[AAA/IWC] Part II: What *is* Lucha Libre?
Steve Black
If you missed part I yesterday from Bruce Mitchell, you deserve to be smacked.
:> :> :>
Here is the remaining schedule:
Today: What *is* Lucha Libre? by Steven A. Black
11/02: Torch Talk with Konnan
11/03: An Analysis of AAA: Past, Present, Future by Dave Meltzer
11/04: Wade Keller's analysis on AAA's potential success
11/05: Comments from fans on Lucha Libre
11/06: Feature on IWC head Ron Skoler, analysis, predictions
Now, here's part II.
===============================================================================
What *is* Lucha Libre?
by Steven A. Black, Columbia Missourian
What do you think of when you think of professional wrestling?
Do you think of gimmicks like Titan's Doink the Clown? Do you think of the
hardcore style of ECW and Terry Funk? Do you think of the hard-nosed old time
style of SMW and Dirty White Boy? Maybe you think of the scientific wrestling
of All Japan and Kenta Kobashi, or even the charismatic feel of WCW and Hulk
Hogan.
All of these are certainly acceptable choices, as are many other organizations.
But what if you want something that has all of these elements? Some places come
close, but there aren't too many that have them all in one package.
Surprisingly, you don't have to look very far to find what you're looking for.
To steal a phrase from Taco Bell, "Make a run for the border."
* * *
To truly understand what Lucha Libre is, you have to understand the basic
principles of Mexican life. At the University of Missouri, Jose Ontiveros of
the Hispanic studies department can explain this a little better than I can.
"Mexicans have always had a knack for idolizing people," Ontiveros says. "They
especially look up to the working man ever since the country became more
industrialized. For many Mexican people, Lucha Libre is a way of projecting
these images onto people that in many ways are larger than life."
In other words, Lucha Libre, in many ways, *is* the Mexican culture...played
out in front of thousands of fans on an almost nightly basis.
* * *
Lucha Libre (literally, "free fight") has a long, storied tradition in Mexican
culture. Ancient fighters in the Mexica indian tribe often fought each other
to prove their manhood. Unlike today's fights, of course, these were
legitimate battles to the death. One could honestly say that the strong
survived. The Aztecs in the region had similar types of battles, and often
would not only kill the loser of the match, but also, if it happened to be
against someone from another people, sacrifice additional members of the
tribe. (the preceding, for reference, was from my HIS 167 teacher--Colonial
Latin America.)
Modern Lucha is taken in many ways from these ancient warriors. The masks, for
instance.
Nearly every Mexican who is involved in the wrestling business will start under
a mask. Very few ever remain this way, however. One of those who managed to do
it was El Santo, "The Saint," perhaps the most famous wrestler in Mexican
history. His funeral was a national event, and he was buried wearing his mask.
(His son, El Hijo del Santo, is involved in a tag match at the AAA/IWC PPV.)
Nearly all wrestlers lose their masks at one point or another; many wrestlers
end up getting their heads shaved--the ultimate indignity for a Lucha wrestler.
Often, in the old days, the masks would symbolize some part of Mexican
history or heritage. Today, of course, as wrestling is more of a worldwide
phenomenon, the emphasis is more on what happens inside the ring and less on
the image of the people involved.
* * *
Modern Lucha as we know it today began in 1933, when AAA's current rival, EMLL,
was founded by Salvador Lutteroth. His family, in fact, still owns EMLL to this
day, according to Wrestling Observer writer Dave Meltzer. The style was largely
a copy of the American mat wrestling style which evolved from the old carnival
shows. Gradually, as time progressed, Lucha became more Mexicanized. It
concentrated a lot on playing to the crowd (almost in a bullfight-like manner),
along with some intense brawls.
Ironically enough, it took a Japanese wrestler to steer Lucha Libre in the
direction it's going in today.
His name was Satoru Sayama...the original Tiger Mask.
Sayama toured Mexico in 1982, and quickly became a legend in Mexico for his
daring, high-flying style. His dives inside and outside the ring were at that
time unheard of in Mexico, and in many ways unheard of even in the rest of
North America. But no longer.
Mexican wrestlers began developing aerial moves to intertwine with the rest of
their repertoire. As a result, wrestlers like Atlantis became superstars
throughout Latin America, particularly in Mexico City.
All of this leads to the present day. Other promotions have started up within
about the last 20 years, and it is one of these upstart promotions--AAA--which
has taken the mantle of Lucha Libre and will likely push it into the 21st
century as the standard.
* * *
Those who jump into the AAA/IWC PPV cold may have a difficult time
understanding it. Lucha, for a first-time viewer (as I myself was at one
point), can be a very confusing style. Indeed, it's been said by many that it
is more deserving of ECW's motto "It's not for everyone!" than ECW.
But a few explanations may very well be helpful in understanding the Mexian
approach to professional wrestling.
First, one must look at the format of the matches. Many of the matches are
six-man tag matches, and unless otherwise noted, all matches are best two of
three falls. Singles matches, such as the Konnan-Perro Aguayo main event,
are used as blow-offs for major feuds most of the time, and are done rarely.
So most of what you will see are four-, six-, and eight-man tag matches.
The falls are called "caidas" in Spanish..."primera caida", "segundo caida",
and "tercera caida" are the first, second, and third falls. (An interesting
note, BTW, for those of you who don't know...many of the insider terms used
here on the Net and in the sheets come from Spanish...i.e. "tope" is used
to describe a top rope headbutt, "plancha" describes a high cross body block,
"senton" describes a back dive off the ropes, etc.)
To score a fall in a six-man or eight-man tag match, one must either pin the
captain of the opposing team (these are announced at the beginning of the
match) or pin two seperate opponents. This is where a lot of people get
confused. The first Lucha match I ever saw had three different pinfalls, and
I thought the match was over. That was just the first fall. I had a lot to
learn. :>
There are two referees inside the ring to count the falls...it's the only
way one can keep track of it all, IMHO...one referee would easily get confused
and say "The hell with it." Watch for one particular ref, though...they
introduce the refs before the match, and one of them is named Tirantes. He
has a gimmick as a heel referee, and will often call DQs on the faces for no
apparent reason.
Speaking of DQs, they are important. Titles in Mexico do change hands on a
disqualification, and a DQ can be gotten any number of ways. The most common
are:
* low-blows (The most common; in fact, heels will often fake low-blows to get
the faces disqualified);
* ripping off masks (in Mexico, if you haven't guessed by now, the masks are
sold as something sacred, and any taking of the mask during a match is an
automatic DQ);
* tombstone piledriver (it's sold as a "death move" in Mexico, I'm not sure
why. It's similar to the way the piledriver was outlawed in the NWA for years);
* and, of course, your ever popular brass knuckles and outside interference.
The ring entrances are usually spectacular. Loud music, smoke, lighting effects
and beautiful women leading the wrestlers to the ring make the entrances for
the wrestlers worth the price of admission all in itself.
The style of the wrestling itself varies, depending on the wrestlers involved.
Many of the wrestlers, particularly in AAA, are more than willing to take their
share of top rope moves...a particularly impressive sight when one sees their
working class hero, Perro Aguayo, do his thing from the top. There's some mat
wrestling, and the timing is often unpredictable, because the wrestlers often
segue into spots from no conceivable direction. When a move is missed, Lucha
can look REALLY bad and REALLY sloppy...but when it hits, there's no better
sight in wrestling. And they hit most of their moves in AAA.
Another interesting thing about Lucha is the midgets. In America, you think of
the Survivor Series gimmick being run currently between Doink and Jerry Lawler.
Not in Mexico. The midgets (or "minis", as they're called there) are often
some of the best workers on the card. Watch Mascarita Sagrada and you'll
understand what I mean.
Midget matches in Mexico are not in the LEAST comedy matches. Indeed, this is
how AAA attracts their young audience. The idea behind it is that the midgets
are children (this is the gimmick used to put them over). Each of the midgets
resemble in some way their larger counterparts (as a general rule, any name
with "ito" or "ita" at the end of it signifies a mini). It's children living
out their dreams to be just like their idols. In this context, the heels are
made out to be larger than the faces, to symbolize the idea that the heels are
bullies picking on the smaller kids. Jerrito Estrada, on that scale, is the
biggest one of all; in fact, the common joke is that if he were to wrestle Rey
Misterio Jr., you wouldn't be able to tell which one normally wrestled as a
midget. :>
Another important thing to remember (and this should become clear very
quickly as you watch the AAA/IWC PPV) is that there aren't two sides to an
issue...instead, there are three. On one side, you have the faces ("tecnicos");
on another, you have the heels ("rudos"); on a third, you have the Americans.
Really. Even in, say, Los Angeles, you don't want to be seen waving an American
flag, because the heat is tremendous. Lucha is a source of pride for Mexicans,
and if there is one really bad part about Lucha it's that the fans take this
part of it SO seriously. As an example, take Konnan. He was THE top face in
Latin America, bar none, and when he turned, he not ONLY became a heel, but he
joined up with Los Gringos Locos--Love Machine and Eddy Guerrero. Instant heat.
* * * * *
So, with all this, you may still be asking yourself, "OK...so what is Lucha
Libre all about, and why should I think it's worth it?" I think Dave Meltzer's
description of Triplemania II-B in Zapopan, Mexico says it all:
"At 10:45 p.m., on 5/15, Jake Roberts was lying face-first on the ground after
nearly being choked out by a panicked snake that was wrapped around his neck.
Backstage, in an attempt to revive him, backstage hands poured bottles of water
all over him. It worked. The other wrestlers were waiting for water, of which
there was none in the building, to take showers. The showers never did work.
They were about the only thing that night that didn't.
About six hours and 15 minutes had passed since the show had started, with a
mariachi band playing, followed by a short concert featuring a medium-level
female vocalist. By the end of the show, thousands of the fans had been at the
non-air conditioned arena for nearly eight hours. Some even longer, after
standing in long lines in 95 degree heat to buy tickets, to the final pinfall
in the main event. In the interim they had not only seen a short concert, but a
beauty pageant. They had seen nearly four hours and 45 minutes of wrestling
with no intermissions. They had seen four **** matches, all completely
different from one another. They had seen the best lighter weight wrestler in
the world of this era (Jushin Liger) get outshined by a local who copied his
gimmick (Psicosis). They had seen one of the best heel personas ever (Jake
Roberts) being outshined by someone who has developed into the best all-around
heel in the business (Love Machine). Ironically, the major promoters in his
native land wouldn't even consider letting him out of the opening match, that
is if they would even consider offering him a job in the first place. They had
seen a veteran second match wrestler in Japan (Black Cat) become Ric Flair for
one night. They had seen fireorks, smoke machines, and special effects. They
had seen a classic wrestling match, a high-spot spectacular and a juice-filled
brawl. They had seen angles, turns, and challenges for future matches almost
too numerous to remember. They had been a dead crowd from the start--dead tired
from the heat. But more than six hours after the band had started to play,
they were alive and on fire, almost giving credence to the idea that there is
no such thing as a show that is too long, just a show not good enough to last
that long."
This is the organization that has arrived in America.
This is the organization that is coming to pay-per-view this Sunday.
And this is the organization that has the chance to take the sport of
professional wrestling into the 1990s.
===============================================================================
Tomorrow: Part III: Torch Talk with Konnan
===============================================================================
"When Worlds Collide"--Sunday, November 6, 1994, Los Angeles Sports Arena
A AAA/IWC pay-per-view event
All matches best two of three falls
Cage Match
Konnan vs. Perro Aguayo
Double mask vs. double hair
El Hijo del Santo Love Machine
vs.
Octagon Eddy Guerrero
Six-man tag match
Chris Benoit La Parka
2 Cold Scorpio vs. Blue Panther
Tito Santana Jerry Estrada
Six-man tag match
Heavy Metal Psicosis
Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Fuerza Guerrera
Latin Lover Louie Spicolli
Minis tag match
Mascarita Sagrada Espectrito
vs.
Octagoncito Jerrito Estrada
Matches may be added, subtracted or changed without notice, of course.
As always, your comments, questions, and suggestions are welcome.
======================================================================
Steve Black
c62...@mizzou1.missouri.edu
"I keep my ideals,
The opinions expressed here because in spite of
do not represent those of everything I still
the University of Missouri. believe that people
Although, if they thought are really good at
about it, they'd realize heart."
that I'm usually right.
:> :> --Anne Frank
======================================================================
Evan Schlesinger
Steve, corrections on your terms (at least as far as I understand them)
A tope is not a top rope headbutt, but is a dive done through the ropes
sometimes acting as a spear headbutt (wrestler flies between middle and top
rope, and impacts the other wrestler on the floor with his head) or he will
land in a cross body position on the other wrestler.
A plancha is another dive usually done by vaulting over something (namely the
top rope, or another wrestler). It involves being pushed off of something
besides the mat.
A senton is simply a back splash, not really a dive.
EVAN
No taglines necessary.
Dave Scherer
In a previous article, C62...@mizzou1.missouri.edu (Steve Black) says:
First, let me say that this is a great series Steve.
>In other words, Lucha Libre, in many ways, *is* the Mexican culture...played
>out in front of thousands of fans on an almost nightly basis.
Another tidbit here is that in Mexico, there is very little live theatre.
When Lucha comes to town, it captures the fans of sport, wrestling, and
live theatre.
>Modern Lucha is taken in many ways from these ancient warriors. The masks, for
>instance.
Absolutely.
>Nearly every Mexican who is involved in the wrestling business will start under
>a mask. Very few ever remain this way, however. One of those who managed to do
>it was El Santo, "The Saint," perhaps the most famous wrestler in Mexican
>history. His funeral was a national event, and he was buried wearing his mask.
>(His son, El Hijo del Santo, is involved in a tag match at the AAA/IWC PPV.)
>Nearly all wrestlers lose their masks at one point or another; many wrestlers
>end up getting their heads shaved--the ultimate indignity for a Lucha wrestler.
Santo's contemporary was The Blue Demon. They were major stars in mexico
and a starred in tons of schlocky movies, that are still rerun on the
Televisa networks today. Neither lost their mask. Both had their sons
follow in their footsteps, and I would bet neither ever lose their mask.
Santo never went out in public without his mask. There was a big uproar
last year when one of the magazines got a picture of Santo Jr.'s face
during a match after his mask was ripped.
Others who have not, and won't, lose their mask are the brother Mil
Mascaras and Dos Caras, and El Canek, who in a lot of ways is the mexican
Ric Flair, with a Hogan like ego.
And the ultimate dishonor is losing your mask. Records are kept of the
number of masks a wrestler has won. Losing your hair is secondary to
losing your mask.
Another aside, often you will see guys slap each other in the chest. Some
say that spot looks fake, but that's because you don't understand the
culture. the machismo of the Latin people states that You HAVE to take
those slaps, to be a man.
>Modern Lucha as we know it today began in 1933, when AAA's current rival, EMLL,
>was founded by Salvador Lutteroth. His family, in fact, still owns EMLL to this
>day, according to Wrestling Observer writer Dave Meltzer. The style was largely
More importantly, he either owns outright or owns the leases to most of
the best arenas in the country. That is why they will never go out of
business. they own too much outright.
>Sayama toured Mexico in 1982, and quickly became a legend in Mexico for his
>daring, high-flying style. His dives inside and outside the ring were at that
>time unheard of in Mexico, and in many ways unheard of even in the rest of
>North America. But no longer.
This is attributable, as best i remember, to Antonio Inoki. he has always
brought in the top Mexican Luchadores and sent his guys to work mexico.
Sayama had a lot of great matches in Japan with luchadores.
>Mexican wrestlers began developing aerial moves to intertwine with the rest of
>their repertoire. As a result, wrestlers like Atlantis became superstars
>throughout Latin America, particularly in Mexico City.
Mexico City is the Tokyo of Lucha.
>All of this leads to the present day. Other promotions have started up within
>about the last 20 years, and it is one of these upstart promotions--AAA--which
>has taken the mantle of Lucha Libre and will likely push it into the 21st
>century as the standard.
That thanks to the booking of Antonio "Tono" Pena. He made his name with
the EMLL and when he lost a power play, he went to the folks at Televisa,
which own 4 of the 5 Mexican networks, and got them to bankroll the promotion.
Great report Steve.
--
* "ECW: This Sure as hell ain't Chess!" Iron Mike Palij, 7\16\94 *
* "Rob is Cheap!" Many, many mutants, 8\13\94 *
* "FLAIR IS DEAD!" Damn near the entire ECW Arena 8\27\94 *
Jesse Elliott Money
>
>Both (Santo - JM) had their sons
>follow in their footsteps, and I would bet neither ever lose their mask.
Actually, Hijo del Santo lost his mask a few months ago during a match
aired in Mexico City (XEQ). Whether it was intentional or not, I can't
say for sure (Pena's angles are as hard to figure as some of Gordon's),
but it happened. It wasn't part of a match stipulation, though.
Jesse
John Jermanis
Steve Black <C62...@mizzou1.missouri.edu> wrote:
Steve, great article! I have a question about one section though...
>
>Sayama toured Mexico in 1982, and quickly became a legend in Mexico for his
>daring, high-flying style. His dives inside and outside the ring were at that
>time unheard of in Mexico, and in many ways unheard of even in the rest of
>North America. But no longer.
I was under the impression that a lot of the "aerial" moves originated in
Mexico (I am thinking primarily of the tope suicida). I thought Sayama
introduced Japan to the Lucha-style moves (the Japanese matches I've seen
prior to '82 have had zero "flying" in them). Did Sayama indeed develop
these moves on his own?
>There are two referees inside the ring to count the falls...it's the only
>way one can keep track of it all, IMHO...one referee would easily get confused
>and say "The hell with it." Watch for one particular ref, though...they
>introduce the refs before the match, and one of them is named Tirantes. He
>has a gimmick as a heel referee, and will often call DQs on the faces for no
>apparent reason.
This is a lucha tradition. In each six-man match, their is one technico and
one rudo referee. Tirantes just happen to be the rudo ref in almost all
of the matches on TV.
>* low-blows (The most common; in fact, heels will often fake low-blows to get
>the faces disqualified);
>* ripping off masks (in Mexico, if you haven't guessed by now, the masks are
>sold as something sacred, and any taking of the mask during a match is an
>automatic DQ);
>* tombstone piledriver (it's sold as a "death move" in Mexico, I'm not sure
>why. It's similar to the way the piledriver was outlawed in the NWA for years);
>* and, of course, your ever popular brass knuckles and outside interference.
Another great DQ is the one for excessive violence. Pretty funny, eh?
If you thrash your opponent and you make no attempt to pin him, you'll
be DQ'ed.
>Even in, say, Los Angeles, you don't want to be seen waving an American
>flag, because the heat is tremendous.
Yes sir. I went to a house show in LA, and let me tell you: I was
_not_ rooting for the Crazy Gringos.
Looking forward to the next installment...
John
Evan Schlesinger
Dave Scherer <as...@FreeNet.Carleton.CA> wrote:
>
>In a previous article, eai...@taurus.oac.uci.edu (John Jermanis) says:
>
>>>Sayama toured Mexico in 1982, and quickly became a legend in Mexico for his
>>>daring, high-flying style. His dives inside and outside the ring were at that
>>>time unheard of in Mexico, and in many ways unheard of even in the rest of
>>>North America. But no longer.
>>
>>Mexico (I am thinking primarily of the tope suicida). I thought Sayama
>>introduced Japan to the Lucha-style moves (the Japanese matches I've seen
>>prior to '82 have had zero "flying" in them). Did Sayama indeed develop
>>these moves on his own?
>
>well before Sayama hit the scene. I know that Huracan Ramirez did the
>Hurracarana longe bfore Sayama too.
I know Sayama invented a lot of moves that we see today. If I'm not mistaken,
Sayama was the first to do the cart-wheel across the ring into a flying elbow
(or sometimes, dives) that Muto has perfected.
Also invented lots of new dives. Mascaras I think just did fairly simple
topes. Don't know about Santo and Blue Demon.
>>>Even in, say, Los Angeles, you don't want to be seen waving an American
>>>flag, because the heat is tremendous.
>>
>>Yes sir. I went to a house show in LA, and let me tell you: I was
>>_not_ rooting for the Crazy Gringos.
>
>And then there are American idiots like Roy Lucier, as Johgn knows. Roy,
>in his infinite wisdom, thought he'd bring a "100% Rudos" sign to a card.
>The fans thought he was mocking them and pelted him with used diapers.
>
Poor Roy. He took a lot of shit for that.
EVAN
No taglines necessary.
Dave Scherer
In a previous article, je...@masc.rice.edu (Jesse Elliott Money) says:
>In article <CyLvq...@freenet.carleton.ca> as...@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Dave Scherer) writes:
>>
>>Both (Santo - JM) had their sons
>>follow in their footsteps, and I would bet neither ever lose their mask.
>
>Actually, Hijo del Santo lost his mask a few months ago during a match
>aired in Mexico City (XEQ). Whether it was intentional or not, I can't
>say for sure (Pena's angles are as hard to figure as some of Gordon's),
>but it happened. It wasn't part of a match stipulation, though.
You will constantly see guys lose their masks in the course of a match.
This builds heat for the feud. I love it when a technico and a rudo each
have their mask pulled off and end up wearing each others. And Love
Machine was grea when he was turning Eddy Guerreo against Santo by
attacking Guerreo while wearing Santo's mask.
Anyway, when I said "lost their mask" I am referring to in a stip match.
Dave Scherer
In a previous article, eai...@taurus.oac.uci.edu (John Jermanis) says:
>>Sayama toured Mexico in 1982, and quickly became a legend in Mexico for his
>>daring, high-flying style. His dives inside and outside the ring were at that
>>time unheard of in Mexico, and in many ways unheard of even in the rest of
>>North America. But no longer.
>
>I was under the impression that a lot of the "aerial" moves originated in
>Mexico (I am thinking primarily of the tope suicida). I thought Sayama
>introduced Japan to the Lucha-style moves (the Japanese matches I've seen
>prior to '82 have had zero "flying" in them). Did Sayama indeed develop
>these moves on his own?
Hmmmm. I know that Mascaras, Santo, and the Blue Demon were all fliers
well before Sayama hit the scene. I know that Huracan Ramirez did the
Hurracarana longe bfore Sayama too.
A side note about Ramirez. His hurracarana move is the predecessor to the
Frankensteiner. The only difference is that the guy doing the move does
not hook the legs. You will see the moved widely used today, but called a
rana. The reason is, unless you are a blood relative of Hurracan, you
can't use a hurracarana. Ciclon Ramirez is the only guy I can think of
today useing the Hurracarana.
>This is a lucha tradition. In each six-man match, their is one technico and
>one rudo referee. Tirantes just happen to be the rudo ref in almost all
>of the matches on TV.
And before him, Gran Davies. An interesting story here is that Davies
died abruptly. It had nothing to do with, but happened right after an
angle they shot with Konan hitting him during a match. For a while,
people hated Konan for "killing" Davies.
>>Even in, say, Los Angeles, you don't want to be seen waving an American
>>flag, because the heat is tremendous.
>
>Yes sir. I went to a house show in LA, and let me tell you: I was
>_not_ rooting for the Crazy Gringos.
And then there are American idiots like Roy Lucier, as Johgn knows. Roy,
in his infinite wisdom, thought he'd bring a "100% Rudos" sign to a card.
The fans thought he was mocking them and pelted him with used diapers.
--