EMLL / CMLL

EMLL - Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre (1933-198?)

In 1933, Salvador Lutteroth organized a lucha libre company in Mexico. He used a sizable amount of money he won in a lottery and the support of backers to get the company going and it steadily grew. Lutteroth imported wrestlers, groomed native talent and plucked the best local talent out of their towns and mixed them all in Mexico City. In the 1940s, "La Empressa" jumped to a new level with the rise of El Santo and his supporting cast of colorful personas and innovative talents. In the following decade, EMLL became the National Wrestling Alliance's affiliate in Mexico and they created many of their lighter weight titles and they all had great importance. They remained aligned with the NWA through the mid-1980s when it fell into disarray. Before that however, La Empressa was the dominant promotion in Mexico and had an iron grip over lucha libre for the next twenty years. Although many of the big stars from the El Santo days were slowing down as in-ring stars by the 1960s, there was a fresh crop coming up and they were all getting great exposure through lucha libre movies. The genre kept the sport booming into the 1970s, then it all began declining. La Empressa had contracts with most of the major arenas in Mexico and although wrestling was unionized, they were able to get away with paying on a percentage. When houses were down, pay was down, but a new promotion seemed out of the question. The big change occurred in 1974, when the aging Salvador Lutteroth was planning to retire and disperse his control. However, an alliance between established stars and promoters led to the formation of the first successful competition to La Empressa after forty years of ruling Mexican lucha libre. The UWA raised the bar in many ways and had great influence on the traditional EMLL. The NWA was declining and carefully picked their battles with outlaw promotions and they never did many favors for members who ran outside the United States. So, La Empressa left the NWA and a new chapter began.

Charro Aguayo

Ángel Blanco

Bobby Lee

Alfonso Dantés

Los Espantos (I, II & III)

Jerry Estrada

Los Fantásticos (Kung Fu, Kato Kung Lee, Black Man)

El Matemático

Sugi Sito

El Verdugo

CMLL - Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (198?-)

After splitting from the NWA and trying to compete with the UWA, “EMLL” became “CMLL.” Their new name, “Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre,” translates to “Worldwide Wrestling Council,” which shows their desire to appear more international. The biggest change came when CMLL began airing on television in Mexico City. This took lucha libre to new level and the sixty-year-old promotion reclaimed their place as the undisputed king of lucha libre. After failing to make it as a luchador, Antonio Peña, became involved in EMLL behind the scenes and developed a reputation for his creativity. He slowly worked his way up the ladder and became the booker for Paco Alonso in CMLL. He wanted this “new” company to become something fresh and exciting. Alonso and the old guard blocked him and he ultimately left and CMLL was robbed of much of their best talent (not necessarily their top talent). AAA grew almost as quickly as it fell and CMLL was able to ride out its peak years. They secured a new generation of performers and they brought El Hijo Del Santo back in, turned him heel and brought themselves back to the forefront. The new millenium saw CMLL secure their position on top as AAA's wild antics turned off many traditional fans.

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