Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, the Mexico City-based lucha libre promotion founded in 1933, is making a deliberate push to build an American fan base, staging its first solo U.S. event in Las Vegas and expanding its presence on streaming platforms.
CMLL held the Las Vegas show as part of Slam Fest during WrestleMania weekend, featuring performers including Blue Panther, Ultimo Guerrero, Persephone, Tessa Blanchard, Místico, Hechicero, Templario and Angel de Oro. The event marked a new step for a promotion that has spent nearly two years partnering with All Elite Wrestling, allowing CMLL stars to appear on AEW and Ring of Honor programming while remaining fixtures at Arena México back home.
Beyond live events, CMLL has moved to make its product easier to find at home. The company’s New Japan Pro-Wrestling Fantastica Mania Mexico 2026 show has been added to the schedule on MyAEW, along with additional events including CMLL’s Sept. 18 anniversary show.
CMLL Mexican national champion Thunder Rosa said the streaming access addresses a longstanding problem for fans outside Mexico.
“A lot of people have been asking for a long time, how can they watch CMLL, right? … It’s always been like this dark area and like, Where can I watch this? … now they partner with AEW with this big partnership that we have had on this almost for two years and now people in America, if you have access to MyAEW.com you can watch the shows,” Rosa told OutKick Dropkick.
Rosa added that CMLL previously relied on a subscription-based YouTube channel to reach fans, and said she hopes more of the promotion’s programming eventually lands on MyAEW.
Building Recognition From Scratch
Miguel Castro, who provides English-language commentary for CMLL broadcasts, said the promotion’s biggest obstacle in the U.S. isn’t quality but name recognition.
“Mostly brand recognition,” Castro said. “I believe that our talents’ work speaks for itself. Anyone that enjoys wrestling, even if you like it by 5% compared to a fan, you will enjoy a CMLL show. It’s not all about the drama and the storytelling … we’re heavily focused on the sports. So, even if you’ve never seen wrestling and you go to a CMLL show, you will enjoy it. It’s fun. It’ll make you gasp, it will make you scream, you’ll have fun, and then you’re gonna want to know more.”
Castro noted that CMLL operates with little to no advertising budget yet still fills Arena México in Mexico City for its shows. He credited the AEW partnership with helping build stars for American audiences — pointing to Místico’s entrance music, “Me Muero,” drawing sing-alongs at AEW and Ring of Honor events, and to Persephone, who won the TBS Championship at All In.
Looking Toward 2027
Asked what success would look like by September 2027, Castro pointed to both streaming growth and a potential U.S. media deal.
“I would love to increase the pay-per-view numbers 10 times on MyAEW and I know that’s going to happen as they also grow their base in the platform,” Castro said. “My main focus right now would be to have a media deal in the States. And ideally not in Univision or Telemundo. Like I don’t want it to be part of a TV station just because it’s Mexican. That, for me, would be huge.”
Castro said CMLL began working with Fox Sports in Mexico three months ago and is already drawing roughly a million viewers a month through that arrangement.
Next up for the promotion is Fantastica Mania, presented in partnership with RevPro on Oct. 17 and 18, with both shows available for purchase at $14.99 through MyAEW.
