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85-488: Daniel López López (born October 26, 1949) is a Mexican luchador ( professional wrestler ) and trainer, best known under the ring name El Satánico ( Spanish for "The Satanic One"). He was originally an enmascarado ( masked wrestler ), but lost the mask early in his career and has performed unmasked ever since. The majority of his in-ring career was spent in Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), where he worked as

170-637: A rudo (the antagonists also known as heel in professional wrestling lingo). El Satánico was one of the main members of the Los Infernales ("The Infernal Ones") stable from its creation in the early 1980s through 2008 and was a member of every single incarnation of the group. Los Infernales won the CMLL World Trios Championship three times and the Mexican National Trios Championship three times. He's also won

255-522: A luchador and luchadora respectively. In 2000, the all-female promotion company Lucha Libre Femenil (LLF) was founded. Lucha Libre has a division called the "Mini-Estrella" or "Minis" division, which unlike North American midget wrestling , is not just for dwarfs but also for luchadores that are short. The maximum allowable height to participate in the Mini division was originally 5 feet, but in recent years wrestlers such as Pequeño Olímpico have worked

340-453: A luchador code of honor. For instance, a luchador who has lost a wager match would prefer to endure the humiliation of being unmasked or having his head shaved rather than live with the shame that would come from not honoring his bet. Rudos have also been known to make the transition into técnicos after a career-defining moment, as was the case with Blue Demon , who decided to become a técnico after his wrestling partner, Black Shadow ,

425-555: A Mexican luchador named El Superbeasto. The Main Antagonist of the animated film Despicable Me 2 , El Macho, sports a costume resembling that of a luchador, consistent with his theme of Mexican culture. Television shows have also been inspired by lucha libre, especially animated series such as ¡Mucha Lucha! Cartoon Network also produced an animated miniseries based on the luchador El Santo. The WB television series Angel episode entitled " The Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinco " told

510-571: A box, labeled with the date, to be treasured. Female wrestlers or luchadoras also compete in Mexican lucha libre . The CMLL World Women's Championship is the top title for CMLL 's women's division, while the AAA Reina de Reinas Championship is a championship defended in an annual tournament by female wrestlers in AAA. AAA also recognizes a World Mixed Tag Team Championship , contested by tag teams composed of

595-560: A feud that saw Sátanico and Cochisse trade the title back and forth. On October 14, 1984, Satánico won the UWA World Middleweight Championship from Súper Astro . In March 1985 Los Infernales participated in a tournament to determine the first-ever Mexican National Trios Champions ; in the finals of the tournament, Los Infernales defeated Los Brazos ("the Arms"; El Brazo , Brazo de Oro , and Brazo de Plata ) to become

680-649: A feud with Los Hermanos Dinamita. The feud with Los Hermanos Dinamita saw Cien Caras defeat MS-1 for the NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship on June 24, 1987, ending MS-1's reign after just three months. MS-1 and Masakre defended the Mexican National Tag Team titles for just over a year until losing them to Atlantis and Ángel Azteca on April 6, 1988. El Satánico left Los Infernales as he began focusing more on singles matches and MS-1 and Masakre began arguing, then fighting after

765-495: A folk hero and a symbol of justice for the common man through his appearances in comic books and movies , while the sport received an unparalleled degree of mainstream attention. Other legendary luchadores who helped popularize the sport include Gory Guerrero , who is credited with developing moves and holds which are now commonplace in professional wrestling; Blue Demon , a contemporary of Santo and possibly his greatest rival; and Mil Máscaras (Man of A Thousand Masks), who

850-506: A further two times between 1982 and 1983 by defeating César Curiel and El Jalisco for the title, before losing it for the third and final time to Lizmark on June 3, 1986. A month after losing the Middleweight title Satánico moved from the Middleweight division to the light heavyweight division when he defeated Ringo Mendoza to win his first NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship , holding it for 87 days before Mendoza regained it. In

935-588: A head when the two teams, seven men in total, faced off in a steel cage match where the winners would earn the right to the name "Los Infernales" and the last man in the cage would lose either his mask or his hair. On September 28, 2001, Satánico's team won the right to the Infernales name and forced Máscara Mágica to unmask. After losing the match Guerrero, Bucanero and Tarzan Boy became known collectively as Los Guerreros del Infierno ( The Infernal Soldiers ). On June 23, 2002, Satánico, Averno and Mephisto defeated

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1020-421: A large number of them will be unmasked. Sometimes, a wrestler slated for retirement will be unmasked in his final bout or at the beginning of a final tour, signifying a loss of identity as that character. Sometimes, losing the mask signifies the end of a gimmick with the wrestler moving on to a new gimmick and mask. The mask is considered sacred to a degree, so much so that fully removing an opponent's mask during

1105-433: A long feud, pitting the former Infernales members against each other. The feud saw Morgan win the NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship from Satánico on October 21, 1989. In the early 1990s, Los Infernales reformed, reuniting MS-1, Satánico, and Pirata Morgan once more. The trio participated in the tournament to crown the inaugural CMLL World Trios Champions . Los Infernales won the tournament, defeating Los Brazo in

1190-494: A match is grounds for disqualification. During their careers, masked luchadores will often be seen in public wearing their masks and keeping up the culture of lucha libre, while other masked wrestlers will interact with the public and press normally. However, they will still go to great lengths to conceal their true identities; in effect, the mask is synonymous with the luchador . El Santo continued wearing his mask after retirement, revealing his face only briefly in old age, and

1275-779: A measure of revenge on Apolo Dantés as he won the CMLL World Middleweight Championship from Dantés. With the win, Satánico became one of the few people to have held both the Mexican National, NWA World, and CMLL World championship in the Middleweight division. Satánico would go on to hold the CMLL Middleweight title for a total of 1,561 days, by far the longest reign of any CMLL World Middleweight Champion. On March 21, 1997, Satánico won his third CMLL World Trios title, this time teaming up with Rey Bucanero (the nephew of Pirata Morgan) and Emilio Charles Jr. to win

1360-570: A national pop-culture phenomenon. In 1942, lucha libre would be forever changed when a silver-masked wrestler, known simply as El Santo ( The Saint ), first stepped into the ring. He made his debut in Mexico City by winning an 8-man battle royal . The public fell in love with the mystique and secrecy of Santo's personality, and he quickly became the most popular luchador in Mexico. His wrestling career spanned nearly five decades, during which he became

1445-502: A priest-turned-luchador was inspired by the story of Father Sergio Gutiérrez Benítez, a real-life Catholic priest who wrestled as Fray Tormenta to make money for his church. The documentary feature Lucha Mexico (2016) captured the lives of some of Mexico's well known wrestlers. The stars were Shocker , Blue Demon Jr. , El Hijo del Perro Aguayo and Último Guerrero . Directed by Alex Hammond and Ian Markiewicz. Rob Zombie 's animated film The Haunted World of El Superbeasto stars

1530-522: A real-life vampire invasion of New York. The Fox Kids live-action series Los Luchadores (2001) starred a trio of masked wrestlers consisting of Lobo Fuerte, Maria Valentine, and Turbine who not only participate in wrestling tournaments but also fight to protect their home of Union City from numerous threats (both natural and supernatural). Lucha libre is a recurring motif in nearly every game directed by Suda51 , starting from his directorial debut Super Fire Pro Wrestling 3 Final Bout . Most prominently,

1615-546: A result of a Lucha de Apuesta , or "bet match" against El Vengador on January 4, 1974, and never allowed to wrestle wearing the mask again as a result of the Lucha de Apuestas stipulation. On October 19, 1979, Satánico won his first wrestling championship when he defeated Cachorro Mendoza to win the Mexican National Middleweight Championship . His first reign lasted 161 days and was an indicator of what

1700-432: A result, the tag team formula and pacing which has developed in U.S. tag matches is different from lucha libre because the race to tag is not a priority. There are also two-man tag matches ( parejas ) and "four on four" matches ( atomicos ). Masks ( máscaras ) have been used dating back to the beginnings of lucha libre in the early part of the 20th century, and have a historical significance to Mexico in general, dating to

1785-471: A retired luchador character called Angel de la Plata (The Silver Angel), played by Joaquin Cosio . In the storyline, Angel de la Plata (probably based on El Santo ) was a major masked wrestling star in Mexico, appearing both in the ring and in a series of movies in which his character battled all manner of foes including vampires. A knee injury ended his career but he is called upon to use his fighting skills against

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1870-549: A rival promotion. EMLL decided to create a trio of villains , or Rudos as they're called in Lucha Libre, to capitalize on the popularity. MS-1 was teamed up with El Satánico and Espectro Jr. to form Los Infernales (the Infernals). Espectro Jr. was forced to retire due to injuries not long after Los Infernales were formed; he was replaced with Pirata Morgan and the trio of MS-1, Satánico and Pirata Morgan quickly became one of

1955-435: A series of heated matches, culminating in a Luchas de Apuestas match, a "bet match" where each competitor wagered his mask. On July 2, 1982 MS-1 lost the match and was forced to unmask per Lucha Libre traditions; the loss of the mask did not hinder his popularity any, partly because the mask was described as "very ugly" and partly because Fuentes was a good looking man. After the storyline with Rayo de Jalisco Jr. ended MS-1

2040-442: Is Dos Caras Jr. Lucha Libre has crossed over into popular culture, especially in Mexico, where it is the second most popular sport after soccer . Outside of Mexico, lucha libre has also crossed over into popular culture, especially in movies and television. Depictions of luchadors are often used as symbols of Mexico and Mexican culture in non-Spanish-speaking cultures. The motion picture Nacho Libre , starring Jack Black as

2125-455: Is also known for its tag team wrestling matches. The teams are often made up of three members, instead of two as is common in the United States. These three-man teams participate in what are called trios matches, for tag team championship belts. Of these three members, one member is designated the captain. A successful fall in a trios match can be achieved by either pinning the captain of

2210-467: Is an illegal move in wrestling and grounds for immediate disqualification, although some variants are legal in certain promotions; or when he hits his opponent in the groin (foul); when he uses outside interference; when he attacks the referee; or when he completely rips off his opponent's mask. Most matches are two out of three falls, which had been abandoned for title matches in North America and Japan in

2295-480: Is credited with introducing the high flying moves of lucha libre to audiences around the world. He achieved international fame as one of the first high-flyers, something he was not considered in Mexico, where he fell under the mat-power category. Luchadores are traditionally more agile and perform more aerial maneuvers than professional wrestlers in the United States , who more often rely on power and hard strikes to subdue their opponents. The difference in styles

2380-505: Is due to the independent evolution of the sport in Mexico beginning in the 1930s and the fact that luchadores in the cruiserweight division ( peso semicompleto ) are often the most popular wrestlers in Mexican lucha libre. Luchadores execute characteristic high-flying attacks by using the wrestling ring 's ropes to catapult themselves towards their opponents, using intricate combinations in rapid-fire succession, and applying complex submission holds. Rings used in lucha libre generally lack

2465-467: Is known as "Catch". Lucha libre wrestlers are known as luchadores (singular luchador ) and often come from extended wrestling families who form their own stables. One such line integrated to the United States professional wrestling scene is Los Guerreros . In 2018, Mexican lucha libre was declared an intangible cultural heritage of Mexico City . The rules of lucha libre are similar to American singles matches. Matches can be won by pinning

2550-659: Is the head trainer for CMLL's wrestling school in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico ( Gimnasio del Diablo Velasco ) and thus has been involved in training a lot of the wrestlers CMLL employs as well as students who have gone on to work for other promotions around the world. The following is a list of notable wrestlers López has trained: Lucha libre Mid 20th Century 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Lucha libre ( Spanish pronunciation: [ˈlutʃa ˈliβɾe] , meaning " freestyle wrestling " or literally translated as "free fight")

2635-470: Is the term for the style of professional wrestling originating in Mexico. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has developed into a unique form of the genre, characterized by colorful masks , rapid sequences of holds and maneuvers, and "high-flying" maneuvers , some of which have been adopted in the United States, Japan, and elsewhere. The wearing of masks has developed special significance, and matches are sometimes contested in which

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2720-625: The CMLL World Middleweight Championship , CMLL World Welterweight Championship once, the Mexican National Middleweight Championship three times, the NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship four times, and the NWA World Middleweight Championship five times in his career. For years López worked at the CMLL wrestling school, playing a part in the development of almost every wrestler that worked for CMLL in

2805-621: The CMLL World Mini-Estrella Championship in 1992, making it the oldest Minis championship still in existence today. Minis are often patterned after "regular-sized" wrestlers and are sometimes called "mascotas" ("mascots") if they team with the regular-sized version. In 1994, AAA promoted the When Worlds Collide pay-per-view in conjunction with the U.S. promotion company World Championship Wrestling (WCW). When Worlds Collide introduced U.S. audiences to many of

2890-578: The Copa de Arena Mexico Tournament in 1999, but did not win any titles. After working together for just under a year Bucanero and Guerrero turned on Satánico, kicking him out of Los Nuevos Infernales, replacing him with Tarzan Boy . Satánico formed his own "Infernales" with Averno and Mephisto . When Tarzan Boy was injured Los Nuevos Infernales brought in Máscara Mágica to bolster the group. The storyline between Los Infernales and Los Nuevos Infernales came to

2975-534: The French Intervention in Mexico , when Enrique Ugartechea, the first Mexican wrestler, developed and invented Mexican lucha libre from Greco-Roman wrestling . In the early 20th century, professional wrestling was mostly a regional phenomenon in Mexico until Salvador Lutteroth founded the Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre ( Mexican Wrestling Enterprise ) in 1933, giving the sport a national foothold for

3060-402: The luchador is uncommon: months can pass without it happening, because fans are the toughest of critics, booing the luchador if they are not pleased with their performance. Booing may happen regardless of the perceived virtuousness of the luchador's persona. The luchador , after receiving such an act of honor, will pick up the money and save it as a symbolic trophy, putting it in a vase or

3145-734: The "Comisión de Box y Lucha Libre Mexico D.F." (the Mexico City Boxing and Wrestling Commission), the main regulatory body in Mexico: Luchadores are traditionally divided into two categories, rudos (lit. "tough guys", who are "bad guys", or " heels "), who bend or break the rules, and técnicos (the "good guys", or " faces ", literally "technicians"), who play by the rules and their moves are much more complex and spectacular. Técnicos tend to have very formal combat styles, close to Greco-Roman wrestling and martial arts techniques, whereas rudos tend to be brawlers. Técnicos playing

3230-415: The "good guy" role, and rudos playing the "bad guy" role is very characteristic of Mexican lucha libre, which differs from U.S. professional wrestling, where many technical wrestlers play the role of heels (e.g., Kurt Angle ), and many brawlers play as "faces" (e.g., Stone Cold Steve Austin & The Rock ). Although rudos often resort to using underhanded tactics, they are still expected to live up to

3315-517: The 1970s. A unique rule in lucha libre applies during team matches (i.e., when a team's legal wrestler touches the ground outside the ring, a teammate may enter the ring to take his place as a legal competitor). Since the legal wrestler can step on the floor willingly, it is not necessary to tag a teammate to enter the match. This often allows for much more frantic action to take place in the ring than would be possible under standard tag rules. The antecedents of Mexican wrestling date back to 1863, during

3400-552: The 2000s. He later opened his own school independent of CMLL. He wrestles on a reduced schedule on the Mexican independent circuit . López made his professional wrestling debut on June 17, 1973, using the name El Satánico Dr. No ("The Satanic Dr. No") named after the James Bond movie villain Dr. No . A short time later, the name was shortened to just "El Satánico". He was originally an enmascarado , or masked character, but lost his mask as

3485-753: The Arizona Diamondbacks Major League Baseball team started doing promotions involving lucha libre. A luchador mask in Diamondback colors was a popular giveaway at one game. In 2013 a Diamondbacks Luchador was made an official mascot, joining D. Baxter Bobcat. The first 20,000 fans at the July 27 game against the San Diego Padres were to receive a luchador mask. In Spain , professional wrestling has commonly been called catch (from catch-as-catch-can wrestling ) and pressing catch . In Peru ,

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3570-557: The CMLL World Trios Title from Los Infernales; a victory that only helped increase the intensity of the rivalry. The Infernales / Brazos feud did not so much with a conclusive victory for either side but rather slowed down and then stopped when Los Infernales split up in the mid 1990s. Both Satánico and Pirata Morgan left CMLL for periods of time to work for Asistencia Asesoría y Administración , CMLL's main rival and in 1996 MS-1 left CMLL for good. After leaving CMLL Fuentes became

3655-579: The Latin American version such as more weight classes than professional wrestling in North America post World War II. Like "old school" European (especially British) wrestling, some Japanese wrestling and early 20th-century American wrestling, Lucha libre has a detailed weight class system patterned after boxing . Each weight class has an official upper limit, but examples of wrestlers who are technically too heavy to hold their title can be found. The following weight classes exist in lucha libre, as defined by

3740-469: The Minis division despite being 1.69 m (5 ft 6 + 1 ⁄ 2  in) tall. The Minis division was first popularized in the 1970s with wrestlers like Pequeño Luke and Arturito (a wrestler with an R2-D2 gimmick) becoming noticed for their high flying abilities. In the late 1980s/early 1990s CMLL created the first actual "Minis" division, the brainchild of then-CMLL booker Antonio Peña . CMLL created

3825-849: The U.S. on the Spanish-language cable networks Galavisión and LA TV. Lucha Underground is a television series produced by the United Artists Media Group which airs in English on the El Rey Network and in Spanish on UniMás . It features wrestlers from the American independent circuit and AAA. AAA also owns a percentage of Lucha Underground. The series, which is taped live in Boyle Heights, California, finished season 4 finale. In 2012,

3910-425: The age of 21, wrestling under his real name Pablo Fuentes . Within a year the rookie began working for Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL), Mexico's largest professional wrestling promotion . EMLL decided that Fuentes needed a different ring persona and created the character "MS-1" for him; MS refers to a Mexican Antiterrorist corps where MS-1 is the highest rank. Fuentes was teamed up with another wrestler who

3995-696: The character Mask de Smith from killer7 is a playable lucha libre wrestler, featuring a mask and cape. The popular video game franchise Pokémon introduced the Fighting/Flying-type Pokémon Hawlucha, which is a hawk-like humanoid creature with elements of a lucha libre wrestler. The masked Luchador fighter and chef El Fuerte was introduced to the Street Fighter franchise in Street Fighter IV . MS-1 (wrestler) Reyna made his professional wrestling debut on July 12, 1978 at

4080-412: The contract: Octavio Gaona would have to put his hair on the line. Octavio Gaona won the match and Murciélago unmasked, giving birth to the tradition. The following match types are variants of Luchas de Apuestas matches with different types of wagers. Since lucha libre has its roots more in Latin American professional wrestling than North American professional wrestling, it retains some of the basics of

4165-457: The days of the Aztecs . Early masks were very simple with basic colors to distinguish the wrestler. In modern lucha libre, masks are colorfully designed to evoke the images of animals , gods , ancient heroes and other archetypes , whose identity the luchador takes on during a performance. Virtually all wrestlers in Mexico will start their careers wearing masks, but over the span of their careers,

4250-654: The early 1980s, the Trios concept became very popular in Mexico, spearheaded by the trio called Los Misioneros de Muerte (the Missionaries of Death) who worked for rival promotion Universal Wrestling Association (UWA). EMLL decided to create a trio of villains , or Rudos as they're called in Lucha Libre, to capitalize on the popularity of the Trios phenomenon. MS-1 , El Satánico and Espectro Jr. were chosen to form Los Infernales (the Infernals). Due to various injuries Espectro Jr.

4335-422: The end of 2014, splitting his time between CMLL and appearing on independent shows. For CMLL's 2019 Leyendas Mexicanas show, El Satánico defeated El Solar on CMLL's annual tribute to lucha libre legends show. El Satanico wrestles as of January 2024 at age 74. Daniel López is considered one of the best wrestling trainers currently active in Mexico, following in the footsteps of his own mentor Diablo Velasco. He

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4420-537: The finals to become the CMLL World Trios Champions on November 22, 1991. Former Infernales member Masakre had formed his own group, Los Intocables (the Untouchables) consisting of himself, Pierroth Jr. and Jaque Mate ("Checkmate"). Los Intocables were immediately paired against Los Infernales to create a Rudos vs. Rudos storyline, playing off both the championship chase and the history between

4505-540: The finals. In the finals Los Infernales defeated Los Brazos ("the Arms"; El Brazo , Brazo de Oro and Brazo de Plata ) to become the first Mexican National Trios champions. That match was just the first match in a long running Inferlanes/Brazos storyline that would run off and on over the next decade. Los Brazos won the initial feud when they defeated Los Infernales for the Mexican Nations Trios Title on December 8, 1985. In October 1986, Pirata Morgan left

4590-597: The first Mexican National Trios champions. In October 1986, Pirata Morgan left the group to form a new group called "Los Bucaneros", in his place Los Infernales recruited Masakre to be their third member. While MS-1 and Masakre worked as a tag team, Satánico focused more and more on singles competition, which meant that Los Infernales made fewer appearances as a trio. During this time period. Satánico won his third Mexican National Middleweight title as well as his second and third NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship. During this time Satánico and Pirata Morgan were embroiled in

4675-418: The first time. The promotion flourished and quickly became the premier spot for wrestlers. As television surfaced as a viable entertainment medium during the 1950s, Lutteroth was then able to broadcast his wrestling across the nation, subsequently yielding a popularity explosion for the sport. Moreover, it was the emergence of television that allowed Lutteroth to promote lucha libre's first breakout superstar into

4760-479: The future held for Satánico as it was the first of many titles he would hold. Satánico held the Mexican National Middleweight title again in 1981-1982 and would hold it in 1988/1989 as well. On March 28, 1980, Satánico moved up from the Mexican title to the world title as he defeated Satoru Sayama for the NWA World Middleweight Championship . While his first reign lasted just 30 days he would hold it

4845-508: The gimmick has recently attained a more flamboyant outlook. Luchadores , like their foreign counterparts, seek to obtain a campeonato (championship) through winning key wrestling matches. Since many feuds and shows are built around luchas de apuestas (matches with wagers), title matches play a less prominent role in Mexico than in the U.S. Titles can be defended as few as one time per year. The two biggest lucha libre promotions in Mexico are Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), which

4930-523: The group to form a new group called "Los Bucaneros", in his place Los Infernales recruited Masakre to be their third member. On March 20, 1987, MS-1 defeated his longtime rival Rayo de Jalisco Jr. to once again win the NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship. Six days later, MS-1 and Masakre teamed up to defeat Los Hermanos Dinamita ( Cien Caras and Máscara Año 2000 ) to win the Mexican National Tag Team Championship , starting

5015-445: The history between the two groups. On March 22, 1992, Los Intocables won the CMLL World Trios Title, however Los Infernales got the final victory in their feud as they defeated Los Intocables for the championship on September 20, 1992. After the storyline with Los Intocables ended Los Infernales renewed their rivalry with Los Brazo, facing off in several main events that drew sell-out crowds all over Mexico. On April 6, 1993, Los Brazo won

5100-403: The importance placed on masks in lucha libre, losing the mask to an opponent is seen as the ultimate insult, and can at times seriously hurt the career of the unmasked wrestler. Putting one's mask on the line against a hated opponent is a tradition in lucha libre as a means to settle a heated feud between two or more wrestlers. In these battles, called luchas de apuestas ("matches with wagers"),

5185-509: The last championship of his long career when he defeated El Felino to win the CMLL World Welterweight Championship . Satánico held the title until February 24, 2004, when his former protégé Mephisto defeated him for the belt. In 2007 Satánico reformed Los Infernales once more, teaming up with young wrestlers that had recently been repackaged to more "hellish" images, Nosferatu and Euforia . The trios did not approach

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5270-762: The loser must permanently remove his mask, which is a wager with a high degree of weight attached. Tag team wrestling is especially prevalent in lucha libre , particularly matches with three-member teams, called trios . Although in English the term specifically refers to the Mexican style of theatrical professional wrestling, in Spanish it can refer to other kinds of wrestling, including competitive freestyle wrestling ( es:lucha libre olímpica ) and professional wrestling in general ( es:lucha libre profesional ) in addition to Mexican professional wrestling in particular ( es:lucha libre mexicana ). However, in Spain (as with other non-Anglophone European countries) professional wrestling

5355-453: The most successful Trios of its time. In addition to success as a team, MS-1 also saw singles success as he won the NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship from Ringo Mendoza on February 12, 1985 only to turn around and lose it to Rayo de Jalisco Jr. on June 21 that same year. In March 1985 Los Infernales participated in a tournament to determine the first Mexican National Trios Champions ; Los Infernales defeated three teams to qualify for

5440-422: The opponent to the mat for the count of three, making him submit, knocking him out of the ring for a predetermined count (generally twenty), or by disqualification. Using the ropes for leverage is illegal, and once a luchador is on the ropes, his opponent must release any holds and he will not be able to pin him. Disqualifications occur when an opponent uses an illegal grab or move, such as the piledriver , which

5525-439: The opposing team or by pinning both of the other members. A referee can also stop the match because of "excessive punishment". He can then award the match to the aggressors. Falls often occur simultaneously, which adds to the extremely stylized nature of the action. In addition, a wrestler can opt to roll out of the ring in lieu of tagging a partner or simply be knocked out of the ring, at which point one of his partners may enter. As

5610-1006: The spring supports added to U.S. and Japanese rings; as a result, lucha libre does not emphasize the "flat back" bumping style of other professional wrestling styles. For this same reason, aerial maneuvers are almost always performed on opponents outside the ring, allowing the luchador to break his fall with an acrobatic tumble. Lucha libre has several different weight classes, many catered to smaller agile fighters, who often make their debuts in their mid-teens. This system enables dynamic high-flying luchadores such as Rey Mysterio, Jr. , Juventud Guerrera , Super Crazy and Místico , to develop years of experience by their mid-twenties. A number of prominent Japanese wrestlers also started their careers training in Mexican lucha libre before becoming stars in Japan . These include Gran Hamada , Satoru Sayama , Jushin Thunder Liger , and Último Dragón . Lucha libre

5695-743: The story of a family of luchadores called "Los Hermanos Números" who also fought evil. Angel must help the remaining brother, Numero Cinco, defeat the Aztec warrior-demon that killed his four brothers. In the British TV show Justin Lee Collins : The Wrestler , Colins competes as the rudo El Glorioso , or The Glorious One, against the exótico Cassandro in The Roundhouse , London, ultimately losing and being unmasked. The book and television series The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan , features

5780-399: The success of the previous incarnations of Los Infernales, working mainly lower to mid-card matches; the group was intended to give the two young wrestlers more ring experience and further their training under Satánico's guidance. The following year, Virus became the unofficial leader of Los Nuevos Infernales , as Satánico reduced his actual in-ring work. In 2009, Satánico announced that he

5865-403: The term cachascán (from "catch as can") is used and the wrestlers are called cachascanistas . In Bolivia , wrestling Cholitas – female wrestlers dressed up as indigenous Aymara – are popular and have inspired comic books . Some lucha libre wrestlers had careers in various mixed martial arts promotions, promoting lucha libre and wearing signature masks and attire. One of the most famous

5950-404: The title until August 25, 1997, where Michinoku won it back shortly before returning to Japan. On March 7, 1999 Satánico's marathon reign as CMLL world middleweight champion ended when his old rival Ringo Mendoza won the title from him. In the late 1990s, Satánico reformed Los Infernales, recruiting Rey Bucanero and Último Guerrero to form Los Nuevos Infernales (the new Infernals). The Trio won

6035-590: The top luchadores in Mexico at the time. In recent years, several luchadores have found success in the United States. Notable luchadores who achieved success in the U.S. are Eddie Guerrero , Chavo Guerrero , Rey Mysterio, Jr. , Juventud Guerrera , L. A. Park , Super Crazy , Alberto Del Rio , Psicosis , Místico , Kalisto , Aero Star , Drago , Andrade El Idolo , Pentagon Jr. , Fenix , El Hijo del Fantasma , Bandido , Flamita , Puma King , Rush , Soberano Jr. , Dragon Lee , Guerrero Maya Jr. and Stuka Jr. CMLL lucha libre shows are broadcast weekly in

6120-422: The tournament, defeating Los Brazo in the finals to become the first CMLL World Trios Champions on November 22, 1991. Former Infernales member Masakre had formed his own group, Los Intocables (the Untouchables) consisting of himself, Pierroth Jr. and Jaque Mate (Checkmate). Los Intocables were immediately paired with Los Infernales to create a Rudos vs. Rudos storyline, playing off both the championship chase and

6205-556: The trio of Mr. Niebla, Olímpico and Safari to win the Mexican National Trios Championship. Los Infernales would only hold the Trios title for approximately 3 months before losing it to La Familia de Tijuana ( Damián 666 , Halloween and Nicho el Millonario ). Averno and Mephisto turned on Satánico shortly after the title loss and formed their own group known as La Triada del Terror (the trio of terror) along with Ephesto . On November 25, 2003, El Satánico won

6290-420: The true identity of a person losing his mask is previously unknown, it is customary for that person to reveal his real name, hometown and years as a professional upon unmasking. The first lucha de apuestas was presented on July 14, 1940, at Arena México. The defending champion Murciélago (Velázquez) was so much lighter than his challenger ( Octavio Gaona ), he requested a further condition before he would sign

6375-464: The two groups. On March 22, 1992, Los Intocables won the CMLL World Trios Title, however, Los Infernales got the final victory in their feud as they defeated Los Intocables for the championship on September 20, 1992. On April 5, 1992, Satánico defeated longtime rival Lizmark to win his fourth and final NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship. His final reign with the title lasted 111 days until Apolo Dantés beat him for it. In 1994 Satánico gained

6460-403: The two of them lost the tag team titles thus ending Los Infernales. MS-1 and Masakre faced off in a series of matches, culminating with a headline Luchas de Apuestas match at Arena Mexico that MS-1 won. In the early 1990s Los Infernales reformed, reuniting MS-1, Satánico and Pirata Morgan. The trio participated in the tournament to crown the first CMLL World Trios Champions . Los Infernales won

6545-545: The vacant titles in a one-night eight-team tournament. The trio only held the title for 39 days before they were defeated by La Ola Azur ("The Blue Wave"; Atlantis , Lizmark and Mr. Niebla ). In mid-1997 Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) wrestler Taka Michinoku toured Mexico to gain international experience. On June 20, 1997, Satánico defeated Michinoku to win the FMW Independent World Junior Heavyweight Championship . He would hold

6630-399: The wrestlers "wager" either their mask or their hair. In a lucha de apuesta (betting match), wrestlers make a public bet on the outcome of the match. The most common forms are the mask-against-mask, hair-against-hair, or mask-against-hair matches. A wrestler who loses his or her mask has to remove the mask after the match. A wrestler who loses their hair is shaved immediately afterward. If

6715-673: Was eventually buried wearing his silver mask. More recently, the masks luchadores wear have become iconic symbols of Mexican culture. Contemporary artists like Francisco Delgado and Xavier Garza incorporate wrestler masks in their paintings. Although masks are a feature of lucha libre, it is a misconception that every Mexican wrestler uses one. There have been several maskless wrestlers who have been successful, particularly Tarzán López , Gory Guerrero , Perro Aguayo and Negro Casas . Formerly masked wrestlers who lost their masks, such as Satánico , Cien Caras , Cibernético and others, have had continued success despite losing their masks. With

6800-434: Was forced to retire from wrestling altogether, which led to Pirata Morgan becoming the third Infernales , giving birth to the most successful incarnation of Los Infernales . Satánico split his time between trios matches and wrestling in the middleweight division, defeating Lizmark to start his fourth reign on December 2, 1983. By the middle of 1984 Satánico became involved in a long, draw out heated feud with Gran Cochisse ,

6885-498: Was founded in 1933, and Lucha Libre AAA World Wide (AAA). One characteristic practiced in Mexico is with fans honoring wrestlers by throwing money into the wrestling ring after witnessing a high-quality match. With this act fans honor the luchador in a symbolic way, thanking the luchador for a spectacular match demonstrating they are pleased with their performance, showing the match is worth their money and worth more than what they paid to witness such an event. This act of honoring

6970-441: Was given the name "MS-2", both of them adopted identical masks and outfits, only differentiated by the "1" and "2" on their tights. In March 1979 MS-1 and MS-2 made their in-ring debut. while Fuentes showed great in-ring skill, MS-2 did not seem to progress as fast as Fuentes and was phased out in less than a year allowing "MS-1" to work as a singles wrestler. In his first scripted feud MS-1 faced off against Rayo de Jalisco Jr. in

7055-469: Was paired up with Sangre Chicana in a very heated feud that often saw one or both men end the match with blood all over their face. The end of the storyline between MS-1 and Sangre Chicana saw Chicana defeat MS-1 in a Luchas de Apuestas match, after which MS-1 had all his hair shaved off. In the early 1980s the | trios concept became very popular in Mexico, spearheaded by the trio called Los Misioneros de Muerte (the Missionaries of death) who worked for

7140-501: Was reducing the number of shows he worked to focus on his work at CMLL's wrestling school. On March 2, 2012, he wrestled El Solar to a draw in a match for the FLLM Master Championship, which meant that El Solar retained the title. In 2014 he lost a Lucha de Apuestas match to El Dandy as part of El Dandy' retirement tour. After having worked on the independent circuit from 2012 through 2014, El Satánico returned to CMLL by

7225-400: Was unmasked by the legendary Santo . Tag teams are sometimes composed of both rudos and técnicos in what are called parejas increibles (incredible pairings). Parejas increibles highlight the conflict between a luchador ' s desire to win and his contempt for his partner. A staple gimmick present in lucha libre since the 1950s is exótico , a character in drag. It is argued that

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