeated Rodriguez in a single match. On 15 September Night of Champions , Van Dam defeated Del Rio by disqualification after Del Rio refused to relinquish the cross armbreaker, retaining the World Heavyweight Championship in result. After the match, Van Dam attacked Del Rio and executed
4887-442: A non-title match. The next week on Raw SuperShow , Del Rio wrestled Dolph Ziggler to a no contest in a Contract on a Pole match for a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship. As a result, both Del Rio and Ziggler were entered into the championship match four days later on SmackDown , where Sheamus retained the title after pinning Ziggler. Del Rio received another shot at the World Heavyweight Championship on 15 July at Money in
5068-416: A non-title rematch after a distraction by AJ. On the 29 July episode of Raw , Del Rio re-entered a feud with Christian after losing to him in a non-title match. On the 2 August episode of SmackDown , after Christian won a triple-threat match to become the number on contender to the World Heavyweight Championship, Del Rio attacked him during a post-match interview. On the 5 August episode of Raw , Del Rio lost
5249-602: A number of luchadores for the Royal Rumble event and its namesake match. In April 2014, TNA founder Jeff Jarrett , who was credited for AAA & TNA relationship, had left the company. He announced that his new Global Force Wrestling (GFW) promotion would begin working with the AAA. TNA and AAA would continue to work with each other, including on such events as the Lucha Libre World Cup on May 24, 2015. When Jarrett returned to TNA (then known as Impact Wrestling) in 2017, it
5430-521: A number of signature events and tournaments: some shown as pay-per-view events and others presented as TV Azteca television specials. The annual shows and tournaments, shown in order of occurrence during each year, include: AAA has few restrictions on the number of championships it promotes, often allowing wrestlers to defend titles from other promotions; such as the Universal Wrestling Association . Such titles are defended on AAA shows as
5611-468: A number one contender "I Quit" match at Extreme Rules on 19 May, which Del Rio won. In the following weeks, Del Rio would face Ziggler's enforcer Big E. Langston in a series of matches, which Del Rio won 3–2. Del Rio finally received his title shot on 16 June at Payback , and during the match, a double-turn occurred; Del Rio turned heel once again by repeatedly and ruthlessly targeting Ziggler's head after his recent concussion to defeat Ziggler and regain
Alberto Del Rio - Misplaced Pages Continue
5792-618: A place in the final, defeating Héctor Garza to win the prize. While working in Japan, Caras had taken to teaming with another second-generation wrestler, Lizmark Jr. , and when both found themselves in CMLL they were teamed up once again with the team's famous fathers being the selling point. Over the next year Caras found himself without much direction, he worked storylines with Último Guerrero and Kenzo Suzuki but nothing long term came of it. Caras received two opportunities to challenge Universo 2000 for
5973-850: A place on the Mexico national team in Greco-Roman wrestling and while competing on the national team obtained several accomplishments. In 1997, he placed third at the World Junior Championships, in the Czech Republic . He also won the Central American and Caribbean Games in his weight division three times and won a medal at the Pan American Games . Rodríguez was on track to compete at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney , Australia , but due to
6154-629: A press conference on 14 August, Rodríguez acknowledged that WWE owned the Alberto Del Rio name and also revealed that he would be working for AAA under the new ring name El Patrón ("The Boss"). He was nicknamed this in WWE by Ricardo Rodriguez, during ring introductions and Spanish commentary, but it was not trademarked. Rodríguez also stated that for the moment he was under a 90-day no-compete clause, which would prevent him from wrestling for AAA. He later also revealed that as part of his departure from WWE, Del Rio
6335-542: A rematch against Edge at Extreme Rules on 1 May. However, when Edge unexpectedly retired from professional wrestling on 11 April episode of Raw , Del Rio was instead booked to face Christian in a ladder match for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship, after Christian won a battle royal. On 25 April episode of Raw , Del Rio was drafted to the Raw brand. Ricardo Rodriguez moved to Raw with him, while Brodus Clay remained on SmackDown. At Extreme Rules, Del Rio lost to Christian in
6516-521: A rematch for the WWE Championship on the 28 November episode of Raw SuperShow , but lost after Punk dropped him onto an exposed turnbuckle, managing to avoid a disqualification, which would have cost him the title. On 18 December at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs , Del Rio failed again to regain the WWE Championship from Punk in a triple threat Tables, Ladders and Chairs match, also involving The Miz. The next night on Raw SuperShow , Del Rio suffered
6697-558: A rematch from the previous night. At WrestleMania XXX , Alberto Del Rio participated in the Andre the Giant memorial battle royal and made a number of eliminations before being eliminated by Sheamus. On the 2 June episode of Raw , Del Rio defeated Dolph Ziggler to qualify for the 2014 Money in the Bank ladder match which later became for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship ; Del Rio would lose
6878-472: A result of creative problems, and stars such as Fuerza Guerrera and Blue Panther soon left too when the Mexican economy began to slow down (which resulted in the company's inability to offer as much work). Talent such as Rey Misterio, Jr. , Psicosis , La Parka , and Juventud Guerrera , would also depart to WCW in 1996, as well as Konnan's short-lived Promo Azteca promotion. In early 1997, AAA established
7059-539: A result of the COVID-19 pandemic . The following April, a tournament called Lucha Fighters was created consisting of 12 luchadores and 8 luchadoras . During the indefinite recess due to health contingency due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico , on July 20, 2020, AAA announced its project called " AutoLuchas " which consists of a events in Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez where fans could see through from
7240-536: A segment on the Abraham Washington show at the 6 August taping, Rodríguez revealed a new, unmasked wrestling character named Alberto Banderas. When he revealed his face, he was criticized by some Mexicans for revealing, to which he responded that only a few people know why he lost the mask in that way. During WWE's WrestleMania Revenge tour of Europe in April 2010, he made numerous appearances in untelevised matches for
7421-418: A segment where he assaulted Ray González's son, El Hijo de Ray González , during a training session at Texas Wrestling Academy in retaliation for the injury that his father inflicted on Rodriguez. The following day, Ray González Sr. challenged El Patrón to a match. The majority of the promotional skits were filmed before he returned to WWE, but was given continuity, being the only external appearance cleared by
Alberto Del Rio - Misplaced Pages Continue
7602-584: A show for the American El Rey Network in the second half of the year. The one-hour weekly program would be accompanied by monthly and quarterly specials as well as live pay-per-views. The show, titled Lucha Underground , premiered on October 29, 2014. The series ran for four seasons, and received generally positive reviews. Beginning in March 2015, the company announced that it would be known as Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide from that point on, although it
7783-476: A six-man tag team main event, where they defeated Aguayo, Averno and El Texano Jr. Alberto then began feuding with El Texano Jr. over the AAA Mega Championship . On 28 November, Ricardo Rodriguez made his AAA debut, once again becoming Alberto's personal ring announcer. On 7 December at Guerra de Titanes , Alberto defeated El Texano Jr. to become the new AAA Mega Champion. With the win, Rodríguez became
7964-467: A six-man tag team match. The next night on Raw , Del Rio and Miz teamed up with Tommy Dreamer to defeat 3MB in another six-man tag team match. On the 28 December episode of SmackDown , Ricardo Rodriguez was awarded a title match against World Heavyweight Champion Big Show, but Big Show knocked Rodriguez out backstage. Del Rio was then awarded the title match in Rodriguez's place, however, the match ended in
8145-421: A story broke that Rodríguez had wrestled a dark match for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and that they had offered him a contract. Over the following months conflicting reports of whether he had signed or not arose, but he remained CMLL World Heavyweight Champion. When he lost the title to Último Guerrero it was believed that he had indeed signed with WWE, with him being rumored to be a surprise participant in
8326-457: A storyline injury by refusing to relinquish his armbar . Two weeks later, he defeated Matt Hardy via submission in Hardy's last appearance with the company causing Hardy's friend Christian to challenge Del Rio to a match at Night of Champions on 19 September. Despite declining the match, on the 24 September episode of SmackDown Del Rio attacked Christian and injured him the same way he did Mysterio
8507-514: A torn groin muscle, which required surgery and sidelined him for four to six weeks. Del Rio returned at a WWE house show in San Francisco on 11 February 2012, arm wrestling Sheamus to a no contest. On 19 February at Elimination Chamber , Del Rio made an appearance to show support to Raw General Manager John Laurinaitis . Del Rio returned on the 2 April episode of Raw SuperShow , confronting World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus and vowing to become
8688-399: A triple threat match to become the number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship. The next week on SmackDown , Del Rio suffered a legitimate concussion, which led to WWE pulling him from his scheduled World Heavyweight Championship match against Sheamus at No Way Out . Del Rio returned on the 18 June episode of Raw SuperShow , defeating United States Champion Santino Marella in
8869-497: A typical American household only received four national channels by antenna, and ten to twelve local channels via UHF broadcasting . But cable television could carry a much larger selection of channels and therefore had room for niche interests. The WWF started with a show called All-American Wrestling airing on the USA Network in September 1983. McMahon's TV shows made his wrestlers national celebrities, so when he held matches in
9050-575: A victory for all the pain to which they subjected themselves. In the 1910s, promotional cartels for professional wrestling emerged in the East Coast (outside its traditional heartland in the Midwest ). These promoters sought to make long-term plans with their wrestlers, and to ensure their more charismatic and crowd-pleasing wrestlers received championships, further entrenching the desire for worked matches. The primary rationale for shoot matches at this point
9231-439: A week later, he made his television debut on the 20 August episode of SmackDown by defeating Rey Mysterio in the main event by submission with the cross armbreaker . As part of his act, Del Rio made his entrances in an expensive car, while he was introduced by his personal ring announcer, Ricardo Rodriguez . The following week, Del Rio continued the storyline with Mysterio by attacking him after his match with Kane , giving him
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#17328985789819412-737: A working agreement with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), with several luchadores appearing in the 1997 Royal Rumble . In the mid-1990s the name of the company was changed to simply be AAA (pronounced as Triple A ), as the company bought out Televisa and became independent. On October 6, 2006, founder Antonio Peña died of a heart attack. Following Peña's death, his sister Marisela Peña manages AAA financially; while Peña's brother-in-law Joaquín Roldán and his son, Dorian Roldán Peña serve as operational managers. In 2008, Lucha Libre USA presented AAA's second U.S. pay-per-view, Legendary Battles of Triplemania . In 2009, AAA announced
9593-474: Is a Mexican Lucha Libre ( professional wrestling ) promotion based in Mexico City , Mexico. It was founded in 1992, when Antonio Peña broke away from Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) to set up his own promotion to have more creative freedom . AAA has a developed a reputation for its outlandish gimmicks and characters, and more extreme match styles. In addition to the conventional "squared circle",
9774-410: Is a true sport. Wrestlers would at all times flatly deny allegations that they fixed their matches, and they often remained in-character in public even when not performing. When in public, wrestlers would sometimes say the word kayfabe to each other as a coded signal that there were fans present and they needed to be in character. Professional wrestlers in the past strongly believed that if they admitted
9955-606: Is best known for his time in WWE under the ring name Alberto Del Rio , and Impact Wrestling under the ring name Alberto El Patrón . Before working for WWE, Rodríguez used the name Dos Caras Jr. as both a mixed martial artist and luchador in mostly Mexico and Japan, achieving success in Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) by winning the CMLL World Heavyweight Championship once. Rodríguez signed with WWE in 2009 and made his debut on their main roster
10136-428: Is distinguished by its scripted outcomes and emphasis on entertainment and showmanship . The staged nature of matches is an open secret , with both wrestlers and spectators nonetheless maintaining the pretense that performances are bona fide competitions, which is likened to the suspension of disbelief employed when engaging with fiction . Professional wrestlers perform as characters and usually maintain
10317-500: Is still referred to mainly as AAA or "Triple A". On April 8, 2017, AAA General Manager Joaquín Roldán died. On 14 June, AAA began airing on FrontRunnerTV in the UK. In April and May 2018, some Liga Elite talent Teddy Hart, Juventud Guerrera and Taurus made their return to AAA wearing their Elite League jerseys. On June 4, at Verano de Escándalo , Jeff Jarrett returned after 3 years to defeat Rey Wagner and Rey Mysterio Jr. and win
10498-806: The AAA Mega Championship once. He returned to WWE in 2015, winning the United States Championship twice, before departing again in 2016. He subsequently signed with Impact Wrestling and won the Impact World Championship title at Slammiversary XV . Born in San Luis Potosí into one of the most well known Mexican wrestling families, his father is noted luchador Dos Caras , while his uncles are Mil Máscaras and Sicodelico. His cousins, Sicodelico Jr. and Hijo de Sicodelico, are also wrestlers. His younger brother Guillermo signed
10679-718: The When Worlds Collide pay-per-view event with World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The event was critically-acclaimed and is credited for popularizing lucha libre in the United States. Weeks after the show, Art Barr (a key member of Los Gringos Locos ) died while visiting his family. AAA subsequentally vacated the AAA Tag Team Championships, which led to the departure of fellow stable-mates (in Los Gringos Locos) Eddie Guerrero and Madonna's Boyfriend . El Hijo del Santo also departed as
10860-516: The 2016 Money in the Bank ladder match . At Money in the Bank, Del Rio was unsuccessful as the match was won by Dean Ambrose . During the 2016 WWE draft , Del Rio was drafted to the SmackDown brand. On the 26 July episode of SmackDown Live , Del Rio participated in a 16-man battle royal to determine who would advance in a number one contenders tournament for the WWE World Championship , he
11041-965: The America's X-Cup Tournament as a contingent known as Team Mexico . Team Mexico dominated the America's X-Cup Tournament, defeating Team USA in the first round before retaining the Cup against both Team Canada and Team Britain . They eventually lost at the World X-Cup , which saw Team USA defeat Team Canada and Team Mexico in the Ultimate X finals to win the Cup. TNA and AAA's working relationship would end in late 2004. TNA continued utilizing luchadores, but opted to contract them individually. In 2006, AAA and TNA would again team up for an event in Toreo de Cuatro Caminos , utilizing some of TNA's talent and stage (which includes
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#173289857898111222-588: The Impact Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship picture. El Patrón was then interrupted by Ethan Carter III , who insisted that Alberto had to earn his shot at the title, but Lashley disagreed and granted El Patrón a World Championship match. Later that night, El Patrón defeated Lashley in controversial style to win the Impact Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship. However, El Patrón relinquished
11403-609: The New Jersey State Athletic Control Board that professional wrestling is not a real sport because its matches have predetermined outcomes. Shortly thereafter, New Jersey deregulated professional wrestling. The WWF then rebranded itself as a " sports entertainment " company. In the early years of the 20th century, the style of wrestling used in professional wrestling matches was catch wrestling . Promoters wanted their matches to look realistic and so preferred to recruit wrestlers with real grappling skills. In
11584-518: The Pride Fighting Championships promotion, losing by first-round head kick knockout. Professional wrestling 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Professional wrestling (often referred to as pro wrestling , or simply, wrestling ) is a form of athletic theater that combines mock combat with drama , with the premise that the performers are competitive wrestlers. Professional wrestling
11765-626: The ROH World Television Championship . Rodríguez competed for the World Wrestling League defeating champion Glamour Boy Shane and Ricky Banderas to capture the WWL World Heavyweight Championship in January 2015. The title was vacated on 19 September 2015, after a controversy during a defense against Ricky Banderas. On 17 January 2015, Lucha Underground announced that Rodríguez had signed with
11946-518: The Raw brand . One night he wrestled as Dos Caras, but he did not wear his mask. He was presented as a villain in a losing effort against Christian . The following month Caras put his mask back on for WWE's tour of Mexico and worked as a hometown hero, prior to returning unmasked during untelevised matches for subsequent Raw and SmackDown shows. Later, Rodríguez said that he hated his time in FCW, but that he learned
12127-567: The Royal Rumble , Del Rio entered the Rumble match at number 27 and performed well, but was eliminated by Batista who went on to win the match. On the 3 February episode of Raw , Del Rio confronted and ultimately assaulted Batista, which led to Batista powerbombing Del Rio through the broadcast table the following week. Before that, Del Rio squashed Dolph Ziggler. This led to a match between Del Rio and Batista at Elimination Chamber , which Batista won. The following night on Raw, Del Rio defeated Batista in
12308-762: The United States , Mexico , Japan , and northwest Europe (the United Kingdom , Germany/Austria and France ), which have each developed distinct styles, traditions, and subgenres within professional wrestling. Professional wrestling has developed its own culture and community , including a distinct vernacular . It has achieved mainstream success and influence within popular culture , with many terms, tropes , and concepts being referenced in everyday language as well as in film , music , television , and video games . Likewise, numerous professional wrestlers have become national or international icons with recognition by
12489-561: The Van Terminator . On 6 October at Battleground , Del Rio defeated Van Dam in a Hardcore match by submission to again retain the World Heavyweight Championship. The next night on Raw , Del Rio lost to Ricardo Rodriguez after Vickie Guerrero announced his Hell in a Cell opponent as John Cena. Afterwards, Del Rio brutally attacked Rodriguez. On 27 October at Hell in a Cell, Del Rio lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Cena, ending his reign at 133 days. Del Rio received his rematch for
12670-537: The World Wrestling Council began a storyline by airing a backstage segment where heel manager Juan Manuel Ortega talked by telephone with someone only identified as "patrón" and referenced a reunion previously held at WrestleMania XXX. The following week featured a segment where the manager picked Ricardo Rodriguez from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport and drove to a golf club where Ray González Sr. (who had been feuding with several of Ortega's protégés)
12851-561: The 11 January episode of Raw , Del Rio lost the United States Championship to Kalisto , regained the championship on the 14 January episode of SmackDown , but lost it again to Kalisto at Royal Rumble . After scoring three tag team victories over Kalisto and his partner Sin Cara , Del Rio demanded a two-out-of-three falls match for the United States Championship at Fastlane , which Del Rio then lost 1–2. At WrestleMania 32 , Del Rio
13032-577: The 1920s, a group of wrestlers and promoters known as the Gold Dust Trio introduced moves which have since become staples of the mock combat of professional wrestling, such as body slams, suplexes , punches, finishing moves, and out-of-ring count-outs. By the early 1930s, most wrestlers had adopted personas to generate public interest. These personas could broadly be characterized as either faces (likeable) or heels (villainous). Native Americans, cowboys, and English aristocrats were staple characters in
13213-400: The 1930s and 1940s. Before the age of television, some wrestlers played different personas depending on the region they were performing in. This eventually came to an end in the age of national television wrestling shows, which forced wrestlers to stick to one persona. Wrestlers also often used some sort of gimmick, such as a finishing move, eccentric mannerisms, or out-of-control behavior (in
13394-506: The 1990s, WCW became a credible rival to the WWF, but by end it suffered from a series of creative missteps that led to its failure and purchase by the WWF. One of its mistakes was that it diminished the glamor of its World Heavyweight Championship . Between January 2000 and March 2001, the title changed hands eighteen times, which sapped fan enthusiasm, particularly for the climactic pay-per-view matches. In professional wrestling, two factors decide
13575-411: The 19th century, who later sought to make matches shorter, more entertaining, and less physically taxing. As the public gradually realized and accepted that matches were predetermined, wrestlers responded by increasingly adding melodrama, gimmickry, and outlandish stunt work to their performances to further enhance the spectacle . By at least the early 20th century, professional wrestling had diverged from
13756-427: The 2009 Royal Rumble . However, he remained with CMLL and stated that he signed a four-year deal and chose CMLL because they offered him a better deal than WWE. On 17 June 2009, Rodríguez confirmed that he had signed a three-year contract with WWE, stating that he would not have to go to Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), WWE's developmental territory , but directly to the main roster. Furthermore, he would retain
13937-483: The 27 July episode of SmackDown , Del Rio defeated Daniel Bryan, Kane, and Mysterio in a fatal four-way match to again become number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship. The title match, originally set for SummerSlam , was moved to the 10 August episode of SmackDown , after Del Rio threatened to press charges against Sheamus for stealing his car on the 6 August episode of Raw , which would have prevented Sheamus from appearing at SummerSlam. However, before
14118-583: The AAA Mega Championship. Jarrett was assisted by Konnan, who also returned to AAA after 2 years. On February 1, 2019, AAA announced the end of their relationship with Televisa after 27 years, with the promotion's programming moving to the Multimedios television station. On February 3, after Super Bowl LIII , AAA reached an agreement with TV Azteca to broadcast their show on Azteca 7 . On April 4, 2019, AAA announced its first event to be held in
14299-641: The Atlantic Athletic Corporation (AAC). The AAC shut down in 1960. In 1958, Omaha promoter and NWA member Joe Dusek recognized Verne Gagne as the world champion without the approval of the NWA. Gagne asked for a match against the recognized NWA champion Pat O'Connor. The NWA refused to honor the request, so Gagne and Minneapolis promoter Wally Karbo established the American Wrestling Association in 1960. This AWA should not be confused with Paul Bowser's AWA, which ceased operations just two months prior. Gagne's AWA operated out of Minnesota . Unlike
14480-430: The Bank , where he again lost to Sheamus. The next night on Raw SuperShow , Del Rio was looking to take out his frustrations on Zack Ryder , but his post-match assault was interrupted by his longtime rival Rey Mysterio making his return and attacking him. Four days later on SmackDown , Del Rio and Ziggler lost to Mysterio and Sheamus by disqualification after Rodriguez interfered, but Del Rio viciously attacked Sheamus. On
14661-653: The CMLL World Heavyweight title but came up short until his third attempt on 8 July 2007 when he became the CMLL World Heavyweight Champion. While in wrestling promotions outside of Mexico the Heavyweight title would indicate that he was the top man in the federation, Mexican wrestling promotions tend to put more emphasis on the lower weight divisions over the heavyweights. After the contract dealings with WWE surfaced he began showing signs of becoming
14842-547: The GFW Global Championship. On the 1 June episode of Impact Wrestlling , El Patrón defeated Ethan Carter III in a Six Sides of Steel Cage match and kept his number one contendership At Slammiversary , El Patrón defeated Lashley to unify the GFW Global Championship and the Impact Wrestling Championship. On the 6 July Impact he was referred to as the "Unified Champion" and the "Unified World Champion". In
15023-485: The Mega Championship against Johnny Mundo. After Rodríguez returned to WWE and it became clear that he would not return to AAA to defend the Mega Championship and was therefore stripped of the title on 9 November. WWE had allowed him to participate at Guerra de Titanes but when the event was canceled, WWE rescinded the offer. In 2018, it was announced that El Patrón would make his return at Triplemanía XXVI , facing
15204-408: The NWA, at which point his territory became fair game for everyone. The NWA would blacklist wrestlers who worked for independent promoters or who publicly criticized an NWA promoter or who did not throw a match on command. If an independent promoter tried to establish himself in a certain area, the NWA would send their star performers to perform for the local NWA promoter to draw the customers away from
15385-477: The NWA, which only allowed faces to be champions, Gagne occasionally allowed heels to win the AWA championship so that they could serve as foils for him. In August 1983, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), a promotion in the north-east , withdrew from the NWA. Vince K. McMahon then took over as its boss. No longer bound by the territorial pact of the NWA, McMahon began expanding his promotion into
15566-529: The Rodríguez family to be a heel (after his uncle, El Sicodélico Sr). Caras's run with the CMLL World Heavyweight Championship remained largely uneventful with only four title defenses in the 533 days that he held the championship, before losing it and departing for WWE. He made brief appearance for WWE as a security guard on June 30, 2008 episode of Monday Night Raw . By the fall of 2008,
15747-451: The United States Championship. The next night on Raw , Del Rio revealed that he and Zeb Colter had started their new country "MexAmerica" and unofficially renamed the United States Championship the "MexAmerican Championship". In November, Del Rio took part in the tournament for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship , defeating Stardust in the first round and Kalisto in the quarterfinals, before being eliminated by Roman Reigns in
15928-447: The United States and Japan. The promotion broadcasts shows regularly on Gala TV in Mexico, and Univision TDN in Mexico and parts of the United States. Mid 20th Century 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Between April and May of 1992, Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) booker Antonio Peña broke with the company in favor of establishing his own group, along with Konnan , and much of
16109-571: The United States, Invading NY , would take place at Madison Square Garden on September 15, 2019. The promotion also announced that would hold a second event in the US titled Invading Los Angeles , at The Forum in Inglewood, California on October 13, 2019. On August 16, 2019, it was reported by Pro Wrestling Insider that Invading NY was moved to Hulu Theater due to poor ticket sales. AAA would cancel and postpone its televised events in mid-March 2020 as
16290-608: The What Culture Pro Wrestling (WCPW) promotion, ending Big Damo 's WCPW career in his first match before challenging unsuccessfully for WCPW's Internet and Tag Team Championships. He was forced to miss the "Delete WCPW" PPV on 30 November 2016, due to flight issues but was at their "Loaded" episode taping the following day, defeating Johnny Mundo. El Patrón made a number of appearances for World Association Of Wrestling (WAW) promotion, El Patrón defeated Robbie Dynamite via pinfall then El Patrón defeating Chris Masters in
16471-538: The World Heavyweight Championship. Del Rio later explained that he targeted Ziggler's head the same way Ziggler targeted Del Rio's injured leg when Ziggler cashed in Money in the Bank to win the title from Del Rio. On 14 July at Money in the Bank , Del Rio defeated Ziggler by disqualification to retain the World Heavyweight Championship, after Ziggler's girlfriend AJ Lee hit Del Rio in the face with her Divas Championship belt. The next night on Raw , Del Rio defeated Ziggler in
16652-423: The World Heavyweight Championship. The next night on Raw , Del Rio defeated Swagger and Zeb Colter in a Two-on-one handicap match after forcing Swagger to submit to the cross armbreaker. After that, Del Rio lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Dolph Ziggler who cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase, ending his reign at 90 days. After losing the title, Del Rio would continue feud with Swagger and Ziggler over
16833-482: The YUKI-BOM-BA-YE event. Rodríguez returned to Japan the following year wrestling for Pro Wrestling Zero1 (Zero1) and All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). After wrestling for Zero1 primarily throughout 2002 and 2003, Rodríguez joined Hustle , debuting on their inaugural Hustle 1 event. He would continue to wrestle for Hustle under the ring names Dos Caras Jr. and Hustle Kamen Gold until October 2004. In 2005, Caras
17014-401: The arena's loudspeakers, his being Pomp and Circumstance . He also wore a costume: a robe and hairnet, which he removed after getting in the ring. He also had a pre-match ritual where his "butler" would spray the ring with perfume. In the 1980s, Vince McMahon made entrance songs, costumes, and rituals standard for his star wrestlers. For instance, McMahon's top star Hulk Hogan would delight
17195-418: The art of staging rigged matches and fostered a mentality that spectators were marks to be duped. The term kayfabe comes from carny slang. By the turn of the 20th century, most professional wrestling matches were "worked" and some journalists exposed the practice: American wrestlers are notorious for the amount of faking they do. It is because of this fact that suspicion attaches to so many bouts that
17376-550: The audience by tearing his shirt off before each match. The first major promoter cartel emerged on the East Coast, although up to that point, wrestling's heartland had been in the Midwest. Notable members of this cartel included Jack Curley , Lou Daro, Paul Bowser and Tom and Tony Packs. The promoters colluded to solve a number of problems that hurt their profits. Firstly, they could force their wrestlers to perform for less money. As
17557-454: The bottom rope. On the 24 August episode of SmackDown , Del Rio defeated Randy Orton by submission to once again become the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship. On the 7 September SmackDown , Del Rio filed assault charges against Sheamus, after Sheamus had attacked him and Rodriguez on the 3 September episode of Raw , which led to Booker T banning the Brogue Kick with
17738-412: The broader public. In the United States, wrestling is generally practiced in an amateur context. No professional league for competitive wrestling exists due to a lack of popularity. For example, Real Pro Wrestling , an American professional freestyle wrestling league, dissolved in 2007 after just two seasons. In other countries, such as Iran and India , wrestling enjoys widespread popularity as
17919-424: The cartel grew, there were fewer independent promoters where independent wrestlers could find work, and many were forced to sign a contract with the cartel to receive steady work. The contracts forbade them from performing at independent venues. A wrestler who refused to play by the cartel's rules was barred from performing at its venues. A second goal of the wrestling cartels was to establish an authority to decide who
18100-418: The case of heels). The matches could also be gimmicky sometimes, with wrestlers fighting in mud and piles of tomatoes and so forth. The most successful and enduring gimmick to emerge from the 1930s were tag-team matches. Promoters noticed that matches slowed down as the wrestlers in the ring tired, so they gave them partners to relieve them. It also gave heels another way to misbehave by double-teaming. Towards
18281-514: The caveat that Sheamus would be stripped of the World Heavyweight Championship if he used the move again. However, on 16 September at Night of Champions , Booker T concluded his investigation into the dangers of the move and lifted the ban. In the match that followed, Sheamus used the Brogue Kick to defeat Del Rio and retain the World Heavyweight Championship. With his rivalry with Sheamus behind him, Del Rio moved on to feuding with Randy Orton, with
18462-404: The championship to John Cena, but gained it back on 2 October at Hell in a Cell by defeating Cena and Punk in a Hell in a Cell match. On 23 October at Vengeance , Del Rio successfully defended the WWE Championship against John Cena in a Last Man Standing match , after The Miz and R-Truth interfered. On 20 November at Survivor Series , Del Rio lost the WWE Championship to Punk. Del Rio received
18643-423: The character in shows must be considered fictional, wholly separate from the life of the performer. This is similar to other entertainers who perform with a persona that shares their own name. Some wrestlers also incorporate elements of their real-life personalities into their characters, even if they and their in-ring persona have different names. Kayfabe is the practice of pretending that professional wrestling
18824-508: The commission. The Commission did on very rare occasions hand out such authorizations, such as for a championship match between Jim Londos and Jim Browning in June 1934. This decree did not apply to amateur wrestling, which the commission had no authority over. Wrestling fans widely suspected that professional wrestling was fake, but they did not care as long as it entertained. In 1933, a wrestling promoter named Jack Pfefer started talking about
19005-587: The company. Reportedly, Rodríguez was unhappy with WWE, claiming he had been given empty promises, including a main event push, when he made his return in October 2015. On 9 September, WWE officially announced that they had come to terms with his release from the company. Following his second departure from WWE, Rodríguez would begin taking bookings on the independent circuit , returning to his Alberto El Patrón ring name. He stated that he did not want to sign with any promotion and would limit himself to 60 dates per year for
19186-427: The competition on 18 January. The following week the rookies competed in a fatal-four-way match, of which the winner could change their pro. Brodus Clay won the match and chose Del Rio as his new pro. After the conclusion of NXT , Del Rio hired Clay as his bodyguard. At the Royal Rumble on 30 January, Del Rio defeated 39 other participants, last eliminating Santino Marella , to win the Royal Rumble match and earn
19367-468: The competitive sport to become an artform and genre of sports entertainment . Professional wrestling is performed around the world through various " promotions ", which are roughly analogous to production companies or sports leagues . Promotions vary considerably in size, scope, and creative approach, ranging from local shows on the independent circuit , to internationally broadcast events at major arenas. The largest and most influential promotions are in
19548-585: The cross armbreaker to retain his title. Del Rio then began a feud with his new number one contender, Jack Swagger, over his opposing political views regarding immigration in America. The feud escalated on the 18 March episode of Raw , when Swagger broke Rodriguez's ankle with his Patriot Lock submission. Del Rio continued feuding with Swagger on the 1 April episode of Raw , defeating Swagger's manager Zeb Colter via disqualification after Colter hit Del Rio with Ricardo Rodriguez's crutch. On 7 April at WrestleMania 29 , Del Rio defeated Swagger via submission to retain
19729-540: The current fashion of wrestling is the universal discussion as to the honesty of the matches. And certainly the most interesting phrase of this discussion is the unanimous agreement: "Who cares if they're fixed or not—the show is good." Newspapers tended to shun professional wrestling, as journalists saw its theatrical pretense to being a legitimate sport as untruthful. Eventually promoters resorted to publishing their own magazines in order to get press coverage and communicate with fans. The first professional wrestling magazine
19910-405: The end of the 1930s, faced with declining revenues, promoters chose to focus on grooming charismatic wrestlers with no regard for their skill because it was charisma that drew the crowds, and wrestlers who were both skilled at grappling and charismatic were hard to come by. Since most of the public by this time knew and accepted that professional wrestling was fake, realism was no longer paramount and
20091-405: The exchange victorious, after Christian returned from his injury and attacked Del Rio. On 18 March episode of SmackDown , Del Rio and Christian finally had their first one–on–one match in a steel cage , in which Christian won. At WrestleMania XXVII, Del Rio was unsuccessful in his World Heavyweight Championship match against Edge. On 8 April episode of SmackDown , Del Rio defeated Christian to earn
20272-597: The facade of kayfabe as best as they could. In 1989, Vince McMahon testified before the New Jersey government that professional wrestling was not a true sport and therefore should be exempted from sports-related taxes. Many wrestlers and fans resented McMahon for this, but Lou Thesz accepted it as the smart move as it gave the industry more freedom to do as it pleased, and because by that point professional wrestling no longer attempted to appear real. The demise of WCW in 2001 provided some evidence that kayfabe still mattered to
20453-467: The finish. The next night on Raw , Del Rio once again lost to Orton in a two-out-of-three-falls match, ending the feud. On 16 December at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs , Del Rio turned face when he saved Ricardo Rodriguez and the Spanish announcers from 3MB ( Drew McIntyre , Heath Slater , and Jinder Mahal ). Later in the event, Del Rio teamed with The Miz and The Brooklyn Brawler to defeat 3MB in
20634-470: The first place. "Double-crosses", where a wrestler agreed to lose a match but nevertheless fought to win, remained a problem in the early cartel days. At times a promoter would even award a victorious double-crosser the title of champion to preserve the facade of sport. But promoters punished such wrestlers by blacklisting them, making it quite challenging to find work. Double-crossers could also be sued for breach of contract, such as Dick Shikat in 1936. In
20815-474: The first wrestler to have held both the CMLL and AAA world heavyweight championships. On 24 May 2015, Alberto came together with Myzteziz and Rey Mysterio Jr. to form the "Dream Team" for AAA's Lucha Libre World Cup . The trio eventually won the tournament, defeating Johnny Mundo , Matt Hardy and Mr. Anderson in the finals. At Triplemanía XXIII , El Patrón defeated Brian Cage in a Hair vs. Hair Lucha de Apuestas . At Héroes Inmortales IX , El Patrón retained
20996-772: The following year as Alberto Del Rio. In WWE, he became the first Mexico -born world champion in WWE history after he won the WWE Championship and the World Heavyweight Championship twice each. He also won the 2011 Royal Rumble and the 2011 Money in the Bank ladder match , making him the only professional wrestler to win both in the same calendar year. Rodríguez departed WWE in 2014 and wrestled as Alberto El Patrón in other promotions such as Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA), Ring of Honor (ROH), Lucha Underground , Japanese and Puerto Rican promotions, and various United States independent promotions . In AAA, he won
21177-610: The game is not popular here. Nine out of ten bouts, it has been said, are pre-arranged affairs, and it would be no surprise if the ratio of fixed matches to honest ones was really so high. The wrestler Lou Thesz recalled that between 1915 and 1920, a series of exposés in the newspapers about the integrity of professional wrestling alienated a lot of fans, sending the industry "into a tailspin". But rather than perform more shoot matches, professional wrestlers instead committed themselves wholesale to fakery. Several reasons explain why professional wrestling became fake whereas boxing endured as
21358-455: The government. They pledged to stop allocating exclusive territories to its promoters, to stop blacklisting wrestlers who worked for outsider promoters, and to admit any promoter into the Alliance. The NWA would flout many of these promises, but its power was nonetheless weakened by the lawsuit. Paul Bowser's AWA joined the NWA in 1949. The AWA withdrew from the Alliance in 1957 and renamed itself
21539-457: The group officially disbanded after Del Rio and Rusev walked out on Sheamus during a six-man tag match against Kalisto, Cesaro and Sami Zayn . On the 2 May episode of Raw , Del Rio was involved in a Battle Royal to determine the No. 1 contender for Kalisto's United States Championship, but was eliminated by Zack Ryder . On the 26 May episode of SmackDown , Del Rio defeated Zack Ryder to qualify for
21720-513: The independent. By 1956, the NWA controlled 38 promotions within the United States, with more in Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand. The NWA's monopolistic practices became so stifling that the independents appealed to the government for help. In October 1956 the US Attorney General's office filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NWA in an Iowa federal district court. The NWA settled with
21901-492: The individual wrestlers are paid or have been paid for their performance in a professional wrestling exhibition. All engagements of professional wrestling shall be referred to as exhibitions, and not as matches. In the industry's slang, a fixed match is referred to as a worked match, derived from the slang word for manipulation, as in "working the crowd". A shoot match is a genuine contest where both wrestlers fight to win and are therefore "straight shooters", which comes from
22082-471: The industry was anything but a competitive sport. The first wrestling promoter to publicly admit to routinely fixing matches was Jack Pfefer . In 1933, he started talking about the industry's inner workings to the New York Daily Mirror , resulting in a huge exposé. The exposé neither surprised nor alienated most wrestling fans, although some promoters like Jack Curley were furious and tried to restore
22263-487: The industry's inner workings to the New York Daily Mirror , maintaining no pretense that wrestling was real and passing on planned results just before the matches took place. While fans were neither surprised nor alienated, traditionalists like Jack Curley were furious, and most promoters tried to maintain the facade of kayfabe as best they could. Not the least interesting of all the minor phenomena produced by
22444-519: The main event by attacking Johnny Impact and Eli Drake . El Patrón was released from Impact on 7 April 2018 after legitimately no-showing the Lucha Underground vs Impact Wrestling event in New Orleans the previous night. On 19 March 2023, El Patrón made his first appearance in AAA in over seven years at the 2023 Lucha Libre World Cup . He was part of the "Dream Team" that was defeated in
22625-543: The main event, where he had defeated John Cena to become the undisputed WWE Champion. Between the two matches, Punk was attacked by Kevin Nash , which led to Del Rio scoring a quick pinfall victory to win the WWE Championship for the first time. In winning the title, Del Rio became the first ever Mexican-born WWE Champion. Del Rio made his first televised title defense the next night on Raw , defeating Rey Mysterio to retain his title. On 18 September at Night of Champions , Del Rio lost
22806-480: The main-event, El Patron was defeated by Lashley by disqualification after interference by LAX , saying that he was the new member of the faction. However, on the 13 July episode of Impact , El Patrón refused to join LAX, and defeated them in a tag-team match with Lashley. On the 20 July episode of Impact , after LAX held El Patrón's family hostage, El Patrón put on their T-shirt. He attacked them shortly after. This led to
22987-400: The match began, Del Rio attacked Sheamus along with men posing as police officers, which led to SmackDown General Manager Booker T taking away his number one contender's status in result. However, the next week, Sheamus had the title match put back on for SummerSlam on 19 August, where Del Rio again failed in another attempt to dethrone Sheamus after the referee did not notice Del Rio's foot on
23168-469: The match by Team Raw's CM Punk . At Survivor Series on 21 November, in the traditional five-on-five elimination match, Del Rio captained a team against Rey Mysterio's team. Despite Del Rio's team losing, he was removed from the match after Big Show knocked him out with a WMD. On the 26 November episode of SmackDown , Del Rio defeated Big Show via countout to qualify for the 2010 King of the Ring tournament. In
23349-464: The match to John Cena. On the 4 July episode of SmackDown , Del Rio unsuccessfully challenged Sheamus for the United States Championship. He defeated Ziggler on the 7 July episode of Raw to earn another United States Championship opportunity against Sheamus, but was again unsuccessful after a Last Man Standing match the following night on Main Event . At Battleground he participated in a battle royal for
23530-468: The match, Del Rio insulted the soon-to-be returning Batista and that he would eliminate Batista in the Royal Rumble to get everyone talking about him. On the 13 January episode of Raw , he defeated Rey Mysterio and after the match, once again confronted Batista. On the 20 January episode of Raw , after he defeated Rey Mysterio, Batista returned and attacked Del Rio with a Batista Bomb . Six days later at
23711-498: The members of wrestling cartels as the champion drew big crowds wherever he performed, and this would occasionally lead to schisms. By 1925, this cartel had divided the country up into territories which were the exclusive domains of specific promoters. This system of territories endured until Vince McMahon drove the fragmented cartels out of the market in the 1980s. This cartel fractured in 1929 after one of its members, Paul Bowser , bribed Ed "Strangler" Lewis to lose his championship in
23892-538: The name of the tour as " Lucha por la Identidad Nacional ", this included shows such as Rey de Reyes and Verano de Escándalo . On August 14, Triplemanía XXIX was held at the Arena Ciudad de México. It was the first event since the pandemic began to have a limited number of fans in attendance for biosecurity reasons. Héroes Inmortales XIV would also have a limited audience present. In 1997, AAA partnered with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) to bring in
24073-486: The next champion. On the 6 April episode of SmackDown , Del Rio defeated Sheamus in a non-title match by disqualification to earn a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship. On 20 May at Over the Limit , Del Rio failed to capture the World Heavyweight Championship from Sheamus in a fatal four-way match, also involving Chris Jericho and Randy Orton . On the 25 May episode of SmackDown , Del Rio defeated Kane and Randy Orton in
24254-509: The next couple of years, Caras worked both in Mexico and Japan to gain experience in the ring. In Mexico he worked exclusively for AAA making appearances at shows such as the 2002 Verano de Escándalo , where he teamed with El Gronda and El Hijo del Solitario to defeat the trio of Pirata Morgan, Sangre Chicana and El Brazo . Rodríguez's first foray into puroresu was in 2001 for the Battlarts promotion, where he defeated Kazunari Murakami at
24435-426: The next two years before retiring from professional wrestling. Rodríguez was scheduled to return to AAA on 2 October at Héroes Inmortales X , but ended up no-showing the event. The following day, Rodríguez claimed that he had been attacked by a "knife-wielding criminal" at a restaurant prior to the event, suffering multiple lacerations on his arm and other parts of the body. El Patrón made a number of appearances for
24616-470: The next year, while also becoming the first wrestler in history to win a Royal Rumble and a Money in the Bank match in the same year. Following the orders of Vince McMahon , Del Rio attempted to cash in his contract later that same night on CM Punk, who had just defeated John Cena for the WWE Championship, but was attacked and laid out by Punk before he could do so. Del Rio eventually cashed in his contract on 14 August at SummerSlam , challenging CM Punk after
24797-440: The no-compete clause from the WWE. The show ended with El Patrón attacking Los Perros del Mal leader El Hijo del Perro Aguayo , after his win in the main event. In early September 2014, Rodríguez's lawyers had resolved his issues with WWE and he was no longer restricted by the 90-day no-compete clause. On 14 September, Rodríguez, now billed as "El Patrón Alberto", made his AAA in-ring return teaming with Myzteziz and La Parka in
24978-428: The official release of a video game originally entitled AAA El Videojuego . The game was later retitled Lucha Libre AAA: Héroes del Ring , was released on October 12, 2010. AAA developed a working relationship with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) in 2004. Through the relationship, AAA sent the luchadores Juventud Guerrera , Héctor Garza , Abismo Negro , Heavy Metal , and Mr. Águila to TNA to compete in
25159-476: The previous month. This was done to write Christian off television, as he had suffered a torn pectoral muscle . Mysterio returned on the 8 October episode of SmackDown , and handed Del Rio his first defeat in the main event match. On the 15 October episode of SmackDown , Del Rio defeated Chris Masters to represent the SmackDown brand at Bragging Rights on 24 October, but during the pay-per-view event, he attacked teammate Rey Mysterio, before being eliminated from
25340-567: The promotion after the enactment of a new contract. On 5 December 2015, González Sr. defeated El Patrón (who, by then was the WWE United States Champion ) by disqualification in WWC's season closing event, Lockout. On 15 October 2016, El Patrón returned to World Wrestling Council (WWC) at the second night of WWC's annual Aniversario event, where he faced Ray Gonzalez in a "Jaula de la Muerte" match. On 1 November 2014, Rodríguez, working under
25521-400: The promotion occasionally uses a hexagonal wrestling ring . The promotion has had working relationships with other Mexican promotions, as well as several American promotions; such as Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), Major League Wrestling (MLW), and All Elite Wrestling (AEW). AAA primarily hosts pay-per-views (PPV) events in Mexico, and has also promoted international events in
25702-714: The promotion's closing in 1991. In the spring of 1984, the WWF purchased Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW), which had been ailing for some time due to financial mismanagement and internal squabbles. In the deal, the WWF acquired the GCW's timeslot on TBS . McMahon agreed to keep showing Georgia wrestling matches in that timeslot, but he was unable to get his staff to Atlanta every Saturday to fulfill this obligation, so he sold GCW and its TBS timeslot to Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP). JCP started informally calling itself World Championship Wrestling (WCW). In 1988, Ted Turner bought JCP and formally renamed it World Championship Wrestling. During
25883-492: The promotion. He debuted at the promotion's television tapings in Los Angeles, California later that same day. During his debut, Rodríguez, billed as Alberto El Patrón, was attacked by his AAA rival El Texano Jr., who was also making his debut. This led to a match on the 25 March episode, where he successfully defended the AAA Mega Championship against El Texano Jr. in a Bullrope match . On 6 May, Alberto defeated Johnny Mundo in
26064-439: The purpose of providing entertainment to spectators and which does not comprise a bona fide athletic contest or competition. Professional wrestling is not a combative sport. Wrestling constituting bona fide athletic contests and competitions, which may be professional or amateur combative sport, shall not be deemed professional wrestling under this Part. Professional wrestling as used in this Part shall not depend on whether
26245-598: The rankings, this was further supported when he received matches for both the CMLL World Heavyweight Championship and the CMLL World Light Heavyweight Championship inside a three-week period. The following year on 31 March 2006 Caras was entered again into the La Copa Junior tournament and earned a return victory over Dr. Wagner Jr. who knocked him out of the tournament the previous year. He also won against Heavy Metal and Apolo Dantés to gain
26426-427: The right to compete for either the World Heavyweight Championship or the WWE Championship at WrestleMania XXVII on 3 April. The next night on Raw , Del Rio chose to compete for Edge's World Heavyweight Championship. At Elimination Chamber on 20 February, Del Rio attacked Edge, after he had successfully defended his title and solidified his spot as Del Rio's opponent at WrestleMania. However, Edge managed to come out
26607-407: The rights to his name, mask and image, but allow the WWE to use it for promotional purposes while he is under contract with them. He agreed to the contract since it addressed the main reasons why he turned down the WWE's offer in January 2009. Despite his claims, he had a match with Kris Logan at FCW under the name Dos. He later also went on to wrestle under the ring names Dorado and El Dorado. During
26788-663: The ring name "Alberto", made his debut for the Japanese Wrestle-1 promotion, defeating Masakatsu Funaki . On 11 December 2014, Ring of Honor (ROH) announced that Rodríguez, billed as "Alberto El Patrón", had signed to make his debut for the promotion on 3 January 2015. He defeated Christopher Daniels in his debut match. During the ROH Winter Warriors tour on 30–31 January, El Patrón defeated A. C. H. and Roderick Strong . On 1 March 2015, at ROH 13th Anniversary Show , El Patrón unsuccessfully challenged Jay Lethal for
26969-500: The same event and won WAW Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship. In 2019, Rodríguez and Chavo Guerrero Jr. created their own promotion, Nación Lucha Libre , which aired their first show on a television channel. During the Impact Wrestling tapings on 2 March 2017, Rodríguez debuted for Impact Wrestling , under the ring name Alberto El Patrón. He interrupted Bruce Prichard and Lashley in an attempt to insert himself into
27150-538: The semi-final, and wrestled as a técnico . On 27 April 2024 at Triplemanía XXXII: Monterrey he lost to Nic Nemeth (the former Dolph Ziggler) in a match for the vacant AAA Mega Championship . At Triplemanía XXXII: Mexico City on 17 August 2024, El Patrón reclaimed the title from Nemeth, turning rudo and aligning himself with Konnan and Dorian Roldán. After making his professional wrestling debut in 2000, Dos Caras Jr. decided to try his hand at mixed martial arts (MMA). Dos Caras most notably faced Mirko Cro Cop in
27331-473: The semi–finals at Survivor Series . On the 30 November episode of Raw , Del Rio joined Sheamus ' new stable, The League of Nations , and a week later ended his association with Zeb Colter. After retaining his championship against Jack Swagger , in a chairs match , at the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view, Del Rio reignited his feud with John Cena, after the latter returned on 28 December. On
27512-440: The stamina for an hours-long fight. Audiences also preferred short matches. Worked matches also carried less risk of injury, which meant shorter recovery. Altogether, worked matches proved more profitable than shoots. By the end of the 19th century, nearly all professional wrestling matches were worked. A major influence on professional wrestling was carnival culture. Wrestlers in the late 19th century worked in carnival shows. For
27693-426: The territories of his former NWA peers, now his rivals. By the end of the 1980s, the WWF would become the sole national wrestling promotion in the U.S. This was in part made possible by the rapid spread of cable television in the 1980s. The national broadcast networks generally regarded professional wrestling as too niche an interest, and had not broadcast any national wrestling shows since the 1950s. Before cable TV,
27874-416: The title on 24 November at Survivor Series , but again lost to Cena. The following night on the 25 November episode of Raw , Del Rio teamed up with Randy Orton in a losing effort against John Cena and Big Show in a tag team match. On the 2 and 9 December episodes of Raw , Del Rio suffered upset losses to the returning Sin Cara. Del Rio finally defeated Sin Cara on the 6 January 2014, episode of Raw . After
28055-505: The title the following night due to the controversial victory and faced EC3 in a World Championship number one contenders match on the 16 March episode of Impact Wrestling , which he won, becoming the number one contender. On the 4 May episode of Impact Wrestling , El Patrón defeated Eli Drake and become the number one contender to the GFW Global Championship . On the 11 May episode of Impact Wrestling , he defeated Magnus to win
28236-451: The title. On the 29 April episode of Raw , Ricardo Rodriguez defeated Big E Langston and Zeb Colter in a three-way match to give Del Rio the right to choose the stipulation of his three-way match at Extreme Rules and chose a ladder match. However, Ziggler would suffer a legitimate concussion at a SmackDown taping, thus removing their match from Extreme Rules. In result of Ziggler's injury, Del Rio instead would be booked to face Swagger in
28417-402: The tournament the next week on Raw , he made United States Champion Daniel Bryan submit in the first round, but was defeated by John Morrison in the semifinal after being distracted by Mysterio who was inside his car. At TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs on 19 December, Del Rio competed in a fatal four-way Tables, Ladders and Chairs match for the World Heavyweight Championship , which
28598-505: The trial, witnesses testified that most of the "big matches" and all of the championship bouts were fixed. By the 1930s, with the exception of the occasional double-cross or business dispute, shoot matches were essentially nonexistent. In April 1930, the New York State Athletic Commission decreed that all professional wrestling matches held in the state had to be advertised as exhibitions unless certified as contests by
28779-471: The truth, their audiences would desert them. Today's performers don't "protect" the industry like we did, but that's primarily because they've already exposed it by relying on silly or downright ludicrous characters and gimmicks to gain popularity with the fans. It was different in my day, when our product was presented as an authentic, competitive sport. We protected it because we believed it would collapse if we ever so much as implied publicly that it
28960-476: The tunnel and lasers). This partnership would end after Konnan left TNA in June 2007 and filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against TNA; The lawsuit was later dismissed. TNA would later start a relationship with CMLL from 2007 to 2009 , and would begin another working relationship with AAA in February 2010. On January 12, 2014, it was announced that, with the backing of Mark Burnett , AAA would co-produce
29141-413: The two attacking each other on the 28 September episode of SmackDown . The rivalry built to a singles match on 28 October at Hell in a Cell , where Orton emerged victorious. On the 31 October episode of Main Event , Del Rio teamed with The Prime Time Players ( Darren Young and Titus O'Neil ) to face Orton, Rey Mysterio, and Sin Cara in six-man tag team bout that ended with Orton pinning Del Rio for
29322-415: The vacant Intercontinental Championship but was eliminated by Dolph Ziggler. Del Rio lost several matches over the following weeks and was fired from WWE on 7 August, due to "unprofessional conduct" following an altercation with an employee who allegedly made a racist joke. On 11 August 2014, AAA announced that after bring fired by WWE, Rodríguez would be returning to the promotion at Triplemanía XXII . In
29503-405: The venue, in a format similar to reality television . Performers generally integrate authentic wrestling techniques and fighting styles with choreography , stunts , improvisation , and dramatic conventions designed to maximize entertainment value and audience engagement. Professional wrestling as a performing art evolved from the common practice of match-fixing among American wrestlers in
29684-535: The way of proceedings: the "in-show" happenings, presented through the shows; and real-life happenings outside the work that have implications, such as performer contracts, legitimate injuries, etc. Because actual life events are often co-opted by writers for incorporation into storylines of performers, the lines between real life and fictional life are often blurred and become confused. Special discern must be taken with people who perform under their own name (such as Kurt Angle and his fictional persona ). The actions of
29865-437: The win. On the 6 November episode of SmackDown , Del Rio was again defeated by Orton in a Falls Count Anywhere match , after taking an RKO onto the ringside steel steps. The two were then on opposing teams for the traditional five-on-five elimination tag match on 18 November at Survivor Series . Del Rio's team, led by Dolph Ziggler, defeated Orton's team, led by Mick Foley , despite Del Rio being eliminated by Orton prior to
30046-420: The wrestlers quietly began faking their matches so that they could give their audiences a satisfying spectacle. Fixing matches was also convenient for scheduling. A real ("shoot") match could sometimes last hours, whereas a fixed ("worked") match can be made short, which was convenient for wrestlers on tour who needed to keep appointments or share venues. It also suited wrestlers who were aging and therefore lacked
30227-659: The young talent from CMLL. AAA would look for talent from other markets, as they found and signed Tijuana natives Rey Mysterio, Jr. and Psicosis . The promotion became known for signing top talent, such as El Hijo del Santo , Octagón , Blue Panther , the Casas brothers ( Negro Casas and Heavy Metal ), Los Gringos Locos , Cien Caras , Konnan , and Perro Aguayo . The rising popularity of AAA caused rival promotion Universal Wrestling Association to go out of business. Peña would quickly sign up top draws , including El Canek , Dos Caras and Los Villanos. In 1994, AAA co-promoted
30408-425: Was Wrestling As You Like It , which printed its first issue in 1946. These magazines were faithful to kayfabe . Before the advent of television, professional wrestling's fanbase largely consisted of children, the elderly, blue-collar workers and minorities. When television arose in the 1940s, professional wrestling got national exposure on prime-time television and gained widespread popularity. Professional wrestling
30589-557: Was announced that both promotions would continue to be work together. In July 2015, Canadian-based International Wrestling Syndicate (IWS) announced a talent partnership with AAA. In June 2018, AAA partnered with Lucha Libre Elite . In August 2018, AAA started a working agreement with the American-based Major League Wrestling (MLW). In February 2019, it was announced that AAA would be partnering with All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Each year AAA promotes
30770-494: Was banned from wrestling in the United States for one year. On 17 August at Triplemanía XXII, El Patrón and his father Dos Caras appeared to open the show, speaking on coming to AAA and addressing WWE, claiming that the company was racist. They were interrupted by the Los Perros del Mal stable. After one of the members laid his hands on Caras, El Patrón ran after the stable and cleared house, while officials reminded him that he has
30951-488: Was challenges from independent wrestlers. But a cartelized wrestler, if challenged, could credibly use his contractual obligations to his promoter as an excuse to refuse the challenge. Promotions would sometimes respond to challenges with "policemen": powerful wrestlers who lacked the charisma to become stars, but could defeat and often seriously injure any challenger in a shoot match. As the industry trend continued, there were fewer independent wrestlers to make such challenges in
31132-412: Was part of a six-man tag match along with his fellow League of Nations members Sheamus and Rusev , against The New Day , where his team won when Sheamus pinned Xavier Woods . After WrestleMania, The League of Nations began to dissolve when King Barrett was ejected from the group on the 4 April episode of Raw , where Del Rio and the rest of the group attacked him. On the 28 April episode of SmackDown ,
31313-406: Was playing a round. There it was revealed that the former WWE ring announcer had been sent on behalf of El Patrón, delivering a sign of disrespect as a "personal message" before fleeing the scene. The following week a match between both was confirmed for Septiembre Negro, where González Sr. defeated and injured Rodriguez (now promoted as "El Emisario del Patrón") and immediately challenged El Patrón to
31494-568: Was previously considered a niche interest, but the TV networks at the time were short on content and thus were willing to try some wrestling shows. In the 1960s, however, the networks moved on to more mainstream interests such as baseball, and professional wrestling was dropped. The core audience then shrunk back to a profile similar to that of the 1930s. In 1989, Vince McMahon was looking to exempt his promotion (the World Wrestling Federation ) from sports licensing fees. To achieve this, he testified before
31675-405: Was signed to a contract with Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). In his first test in the company, Caras competed in the 2005 La Copa Junior , but the storyline of the tournament saw him defeated in the semi-final by Dr. Wagner Jr. Caras's advancement to the semi-final of the cup, mere months after signing with the company was an indicator that the bookers were interested in elevating him up
31856-415: Was something other than what it appeared to be. I'm not sure now the fear was ever justified given the fact that the industry is still in existence today, but the point is no one questioned the need then. "Protecting the business" in the face of criticism and skepticism was the first and most important rule a pro wrestler learned. No matter how aggressive or informed the questioner, you never admitted
32037-499: Was suspended by GFW due to a personal domestic violence issue with his real-life girlfriend Paige . As a result of the suspension, on 14 August, he was stripped of the Unified GFW World Heavyweight Championship. On 5 November 2017, at Bound for Glory , El Patrón returned from suspension, claiming that everyone was "a loser and a backstabber" and confronting Jeremy Borash . Later that night, he interrupted
32218-417: Was the "world champion". Before the cartels, there were multiple wrestlers in the U.S. simultaneously calling themselves the "world champion", and this sapped public enthusiasm for professional wrestling. Likewise, the cartel could agree on a common set of match rules that the fans could keep track of. The issue over who got to be the champion and who controlled said champion was a major point of contention among
32399-448: Was ultimately unsuccessful in the match. His last appearance in WWE was on the 16 August episode of SmackDown Live , in which Del Rio was defeated by John Cena. On 18 August 2016, Rodríguez was suspended for thirty days for his first violation of WWE's wellness policy. On 30 August, it was reported that Rodríguez would be exercising an opt-out clause from his WWE contract, allowing his departure should he be unhappy with his position within
32580-506: Was unable to continue the match due to a pre-match assault by Mark Henry . On 27 June episode of Raw , Del Rio defeated Big Show in a steel cage match, again after interference from Henry. On 17 July at Money in the Bank , Del Rio defeated Alex Riley , Evan Bourne , Jack Swagger , Kofi Kingston , The Miz , R-Truth and Rey Mysterio in the Raw Money in the Bank ladder match for a future WWE Championship match whenever and wherever over
32761-477: Was won by Edge and also included Kane and Rey Mysterio. On 7 January 2011 episode of SmackDown , Del Rio defeated Mysterio in a two-out-of-three-falls match , with help from Ricardo Rodriguez by holding Mysterio out of the ring to end his long feud with Mysterio. On the fourth season of NXT , starting in December 2010, Del Rio mentored rookie Conor O'Brian , who became the second contestant to be eliminated from
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