CMLL 81st Anniversary Show

The CMLL 81st Anniversary Show () was a major professional wrestling event produced by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) that took place on September 19, 2014, in CMLL's home arena Arena México in Mexico City, Mexico. The event commemorated the 81st anniversary of the creation of CMLL, which is the oldest professional wrestling promotion in the world. CMLL's anniversary show is their biggest, most important show of the year, comparable to the Super Bowl for the National Football League or WrestleMania for World Wrestling Entertainment. The CMLL Anniversary Show series is the longest-running annual professional wrestling show, starting in 1934.

The main event of the show was a best two-out-of-three falls Lucha de Apuestas, or "bet match" between perennial rivals Atlantis and Último Guerrero, with both wrestlers putting their mask on the line. The show featured five more matches. The show made CMLL only the second promotion in the Americas, after WWE, to draw a $1 million gate.

Production

Background

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. Lutteroth would later become known as "the father of Lucha Libre" . 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.

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. 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. 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. 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". On occasion EMLL held more than one show labelled as their "Anniversary" show, such as two 33rd Anniversary Shows in 1966. 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). EMLL was supposed to hold the EMLL 52nd Anniversary Show on September 20, 1985 but Mexico City was hit by a magnitude 8.0 earthquake. EMLL canceled the event both because of the general devastation but also over fears that Arena México might not be structurally sound after the earthquake.

When Jim Crockett Promotions was bought by Ted Turner in 1988 EMLL became the oldest still active promotion in the world. In 1991 EMLL was rebranded as "Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre" and thus held the CMLL 59th Anniversary Show, the first under the new name, on September 18, 1992. 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.

The main event match for the 81st Anniversary show was the culmination of a storyline feud between Atlantis and Último Guerrero that had its start several years prior. In 2005 Atlantis was a well established, veteran tecnico who held the CMLL World Tag Team Championship with Blue Panther. During a match on June 25, 2005 against Guerrero and Rey Bucanero Atlantis turned on his partner during the match and cost them the titles. Following the match the now Rudo Atlantis joined up the group Los Guerreros del Infierno ("The Infernal Warriors"), who renamed the group Los Guerreros de la Atlantida ("The Warriors of Atlantis") out of respect for their new co-leader. Atlantis, Último Guerrero and Negro Casas won the CMLL World Trios Championship and held it for 166 days, before losing it on January 1, 2009, to El Hijo del Fantasma, Héctor Garza and La Máscara. On November 2, 2009, Atlantis won his fourth CMLL World Tag Team Championship, this time teaming with Último Guerrero to defeat Místico and Negro Casas for the championship. They later lost the Tag Team championship to Averno and Mephisto on February 1, 2010. In late 2009 it was rumored that Los Guerreros de la Atlantida had split up, but when Atlantis and Último Guerrero teamed up on CMLL's Sin Salida show, to prove that the rumors were not true. On November 2, 2010, Guerrero and Dragón Rojo, Jr., who replaced an injured Atlantis, defeated Mr. Águila and Héctor Garza to win the CMLL World Tag Team Championship. After the title win, Rojo, Jr. was made an official member of Los Guerreros de la Atlantida. Following Dragón Rojo's induction into the group Atlantis teamed less and less with his team mates. In June, 2011 Atlantis replaced an injured Shocker and teamed with the tecnico team of Delta and Guerrero Maya, Jr. in the Forjando un Ídolo tournament, which they eventually went on to win. After weeks of tension between Atlantis and Último Guerrero, CMLL held a press conference on August 11, where Atlantis officially turned technico and left Los Guerreros de la Atlantida. Guerrero and Atlantis faced each other in a big grudge match on September 23, which saw Atlantis pick up the win. On the August 3 Super Viernes show, Guerrero and Rojo, Jr. lost the CMLL World Tag Team Championship to Atlantis and Diamante Azul, ending their reign at 640 days, the longest reign in the title's history. On November 16, Atlantis announced that he was officially forming a stable named Los Reyes de la Atlantida ("The Kings of Atlantis") with Delta and Guerrero Maya, Jr. to help him combat Los Guerreros del Infierno. On the August 3 Super Viernes show, Atlantis and Diamante Azul defeated Dragón Rojo, Jr. and Último Guerrero to win the CMLL World Tag Team Championship. In early 2013 the long running feud between Atlantis and Último Guerrero came to the forefront of CMLL booking once more. The two were booked for the 2013 Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increibles tournament, forcing the two rivals to team up. Before their qualifying round both Atlantis and Gurrero stated that they would put their differences aside for the sake of the tournament. Atlantis and Guerrero displayed the teamwork they had developed by being partners in Los Guerreros del Atlantida for several years as they defeated the teams of Valiente and Pólvora, Diamante Azul and Euforia and finally Dragón Rojo, Jr. and Niebla Roja to qualify for the finals of the tournament. The finals took place as part of the 2013 Homenaje a Dos Leyendas show and saw La Sombra and Volador, Jr. win the match and the tournament. Following the loss a frustrated Atlantis attacked Último Guerrero and tore his mask apart. Atlantis subsequently made a Luchas de Apuestas challenge to Último Guerrero that was not immediately accepted. The two rivals officially signed the contract for the mask vs. mask match on March 21, but did not announce an actual date for the match. At the same press conference it was announced that CMLL would commemorate Atlantis' 30 year anniversary as a wrestler with a special Super Viernes show on May 3. During the celebration of Atlantis' 30th anniversary as a wrestler Guerrero appeared after a match to berate Atlantis, which turned out to be a distraction for the real Último Guerrero to attack Atlantis from behind. The two identically dressed Guerreros proceeded to beat up Atlantis and tear his mask apart. Following the match Último Guerrero introduced his brother "Gran Guerrero". The much anticipated and hyped Mask vs. Mask match between Guerrero and Atlantis at the 80th Anniversary Show on September 13 never came to fruition as the two were defeated in a Relevos Suicidas match by La Sombra and Volador Jr., who instead advanced to the Lucha de Apuestas against each other. During the semi-final match of the 2014 Juicio Final show Atlantis and Último Guerrero were once again on opposite sides of the six-man tag team match. In the first fall Guerrero pulled Atlantis' mask and pinned him, when Atlantis tried to use the same tactics in the second fall he was disqualified and lost the match for his team. Following the match Guerrero insisted on CMLL officially announcing the match between the two. Moments later Juan Manual Mar, representing the CMLL executive team came to the ring and announced that the two would finally face off in a Lucha de Apuestas match for their masks at the 81st Anniversary show.

One of the main storylines of 2014 for CMLL was the emergence of Los Ingobernables ("The Ungovernable" or "The Unruly") as a team, a storyline that had driven the main event of CMLL's two previous major shows Juicio Final and Homenaje a Dos Leyendas. The storyline stretched back into 2013 where the rudo Negro Casas began a rivalry with the tecnico Rush, a tecnico that worked a rougher, harder style and often experienced that the fans would boo him during his matches. By the end of 2013 the storyline began to also include Shocker, who turned rudo and sided with Casas in the feud. The storyline evolved over time and Rush, Casa and Shocker all agreed to a three-way match under Lucha de Apuestas ("Bet match") rules where the loser would be shaved bald. Later on Negro Casas dropped out of the match, declaring that he would rather face the winner and let Rush and Shocker fight each other at the 2014 Homenaje a Dos Leyendas show. Rush defeated Shocker, forcing Shocker to be shaved bald after the event and immediately set his sights on Negro Casas. While Rush had displayed less of a tecnico attitude during his matches against especially Shocker and Casas he never turned rudo as such. Following the Homenaje show Rush began teaming more and more with La Sombra, who was also displaying a more rudo attitude, announcing themselves as "técnicos diferentes" ("A different kind of good guy"). Soon after they were joined by La Máscara, to become a trio known as Los Indeseables ("The Undesirables"), later renamed Ingobernables ("Ungovernables"). Rush and La Máscara held the CMLL World Tag Team Championship at the time of the Ingorbernables creation, but would later lose the title to Negro Casas and Shocker. Following the title loss the focal point became a Luchas de Apuestas match between Rush and Negro Casas that was the main event of the 2014 Juicio Final show, a match that Rush won by underhanded means, forcing Negro Casas to be shaved bald. Following Juicio Final Los Ingorbernables became positioned to challenge La Peste Negra (Casas, El Felino and Mr. Niebla) for the Mexican National Trios Championship, but on September 6, 2014 CMLL announced that Rush and La Mascara would challenge Negro Casas and Shocker for the CMLL World Tag Team Championship as part of the 81st Anniversary show.