CMLL Announces Full Card For 90th Anniversary Show
Before WrestleMania, Starrcade, All In, Wrestle Kingdom, or TripleMania, there was the CMLL Anniversary Show. Beginning on September 21, 1934, when the promotion was called EMLL (Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre), the CMLL Anniversary Show, also known as the Aniversario, is the oldest major wrestling show in the business today. And for the milestone 90th edition of the big show, CMLL is going big to make it special, with not one, but two Apuesta (mask vs. mask, hair vs. hair) matches.
Announced last night on "CMLL Informa," and confirmed on social media, the 90th CMLL Anniversary show will be headlined by Dragon Rojo Jr. vs. Templario in a mask vs. mask match. The semi-main event will consist of a hair vs. hair match, with either Averno taking on Ultimo Guerrero or Volador Jr. battling Angel de Oro Jr. The match will be determined earlier in the night, with Volador and Oro battling Guerrero and Averno in tag team action, with the winning team advancing to the hair match.
🇲🇽 CARTEL OFICIAL DEL 90 ANIVERSARIO DEL CMLL
¡Llegó el momento! Estas son las batallas que conformarán La Fiesta Máxima de la Lucha Libre.📍Arena México
🗓️ Sábado 16 de Septiembre '23
🕔 5:00 p.m.🎟️ en taquillas y en:https://t.co/3omqUfDD1t#90AniversarioCMLL pic.twitter.com/DUhmvHPkwS
— Lucha Libre CMLL (@CMLL_OFICIAL) August 9, 2023
While Volador, Oro, Guerrero, and Averno are all long-time CMLL headliners, with Volador and Guerrero having headlined the Anniversary Show in the past, the main event spot will represent the biggest match in the careers of Templario, a 31-year-old rising star, and Rojo, a 40-year-old journeyman luchador.
Lucha House Party Members To Appear On CMLL 90th Anniversary Show
Originally starting as a three-way feud involving fellow CMLL star Soberano Jr., Rojo and Templario have shifted their focus toward each other throughout 2023. The feud has also grown to include the CMLL World Middleweight Title, which Templario defeated Rojo to win on May 12, and retained against Rojo in a rematch on July 24.
Of the four other matches set for the show, the most notable for American audiences will feature a reunion between former WWE stars Lince Dorado and Samuray Del Sol, aka Kalisto. The Lucha House Party members will team together for the first time since September 2020, taking on Los Ingobernables de Japon star Titan and Soberano Jr.
Other matches include a CMLL vs. NJPW match, with Mistico, Atlantis Jr., and Mascara Dorada taking on Kevin Knight, Rocky Romero, and TJP, which will likely see the continuation of the feud between Dorada and Romero, who fought in the Leyenda de Plata final two weeks ago, with Dorada winning. Elsewhere, Stephanie Vaquer and Zeuxis battle Lluvia and La Jarochita to crown the first-ever CMLL Women's World Tag Team Titles. The final match is a legends match, with Atlantis, Blue Panther, and Octagon facing Fuerza Guerrera, Virus, and 74-year-old El Satanico.