Other Characteristics
Luchadores are traditionally divided into two categories, rudos (lit. "tough guys", who are "bad guys", or "heels", literally "rude ones"), who bend or break the rules, and técnicos (the "good guys", or "faces", literally "technicians"), who play by the rules and their moves are much more complex and spectacular. Técnicos tend to have very formal combat styles, close to Greco-Roman wrestling and martial arts techniques, whereas rudos tend to be brawlers. Técnicos playing the "good guy" role, and rudos playing the "bad guy" role is very characteristic of Mexican lucha libre, which differs from U.S. professional wrestling, where many technical wrestlers play the role of heels (e.g., Kurt Angle), and many brawlers play as "faces" (e.g., Stone Cold Steve Austin). Although rudos often resort to using underhanded tactics, they are still expected to live up to a luchador code of honor. For instance, a luchador who has lost a wager match would prefer to endure the humiliation of being unmasked or having his head shaved rather than live with the shame that would come from not honoring his bet. Rudos have also been known to make the transition into técnicos after a career defining moment, as was the case with Blue Demon, who decided to become a técnico after his wrestling partner, Black Shadow, was unmasked by the legendary Santo. Tag teams are sometimes composed of both rudos and técnicos in what are called parejas increibles (incredible pairings). Parejas increibles highlight the conflict between a luchador's desire to win and his contempt for his partner.
A staple gimmick present in lucha libre since the 1950s is exótico, basically a gay character in drag. It is argued that the gimmick has recently attained a more flamboyant outlook.
Luchadores, like their foreign counterparts, seek to obtain a campeonato (championship) through winning key wrestling matches. Since many feuds and shows are built around luchas de apuestas (matches with wagers), title matches play a less prominent role in Mexico than in the U.S. Titles can be defended as few as one time per year and wrestlers usually only wear their belts during big events and title defenses.
Lucha libre uses a more specific weight class system to classify titles. Popular weight classes include: heavyweight, light-heavyweight, welterweight and middleweight. Lightweight and super-lightweight titles are also used. The Cruiserweight division is often associated with the lucha libre style of wrestling, even though in Mexico, the term light-heavyweight (peso semicompleto) is used due to a different weight class system. In recent years, weight classes have been mostly nominal and there are occasions when a wrestler will have titles in two different weight classes. However, title matches are still major events and many shows are built around them.
The two most popular lucha libre promotions are Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), which was founded in 1933, and Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA).
Lucha libre is currently experiencing a boom in popularity due to the emergence of a new generation of stars, most notably, a masked wrestler named Místico now known as Sin Cara, whose high-flying style and technique attracted record crowds in Mexico and inspired activists around the world such as Russian punk-rock collective Pussy Riot before he signed with WWE.
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