Lucha-libre superstar Laredo Kid spoke with Sports Illustrated to hype this evening’s episode of MLW Fusion. Highlights from the interview can be found below.
What lucha-libre means to him:
For me, it is my entire life. I have been in this business for 18 years, but it is so more than that. Lucha libre is a culture in my country of Mexico, it is my greatest passion.
On his mask:
My mask and all the gear I use signifies an eagle, the eagle of the Bravo River. I have always identified with her. She represents force, speed, and power.
Wanting to be a star in America:
I grew up in a town near Texas, so I know all about American wrestling. It’s amazing that people in America know about me. That means so much to me and for my career. There are so many new opponents and matches in America, and I need to prove here that I am one of the best in the world. A long time ago, promoters told me that I could only be a star back home and nowhere else. Now I have starred in Mexico, America, and other countries, too. That’s amazing for me. I take a lot of pride in knowing people from the United States like my style.
On his goals to improve on his lucha skills:
Yes. Lucha libre is more than many people realize. It is all kinds of wrestling, and I can do it all. That’s why in promos I call myself the most complete luchador. I work the Japanese strong style, high flying, fast-paced, submissions, everything. I am going to show that to fans in America and across the world.
On wanting to work MLW:
MLW is a great company with a lot of amazing talent, so when they called, I was interested. There are so many people I wanted to wrestle, like ACH and Lio Rush and Gringo Loco. I am very happy to be in MLW. At some point, I hope there is an opportunity to work with their champion [Jacob Fatu]. I would like to bring that championship back to Mexico.
On facing Omega at TripleMania:
It’s the biggest match of my career. Kenny Omega is one of the greatest wrestlers in the world. He has had great matches in New Japan and AEW. Now I have the chance to wrestle him at TripleMania. I have prepared for TripleMania, and it is an opportunity I wanted for a long time. I always put great pressure on myself, and I know I need to do something different in the ring with Kenny. This needs to be great for our fans. It is a big, big show. People around the world pay attention to TripleMania. And this is one of our biggest shows ever, especially with no fans. We need it to be special. Now we have a collaboration with Marvel, so there are going to be lots of surprises this year. For me and Kenny, this is our first time going one-on-one. We wrestled in AEW, and we wrestled last year at TripleMania, but never one-on-one until now. You ask me about AEW. I would like to do more matches with them. I hope they like my style and what I can do in the ring. AEW is a great company, and it would be an excellent opportunity for me.