The process of setting up a professional wrestling show can be a difficult one, particularly for the first time. For Weyburn’s Troy Kramm, the owner of Souris Valley Wrestling, he is going one step further, setting the show up 4,000 kilometres away.
“We are going to Coalaco, Mexico, actually putting on an event there, and it is going to be historic,” Kramm said. “I was told by the individual I’m working with who runs another independent promotion called Lucha Memes that this is the first Canadian promotion to run an event in Mexico, so it is something we’re looking forward to and just ready to have a blast with.”
The idea to run a show in Mexico, as opposed to here in southeast Saskatchewan, came about after Kramm hosted a pair of luchadors from Mexico City last year. While the two were here, they became a part of Kramm’s family, and they have continued to stay in touch.
“We knew we had to continue doing stuff with them, and wanted to bring them out here again this year, but there were visa issues,” Kramm explained. “So because of that, we just decided, you know what? We’re going to make this happen. We’re going to go to Mexico and run an event there.”
Kramm added that organizing a show in Mexico comes with unique challenges. In Mexico, there are two primary wrestling promotions, AAA and CMLL. These promotions have often clashed behind the scenes in terms of contracted wrestlers, venues, and even dates of various shows. This can lead to wrestlers not being allowed to appear on shows that someone from the rival promotion is appearing on, among other issues.
There is also the fact professional wrestling in Mexico is dealt with through the Mexico City Boxing and Wrestling Commission. This means getting licensed through the commission for the show, ensuring weight classes are adhered to, and more. However, all of that paperwork has been filed and arranged, and the show is set to go on November 3rd.
One of the highlights of the card will be the defence of the Souris Valley Wrestling Championship, which was presented for the first time to Dante Leon, a wrestler from Texas, during a CWE show in Weyburn this summer.
“He’s had a number of defences, and successful defences, of that title down in Tesxas already, and he has been on a roll,” Kramm told Discover Weyburn. “He’s scheduled, his flight is booked to be out in Coacalo, Mexico, and it looks like it’s going to be a three-way match coming up, and he’s going to be in tough versus some CMLL talent and one of our friends, Sol, that was out here in Weyburn last year.”
Kramm is also hoping he can spin the success of the show in Mexico into some success here in Weyburn, and the southeast.
“We’re looking in the new year to see if it’s viable to do our own shows out here, and if it’s going to be doable,” he continued, noting over the years he has built up a number of connections in the professional wrestling industry, particularly with CWE out of Winnipeg. “We’re going to just be telling people to keep an eye out for it, and we’ll be letting people know, but definitely taking the experience I’ve learned out there.”