Column – My Lover in Naucalpan – Nikita Allanov

When I got into this wonderful sport of professional wrestling over a decade ago, I had the goal that a lot of other guys also had at the time: I wanted to work for the WWF, WCW, or ECW. As I learned more about the business (and those companies folded up) my goals changed. Over the years I have had opportunities for things, and I have been scouted by major companies both in the US and abroad. However, my goal was always just to make a living at professional wrestling. As I have grown a little older and grown up a wee bit, goals like that become less realistic. Goals change.

In this week’s column, I would like to express my love for the promotion that currently embodies what I love about wrestling. I am a professional wrestler, and this is what I watch, when I want to watch professional wrestling.

International Wrestling Revolution Group, or IWRG for short, is a lucha libre promotion based out of Naucalpan, which is a suburb of Mexico City. For lack of a better term, it is what I am calling “strong style” lucha libre.

IWRG was founded in 1996 by Adolfo Moreno, who was the promoter running Arena Naucalpan. For years Arena Naucalpan was the red-headed stepchild of the area, because UWA ran weekly cards at the 20000 seat Toreo in Naucalpan, while CMLL ran cards weekly at Arena Mexico, which seats 17000, and Arena Coliseo (which seats around 3500). After UWA folded and AAA emerged as a national touring promotion, Moreno rebranded his events in Naucalpan as IWRG. For about a decade, IWRG would work with CMLL, booking their young rookies on the under cards, while CMLL stars would often headline, helping fill the 1500 seat arena on Thursdays and Sundays.

But, a funny thing happened back in 2007 – CMLL and Mexico’s biggest star, El Hijo del Santo, had a falling out over money. CMLL did what almost seems unthinkable for a US promotion: they “blacklisted” Santo, and any of the CMLL affiliated promoters who used Santo would be cut off from all other CMLL talent. Cesar and Jorge Moreno, Adolfo’s sons who had taken over the family business, were one of the few promoters who decided to stop using CMLL talent.

Without top CMLL stars, IWRG began booking the newly independent wrestlers leaving CMLL and AAA. Beefing up the midcard and the bottom of the card were a variety of rookies (“novatos” in Mexico), who were trainees in the area.

As IWRG began to book fewer and fewer “names” on their cards, IWRG’s cards began to focus more and more on teacher-student feuds. IWRG’s roster began to consist more and more of older veterans who no longer are working on the circuit full-time, and their students, who were booked into programs with other veterans and their students. Filling out the card were indy mainstays, and a number of cast-offs and vets from the bigger companies – many of whom were decent enough wrestlers, but were not in a major company for various reasons.

Negro Navarro and Black Terry were two of the older respected veterans working and training wrestlers in IWRG who were just not out working the circuit anymore. I started paying attention to IWRG when Dr. Wagner Jr. started to appear on occasion after leaving CMLL. Around the same time, a new wrestler debuted in IWRG named Multifacetico – and was immediately pushed up the cards as an unbeatable tecnico. Quickly being put in the spotlight before he was ready, the fans quickly started trashing the young highflyer when his inexperience would show up in matches. Multifacetico then became embroiled in a brutal and bloody feud with veteran rudo Black Terry, with IWRG hoping that the fans would get behind their young star against the dastardly rudo Terry.

Instead, the die-hard Naucalpan fans got behind the rudo. Little did anyone know at the time that Terry was actually the father of Multifacetico, who was soon to be on his way to working fulltime in preliminary matches for CMLL. In addition, Negro Navarro’s sons, Los Traumas, were putting on great matches at their legendary father’s side, often opposing Black Terry, and two other veteran rudos – Dr. Cerebro and Cerebro Negro.

In addition, foreign wrestlers started making their way to IWRG. All-Japan sent Tetsuya Bushi and Kiyoshi to IWRG on learning excursions. Angelico, a Spanish wrestler discovered by Ultimo Dragon, soon appeared. Ricky Cruz appeared from WWC in Puerto Rico. American indy wrestler Gringo Loco channeled the ghosts of Art Barr and started getting major heat as a rudo. With veterans such as Canek, Los Dinamatas, Pantera, and Pirata Morgan showing up, with their novato sons at their sides, IWRG was building a different kind of roster.

IWRG had the perfect storm. The vets were wrestlers with strong mat skills, who insisted on going out and busting their asses to make their novatos look good – more than likely because they wanted the other vets to make sure their own sons looked good. The matches featured long solid falls, with a ton of unique matwork. You know, actually exchanging holds. Anyone who thinks there is no mat wrestling left in wrestling needs to watch IWRG. In addition, the vets were experienced seasoned bases for the young high flyers. This allowed the youngsters to try crazy dives and other high flying moves. The mix of foreign styles (and grizzled veterans getting their hands on rookies) led to stiff exchanges of striking often not seen in lucha. The veterans and the novatos were all pushing each other.

The Arena Naucalpan fans add to the atmosphere. With the traditional airhorns that it seems every lucha arena has, the fans get into the shows and make a lot of noise. Yet, at the same time, they would be silent during the matwork, and would applaud awesome exchanges and holds as if they were a Japanese crowd. Arena Naucalpan seems to have legitimate “smart marks” – fans that appreciate great wrestling and are going to cheer good wrestlers – either rudo or tecnico. The fans would be ridiculously hard on novatos, which forces them to train harder and get better, or face not being booked.

To top things off, Black Terry Jr., ringside photographer extraordinaire, began bringing a video camera to ringside. So, not only were great pics being uploaded to the internet, but suddenly ringside handheld footage was all over YouTube. While IWRG had television shows that would sporadically pop up on the internet in the past, the low production values didn’t flatter the in-ring product. BTJr’s handheld footage, believe it or not, comes across much better. He is so close to the action you can almost feel it. You feel the crash on dives. You can feel the pain of the holds. When a wrestler is injured, BTJr. would get up close and let you see the wrestlers being tended to at ringside. He would even follow the wrestlers to the back. We would get behind-the-scenes footage of wrestlers getting stitched up.

IWRG gives me the same type of vibe that I got when I first discovered ECW back in 1996. It is something that is different, but at the same time traditional. IWRG has found a perfect blend of traditional lucha libre, US indy wrestling, and different international styles. Rather than a melting pot, IWRG seems to be a stew where many different things come together – and the broth is traditional lucha libre. You will see classic European style mat wrestling. You will see crazy lucha highflying. You will see bloody weapons-filled ECW-ish brawls. You see wacky gimmicks. Stipulation matches where wrestlers lose hair and masks. You see 2/3 falls matches that last 30 minutes. You see a great product with a loyal, if small, following.

So, I have motivation again. After twelve years, I have a new goal. I want to go to Arena Naucalpan and learn at the foot of Black Terry and Negro Navarro. IWRG seems to be everything that I currently love about wrestling.

To read more about Nikita Allanov, or to leave feedback on this column, check out his official MySpace page at www.myspace.com/nikitaallanov.