Lucha appeal
By Scott Keith on 26 August 2018
I'm watching Triplemania on a whim. I definitely don't think this style is for me–what I've seen is sloppy as hell, and both of the first two matches were just twenty minutes of dives to the floor.
That being said, I know nothing of lucha history, outside of its mentions in the Observer recaps. My question is, have AAA and CMLL ever had any influence or cult following in America the way something like New Japan does now? Did any of the major promotions have a recent golden age where international fans took notice? Or has it always been a niche product?
It's mostly been a niche product in North America, although AAA got really hot in California for a few years in the 90s. The biggest influence ended up being all the guys that migrated to WCW and built the cruiserweight style from the ground up there. It's absolutely a different style than what you'd be used to with North American pro wrestling and not something you can just pick up and watch most of the time. I've never had any real understanding of the lucha style, for instance.