The announcement that WWE has acquired Mexican lucha libre promotion AAA during the WrestleMania kick-off show will change the wrestling landscape. Some are excited about this decision, but others will watch intensely and anxiously because of history. WWE’s history of acquisitions and expansion is both legendary and controversial.
I’ve covered the 5 worst possibilities here and delved deep into reasons to be cynical, as well as the other aspects of this acquisition some fans will not have considered that could harm WWE. On the flip side, there’s also the chance for positive changes and consequences alongside those negative ones. Such changes to the business are double-sided.
While NXT UK was controversial, William Regal’s claim that WWE improved conditions and treatment for British wrestlers has some merit when considering the fallout of Speaking Out. The buyout of WCW saw an era of monopoly. It also provided space for the rise of the US independent scene.
A diverse range of promotions, catering to different niches like ROH, CZW, Chikara, and TNA Wrestling. Many contributed to and changed WWE’s in-house wrestling style in the 2010s and today.
There are opportunities for AAA, WWE, and the wider wrestling landscape. Nothing is guaranteed, but here’s hoping for at least a few positive steps forward.
1. AAA Needed a Restart
It’s well known that recent AAA has become a parody of itself. In the 1990s, the company pushed the envelope with a unique blend of American-WWE style storytelling and outlandish characters, pushed youth to the forefront, and modernised lucha libre. Returns and interest have diminished.
The company’s creative has relied heavily on past, older talent, gimmicks, and stipulation matches to attract audiences. It makes the promotion more akin to WCW at the end of its life than ROH. Konnan’s booking has been so focused on generating heat with Alberto el Patron as the AAA Mega Championship that LuchaBlog describes AAA as “booked as if by an arsonist”.
AAA needed a change regardless of this acquisition. Under WWE, there is the chance for a reinvention, alongside an injection of capital. AAA doesn’t have wrestlers under contract.
WWE’s wealth will secure top talent. Additionally, the promotion’s Hispanic talent pool could fill the void and provide the promotion with known attractions. Their expertise and personnel can also improve the company’s infrastructure and management.
With WWE backing, for example, AAA could have its own training facilities, see improvement in pay and conditions for talent, and new ideas come to the table to see a potential resurgence in fortunes.
2. Evolving The Lucha Libre Style
AAA, in its origins, took ideas from WWE to help modernise lucha libre. With WWE now buying the company, there’s the chance that WWE’s influence could help the company rein in its excesses and do more with less.
I’ve discussed the issues of WWE creating a diluted version of Lucha Libre in my worst scenarios article. Yet, there is the possibility that a balance can be found and that it benefits rather than harms many of its luchadores.
Working a hybrid version of WWE’s slower, selling-oriented pace for some luchadores would benefit their characters and bodies. I’m an AEW fan through and through, but I’ll admit, Penta in WWE is a stronger character because he is more economical. Less can sometimes be more.
In AEW and Lucha Underground, Penta could be excessive and repetitive. Hitting the same specific spots and moves so frequently and carelessly that, over time, it diminished my emotional investment.
WWE’s restraints on high-flyers like Rey Fenix are too restrained for my tastes. However, it’s not my body taking those bumps. Fenix, like El Hijo Vikingo, has suffered a string of severe injuries over time.
That damage adds up. Lucha libre style, like Japanese Puroresu, can be physically damaging. Even in AEW, Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay have adapted their styles to preserve their bodies.
If WWE aided AAA in finding the right balance, a new hybrid style could differentiate AAA from the traditional style of CMLL. It could both innovate AAA and take them back to their roots. Plus, benefit wrestlers and Mexican and international fans with something new.
3. Lucha Underground Influence
Lucha Underground’s legacy is present in today’s wrestling landscape beyond its alumni competing in prominent positions in WWE and AEW. Cinematic matches and artistic and intricate filming of backstage segments persist.
In rehabilitating AAA, WWE could take inspiration from Lucha Underground. Lucha Underground created a unique universe with its own lore. Some characters were reinvented under new personalities and gimmicks. Some had completely original and distinct masks compared to their AAA personas.
The process helped make many Hispanic and independent wrestlers stand out. Not just by showcasing their wrestling abilities but by forging strong and memorable characters.
Historically, WWE likes to own its characters and intellectual property. Such an approach could provide an interesting opportunity for character creation, marketing, and merchandising. It could also help WWE’s shortcomings in building strong luchador characters.
4. Better Lucha Representation in WWE
I wrote recently when discussing lucha representation that North American promotions lazily reuse the same tropes and assumptions when booking luchadores. The pigeonholing of Hispanic wrestlers extends to WWE and AEW.
Working with AAA gives WWE a learning opportunity. The opportunity to understand from a Mexican perspective the intricacies and psychology of the art of lucha libre. To see different ways of telling stories with luchadores. Lessons that can be applied to help inspire and diversify the ways WWE presents luchadores to American audiences.
WWE has struggled to find the next Rey Mysterio. Failed attempts see blame distributed between the creative and the wrestlers themselves. Part of the issue is impatience, an unwillingness to change perimeters or to compensate for the verbal skills WWE sees as key for its upper card to main event.
AAA was where Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero got their starts. Potentially, AAA could serve as an incubator for the next big lucha star to transition to WWE and a classroom for WWE.
5. Competition Needs to Step Up
The biggest fear is a WWE monopoly. Previous opposition to WWE failed because of its own weaknesses. The territories couldn’t look past their self-interest to effectively work together. They did not modernise and stuck to the rules when Vince McMahon ignored them.
WWE isn’t playing chess. AEW and others aren’t playing checkers. That would imply WWE agreed to rules and perimeters.
AEW and its alliance with CMLL, NJPW, and RevPro can’t stand on the moral high ground. Last year, I discussed how AEW, as it progresses, has to fight with the same mindset as WWE. Seeing adverts for AEW during WrestleMania is a perfect example.
Beyond being united and not just building their best individual products, collectively, they will need to elevate and protect each other. NJPW’s financial situation is not because of AEW, but the long-term consequences of booking and the Japanese economy. If WWE seriously wanted to buy NJPW, then AEW and CMLL may need to offer more than solidarity.
Help might need to come in new and unique ways, creating a stronger partnership. Behind-the-scenes support, financial support, and long-term planning. A strong union would be the best defence and opposition against aggressive competition. Thus, provides everyone with an alternative.
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