Two long-time competitors in Mexico’s AAA promotion, Drago and Aero Star, have been expanding their reach as luchadors into the American and Canadian realms of pro wrestling.
Drago and Aero Star got started in AAA in 1998 and 2003, respectively, but have only been active in Canada and the U.S. over the last 10 years. Both men became known in America when they joined Lucha Underground in 2014, filmed in Boyle Heights and downtown Los Angeles.
They were both with the company from its launch and stayed until it shut its doors for good in November 2018.
“The Aero Star character is already very known thanks to Lucha Underground, which was the project that catapulted my career to other countries,” Aero Star told SlamWrestling.net on a trip to Toronto in January.
Drago said that Lucha Underground is the reason people know Aero Star and himself, and it has created so many international opportunities for them.
While being in Lucha Underground and AAA, Drago and Aero Star started to get more bookings in the States. Their first big showing on the American indys was when they competed in the 2015 PWG Battle of Los Angeles (BOLA).
PWG has a cult-like following in the indys and BOLA is its annual flagship event, so that is a great place to start. After that first appearance in PWG, they moved on to CHIKARA just a few days later. They teamed up along with Fenix to compete in the 2015 King of Trios tournament as Team AAA.
They ended up winning the CHIKARA 2015 King of Trios tournament by defeating The Bullet Club’s AJ Styles and The Young Bucks. Both of these tournaments allowed American wrestling fans to familiarize themselves with these two luchadors, and Drago spoke very highly of fans in the States.
“I think that the States has the most dedicated and passionate fans,” said Drago.
Drago also said working in so many places allows him to share his talent with more people.
“I carry Mexican wrestling into many parts of the world and it has opened doors to other places where I never imagined us,” said Drago.
Aero Star and Drago have both worked for Impact Wrestling and MLW, while Aero Star has also recently shown up in AEW.
The main point of travelling outside of Mexico is to open up doors to work in many different places, said Drago. The more he is willing to travel, the more people he can share his lucha libre with.
Aero Star pointed out that when they are in Mexico, they are working almost every day and all the time, so their work there is nothing new. He said the ability to travel creates a lot of hype around them.
Being outside of Mexico gives them more opportunities to draw in fans, “because we come by set dates, people are waiting for our return,” said Aero Star.
Both Aero Star and Drago made their first appearances in Canada in 2017, at Smash Vampiro’s Underground Invasion in Toronto. This was a collab show between Smash Wrestling and Lucha in the 6, and in the main event, Aero Star defeated Drago.
They then did not return to Canada for nearly five years, and just came back this year at Smash Wrestling’s Any Given Saturday 9 in Toronto and Any Given Sunday 9 in London in January.
Drago said it was great to return to Canada because he enjoys interacting with Canadian audiences. He said they watch and enjoy wrestling in a very different way than Mexican fans.
“In 2017 it was great and refreshing the first time in Canada and this second time was just as fantastic,” said Aero Star.
Both Drago and Aero Star said they made the decision to return to Canada and Smash Wrestling for the second time because working for Smash is a “fabulous experience.”
“I appreciate the opportunity they gave us and we hope to return soon,” said Aero Star.
He also applauded the wrestlers at Smash for putting on great performances and he said it was an overall great experience being in Canada once again.
They both said they want to continue to travel and gain a following in as many places as they can.
TOP PHOTO: Drago and Aero Star at Smash Wrestling in London, Ontario, in January 2023. Photo by Steve Argintaru
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