EMLL 50th Anniversary Show

The EMLL 50th Anniversary Show (Spanish: 50. Aniversario de EMLL) was a professional wrestling major show event produced by Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL) that took place on September 23, 1983, in Arena México, Mexico City, Mexico. The event commemorated the 50th anniversary of EMLL, which would become the oldest professional wrestling promotion in the world. The Anniversary show is EMLL's biggest show of the year, their Super Bowl event. The EMLL Anniversary Show series is the longest-running annual professional wrestling show, starting in 1934.

EMLL 50th Anniversary Show
Kevin Von Erich, made a special appearance for EMLL.
PromotionEmpresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre
DateSeptember 23, 1983[1]
CityMexico City, Mexico[1]
VenueArena México[1]
Attendance18,000[1]
Event chronology
 Previous
27. Aniversario de Arena México
Next 
Juicio Final
EMLL Anniversary Show chronology
 Previous
49th Anniversary
Next 
51st Anniversary

The main event was the culmination of a long-running, intense storyline between Sangre Chicana and MS-1, with both men putting their hair on the line against the outcome of their Lucha de Apuestas, bet match. The show featured at least three additional matches including Ultraman defending the Mexican National Middleweight Championship against El Supremo.

Production

Background

Arena México, CMLL's main venue and location of the Anniversary Show

The Mexican Lucha libre (professional wrestling) company Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) started out under the name Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre ("Mexican Wrestling Company"; EMLL), founded by Salvador Lutteroth in 1933. Lutteroth, inspired by professional wrestling shows he had attended in Texas, decided to become a wrestling promoter and held his first show on September 21, 1933, marking what would be the beginning of organized professional wrestling in Mexico.[2] Lutteroth would later become known as "the father of Lucha Libre" .[3] A year later EMLL held the EMLL 1st Anniversary Show, starting the annual tradition of the Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Anniversary Shows that have been held each year ever since, most commonly in September.[4]

Over the years the anniversary show would become the biggest show of the year for CMLL, akin to the Super Bowl for the National Football League (NFL) or WWE's WrestleMania event.[2][5] The first anniversary show was held in Arena Modelo, which Lutteroth had bought after starting EMLL. In 1942–43 Lutteroth financed the construction of Arena Coliseo, which opened in April 1943. The EMLL 10th Anniversary Show was the first of the anniversary shows to be held in Arena Coliseo.[4] In 1956 Lutteroth had Arena México built in the location of the original Arena Modelo, making Arena México the main venue of EMLL from that point on.[4] Starting with the EMLL 23rd Anniversary Show, all anniversary shows except for the EMLL 46th Anniversary Show have been held in the arena that would become known as "The Cathedral of Lucha Libre".[4] On occasion EMLL held more than one show labelled as their "Anniversary" show, such as two 33rd Anniversary Shows in 1966.[4] Over time the anniversary show series became the oldest, longest-running annual professional wrestling show. In comparison, WWE's WrestleMania is only the fourth oldest still promoted show (CMLL's Arena Coliseo Anniversary Show and Arena México anniversary shows being second and third).[2][4][6] Traditionally CMLL holds their major events on Friday Nights, replacing their regularly scheduled Super Viernes show.[6]

Storylines

The event featured at least four professional wrestling matches with different wrestlers involved in pre-existing scripted feuds, plots and storylines. Wrestlers were portrayed as either heels (referred to as rudos in Mexico, those that portray the "bad guys") or faces (técnicos in Mexico, the "good guy" characters) as they followed a series of tension-building events, which culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.[6] Due to the nature of keeping mainly paper records of wrestling at the time no documentation has been found for some of the matches of the show.

Event

The first documented match of the show had Mexican National Middleweight Champion Ultraman defend his title against El Supremo in a Best two-out-of three falls match, the standard Lucha Libre format for championship matches. Ultraman had won the title just over a month prior, defeating Águila Solitaria in a tournament final to become the new champion.[7] Ultraman defeated Supremo two falls to one to retain the title.[1][7] Kevin Von Erich, part of the famous Von Erich Family traveled south from Texas to make a special appearance for the 50th Anniversary show, teaming with EMLL regulars Mascara Año 2000 and Halcón Ortiz as they defeated Herodes, Coloso Colosetti and Pirata Morgan in a Best two-out-of-three falls Six-man tag team match[1] Also on the show Ringo Mendoza, Villano III and Lizmark defeated La Fiera, Mocho Cota and Espectro Jr.in a best two-out-of-three falls six-man tag team match.[1]

The main event of the 50th Anniversary show was the culmination of a very heated, very intense storyline between MS-1 and Sangre Chicana. The matches between the two wrestlers leading up to the event often ended in disqualification for excessive violence and with one or both wrestlers bleeding profusely. After a number of inconclusive matches between the two, both men finally agreed to settle their dispute with a Lucha de Apuestas, or "Bet match" between the two where both men would wager their hair on the outcome of the match.[8] In Lucha Libre high profile Luchas de Apuestas matches are considered more prestigious than championship matches and are regarded as the ultimate "feud settler" between wrestlers.[9] The match between the two was contested under "Best two-out-of-three" falls rules, which is standard for Luchas de Apuestas matches and featured a more brutal style of wrestling than normally associated with Lucha Libre. The two opponents would bleed halfway through the match, as they built the intensity between them up over the first two falls. In the third and deciding fall, Sangre Chicana finally got his revenge on the hated rudo MS-1, pinning him to take the match. Following the victory, Sangre Chicana watched as MS-1 was forcibly shaved bald while in the middle of the ring.[1][10][4][11][12]

Aftermath

Ultraman reigned as the Mexican National Middleweight Champion until March 4, 1984 when he would lose the championship to Jerry Estrada.[7]

Results

September 9, 1983
No.Results[13]StipulationsTimes
1Solar II, Aristóteles, and El Egipcio defeated Belcebú, El Hombre Verde, and Fuerza GuerreraBest two-out-of-three falls six-man tag team match
2Sangre Chicana, El Supremo, and MS-1 defeated Ultramán, El Jalisco, and Tony SalazarBest two-out-of-three falls six-man tag team match
3El Satánico defeated La Fiera by disqualificationBest two-out-of-three falls match
4Perro Aguayo, Fishman, and Talismán defeated Rayo de Jalisco Jr., Américo Rocca, and Ringo MendozaBest two-out-of-three falls six-man tag team match
5Lizmark (c) defeated El Enfermero Jr.Best two-out-of-three falls match for the NWA World Middleweight Championship14:10
6Gran Cochisse defeated Mocho CotaBest two-out-of-three falls Lucha de Apuestas Hair vs. Hair match[14]
(c) – the champion(s) heading into the match
September 16, 1983
No.Results[15]Stipulations
1Águila India, Jerry Estrada, and Mocho Cota vs. El Egipcio, El Solar, and El Solar II ended in an unknown mannerBest two-out-of-three falls six-man tag team match
2Cien Caras, Hombre Bala, and Máscara Año 2000 vs. Coloso Colosetti, Herodes, and Popitekus ended in an unknown mannerBest two-out-of-three falls six-man tag team match
3El Supremo, El Enfermero Jr., and Espectro Jr. vs. Gran Cochisse, Lizmark, and Ultramán ended in an unknown mannerBest two-out-of-three falls six-man tag team match
4Fishman and Perro Aguayo vs. MS-1 and Sangre Chicana ended in an unknown mannerTag team match
5El Satánico defeated La FieraBest two-out-of-three falls Lucha de Apuestas Hair vs. Hair match[16][17]
September 23, 1983
No.Results[1][18][19]Stipulations
1Ringo Mendoza, Villano III, and Lizmark defeated La Fiera, Mocho Cota, and Espectro Jr.Best two-out-of-three falls six-man tag team match
2Kevin Von Erich, Mascara Año 2000, and Halcón Ortiz defeated Herodes, Coloso Colosetti, and Pirata MorganBest two-out-of-three falls six-man tag team match
3Ultraman (c) defeated El SupremoBest two-out-of-three falls match for the Mexican National Middleweight Championship[7]
4Sangre Chicana defeated MS-1Best two-out-of-three falls Lucha de Apuestas Hair vs. Hair match[10][4][11][12]
(c) – the champion(s) heading into the match

References

  1. "50th Anniversary Show". Pro Wrestling History. September 23, 1983. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
  2. "Los Lutteroth / the Lutteroths". Lucha Libre: Masked Superstars of Mexican Wrestling. Distributed Art Publishers, Inc. 2005. pp. 20–27. ISBN 968-6842-48-9.
  3. "Wed. Update: Flair in Boston, ratings, Anniversary, White on HHH, DGUSA star on Smackdown, Orton". Figure Four Online /Wrestling Observer. September 21, 2011. Archived from the original on November 27, 2011. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  4. "Historia de Los Aniversarios del CMLL". The Gladiatores Magazine (in Spanish). September 2, 2010. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
  5. Madigan, Dan (2007). "A family affair". Mondo Lucha Libre: the bizarre & honorable world of wild Mexican wrestling. HarperCollins Publishers. pp. 128–132. ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3.
  6. Madigan, Dan (2007). ""Okay... what is Lucha Libre?"". Mondo Lucha a Go Go: the bizarre & honorable world of wild Mexican wrestling. New York, New York: HarperCollins Publishers. p. 31. ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3. featuring clearly distinguished good guys and bad guys, or técnicos and rudos
  7. Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: National Middleweight Championship". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 392. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  8. "Grandes Figuras de la Lucha Libre". MS-1 (in Spanish). Portales, Mexico. November 2008. p. 39. 17.
  9. Madigan, Dan (2007). "Okay... what is Lucha Libre?". Mondo Lucha Libre: the bizarre and honorable world of wild Mexican wrestling. HarperCollins Publishers. pp. 29–40. ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3.
  10. "Lucha Libre: Conoce la historia de las leyendas de cuadrilátero". Sangre Chicana (1951) (in Spanish). Mexico. 2008. p. 53. Grandes Figuras de la Lucha Libre.
  11. "Historia de Los Aniversarios" (in Spanish). Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre. Archived from the original on October 16, 2012. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
  12. Ruiz Glez, Alex (September 7, 2010). "CMLL: 79 historias, 79 Aniversario, las 79 luchas estelares". SuperLuchas (in Spanish). Retrieved October 20, 2012.
  13. "EMLL 50. Aniversario - A". CageMatch. September 9, 1983. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  14. "Grandes Figuras de la Lucha Libre". Gran Cochisse (in Spanish). Portales, Mexico. November 2008. p. 19. 17.
  15. "EMLL Súper Viernes - 50. Aniversario (A)". Wrestling Data. September 16, 1983. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  16. "EMLL 50. Aniversario - B". CageMatch. September 16, 1983. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  17. "Grandes Figuras de la Lucha Libre". Satánico (in Spanish). Portales, Mexico. November 2008. p. 55. 17.
  18. "EMLL Súper Viernes - 50. Aniversario (B)". Wrestling Data. September 23, 1983. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  19. "EMLL 50. Aniversario - C". CageMatch. September 23, 1983. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
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