Misplaced Pages

#885114

76-427: Sergio Emilio Charles Garduño (October 12, 1956 – December 28, 2012) was a Mexican luchador (or professional wrestler ), who is best known under the ring name Emilio Charles Jr. Over the years, Charles worked for all of the major Mexican professional wrestling promotions , including Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), Asistencia Asesoría y Administración and International Wrestling Revolution Group . He

152-523: A booker for CMLL. From that point on he only wrestled occasionally, on smaller CMLL shows outside of Mexico. In 2006 he announced his retirement, but ended up working select dates and matches until 2015 where he had his last known match. The Alvarado wrestling family spans three generations starting with Shadito Cruz followed by his 6 sons who all took up wrestling, as well as a third-generation of Alvarados who followed in their father or grandfather's footsteps. Jesús Alvarado's younger brothers all adopted

228-522: 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

304-453: 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 ,

380-555: 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

456-571: 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

532-726: A decade wrestled under a wrestling mask , until he and his brothers Brazo de Plata and El Brazo lost a Lucha de Apuestas match to Los Villanos in 1988 and was forced to unmask. Over the years he has teamed with his brothers to win various championships such as the CMLL World Trios Championship , Mexican National Tag Team Championship , Mexican National Trios Championship , NWA Americas Tag Team Championship , NWA World Tag Team Championship (Los Angeles version) , UWA World Tag Team Championship , UWA World Trios Championship , WWA World Tag Team Championship and WWA World Trios Championship . He started focusing more on behind

608-495: 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

684-421: 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

760-494: 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

836-445: A movie starring Frank Sinatra , but the younger Alvarado soon shortened to simply "Brazo de Oro". Alvarado made his debut as "Brazo de Oro" an enmascarado (masked wrestler) who worked mainly in tag team action with his brother who worked as Brazo de Plata ("Silver Arm") and in trios action with another brother known simply as El Brazo ("the arm"). Los Brazos, as they were billed, wrestled all over Mexico and made appearances for

SECTION 10

#1733085547886

912-570: 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

988-502: 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

1064-422: A professional wrestling career while still a teenager, despite the misgivings of his father. Local promoter and trainer Felipe Ham Lee began training Alavardo and helped convince his father to let his oldest son train for a wrestling career. When his son was ready to make his in-ring debut Shadito Cruz allowed him to use one of Cruz' old ring names "El Hombre de Brazo de Oro" ("The man with the golden arm"), based on

1140-522: 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,

1216-400: A result of his loss. As a result of the victory, Shocker regained the rights to the "Los Guapos" name. While Shocker reformed Los Guapos , initially with Máscara Mágica and later El Terrible , Bestia Salvaje, Scorpio Jr., and Emilio Charles Jr. became known as Los Talibanes (The Taleban ). As part of their image change, all three wrestlers began wearing Bedouin robes and headdresses to

1292-435: A result of losing a Lucha de Apuesta , to Máximo on October 29, 2006. In the last notable feud Charles worked, he wrestled newcomer Máscara Purpura in a series of matches, culminating in a Lucha de Apuesta bout on September 16, 2007, that Charles lost and was shaved bald as a result. After leaving CMLL in 2007, Charles worked a limited number of matches for International Wrestling Revolution Group in 2009 and two matches on

1368-432: 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

1444-471: 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

1520-543: A trio known as Los Destructores ("the Destroyers"). The group was created in the same vein as Los Infernales , a trio of rudos (bad guys) who worked well together and could produce top-quality matches with a variety of opponents. On January 31, 1988, Los Destructores defeated Hombre Bala, Jerry Estrada , and Pirata Morgan to win the Mexican National Trios Championship . Los Destructores held

1596-603: A trio with Bestia Salvaje and Sangre Chicana , referred to as Los Chacales (Spanish for " The Jackals "). The trio was one of eight teams competing in the Salvador Lutteroth Trios Tournament in March 1994. Los Chacales defeated La Ola Blanca ( Dr. Wagner Jr. , Gran Markus Jr. , and El Hijo del Gladiador ) in the opening round, Dos Caras , El Dandy, and Héctor Garza in semifinals, and finally Los Brazos ( Brazo de Oro , Brazo de Plata , and El Brazo ) in

SECTION 20

#1733085547886

1672-563: A two time NWA Middleweight champion on August 12, 1988, when he defeated Atlantis for the title once more. His run as a double champion ended on April 28, 1989, when Ángel Azteca won the Middleweight title. On November 20, 1989, Los Destructores lost the trios title to Black Terry , Jose Luis Feliciano, and Shu El Guerrero. Not long after the title loss, Charles left Los Destructores , who decided to replace him with Rocco Valente instead. On August 30, 1990, Charles defeated Javier Cruz to win

1748-493: A variation of the "Brazo" name that he had made popular, as he began wrestling as El Brazo ("The Arm"), Brazo de Plata ("Silver Arm"), Brazo Cibernético ("Cyborg Arm"), Brazo de Platino ("Platinum Arm") and Super Brazo (Super Arm). At least one of Jesús Alvarado's children followed in his footsteps as his son, Felipe de Jesús Alvarado Mendoza, began his wrestling career under the name "Brazo de Oro Jr." He later changed his name and became better known as La Máscara when all of

1824-442: 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

1900-455: 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

1976-621: Is also one of the founding members of the wrestling group called Los Destructores ("the Destroyers"), along with Vulcano and Tony Arce. He was also a key member of the group Los Guapos ("the Handsome Ones"), as well as a group called Los Talibanes (the Taliban ), both with longtime wrestling partners and friends Scorpio Jr. and Bestia Salvaje . Sergio Emilio Charles Garduño was born on October 12, 1956, in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico. His father

2052-467: 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

2128-480: 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

2204-505: 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

2280-467: 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

2356-470: 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

Emilio Charles Jr. - Misplaced Pages Continue

2432-621: 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

2508-534: 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

2584-576: The Mexican National Middleweight Championship , holding it until November 20, when he lost the belt to Octagón . Charles remained active in the Middleweight division for over three years, defeating El Dandy to win the CMLL World Middleweight Championship on December 16, 1992. He held the championship for almost ten months before Dandy regained the title on October 5, 1993. In early 1995, Charles formed

2660-539: The independent circuit in 2011. His last recorded match taking place on December 3, 2011, as he, Fuerza Guerrera and Juventud Guerrera lost to Los Payasos (Coco Amarillo, Coco Azul, and Coco Rojo) by disqualification. Charles died in 2012 of kidney failure. 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")

2736-402: 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

2812-734: 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

2888-415: 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

2964-517: 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

3040-416: The 1990s Los Brazos worked mainly for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) where Oro, Plato and El Brazo won the CMLL World Trios Championship from Los Infernales ( Pirata Morgan , El Satánico and MS-1 ) on April 6, 1993. Los Brazos lost the title to Dr. Wagner Jr. , Gran Markus Jr. and El Hijo del Gladiador . In the 1990s Brazo de Oro became the head of the wrestler's union, and also worked as

3116-753: 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 ,

Emilio Charles Jr. - Misplaced Pages Continue

3192-579: 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

3268-765: The Los Angeles-based "NWA Hollywood Wrestling". While working for NWA Hollywood Oro and Plata won the NWA Americas Tag Team Championship from Chino Chou and the Kiss on November 7, 1981. The brothers were also last holders of the Los Angeles version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship in 1982. Over the years Brazo de Oro and his brothers competed in a large number of Luchas de Apuestas ("Bet fights") where they put their masks or hair on

3344-469: 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

3420-849: 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,

3496-572: The bout. In the end Los Villanos won the match forcing all three Brazos to unmask and reveal their real names as is tradition in these types of matches. Despite losing their masks Los Brazos remained successful in the ring winning various tag team and trios titles such as the UWA World Tag Team Championship , UWA World Trios Championship , WWA World Tag Team Championship and the WWA World Trios Championship By

3572-685: 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 . Brazo de Oro (wrestler) Alvarado made his debut in 1975 and for over

3648-412: 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

3724-457: 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,

3800-631: The final of an eight-team tournament to win the vacant CMLL World Tag Team Championship . While not being a regular team, the two managed to defend the title for five months before losing it to Mr. Niebla and Shocker on January 23, 1998. After Shocker lost his mask at the CMLL 66th Anniversary Show , he stated he was okay with being unmasked since his face was "1000% Guapo" ("1000% Handsome"). He developed a narcissistic, self-obsessed rudo character, who exhibited various metrosexual traits and treated those who were not as handsome as him with scorn. In

3876-561: The finals of the one-night tournament. The following week, Los Chacales defeated La Ola Blanca to win the CMLL World Trios Championship , becoming the sixth overall championship team. Los Chacales' reign as CMLL World Trios Champions lasted 357 days, before they lost it to Dos Caras, La Fiera , and Héctor Garza at the first Homenaje a Salvador Lutteroth show on March 22, 1996. On September 1, Charles and Apolo Dantés won CMLL's Second Generation Tag Team Tournament. While most participants were second-generation wrestlers like Charles,

SECTION 50

#1733085547886

3952-418: 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

4028-526: The following months, Shocker would often team up with Bestia Salvaje and Scorpio Jr. Following a series of vignettes , Shocker convinced both of his partners to have their hair bleached blond and that they were also Guapo like him forming a group known as Los Guapos . Scorpio Jr., and Bestia Negra were both older, seasoned veteran wrestlers and neither were actually considered attractive, in fact. Scorpio, Jr.'s nickname up until this point had been  El Rey Feo ("The Ugly King"). In 2000, Shocker

4104-481: The following months, Shocker's displeasure with the rest of the team grew, and eventually, he split from the team, turning tecnico in the process. Shocker began a long-running storyline feud with Los Guapos . The storyline built to its peak at the 2001 Sin Piedad show on December 14. In the main event, Shocker defeated Emilio Charles Jr. in a Lucha de Apuestas match, forcing Charles to have all his hair shaved off as

4180-508: 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

4256-403: 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"),

4332-429: The line against their opponents. Los Brazo's most famous Luchas de Apuestas occurred on October 21, 1988, when Plata, Oro and El Brazo all placed their masks on the line in a match against another well known Lucha libre family, Los Villanos, in this case Villano I , Villano IV and Villano V . The match was the culmination of a long feud (Storyline) between the two families and saw all six wrestlers bleed profusely during

4408-762: 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

4484-422: 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

4560-439: 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

4636-693: The ring, pretending to be part of the terrorist group. The feud with Shocker and his group continued over the next two years, including several multi-man Lucha de Apuestas matches. On August 1, 2003, El Terrible defeated Bestia Salvaje in a domo de la muerte steel cage match that also included the other members of Los Talibanes and Los Guapos. The feud culminated in another six-way Lucha de Apuestas match on September 24, 2004, ending with Shocker pinning Bestia Salvaje, forcing him to have his hair shaved off afterward. Charles' schedule slowed down from 2005 to 2007, with him only working two notable storylines in that time period. The first one saw Charles shaved bald as

SECTION 60

#1733085547886

4712-479: The scenes activities in the early 1990s, where he worked as one of the bookers for CMLL and served as the head of the wrestlers' union for many years. Jesús Alvarado Nieves was born on October 7, 1959, in Mexico City, Mexico, the oldest son of Juan Alvarado Ibarra, better known as professional wrestler Shadito Cruz . Growing up Jesús Alvarado often had to look after his younger brothers, especially when his father

4788-1006: 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

4864-743: 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

4940-403: 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

5016-493: The titles for almost two years and had a series of championship defenses that drew packed houses all over Mexico. While teaming with Arce and Vulcano, Charles also worked as a singles wrestler, including a long drawn-out storyline with Atlantis . The storyline saw Charles win the NWA World Middleweight Championship from Atlantis on July 17, 1988, only to lose it back to him eleven days later. Charles became

5092-590: 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

5168-613: The tournament also included some fictional family relationships, like Hijo del Gladiador. In 1997, the makeshift team of Charles, El Satánico , and Rey Bucanero defeated Apolo Dantés, Black Warrior , and Dr. Wagner Jr. in the finals of a one-night eight-team tournament to win the CMLL World Trios Title. The team only held onto the championship for a month before losing to La Ola Azul ("The Blue Wave"; Atlantis, Lizmark , and Mr. Niebla ) on April 29, 1997. A few months later, Charles and Wagner defeated Atlantis and Brazo de Plata in

5244-420: 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

5320-399: 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

5396-451: Was a professional wrestler in the 1940s and 1950, and was known under the ring name Emilio Charles. While his father was a professional wrestler, Emilio Charles Jr. was not trained by him; instead, he was trained by Diablo Velasco and Abuelo Carrillo before making his debut in February 1980. In the mid-1980s, he joined up with the real life-brother tag team of Tony Arce and Vulcano, to form

5472-673: 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

5548-498: 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

5624-609: Was invited to work for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) on several occasions and due to his NJPW tours of Japan Scorpio Jr. and Bestia Negra often found themselves without a partner for Trios matches. Their solution was to bring in Emilio Charles Jr. to become the fourth Guapo team member, Charles Jr. like his partners used the Guapo name more ironically than factual. After returning from NJPW Shocker objected to someone joining "his" group without his approval, but at first agreed to it. Over

5700-494: Was touring Mexico, wrestling several days a week. In a 1991 interview, he recalled how he did not have time to play with other boys, as he was watching over all the Alvarado kids while both his father and mother had to work to make ends meet. At one point he began taking his younger brothers Juan and Pepe to the local wrestling arenas where they sold old wrestling magazines and worked as ushers for tips. Jesús Alvarado began training for

5776-400: 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

#885114