The Return of the Warrior Wrestling Lucha Championship
Warrior Wrestling returns for Warrior Resurrection on December 5th and so does the Lucha Championship.
Warrior Wrestling will return for the first show since the promotion went on hiatus at the end of 2023. The Chicago based promotion was active in the Chicago Heights area starting in 2018 and eventually expanded into the South Bend, Indianapolis, St. Louis, and Grand Rapids areas. Throughout the promotions existence there were three championship belts defended. One of which the Warrior Wrestling Lucha Championship will be defended at the return show, Warrior Wrestling Resurrection on Friday December 5th. Lucha Champion Gringo Loco defends the belt against Rey Horus live at Half Acre Brewing. Let’s take a deep dive into the history of the belt, and how we got to this point.
The Creation of the Lucha Championship
The championship was introduced in June of 2021 as part of the 2021 Stadium Series for Warrior Wrestling. Long before the title was introduced, Warrior Wrestling focused on lucha style wrestling as it was incorporated into nearly every card the promotion produced.
Luchadores such as Pentagon Jr, Rey Fenix, Dragon Lee, Bandido, and even Rey Mysterio took part in the first few shows produced by the promotion. Early notable matches include the Lucha Brothers vs. A-Kid (now known as Axiom) and Carlos Romo, El Hijo de Dos Caras vs. El Hijo del Fantasma (now known as Santos Escobar), Drago vs. Aero Star vs. Black Taurus vs. Gringo Loco vs. Rey Horus, and many more!
With Warrior Wrestling having such a rich history with lucha libre, it was only a matter of time before a Lucha Championship was introduced alongside the Men’s and Women’s World Championships. The belt debuted at night one of the 2021 Stadium Series. When asked about the creation of the championship and what lucha action means to Warrior Wrestling, Steve Tortorello, Warrior Wrestling founder and promoter, had this to say:
“Eric (co-promoter) and I spent a lot of time brainstorming how to do something special and new. Lucha libre had been a prominent part of Warrior Wrestling since day one, and we kicked around - what if there was a lucha specific title? We hemmed and hawed about it but ultimately agreed to it and hammered out the idea of a lucha War of Attrition and who would participate over drinks the afternoon of Day 2 of WrestleMania in Tampa in 2021. Sat at a restaurant and kept drinking beers until we had the whole idea baked.” - Steve Tortorello
Eight wrestlers entered the ring for Warrior’s signature match, the War of Attrition. The match starts as a four-on-four tag match. Whoever scores the pinfall or submission for the team chooses their tag team partner from the winning team and they square off in a traditional tag match against the other two members of the winning team. The winner of that tag match then competes in a one-on-one match.
Aramis, Arez, Dragon Bane, and Laredo Kid defeated the team of Black Taurus, El Hijo de Canis Lupus, Golden Dragon, and Gringo Loco. Aramis and Arez then defeated Dragon Bane and Laredo Kid before Aramis scored the final pinfall on Arez to become the inaugural Lucha Champion. Why have the inaugural champion decided in a War of Attrition Match?
”We thought back to how we crowned our first Warrior champ and how successful and awesome that match was, and we thought about how well modern lucha style lends itself to multi-man matches, and we thought it was a perfect fit!” - Steve Tortorello
The Four Champions in Warrior History
Arez defended the title successfully throughout the rest of 2021 with defenses against Daga, Mr. Iguana, Gringo Loco, Rey Horus, and Flamita.
The first title change came at the first show of 2022, Warrior Wrestling 18. It was also the first show outside of the Chicagoland area as the promotion ventured to South Bend Indiana.
It has here that Arez defended the title in a five-way scramble against Sam Adonis, Gringo Loco, ASF, and Drago Kid. Sam Adonis, who has been a pillar of the promotion since its first show, took home the Lucha Championship.
Adonis defended the title in a Warrior ring against Lince Dorado and Psycho Clown before taking the championship to WrestleCon as part of the WrestleCon USA vs the World show in April of 2022 where he successfully defended the title against Golden Dragon, La Hiedra and Mr. Iguana. He returned to the Warrior ring and wrapped up 2022 with successful defenses against Aramis, Rey Leon, and Johnny Warrior (John Hennigan).
Due to time commitments with other promotions, Sam Adonis was forced to vacate the title at the end of 2022. Setting the stage for another scramble match at the Bendix Arena in South Bend. El Hijo del Vikingo, Flamita and Rey Horus stepped into the ring in the main event of Warrior Wrestling 27 for the chance to become the next Warrior Lucha Champion.
After pulling off a massive dive from the top of a brick structure in the arena, Vikingo picked up the win to become the third Lucha Champion.
He defended in a four-way match against Black Taurus, Aeroboy, and Aramis at Warrior 28 and went on to face Arez at Warrior 29. The Arez match took a turn when Gringo Loco cashed in his Championship Medallion that he won back at Warrior 24 in a scramble match against Alpha Wolf, ASF, Dragón Bane, Golden Dragon, and Ninja Mack. This medallion allowed him to cash in for a Lucha Championship match at any time of his choosing. He cashed in at Warrior 29, making the match a three way and pinned Arez to become the new champion.
Gingo Loco defended the title in a triple threat at Warrior 30 against Vikingo and Gabriel Fuerza. Shortly after that match, the promotion went on hiatus. Now that Warrior is back, the first title defended in a Warrior ring will be the Lucha Championship.
The Resurrection of the Belt
Why is the Lucha Championship the first to be brought back?
“Honestly, it all comes down to logistics over art / philosophy. The Warrior Championship is with KC Navarro who’s out injured, and the Warrior Women’s Championship is with Skye Blue who is currently on hiatus from the indies following her return from injury, so the Lucha Championship is the only one to be featured on 12/5.”
Gringo Loco will defend the belt for a second time against Rey Horus on December 5th. This will be Rey’s third shot at the Lucha Championship. The belt has not been defended since June 30th of 2023. Will we see a new champion crowned? Or will Gringo Loco continue his reign as champion?
What can fans expect from the match?
Pure adrenaline! Lucha libre matches at Warrior wrestling are like getting punched in the face by a lightning bolt. Come ready to cheer and to be amazed!
Tickets are available to see the match in person here.
More From Heart As Art and around Substack
More From Other Substacks
Have you seen any Lucha Championship matches at Warrior Wrestling? Sound off in the comments below.
Thanks for reading! Be sure to subscribe to HeartAsArt.com (100% free) to receive the latest wrestling and gaming opinions, editorials, interviews, and other content straight to your inbox. Be sure to follow on socials and feel free to reach out to HeartAsArtMedia@gmail.com
