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67-708: Columba trained for his professional wrestling career with trainers Dragón, Tarzán Moreno, Jorge de la Cruz and Rafael Salamanca prior to making his in-ring debut. He made his debut on December 16, 1986, as the enmascarado ("masked") character Águila Real ("Royal Eagle") working primarily in and around his native Tamaulipas early in his career. In 1991 he started working for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) where he modified his name to Rey Águila ("King Eagle"). On September 1, 1991, he won his first ever Lucha de Apuesta , or bet match, forcing his opponent Charger to unmask. The Apuesta victory marked his first significant success with CMLL. After working as Rey Águila for

134-543: A 1966 mask vs mask match. His own mask was pulled off by opponent Big Daddy during a televised match in December 1975, an important turning point in Daddy's rise in popularity. Nagasaki later voluntarily unmasked in a ceremony in the ring on TV in December 1977. By 1986 he was back under the mask and was the top villain of All Star Wrestling from this point until his second retirement in 1993. Another successful masked wrestler from

201-410: A champion there. Independent Mexican wrestlers may use a lot of gimmicks, including some that may be based on copyrighted characters from American television shows, such as Thundercats and X-Men . (These gimmicks are often changed if the wrestler playing them makes it into AAA or CMLL; the most prominent example of non-compliance with this method is midget wrestler Chucky from AAA, whose gimmick

268-496: A common sight in the United States and Canada , but masked wrestlers have a long history in that region, dating back to 1915. A mask sometimes will be used by a well known wrestler in a storyline where they must get around various "stipulations" or betray a trust without revealing their true identity. For instance wrestlers who are suspended in a storyline return under a mask under another name, usually with it being very obvious who

335-468: A component of more outlandish characters such as the tag teams Les Piranhas and Les Maniaks (a team of evil masked clowns) and Mambo Le Primitiv, based on the film character of King Kong . This tradition continued in the early 21st century with Cybernic Machine, a masked wrestler playing a "computer virus" character, who was a successful heel in France. The original wrestling masks were often masks attached to

402-463: A few months CMLL decided to change his ring character to Lynx instead, giving him a "big cat" character instead, complete with a mask adored with ears and the markings of whiskers. On July 28, 1996, Lynx defeated Ángel de Plata to unmask him. In 1997 Columba dropped the "Lynx" character and instead adopted a new rudo character known as Violencia ("Violence") while working for CMLL. For a short period of time he teamed with Violencia II but that character

469-517: A five-year extension on its TV wrestling monopoly from January 1982 to December 1986. However, by the mid-1980s Dixon had won over many wrestlers and fans from Joint who were tired of the Big Daddy -orientated direction of Joint. Eventually this culminated in All Star gaining a TV show on satellite channel Screensport and later, a slice of ITV's coverage from 1987 until the end of ITV wrestling in 1988. By

536-525: A gimmick. In the subsequent years many wrestlers would put on a mask after they had been used in an area, or territory, that their popularity and drawing ability diminished, it would be an easy way for a wrestler to begin working in a new area as a "fresh face". Sometimes workers wore masks in one territory and unmasked in another territory in order to keep their two identities separate. Many wrestlers have had very successful careers while masked such as The Destroyer/Dr. X , Mr. Wrestling , Masked Superstar and

603-520: A good impression may be offered a developmental or even a full-professional contract. The advent of the Internet has allowed independent wrestlers and promotions to reach a wider audience, and it is possible for wrestlers regularly working the indie circuit to gain some measure of fame among wrestling fans online. Additionally, some of the more successful indies have video distribution deals, giving them an additional source of income and allowing them to reach

670-581: A large enough crowd to fill such a venue were they able to do so. Instead, they make use of any almost open space (such as fields, ballrooms, or gymnasiums) to put on their performances. Some independent promotions are attached to professional wrestling schools , serving as a venue for students to gain experience in front of an audience. As independent matches are seldom televised, indie wrestlers who have not already gained recognition in other promotions tend to remain in obscurity. However, scouts from major promotions attend indie shows, and an indie wrestler who makes

737-534: A larger audience outside of their local areas. Unlike the North American or Japanese products which have large, globally renowned organisations such as WWE and New Japan Pro-Wrestling with several hundred smaller promotions , Australia only has approximately 30 smaller independent circuit promotions which exist in all but one of the states and territories, that being the Northern Territory . Tours from

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804-750: A major national promotion such as WWE , All Elite Wrestling (AEW) (which also owns Ring of Honor (ROH)), or Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in the United States, Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide or Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre in Mexico, or New Japan Pro-Wrestling , Dragongate , All Japan Pro Wrestling , World Wonder Ring Stardom or the CyberFight promotions in Japan. It is also not uncommon for veteran wrestlers who have had past tenures with major promotions to appear on independent shows, either as special attractions or as

871-525: A major promoter with shows featuring himself as headline heel. In 1958, when Bert Assirati was stripped of the British Heavyweight Championship , Lincoln formed the BWF alliance of promoters to support Assirati's claim, later recognising Shirley Crabtree as champion. Lincoln's BWF was eventually bought out into Joint in 1970. Welsh promoter Orig Williams also used the BWF name, promoting from

938-451: A mascara in Spanish, “draws from Mexican history in which Mayans and Aztecs warriors would complete for superiority”. The style of the masks represent “animals, gods, mythological figures and other elements of Mexican folklore”. "The mask is the luchador's identity, both in and out of the ring. Luchadores will keep their faces and real names a secret throughout their entire lives; some of

1005-407: A masked heel. Doing so, however, was banned under French wrestling rules - if unmasked, a wrestler would crouch on the mat face-down until the referee restored his mask. One of the earliest successes of televised wrestling in France was the feud between babyface masked wrestler L'Ange Blanc , and black clad heel masked wrestler Le Bourreau de Bethune Another successful masked heel of the 1960s

1072-518: A region and maintain a consistent schedule. After Vince McMahon , seeking regulatory relief, gave in 1989 testimony in front of the New Jersey State Athletic Commission where he publicly admitted pro wrestling was in fact a sports-based entertainment, rather than a true athletic competition, many state athletic commissions stopped regulating wrestling. This obviated the need for complying with many expensive requirements, such as

1139-474: A top that snapped in the groin making it very uncomfortable for the people wearing it. If the masks were not attached to the top, then they were made from uncomfortable material such as brushed pig skin, leather or suede . In the 1930s, a Mexican shoe maker called Antonio Martinez created a mask on request from Charro Aguayo that became the standard for wrestling masks created since then. The basic design consists of four pieces of fabric sewn together to create

1206-422: A way to prolong their careers. The "indie" scene in the United States dates back to the days of regional territories. When a promoter ran opposition in even one town controlled by a National Wrestling Alliance sanctioned territory, they were often called an "outlaw" territory. This is considered by some to be a forerunner to indies since some stars of the past got their start in these low quality local rivals to

1273-482: A week or once a month in local towns. Independent promotions are usually local in focus and, lacking national TV contracts, are much more dependent on revenue from house show attendance. Due to their lower budgets, most independent promotions offer low salaries (it is not unusual for a wrestler to work for free due to the fact most promoters can only afford to pay well-known talent). Most cannot afford to regularly rent large venues, and would not be able to attract

1340-402: A wrestler before taking the mask off to show his face. Unmasked wrestlers will wager their hair instead, risking having his or her head shaved bald in case of defeat. There can be several reasons to book a luchas de apuestas beyond the obvious purpose of elevating the winner. If the loser is a younger wrestler, then the loss of the mask can sometimes lead to a promotional push after unmasking, or

1407-569: Is based on the Child's Play movies.) Until 1984, no independent puroresu promotion per se existed in Japan; potential talent went directly into the training dojos of either New Japan Pro-Wrestling or All Japan Pro Wrestling . ( International Wrestling Enterprise also was a third-party promotion until 1981.) The advent of the Japanese Universal Wrestling Federation offered a long-sought third alternative. From 1986 to 1988

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1474-475: Is said to have the most luchas de apuestas , with over 200 masks won. The Destroyer , an American, was the first masked wrestler to work in Japan during the 1960s but remained a novelty with very few Japanese wrestlers choosing to wear a mask. The first Japanese masked wrestler is considered to be Shozo Kobayashi , who briefly competed under a mask as Fukumen Taro ("Masked Taro"). In the 1970s Mil Máscaras became

1541-484: Is under the mask. Examples of this include: Hulk Hogan as Mr. America , Dusty Rhodes as The Midnight Rider , André the Giant as Giant Machine , Brian Pillman as The Yellow Dog , The Miz as The Calgary Kid , Dan Marsh as Mr. X and Bo Dallas as Mr. NXT . Jimmy Valiant once returned under a mask as Charlie Brown from Outta Town after losing to Paul Jones in a "Loser Leaves Town" match (a stipulation where

1608-529: The 1865 World's Fair , Theobaud Bauer debuted the mask, wrestling as "The Masked Wrestler" in Paris , France. He continued wrestling using the mask throughout France as part of a circus troupe in the 1860s before moving on to the United States in the early 1870s. In 1915, Mort Henderson started wrestling as the "Masked Marvel" in the New York area making him the first North American wrestler to perform with such

1675-431: The collective name of independently owned promotions which are deemed to be smaller and more regionalized than major national promotions. Independent promotions are essentially viewed as a minor league or farm system for the larger national promotions, as wrestlers in "indie" companies (especially young wrestlers just starting their careers) are usually honing their craft with the goal of being noticed and signed by

1742-443: 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 El Boricua and later on Veneno . In mid-2000 they added Violencia to the group, replacing El Boricua. At that point in time Los Boricuas began a storyline feud with Los Capos ( Cien Caras , Máscara Año 2000 , Universo 2000 and Apolo Dantés ), by June 2001

1809-668: The 1970s was blue-eye martial artist Kung Fu, played by Eddie Hamill, who lost his mask after a 1976 televised defeat by Mick McManus but continued to wrestle unmasked still as Kung Fu, winning the British Heavy Middleweight Championship in 1986. At Christmas 1979, Big Daddy defeated and unmasked Mr. X on television. Subsequently, during the 1980s in Joint Promotions , masked wrestlers were generally built towards being fodder for Big Daddy to defeat, unmask and humiliate in headline tag matches on ITV, such as

1876-764: The Japanese fans than the North American fans but isn't as "sacred" as the Mexican mask, meaning that the wrestler can perform both masked one day and unmasked another if he so wishes. Famous Japanese masked wrestlers include Jyushin Thunder Liger , Último Dragón , El Samurai , The Great Sasuke , Dragon Kid and Bushi . Although at live shows, masked wrestlers were as prolific in British wrestling as its American counterpart, they were largely kept off ITV 's television coverage until

1943-664: The Japanese system went back to the two-promotion system, but then the UWF was reformed and another promotion, Pioneer Senshi, was started. Because of Japanese societal mores which implied that a wrestler was a lifelong employee of a company and thus identified with it wherever he went, neither AJPW nor NJPW made an effort to acquire wrestlers trained in other promotions; wrestlers from the major promotions who left, such as Genichiro Tenryu , Gran Hamada , Yoshiaki Fujiwara , Akira Maeda , Atsushi Onita , and Nobuhiko Takada had to start their own independent promotions in order to keep themselves in

2010-523: The Masked Assassins , Blue Infernos and the Grapplers. One of the best-known North American masked wrestlers was Big Van Vader , who was also known for his in-ring agility despite his large frame during the 1980s and 90s. Other notable examples are Rey Mysterio , Mankind , Kane , Doom , Edge & Christian as 'Los Conquistadores' & Owen Hart as 'Blue Blazer' . Today, masked wrestlers are not

2077-628: The Mexican independent circuit . At that point Columba either retired from wrestling or adopted a different masked persona, there are no records of him wrestling except a match in 2009 and one in 2010, making it most likely that he has retired from wrestling altogether. Wrestling mask A wrestling mask is a fabric-based mask that some professional wrestlers wear as part of their in-ring persona or gimmick . Professional wrestlers have been using masks as far back as 1915 and they are still widely used today, especially in Lucha Libre in Mexico. At

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2144-476: The North American product are regularly sold out in capital cities such as Melbourne , Sydney , Perth and Brisbane . Lucha libre has many more independent wrestlers in proportion to the rest of North America, because of the weight classes prevalent in the Mexican league system as well as its emphasis on multiple person tag matches; just about anyone with ability can emerge from an independent promotion into either AAA or Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre and be

2211-687: The Spoiler ( Drew McDonald ) King Kendo (aka Red Devil) , Battle Star, El Diablo, the Black Baron, the Masked Marauders tag team and The Emperor. Meanwhile in All Star Wrestling - apart from Nagasaki - they were mostly treated as short lived reflections of recent fads in popular culture. In 1995, All Star shows were frequently headlined by a masked tag team based on the Power Rangers franchise, until

2278-448: The Spoiler . In the days where professional wrestling was more regional, with less national television coverage, it was not uncommon for more than one person or team to use the same gimmick and mask, and there have at times been several masked "Interns", "Assassins" and "Executioners" working simultaneously. Tag team wrestling has seen more masked teams, using identical masks to create unity between wrestlers. Successful masked teams include

2345-407: The basic shape that covers the entire head. The mask has openings for the eyes, nose and mouth with colorful trim around the open features, known as "Antifaz" in Spanish. The back of the mask is open with a "tongue" of fabric under laces to keep it tight enough to not come off accidentally during a match. The first variation in style came when the jaw and mouth area was removed from the mask to expose

2412-440: The big regional territories. The modern definition of the independent circuit came about in the middle to late 1980s and fully formed and flourished after 1990. These promotions initially sought to revive the feel of old school territorial wrestling after former territories either went national, such as WWF , went out of business, or eventually did both, such as WCW . Several indies did in fact manage to tour different towns within

2479-462: The copyright owners intervened. In the 21st century, El Ligero wrestled successfully for both the traditional and American-style promotions. Bauer as the Masked Wrestler of Paris in the 1860s, would be followed by more masked wrestlers in his home country. A wrestling mask was known in France as a "cagoule" (hood) and fans would often chant "he he la cagoule" to encourage the babyface to unmask

2546-461: The death of Giant Baba and retirement of Antonio Inoki , which effectively broke their control over the promotions they founded, the major promotions began looking to the smaller promotions for talent. In 2000, the first major signing from an independent, Minoru Tanaka by NJPW from BattlARTS , took place; soon after NJPW stocked the junior heavyweight division with independent talent such as Masayuki Naruse , Tiger Mask , Gedo , and Jado . On

2613-602: The early 2000s the Districo Federal Heavyweight Championship was phased out, leaving it inactive without an official announcement. In 1999 Pierroth Jr. returned to CMLL after an extended stay in Puerto Rico . Upon his return Pierroth Jr. declared that he was a Boricua , or Puerto Rican , declaring the superiority of the Puerto Rican people. He began teaming up with Gran Markus Jr. who also adopted

2680-550: The end of this period, All Star had effectively replaced Joint (by now owned by Max Crabtree , brother of Shirley) as the dominant promotion in the UK. Joint, renamed Ring Wrestling Stars in 1991, dwindled down before closing with Crabtree's retirement in 1995, All Star has continued to be the dominant non-import live promotion in the UK up to the present day. Its principal competitors since that time have been Scott Conway's TWA, John Freemantle's Premier Promotions, RBW and LDN Wrestling. Since

2747-407: The first Mexican Luchador to work on a regular basis and became very popular with the fans. The original Tiger Mask , Satoru Sayama was inspired by Mil Máscaras to create the masked "Tiger Mask" persona. After the success of Tiger Mask several wrestlers have adopted the mask, mainly lighter wrestlers who like Sayama had a more high flying and flashy style. The wrestling mask is held in more regard by

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2814-478: The first masked wrestler on ITV, The Outlaw (Gordon Nelson) was announced as being an American. The most famous masked wrestler in British history, Peter Thornley , the original British version of Kendo Nagasaki , made his professional debut - complete with masked Samurai gimmick - in 1964 but did not appear on television until 1971. Nagasaki's first big victory was a win over mentor (and real life trainer) Bartelli in

2881-629: The group added Poder Boricua ("Puerto Rican Power") to the group, as well as veteran wrestler the Killer and Mini-Estrella Pequeno Violencia to the group to strengthen their numbers. At the CMLL 68th Anniversary Show the team of Gran Markus, Jr., Poder Boricua and Violencia unsuccessfully challenged for the Mexican National Trios Championship , losing to champions Mr. Niebla , Olímpico and Safari In subsequent months Poder Boricua left

2948-407: The group as well, changing his name to "Poder Mexican" ("Mexican Power") and began working opposite the rest of Los Boricuas . On July 14, 2002, Violencia and Veneno won a Lucha de Apuestas match over Poder Mexica and Mr. Mexico as a result Poder Mexica was forced to unmask and Mr. Mexico was shaved bald. The last remaining storyline for Los Boricuas saw Violencia leave the group, which at the time

3015-449: The highest achievement is not winning a championship but winning the mask of an opponent in a luchas de apuestas , a "bet fight" where each wrestler bets their mask. The luchas de apuestas is usually seen as the culmination of a long and heated storyline between two or more wrestlers, with the winner getting the "ultimate victory". It is customary for the loser of such a match to reveal his real name, where he's from and how long he has been

3082-465: The images of animals , gods , ancient heroes , and other archetypes , whose identity the luchador takes on during a performance. Most wrestlers in Mexico start their career wearing a mask, but over the span of their careers, a substantial number of them will be unmasked. Sometimes, a wrestler slated for retirement will be unmasked in one of his final bouts or at the beginning of a final tour, signifying loss of identity as that character. Sometimes, losing

3149-460: The independents that were signed included Akitoshi Saito , Takahiro Suwa , and Taiji Ishimori ). Although AJPW, NJPW, and Noah remain committed to their dojos, the reliance on independents is growing as obscure talent is recognized for its ability. For most of the years of ITV 's coverage of British Wrestling, the dominant promoter in the United Kingdom was the Joint Promotions cartel, which

3216-416: The late 1960s up until the early 2000s and then sporadically until his death in 2009. From 1982 to 1995, Williams had a Welsh language TV wrestling show "Reslo" on S4C. Brian Dixon, a referee for Williams, set up his own company Wrestling Enterprises of Birkenhead later renamed All Star Wrestling c.  1984 . An alliance with promoter and former top star Jackie Pallo failed to prevent Joint gaining

3283-511: The late 1960s. Successful masked wrestlers up until this point included Count Bartelli (Geoff Condliffe), the White Angel ( Judo Al Hayes ) and Doctor Death (promoter Paul Lincoln as the top villain of his own major independent promotion). Masked wrestlers were frequently disparaged by top promoters during this period as a symptom of the allegedly "anarchic" conditions in American wrestling - indeed

3350-405: The limelight ( Wrestling Association "R" , Universal Lucha Libre , Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi , Fighting Network Rings , Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling , and Hustle respectively) . As the 1990s ended, though, things began to change. Independent promotions began gaining more prominence as they were featured in major specialized media such as Shukan Puroresu and Shukan Gong magazines. With

3417-407: The loser of the match must resign from the organization for which he worked). Mickie James also revealed to be under the mask when she returned to WWE as Alexa Bliss 's partner. When I put on the mask, I'm transformed. The mask gives me strength. The mask gives me fame. The mask is magical. When I remove the mask, I'm a normal human who can walk right by you, and not even get a "hello". Usually with

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3484-399: The mask decorations over the years with the most prevalent and visually striking being foam horns and artificial hair attached to the mask. Mock ears are also commonly used, especially if the mask has an animal motif such as a tiger and other animals. Independent circuit In professional wrestling , the independent circuit (often shortened to the indie circuit or the indies ) is

3551-436: The mask of Villano III , La Parka unmasking both Cibernético and El Mesias , Villano V taking Blue Panther 's mask and Último Guerrero winning the mask of Villano V. Some wrestlers have made a career by the volume of masks they have won rather than the general quality of their opponents—wrestler Super Muñeco claims to have won over 100 masks, with at least 80 verifiable luchas de apuestas wins, while Estrella Blanca

3618-406: The mask on, everything is positive. Without the mask I'm a normal being who has his problems, who cries, who sometimes suffers. I could tell you that I really admire El Hijo del Santo . But do you know who I admire more ? The human being. Thanks to him, El Hijo del Santo has a life. And this human being sometimes sacrifices a lot to give this other identity life. The Luchador mask, known as

3685-522: The mask signifies the end of a gimmick, with the wrestler moving on to a new gimmick and mask, often without public acknowledgement of the wrestler's previous persona. The wrestling mask is considered "sacred", so much so that the intentional removal of a mask is grounds for disqualification. If a wrestler is unmasked during the match, his top priority is to cover up his face and they usually get help from people at ringside to do so. Most masked wrestlers wear their masks for any and all public appearances, using

3752-440: The mask to keep their personal life separate from their professional life; because of the mask, most Mexican wrestlers enjoy a higher degree of anonymity about their personal lives. Some wrestlers become larger-than-life characters, such as El Santo , one of the most popular cultural icons who always wore his mask in public, revealing his face only briefly in old age, and was even buried in his trademark silver mask. In lucha libre,

3819-468: The more iconic luchadores have even been buried in their mask." WWE hall of famer El Santo is one of the most iconic luchadores. He “helped fuel the growth and reputation of lucha libre throughout the world”. “WWE Hall of Famer Eddie Guerrero once wrote that ‘Calling him a legend doesn’t even do justice to how big he was. In his heyday, Santo was bigger than Hulk Hogan and ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin combined’”. The Mexican fanbase quickly took to

3886-501: The mystery of the masked man and soon after, Mexican wrestlers themselves started wearing masks, becoming "enmascarados". Early masks were simple with strong, basic colors designs that could be recognized even in the back row of the arena. Over the years, the masks evolved to become very intricate and colorful, drawing on Mexico's rich history. Lucha Libre is still an incredibly popular sport in Mexico, with souvenir masks being sold at events and online. Masks are colorfully designed to evoke

3953-426: The need for an on-site ambulance and trained emergency medical personnel at each bout. After the business was thus exposed and deregulated, just about anyone could be a promoter or a wrestler since no licensing beyond a business license was then required. Many thought they could save money by holding shows in lesser towns and smaller arenas with little to no televised exposure, leading to many shows being held only once

4020-526: The same year, following the Pro Wrestling Noah split, AJPW was forced to fill its ranks with independent talent; Nobutaka Araya , Shigeo Okumura and Mitsuya Nagai signed up (Araya is the only one who remains, but other signings since then have been Kaz Hayashi , Tomoaki Honma , Hideki Hosaka , and Ryuji Hijikata .) Noah admitted one wrestler from the independents, Daisuke Ikeda , to its ranks as well (Ikeda has since left, but other wrestlers from

4087-411: The skin. Other masks have solid material over the mouth, nose, eyes or all three, in the case of fabric covering the eyes a stretched fabric that is see through up-close is used. Originally being made from fabric, masks have evolved and are now made from a variety of materials from cotton to nylon to various vinyl polymers in many different colours and patterns. Several additions have been made to

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4154-425: The wrestler being given a new ring persona. Older wrestlers often lose their masks during the last couple of years of their career, often for a big payday depending on how long and successful a career they've had; the more successful the wrestler that's unmasked, the bigger the honor for the winner. The first luchas de apuestas match was presented on July 14, 1940 at Arena México . The defending champion Murciélago

4221-509: Was L'Homme Masqué (The Masked Man). Spanish wrestler Angelito initially wore a silver mask in France before taking it off midway through a 1971 televised match with Jacky Richard. Another Spaniard, Oscar "Crusher" Verdu, who wrestled under a mask as Der Henker, would win the French Heavyweight Championship in 1983. British wrestler Dave Larsen wrestled in France under a mask as Zarak. In the 1980s, masks were primarily worn as

4288-747: 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 the Los Boricuas faction in CMLL. Following his mask loss Violencia would twice lose a Lucha de Apuestas match where he was forced to have all his hair shaved off. First to El Satánico on August 16, 2005, in Puebla, Puebla , secondly to Shocker seven months later on March 31, 2015. By early 2005 Violencia left CMLL and only worked sporadically through 2005, taking bookings on

4355-567: Was only used for a couple of matches. On December 23, 1998, Columba, working as Violencia, was given the Distrito Federal Heavyweight Championship after he defeated Brazo de Oro on a local show in Mexico City. He would hold the championship into 1999, but records were not clear on what date he lost the championship to Brazo de Oro. On October 24, 1999, Violencia regained the championship from Brazo de Oro. At some point in

4422-461: Was originally modelled on the NWA and later amalgamated into a single company. Nonetheless, throughout this period, untelevised alternative promotions flourished with at least one significant competitor to Joint for live shows. Initially the main rival was the former dominant promotion in the territory, Atholl Oakley 's BWA. By the time of its demise, wrestler/promoter Paul Lincoln had established himself as

4489-476: Was so much lighter than his challenger Octavio that he requested a further condition before he would sign the contract: Octavio would have to put his hair on the line. Octavio won the match and Murciélago unmasked, giving birth to a tradition in lucha libre. High-profile luchas de apuestas include El Santo winning the mask of Black Shadow , Los Villanos winning the masks of all three Los Brazos ( El Brazo , Brazo de Oro and Brazo de Plata ), Atlantis winning

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