Bandido Set For CMLL Return, More Backstage News On AEW's Upcoming Arena Mexico Debut

All Elite Wrestling's partnership with Mexican promotion CMLL will be taken to the next level in June 2025 when the two companies host a trilogy of events in the legendary Arena Mexico. AEW already has a number of luchadors on its books, and one of which is current ROH World Champion Bandido, but due to the fact that he primarily wrestled for CMLL's rival company, AAA, it was originally believed that Bandido of the handful of wrestlers that simply weren't allowed to compete over the summer.

That looks to have changed according to Dave Meltzer in the most recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, who has reported that an agreement has been made that would allow Bandido on the show if CMLL wanted to have him, due to the fact that his voice can be heard in the trailer AEW put together to promote the "AEW Dynamite" Grand Slam: Mexico on June 18. Meltzer noted that Bandido will be one of the luchadors travelling to Arena Mexico given that he is the ROH World Champion, as ROH are set to be involved as a separate brand on the Fantastica Mania Mexico event on June 20.

The same currently can't be said for former ROH World Champion Rush. He was, at one point, the biggest star CMLL had. However, he left the company in 2019 on rocky grounds after choosing to work for Ring of Honor over CMLL on the same day, causing himself and his younger brother Dragon Lee to be fired. Meltzer noted that Rush returning to Arena Mexico would be a huge deal, and would certainly boost already booming ticket sales, but considering he wasn't allowed to work at last year's Forbidden Door pay-per-view due to CMLL's involvement, it will be a much tougher task getting Rush in Arena Mexico than Bandido.

In total, stars from All Elite Wrestling are reportedly set to appear on four different events from June 17 to June 21, with Meltzer claiming that there will be AEW on the card for the June 21 "Sabados de Coliseo" event, which takes place on day after the aforementioned Fantastica Mania Mexico card on June 20.

As for the Grand Slam Mexico event on June 18, both Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay are no only set to appear, but also wrestle dur to the fact that the two men are on the promotion posters together. Meltzer noted that Omega being part of the show is a very big deal as he was the AAA Mega Champion as recently as December 2021, and only had to vacate the title due to injury, making him one of AAA's biggest foreign imports in recent years turning up in a rival promotion. For Ospreay, he has made it very clear that wrestling at Arena Mexico has been a personal goal of his, and if he manages that, he will have become one of only a few performers who have performed at Madison Square Garden, the Tokyo Dome, Wembley Stadium, and Arena Mexico, the latter of which being the last for Ospreay to tick off his list.

The task of getting tickers for the event has been difficult due to how hot CMLL is as a promotion as they routing put over 10,000 people into their weekly Arena Mexico show every Friday. Tickets are reportedly selling at an extremely quick rate, despite boosted prices due to AEW's involvement, and the Grand Slam Mexico event on June 18 is on course to not only selling out, but also being one of the biggest crowds to have ever witnessed a show at Arena Mexico.