WWE makes major acquisition announcement before WrestleMania 41
WWE made a major announcement before the start of WrestleMania 41 on Saturday night.
The company acquired the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Lucha Libre AAA and will host a joint event in June with NXT in Los Angeles called World’s Collide.
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The announcement sent shock waves throughout the pro wrestling world as WWE has leaned into the luchador style of wrestling with the signings of Penta and Rey Fenix as well as the push for the so-called El Grande Americano masked wrestler who fans are 99.9% sure is Chad Gable.
WWE Chief Content Officer Paul Levesque spoke about the company’s decision to acquire AAA in the post-WrestleMania 41 press conference after Seth Rollins defeated Roman Reigns and CM Punk in a wild main event.
Levesque told reporters the intent is to "grow Lucha Libre," and he pointed to the impact that the style of pro wrestling has had in Central and Southern America and parts of the United States.
"When I think Mexico, I think AAA. I think Lucha Libre opens up the door for those athletes as well, not only to grow and be the biggest they can be in Lucha and everything else, but I think desires are going to grow beyond that. … There’s places in the world where (sports entertainment) is culturally significant to them.
"We’re not looking to take away from that culturally significant product. We’re looking to enhance it, to grow it, make it bigger and give opportunities for talent to grow beyond that and become more worldwide celebrities as opposed to a certain genre of something."
El Hijo del Vikingo, one of the top starts in AAA, was in attendance for WrestleMania 41 as he watched El Grande Americano defeat Fenix.
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Worlds Collide is set for June 7 at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California.