The wrestling landscape between AEW and CMLL has been shifting fast — and mostly for the better. Over the past year, AEW’s partnership with the historic Mexican promotion has opened doors that once seemed firmly closed. We’ve seen Bandido defend the ROH World Championship inside Arena Mexico, Mistico team with The Lucha Brothers, and even The Beast Mortos (formerly known as Black Taurus) clear a longstanding ban to appear at the AEW x CMLL “Grand Slam Mexico” show. But while many talents have benefitted from this new alliance, two notable names remain on the outside looking in: Rush and Dralistico.
According to Dave Meltzer in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, both Rush and Dralistico have been actively pushing AEW to negotiate with CMLL on their behalf. Their goal? A potential program between Dralistico and Mistico — a feud that could light up Arena Mexico and generate serious buzz (and money) for CMLL. But despite the clear potential, CMLL isn’t budging.
The root of the tension appears to stem from past exits and burned bridges. Rush’s departure from CMLL back in 2019 was anything but smooth. Instead of appearing at CMLL’s marquee 86th Anniversary Show, Rush opted to wrestle for Ring of Honor’s Death Before Dishonor, a decision CMLL didn’t take lightly. Officially, the promotion claims it fired Rush — not the other way around — and they’ve harbored resentment ever since. The situation wasn’t helped by the perception that Rush encouraged talent to explore better-paying offers outside the company.
Dralistico, on the other hand, left CMLL under far less dramatic circumstances in 2021. At the time, he was performing under the Mistico persona and eventually chose to join his brothers in AAA. While his exit didn’t stir as much controversy, CMLL’s blanket stance on keeping both him and Rush away from their events still stands.
Interestingly, Dralistico reportedly respects CMLL’s decision, even if he’d jump at the opportunity to represent AEW and La Facción Ingobernable (LFI) inside Arena Mexico. But the door remains shut — for now.
With AEW and CMLL continuing to deepen their partnership, it’s worth watching whether time — and business opportunity — will eventually thaw the ice. A Dralistico vs. Mistico program writes itself, and fans across Mexico and the U.S. would be more than willing to buy in.
But until CMLL is ready to forgive and forget, the Ingobernables remain persona non grata in Arena Mexico.
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