WWE Has Lucha Libre on the Ropes

It was fight night, and the souvenir vendors were out in force around the Arena Mexico, mecca for the Mexican style of pro wrestling known as lucha libre.

There were satin lucha libre masks for sale, posters of Mexican legends, such as Blue Demon and El Santo, and action figures of current Mexican wrestlers, such as Místico.

Jorge Rodríguez, 5, wanted none of those. His eye was on a T-shirt featuring Jeff Hardy, an American star from World Wrestling Entertainment, the U.S. league. "I like them better. I'm going to have a WWE birthday party!" he gushed. Then a vendor walked by carrying a tiny WWE wrestling ring. "Oooooh! Mom!" Rodríguez shouted.

In a country intensely proud of its wrestling tradition, the WWE is making an unprecedented push to win over Mexican fans, signing new television contracts, striking merchandising deals, launching a magazine and bringing its muscle-bound stars south of the border for live events.

"We've been working quite diligently (in Mexico) over the last couple of years," said Andrew Whitaker, president of WWE International. "It's a sea change in our brands and story lines."...More?

source: usatoday.com