Nashville-based Aro Lucha signs Rey Mysterio; offers fans a chance to own company

Legendary professional wrestler Rey Mysterio has joined Nashville-based Aro Lucha as a performer and co-owner of the company and will appear on the first season of the upstart promotion’s television show.

And Aro Lucha is just getting started adding owners to the company. Beginning Saturday, Aro Lucha will embark on a unique crowdfunding campaign where fans will be able to turn their investments into a minority stake in the company.

The first season will begin taping in Nashville in the coming months, co-founder and CEO Jason Brown said.

Aro Lucha is seeking to carve out a unique niche in the professional wrestling landscape by focusing on lucha libre-style wrestling and a family-friendly approach. Co-founded by Brown, professional wrestling veterans Ron Harris and Don Harris, the company has already produced a handful of successful test run shows in Nashville and Texas.

With Mysterio, who was rumored to be considering a return to the WWE, on board, Aro Lucha is hoping to position itself as the go-to promotion in the United States for fans of the high-flying, acrobatic style of wrestling that emanates from Mexico.

"I think what we are doing with Aro Lucha being fan-owned is revolutionary," Mysterio said. "We are giving the fans something they have never had before, a voice and a chance to get in on the action."

During President Barack Obama's final years in office, the federal government relaxed investor regulations, allowing companies to sell shares of stock to non-credited investors. The practice is relatively new, just taking effect in 2016.

But the opportunity allows companies like Aro Lucha to raise up to $1 million by selling a minority stake in the company to fans. According to a report by the Securities and Exchange Commission from 2017, the median amount raised by companies utilizing the new tool was $171,000.

More: Lucha libre-style wrestling association launches in Nashville

Brown said raising some additional capital is just a small part of the strategy. The goal is to attract wrestling fans who will have a vested interest in supporting the product. Professional wrestling breeds rabid fans who follow the ins and outs of story lines and character development.

But Aro Lucha is believed to be the first fan-owned promotion, Brown said.

"This gives fans a chance to get in on the action, but more so than that it really gives them a voice," Brown said. "Especially at a company like ours, fans are so passionate. They critique every storyline, every character. Well we're able now to actually listen to them."

Brown said the company is still working through how fans will be able to provide feedback. But Aro Lucha is getting off the ground with some added momentum because of the addition of Mysterio.

The former WWE champion is a professional wrestling icon with a massive social media following. Mysterio exemplifies the lucha libre style that Aro Lucha is embracing.

Brown said the company believes Hispanic fans in the U.S. are craving a promotion that features the style that Mysterio mastered on his way to the top of the industry.

Aro Lucha sold out its debut event at the Nashville fairgrounds, where its pilot episode was filmed. Then, the company took the promotion on the road where it held house shows in Texas.

After bringing in 600 total fans for two shows its first weekend in Texas, Aro Lucha brought in about 1,500 per night for sold-out shows the second weekend. Brown said fans were mostly Hispanic, but there was diversity in the audience.

And the show especially appealed to families, since Aro Lucha aims to produce clean content that parents approve of their children watching. That's a departure from the more mature storylines that mainstream promotions feature on their television shows.

Wrestling veteran Konnan will lead the company's creative department, overseeing which wrestlers are featured storylines for the television productions.

Brown said the company is deciding between a few different options for where to produce the television show in Nashville, with filming expected to begin in May or June. Other live events for the Nashville area are also in the works.

And though Aro Lucha hasn't found a television partner yet, Brown said the company was committed to distributing its content as widely as possible, even it meant taking on the risk and selling the television advertising itself.

"We believe we have a product that fans will want to embrace, to really invest themselves in and something the whole family can enjoy," he said.

Reach Nate Rau at 615-259-8094 and nrau@tennessean.com. Follow him on Twitter @tnnaterau.