October 16, 2006 Observer Newsletter: Antonio Pena, Ortiz vs. Shamrock 3

Antonio Pena, a true wrestling creative genius who is the only man to truly start a promotion from scratch and remain one of the major players in the industry in 2006, passed away on 10/5 after a reported heart attack. He is believed to have been 55 years old.

In hindsight, the death of Pena has brought to light almost an indisputable fact. There was nobody in pro wrestling who was more valuable to their company. Not Vince McMahon. Not anybody. The AAA promotion that Pena created in 1992, and has been very successful for much of the past 14 years, was on fire over the past year, drawing big crowds all over the country. With his death, the company is very much at a crossroads. There is complete uncertainty regarding its future, and probably by the end of the week, exactly what the new power structure is will be made clear. 

Pena, who came up with literally hundreds of ideas, many not successful, but some ultra successful, was the AAA promotion, a one-man promoter, booker and talent manager. His closest U.S. equivalent would be Paul Heyman, actually in many ways, with the difference is Pena’s vision had far more mainstream and long-term success, but being in prime time on the biggest TV station in the country is an advantage no U.S. promoter has had.

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