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 ...
'', or
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 ...
International Wrestling Revolution Group
International Wrestling Revolution Group (Grupo Internacional Revolución in Spanish; the Spanish name is used for the promotion while the English initials are used for the title governing body) is a Lucha Libre promotion based in Naucalpan, Sta ...
(IWRG) has produced and scripted a number of wrestling shows since their creation on January 1, 1996 by promoter Adolfo "Pirata" Moreno. Some of these shows have become annual events, some are special one-off events, normally indicated by a special main event match or being promoted under a special name, and some are IWRG's normally scheduled Wednesday or Sunday shows. Many of the annual and special events are headlined by 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 ...
'', or "bet match", where a wrestler will put his
wrestling mask
A wrestling mask is a fabric-based mask that some professional wrestlers wear as part of their in-ring persona or gimmick. Professional wrestlers have been using masks as far back as 1915 and they are still widely used today, especially in Lucha ...
or hair on the line.
The longest-running recurring IWRG show is the
Arena Naucalpan Anniversary Show, which started in 1978, making it the second longest-running professional wrestling recurring show series, only surpassed by 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 cr ...
that began in 1934. It is the only regular IWRG show that predates the creation of IWRG itself. IWRG's second-longest-running show is their
IWRG Anniversary Shows
The International Wrestling Revolution Group Anniversary Shows is an annual List of major IWRG shows, major ''lucha libre'' event produced and scripted by the Mexican International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG; sometimes referred to as ''Grupo ...
, starting on January 1, 1997, and held within the first couple of days of January. Throughout the year IWRG promotes several other recurring events such as the ''
El Castillo del Terror'' ("The Tower of Terror"), ''
Legado Final'' ("Final Legacy") or ''
Guerra del Golfo'' ("The Gulf War"). They also hold several annual tournament such as ''
El Protector'', ''
Rey del Ring
The IWRG Rey del Ring (Spanish for "King of the Ring") refers both to an annual tournament and a professional wrestling championship promoted by the Mexican Lucha libre professional wrestling promotion International Wrestling Revolution Group ( ...
'' ("King of the Ring") and ''
Rebelión de los Juniors'' amongst others.
History
Wrestler-turned-promoter Adolfo "Pirata" Moreno began promoting wrestling shows in his native
Naucalpan de Juárez
Naucalpan, officially Naucalpan de Juárez, is one of 125 municipalities located just northwest of Mexico City in the adjoining State of Mexico. The municipal seat is the city of Naucalpan de Juárez, which extends into the neighboring municipal ...
, Mexico, bringing in wrestlers from
Empresa Mexicana 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 ...
(EMLL) to Naucalpan as well as featuring wrestlers from the Mexican
independent circuit
In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indie circuit is the collective noun, collective name of independent professional wrestling promotions which are smaller than major televised promotions. It is roughly analogous to a minor lea ...
.
Later on he would promote shows mainly in "Arena KO Al Gusto" and served as the
Universal Wrestling Association
The Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) was a Mexican ''Lucha Libre'' or professional wrestling promotion based in Naucalpan, Mexico State that operated from 1975 until 1995. The name of the actual promotion was Lucha Libre Internacional (LLI) ...
(UWA) partner, using the name ''Promociones Moreno'' as the business name for his promotional efforts.
[ In 1977 Moreno bought the run down Arena KO Al Gusto and had Arena Naucalpan built in its place, an arena designed specifically for wrestling shows, with a maximum capacity of 2,400 spectators for the shows. Arena Naucalpan became the permanent home for ''Promociones Moreno'', with very few shows held elsewhere.][ The Arena Naucalpan 1st Anniversary Show was held in December 1978, becoming an annual show for Moreno. The Arena Naucalpan Anniversary Show is the second oldest annual professional wrestling show, only predated by 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 cr ...
that started in 1934. In the 1990s the UWA folded and ''Promociones Moreno'' worked primarily with EMLL, now rebranded as Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL).
In late 1995 Adolfo Moreno decided to create his own promotion, creating a regular roster instead of relying totally on wrestlers from other promotions, creating the International Wrestling Revolution Group
International Wrestling Revolution Group (Grupo Internacional Revolución in Spanish; the Spanish name is used for the promotion while the English initials are used for the title governing body) is a Lucha Libre promotion based in Naucalpan, Sta ...
(IWRG; sometimes referred to as ''Grupo Internacional Revolución'' in Spanish) on January 1, 1996. From that point on Arena Naucalpan became the main venue for IWRG, hosting the majority of their weekly shows and all of their recurring and named shows as well. The first verified recurring show held by IWRG was the Arena Naucalpan 19th Anniversary show held in December 1996.[
]
Recurring shows
Over the years IWRG has created a number of recurring events, some on an annual basis that IWRG has held year after year since the show was created, other events that they will run on a regular basis although not always at the same time each year, sometimes holding multiple events in one year, other times not holding a specific event in a year. Each year on or close to January 1 IWRG holds their IWRG Anniversary Shows
The International Wrestling Revolution Group Anniversary Shows is an annual List of major IWRG shows, major ''lucha libre'' event produced and scripted by the Mexican International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG; sometimes referred to as ''Grupo ...
to celebrate their creation on January 1, 1996.[ Some years the show is promoted specifically under that label, other times they combine the anniversary celebration with another of their annual shows.][
The oldest show after the anniversary shows is the '' IWRG Prisión Fatal'' ("Deadly Prison") show, with the first being held in 2000,] then again in 2009 and then 2012, from then on a regular basis since then. The main event of the ''Prisión Fatal'' is a multi-man steel cage match
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 ...
contested under ''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 ...
'', or "bet match", rules where the loser would be forced to unmask.[ the ''Lucha de Apuestas'' steel cage match is one of IWRG's signature matches as they promote a number of those matches each year on a regular basis such as '']IWRG El Castillo del Terror
El Castillo del Terror is a professional wrestling event produced and scripted annually by the '' lucha Libre'' promotion International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG). The event was established in 2000 and is held in November each year in Aren ...
'' ("Tower of Terror") and '' IWRG Guerra del Golfo'' ("Gulf War"). They have also held various one-off steel cage centered shows such as ''IWRG Guerra del Sexos
El Hijo de L.A. Park (in black and gold), participated in 2011.
Guerra de Sexos is a professional wrestling event produced annually by Lucha Libre promotion International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG). The event was established in 2011 and i ...
'' ("Battle of the Sexes"), an inter-gender match that allows both male and female wrestler to fight each other. Other steel cage match shows have included ''IWRG La Jaula del Honor
La Jaula del Honor (Spanish for "The Cage of Honor") was a major professional wrestling event produced by the International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG), that took place on February 17, 2011, at Arena Naucalpan in Naucalpan, State of Mexico. ...
'' ("The Cage of Honor") and ''IWRG La Jaula de la Muerte
''La Jaula de la Muerte'' (Spanish for "The Cage of Death") was a special professional wrestling event produced by the International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG), that took place on August 28, 2011, at Arena Naucalpan in Naucalpan, State of M ...
'' ("The Cage of Death").>
IWRG also holds a number of annual tournaments, the oldest still ongoing tournament being the ''IWRG Rey del Ring
The IWRG Rey del Ring (Spanish for "King of the Ring") refers both to an annual tournament and a professional wrestling championship promoted by the Mexican Lucha libre professional wrestling promotion International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWR ...
'' ("King of the Ring"), an annual 30-man tournament held almost every year since 2002. In 2011 IWRG began holding an ''IWRG La Gran Cruzada
The La Gran Cruzada (Spanish for "The Great Crusade") is a semi-regular major professional wrestling show produced and scripted by the Mexican '' lucha libre'' promotion International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG; Sometimes referred to as ''Gr ...
'' ("The Great Crusade") tournament, with the winner challenging the ''Rey del Ring'' champion at a later date. Since 2010 IWRG has held the ''IWRG El Protector
El Protector is an annual lucha libre tournament held by the Mexican professional wrestling promotion International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG) in January of each year. The ''El Protector'' tournament started in 2012 but was preceded in 20 ...
'' tournament once a year, a tag team
Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...
tournament where a rookie and a veteran wrestler are teamed up for a one-night tournament. In the fall IWRG often holds ''IWRG La Guerra Revolucionaria
The IWRG Guerra Revolucionaria (Spanish for the "Revolutionary War") is a major ''lucha libre'' show produced and scripted by the Mexican International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG; sometimes referred to as ''Grupo Internacional Revolución'' ...
'' ("The Revolutionary War"), a one night multi-man ''torneo cibernetico
A ''torneo cibernetico'' is a multi-man professional wrestling elimination match that was created and primarily used in Mexican ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotions, especially in Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). The match format ...
'' elimination tournament.[
''Lucha libre'' has a very strong family tradition and IWRG honors this with various shows and tournaments throughout the year, including the father/son tournament '']IWRG Legado Final
The Legado Final (Spanish for "Final Legacy") is a List of major IWRG shows, series of major wrestling shows produced and scripted by the Mexican ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG; some ...
'' ("Final Legacy"), as well as their annual '' IWRG Rebelión de los Juniors'' ("The Junior Rebellion"), and finally their recurring ''IWRG Guerra de Familias
Guerra de Familias'' show in 2012.">Guerra de Familias (2012)">Guerra de Familias'' show in 2012.
The Guerra de Familias (Spanish for "War of the Families") is a major professional wrestling show held by the Mexican '' Lucha Libre'' promotion Int ...
'' ("War of the Families") show.
Pre IWRG shows
IWRG shows in the 1990s
IWRG shows in 2000
IWRG shows in 2001
IWRG shows in 2002
IWRG shows in 2003
IWRG shows in 2004
IWRG shows in 2005
IWRG shows in 2006
IWRG shows in 2007
IWRG shows in 2008
IWRG shows in 2009
IWRG shows in 2010
IWRG shows in 2011
IWRG shows in 2012
IWRG shows in 2013
IWRG shows in 2014
IWRG shows in 2015
IWRG shows in 2016
IWRG shows in 2017
IWRG shows in 2018
IWRG shows in 2019
IWRG shows in 2020
References
External links
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{{Portal bar, Mexico