So, You Must Be Wondering How This Lucha Libre Business Works

At times, we’re just as perplexed about Lucha Libre rules as the next guy. It’s kind of like Rugby: we enjoy the bashing and clashing of bodies, but we’re oblivious to the strategy. Thankfully, some dudes at Pulse Wrestling decided to explain the tidbits for us all. So now when you stumble upon a Saturday morning match between “LA Park” and “El Hijo Del Santo” (Lucha Libre fighters), you’ll be fascinated with more than their sweaty pansas. Here’s a synopsis of what we learned.
The People That Make The Magic Happen

• There are two Lucha Libre promoters in Mexico: CMLL (Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre) and AAA. Give all of your Lucha Libre thanks to them.

It Isn’t Just About Body-Slamming: The Matches.

• There are traditional matches consisting of three guys on two teams. They are comprised of a captain and his runts. Now if stated captain gets pinned–or the other two vatos get pinned–then the team loses.
• Then there are the mask vs. mask and hair vs. hair matches as described by Pulse:
  

  [...] Either of these matches usually indicates the end of a feud. A mask match is obviously important - since a mask is such an important part of a luchador’s identity, to lose it is considered extremely humiliating. (Of course, the humiliation is often eased by the large paycheck demanded to lose the mask. An example is LA Park - who reportedly is asking $100,000 to lose his mask.) The masks are so important because several luchadors (perhaps most famously El Santo) are buried wearing their masks.

  We have Macbook for Macbook thumb wrestling competitions at our offices and that shit gets crazy.

“Ay vato, no biting!”: Method To The Madness.

• Basically, you have until the count of twenty (instead of ten like American wrestling) to get up after you’re pinned; you can’t use weapons; and if your mascara is pulled off then the other dude is hung by his huevos–and disqualified.