Arena Coliseo is an indoor

arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, located at República del Perú 77 in the

Cuauhtémoc Cuauhtémoc (, ), also known as Cuauhtemotzín, Guatimozín, or Guatémoc, was the Aztec ruler ('' tlatoani'') of Tenochtitlan from 1520 to 1521, and the last Aztec Emperor. The name Cuauhtemōc means "one who has descended like an eagle", an ...

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

. The arena is primarily used for

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

, or ''

lucha libre ''Lucha libre'' (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term for the style of professional wrestling originating in Mexico. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has develope ...

'', shows promoted by

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as (EMLL) (''Mexican Wrestling Enterprise''). Founded in 1933, it is the oldest profe ...

(CMLL). The building was completed in 1943, built by Salvador Lutteroth, founder and owner of CMLL and served as the main venue for CMLL from 1943 until 1953 when Arena México was completed and became the main venue for Lutteroth's promotion. It has a

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

of 5,550 when configured for professional wrestling or boxing events.

History

Professional wrestling promoter A promoter works with event production and entertainment industries to promote their productions, including in music and sports. Promoters are individuals or organizations engaged in the business of marketing and promoting live, or pay-per-view ...

Salvador Lutteroth began promoting wrestling, or ''Lucha libre'' events in Arena Modelo in 1933 as he founded Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL). The building served as the main venue for Lutteroth's promotion from 1933 until the early 1940s when the success of ''Lucha Libre'' meant that Arena Model was becoming too small to accommodate the weekly shows. Lutteroth financed the building of a new arena with $40,000 that he had won in the national lottery. The building would sit on the location of República del Perú 77 in the

and was designed by Architect Francisco Bullman. Upon its completion in 1943 it was the first sports building in Mexico to have built in Air Conditioning. The building would hold 8,863 spectators for wrestling or boxing events and quickly gained the nickname the "Lagunilla Funnel" due to the design of the spectators stands in regards to the ring in the middle. The event began hosting Boxing events only a few months after opening and for years would run both wrestling and boxing events throughout the year. The venue served as the main building for EMLL, hosting their Anniversary shows starting with their 10th Anniversary show in 1943 through their 22nd Anniversary show in 1955. From 1956 and forward Arena Coliseo became a secondary venue for EMLL, with the newly constructed Arena México taking over as the venue for all of EMLL's major shows. In 1979, for undisclosed reasons EMLL held their 46th Anniversary Show in Arena Coliseo instead of Arena México, marking the last major EMLL event held there. By the beginning of the 2000s EMLL, now renamed

(CMLL) only held one weekly event, a Sunday Night show. The reduction in use is both as a result of the building's state, lack of parking and the general area being less secure with time due to rise in crime.

As a boxing venue

Arena Coliseo hosted its first boxing event only a month after opening, taking place on May 1, 1943. The event started a tradition of Monday night boxing event at Arena Coliseo that would remain long after Arena Mexico had taken over as CMLL's main venue. The first show was headlined by a fight between Mexican National Bantamweight champion Ernesto Aguilar and Leonardo Lopez. Over the years a number of Mexican and international boxing greats fought at Arena Coliseo, including but not limited to: Jose Medel, Butter Napoles, Vicente Saldivar, Toluco Lopez, Pajarito Moreno, Cuyo Hernandez, El Chango Casanova, Carlos Zarate, Lupe Pintor,

Alexis Arguello Alexis may refer to: People Mononym * Alexis (poet) ( – ), a Greek comic poet * Alexis (sculptor), an ancient Greek artist who lived around the 3rd or 4th century BC * Alexis (singer) (born 1968), German pop singer * Alexis (comics) (1946– ...

Alfonso Zamora, Ricardo Lopez, Pipino Cuevas, Kid Azteca and Chiquita Gonzalez.

Julio César Chávez Julio César Chávez González (; born July 12, 1962), also known as Julio César Chávez Sr., is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 2005. A multiple-time world champion in three weight divisions, Chávez was liste ...

fought at Arena Coliseo during his amateur days, but the main attraction of the Arena Coliseo boxing was Raul Macias, with his matches often being shown on the

Televisa Grupo Televisa, S.A.B., simply known as Televisa, is a Mexican telecommunications and broadcasting company. A major Latin American mass media corporation, it often presents itself as the largest producer of Spanish-language content. In April ...

television channel.

Deaths on location

Over the years Arena Coliseo has witnessed the deaths of several wrestlers and boxers. The first death happened on March 21, 1946, during a boxing match. In the second round of a fight between veteran Guillermo Ramos and young wrestler Fernando Mendoza where Mendoza fell to the floor in the second round and never woke up after the knockout. On December 25, 1979, wrestler José Vincent Ramos Estrada, known to the wrestling world under the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons ...

Sangre India faced off against César Curiel. Curiel teamed up with El Vengador while Sangre India was teaming with Leo Lopez. During the match Curiel executed a drop kick, a move that was supposed to knock Sangre India out of the ring to the floor. During the fall to the floor, Estrada's head and neck struck the apron before he tumbled uncontrollably to the ground. Estrada died shortly after the fall. The third death to occur in Arena Coliseo was not as a result of a match, but a gunshot. On May 14, 1983 "Uncle" Jimenez, the manager of boxer James Casas was shot dead during Casas' victory celebration. A 100,000 pesos reward was offered at the time but no murderer was ever found. On October 26, 1993, professional wrestler Jesús Javier Hernández Silva, better known under the

Oro, teamed up

La Fiera Arturo Casco Hernández (March 17, 1961 – September 12, 2010) was a Mexican '' luchador'', or professional wrestler, best known under the ring name La Fiera, which is Spanish for "The Wild Beast". Hernández was a second-generation wrestler, ...

and

Brazo de Plata José Luis Alvarado Nieves (March 19, 1963 – July 26, 2021) was a Mexican '' luchador'' best known under the ring name Brazo de Plata, a name he had used since his debut in 1977. He is also well known for his appearances in WWE as Super Por ...

to face the team of Kahoz, Dr. Wagner Jr. and Jaque Mate at an Arena Coliseo show. Before the match, while going over the plans for the match Oro said he wanted to take a "Kobashi bump" during the match, a reference to a head first backdrop driver which

Kenta Kobashi (born, March 27, 1967) is a Japanese professional wrestling promoter and retired wrestler. Broadly referred to by the nickname , he is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. He is best known for his two run ...

took in a match in

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on October 21, 1972, by Giant Baba after he left the Japanese Wrestling Association to create his own promotion. Ma ...

only a few months earlier. That particular bump had a dramatic effect, as it looked like Kobashi had broken his neck from the move and Oro wanted to use the shock effect to help build the drama for their match. During the match, Kahoz clotheslined Oro, who spun and landed on his head as he had planned. His opponent tried to pick him up, but soon thereafter he collapsed and his pulse became weak. Oro was put on a stretcher at the start of the second fall while his brother screamed, "Don't fall asleep!", warning him to remain alert so that he wouldn't lose consciousness. Oro died before being placed in an awaiting ambulance.

Significant events

Over the years Arena Coliseo has hosted a number of significant events, especially a large number of EMLL/CMLL events have taken place in Arena Colise, including a number of CMLL Anniversary shows, shows celebrating the anniversary of Arena Coliseo and shows headlined by major, important matches. ; EMLL Anniversary Shows *

EMLL 10th Anniversary Show The EMLL 10th Anniversary Show () was a professional wrestling major show event produced by Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL, later renamed Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, CMLL) that took place on September 24, 1943, in Arena Coliseo, in Mex ...

* EMLL 11th Anniversary Show * EMLL 12th Anniversary Show * EMLL 13th Anniversary Show * EMLL 14th Anniversary Show * EMLL 15th Anniversary Show * EMLL 16th Anniversary Show * EMLL 17th Anniversary Show * EMLL 18th Anniversary Show * EMLL 19th Anniversary Show * EMLL 20th Anniversary Show * EMLL 21st Anniversary Show * EMLL 22nd Anniversary Show * EMLL 46th Anniversary Show

First Show

The first show in Arena Coliseo took place on April 2, 1943, before the show the

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of Mexico, Luis M. Martinez, gave the arena a Catholic blessing. The Mexico City council leader Javier Rojo Gomez was also in attendance for this major event. The show was originally slated to have Bill Longsan from Texas defend a version of the World Heavyweight Championship against Juan Humberto, but Humberto was not able to travel from the United States to Mexico City in time. Instead Lutteroth booked Mexican National Middleweight Champion Tarzán Lopez to defend his championship against Santo, who at the time was already a prominent figure in Lucha Libre, although not the icon he would later become through his lucha films and in-ring exploits.

50th Anniversary Show

The then-recently renamed CMLL celebrated the 50th Anniversary of Arena Coliseo with a wrestling show on April 4, 1993, centered around a ''Ruleta de la Muerte'' ("

Roulette Roulette (named after the French language, French word meaning "little wheel") is a casino game which was likely developed from the Italy, Italian game Biribi. In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various grouping ...

of death") tournament where the loser of each match would advance to the next round and the person who lost the final match would be forced to remove his

wrestling mask A wrestling mask is a fabric-based mask that some professional wrestlers wear as part of their in-ring persona or gimmick. Professional wrestlers have been using masks as far back as 1915 and they are still widely used today, especially in Mexi ...

and reveal his real name per ''lucha libre'' traditions.Find it

70th Anniversary Show

On April 7, 2013, CMLL celebrated the 70th anniversary of Arena Coliseo with a show that featured a number of veteran wrestlers that did not usually work for CMLL such as

Negro Navarro Negro Navarro (born June 12, 1957) is the ring name of Miguel Calderón Navarro, a Mexican '' luchador'', or professional wrestler. Navarro works as a freelancer on the Mexican independent circuit as well as making regular appearances for Internat ...

Black Terry Esteban Mares Castañeda (September 3, 1952 – April 20, 2025) was a Mexican ''Lucha libre, luchador'', or professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Black Terry. Wrestling since 1973, he was once part of a gro ...

, Villano IV, Ray Mendoza Jr., Universo 2000,

Máscara Año 2000 Jesús Reyes González (born 10 March 1958) is a Mexican '' Luchador'', or professional wrestler, best known under the ring name Máscara Año 2000 or Máscara Año Dos Mil. His ring name is Spanish for "Mask of the year 2000", originally referr ...

and Rayo de Jalisco Jr. Before his match Ray Mendoza Jr. stated that his match in Arena Coliseo would be his last match, after having held a Retirement show a few weeks before. During the show CMLL gave an award to a fan who had also attended the first show 70 years prior.

75. Aniversario de Arena Coliseo

The ''75. Aniversario de Arena Coliseo'' (Spanish for "Arena Coliseo's 75th Anniversary") show was a major

show produced by

(CMLL) to commemorate the opening of Arena Coliseo, in 1943. The event took place on April 7, 2018, and featured six matches in total, including a guest appearances from several ''leyendas'' who had previously worked for CMLL. The main event saw

Atlantis Atlantis () is a fictional island mentioned in Plato's works '' Timaeus'' and ''Critias'' as part of an allegory on the hubris of nations. In the story, Atlantis is described as a naval empire that ruled all Western parts of the known world ...

and Blue Panther defeat ''leyendas'' Fuerza Guerrera and

El Satánico Daniel López López (born October 26, 1949) is a Mexican '' luchador'' ( professional wrestler) and trainer, best known under the ring name El Satánico ( Spanish for "The Satanic One"). He was originally an ''enmascarado'' ( masked wrestler), b ...

; Results

Luchas de Apuestas

Unlike most sports or

sports entertainment Sports entertainment is a type of spectacle which presents an ostensibly competition, competitive event using a high level of theatre, theatrical flourish and extravagant presentation, with the purpose of entertainment, entertaining an audience. Un ...

around the world ''Lucha Libre'' holds championships in less regards compared to the prestige of winning a '' Lucha de Apuesta'', literally a "bet match". In a ''Lucha de Apuesta'' match each competitor "Bets" either their

or hair on the outcome of the match and if they lose must unmask or have their hair shaved off in the ultimate form of humiliation. Since the mask holds a sacred place in ''Lucha Libre'' the most prestigious ''Apuesta'' is the mask, once it is lost a wrestler is not allowed to put the mask back on when wrestling. As part of the tradition an unmasked wrestler must also reveal their "true identity", which means give their birth name, age and wrestling experience as they lose the "anonymity" of the ''enmascarado'' character. Over the years Arena Coliseo has been host to a number of ''Luchas de Apuestas'', including one that many consider the biggest ''Luchas de Apuestas'' match where ''Lucha Libre'' icon

El Santo Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta (23 September 1917 – 5 February 1984), best known by his ring name El Santo (English language, English: "The Saint"), was a Mexican ''Lucha libre, luchador Wrestling mask, enmascarado'' (or masked professional wrestlin ...

defeated and unmasked Black Shadow in 1952. Below is a list of all documented ''Luchas de Apuestas'' that have taken place in Arena Coliseo since its completion in 1943.

Footnotes

References

External links

Website of CMLL, the owners of the building
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arena Coliseo Indoor arenas in Mexico Sports venues in Mexico City Boxing venues in Mexico Wrestling venues in Mexico