⚫ HASTA SIEMPRE SR. FRANCISCO ALONSO LUTTEROTH ⚫
Con profunda pena, informamos el deceso del Sr. Francisco Alonso Lutteroth, Presidente del Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre ocurrido el Sábado 6 de Julio de 2019. pic.twitter.com/7GHcWgtdZx

— Lucha Libre CMLL (@CMLL_OFICIAL) July 7, 2019

Longtime CMLL owner Francisco “Paco” Alonso Lutteroth passed away on July 6 at age 67, according to CMLL’s social media accounts. Alonso began working in CMLL (Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre) in 1975 and took control of the company in 1987. Under his control in 1991 was when the original name EMLL was changed to CMLL.

CMLL is the oldest wrestling promotion in the world and widely seen as the conservative alternative to Lucha Libre AAA in Mexico. EMLL held their first show on September 21, 1933, considered the “birth of Lucha Libre” and led to Salvador Lutteroth being known as “the father of Lucha Libre”. Francisco Alonso Lutteroth was the grandson of the founder of the promotion, Salvador Lutteroth. Francisco’s daughter Sofía Alonso is currently the Commercial Director of the CMLL.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYhtzBxPdV8]

The company only promotes on a weekly basis, leasing out its roster to smaller affiliated independents during the week. The situation is monitored closely because such a large unfortunate event can ripple out over the company. However, with the long term strategy in place and a high rotation of star names, it is unlikely to cause too many issues for the business.

CMLL have close cross-promotional ties with both ROH and NJPW, the cross-pollination of which has helped build stars like Matt Taven and Hiromu Takahashi as well as developing stories within the company. On July 19, the company will welcome NJPW’s Jushin Thunder Liger for his last match in Mexico.

Since the news of Alonso’s passing, Chris Jericho posted a tribute to the late owner on his Instagram. In the tribute video, Jericho tearfully thanked Alonso for making him a main event star in 1993 and for being the first person who believed in him. He also said that Paco was one of the best bosses he ever had and thanked him for always taking care of him.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9TL_ZrlQE8]

All pics and videos courtesy of CMLL