Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) luchador El Soberano Jr is the current Mexican National Welterweight Champion, who has shown breakout potential during his matches in CMLL and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) over the past few years. He recently spoke to National Public Radio (NPR) regarding him and his wife repurposing their Lucha Libre sewing operation towards making masks to help protect individuals during the COVID-19 outbreak.
“We make everything for the Lucha Libre experience here at our workshop,” he told NPR while discussing the topic. While Mexico has fewer cases in North America than Canada and the United States, there remains a concern of the outbreak continuing to worsen throughout the country.
According to NRP, El Soberano Jr was initially hesitant to make surgical masks, due to only having experience sewing full face masks used in professional wrestling. However, his mind changed one day as explained by his wife Marissa Espinoza Rodríguez.
Early one morning, I heard this noise coming from the sewing room. By the time I got up, he had sewn several different types.
Due to the majority of wrestling in Mexico being shut down, including El Soberano Jr’s home promotion CMLL, the couple needed a source of income. The move has caused over 200 orders to come in for Soberano each week, as he styles masks based on recognizable luchadores throughout the history of the business.
Soberano Jr is taking orders on his Facebook page, but it is unclear where customers go to place an order. Many have suggested the luchador open an Etsy page to handle all of his incoming orders. The couples’ move to produce protective masks has allowed them to be financially comfortable while providing masks at an economical rate ($6.26 according to the NPR piece).
CMLL has yet to announce when they will return to their regular running schedule. Soberano Jr will likely continue making protective masks until that time.
