Three members of Los Vipers have confirmed their departures from AAA.
Arez, Latigo, and Toxin quit the promotion on February 28. On Tuesday, they announced publicly that they are now free agents.
“We want to inform you that from this moment on, we no longer belong to the AAA company. We thank Konan for always trusting us Jorge Flores and Dorian for the opportunity. It’s time to follow our story,” Arez wrote.
Our own Dave Meltzer addressed the reasons for their departures in last week’s edition of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, noting that they had hoped AAA could get booked on U.S television.
“Arez, Latigo and Toxin all quit AAA on 2/28. They left because they had hoped Konnan could get them booked with a U.S. promotion and wasn’t able to and weren’t being booked on AAA television since they are focusing on names from the past as long as that draws,” Meltzer wrote.
“It’s not a huge blow since they weren’t featured in AAA and they left on good terms. Konnan noted that the U.S. promotions they work with, which more and more is just TNA since AEW is focusing on CMLL, didn’t ask for them. The plan at some point was for them to feud with Cibernetico and La Secta.”
Two luchadors were released by MLW in May but seem to have only learned of this today.
AAA’s Arez, who frequently performs for GCW as well, posted to X on Wednesday that MLW denied his release request six months ago. He said the promotion also has not offered him any work for the past 18 months.
Arez wrote:
To the General Public:
I find myself forced to address the following situation publicly, with the hopes that a resolution can finally be found. I join the recent wave of fellow professional wrestlers that just like me, have requested their release from Major League Wrestling “MLW”) and its President and Owner, Court Bauer.
Firstly, I would like to very sincerely thank Mr. Bauer for his interest in my career more than 2 years ago when he invited me to join MLW. In Spring of 2021, AAA presented me an offer on behalf of MLW to join their roster for 3 years. Although I did not understand the contract, as it was never presented to me in Spanish and I am not an English speaker, and even though I did not have a work visa at the time of signing that would even allow me to accept a job offer in the USA, I told AAA that I was very interested and I signed said contract.
The salary I was offered contractually was considerably below my indie rate, but I accepted it as I hope to see my career grow by being a part of MLW.
The reality is that MLW has not offered me any matches in over 18 months, and I see no interest whatsoever in offering me any work. With this situation and knowing how much work it has cost me to survive based on my income as an independent wrestler, I respectfully requested my release to Mr. Bauer more than 6 months ago, which he refused.
MLW has refused to cancel my contract in writing, even though I don’t even believe it has any legal weight as I was ineligible for work in the US at the time of signing and a Spanish translation was never presented to me. If I had the resources and team to challenge this in court, I’m sure the outcome would be favorable, but since I do not have these resources, I’m forced to air this problem publicly since my family’s well- being is what is at stake. Reading the multiple reports about the recent wave of MLW talent similarly requesting their releases, I find myself obligated to join these voices and find a resolution to what I believe is an unfortunate situation for all parties.
I hope my fans and fans of Lucha Libre in general understand and can support me and any other wrestler caught in a similar situation of being tied to a company that has no interest in giving them work.
I hereby request once more to Mr. Court Bauer my full release in writing from MLW.
Sincerely, Arez
MLW then responded that both Arez and Aramis were released from the promotion in May and AAA was to relay this information to them but, evidently, did not do that. AAA was a co-signee on both contracts.
MLW responded:
MLW notified AAA in May that both Arez and Aramis were released from the MLW contracts as AAA is a co-signee on both contracts. AAA confirmed they would relay this to talent at that time. Evidently they did not. We wish Aramis and Arez the best with the future.
I will point out that Arez asks for his full release in writing and I'm not a lawyer and I think a tweet probably doesn't cover that, hope a PDF is being sent over.
Aramis and Arez were signed by the promotion in the summer of 2021. They both took part in MLW’s monthly TV tapings up until the following April when the company stopped bringing them in. Their last show with MLW was on April 1, 2022, from Gilley’s in Dallas, Texas.
MLW has announced that the middleweight title will be on the line at Fightland.
Shun Skywalker will defend his championship against Lince Dorado on the show. It will be Skywalker’s first defense of the belt since winning it from Myron Reed at MLW Super Series last month.
As for Dorado, this will be his second time challenging for the title. He faced Reed for the belt in a fatal four-way match at Battle Riot IV on June 23.
“The new World Middleweight Champion Shun Skywalker has accepted his first challenge for the title as luchador Lince Dorado looks to pounce the mercurial masked Japanese phenom and win gold,” reads an MLW press release.
MLW Fightland takes place Sunday, October 30 from the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, PA, and will be filmed for future episodes of MLW Fusion. The announced matches for the show are as follows:
MLW Champion Alex Hammerstone defends against EJ Nduka in a last man standing match
MLW Featherweight Champion Taya Valkyrie defends against TBA
MLW Middleweight Champion Shun Skywalker defends against Lince Dorado
Jacob Fatu vs. Lio Rush
Willie Mack vs. Calvin Tankman
Real 1 (nZo) vs. Mance Warner
Billington Bulldogs & Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Bomaye Fight Club
The MLW Middleweight Championship will be up for grabs in a triple threat match at the promotion’s next set of television tapings.
At Kings of Colosseum, Myron Reed will put his MLW Middleweight title on the line against KC Navarro and Arez in a triple threat bout. The event is being held at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia on Friday, May 13.
Reed is a three-time MLW Middleweight Champion. His current title reign began when he defeated Tajiri, Bandido, and Matt Cross in a four-way match at MLW Blood & Thunder this January.
MLW wrote about the Reed vs. Navarro vs. Arez title match:
The fastest division in Major League Wrestling will be in overdrive as the reigning World Middleweight Champion defends his belt against one of Mexico’s emerging greats in Arez and the flashy and furious KC Navarro.
A member of Gangrel’s new brood, Strange Sangre, Arez has been fixated on a conquest offered to him by Cesar Duran. Since then, Arez has been obsessed with gold and getting his hands on Microman. How will Arez’s sinister Strange Sangre figure into this match? Could it tilt the championship into ‘King Strange’s’ hands?
The other challenger, KC Navarro, is coming off of a bitter feud with nZo. ‘The Blessed One’ looks to take the lessons he learned from nZo’s street school of hard knocks and apply that grit and tenacity to claiming his first championship in MLW.
Determined to cement his legacy as the greatest of all time in MLW, the ‘Young GOAT’ welcomed Duran’s triple threat title bout, with the 3-time champ signing the dotted line in under 24 hours.
But how will Myron Reed fend off two challengers in one night?
Find out LIVE Friday night, May 13 in Philadelphia at MLW Kings of Colosseum!
The updated lineup for Kings of Colosseum is listed below:
MLW World Heavyweight Champion Alex Hammerstone defends against Richard Holliday (w/ Alicia Atout)
Taya Valkyrie vs. Holidead to crown the inaugural MLW Women’s Featherweight Champion
Weapons of Mass Destruction match: Jacob Fatu vs. Mads Krugger
nZo vs. Lince Dorado
MLW Tag Team Champions Hustle & Power (EJ Nduka & Calvin Tankman) defend against The Von Erichs (Ross & Marshall Von Erich) and 5150 (Slice Boogie & Danny Rivera) in a triple threat match
A trios match is the latest addition to the lineup for this month’s MLW television tapings.
MLW has announced that Arez, Gino Medina & Mini Abismo Negro will face Puma King, Octagon Jr., and a mystery partner at SuperFight on Saturday, February 26. The tapings are being held at the Grady Cole Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Octagon Jr., Puma King and a mystery partner will face Strange Sangre’s Arez, Gino Medina and Mini Abismo Negro in what promises to be an exhilarating nonstop clash of six top luchadores.
Featuring the American debut of Octagon Jr., Cesar [Duran[ promises a spectacular bout unlike anything else on the SuperFight card.
A former AAA World Trios Champion an, member of Los Jinetes del Aire (“The Air Raiders”), Octagon Jr. donned the Octagon mask in 2019 and represents the next generation of one of AAA’s most iconic luchadores.
Pouncing into action alongside Octagon Jr., is the coolest cat around, Puma King. No stranger to MLW, Puma King looks to return to the league with a purrrfect outing at SuperFight.
But who is the mystery third man on this team?
Calling themselves Strange Sangre, Gino Medina, Arez and Mini Abismo Negro laugh at the idea of a mystery man. Claiming Octagon Jr. & Puma King need all of the tricks they can use to have a shot at defeating them, this trio enters Charlotte full of confidence and skepticism about the mystery third person.
Will Strange Sangre vanquish Octagon Jr., Puma King and their mystery man? Find out Saturday night, February 26 in Charlotte at MLW SuperFight!
SuperFight is being headlined by a double main event. Alex Hammerstone will defend his MLW World Heavyweight Championship against Davey Richards, while Jacob Fatu is set to take on Mads Krugger in a Stairway to Hell match.
Here’s the updated SuperFight card:
MLW World Heavyweight Champion Alex Hammerstone defends against Davey Richards
Stairway to Hell match: Jacob Fatu vs. Mads Krugger
MLW National Openweight Champion Alex Kane defends against Calvin Tankman, Matt Cross, and ACH in a four-way match
nZo vs. KC Navarro
Alex Shelley vs. Richard Holliday
Trios match: Arez, Gino Medina & Mini Abismo Negro vs. Puma King, Octagon Jr., and a mystery partner
A briefcase full of cash will be on the line at MLW’s War Chamber tapings.
It was announced today that Aramis vs. Arez will take place at the War Chamber tapings, with the winner getting a briefcase full of cash from MLW’s Cesar Duran (formerly known as Dario Cueto in Lucha Underground). The War Chamber tapings are being held at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia on Saturday, November 6.
Aramis vs. Arez is a rematch from this July’s Battle Riot tapings, which was the show where both wrestlers made their MLW debuts. Aramis defeated Arez in that meeting.
Aramis and Arez were also both involved in the four-way match for the MLW Middleweight Championship at Fightland earlier this month. Tajiri pinned Myron Reed in that match to win the title.
Here’s the updated lineup for the War Chamber tapings:
War Chamber match: Alex Hammerstone, Richard Holliday, EJ Nduka, and a partner vs. Contra Unit (Jacob Fatu, Mads Krugger, Josef Samael & Ikuro Kwon)
The 2021 Opera Cup finals
Ladder match for the vacant MLW National Openweight Championship: Alex Shelley vs. Myron Reed vs. Zenshi vs. Alex Kane vs. a wildcard entrant
Homicide vs. LA Park
Willow Nightingale vs. Holidead
Aramis vs. Arez (winner receives a briefcase full of cash from Cesar Duran)
An MLW Middleweight Championship match has been added to the Fightland show on October 2nd in Philadelphia, PA.
During his appearance on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio Wednesday, MLW founder Court Bauer announced that Myron Reed (seen above) will defend his title against Arez, Aramis and the debuting Tajiri in a four-way.
The show will be held at the 2300 Arena and will also be a TV taping.
Reed is in the midst of his second Middleweight title reign after regaining it from Lio Rush at the end of last season. He has yet to defend the title in this latest run as MLW is in between seasons. In his first reign, Reed held the title for 424 days and defended it six times before dropping it to Lio Rush at the Kings Of Colosseum show earlier this year.
Arez and Aramis are relatively new additions to MLW, having debuted at their July TV taping, also in Philadelphia.
Fightland will also see World Champion Jacob Fatu vs. National Openweight Champion Alexander Hammerstone in a title vs. title match in addition to the quarterfinals and semifinals of the Opera Cup tournament.
After making his debut for the promotion last month, luchador Arez has officially signed with MLW.
It was announced today that Arez has signed a multi-year deal with MLW. He’s part of Cesar Duran’s Azteca Underground in MLW. Duran was formerly known as Dario Cueto in Lucha Underground.
Arez was one of the draft picks in the 2021 MLW Open Draft. He debuted for the promotion at last month’s Battle Riot tapings in Philadelphia, taking part in the 40-man Battle Riot match. Arez also faced fellow MLW newcomer Aramis in a singles match at the tapings.
“MLW today announced it has come to terms with luchador Arez on a multi-year agreement. Arez participated in the 2021 Open Draft as a then unrestricted free agent. Having impressed league officials, including matchmaker Cesar Duran, MLW moved quickly to come to terms on a formal agreement,” MLW announced.
“Arez enters the ring wearing Mayan tribal warpaint. A fierce warrior, Arez is a rapid-fire, relentless wild card in the middleweight division.
“The master of ‘strange style,’ Arez is one of the hottest luchadores to cross the border in years. Employing uncanny unorthodox counters to his aerial adversaries, Arez’s style is akin to a lucha version of Krav Maga, disabling and destroying victims via a vicious art of defense.”
During their weekly video announcing new “draft picks,” MLW revealed that Arez will be joining the roster for their upcoming season.
The 29-year-old will be part of Azteca Underground within MLW. An 11-year veteran, Arez is an AAA regular that has also been on the U.S indie scene this year with stops in Warrior Wrestling, GCW and AAW.
He will be in Philadelphia, PA, for the company’s July 10th TV taping in front of live fans. More seats have been released for that show.
It was also announced Thursday that Battle Riot III will be held on July 10th. The match is a 40-man, no DQ battle royale where the winner gets an MLW World title shot. Elimination is by pin, submission or over the top rope.
Tom Lawlor won the first one in 2018 with LA Park winning the second one in 2019.
Other Thursday notes:
National Openweight Champion Alex Hammerstone is the first entrant into the Battle Riot match.
Calvin Tankman and Mads Krugger were announced as returning for this season.
