Pro wrestling legends in Argentina involved in launch of new wrestling promotion and related TV show

WrestleMap has learned of a potential new startup wrestling promotion that involves Argentine pro wrestling legends Vicente Viloni and La Masa, as well as former kickboxer and Argentine sports promoter, Acero Cali. On July 24th, the group held open tryouts for wrestlers that were interested in competing for this new promotion. Word coming out of Argentina is that this upstart promotion would also air a regular TV show.

Reports from those in attendance state that the turnout for auditions was quite high, with around 200 wrestlers, or potential wrestlers, turning out to give it a shot. Hopefuls ranged from veteran wrestlers that have been active since the days of 100% Lucha (more on them later), to wrestlers that are active on the Argentine indie scene today in promotions like Catch Argentino and Legion Nueva Era, to students currently in training to complete amateurs that have never stepped foot in a ring. Aside from this report, some video has surfaced from the tryouts that confirm the high turnout and the players involved, which you can watch below.

For fans that aren’t familiar with the history of pro wrestling in Argentina, the possible impact of this new promotion and pro wrestling’s return to TV in the country may not be clear. Throughout the 1970’s and 80’s, a pro wrestling TV program known as Titanes En El Ring was extremely successful and was even the most watched show on television in Argentina for a time. From the 90’s into the early 2000’s, pro wrestling experienced a down period in Argentina as some attempts at recreating Titanes En El Ring, or similar products, faltered and didn’t see the same success as the original. However, pro wrestling returned to TV in Argentina in 2006 with the launch of 100% Lucha on Television Federal, or Telefe, the country’s number one TV network at the time. 100% Lucha was a huge success, so much so that a rumor has persisted in Argentina that the McMahon family was interested in purchasing the promotion. A photo that shows Shane McMahon posing with the 100% Lucha roster also made the rounds, seemingly adding fuel to the fire of the rumor. The promotion and its success on national TV also made huge stars out of Vicente Viloni, the company’s top babyface, and La Masa.

The famous photo of Shane McMahon with the cast of 100% Lucha. Photo from this great write up by Super Luchas about 100% Lucha

100% Lucha was dissolved and went off air in 2010. Since then, pro wrestling on national TV in Argentina has mostly been non-existent, with a few exceptions. One of these exceptions was a short lived program called Gigantes del Catch that only ran from July to December of 2012 that was headed up by La Masa. Lucha Extrema, a promotion that was still active up until the Covid-19 pandemic struck, had a run from 2015-2016 on cable TV (not free network TV like 100% Lucha, Titanes or Gigantes), but the network that the episodes aired on was not as widely available or known to the public as its televised predecessors.

Pro wrestling returning to TV in Argentina could create huge opportunities for wrestlers in the country and could do wonders for the national popularity of the sport if the support from the audience comes anywhere near what it once was for Titanes En El Ring and 100% Lucha. Since Argentinian fans have shown that level of support in the past, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that it can reach that level again.

Vincent Viloni, left, and La Masa

It’s unclear at this time what Viloni and La Masa’s roles with the new company may be. Since the dissolution of 100% Lucha, Viloni moved to a part time wrestling schedule, only working a few dates per year, mostly for Argentine promotion Lucha Extrema. La Masa has been busy running his own wrestling promotion, La Masa y sus Luchadores. But with these two massive stars of Argentine pro wrestling coming together to work on this project, and the climate around pro wrestling being hotter than it’s been in years, it leaves us at WrestleMap hopeful that this could be the next big pro wrestling product that takes Argentina by storm.