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Masked Republic issued the following:
PHILADELPHIA'S LARGEST MEXICAN LUCHA LIBRE SHOW EVER SLAMS INTO SOUTH PHILLY ON APRIL 27TH FOR HUGE LIVE EVENT SPECTACULAR & LIVE IPPV BROADCAST!
Packed with Mexican megastars from south of the border, Masked Republic's MaskedMania event will bring many of these TV stars to Philadelphia for the first time.
San Diego, CA - Lucha Libre, the Mexican form of professional wrestling, is woven into the culture of the country much like baseball and apple pie are here in the United States. In Mexico, in nearly every major city and dozens of smaller cities, you can find multiple lucha libre events held throughout the week, every week, all year round. But in the United States, lucha libre events are often limited to occurring in only the biggest Hispanic markets like Los Angeles, Dallas, and Chicago. Long time producers of lucha libre events and media content, Masked Republic, are looking to change that. And, Philadelphia has been named the host city for their first MaskedMania event.
The company, who's mission statement is "to expand lucha libre beyond the borders of Mexico," has brought together a line up the likes of which no east coast city outside of New York has ever seen. "There are so many fans of lucha libre all over the world," Masked Republic CEO Ruben Zamora said of his company's reason for selecting to branch out from the traditional lucha libre markets in the United States. "And right here in the U.S., there are millions of Hispanics who have both a cultural and entertainment love for lucha libre but never get the opportunity to see a truly authentic lucha libre event. A true authentic event to us means not only an event with matches fought in the lucha libre style, but packed with the same stars who have been featured on television in the U.S. for years on broadcasts emanating from Mexico."
"And, as we have seen over the past decade, the lucha libre phenomenon is not just embraced by the Hispanic community, but by wrestling and pop culture fans of all ethnicities and cultures," Masked Republic president Kevin Kleinrock added. "Whether it is the cross cultural fan support for Rey Mysterio in the WWE or people who would never even consider going to a 'professional wrestling' event selling out Lucha Va Voom shows across the country, the world of lucha libre transcends boundaries. We are excited to be bringing true authentic lucha action and stars to the city of Philadelphia."
And packed with lucha stars, this event is! In the main event of the night, two of the biggest names in the lucha world, Dr. Wagner Jr. and LA PARK (the original La Parka) will battle "Mano-A-Mano" in a rematch from their heavily praised AAA Lucha Libre battle in Mexico in December of 2012. These two veterans have been featured not only in both of Mexico's top lucha companies AAA Lucha Libre and CMLL, but PARK was a star on English language television in as well as part of Ted Turner's WCW prior to Vince McMahon's WWE purchasing the company.
Three lucha championships will also be contested at Masked Mania. Lucha legend Solar will defend his Campeonato de Maestros against his arch rival Negro Navarro. The Pro Wrestling Revolution Women's World Title (which has been defended on CMLL broadcasts) will be contested between champion and Philadelphia resident Christina Von Eerie and her challenger, Japan's Sumi Sakai. And, no authentic lucha libre event is complete without mini luchadors! Often under 5 feet tall, these smaller sized athletes deliver extremely big action in the ring.
On April 27th at MaskedMania, the Pro Wrestling Revolution World Minis Championship (also defended in CMLL) will be on the line as champion Mini Mariachi (the original Octagoncito from AAA) defends against former CMLL World Minis Champion Pequeño Pierroth.
Another element unique to the Mexican version of pro wrestling, is the category of wrestlers known as exóticos. And, the most famous of the exóticos is the former UWA World Light Heavyweight Champion Cassandro. Known as "The Liberace of Lucha Libre," and featured in a recent issue of Details Magazine, Cassandro forever changed the image of exóticos when he proved that despite his flamboyant look and attire, he was a world class athlete. And, across the ring from Cassandro will be another world class athlete in the form of "Spartan" Matt Cross. This world traveler who has wrestled in 19 different countries and appeared on WWE's Tough Enough reality competition on the USA Network.
"We wanted our MaskedMania card to be a true sampling of all things authentically and uniquely lucha libre." said Zamora. "From a number of traditional 'trios' match to a megastar main event, from minis to exóticos, and from masked heroes to high flying acrobats, because for lucha libre fans in Philadelphia this is going to be a once in a lifetime opportunity to see live authentic lucha libre Mexicana in their own backyard, we wanted the event to deliver EVERYTHING that makes the sport of lucha libre so unique and so incredible."
The event will also feature a number of U.S. based wrestlers who consider themselves luchadors by trade as well. "The lucha libre style and action has been embraced by many American wrestlers and companies over the years," said Kleinrock. "One such group is Chikara Pro Wrestling based out of Pennsylvania. We are excited to have a number of Chikara stars on the MaskedMania card including the world traveled Ophidian The Cobra, Green Ant and The Madjai Amasis. CZW's Latin Dragon will also be on the card teaming with Pro Wrestling Revolution's Ultimo Panda as well as independent standouts Chuck Taylor, Orange Cassidy, and Papadon."
Even more independent standouts will be on the card as the trio of Luke Hawx, Jeez and Ruckus take on lucha stars Damien 666, his son Bestia 666 and the legendary Sabu, who despite not being a traditional luchador, is one of the most popular American wrestlers among lucha fans in Mexico.
"We are excited to bring our first MaskedMania event to the city of Philadelphia." Zamora continued. "And, we are very excited to have Telemundo 62 as our official & exclusive broadcast media partner for the event. It was important for us to find the right partner for bringing our family friendly event to the city and Telemundo 62's commitment to the families of Philadelphia told us that they were absolutely the right partners." The media partnership will include on-air contests for family packages of tickets to the event as well as merchandise packages from Masked Republic's clothing and DVD lines and a Telemundo 62 presence at the live event. Additionally, Philly's El Zol Radio 1340 AM and El Sol Latino Newspaper have joined with Masked Republic as media partners for the event.
MaskedMania will take place on Sunday, April 27th at 5:00 PM at the former ECW Arena, now known as the 2300 Arena, located at 2300 South Swanson St in South Philadelphia. Doors will open at 4:30 PM, but VIP ticket holders will be admitted inside one hour earlier, at 3:30 PM to participate in a meet & greet with the Mexican megastars and have a chance to get autographs and photos from them. Only rows 1-3 are reserved seating, so fans wanting to insure the best seats in the house should purchase tickets in advance.
The event is also being broadcast live worldwide as an internet pay-per-view event with top caliber service Highspots.tv providing streaming services. Fans can watch the event live from anywhere in the world for only $9.95 USD. The live iPPV will feature English commentary from the team of Leonard F. Chikarason and Joe Dombrowski & can be ordered at pre-ordered at MaskedMania.com.
For more information and tickets, visit the official website for the event at www.MaskedMania.com. A toll free information line for both Spanish and English is available by calling 1-888-656-1266.
*****
Currently Announced Lineup for MaskedMania on April 27th
MAIN EVENT
MANO-A-MANO
Dr. Wagner Jr. vs. LA PARK
CAMPEONATO DE MAESTROS
Champion: Solar vs. Challenger: Negro Navarro
CAMPEONATO DE MINIS DEL MUNDO
Champion: Mini Mariachi vs. Challenger: Pequeño Pierroth
CAMPEONATO DE FEMINIL DE PWR
Champion: Christina Von Eerie vs. Challenger: Sumie Sakai
TRIOS MATCH
Damien 666 & Bestia 666 & Sabu vs.
Homicide & Blk Jeez & Ruckus
EXOTICO VS. MACHO
Cassandro El Exotico vs. "Spartan" MDogg Matt Cross
TRIOS MATCH
Ophidian The Cobra & The Madjai Amasis & Green Ant
vs.
"3 Live Gringos" Chuck Taylor & Orange Cassidy & Papadon
plus:
Latin Dragon, Frightmare, Ultimo Panda & more!
*Card Subject To Change*
Tickets & iPPV pre-orders at MaskedMania.com
Tickets can also be purchased in person in Philadelphia at
Bizarre Bazaar
720 South 5th Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19147
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