00:00Lucha Libre and the Mexican Luchadores.
00:04Lucha Libre, which literally translates to free fight, is actually the Spanish term for wrestling.
00:10The Luchadores are the wrestlers.
00:13If these walls and these 18,000 seats could talk, they would tell the story of the most famous wrestling
00:18building in all of Mexico, Arena Mexico in Mexico City.
00:22In 1932, the boxing promoter, Salvador Luteroth, saw American pro wrestling for the first time while visiting Texas.
00:30Just one year later, he promoted the first ever wrestling card in Mexico, beginning a streak of 64 consecutive years
00:37of Lucha Libre at this site.
00:39In 1934, Luteroth added mask wrestlers.
00:43The mystery proved to be a huge drawing card.
00:46Lucha first boomed in the 40s with stars such as El Santo and Gory Guerrero debuting during this decade.
00:54The 1950s saw the advent of television and the cinema.
00:57Charismatic mask wrestlers like Santo were portrayed as superheroes in a series of entertaining B-movies.
01:05In many instances, the movie villains were portrayed by the rule-breakers of the ring.
01:11Battle lines are drawn between rudos and technicos.
01:15A rudo, meaning rough or rude, is not simply someone with a nasty disposition, but one who uses an unorthodox
01:23brand of wrestling.
01:23A technico relies on technical mat skills and are often fan favorites.
01:29The 1980s was the era of the second-generation wrestler.
01:33The sons of the pioneer wrestlers came into prominence.
01:36Names like Ijo Del Santo and Eddie Guerrero.
01:39In 1994, WCW co-promoted the first pay-per-view featuring the luchadors when worlds collide.
01:48This was step one in forming an association with the various promotions from Mexico like
01:53EMLL, or the Mexican Wrestling Empire.
01:56The oldest and most established group whose home is the famous Arena Mexico.
02:0064 years and going strong.
02:03Promo Azteca, a new promotion, the home of many WCW stars.
02:09AAA was the co-promoter of when worlds collide.
02:13UWA, popular in the mid-70s, now not considered among the national powers.
02:19World Championship Wrestling went back to the past to find the future of pro wrestling.
02:24Associations between U.S.-based promoters and Mexico date back over 50 years.
02:29Next time, we'll explore the mystery and the history of the mask and the role it plays in
02:35Lucha Libre.
02:37Lucha Libre.
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