Homenaje a Dos Leyendas: El Santo y Salvador Lutteroth 1999 (Spanish for "Homage to Two Legends: El Santo and Salvador Lutteroth") was a professional wrestling major show event produced by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), which took place on March 19, 1999 in Arena México, Mexico City, Mexico. The event was to honor and remember CMLL founder Salvador Lutteroth who died in March 1987. It also honored El Santo, the most famous Mexican professional wrestler ever. The name of the annual March event would later be shortened to just Homenaje a Dos Leyendas after CMLL had a falling out with El Santo's son El Hijo del Santo, with the event honoring a different wrestler along with Lutteroth. The main event was a tag team match between the team of Hijo del Santo and Negro Casas and the team of Bestia Salvaje and Scorpio, Jr. under Lucha de Apuesta ("Bet Match") rules. This meant that each team would bet either their hair or their mask on the outcome of the match and if the team lost one of them would have to unmask (Hijo del Santo or Scorpio, Jr.) and the other would have his hair shaved off (Casas or Bestia Salvaje). The show also hosted the Torneo Salvador Lutteroth Tag Team tournament, honoring the founder of CMLL Salvador Lutteroth. The one night tournament included eight teams in total, some who worked together on a regular basis and others paired up specifically for the tournament. The card also featured a non tournament tag team match, a one on one match and a three vs. four handicap match.
Background[]
The event featured eleven professional wrestling matches with different wrestlers involved in pre-existing scripted feuds or storylines. Wrestlers portray either villains (referred to as Rudos in Mexico) or fan favorites (Técnicos in Mexico) as they compete in wrestling matches with pre-determined outcomes. The 1999 March event was the first to honor El Santo in addition to Salvador Lutteroth, with the previous shows being billed as Homenaje a Salvador Lutteroth.
In early 1999 Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) announced that they were planning on holding a one night, single elimination tag team tournament on a special show on March 19, 1999 dedicated to the memory of Salvador Lutteroth, the founder of CMLL. The tournament was the second year in a row that CMLL held a tournament named after Lutteroth, but the first time it was for tag teams. The tournament featured 8 teams in total, four teams of wrestles whose careers peaked in the 1980s and early 1990s and four teams who were looking to make a name for themselves at the time. The veteran teams included Kahoz and Scorpio, Jr., Ringo Mendoza and Super Astro, Los Misioneros de la Muerte ("The Missionaries of Death"; El Signo and Negro Navarro) and Fishman and Villano III while the younger generation was represented by the teams of Último Guerrero and Violencia, El Felino and Máscara Mágica, Olímpico and Tony Rivera and finally Mr. Niebla and Shocker.
The main event of the show was a tag team Lucha de Apuesta that came about as a result of a long running rivalry between the tecnico team of El Hijo del Santo and Negro Casas facing off against the veteran rudo team of Bestia Salvaje and Scorpio, Jr. Salvaje and Scorpio, Jr. set out to teach Casas and Hijo del Santo a lesson in respect but ended up humiliate by them when they were defeated, leading them to attack their opponents after the match.
Event[]
The opening match saw the tecnico team of La Pantera and Starman defeated Karloff Lagarde, Jr. and Valentin Mayo two falls to one in a Best two out of three falls tag team match. In the second match Blue Panther defeated Rodolfo Ruiz, the father of Averno, then known as Rencor Latino.
Torneo Salvador Lutteroth[]
The Torneo Salvador Lutteroth opened up with the new generation team of Último Guerrero and Violencia defeated the veteran rudos Kahoz and Scorpio, Jr. with the storyline being that Scorpio, Jr. was more focused on the main event match than the tournament. In the second match the very experienced team of Ringo Mendoza and Super Astro overcame El Felino and Máscara Mágica. The third match featured Los Missioneros del Muerte, who had teamed regularly since the early 1980s, defeateding the makeshift team of Olímpico and Tony Rivera. in the final first round match Mr. Niebla (winner of the first Torneo Salvador Lutteroth) and Shocker defeated the very experienced Fishman and Villano III to move into the semi-finals. Guerrero and Violencia fell to the team of Ringo Mendoza and Super Astro while Mr. Niebla and Shocker advanced to the finals over El Signo and Negro Navarro. The last match saw the veterans Ringo Mendoza and Super Astro take the match, the tournament and the trophy.
In the semi-main event Atlantis and Brazo de Plata teamed up with the 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) tall Giant Silva to take on the four man team of Gran Markus, Jr., and Los Capos (Apolo Dantés, Máscara Año 2000 and Universo 2000) in a series of handicap matches that Giant Silva participated in while working for CMLL. The sheer size of Giant Silva overpowered Los Capos as his team won two falls to one.
Main Event[]
The match between the teams of Hijo del Santo/Negro Casas and Bestia Salvaje/Scorpio, Jr. has been cited as one of the matches that confirmed that Hijo del Santo and Negro Casas were two of the most talented wrestlers in CMLL at the time. The teams quickly split the first two falls between them, with the tecnico team taking the third and deciding fall. This forced Bestia Salvaje to be shaved bald and Scorpio, Jr. removed his mask and revealed that his real name was Rafael Núñez Juan.
Results[]
- La Pantera and Starman defeated Karloff Lagarde, Jr. and Valentín Mayo in a Best two out of three falls tag team match
- Blue Panther defeated Rodolfo Ruiz
- Último Guerrero and Violencia defeated Kahoz and Scorpio, Jr. in a Torneo Salvador Lutteroth Tag Team Tournament quarterfinal
- Ringo Mendoza and Super Astro defeated El Felino and Máscara Mágica in a Torneo Salvador Lutteroth Tag Team Tournament quarterfinal
- Los Misioneros de la Muerte (El Signo and Negro Navarro) defeated Olímpico and Tony Rivera in a Torneo Salvador Lutteroth Tag Team Tournament quarterfinal
- Mr. Niebla and Shocker defeated Fishman and Villano III in a Torneo Salvador Lutteroth Tag Team Tournament quarterfinal
- Ringo Mendoza and Super Astro defeated Último Guerrero and Violencia in a Torneo Salvador Lutteroth Tag Team Tournament semifinal
- Mr. Niebla and Shocker defeated Los Missioneros del Muerte (El Signo and Negro Navarro) in a Torneo Salvador Lutteroth Tag Team Tournament semifinal
- Ringo Mendoza and Super Astro defeated Mr. Niebla and Shocker in the Torneo Salvador Lutteroth Tag Team Tournament final
- Atlantis, Brazo de Plata and Giant Silva defeated Gran Markus, Jr., and Los Capos (Apolo Dantés, Máscara Año 2000 and Universo 2000) in a Three-on-four handicap match
- El Hijo del Santo and Negro Casas defeated Bestia Salvaje and Scorpio, Jr. in a Lucha de Apuesta, Mask and Hair vs. Hair and Mask match
Tournament bracket[]
| Quarter finals | Semi finals | Final | |||||||||||||
| Último Guerrero and Violencia | W | ||||||||||||||
| Kahoz and Scorpio, Jr. | |||||||||||||||
| Último Guerrero and Violencia | |||||||||||||||
| Ringo Mendoza and Super Astro | W | ||||||||||||||
| Ringo Mendoza and Super Astro | W | ||||||||||||||
| El Felino and Máscara Mágica | |||||||||||||||
| Mr. Niebla and Shocker | |||||||||||||||
| Ringo Mendoza and Super Astro | W | ||||||||||||||
| El Signo and Negro Navarro | W | ||||||||||||||
| Olímpico and Tony Rivera | |||||||||||||||
| El Signo and Negro Navarro | |||||||||||||||
| Mr. Niebla and Shocker | W | ||||||||||||||
| Mr. Niebla and Shocker | W | ||||||||||||||
| Fishman and Villano III | |||||||||||||||
