During the summer of 2020, the war between Konnan and Promociones Dorado‘s Salina de la Renta saw Konnan warn Salina – who had been mysteriously absent for nearly nine months in Major League Wrestling (MLW) – that she owed “a dangerous man a lot of money” amidst rumors that she was shopping the rights to her group to the highest bidder. Since MLW returned, Salina de la Renta had built an organization destined for greatness – as part of her brand, Low Ki won the MLW World Heavyweight Championship and just this past Wednesday, her tag team Los Parks (LA Park & El Hijo de LA Park) won the MLW World Tag Team titles. But just hours before this past Wednesday’s episode of MLW Fusion, MLW reported that lawyers for Promociones Dorado had “submitted paperwork to switch the names on the promoter and managerial licenses the league has granted the Latin based organization.” During the broadcast, it was brought up to Salina that word made rounds that it had officially been sold (much to Salina’s disdain). But it wasn’t until the end of the episode that we got a look at who this new owner could be – as beneath Promociones Dorado’s logo (as Salina is currently producing MLW Fusion) were the words “A subsidiary of Azteca Underground, Inc.”, which MLW confirmed was a California-based company.
https://twitter.com/MLW/status/1349767385956429825
By all appearances, it almost seems to be that someone associated with a former promotion from California that liked underground wrestling with Aztec lore has now taken over the brand that runs MLW. Could that someone perhaps be Antonio Cueto, the owner of Lucha Underground? After all, Antonio ordered a hit on his own son – former Lucha Underground owner Dario Cueto – in the third season, so clearly he’s a “dangerous man”. And considering the black magic realm that the Cuetos worked within in Lucha Underground – which filmed from Boyle Heights and then Los Angeles in California – could it even be a Lazarus return of Dario Cueto himself? Or considering that San Diego is the home of Konnan himself, did the man who guided Prince Puma to the first Lucha Underground Championship buy out his rival under the banner of Azteca Underground?
https://twitter.com/MLW/status/1349649960241930240
With the debut of former Lucha Underground Champion Mil Muertes this past Wednesday – where he dismantled Brian Pillman Jr. – we’ve already seen the world of Lucha Underground cross over into MLW. Other former Lucha Underground stars have also appeared in MLW, including Drago, Aero Star, and others. Lucha Underground became an instant classic upon its debut in 2014. Combining Aztec mythology with lucha libre style wrestling, it showcased many top indie stars, including Ricochet (as Prince Puma), Jeff Cobb (as Matanza Cueto), Santos Escobar/El Hijo del Fantasma (as King Cuerno), Isaiah “Swerve” Scott/Shane Strickland (as Kill Shot), Thunder Rosa (as Kobra Moon), and more, as well as introducing such Mexican stars as Pentagon Jr. and Rey Fenix. With its film noir meets urban horror style, it became a cult favorite, but as more and more stars departed the company (many by lawsuit), the series fizzled out after its fourth season in November of 2018. But there’s no denying the buzz the show created, particularly in its first two seasons. Azteca Underground has a name that bears a strong resemblance to Lucha Underground, including a graphic that looks like something out of an Aztec temple.
Salina de la Renta conjured Mil Muertes back into the world of pro wrestling television with black magic – could she have unleashed more darkness from Lucha Underground than just the Man of 1000 Deaths? We’ll have to find out.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. MLW Fusion airs every Wednesday on Fubo Sports Network and YouTube at 7 PM EST and every Saturday on beIN SPORTS at 10 PM EST.
