History[]
The history of Mexican wrestling goes back a long time, although prior to the 1960s it mainly consisted of lots of small regional promotions (hence being called the "Regional Era") that were usually short-lived. Very few records exist of this time period, although it is certain that the OLLIE promotion was formed in January 1955.
The formation of OLLIE was a key moment, as a few years after their creation, they were rapidly expanding, and by 1965 they were so dominant that every single other promotion had to close, leaving them without any serious competition. This resulted in OLLIE having their choice of virtually every wrestler, and so they were able to assemble the finest roster in Mexican history. This period of dominance, which would last almost two decades, is affectionally known to fans as the "Golden Era", as it was a time of legendary wrestlers, huge crowds, and memorable matches.
In 1975, MPWF were formed. Numerous promotions had been created during the past 10 years to try and capitalise on the popularity of wrestling at the time, but none had managed to survive for more than a few months, as all the talent was already working for OLLIE. MPWF was different, as it was a promotion formed by four of OLLIE's major stars, who had left after a contract dispute. With that star power, MPWF were able to survive the tricky opening months, and through clever tactical moves were able to thrive. This led to the "Challenge Era", which would last from the early 80s until 1998. Throughout this time, MPWF were able to grow at a rapid rate, and were able to challenge OLLIE in direct competition, thanks largely to the emergence on their roster of Mexican legends Luis Montero and the original Mr. Lucha Manuel Prieto, and the young American star Sam Keith.
1998 saw the debut of a third promotion, SOTBPW, who made an instant impact by using their large financial resources to sign up Manuel Prieto from MPWF, as well as several OLLIE stars. Thus began the "Tri-Fed Era", as within a year, Mexico found itself with three large promotions competing against each other, with neither one having a noticeable advantage over the others.
Locations[]
Northern[]
South Eastern[]
- South Of The Border Pro Wrestling (SOTBPW)
- Wrestling Alliance of Mexico (WAM)
West Central[]
- Original Lucha Libre In Extreme (OLLIE)