Note On Dario Cueto’s Deal With MLW, Salina De La Renta Gone From Promotion, More

It was revealed on last night’s episode of MLW Fusion that Dario Cueto was the man behind Azteca Underground, as El Jefe finally made his return to pro wrestling. PWInsider reports that actor Luis Fernandez-Gil, who plays the role, has signed a “long-tearm deal” with MLW and while a name wasn’t given for his character on the episode, it is meant to be Cueto.

The post-credit scene featuring Cueto and Salina de la Renta was filmed secretly last month in Los Angeles. Only a few people in the company were involved or even aware it was taped. The company decided not to send screener copies to the media to keep the reveal a secret until it aired.

MLW founder Court Bauer said: “Just like with Vice, we delivered on the hype with tonight’s season finale. We started this mystery storyline last June dropping breadcrumbs on Pulp FUSION and almost a year later, fans got the satisfaction of the return of one of wrestling’s truly great villains.”

Azteca Underground is meant to be a spiritual successor to Lucha Underground, and is something MLW has been building since January 2020. Cueto was originally the owner and promoter of Lucha Underground, but was shot and killed during the season three finale. In the fourth season, his father Antonio took over (also played by Fernandez-Gil). Dario was eventually brought back to life when Aerostar put a magical medallion on his corpse during Ultima Lucha Part II. It’s unknown how much of the Lucha Underground story will carry over to MLW.

In the MLW story, Azteca Underground acquired Salina’s Promociones Dorado, and so Mil Muertes, LA Park, Hijo de LA Park and LA Park Jr are all in Azteca. De La Renta was “kidnapped” last week after recent failures. The move was made to write her out of storylines. She is now done with MLW and will not be in the company any time soon. It was implied in the video that she was sacrificed off camera for Cueto’s new temple.

Cueto will be part of the new season of MLW, which begins taping on July 10 at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia. There had been rumors of a new MLW series and that could end up being Azteca Underground. Tickets are now on sale for the taping, with Jacob Fatu, Ross & Marshall Von Erich, CONTRA Unit, Tom Lawlor, Alex Hammerstone, Richard Holliday, Calvin Tankman, Azteca Underground, Myron Reed, Gino Medina and more advertised. MLW also has dates on September 11 in Dallas, Texas and November 6 in Chicago, Illinois.