The Five Greatest Luchadores of All Time
Pro-wrestling gets a bad rap here in the US. Sure, it’s all choreographed and the storylines are plotted out, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t skill involved. Those guys put their bodies through hell, not to mention the acting talent it takes to create a memorable character. Just watch “Mr. Nanny” with Hulk Hogan or “The Tooth Fairy” starring Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson and tell us those guys can’t act. Still, we have to say that we prefer our own great tradition of pro-wrestling: Lucha Libre. In Lucha, the stories and stunts are also choreographed, but the skill required is higher. We’d like to see “Stone Cold” Steve Austin try to do acrobatics like Rey Mysterio or Mistico without breaking a hip. Plus, their stories aren’t about what faction is running stuff at WWE or something like that. In Lucha Libre the good tecnicos and the evil rudos fight for the souls of humanity and the fate of the world. Plus, in Lucha Libre you have cool masks and midget wrestlers dressed like Napoleon. Here is Tuvez.com’s list of the 5 greatest Lucha legends of all time.
El Santo
Was there any doubt he would head our list? El Santo’s real name was Rodolfo Guzman Huerta. He came up in a time when Lucha only existed in Mexico, though he would help spread it all over the world. This is due in large part to his long movie career. El Santo starred in a series of movies in which he would defeat some evil threat to humanity. Vampires, mummies, aliens, mad scientists, and werewolves all met their end at the hands of El Santo. It is a testament to his popularity around the world, that I was once stopped by some sailors in Greece while wearing an El Santo t-shirt. They told me how much he is loved in Greece. It’s ironic that a Mexican dude from Tulancingo, Hidalgo would be that big in the place where wrestling originated.
Blue Demon
Blue Demon was the stage name of Alejandro Muñoz Moreno. Early in his career he was a rudo or bad guy. He had a great rivalry in the 50′s and 60′s with El Santo, and wrestled with evil tag team partner Black Shadow. Turns out he was only under Black Shadow’s spell, which was broken when El Santo unmasked Black Shadow. Then Blue Demon and El Santo became allies against evil. Blue Demon starred in nine movies with El Santo before striking off on his own. He made a total of 25 films and was second in popularity only to El Santo.
Rey Mysterio
Rey Mysterio is the name of several wrestlers from the same family. It is not uncommon for a character to get passed down once the original wrestler retires. Since they wear masks, the character represented by the mask is more important than the individual wrestler. Rey Mysterio, Sr. was the stage name of Miguel Lopez, who originated the Rey Mysterio character in the 70′s. He became one of Mexico’s most famous wrestlers in his day. When he retired he passed the gauntlet to his son El Hijo de Rey Mysterio and his nephew Oscar Gutierrez AKA. Rey Mysterio, Jr. The latter has had tremendous success in the WWE, and is probably the most popular luchador wrestling today.
Mil Mascaras
There is no greater insult in the world of Lucha than to have your mask removed in the ring. Mil Mascaras made sure that would never happen. His real name is Aaron Arellano, and he still sometimes appears in the ring even though he is 70. As his name implies, he wears several layers of masks. If anyone tries to rip his mask off, he will only find another mask underneath. Mil Mascaras also appeared in several films including “Las Momias De Guanajuato” which also starred El Santo and Blue Demon. That’s like when De Niro and Pacino appeared together for the first time in “Heat”.
Eddie Guerrero
Eddie was one of the greats of recent professional wrestling. He came from the storied Guerrero wrestling family, and spent most of his career wrestling in the WWE. He was a heel or bad guy for most of his career, though in real life he donated his time to many charities and substance abuse programs. Eddie was the world heavyweight champion, the first Latino to do so. Eddie also had a rivalry with Rey Mysterio, Jr. that lasted several years. Sadly, Eddie died at the peak of his career in 2005 from a heart attack. No matter what people say, Lucha really does take a lot out of your body.
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