In all of CMLL’s 92 years, 2025 has so far turned out to be the biggest of them all. The oldest wrestling promotion in the world, and lucha libre standard bearer, has been on quite the roll, selling out over dozens of shows in Arena Mexico, Arena Puebla, and Arena Guadalajara over the past few months, while also strengthening its partnership with AEW through “AEW Grand Slam: Mexico City,” and talent exchanges that have seen Bandido, MJF, The Beast Mortos, Konosuke Takeshita, and others head down to Arena Mexico.
Now, CMLL is building another alliance; an unlikely one with a well known video game. On Thursday morning, the US Pokemon website announced a new alliance between Pokemon and CMLL, brought upon by the release of a new Pokemon, Mega Hawlucha. The bird-like creature, an evolved form of Hawlucha, should be very popular in Mexico, as it sports a lucha libre mask, with green and red wing colors reminiscent of the Mexican flag.
In addition to Mega Hawlucha, CMLL and Pokémon will be holding a crossover show, titled Pokémon Legends: Z-A×CMLL, taking place in Arena Mexico on September 25. The event, which will broadcast on YouTube, will see a luchador playing the Mega Hawlucha character and wrestling a match, taking on long-time fighting Pokémon Machamp. It’s unclear which CMLL luchadors will be portraying the characters.
Taking place on Thursday, Pokémon Legends: Z-A×CMLL will break the norm for CMLL, as the promotion generally runs shows in Arena Mexico on Sunday’s, Tuesday’s, and Friday’s only. It will notably be the second time Arena Mexico has been run for a mid-week show in 2025, following “AEW Grand Slam: Mexico City,” which took place on a Wednesday.
