In this web-exclusive edition of his recurring lucha libre column from Pro Wrestling Illustrated magazine, Contributing Writer Alfonso López reflects on the last 12 months in lucha.
THE YEAR 2024 has come and gone, and Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre finished the year the same way the promotion started it: with a bang.
After one of the best 12-month stretches in its very long history, CMLL closed out the year with another huge show in Arena Mexico. This time around, the winner of the 2024 CMLL Grand Prix Claudio Castognoli and PAC made their returns to the lucha libre cathedral in order to face Hechicero and the veteran Volador Jr., respectively, in blockbuster one-on-one matches.
But CMLL is not only conquering the wrestling world from Arena Mexico, as the aforementioned Hechicero got to wrestle IWGP World heavyweight champion Zack Sabre Jr. in England, Mascara Dorada and Titan had the opportunity to represent their home company during RevPro’s “Global Wars,” and Mistico continued to defend his MLW World Middleweight championship.
Conversely, the other Mexican lucha giant, Lucha Libre AAA, continued to struggle, as its much-criticized, year-long “Origenes” retro tour officially ended with two back-to-back premium events in “Heroes Inmortales XVI” and “Guerra De Titanes.”
Throughout these two events, Alberto El Patron defended his newly won AAA Mega championship against Pagano, Laredo Kid, and Cibernetico, solidifying him as the man to beat as Lucha Libre AAA: Worldwide welcomes a new (and hopefully more successful) year for the company.
Elsewhere, one of the best-known independent companies in Mexico, Tijuana-based The Crash, celebrated its thirteenth anniversary. And the promotion spared no expense, featuring Super Crazy, the former WWE and ECW superstar, losing his hair for the fourth time in his career, against his former Mexicools teammate in WWE, Juventud Guerrera, in a match that also featured Charly Manson and Heavy Metal.
The main event of this anniversary show saw the sons of the legendary Dr. Wagner Jr. retain their tag team title against the odd couple of DMT Azul and the former Jinder Mahal, Raj Dhesi. This victory over Dhesi and DMT Azul marked the end of an incredible year for Hijo De Dr. Wagner Jr. and Galeno Del Mal.
While both sons of Dr. Wagner Jr. have worked tirelessly this year to make a name for themselves in Mexico, their true call to success in 2024 came abroad. Hijo Del Dr. Wagner Jr won the Pro Wrestling NOAH GHC heavyweight title very early in the year, and got to wrestle for wXw in Germany; while his younger brother, Galeno Del Mal, made a great impression in the U.S.A. after an unbelievable run of matches in GCW, which included a one-on-one slobberknocker against Masha Slamovich.
Outside the ring, iconic luchador Shocker has been released from world-famous boxer Julio Cesar Chavez’s rehab center. And he has already made his return to the ring on the independent circuit. Shocker, who ranked #16 in the 2002 edition of the “PWI 500,” has publicly struggled with alcoholism and addiction, so his being out of rehab and back in the ring is hopefully a good sign his life is getting back on track.
