Date September 19, 2008 Venue Arena Mexico CMLL 75th Anniversary show Leyenda de Azul (2008) | Attendance 17,500 City Mexico City, Mexico | |
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Promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre | ||
The CMLL 75th Anniversary Show was a professional wrestling major show event produced by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) that took place on September 19, 2008 in Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico. The show consisted of six matches, with the main event being a Lucha de Apuestas, mask vs. mask match between Blue Panther and Villano V. It also featured four regular Six-man tag team matches, including a CMLL World Trios Championship defense and a singles match between Dr. Wagner Jr. and L.A. Park. The event commemorated the 75th anniversary of CMLL, the oldest professional wrestling promotion. in the world. The anniversary show is CMLL's biggest show of the year, their Super Bowl event.
Contents
Background
The 2008 CMLL Anniversary Shows commemorated the 75th anniversary of the Mexican professional wrestling company Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (Spanish for "World Wrestling Council"; CMLL) holding their first show on September 22, 1933 by promoter and founder Salvador Lutteroth. CMLL, originally known as Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre ("Mexican Wrestling Company"; EMLL) it would change its name to Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre in 1992 to signal their departure from the National Wrestling Alliance. With the sales of the Jim Crockett Promotions to Ted Turner in 1988 CMLL became the oldest, still-operating wrestling promotion in the world. Over the years CMLL has on occasion held multiple shows to celebrate their anniversary but since 1977 the company has only held one annual show, which is considered the biggest show of the year, CMLL's equivalent of WWE's WrestleMania or their Super Bowl event. CMLL has held their Anniversary show at Arena México in Mexico City, Mexico since 1956, the year the building was completed, over time Arena México earned the nickname "The Cathedral of Lucha Libre" due to it hosting most of CMLL's major events since the building was completed. Traditionally CMLL holds their major events on Friday Nights, replacing their regularly scheduled Super Viernes show.
Storylines
The event featured six 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.
Due to an injury CMLL's most popular tecnico Místico was not booked to wrestle on the show, only appearing as the corner man for Blue Panther in the main event. Panther's opponent Villano V would be accompanied by Perro Aguayo Jr., Místico's longtime rival. With Místico's injury CMLL was not able to book a match for the CMLL World Tag Team Championship despite repeated challenges by La Peste Negra (Negro Casas teaming with either Heavy Metal or Mr. Niebla). Instead they announced that Mr. Niebla and Heavy Metal would team up with Lizmark Jr. to face half of the tag team champions, Héctor Garza, teaming with Dos Caras Jr. and Marco Corleone in the third match of the night.