Mexican Wrestling?

[Adam]

Yesterday i saw some mexican wrestling on TV. Looked a bit like pro wrestling except the guys wore strange masks. It was some of the funkiest wrestling In ever saw. Is this what is called Luta Livre?

[Joe karate]

probably not. Luta Livre is not Pro wrestling(American pro that is) but should probably look more like a BJJ match without gi and definitely no masks. It should also look like American wrestling(not pro) with submissions.

[saikyou]

this is the one called lucha libre.

[SoKKlab]

Luta Livre is a (Brasilian) Portuguese term (Luta=Wrestle, Livre=Free) for a style of Fighting, famous for its battles with BJJ in Vale Tudo contests in Brasil.

See Johil de Oliveira etc for more info on some of their fighters, great shorts too!

[spacepimp]

Even stranger is that a few of these wrestlers are literally heros to people. They become movie stars (with their masks still on), political protests, and etc... I do not completly understand it, I have asked some friends about it, and they can't explain it either...

[Don Davies]

To the mexican people the mask on the wrestlers make them a superhero to not wear your mask makes you a normal person. One famous wrestler was buried with him mask on when he died.

[SteveJKDUK]

Didn't one of those masked-Mexican pro-wrestlers enter Pride? I believe he got knocked out in his first ever fight (with Mirko Crocop).

[Don Davies]

Yes, Dos carsa jr. This was not his first fight, it was his first pride fight. I believe he's been in 6 or 7 MMA fights

[Poop-Loops]

Yeah, I believe the ultimate humiliation to them is to have thier mask taken off by their opponent after losing a fight.

PL