Panama’s GWE to hold one night tournament this weekend in honor of living legend of Panama Lucha
Panama City is gearing up for a big wrestling show that’s set to take place this Saturday. Global Wrestling Evolution is planning a one night tournament, the Copa Sandokán (or in English, the Sandokán Cup), to honor the living legend of Panamanian Lucha Libre, Sandokán.
Sandokán during his active days in the ring. Photo courtesy of Sandokán’s Instagram page.
Sandokán is a legendary Panamanian luchador and according to the GWE, the most important figure in Panamanian wrestling history. A look over Sandokán’s profile on Luchawiki provides some impressive details. He made his debut in 1966 and won several titles in Panama throughout his career. He boasts a record of 30-1 all time in luchas de apuestas matches, having taken the masks of several Mexican and Panamanian luchadors. Sandokán’s one loss in luchas de apuestas came in 1976 to Mexican lucha libre legend Aníbal, causing Sandokán to unmask. Seventeen years later, Sandokán was able to avenge the loss of his mask by defeating Aníbal, forcing the newly maskless luchador (Aníbal had recently lost his mask in a luchas de aspuestas match to Mascara Año 200) to shave his head bald. Sandokán is now retired from in ring competition and has been since the mid 2000’s but will still get physical with a wrestler who does not show him the respect that he has earned.
2021 marks the fifth edition of the annual Copa Sandokán tournament. Last year, the Covid-19 pandemic didn’t stop GWE from holding the annual tournament. Instead, the company organized the tournament to take place without fans in attendance and broadcast the tournament over their YouTube channel, in the process becoming the first wrestling tournament in Panama that was available on the video streaming giant. In fact, the Copa Sandokán tournament was the only event that GWE was able to hold in 2020. The Sandokán Cup is the only annual tournament in Panama and the fact that the GWE was able to pull off last year’s tournament makes it feel even more special.
The tournament consists of eight competitors and will take place over the course of one night. All of the competitors in this year’s tournament have won a championship title at some point in their career with GWE so the field is stacked. The winner of the tournament earns the right to challenge for any title in GWE so the stakes are high. The following wrestlers have been announced for the tournament:
Blue Diamond Thunder, former GWE champion GWE tag team and runner up in the 2019 Sandokán Cup
“The Franchise” Crush, former GWE Champion, former GWE Latin American Champion, former GWE Tag Team Champion, winner of the 2017 Sandokán Cup and the only GWE wrestler to compete in every single Sandokán Cup tournament.
Adam Sixx, former three time GWE Tag Team Champion
Demian Kilmister, former GWE Tag Team Champion and last holder of the GWE Met-Rx Championship
Karcamo Forjador del Dolor, former WAR World Champion, former GWE Latin American Champion and former GWE Tag Team Champion
Mr. Pascual, current GWE Tag Team Champion
Zamoa, former GWE Latin American Champion
Allen Anderson, current GWE Tag Team Champion and winner of the 2019 Sandokán Cup. Photo courtesy of Allen Anderson’s Instagram page
Who will emerge victorious? We reached out to the GWE’s front office and inquired about this year’s competitors and asked if there was one competitor fans should watch out for heading into the tournament. While the front offices need to be neutral and can’t pick a favorite, they did point out “The Franchise” Crush as a wrestler to watch. From the limited action we’ve seen, that’s a good suggestion, as The Franchise can string together some impressive offense. Take a look at the bracket that was posted by GWE on Facebook for a look at what to expect in terms of first round matchups and beyond.
Sandokán ringside holding the trophy that is contested for yearly in his honor
For our readers in Panama, you can catch the action live this Saturday at GWE Arena in Panama City, with action scheduled to start at 5:30 PM Panama time. Check out GWE’s Facebook and Instagram pages for more information on the arena’s location. For fans outside of Panama, we will do our best to track down footage and results of the Copa Sandokán tournament after the event’s conclusion this Saturday! In the meantime, be sure to give GWE a follow for updates!
All photos courtesy of Global Wrestling Entertainment’s Facebook page unless otherwise noted.
