Former WWE Star And Several NJPW Stars Announced For CMLL Gran Prix

By Eric Mutter
Samuray Del Sol during his Kalisto days WWE

Since 2016, an annual tradition of CMLL's summer is the International Gran Prix – an event that pits eight of the biggest stars in CMLL against eight international outsiders from companies across the globe. This year's card happens on August 18, and CMLL is looking to go big with several notable NJPW stars and one former WWE Superstar this time around.

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The field for both Team Mexico and Team World was announced on "CMLL Informa" last night, and the two most notable names for Team World are Samuray Del Sol, best remembered for his run in WWE as Kalisto, and current IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi. The duo is joined by NJPW's KUSHIDA, Francesco Akira, TJP, and Rocky Romero, as well as Adrian Quest and Gatoh Move star Baliyan Akki.

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Takahashi's Gran Prix appearance is a homecoming of sorts. He spent his excursion in CMLL from 2014 to 2016, which started a notable feud with Dragon Lee. It will be Takahashi's second CMLL appearance this year, following a brief stop at the end of June. As for Del Sol, it will be his first-ever appearance for CMLL and first-ever match in Arena Mexico — having previously been associated with CMLL's competitor, AAA.

As for Team Mexico, the team will feature Angel del Oro, Averno, Dragon Rojo Jr., Ultimo Guerrero, Mascara Dorada 2.0, Templario, Volador Jr., and Mistico — best remembered as the original Sin Cara in WWE. In addition to the patriotic overtones, the match will also continue stories between rivals Averno and Guerrero, Romero and Volador, and Romero and Dorada, who will face off in the Leyeda de Plata final this Friday.

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