sek69 Posted October 6, 2006 Report Share Posted October 6, 2006 Hall of Fame promoter passes away by Dave Meltzer The web site of Super Luchas magazine has reported that Antonio Pena passed away earlier today. Early reports indicate the death was due to a massive heart attack. Early reports list his age at 53, although other sources have his age at 58. No other details are available, although he had been ill for some time and over the past few weeks it was largely rumored he was in bad shape. The promotion itself continually denied the rumors, claiming he was out of the country working on business deals at one point, and at other points claiming he was ill due to bronchitis. He is expected to be buried in Mexico City tomorrow afternoon. Pena was a pro wrestler in the 70s, who later became head of creative for the EMLL promotion. He was booker at the time pro wrestling got popular on television in the late 80s in Mexico City. In 1992, he quit EMLL, and with the help of the Televisa Network, formed the AAA promotion. The promotion set business records throughout Mexico from 1992-94, allowing wrestlers like Rey Misterio Jr., Eddy Guerrero, Octagon, La Parka, Psicosis, Juventud Guerrera, Latin Lover, Perro Aguayo Jr. and countless others to achieve their first tastes of superstardom. To casual fans and the general public, it has been the most popular group in Mexico for the past few years, and draws significantly higher TV ratings and draws larger crowds for big shows outside of Mexico City than rival CMLL. This is fairly big news, some folks are predicting the demise of AAA as well. To put it in a US perspective, this would be like if Eric Bischoff dropped dead during the Monday Night Wars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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