SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)…
One of the most sacred and traditional practices in Mexican culture is Lucha Libre. Itâ€s a style of wrestling best known for its performers wearing a variety of masks.
Out of respect, a performer isnâ€t known by their public name unless it is said by them. That rule also applies to the mask. Unless they get the mask taken away from them in a stipulation match or they decide to wrestle without it, removing someoneâ€s mask is a huge no-no in the world of Lucha Libre.
These masks come in a variety of colors and sizes. Some have decorations on them like feathers or horns that incorporate their character into the mask.
In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, the WWE YouTube channel uploaded a video featuring WWE and AAA wrestlers. They were shown many masks and were asked to do a blind ranking of them. This video is a great way to honor masks from the legends that made Lucha Libre what it is today.
This showed how much respect current WWE and AAA wrestlers have for their predecessors that donned the sacred masks of Lucha Libre. With the exception of Dominik Mysterio, which was obvious going in, the wrestlers had a lot of good things to say about everyone.
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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Mr. Iguana and Penta gave their flowers to legends of the sport. Hearing Penta talk about how much Psicosis means to him was good to hear, and I could definitely see why he uses the black and white pattern in his mask.
It was interesting to see El Grande Americano on the list because he has made enemies of so many luchadors in the last couple of months. Unsurprisingly, the majority of wrestlers that ranked him did so near the bottom of the list. Maybe if he played nice with them, the ranking would change. But for now, his overall ranking by them is in the lower half.
Overall, this was a great video showing how much masks mean to Lucha Libre culture and wrestling as a whole. Itâ€s a tradition dating back generations, with Mexican wrestlers taking it very seriously. A luchador is almost always anonymous, with the mask protecting their identity and their personal life from the public.
Doing so is smart, as it separates the character from the person playing the character. It was nice to see the variety of masks worn by these wrestlers. The range colors, shapes, and sizes all play into their character and how they want to be portrayed for the fans.
Getting both WWE and AAA wrestlers involved in this video was a great idea. WWE wants to strengthen the bond with AAA to make their partnership as fruitful as possible. A way to do that is to incorporate them into WWE programming and videos. This was an informative showcase of Lucha Libre culture and how masks fit into Lucha Libre overall.
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