The CMLL 70th Anniversary Show ( es, 70. Aniversario de CMLL) was a
professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...
major show event produced by
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as ''Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre'' (''EMLL'') (''Mexi ...
(CMLL) that took place on September 19, 2003 in Arena Mexico,
Mexico City, Mexico
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of Mex ...
. The event commemorated the 70th anniversary of CMLL, the oldest
professional wrestling promotion
A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling that has little relationship to the rules of the amateur olympic form. "Promotion" also describes a role which entails man ...
. in the world. The anniversary show is CMLL's biggest show of the year, their
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
event. The CMLL Anniversary Show series is the longest-running annual professional wrestling show, starting in 1934.
The show consisted of six matches, with the main event being a ''
Lucha de Apuestas
Lucha libre (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term used in Latin America for professional wrestling. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has developed into a unique form ...
'', hair vs. hair match between
Shocker and
Tarzan Boy
"Tarzan Boy" is the debut single by Italian-based act Baltimora. The song was written by Maurizio Bassi and Naimy Hackett, and released in 1985 as the lead single from Baltimora's debut album '' Living in the Background''. The song was re-recor ...
. It also featured three regular
Six-man tag team matches. As well as a
CMLL World Tag Team Championship
The CMLL World Tag Team Championship (''CMLL Campeonato Mundial de Parejas'' in Spanish) is a professional wrestling World Tag Team Championship promoted by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL; Spanish for "World Wrestling Council") in Mexico ...
defense and another ''Lucha de Apuestas'' match.
Production
Background
![ArenaMexicoDF](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/ArenaMexicoDF.JPG)
The Mexican ''
Lucha libre
Lucha libre (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term used in Latin America for professional wrestling. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has developed into a unique form ...
'' (professional wrestling)
company
A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as ''Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre'' (''EMLL'') (''Mexi ...
(CMLL) started out under the name ''Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre'' ("Mexican Wrestling Company"; EMLL), founded by
Salvador Lutteroth
Salvador Lutteroth González (21 March 1897 – 5 September 1987) was a Mexican professional wrestling promoter of the mid-twentieth century. Lutteroth's organization, Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL), was the dominant Mexican wrestling pr ...
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
The EMLL 1st Anniversary Show ( es, 1. Aniversario de EMLL) was a professional wrestling major show event produced by Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL, later renamed Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, CMLL) that took place on September 21, 1934, ...
, starting the annual tradition of the
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Anniversary Shows
The Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Anniversary Show is the biggest annual professional wrestling event promoted by Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), held in September every year, commemorating the cre ...
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
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
for the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL) or
WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
's
WrestleMania
WrestleMania is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event held annually between mid-March and mid-April by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Since premiering in 1985, 37 editions followed, mos ...
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
Arena Coliseo is an indoor arena in Mexico City, Mexico located at República del Perú 77 in the Cuauhtémoc, D.F., Cuauhtémoc Boroughs of the Mexican Federal District, borough. The arena is primarily used for professional wrestling, or ''lucha ...
, which opened in April 1943. The EMLL 10th Anniversary Show
The EMLL 10th Anniversary Show ( es, 10. Aniversario de EMLL) was a professional wrestling major show event produced by Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL, later renamed Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, CMLL) that took place on September 24, 194 ...
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
The EMLL 23rd Anniversary Show ( es, 23. Aniversario de EMLL) was a professional wrestling major show event produced by Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL) that took place on September 21, 1956, in Arena México, Mexico City, Mexico. The event ...
, all anniversary shows except for the EMLL 46th Anniversary Show
The EMLL 46th Anniversary Show ( es, 46. Aniversario de EMLL) was a professional wrestling major show event produced by Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL) that took place on September 21, 1979 in Arena Coliseo, Mexico City, Mexico. The event ...
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
The EMLL 52nd Anniversary Show ( es, 52. Aniversario de EMLL) was supposed to be a professional wrestling major show event produced by Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL, later renamed ''Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre'', CMLL) slated to take pl ...
on September 20, 1985 but Mexico City was hit by a magnitude
Magnitude may refer to:
Mathematics
*Euclidean vector, a quantity defined by both its magnitude and its direction
*Magnitude (mathematics), the relative size of an object
*Norm (mathematics), a term for the size or length of a vector
*Order of ...
8.0 earthquake
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...
. 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
Jim Crockett Promotions Inc. is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, restarted by Jim Crockett's son and Jim Crockett Jr's brother, David Crockett. Founded in 1931, the promot ...
was bought by Ted Turner
Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American entrepreneur, television producer, media proprietor, and philanthropist. He founded the Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour United States cable news, cable news ch ...
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 CMLL 59th Anniversary Show ( es, 59. Aniversario de CMLL) was a professional wrestling major show event produced by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) that took place on September 18, 1992 in Arena México, Mexico City, Mexico. This was th ...
, 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
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
with different wrestlers involved in pre-existing scripted
''Scripted'' is the debut studio album by American rock band Icon for Hire. It was released on Tooth & Nail Records on August 23, 2011, and went on to break the label's new artist record for albums sold during the first week of release.
Back ...
feuds, plots and storylines. Wrestlers were portrayed as either heels
The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg.
Structure
To distribute the compressive forces exert ...
(referred to as ''rudos'' in Mexico, those that portray the "bad guys") or faces
The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may affe ...
(''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.[
]
Results
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cmll 70th Anniversary Show
2003 in professional wrestling
70
September 2003 events in Mexico