Legion Nueva Era and Tope Suicida podcast team up to produce first indie wrestling event of 2022 in Buenos Aires

Legion Nueva Era draws biggest crowd yet!

The 2022 Indie Wrestling Calendar in Argentina had its first square filled up and it was one to remember.

“Bronca en el Mandril” was the first event of Legion Nueva Era Argentina in 2022, and it was held in collaboration with “El Tope Suicida” a wrestling podcast in Argentina. The date was set and the location, the Mandril Theater in Buenos Aires, is a very well known location among underground circles of artists and designers.

Francisco Rolon, Sof Diamon and Juanma La Volpe (Tope Suicida Podcast)

The first match involved Ricky Rocca, known for his series of Open Challenges last year, who interrupted the introduction of the show, only for Teo Griffin to come out to face him.

Teo Griffin displayed his superiority, attempting to suplex Rocca’s soul out of his body, but Rocca faked an injury and took advantage of the referee looking away to hit a low blow on Griffin, taking the win.

Ricky Rocca dropkicks Teo Griffin

The second match involved Slovak, one of the members of the “Nemesis” stable, facing off in single action against Platino, part of the duo “Brody Lovis”. This was quite rare as both wrestlers are more well known for their tag team matches.

Slovak’s ruthless offense managed to steamroll Platino, giving the win to the member of Nemesis.

Platino drops a legdrop on Slovak

The following match was a tag match that featured CLS, one of the strongest factions in Argentina, in this match represented by the masked luchador Exodus and the former Legion Nueva Era Argentina Champion, Pandemia. They had to contend with Team Dojo, a tag team formed by Taga Santos and Mat Del Mul, two young homegrown prospects of Legion.

Del Mul and Santos gave 110% in the match, but Pandemia’s technical acumen and Exodus’s sheer striking power won in the end. CLS took the win, but Team Dojo looked like a million dollars, even in defeat.

Taga Santos and Mat del Mul catch Exodus in a strike sandwich

The fourth match was a tale of experience versus youth, as McKiller, a Mexican Masked Luchador who is part of Legion Nueva Era, wrestled against Gint Giovanna, a new debut from Legion Dojo. 

McKiller put the rookie through the ringer, attacking with his trademark and infamous chops. Giovanna managed to push the Masked Luchador against the ropes a couple of times, but in the end experience triumphed over youth and McKiller took the win.

Gint Giovanna aims a knee strike on McKiller

The semi-main event was a match for the Legion Tag Team Championship and the first defense of the current Champions, Conurbardo. Frankie Legrand and Cassidy had to face off against Francisco Rolón and Johnny Fox, a team that was forged in blood after their gruesome Death Match back in December.

The crowd was heated for the match and the daredevil offensive style of Conurbardo made them pop out of their chairs. Fox and Rolón did their best, but Frankie and Cassidy worked like a well oiled machine, ending the match with a stunning Swanton Bomb, performed by Frankie instead of Cassidy for a change, over both rivals.

Johnny Fox perfoms a Canadian Destroyer on Frankie Legrand

The main event of the night was a match for the Legion Maximum Championship, with the new champion Maikol defending the belt he won from Pandemia back in December for the first time. His rival was Legion’s resident powerhouse, Guido el Demoledor.

Maikol’s track record as one of the most fearsome strikers on the circuit is well documented and Guido is well known for dishing out enough punishment to put three grown men in the ICU, so the match was as physical as it can get with strike exchanges between Champion and Challenger.

Maikol kicks Guido's head off

In the end Maikol managed to keep the belt around his waist, ready for his next defense at Legion’s next event “Into the Legionverse” set for February 20th.

The epilogue to this whole event was the retirement of Ignacio Carmona, Legion’s OG referee, loved and hated by the crowds in equal measure. His presence had been a constant since the promotion’s inception and he will be missed.

Carmona retires from referee duty

This was a huge way to start the year not only for Legion, but for the indie circuit in general. The collaboration between Legion Nueva Era Argentina and Tope Suicida was fruitful as the event had the biggest attendance in Legion’s history with almost 200 people in attendance, with many more left outside because of the lack of space.

This event drew more eyes to the Indie Circuit, including many wrestling fans who didn’t know the quality of wrestling the indies in Argentina were showcasing on a nearly monthly basis last year.

Hopefully this will be the start of a positive trend on the circuit, with higher attendance overall for all the promotions.

All photos used in the article are credited to Matias Alvarez. Check out his page on Instagram!