Pro wrestling in Argentina has a long and storied past. At one point, long running wrestling television program Titanes en el Ring was the most viewed television program in all of Argentina. So understanding the current wrestling scene in Argentina and finding a starting point when diving into today’s scene could be intimidating. Luckily, I have a great tag team partner to help us get a grasp of wrestling in Argentina today. That partner runs a Facebook and Instagram page called Wrestling Argentino. Their coverage of the pro wrestling scene in Argentina is in depth, knowledgeable and has been a huge and helpful resource while putting together the WrestleMap. Now it’s time to make the Hot Tag!

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(Just as a heads up, this interview was done using a translator. If anything was lost in translation, I apologize!)

WrestleMap: To start off, how popular is pro wrestling in Argentina? Is there a big fan base for the international wrestling promotions like WWE, New Japan, AEW, AAA, CMLL, and similar promotions?

Wrestling Argentino: Currently, the popularity is low, as there is no TV show or web series. Argentina is a country where the main sport is Soccer, the greatest popularity was between ‘60 and ‘70 with Titanes en el Ring. Even so, it is enough to sell out every time WWE has come to Luna Park since 2017 (Luna Park is like Madison Square Garden in Argentina). Promotions such as AEW and NJPW are watched by the hardcore fan sector, not by casual ones. Impact or AAA, we only see very specific PPVs (example: TripleManía). CMLL does not attract even when it is its anniversary in recent years.

WrestleMap: What about for the promotions based in Argentina? Do they have a large following within the country?

Wrestling Argentino: The fan base of the promotions are of a local Indy company level. Most of the events where there is a large audience is because it is with free admission and paid by someone from the government, in turn, also in those events 97% of attendees are casual audience. In paid events, 20 to 70 people attend, with some exceptions, such as the new version of Titanes en el Ring or the "Rock & Wrestling" event, which is the preferred event for Wrestling fans.

WrestleMap: Is there a national promotion in Argentina that is seen as being kind of the top dog or the number one promotion? Or is it more of a regional scene with each promotion controlling and being popular in the region they’re based?

Wrestling Argentino: No, Wrestling is mainly focused in Buenos Aires and alderedores (example Ciudad de La Plata). Although for the casual fan, the best known currently are Titanes en el Ring (who returned last year) and La Masa y sus Luchadores, but international wrestlers want to go to Lucha Extrema or participate in the "Rock & Wrestling" event.

Promotional/hype video for a recent Lucha Extrema Event

WrestleMap: Is there wrestling on TV in Argentina that you’re aware of? Do any of the Argentine promotions have a weekly television show that you’re aware of?

Wrestling Argentino: There is no wrestling on TV of Argentine promotions since 2011 in a massive way. There were isolated cases of cable TV carrying La Masa or Lucha Extrema, but on small networks. The last cases were 100% Lucha between 2006 and 2010 which was the biggest success since Titanes en el Ring and there was one called Gigante del Catch that La Masa did that lasted 3 months in 2011.

WrestleMap: Are there any Argentinian wrestlers that you’re aware of that have wrestled in any of the big international promotions like a WWE or AAA? Or that fans from around the world may be familiar with?

Wrestling Argentino: The best known names would be the WWE HOF’er Antonino Rocca (the creator of the Argentine Backbreaker, he even fought against Superman in a comic to make you notice how popular he was in the ‘50s) and the Giant González (the tallest man that WWF/WWE had who faced The Undertaker in Wrestlemania) and at the Latin American level Martin Karadagian (creator of Titans in the Ring, a pioneer in many things like doing a TV Wrestling show, such as the wrestlers having entrance music, merchandising of whatever, long before the McMahon family. He is in the HOF on Wrestling Observer to give you an idea of ​​how important it was.)

WrestleMap: I’ve noticed that some promotions in Argentina use the term “catch” in their names and that some use “lucha libre.” Catch is a term used more in Europe, Africa and Brazil from what I’ve encountered when it comes to pro wrestling rather than lucha libre which is traditionally used in Latin America. Are the promotions that are using catch in their names wrestling a different style than a company that would use lucha libre in their name? Or is it just an interchangeable term that doesn’t have much of a difference when it comes to the actual in ring product?

Wrestling Argentino: Catch comes from the term "catch as catch can" which is the Greco-Roman wrestling that had its best time in the 50's with the golden nights of Luna Park, Karadagian and Antonino Rocca emerged from there for example, then Karadagian added more show to the Catch to attract the public. Locally, the Catch is related to the type of children's show that Titanes en el Ring did (stereotyped characters, bizarre, referees who helped the Heel, to give you an idea, Titanes en el Ring is like Southpaw Regional Wrestling for children. Only that SRW was made in the 80's and in Argentina it was already made in the 60's (with Sea Creature included, only that here is the man from the swamp, there are Mummies, Genghis Khan, etc). That type of children's show is still being done, because we did not know how to adapt to current times (although the new Titanes en el Ring is more Wrestling and less Catch). In summary, promotions such as Lucha Extrema, Legión Nueva Era Argentina, Superestrellas de la Lucha and now Catch Argentino are promotions that do Wrestling like anywhere in the world, and later La Masa, Xsiempre Lucha are shows that are mostly for children, unfortunately.

WrestleMap: Who are some of the best wrestlers in Argentina today? Can you tell us a little bit about them?

Wrestling Argentino: There are many, but I am going to focus on the ones that can make a difference internationally.

Benjamin Stolo: current unified champion of Lucha Extrema, participated in the WWE Tryout in Chile in 2018 (you will have heard that this Tryout was very important for the region). Stolo's particularity is that he is known for starting to fight on the grass in 2008 and he is a spokesman for anti-bullying, apart from having his Twich channel (Strongstyle Gameplay). He is not the best fighter, but he is the one with the most potential to be signed by WWE, AEW or in an eventual NXT Latino.  

Django: former Lucha Extrema champion, former WAU 24/7 Champion, is the other Argentine who participated in the Tryout. For the vast majority he is the best Argentine fighter, and he is only 25 years old. His gimmick at first was a firefighter (the stereotypes don't end) but in real life he's a cop. He has a fighting style with a lot of Japanese Strongstyle and works stiff, one of the hardest for its intensity and youth.

Herco Wisky: This is a particular case. He lives in Argentina, but he fights more in other countries than in his own. An active fighter in Chile's CNL, in the last year he also wrestled in Brazil, Peru (and Chile of course). Of short stature, weighing and fighting ability makes up for it with how charismatic he is. Without a doubt the best doing promos in Argentina and among the best in South America with a microphone.

Jorge Lucero: Current champion of Superestrellas de La Lucha, at a wrestling level amongst the best of today. Apart from having the right weight and size, they have not yet surveyed him because where he fights has little visibility and has made few appearances outside of Superestrellas de la Lucha (Lucha Extrema and Rock & Wrestling event).

Pandemia: (yes, they're called Pandemic) current champion of Legión Nueva Era Argentina, he is the wrestler that grew the most in 2019. He wrestled in Chile and Panama at the beginning of 2020, and he is very complete in fighting terms. His disadvantage is that he is of average size, so it looks like another cruiser that fights well.

Fackzilla: Another interesting project, he has the height and weight, he lacks work in the gym and could be someone to really take into account, today the current champion in Catch Argentino.

Special mention to Vicente Viloni, the top babyface of Argentine wrestling for his participation in 100% Lucha, and a living legend, he is close to 50 years old but still does things better than most.

WrestleMap: Do you have a favorite promotion in Argentina? Or a few of them? What are the promotions that are putting on the best shows with the best talent right now?

Wrestling Argentino: I do not have a favorite, but Lucha Extrema did things well in the past so that it is a reference at an international level, either because of Stolo & Django, but because they have a good boss like Musambe Tutú, beyond the fact that the last 2 years of Lucha Extrema are poor in number of events. Legión Nueva Era Argentina has the best crowd of today, Catch Argentino is undergoing a transformation from Children's Catch to the most globalized Wrestling. Titanes en el Ring in this version highlighted that now it is more Wrestling than Catch, but it is condemned to fall due to the great problem that promotions in Argentina have: toxic owners.

WrestleMap: Titanes en el Ring, a long running wrestling television program in Argentina, was the most popular television show in Argentina for a period of time. Has wrestling popularity and fandom remained high in Argentina? Or has it gone down? Does wrestling go through different stages of popularity? Where do you think wrestling popularity stands now in comparison to the golden age of Titanes en el Ring?

Wrestling Argentino: No, not at the levels of Titanes en el Ring. It never reached popularity again, except for 100% Lucha between 2006-2010, which beat WWE in audience to the point that Shane Mcmahon came to Argentina to see what the hell happened and wanted buy 100% Lucha. But at the popularity level it is not the same magnitude but it was very successful with merch and a couple of films and today 100% Lucha is something of a cult. Some of those wrestlers still have national fame such as Vicente Viloni, La Masa or Hip Hop Man (Currently fighting in Mexico, whom I do not name because I consider that he reached his limit and is close to retirement as is Viloni. But Hip Hop Man made a known name in Mexico managing to fight at the Palacio de los Deportes in Lucha Elite vs DJ Zema (currently Joaquín Wilde from NXT).

The popularity of Argentine wrestling is measured if there is something on TV, something that has not been there for almost 10 years. So at the moment it is low. When it is on Air TV, everyone can work. As long as it continues like this, they will continue wrestling a few times per year except for La Masa which does 44 events per year according to my calculations.

WrestleMap: Thank you so much for your time! Is there anything else you’d like to leave us with regarding pro wrestling in Argentina?

Wrestling Argentino: The decline of Wrestling in Argentina was post Titanes en el Ring, when Karadagian passed away. They wanted to emulate the Titans formula, and they did that for 30 years, which remained as an obsolete formula and the children of today do not react in the same way. They believed that, wrestling in Argentina if there is no Mummy (WrestleMap note: Mumia or the Mummy served as the heel to Kardagian’s face for years in Titanes en el Ring and has become a popular mainstay in Argentine wrestling since), the show cannot be done, and that is false. Another big problem that Argentina had and that just last year began to change is the concept of an independent wrestler. Before the wrestlers not only had 4 shows per year, but you could only fight for the promotion that you train with and added to the fact that you have to pay a monthly fee every month as if the wrestling classes were like a classical dance workshop where at the end of the term they give you 5 minutes to show what you learned. Only in 2020 can we say that there are a handful of independent wrestlers. Finally, Argentine wrestlers look at Chile as a reference. Currently, they learn in seminars and see how they began to stand out without the need for a TV show, so they use Chile as an example.

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The closing remarks about Chile are interesting as Chile has a very active professional wrestling scene right now. I’m hoping to cover that in this space relatively soon! A huge thank you to Wrestling Argentino for this amazing insight into professional wrestling in Argentina. Be sure to check out their Facebook and Instagram pages to keep up with coverage on pro wrestling in Argentina!