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89-409: Titán (born October 15, 1990) is a Mexican luchador enmascarado (or professional wrestler ) signed to Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), where he is the reigning CMLL World Welterweight Champion in his first reign. He also makes appearances for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He portrays a tecnico ("Good guy") wrestling character. Titan's real name is not a matter of public record, as

178-522: 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

267-453: 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 ,

356-632: A Generación Dinamita ( Sansón , Cuatrero and Forastero ) for the Mexican National Trios Championship in April 2018. Titán began 2019 by outlasting 15 wrestlers to win that year's Reyes del Aire ("Kings of the Air") tournament. For the 2019 Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles , CMLL paired Titán with long time rival Bárbaro Cavernario as they had done for the 2015 and 2018 tournaments . The rivals decided to put their differences aside for

445-555: 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

534-529: A ROH Television taping event on December 16, 2017. In 2018 he returned to ROH for one night, losing to Cody as part of ROH's television taping on June 6. Several luchadors have used the name Titán in lucha libre in addition to the current CMLL wrestler: 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")

623-571: 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

712-495: 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

801-421: 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

890-399: A locally promoted Torneo Tanque Dantes ("The Tank Dantes Tournament") in honor of Alfonso "Tank" Dantés . The duo won four matches in total and lost only one, which was enough to win the tournament. CMLL indicated that they had plans for Palacio Negro and wanted to move him up the ranks of the promotion when he was booked to win an eight-man Infierno en el Ring steel cage match , earning

979-494: 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

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1068-485: A name for themselves. Palacio defeated Rey Cometa but lost to Ángel de Oro and Rey Escorpión , only earning three points in the tournament, not enough to advance out of the preliminary round. In late 2011 Palacio Negro entered CMLL's most prestigious annual tournament the Leyenda de Plata ("Silver Legend"). He was eliminated by his longtime tag team partner Metal Blanco early in the match. On September 30, 2011, Palacio Negro

1157-570: 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

1246-502: 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

1335-522: 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,

1424-546: A regular basis and following the refurbishment for the Olympic Games, several major boxing events have been held at Arena Mexico, hosting several world title bouts. In 1990 EMLL was renamed Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), retaining ownership of the arena. Arena México hosts twice weekly wrestling events promoted by CMLL. On Tuesdays they present "CMLL Martes Arena Mexico" (CMLL Arena Mexico Tuesday) and on Fridays they present "CMLL Super Viernes" (CMLL Super Friday), which

1513-432: 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

1602-471: 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

1691-544: A rookie and a veteran teams up. The team defeated Black Warrior and Lestat in the first round and the team of Negro Casas and Puma King in the quarter finals. The team lost to Máscara Dorada and Metal Blanco in the semi-final match. Following the Gran Alternativa tournament Palacio Negro was entered in CMLL's Forjando un Ídolo ("Forging an Idol") tournament along with a number of other young wrestlers, all trying to make

1780-442: 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

1869-455: 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

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1958-467: 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

2047-480: 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

2136-505: 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

2225-467: 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

2314-464: Is often the case with masked wrestlers in Mexico where their private lives are concealed from the wrestling fans. Titán began his in-ring career in 2008, working primarily in CMLL's local Guadalajara arena under the ring name Palacio Negro . In 2011 he began working more often in Mexico City, where he was given a new mask and the ring name "Titán". Working for CMLL has also allowed Titán to compete in

2403-587: Is the promotions primary event, taped for television. Arena México also hosts all of CMLL's feature events and Pay-Per-View shows and have done so since the arena opened in 1956. From the 1950s to near the end of the 20th century, Arena Mexico was a major venue for boxing as well. During this time, all of Mexico’s boxing greats, except Julio César Chávez have fought here. Some of those that have include Rubén Olivares , Chucho Castillo , Carlos Zárate Serna , Pipino Cuevas , Julio Guerrero , Famoso Gómez , Memo Téllez , Miguel Castro and Raúl Rodríguez. Arena Mexico

2492-470: 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

2581-460: The 2009 Torneo Tanque Dantes (with Guerrero Samurai II), 2012 En Busca de un Ídolo , Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles ( 2019 Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles ) (with Bárbaro Cavernario ) and the 2019 Reyes del Aire . In lucha libre it is traditional to keep the true identity of a masked wrestler a secret, not revealing their real names and occasionally not revealing what previous ring names they have competed under. At times

2670-621: 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

2759-622: The En Busca de un Ídolo tournament was to wrestle on all three 2013 Fantastica Mania shows, an annual series of shows held in Japan and co-promoted with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). In early 2013 Titán suffered a herniated disc during a match, an injury that forced CMLL to vacate the Welterweight Championship on March 20. On June 30, Titán, La Máscara , and Rush defeated Los Invasores ( Kráneo , Mr. Águila and Psicosis ) to win

Titán (wrestler) - Misplaced Pages Continue

2848-534: 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

2937-402: 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

3026-734: 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

3115-415: 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

3204-517: 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

3293-653: The 2017 Super Junior Tag tournament , losing in the first round to Los Ingobernables de Japón (BUSHI and Hiromu Takahashi ). He ended the tour on November 5, with Titán and Dragon Lee losing to The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) at NJPW's Power Struggle ppv. In 2019 he returned for the Fantastica Mania tour, capping off the tour with an unsuccessful challenge for the Mexican National Trios Championship as he, Atlantis and Ángel de Oro lost to La Nueva Generación Dinamita (Sansón, El Cuatrero and Forastero). He spent all of May working in Japan, participating in

3382-423: The 2019 Gran Alternativa tournament. They defeated Negro Casas and Yago in the first round, before they lost to Bárbaro Cavernario and Espanto Jr. in the second round. On December 3, 2019, Titán and Soberano Jr. outlasted Audaz , Negro Casas, Drone , Fuego , Fugaz , Dulce Gardenia , Rey Cometa, Star Jr. , Stigma , and Templario to qualify for a match for the vacant CMLL World Welterweight Championship

3471-533: The 26th Best of the Super Juniors tournament. He earned a total of six points in the tournament with victories over Taka Michinoku , Tiger Mask, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru , before losing the remaining tournament matches and ended up seventh in his block. He was invited back for the 2019 version of the Super Junior Tag League alongside Volador Jr. The team earned eight points, to finish in fourth place in

3560-581: The A Block. Titán finished with 12 points, advancing to the semi-finals. In the semi-final round, Titán defeated El Desperado . In the tournament finals, Titán was defeated by Master Wato . In August 2017 Titán participated in the CMLL/NJPW/ Ring of Honor /RevPro-promoted War of the Worlds UK tour, replacing an injured Atlantis as a CMLL representative, making his debut for both Ring of Honor and in England. On

3649-753: 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 ,

Titán (wrestler) - Misplaced Pages Continue

3738-579: 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

3827-492: The Mexican National Trios Championship. On December 1, 2013, Titán regained the Mexican National Welterweight Championship from Averno. For the 2013/2014 Leyenda de Plata tournament , Titán outlasted Atlantis, Averno, La Máscara, Olímpico , Delta, El Felino , Tritón, Tiger , Stuka Jr. , Okumura, and Virus to qualify for the final. Two weeks later, on January 4, 2014, Negro Casas defeated him in

3916-568: The Mexican National Welterweight Champion on January 22, 2016, during the Fantastica Mania 2016 tour. Titán returned to NJPW on July 20 to take part in the 2016 Super J-Cup , losing to Will Ospreay in his first round match. Titan, along with Angel de Oro , returned to New Japan Pro-Wrestling on October 21 at Road to Power Struggle event where they took part in 2016 Super Jr. Tag Tournament . They were eliminated in

4005-469: 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

4094-849: 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,

4183-542: The United States for Ring of Honor and in Japan for New Japan Pro-Wrestling , where he is a member of the Los Ingobernables de Japon stable, as both companies are affiliated with CMLL. He is a former Mexican National Welterweight Champion , CMLL World Tag Team Champion (with Volador Jr. ), Mexican National Trios Champion with partners La Máscara and Rush and a former DTU Nexo Champion with Tritón . During his career he has won several CMLL tournaments such as

4272-642: 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 . Arena Mexico The location

4361-400: The construction of Arena Coliseo in Mexico City. After Arena Coliseo opened in 1943, Arena Model served as the location for EMLL's wrestling school. By 1953 even Arena Coliseo was too small for the crowds EMLL's shows were attracting, Lutteroth promised to "build the largest wrestling arena in the world" on the site of Arena Modelo and construction started not long after. Arena México, as it

4450-412: 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

4539-457: 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,

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4628-473: The early 1990s in CMLL. The two were teamed up with Shocker , backing him up in a storyline feud against Atlantis , Guerrero Maya Jr., and Delta, collectively known as Los Reyes de la Atlantida ("The Kings of the Atlantis"). Metro was originally announced as part of the group, but did not appear with the team outside of a press conference. The storyline with Los Reyes was dropped a few weeks later when Shocker

4717-482: The eventual champion Ángel del Mal; he would later be unsuccessful in a title match against Ángel del Mal. By the end of 2010 Palacio Negro, along with Metal Blanco, made his wrestling debut in Mexico City , appearing at CMLL's primary venue Arena Mexico . The duo teamed up with Sagrado in a tournament to determine the number one contenders for the Mexican National Trios Championship . The team

4806-478: The final of the tournament. On February 18, Titán, La Máscara and Rush lost the Mexican National Trios Championship to La Peste Negra (El Felino, Mr. Niebla and Negro Casas). Titán and Bárbaro Cavernario were paired up for the 2015 Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles ("Inicredible teams tournament) as part of an ongoing storyline rivalry between the two over the Mexican National Welterweight Championship. The team lost to Rey Bucanero and Volador Jr. in

4895-663: The final, where he defeated Euforia to claim his first major victory. As part of his reward for winning the tournament he was given a title match for the CMLL World Middleweight Championship against Dragón Rojo Jr. on the July 21 Super Viernes Show , in which he was unsuccessful. Titán would later defeat En Busca de un Ídolo rival Pólvora to win the Mexican National Welterweight Championship Another prize that Titán earned by winning

4984-644: The finals. In February, Titán appeared on the Fantastica Mania tour, where he competed in the Interfaction Tag Team Tournament, teaming with Bushi, but lost to Ultimo Guerrero and Atlantis Jr. in the finals. The day after the tournament, Titán defeated Soberano Jr. to retain the CMLL World Welterweight Championship . Titán returned to NJPW in May to compete in the 2023 Best of the Super Juniors tournament, where he fought in

5073-510: The finals. On the final day of the tournament, Titán teamed with Clark Connors , YOH and Robbie Eagles , in a losing effort to Wheeler Yuta , El Lindaman , Ace Austin and Alex Zayne . At Declaration of Power on October 10, 2022, Titán returned to NJPW under a mask, aiding Los Ingobernables de Japon (LIJ) in a tag-team match against United Empire . After the match, Titán revealed himself and requested to join LIJ. The stable accepted Titán into

5162-704: The first night he unsuccessfully challenged Kushida for the ROH World Television Championship , followed by losses on nights two and three as well. For the December 2017 ROH PPV Final Battle , Titán teamed up with Dragon Lee and Flip Gordon to unsuccessfully challenge Bullet Club ( Adam Page , Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) for the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship . The following day The Young Bucks defeated The Best Friends ( Beretta and Chuckie T ) and Dragon Lee/Titán at

5251-498: The first round by Roppongi Vice . He returned to Japan to work the 2017 Fantastica Mania tour, and was later invited to work both days of NJPW's " G1 Special in USA " tour on July 1 and 2, losing to and then defeating Los Ingobernables de Japón with various partners. He toured with NJPW from September 10 through November 5 as part of their "Road to Power Struggle" tour. As part of the tour Titán teamed up with Dragon Lee to participate in

5340-550: The first round to eventual tournament winners El Terrible and Euforia. After being unsuccessful in both the Forjando un Ídolo and the Sangre Nueva tournaments Titán entered CMLL's En Busca de un Ídolo ("In search of an Idol"). The tournament used a point system that allowed fans to vote online, allowing Titán to advance to the second round despite only winning one of his four first round matches. The fan support propelled Titán to

5429-541: The first round. Two months later, Titán lost the Mexican National Welterweight Championship to Bárbaro Cavernario. In December 2015 he unsuccessfully challenged Dragón Rojo Jr. for the CMLL World Middleweight Championship, losing two falls to one. In 2018, Titán began to team with his old partner Tritón and Esfinge , forming a trio known as La Excelencia Tapatia ("Masked excellence") and later as "One Atos". The trio unsuccessfully challenged La Nuev

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5518-418: 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

5607-504: The following week. Titán defeated Sobreano Jr. two falls to one, to become the 34th CMLL World Welterweight Champion. As a result of winning the 2012 En Busca de un Ídolo , Titán participated in his first Japanese tour as part of the 2013 Fantastica Mania tour. During the tour Titán worked with, and against NJPW wrestlers such as Tama Tonga , Jushin Thunder Liger , Tiger Mask , Bushi , and Ishii . He returned to NJPW later that year as

5696-508: 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

5785-634: The group, where he became the first full-time non-Japanese member. The following month, Titán teamed with LIJ stablemate Bushi to challenge for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships , however, the duo lost to Catch 2/2 ( Francesco Akira and TJP ). Titán and Bushi continued to team in November, where they participated in the Super Junior Tag League . The duo finished with 12 points, failing to advance to

5874-403: 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"),

5963-762: 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

6052-598: The officially listed debut date indicates when a wrestler began wearing a specific mask and using a name, not the professional wrestling debut. In the case of Titán, it is believed that he did not work under a different name before making his 2008 debut. He made his professional wrestling debut under the name "Palacio Negro" ("The Dark Palace"). Initially he worked in Guadalajara , Jalisco , home of one of Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre 's main wrestling schools. In 2009 Palacio Negro teamed up with Guerrero Samurai to participate in

6141-422: 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

6230-439: 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

6319-605: The rings to remove Azrael's mask as per the Lucha de Apuestas ("Bet match") stipulation. The cage match also include a wrestler who would be his future tag team partner, Metal Blancomid . Palacio Negro remained in Guadalajara for most of 2009, gaining more in-ring experience and continuing to train under Gran Cochisse and El Satánico . Palacio Negro lost a challenge to win the Occidente Welterweight Championship by

6408-503: The sole Mexican participant in NJPW's Best of the Super Juniors tournament (BOSJ) based on his performance during the Fantastica Mania tour. Titán ended up winning three of his eight matches in the tournament, finishing the tournament with six points. From January 14 to 19, 2014, Titán took part in his second Fantastica Mania tour with New Japan Pro-Wrestling, working mostly undercard matches. Titán unsuccessfully challenged Cavernario for

6497-950: 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

6586-743: 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

6675-403: 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

6764-590: 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

6853-406: The tournament, opting to wear ring gear that was a combination of both of their normal wrestling gear. The duo defeated Blue Panther and Máscara Año 2000 in the first round, Soberano Jr. and Sansón in the quarter final, Carístico and Mephisto in the semi-finals, and Volador Jr. and Último Guerrero to win the tournament. In October 2019, Titán was teamed up with rookie Súper Astro Jr. for

6942-465: The tournament. The two defeated the teams of El Desperado and Kanemaru , Ryusuke Taguchi and Rocky Romero , Tiger Mask and Yuya Uemura , TJP and Clark Connors . On May 1, 2022, Titán was announced to be participating in the 29th annual Best of the Super Juniors tournament as a part of the B-Block. He finished with a record of 4 wins and 5 losses, ending in 8 points, therefore failing to advance to

7031-420: 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

7120-399: 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

7209-673: 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

7298-498: 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

7387-648: Was one of 14 men putting their mask or hair on the line in an Infierno en el Ring steel cage match, the match (which also included Metal Blanco, Toscano , Guerrero Maya, Jr. , Ángel de Plata , Delta , Okumura , Leono , Yoshihashi , Leo, Maléfico, Sagrado and Pólvora) ended when Palacio Negro pinned Loco Max, forcing Max to be shaved bald after the match. Palacio Negro and Metal Blanco stopped appearing in Mexico City in early November 2011 in preparation for being repackaged with new masks and ring names. The two were reintroduced as Titán (Palacio Negro) and Tritón (Metal Blanco), presented as new versions of characters used in

7476-523: Was originally a general-purpose arena called Arena Modelo. Arena Modelo was built in the 1910s or 1920s for boxing events. By the early 1930s the arena was abandoned until professional wrestling promoter Salvador Lutteroth began promoting wrestling, or Lucha libre events in Arena Modelo on September 21, 1933. For the next ten years it served as the main venue for Lutteroth's promotion Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL) until Lutteroth commissioned

7565-422: Was renamed, stood complete in 1956 and is still the largest arena built specifically for professional wrestling. From 1956 and forward Arena México has been the main venue for EMLL and all of their Anniversary shows . In 1968 it was selected to be the location of the boxing competition at the 1968 Summer Olympics that was held in Mexico City. Since its construction, Arena Mexico had been hosting boxing shows on

7654-436: Was successful, advancing to the final by defeating Los Guerreros Tuareg ( Arkangel de la Muerte , Loco Max and Skándalo ) and Los Cancerberos del Infierno ( Euforia , Nosferatu and Pólvora ). In the final the team lost to Ángel de Oro , Diamante and Rush , who would go on to win the championship. Palacio Negro was paired up with the veteran Averno to participate in the 2011 Gran Alternativa tournament, where

7743-404: Was taken off the shows for personal reasons. Titán took part in the 2012 Reyes del Aire tournament, but was eliminated as the fourth out of 18 wrestlers. CMLL held a Torneo Sangre Nueva ("New Blood Tournament"), similar in concept of the Forjando un Ídolo tournament, and Titán was the last man eliminated by eventual tournament winner Dragon Lee . He teamed with Máscara Dorada but lost in

7832-420: Was the scene of some of “Púas” Rubén Olivares major victories and it was the scene of his last fight, when he was beaten by newcomer Ignacio Madrid. Most of the biggest fights fought in Mexico during the 1960s to 1970s period took place here. One notable world championship fight occurred here in 1989, when Ghanaian Nana Konadu fought Mexican Gilberto Román in the superflyweight division. No one anticipated

7921-400: 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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