Quote:
Originally Posted by MickieJames
what the hell is lucha?
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Lucha libre, a
Spanish phrase loosely translated into
English as "free-style fighting", is a genre of
professional wrestling developed in
Mexico. Traditionally, Lucha Libre traces back to the early
1930s when Salvador Lutterroth brought
American wrestlers he had seen during his time in
Texas to Mexico, despite previous attempts to bring the sport to Mexico. Most wrestlers in Mexico are smaller than their counterparts elsewhere in
North America, so there is less emphasis on power moves than in the
United States or
Canada. Mexican wrestling is marked by rapid sequences of holds and moves, as well as spectacular
high-flying moves, many of which have been adopted north of the border. Recently, American style promoting and
Japanese shoot-style offense have also been integrated into the style. A Lucha Libre perfomer is known as a
luchador, the plural of which is
luchadores.
Rules
The rules of Lucha Libre are very similar to its American predecesor in singles matches. Matches can be won by pinning your opponent to the mat for the count of three, making him submit, knocking him out of the ring for a count of twenty or by disqualification. Submission is generally verbal or signalled by waving the hands. The "tapout", which is popular in
Japan and the United States, has little meaning in Mexico. Using the ropes for leverage is illegal and once a luchador is on the ropes, his opponent must release any holds and he will not be able to pin him. Disqualifications occur when an opponent uses an illegal hold or move such as the
Martinete, hits his opponent in the groin (
faul), uses outside interference, attacks the referee or rips his opponent's mask completely off. Most matches are two out of three falls (
Dos de tres caídas) and failure to observe the rest period in between rounds can lead the referee to call
exceso de rudezas (usually translated as "excessive violence") and reverse the previous fall's decision.
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Tag team rules
The primary match type in Lucha Libre is the six-man tag match called
Relevos Australianos ("Australian tag match") although they are usually called
tríos matches outside of Mexico. The matches usually have two referees and the two teams have a captain. In order to win a fall, either the team captain must pin the other team captain or any two members of one team must be pinned. If the legal man of the team leaves the ring, another team member can replace him without tagging in. The referee may also designate any two wrestlers as the legal participants. In traditional tag matches with two man teams, both members of the team must be pinned down.
from wiki
