LUCHA LIBRE as part of the Mexico: Beyond Your Expectations festival at Harbourfront, Redpath Stage (235 Queens Quay West). Saturday and Sunday (July 18-19), 3 pm. Free. 416-973-4000.
Just two years after Chris “the Canadian Crippler” Benoit’s ‘roid-induced double-murder/suicide hamstrung pro wrestling’s public image, lucha libre is giving sports entertainment a much-needed facelift – from behind a mask.
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But when the red-hot Mexican style body-slams into Harbourfront next week, many fans still won’t know what to expect.
Most will be familiar with WWE’s resident luchador Rey Mysterio, or at least Jack Black’s silly film on the sport, but there’s more to lucha libre than mysterious masks and high-flying acrobatics.
Beyond the kayfabe are real stories of the dangerous double lives led by Mexican superstars, and an enclave of upstart luchadores grappling for attention right here in Toronto.
The two-day Harbourfront event, part of the Mexico: Beyond Your Expectations festival, promises a first-hand introduction to all things lucha. The weekend fights are Toronto’s first outdoor lucha libre (Spanish for “free fighting”) matches and pit Mexican legends Blue Demon Jr. and Incognito against our best homegrown indie luchadores, Cody 45, Sombra, and Angel De Guerra.
“When I put on my mask, I have special powers,” says Blue Demon Jr. on the phone from a family vacation in Colimo, Mexico. “My mask is the most valuable part of my career because it lets me become another person. This is the magic for the wrestler.”
Lucha libre’s unique style dates back to 1930s Mexico, but its most distinctive element, the mask, was actually introduced by a visiting fighter. Fed up with fans harassing him after beating local favourites, an Irish-American wrestler known as El Ciclón (“the Cyclone”) first donned a white leather mask as a practical security measure. Its menacing aesthetic instantly clicked with fans, and it quickly became the heart of lucha libre’s mystique.
Blue Demon Jr. (whose real name is a closely guarded secret) rose to fame in Mexico in the mid-80s as the adopted son of Blue Demon, one of the original lucha wrestlers who took the sport to nationwide levels of popularity, second only to soccer.
In Mexico, luchadores are treated like folk heroes and celebrities and, as such, take their alter egos extremely seriously. Donning their masks in public, they struggle, superhero-style, to keep their true identities under wraps.
“I have the same problems as Batman,” he says in all seriousness. “I struggle every day to protect my secret identity. I’m like Batman, except I am for real.
“It’s very hard for my wife and three girls. They want to tell everyone who I am, but they can’t. This is our family legacy, and we all live for this secret.”
Since debuting in 1985, Blue Demon Jr. has been able to hide his real name and face from adoring fans and prying reporters for an incredible 24 years.
“I protect my true identity so the magic can continue,” he says slowly. “It’s a hard job, but I do it for the history, my father and for the fans.”
In lucha libre the biggest disgrace is to be unmasked. Sometimes kayfabe rivalries culminate in a wager match in which the loser’s identity is dramatically revealed. The legendary wrestler El Santo only revealed his face once in retirement. When he died in 1984, he was buried wearing his signature silver mask.
Beyond the masks, its biggest difference with conventional pro wrestling is that lucha matches are often tag-team affairs, with three-member teams vying to pin an opponent for a count of three, make him submit, or force him out of the ring for a count of 20.
“It’s more acrobatic, and blends technique and magic,” says Blue Demon Jr. of lucha’s amped-up aerial theatrics.
It’s that theatrical flash that’s helping lucha libre bust out of the Mexican market. Last year Blue Demon Jr. made serious inroads into the U.S. by becoming the National Wrestling Alliance’s first luchador, and first Latino, heavyweight champion.
In Canada, local pro wrestlers have been experimenting with the lucha libre style since the 80s, but only recently have larger numbers started using the style to connect with audiences.
Born and raised in Mississauga, Josh Harmer began training to be a pro wrestler at age 14 after being mesmerized by The Rock and Shawn Michaels on TV. After slumming it in sketchy wrestling schools in Burlington and Hamilton, Harmer finally found a home at North York’s Squared Circle Training. There he was able to learn all the rolls, holds, jumps, hits and other tricks required to sell the action to an audience.
When Harmer turned 18, Squared Circle’s founder Rob “Fuego” Etcheverria (who’s also a busy promoter helping to organize the Harbourfront event) booked him his debut show in Welland, Ontario.
“My first character, named Josh Taylor, was really boring,” remembers Harmer, now 22.
“There was no substance. I was just a generic-looking just-turned-18-year-old kid. That’s when Rob started talking to me about wearing the lucha mask. At first I was hesitant, but the character I was doing sucked so bad, so I just trusted him.”
Etcheverria and his partner, Steven “Kobra Kai” C., designed a mask for Harmer and had it custom-made in Mexico. They rebranded him Angel De Guerra (“angel of war”) and almost instantly Harmer saw an uptick in his bookings, appearing on indie wrestling bills around Ontario. His red, white and black mask helped separate him from the other hulksters, and gave Harmer a clear direction to take his act.
“I love to entertain, and I love to perform,” says Harmer who recently graduated from Sheridan’s acting program. “Wrestling involves a lot of sacrifices, but it encapsulates everything I love: performance, showmanship and athletics.”
Thanks to his luchador persona, Harmer is now a regular on the Canadian indie wrestling circuit.
“Once you hit indie, that’s where you perfect your craft. It’s like rep hockey or AAA baseball – your next goal is the big time. When you’re ready, you send out tapes to companies like WWE and TNA.”
I ask Harmer if he’s nervous about stepping into the ring with Blue Demon Jr. – who is twice his age – for the biggest match of his career.
“It’s nerve-racking because he’s a celebrity in Mexico. Down there they take wrestling as seriously as we take hockey. But I also know that this guy is a legend for a reason. If I screw up, he’s good enough to take care of it.”
Helping Harmer every step of the way is Etcheverria and Squared Circle.
Walking through the front door of Squared Circle Training, you step from a nondescript industrial plaza just off Sheppard into a space that’s almost filled by two full-sized rings. Posters from old promotions pepper the walls, and a vintage WWF arcade cabinet sits in the corner. There’s barely enough room for a cramped office and curtained-off change area, but Etcheverria has worked hard to turn the school, and its sister promotion company Blood Sweat and Ears (BSE), into the go-to place for pro wrestling in Canada.
A former wrestler himself, Etcheverria founded BSE in 2005 and has since taken indie wrestlers, including Harmer’s Angel De Guerra, to events in Timmins, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, even a pair of shows in Iqaluit, Nunavut.
“I have my own theory about why they wear masks in Mexico,” opines Etcheverria, who stops to warmly greet each of his students as they file in for their weekly class.
“Mexico can be a very dangerous country, so if you have money, you’re a target for robbery. They wear masks so they can wrestle and then slip away afterwards. There’s safety in anonymity.”
Outside of Mexico, pro wrestlers seem to adopt the lucha style for the opposite reason – they want to be noticed. Like Harmer, they wear the mask as a strategy to raise their profile and tap into a trend. Just like indie rock incorporated the synthesizer to keep up with trends, indie wrestling is in the process of assimilating the luchador into its pantheon of character types.
“Lucha libre is becoming a global phenomenon because superheroes are so in right now,” muses Etcheverria.
“It’s refreshingly different than what people see on WWE – it’s like the Cirque du Soleil of wrestling.”
Lucha lingo
Luchador A lucha libre performer (plural luchadores).
Mascaras Masks. Colourful lucha libre masks can represent anything, from animals to gods, demons or other archetypes.
El cuadrilátero The ring.
Técnicos Technicians, the good guys of lucha libre, these characters always follow the rules and use their technical skill to perform the most spectacular moves. Angel De Guerra is a técnico.
Rudos The rude ones. Bad-guy rudos are similar to “heels” in American pro wrestling. These shameless brawlers break the rules to try to win at any price. Blue Demon Jr. is a rudo.
Luchas de apuestas Matches with wagers. For really big fights, luchadores bet either their mask or their hair to up the ante. Losing means enduring the shame of having your face revealed, or your head shaved.
Trios The most common form of tag team, consisting of three luchadores.
Caída Fall. A fall is when a luchador is pinned for a count of three, made to submit or knocked out of the ring for a count of 20. Most matches end when one side accumulates three falls.
