A situation involving work visas in the United States could prove catastrophic for CMLL and its partnership with All Elite Wrestling.
PW Insider reports that the U.S. work visas for 20 CMLL performers in Mexico are in the process of being canceled by the U.S. government. If this happened, it could be months before new visas to go through the approval process and be issued.
The CMLL stars at risk include:
- Volador Jr.
- Hechicero
- Mascara Dorada
- Blue Panther
- Dulce Gardenia
- El Sagrado
- El Suicida
- Electrico
- Espiritu Negro
- Euforia
- Fugaz
- Gemel
- Diablo 1
- Diablo 2
- Magico
- Robin
- Sangre Imperial
- Soberano
- Templario
- Referee Sagaz
Why the Visas Are at Risk
Sources close to the situation said that visa blowup is a result of Texas independent wrestling promotion Full Blown Pro Wrestling, which had sponsored the group visas for CMLL talent, running into issues with CMLL management. CMLL head Salvador Lutteroth had placed other employees, one of whom was heading up the legal department for CMLL but has since left the promotion, in charge of the visa process.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security contacted FBP2 promoter Jerry Cadena with questions regarding the visas. He was informed that he could be accused of fraud if the vias were flagged. Cadena then contacted CMLL about working together to iron out the problem but CMLL\'s side claimed they would take care of the issue via the United States Embassy in Mexico.
What\'s Next?
Unless something massive changes very soon, the aforementioned talents won\'t be able to legally perform in the U.S. until a new work visa is acquired. This could take months to iron out, and could be as long as a year.
Several CMLL talents have matches booked for WrestleMania week in Philadelphia. Of course these matches would have to be scrapped in the event of their visas no longer being legal. There\'s also the question as to what this would mean for AEW. Volador Jr., Hechicero, and Mascara Dorada have all competed for AEW as of late and this situation will impact which CMLL stars AEW can call upon to work events.
