Lucha VaVOOM announces Summer Sabotage (7/29)

Los Angeles’ longest-running, most celebrated variety show returns for one night only

Friday, July 29^th at The Mayan Theatre in downtown Los Angeles

Featuring world-class Mexican masked wrestling, burlesque, comedy, music, and more

Summer Sabotage is also set to feature a unique collaboration with Sony Pictures’

new upcoming original action thriller, “BULLET TRAIN”

Tickets on sale now

Los Angeles, CA (July 6, 2022)─Los Angeles’ longest-running, most celebrated variety show, where authentic Mexican masked wrestling, burlesque, and comedy collide, is returning with Lucha VaVOOM Summer Sabotage on Friday, July 29^th at their historic home venue, The Mayan Theatre (1038 S Hill St.), in downtown Los Angeles. Tickets for this 21+ event are on sale now for $45.00‒$90.00 at TicketWeb.com.

Celebrating their 20^th anniversary this August 22^nd, Lucha VaVOOM (LVV) has been wowing audiences across the globe with their glam/slam extravaganzas for two decades. In February, LVV hosted their first live event since 2019 due to the coronavirus, selling out their Valentine’s engagement, followed by two blowout nights in May to celebrate 11 years of Cinco de Mayo craziness. From Los Angeles to Tokyo, across the U.S. and Canada, and all the way to Australia, people go crazy for this perfect combination of world-class, professional lucha libre-style wrestling interspersed with insane, high-octane burlesque performances, death-defying aerial acts, comedy, music, lowriders, tequila, tamales, and more ─ all adding up to one unforgettable night.

Summer Sabotage’s confirmed wrestling lineup includes fan favorites Li’l Cholo and Magno “The Man Mountain” Rudo, along with mini superstar wrestler and one of Mexico’s most beloved fighters Microman (as seen on ESPN, CBS News, The Telegraph and Daily Mail), Dragon Lee, Dralistico, Taya Valkyrie (four-time Reina de Reinas champion and former WWE superstar), Dama Fina (former LVV champion), Matt Classic, Mini Matt Classic, Los Crazy Chickens, Dr. Maldad, Chupacabra, Zyra, Johnnie Robbie, and Los SEXI Mexi’s (Ave Rex and Sonico).

Burlesque dancers and aerialists confirmed includes Raquel Reed (burlesque dancer from Absinthe in Las Vegas), Audrey Deluxe (burlesque artist, game-player, fantasy maker, and shimmy shaker), Veronica Yune (stunning daredevil aerialist who will be swooping down from above and stealing hearts), and Viva La Glam (San Francisco-based performer specializing in unique and dangerous acts, such as an aerial dance on chains, with metal grinding in the air, to create a magnificent display of shooting sparks as she spins at death defying heights).

Plus, comedian host Blaine Capatch will be delivering insanely off-the-cuff commentary both nights.

Summer Sabotage will also feature a unique collaboration with Sony Pictures’ new upcoming original action thriller film, Bullet Train, out only in theaters on August 5^th. In Bullet Train, Brad Pitt stars as Ladybug, an unlucky assassin determined to do his job peacefully after one too many gigs gone off the rails.

Fate, however, may have other plans, as Ladybug’s latest mission puts him on a collision course with lethal adversaries from around the globe – all with connected, yet conflicting, objectives – on the world’s fastest train…and he’s got to figure out how to get off.

From the director of Deadpool 2, David Leitch, the end of the line is only the beginning in a wild, non-stop thrill ride through modern-day Japan. With a screenplay by Zak Olkewicz based on the book by Kotaro Isaka, the film also stars Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Andrew Koji, Hiroyuki Sanada, Michael Shannon, Benito A Martínez Ocasio (Puerto Rican artist known as Bad Bunny, who is also a huge wrestling fan) and Sandra Bullock.

A wrestler, inspired by Bad Bunny’s “The Wolf”-character from the film, will be a part of the second match of the night at Summer Sabotage. Additionally, the dangerously cute and mysterious mascot Momomon will also make a special appearance at the event, plus fans in attendance will get to see the film’s trailer, special footage, and more!

About Lucha VaVOOM:

For almost 20 years, Lucha VaVOOM (LVV) has been delivering arguably the most electrifying show on earth with a mind-blowing mix of Mexican masked wrestling, burlesque, and comedy. Founded in Los Angeles in 2002 by Rita D’Albert and Liz Fairbairn, LVV — voted Los Angeles’ “Best Burlesque Show” by LA Weekly in 2012 and 2013 — is good vs. evil played out in quick, exhibition-style, one-fall lucha libre matches for maximum enjoyment and action.

LVV has created a Los Angeles tradition: from the low rider car parade escorting in performers as the crowd enters the iconic Mayan Theatre, to the local luminaries it attracts (Drew Carey, Jack Black, and more have sat in), to burlesque (which was revived in Los Angeles), to lucha libre, where masked heroic wrestlers, in character-driven style, flip, fly, and amaze.

It all comes together to make for one fun, surreal, glam-bam spectacle of raucous entertainment. You could say it’s a wrestling show for people that don’t like wrestling (and those that do). Says the Los Angeles Times, “Far-out flamboyance always prevails at Lucha VaVOOM, a spectacle of Mexican freestyle wrestling with an L.A. twist.”

For more info, visit LuchaVaVOOM.com and follow on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.

“…no one that puts on a better lucha libre show than the folks at Lucha VaVOOM. Far wackier and wilder than most professional wrestling…Lucha VaVOOM lets its freak flag fly…”

– Nerdist

Lucha Underground: Don’t Call it a Wrestling Promotion

When people talk about their favorite television shows, for example The Walking Dead, they’re discussed with a favorable disposition that all culminates with one question. What is going to happen next? Conversation regarding WWE, however, consists of “Who booked this crap?” or “Why is that guy getting a push?”

Lucha Underground is changing the way people talk about wrestling due its fresh presentation highlighted by engaging storylines, unique matches, interesting characters, and great wrestlers. Last week’s season 2 premiere stirred up quite the conversation. Some feel that it’s a joke, while others believe it’s the best thing going today. Continue reading “Lucha Underground: Don’t Call it a Wrestling Promotion” →

AAA: TripleMania Flops on the U.S. Stage

The Lucha Libre style of professional wrestling has really never been my cup of tea. However, with more and more international wrestling promotions trying to enter the American market, I decided to be supportive by ordering TripleMania 23, an event held by AAA (Asistencia Asesoría y Administración). To say I made a big mistake in ordering this show would be an understatement.

This is AAA’s biggest event of the year and there was a cool video package that was produced with a Mission Impossible theme since the franchise’s newest film installment, Rogue Nation sponsored the event. The thing is, I couldn’t enjoy it because the show was plagued with production problems from the very beginning. Continue reading “AAA: TripleMania Flops on the U.S. Stage” →

Thoughts On The Passing Of Perro Aguayo Jr.

There was some sad news over the weekend as Lucha Libre star Perro Aguayo Jr. passed away after a match in Tijuana, Mexico at the age of 35. Coincidently, this was also Rey Mysterio’s first match since being released from WWE. There are some news outlets that have reported this responsibly, but there are other places that have used misleading headlines which blame Mysterio for Aguayo’s passing.

I know the real story here is that a young man tragically lost his life, however, something needs to be said for how the media is portraying Mysterio as having sole blame in this matter. I’m sure he is extremely heartbroken over the situation, and some in the wrestling media are trying to change the narrative at the expense of Mysterio’s reputation for the sake of web site click bait.

The footage of the match shows the sequence of spots leading up to Aguayo’s passing. Everything from Aguayo taking a spinning head scissors where he bumped on the floor, to the moment he took a dropkick into the ropes to set up the 619 and even when Manik hit the ropes while Aguayo was positioned on them are all inconclusive.

The fact of the matter is that we may never know the precise moment and move that triggered the fatal injury. The only thing that is clear is that this was an accident in every sense of the word. No one is to blame, it’s a sad situation all around.

I don’t know why, but all the discussion regarding the various moves that attributed to Aguayo’s passing made me think about the time I watched video of my backyard wrestling escapades two years after I began training to become a wrestler. Watching that footage with a trained eye scared me because there were several instances where I didn’t remotely have a clue how close I was to seriously injuring myself or someone else.

I’m not saying in any way, shape, or form that the men in the ring that night were careless or untrained. It just goes to show the risk that every single person who steps into a ring is taking when they perform. The bottom line is that someone died, and that should be the focus, not whether someone is to blame or not to blame.

My condolences go out to the family of Perro Aguayo Jr. I also want to wish all of the wrestlers well who have matches coming up as we go into our favorite weekend of the year. Please, be safe, and have fun.

Can Averno help Sin Cara save face?

Hell is coming to the WWE in the form of the Luchador named Averno. He is being brought in to work with Sin Cara because he is not getting over. The two have had lots of great matches together in Mexico and Averno is considered to be Sin Cara’s best opponent. Averno is going to finish up with CMLL in June in a mask vs. mask match with La Mascara. It nice to see the company work with someone instead of giving up on them, however, I question if this is the best idea.

Continue reading “Can Averno help Sin Cara save face?” →