EXCLUSIVE: Vampiro says he was kept in dark on negotiations between AAA and WWE, WWE style of storytelling will be a barrier to getting over with fans in Mexico

Vampiro, a former longtime AAA wrestler and part of the office, said he was kept in the dark when it came to any negotiations between WWE and AAA prior to WWE taking majority ownership of the promotion in 2025.

“I don’t really have the best opinion ’cause one… first of all thank you very much for having me on your show and letting me interact with you and your audience, so I appreciate that,” said Vampiro during an exclusive interview on Radican Worldwide that is available now for PWTorch VIP members. “I was never really 100% accepted into AAA because I came from another company down there. So, even though I was in the office and I had a long career there in AAA, I was never really 100% one of the boys in, in the office right?

“So, I was never told about a lot of things and that sounds really crazy. And I never knew about the negotiations with WWE. I found out on Instagram about three weeks after the deal was done. So, I was never considered, I was never invited to be part of it. I was never involved in the conversations. I didn’t even know. So, in saying that to you,I, as soon as my retirement run had ended (in 2024), I had stopped talking to them about two months before that.”

Even though Vampiro was kept in the dark on negotiations, he believes that Mexicans don’t like WWE taking a controlling ownership in AAA so far. “So, my opinion on what’s happened,” said Vampiro. “I think it’s great that wrestling in general is growing at the speed it is. I don’t know what’s going on with WWE and AAA in Mexico. I know the Mexicans don’t really like it. I know the Mexican fan is more supportive of something that’s more traditionally 100% from Mexico. So, the CMLL is getting a huge boost. All of the indie promotions are rebirthing their importance. There’s so much more work now on the indie scene down here.

“I can only hope that WWE will give the opportunity to the Mexican talent, as they know how to do that. Bring them to the United States, but don’t change their wrestling style, you’re gonna lose what lucha libre is supposed to be. It’s two different mindsets, so I don’t know if that helps you with that answer. I wish them luck. God bless them. I would love to see it work. I just don’t know where it’s at right now in the eyes of the fans.”

Vampiro believes that fans in Mexico are used to having generational storylines, which might be a stumbling block when it comes to them embracing WWE’s style of storytelling where story arcs and characters change quickly. “I think one of the things that is hard, that’s hardest for the Mexican fan to identify with, you know, these are, Mexican fans are used to, I’ll give you a name like El Santo or Rayo de Jalisco,” said Vampiro. “Like, these are the names that the great-grandfather knows, then the grandfather, the father, and the son. So this is generational storylines that aren’t really storylines. They’re cultural icons.

“So, when you have the WWE style of television where the storylines change within two weeks, there’s not a lot of opportunity for the Latino fan to get invested in ‘cause they’re not used to that style of storytelling, so I see that. And then when you bring a Mexican wrestler who’s culturally not hip to the speed of things in the United States culturally, that’s where the problem is lying. I don’t think it’s anything other than that.”

Sign up here and GO VIP to listen to Vampiro’s exclusive interview on Radican Worldwide talking all aspects of his career ahead of his retirement match at JCW’s Strangle-Mania: Viva Los Violence.

JCW’s Strangle-Mania: Viva Las Violence event on April 17 will be available to watch with a subscription to Triller TV+.