Savio Vega, one of the minority owners of World Wrestling League and who was headlining most of the main events of the promotion lately, confirmed yesterday via Facebook that he will no longer work with WWL. In an statement on social media, the former WWF/E Superstar told fans about his exit and said that “wrestling keeps moving on”.
Starting from Scratch
Juan Rivera – Savio’s real name – bought WWL in 2016 when previous owner Richard Negrin was tired of losing money with it. Savio’s inditial efforts saw him try to get home building that could have the WWL tapings regularly and later, with former TNA booker Moody Melendez, getting an angle called the multiverse. Such angle saw wrestlers from WWL, Championship Wrestling Association and Championship Wrestling School participating regularly in the shows without an exclusivity agreement.
By 2017, WWL’s agreement with CWA and CWS was off the table, with each wrestling promotion accusing the other of breaking off the agreement. WWL seemed to be doomed by the start of the year and World Wrestling Council seemed like the only game in time with star like Mecha World 450, Angel Fashion, Cuervo, Mike Mendoza, among others in their lines.
But things changed for Savio Vega. Boris Bilbraut, member of the reggae band Cultura Profética bought the majority part of the failing promotion, alongside another private buyer. The buying of the company and an alleged talent agreement with Mexican promotion The Crash Lucha Libre gave hope to Savio Vega’s WWL – Vega was let off with a small part of the promotion.
With the new WWL in position, the first duty was creating the now hot stable Puro Macho with Manny Ferno as their leader. The big push came when Golpe de Estado 2017 happened. Mecha Wolf, Mike Mendoza and Angle Fashion officially joined the company, leaving WWC with scars that haven’t healed off since. More than 800 fans saw the new era in Puerto Rican wrestling and Savio’s dream was alive and well.
IWA or WWL?
When Hurricane Maria happened, WWL was seeing a decline in their attendance, but still, they were the top promotion in the island. When the came back in 2018, a familiar angle made waves in Juicio Final.
Savio Vega, who previously owned International Wrestling Association with Miguel Perez Jr. and Victor Quiñones, announce that he wanted to bring back IWA PR. This would start a sizzling angle against Puro Macho that headlined Golpe de Estado 2018, which was a sold out crowd – the first in a long time in the island.
Reality came through when the main event fell flat in GDE 2018 and the WWL team won, in the process, taking IWA’s chance of coming back – an obvious result, as we noted, of the fact that IWA PR can’t be resurrected in Puerto Rico. Moreover, reports of a altercation with bookers, talent and owners was reported by various sources, because of the decision of IWA PR not coming back.
What came next was illogical booking. IWA vs. WWL continued to be the main story in the company. This overshadowed Mecha Wolf 450’s WWL title reign, the hot tag team feud and other stories that could elevate young talents in WWL. Summer Blast barely saw 230 fans – the show after GDE 2018 – and although War in the West 2018 was good, many fans seemed prepared to leave IWA vs. WWL alone.
A New Transition for Savio and WWL
Savio was not present in the main event at the last High Voltage taping in Dorado. It was played out in the storyline, but the truth was that Savio was done with the company. He later announced the formation of an IWA PR offshoot promotion, IWA Florida.
For WWL, they are still the number one promotion in the island. The fierce competition is between them and CWA, WWC is nowhere near them – although their TV show gets them good revenue. Reports of a new bookers have surfaced, plus Danny Nieves, a former WWL member and a great mind for wrestling (he was a key creator of the story that saw Alberto el Patrón getting gigantic heat in the island), seems to have comeback to the company.
For the mean time, Savio’s dream to resuscitate IWA will have to come true in another territory.
