Date September 23, 1983 Venue Arena México | Attendance 18,000 City Mexico City, Mexico | |
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Promotion Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre EMLL 50th Anniversary Show 28. Aniversario de Arena México | ||
The EMLL 50th Anniversary Show 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 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.
Contents
Background
The 1983 Anniversary show commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Mexican professional wrestling company Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (Spanish for "Mexican Wrestling Promotion"; EMLL) holding their first show on September 22, 1933 by promoter and founder Salvador Lutteroth. EMLL was rebranded early in 1992 to become Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre ("World Wrestling Council"; CMLL) signal their departure from the National Wrestling Alliance. With the sales of the Jim Crockett Promotions to Ted Turner in 1988 EMLL became the oldest, still-operating wrestling promotion in the world. Over the years EMLL/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 EMLL/CMLL's major events since the building was completed. Traditionally EMLL/CMLL holds their major events on Friday Nights, replacing their regularly scheduled Super Viernes show.
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. 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. Ultraman defeated Supremo two falls to one to retain the title. 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 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.
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. 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. 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 half way 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.
Aftermath
Ultraman reigned as the Mexican National Middleweight Champion until March 4, 1984 when he would lose the championship to Jerry Estrada.