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93-414: Norberto Salgado Salcedo (born March 10, 1958) is a retired Mexican luchador ( professional wrestler ), primarily known under the ring name Pierroth Jr. Salgado made his professional wrestling debut on July 1, 1984, working as a luchador enmascarado , or masked wrestler, using the name Pierroth Jr. He lost his mask as a result of losing a Lucha de Apuestas ("bet match") to La Parka in 1998. In

186-420: A Rudo (bad guy) as he attacked Volador. The storyline between the two played out over a long period of time, culminating in a Lucha de Apuesta match on July 15, 1995, where both men put their masks on the line. The event drew a crowd of 16,000 people to El Torero de Tijuana for a very profitable show. During the match Misterioso's cornerman Blue Panther attempted to injure Volador (in storyline terms) with

279-578: A torneo cibernetico elimination match to become the first champion. The following month he teamed with Villano III , Villano IV and Villano V to become the first holders of the Mexican National Atómicos Championship by defeating the team of Damián 666 , Espectro Jr., Halloween and Karis la Momia in the finals of a tournament. The championship was later vacated when Los Villanos left AAA. Latin Lover defeated Pierroth Jr. to win

372-415: A Martinete ( piledriver ). Misterioso came to the aid of his former friend, saving him from Blue Panther but ended up knocked out by a chair shot to the head. Out of respect for his former partner and in appreciation of what he had just done Volador dragged the unconscious Misterioso on top of himself and allowed the referee to count to three. Following the match Misteriosos pleaded with Volador not to remove

465-522: 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

558-453: 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 ,

651-671: A "La Parka clone" in La Parka, Jr. to take the original's place (La Parka was wrestling full-time in the US). In 1999 Super Parka worked for International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG) in Naucalpan , Mexico State where he defeated Pirata Morgan to win the IWRG Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship . He held the title for 23 days, the shortes reign for any IWRG Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion, before losing

744-568: A CMLL show. Instead of the Ibarra family trio Super Parka teamed up with his son and Valiente for his CMLL return. A couple of months later Super Parka began working a storyline feud against Negro Casas , one of CMLL's resident veteran rudos . The story line eventually led to the two captaining a team of three, facing off during the 2015 Infierno en el Ring . Super Parka teamed with Máximo Sexy and Valiente while Casas teamed up with Kamaitachi and Bárbaro Cavernario . After Super Parka's team won

837-555: 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

930-571: 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

1023-604: A draw, after which the championship was briefly vacated. Pierroth Jr. started his forth and final reign as WWC Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion on April 3, 1999, by defeating González in a rematch. The following day he also won the Universal Championship from González. His reign lasted 13 days, losing the championship back to González as part of their ongoing storyline. While Salgado had worked unmasked in Mexico since his Lucha de Apuestas loss to L.A. Park, still worked under

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1116-495: 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

1209-460: A freelance wrestler, paying off the fact that L.A. Park was one of CMLL's headline wrestlers at the time. In CMLL he lost two Lucha de Apuesta matches in quick succession being shaved bald by Héctor Garza and Último Guerrero . Super Parka has subsequently stopped working for CMLL, working select dates for various Mexican or US wrestling promotions. When he wrestles in the United States he wears

1302-421: 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

1395-526: A mask in Puerto Rico, until he lost a Lucha de Apuestas match to Ray González to end the storyline feud between the two. In 1999 Pierroth Jr. returned to CMLL after his extended stay in Puerto Rico ended. Upon his return Pierroth Jr. declared that he was a Boricua , or Puerto Rican , declaring the superiority of the Puerto Rican people over Mexicans. He began teaming with Gran Markus Jr. , who also adopted

1488-494: 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

1581-523: 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 became 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

1674-502: 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

1767-522: 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,

1860-432: 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

1953-471: 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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2046-613: A team that the EMLL officials decided should win the Mexican National Tag Team Championship from then-champions Ángel Azteca and Atlantis . Their reign lasted 287 days, until they were defeated by Ángel Azteca and his new partner Volador . Afterwards he was put together with Jaque Mate and Masakre to form a trio called " Los Intocables " ("The Untouchables"). On March 22, 1992 Los Intocables defeated Los Infernales ( MS-1 , Pirata Morgan and El Satánico ) to win

2139-508: A very talented young wrestler called Misterioso and together they won the Mexican National Tag Team title from Los Destructores on March 8, 1992. In mid-1992 EMLL booker Antonio Peña decided to break away from EMLL and form his own promotion Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA; now known as Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide ) and took a number of EMLL wrestlers with him, included in the exodus were Volador and Misterioso who took

2232-442: 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

2325-399: 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

2418-467: 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

2511-480: 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

2604-505: 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

2697-467: 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

2790-501: Is the only wrestler actively using the name. Over the years Salgado has worked for Mexican professional wrestling promotions Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA), and International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG). He also undertook several tours with the Puerto Rico-based World Wrestling Council (WWC). In 1997 and 1998 Salgado made several appearances for

2883-470: 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

Pierroth Jr. - Misplaced Pages Continue

2976-519: The lucha libre school associated with Arena Isabel in Cuernavaca , Morelos , Mexico. When Salgado made his in-ring debut July 1, 1984, he used the ring name "Pierroth Jr.", inspired by the wrestler Pierrot who was popular in Arena Isabel in the 1950s and 1960s despite not being related in any way. Salgado adopted the same black and yellow Harlequin diamond patterns for his mask and tights, ignoring

3069-519: The 1997 Royal Rumble match and were eliminated without any storylines. On March 10, 1997, Pierroth Jr. made his last WWF appearance, teaming with Heavy Metal and Pentagón to defeat the trio of Latin Lover, Héctor Garza and Octagón . Salgado left AAA in mid-1997, while still holding both the Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship, and began working on the independent circuit. At some point in 1998, he lost

3162-621: 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

3255-561: The CMLL World Trios Championship . Los Infernales regained the championship on September 20, 1992, after which Los Intocables was broken up. Pierroth Jr. defeated Jerry Estrada to become the second ever CMLL World Light Heavyweight Champion , starting a reign that would last 379 days. On April 2, 1993, Pierroth Jr.'s reign was ended by Dr. Wagner Jr. Pierroth Jr. won the mask of El Supremo as part of CMLL's "Year end" celebration on December 8, 1992. In early 1994 he won

3348-534: 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

3441-647: The Los Boricuas faction in CMLL. Following the dissolution of Los Boriquas Pierroth Jr. and Vampiro began a long-running storyline feud with Los Hermanos Dinamita , especially Cien Caras and Máscara Año 2000 . The storyline led to Pierroth and Vampiro losing a Lucha de Apuestas match in the main event of the 2004 Sin Piedad show, leaving both Pierroth and Vampiro totally bald. His last Lucha de Apuestas match took place on November 15, 2007, where he lost to L.A. Park and

3534-534: The Lucha de Apuestas match is generally considered more important than championship matches. In 1985 Salgado, working as Pierroth Jr., began working occasional shows for Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL; Spanish for "Mexican Wrestling Enterprise. Renamed Consejo Mundial de Luch Libre ; CMLL in 1992), diving his career between Arena Isabel and EMLL in Mexico City. By 1988 he was a regular performer for EMLL, winning

3627-543: The Mexican National Heavyweight Championship from Rayo de Jalisco Jr. Pierroth Jr. made his Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) debut in late 1995, joining several other CMLL workers who left the promotion to join their rival instead. In AAA, he became involved in a long-running feud with La Parka , which led Pierroth Jr. to his third reign as Mexican National Light Heavyweight Champion, which lasted 11 days. When Pierroth Jr. left CMLL he

3720-499: The Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship from Halcón 78 on April 4, 1988. The reign lasted for 156 days until he lost it to Mogur on September 7. Pierroth Jr. became a two-time Mexican National Light Heavyweight Champion on January 12, 1990 with a victory over Mogur to win the title. Pierroth Jr. began teaming with Bestia Salvaje on a regular basis in either late 1989 or early 1990, forming

3813-431: The Mexican National Tag Team Championship on March 9, 1991, when they defeated the team of Pierroth Jr. and Bestia Salvaje . The team held the championship for just 81 days before losing it to Los Destructores (Tony Arce and Vulcano) on May 29, 1991. Following the team loss Volador and Ángel Azteca broke up amicably, with each wrestler focusing on their own career from then on. In early 1992 Volador began teaming with

Pierroth Jr. - Misplaced Pages Continue

3906-645: The Puerto Rican World Wrestling Council (WWC) promotion. When he returned to WWC in 1998 he was introduced as the WWC Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion , as a storyline way to introduce the championship without holding a tournament. The championship was featured as part of a long-running storyline with Glamor Boy Shane , with whom he traded the championship back and forth in early 1999. On March 27, 1999, Pierroth Jr. wrestled WWC Universal Champion Ray González to

3999-546: The Tijuana based World Wrestling Association around the turn of the millennia. On March 31, 2000, he defeated Halloween to win the WWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship . The reign WWA Junior Light Heavyweight Champion lasted until April 30, 2002, where he lost to Super Kendo. Super Parka regained the title only a few months later and held it until June 2004, over 700 days, until he lost

4092-765: The World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as part of the AAA/WWF talent exchange agreement between the two companies. While his ring name is the Spanish name of the Pierrot character from the Commedia dell'Arte tradition, his mask and tights were decorated with the Harlequin style black and yellow diamonds, a character that traditionally would oppose Pierrot in the plays. Norberto Salgado trained under Elfego Silva and Gran Cochisse in

4185-402: 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

4278-406: The "Boricua" loyalty. Within weeks the duo became known officially as Los Boricuas and started to grow from a two-man team to a multi-man stable when they added the masked La Boricua and later on Veneno . At this point Pierroth Jr. took the nickname "El Comandate", acting like a dictator over the group, adding the female La Nazi as his personal body guard. In mid-2000 they added Violencia to

4371-734: 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

4464-415: 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

4557-517: 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

4650-753: 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 ,

4743-547: The Campeón de Campeones Championship on February 15, 1997. He started his fourth and final reign as the Mexican National Light Heavyweight Champion by defeating Latin Lover for that championship. In late 1996 AAA and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF; now called WWE) began working together, with AAA providing several luchadors that worked on WWF shows. Pierroth Jr. was paired up with Cibernético for

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4836-579: 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

4929-512: The Mexican National Tag Team Championship with them to AAA The team held the belts until August 28, 1992, where they lost them to Los Destructores as part of a rivalry that had carried over from EMLL to AAA. Volador and Misterioso regained the championship, but ultimately lost the title on February 12, 1993. Following the title loss the team started a storyline that saw the two turn on each other, with Misterioso becoming

5022-469: 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

5115-484: The Super Parka mask, something that is not allowed in Mexico, while in Mexico he wears the mask to the ring, but removes it before the match to comply with the rules of Lucha Libre. On September 11, 2015, Ibarra returned to CMLL after an almost eight-year absence. He was originally set to team with his son Volador Jr. and his nephew L.A. Park, but Park was fired in the week leading up to the show for using profanity during

5208-799: 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,

5301-556: The WWF shows, making their debut on the December 16, 1996 Raw is War show by defeating the New Rockers ( Marty Jannetty and Leif Cassidy ). That same night he defeated Matt Hardy for a Superstars taping which aired on December 22. The following night the team lost to Doug Furnas and Phil LaFon by disqualification when Cibernético pulled the referee out of the ring. The duo participated in

5394-467: The belt to Scorpio, Jr. In September 1999 he introduced his son to the professional wrestling world as he helped Volador Jr. make his debut. In 2000 Super Parka, along with Super Caló , Halloween , and Damián 666 toured Japan, wrestling for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) in August and September 2000. Super Parka would later return to AJPW, teaming with La Parka. In Mexico Super Parka began to work for

5487-469: The championship to Máscara Sagrada who took it back to AAA. After Salgado's stint with AAA and the WWF ended, he began working for the newly formed International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG) based in Naucalpan, Mexico State. He became the inaugural holder of the IWRG Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship after winning a one-night tournament by defeating Black Magic on September 29, 1997. While he

5580-687: 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 . Super Parka Ibarra made his professional wrestling debut in 1976 under

5673-412: 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

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5766-457: 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,

5859-449: The end Pierroth defeated Gran Markus and as a result Gran Markus Jr. was shaved bald afterwards. The last remaining storyline for Los Boricuas saw Violencia leave the group, which at the time was basically himself and Pierroth and had Pierroth unmask Violencia at the CMLL 70th Anniversary Show . In subsequent months Pierroth began teaming on a regular basis with Vampiro and Tarzan Boy , ending

5952-690: The fact that in the Commedia dell'Arte tradition Pierrot was the rival of Harlequin and normally dressed in white. Early in his career he won both the Morelos Light Heavyweight Championship, and the Morelos Tag Team Championship alongside El Judio. The team with El Judio later led to a storyline feud between the two that resulted in Salgado winning his first Lucha de Apuestas ("bet match") of his career, in Lucha Libre

6045-418: 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

6138-508: 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

6231-422: The group, replacing El Boricua. In the months following the CMLL 68th Anniversary Show , Gran Markus Jr. left the group, with the storyline explanation that he was tired of being under Pierroth's command. The culmination of the storyline between Los Boricuas and various defectors came on March 21, 2003, as Pierroth Jr. and Gran Markus Jr. faced off in main event of that year's Homenaje a Dos Leyendas show. In

6324-403: 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"),

6417-465: The independent circuit. When Volador lost a Lucha de Apuesta match to Pimpinela Escarlata and had his hair shaved off he was suspended by the Mexico City Boxing and Wrestling Commission for breaking the rules set for masked wrestlers. The suspension was not lifted until Ibarra stopped wrestling as Volador and worked as Super Parka full-time. While he had worked for AAA as Volador, Super Parka did not work for AAA mainly because they themselves had created

6510-479: The late 1990s Pierroth became known as Comandante Pierroth or simply Pierroth , leader of a faction of pro-Puerto Rican wrestlers in CMLL known as Los Boricuas , notwithstanding him being born in Mexico. After suffering a stroke in November 2008 Salgado retired from wrestling. Several other wrestlers have used the name Pierroth or derivatives thereof over the years, with approval from Salgado, currently Pierrothito

6603-762: 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

6696-460: The mask but Volador was a man of his word and unmasked. In March 1997 Ramón Ibarra donned a new ring persona and mask, that of Super Parka , a character inspired by his nephew Adolfo Tapia 's very successful "La Parka" character. Going so far as to copying the mask and outfit except with an orange skeleton instead of a white and a large Superman "S" on the chest. Initially Ibarra wrestled as unmasked as Volador in AAA and masked as Super Parka on

6789-436: The match both Super Parka and Casas laid out a Lucha de Apuestas challenge, daring each other to put their hair on the line for a special "bet match" between the two. Moments later CMLL officials came to the ring to sign the contract for the following week's Sin Piedad ("No Mercy") show. Casas defeated Super Parka, forcing Super Parka to have all his hair shaved off as a result. Casas' nephew Puma helped his uncle win

6882-555: The match, much to the displeasure of Volador Jr. who was in his father's corner. Volador Jr. vowed to get revenge for what he described as the Casas family's cheating ways. Ramón Ibarra is a part of an extended family of wrestlers, including his son who wrestles as Volador Jr. and his grandson who works as Flyer . His brothers also wrestle, they're known under the ring names Johnny Ibarra and El Desalmado. His nephews are lucha libre legend L.A. Park and wrestler El Hijo de Cien Caras . He's also

6975-635: The nickname El Bocazas ("The Big Mouthed One") for his long, vitriolic speeches both in the ring and back stage. Salgado adopted an intricate submission hold called "La Pierrotina", created by the original Pierrot. To execute the hold Salgado held an opponent upside down, pushing their head down on his knee while simultaneously putting pressure on their legs. 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")

7068-422: 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

7161-439: 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

7254-552: The proceeds from the show went to Salgado since he could no longer work. Shows in his hometown of Cuernavaca also paid homage and support to Salgado. Salgado made a personal appearance at IWRG's 2013 Festival de las Máscaras show on August 11, 2013, where he was presented with a plaque and received applause as he put the black and yellow mask on. Over the years several wrestlers have used the name "Pierroth", or variations on that name in professional wrestling. After Salgado adopted his militant "Comandante Pierroth" character he earned

7347-458: The ring character and mask of Oro , but Ibarra turned the offer down since the mask had limited visibility due to the mesh over the eyes. EMLL found a young wrestler to play Oro while they created another mask and ring character for Ibarra called "Volador", the Spanish term for "Flying", inspired by the Voladores of Mexico. Volador was teamed up with Ángel Azteca and together the team captured

7440-532: The ring name "Remo Banda", wrestling without a mask. Early in his career he also worked as the enmascarado "Rayo Norteno" ("Northern Lightning") but lost the mask in a Lucha de Apuesta , or bet match against El Pantera (not the current Pantera ) on July 18, 1976. From then on he wrestled as Remo Banda. In late 1990 EMLL decided that it was time for Ramón Ibarra to work as an enmascarado again as they wanted to freshen his character up after having worked as "Remo Banda" for 14 years. Initially EMLL offered Ibarra

7533-1006: 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

7626-743: 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

7719-403: 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

7812-609: The title to Super Kendo. On October 9, 2003, Super Parka was unmasked as he lost a Lucha de Apuesta match to El Hijo del Santo in the main event of a very successful WWA show in Tijuana. In 2005 Super Parka had his hair shaved off when he lost to his nephew L.A. Park (forced to change his name for legal reasons) when they were the last two wrestlers left in a cage match that also included Dr. Wagner, Jr. and Perro Aguayo, Jr. In 2007 Super Parka made several appearances for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL; previously known as EMLL) as

7905-590: 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

7998-420: 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

8091-399: 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

8184-478: Was champion for 672 days he only worked a few dates for IWRG between late 1997 and August 1, 1999, where he lost the title to Pirata Morgan. On July 20, 1998, Pierroth Jr. lost a Lucha de Apuestas match to long time rival La Parka. He was forced to remove his black and yellow mask and reveal his real name, Norberto Salgado Salcedo, to the crowd in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas. In 1997 he made his first appearance for

8277-673: 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

8370-498: 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

8463-461: Was once again shaved bald as a result. Salgado was forced to retire from professional wrestling in November 2008 after suffering a debilitating stroke . The stroke left him struggling to walk without support, confining him to a wheelchair. Salgado has been honored on multiple occasions after his retirement. In 2009 wrestlers grouped together to organize Unido X Amistad ("United in Friendship") where

8556-562: Was still the Mexican National Heavyweight Champion and the Mexico City Lucha Libre commission allowed him to defend it in AAA after he joined the company. His reign lasted 574 days, until September 20, 1996, where he was defeated by Máscara Sagrada. In mid-1996 Pierroth Jr. won two separate AAA championships; First he won the newly created AAA Campeón de Campeones Championship at Triplemanía IV-B as he won

8649-400: 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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