'Enchantment Entertainment': In return to New Mexico, WWE hints at state's roots

RIO RANCHO — If you attended “WWE Monday Night RAW” at the Rio Rancho Events Center, you were treated to an exhilarating night of wrestling.

But for the hardcore fan, or a spectator with a keen eye, you may have noticed some homages to the Land of Enchantment’s roots inside WWE’s squared circle.

In the Southwest of the United States, you cannot talk about wrestling without talking about “Lucha Libre.” Lucha Libre is a fast-paced, free-style of wrestling performed by masked fighters. Born in Mexico in the early 20th century, many top talents, or “luchadores” as they are known, made their names with this fighting style.

WWE’s current hottest luchador? Penta. The 40-year-old professional, from Ecatepec, Mexico, has established his name in Lucha Libre circuits over the last decade before joining the WWE company at the beginning of 2025.

Penta came out to a roar of excitement, with the star ready to perform just four hours away from his home country. But those cheers quickly turned into groans when the crowd saw his opponent.

El Grande Americano.

Translated to “The Big American,, El Grande Americano is the cheap American rip-off of Luchador culture. His patriotic colored mask, his dirty moves in the ring and his up-to-no-good sidekicks at ringside are truly a spit in the face of Lucha Libre.

So, in front of a crowd from a city and state deep-rooted with Hispanic culture, Americano was not exactly a crowd favorite.

“Real luchadores are made in Mexico,” one sign in the crowd said.

Americano’s foul tricks were on display at RREC, including trying to rip Penta’s mask off (a major insult in Luchador culture) and sneaking weapons and dirty moves behind the referee’s back.

But no matter what was up his sleeve, Penta had an answer. Penta’s signature hand signal he uses translates to “zero fear,” and that was exactly what the superstar showed in the ring. Overcoming Americano’s antics, Penta hit his opponent with a ‘Mexican Destroyer” finishing move to pin Americano for the victory.

A key pillar of Lucha Libre culture is respect, and let’s just say, Americano did not earn Penta’s.

Speaking of respect (or disrespect), WWE Intercontinental Champion and AAA Mega Champion Dominik Mysterio came out to the ring later in the night to talk some smack.

“Bow down to the king of the luchadores, ‘Dirty’ Dom Mysterio!” Dominik Mysterio said.

Dominik’s flaunting quickly brought out someone to shut him up. Luchador legend, and his father, Rey Mysterio.

“You can say you are the greatest champion of all time; I don’t care,” Rey Mysterio said. “But I have to draw the line when you say you are the king of the luchadores. Every time you say that, insultas nuestra cultura (you insult our culture), you insult our family, the name, our blood.”

Dominik Mysterio’s rise to the top at just 28 years old has been impressive, but to say he is the best of the long line of luchadores may be a stretch.

“What about Santo? Blue Demon? Eddie Guerrero?” Rey Mysterio said with a loud echo of “Eddie! Eddie! Eddie!” chants breaking out from the crowd.

The late great Guerrero, a close friend to the Mysterios and WWE legend, has a history with New Mexico. The Hall of Famer grew up in El Paso before attending the University of New Mexico and then later New Mexico Highlands University on a wrestling scholarship. He would then head to Mexico to train to become a professional wrestler.

“I am not gonna stand here and let you disrespect Lucha Libre,” Rey Mysterio said.

The confrontation then turned into a scuffle, with Rey scaring off Dominik. This meeting is likely hinting at a match between the two later this month in the Mysterios’ hometown of San Diego.

Whether it was intentional or a coincidence, WWE created a connection with the New Mexican crowd in their first-ever broadcast from Rio Rancho. There is only one question left to ask: When will WWE be back?