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[[quoteright:339:[[Wrestling/ElSanto https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/El_Santo.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:339:Santo, el Enmascarado de Plata [[labelnote:Translation]]Saint, the Silver-Masked Man[[/labelnote]]]]

->''"The true luchador wears, on his head, a mask. On his body, a sequined unitard. On his feet... disco boots!"''
-->-- '''Rikochet''', ''WesternAnimation/MuchaLucha''

In ''lucha libre'', or Mexican ProfessionalWrestling, it is common for wrestlers to wear masks, never revealing their true identities to the public, much like comic-book {{superhero}}es and villains. To be unmasked by a rival wrestler, or indeed anyone at all, is considered an irredeemable dishonor.

The stock characterization for a ''luchador'' is a kindly GentleGiant [[FriendToAllChildren who loves kids]]. This is from the story of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fray_Tormenta Fray Tormenta]] (Friar Storm), a Catholic priest who started wrestling to earn money for his orphanage. Villainous ''luchadores'' are pretty rare. Outside Mexico, though, where ''luchadores'' attract considerably less reverence, they're much more common -- big burly dudes with concealed faces are scary, after all, and it's a good way to give your {{Malevolent Masked M|en}}an some exotic flair.

This trope goes hand-in-hand with the CoolMask trope.

----
!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Advertising]]
* The mascot of Koodo Mobile is an [[IncredibleShrinkingMan Incredible Shrinking Luchador]] named El Tabador, named such because the company allows you to have a tab instead of a contract.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* Lucha Master from ''Manga/{{Airmaster}}''.
* Lala's dad in ''Manga/SchoolRumble'' is a luchador. Tenma is a bit of a lucha libre fan, and both she and Karen don her mask on occasion, confounding Lala who can't believe the disparity in her power (as Karen is the only girl who has defeated Lala, while Tenma cannot fight at all).
* In ''Manga/KenichiTheMightiestDisciple'', a villainous luchador shows up to be trashed by Kenichi's masters a few times. Later the Manga introduces the ''much'' more dangerous Smiling Fist Diego Carlos and his student Rachel Stanley.
* Jesus Burgess from ''Manga/OnePiece'' is a masked luchador pirate, introduced standing on a building and challenging an entire city to fight. Later on, he shows his strength by hurling a hotel at an opponent. He's actually one of those rare luchadores who are evil.
* In an episode of ''Manga/CatsEye'', Hitomi and Ai [[BoundAndGagged tie up and gag]] a pair of female luchadoras and [[MuggedForDisguise steal their costumes]].
* In ''Literature/IsThisAZombie'', Ayumu goes to eat at "[[BlandNameProduct MaskDonald]]", a burger joint where the staff are all dressed as luchadores, complete with masks. Masks are also included in the meal, and during a conversation scene, a high school girl can be seen in the background putting on her mask and doing wrestling poses.
* Kaoru's father from ''Anime/PowerpuffGirlsZ''.
* While strictly speaking much of the cast of ''Manga/{{Kinnikuman}}'' is made up of wrestlers who wear masks, the only actual luchadores are Skyman and Kinnikuman Mariposa. Mariposa is the only one with any story significance -- surprisingly enough, he's a dishonest thief and cheater.
* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', one of the Vandenreich members is Sternritter "S", Mask de Masculine, a luchador. He manages to invert the character archetype and play it straight ''at the same time''. First of all he's a villain, but also by far the most [[AffablyEvil jovial]] of the Sternritters. [[spoiler:Then it's revealed that the letter "S" stands for "Superstar" and he gets [[PopularityPower power from the audience's cheers]]. He's always followed by James, his loyal fan, who keeps cheering for him and whom he protects from harm]].
* Saga Mask in ''Manga/TenjhoTenge'' uses his lucha skill to beat a [[IncendiaryExponent flame]] [[KiManipulation wielding]] [[SacrificialLion boxer]] who beat the series protagonists early on.
* ''Manga/TheVoynichHotel'' is owned by a retired wrestler. He still wears his mask.
* Bunny Kisaragi from ''Welcome to the El-Paracio'' specifically evokes this image, being El-Paracio's resident Babyface and extremely popular with the neighborhood kids. The mask is actually an important part of her backstory, as she was DrivenToSuicide for yet-unspecified reasons, only to be [[InterruptedSuicide interrupted]] by Ouka, who put a luchador mask on her head and convinced her to "start over from a clean slate", resulting in Bunny [[ThatManIsDead refusing to acknowledge her former identity]]. As a result she practically never takes off her mask, even in the bath (the one time she did, [[AccidentalPervert Tadasuke]] saw her stepping out of the shower, making him the only person other than Ouka who's seen her real face).
* ''Manga/TigerMask'', being a manga on wrestling, has a few:
** Tiger's Cave wrestlers, while villainous and from all around the world, are expected to ''never'' take off their masks in public, something Tiger Mask takes ''very'' seriously even after his HeelFaceTurn. They also follow a strict code, in that a masked wrestler can only reveal their face in public only when defeated, and that is only if their opponent takes off the mask (or demands they take it off themselves).
*** Tiger Mask shows traits of the good luchador even before his HeelFaceTurn, and in particular he's a FriendToAllChildren: when the son of a wrestler he mauled attacks him, Tiger Mask just takes his attack and tells him to come back when he's stronger than his father (immediately after an adult tries to kill Tiger Mask with a knife, and the wrestler promptly slaps him into submission and declares that if any ''adult'' tries to emulate the child this is what will happen); he breaks Tiger's Cave mandate to give them half of his money because he needs the money to pay the debt of the orphanage he grew up into before joining Tiger's Cave, and when given one last chance to pay Tiger's Cave he wastes it because the orphanage's debts happened to be higher than they thought; and he pulls his HeelFaceTurn because his childhood friend Ruriko, who is now running the orphanage and has guessed his real identity, asks him to show to one of the orphanage's children a better way than his current one -- and he does this in a fight with a Tiger's Cave wrestler who is trying to ''kill him''. He would later do anything in his power to help children, and orphans in particular, even temporarily returning a heel and walking into a tournament held by Tiger's Cave where all other competitors would try and murder him on the ring because otherwise he wouldn't be able to pay for the surgery to restore the eyes of a blind girl.
** Great Zebra isn't Mexican (and says he's from Africa), but he's the portrait of the good luchador, being a GentleGiant who enters Tiger's Cave tournament specifically to help Tiger Mask. [[spoiler:He's actually Giant Baba, who had figured out Tiger Mask had insulted everyone in the JWA and entered Tiger's Cave tournament to help some orphan and so decided to help his friend and save his life]].
** Mister Question is Indian, but he's a luchador in everything else, wearing a strange mask (and a costume that covers his entire body), using spectacular (and highly efficient) techniques, and championing the cause of good by going around the world to ''crush'' villainous wrestlers with his superior skills. He targets Tiger Mask for his past as a heel, but comes to respect him and, when (barely) defeated, asks to unmask himself, with Tiger Mask agreeing.
** A few RealLife luchadors have appeared. In particular, Tiger Mask managed to score a draw against Mil Mascaras by surprising him with the Fujiyama Tiger Breaker, and, in the manga, later faced and defeated his brother Dos Caras. Both are shown as [[TheCape the quintessential good guys]], with Mil Mascaras never using a foul and Dos Caras, to try and face the American champions that mix legal moves and fouls, trying to learn them but being too much of a good guy to become proficient.
** ''Anime/TigerMaskW'' has its own share of masked wrestlers, including an actual luchador.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* Examples from ''ComicBook/{{Hellboy}}'' and related series:
** In ''Lobster Johnson: The Iron Prometheus'', it's mentioned that, in the '50s, Mexican director Eduardo Fernandez created somewhere between nine and twelve low-budget films about Lobster Johnson, portraying him as a luchador hero. In fact, these were the source of the name "Lobster Johnson". Previously, all the fictional portrayals just referred to him as "the Lobster", with the secret identity Walter Johnson.
** In the ''Hellboy in Mexico'' one-shot, released on Cinco de Mayo, Hellboy teams up with three luchador brothers in 1950s Mexico to fight vampires. It's exactly as awesome as (and in the end, far more touching than) it sounds.
* Titan from ''La Cucaracha''.
* Jaime Reyes, the third Comicbook/BlueBeetle, wears an armor with a faceplate that just happens to look like a luchador mask to go with his Mexican heritage. Done intentionally and explained as the mask being modeled after its creators' faces.
* In the Swedish comic ''De Äventyrslystna Karlakarlarna'' -- "The Adventuresome He-men" -- one of the eponymous BashBrothers is the ([[McNinja appearently Swedish]]) luchador [[GeniusBruiser El Fjongo]].[[note]]Which, by the way, is fake-Spanish formed from a Swedish expression: in English it would probably be something like Captain Cocked.[[/note]]
* Examples from ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'':
** The Latin crime-boss El Sombrero in ''ComicBook/BatmanGrantMorrison'', who wears a {{Calacas}}-inspired luchador mask ([[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin and a sombrero]]). Oddly, though, we never see him do any actual wrestling
** [[Characters/BatmanBane Bane]] is partly luchador-inspired, though his mask and fighting movies may or may not closely resemble a luchador's DependingOnTheArtist, and he hails from a fictional Caribbean BananaRepublic rather than Mexico. ''ComicBook/Batman66'' takes this and runs with it.
* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'' was partially inspired by a famous luchador known as the Blue Demon, and he first reveals his powers to the public in a wrestling match against Crusher Hogan.
* ''ComicBook/SonicX'' has a mysterious masked wrestler called "El Gran Gordo", who [[PaperThinDisguise looks a bit like Dr. Eggman]]. [[spoiler:Eventually, Eggman starts to [[BecomingTheMask enjoy the genuine admiration he gets as a wrestler]].]]
* The heroine of ''La Perdida'' by Jessica Abel attends an art exhibition in Mexico City on the theme of masked luchadores and debates their place in culture with her Mexican friends.
* ''ComicBook/ElMarvo'' is a cryogenically-frozen masked Luchador who wakes up in a [[AfterTheEnd post-apocalyptic Earth, which is now known as "Muck"]], and becomes a hero intent on freeing the people from the reign of [[BigBad Sokrates]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* ''Fanfic/DanganronpaKommSusserTod'': Tetsuo Garcia is the Ultimate Luchador, and thus has many of the traits associated with luchadores. He has a strong sense of justice, crediting Wrestling/ElSanto as an inspiration, Hispanic heritage (he is half-Spanish, and popularized lucha libre in Spain after beginning his career in Mexico), and is almost never seen without a white and blue mask.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
* Another villainous luchador is El Macho from ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe2''.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Mutafukaz}}'', professional wrestlers are actually Earth's protectors, have lived for centuries and used to be Aztec warriors. All that choreographed wrestling? Training. And to stave off existential boredom.
* El Chupacabra from ''WesternAnimation/{{Planes}}'' is dressed as one.
* ''WesternAnimation/LaLigaDeLos5'':
** Tuna is a masked wrestler whose body can produce spines and cactus sap.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* There's an entire luchador genre in Mexico where the hero is a real luchador playing himself. The most popular series (52 films!) starred Wrestling/ElSanto, El Enmascarado de Plata (Saint, The Silver-Masked Man). In these, El Santo has to rescue his love interest du jour from some fantastic threat, such as zombies, vampires, or mad scientists. While the movies are pretty crude, many Mexicans from the time, to current college students to even a few children still consider these movies an important part of Mexico's film history and actually pretty entertaining.
* El Santo wasn't the only prominent luchador film star. Other prominent series stars (some of whom would team up with each other and El Santo on occasion) included:
** Blue Demon, who starred in 25 films.
** Mil Máscaras ("A Thousand Masks"), who was specifically created for the movies during a contract dispute between El Santo and producer Enrique Vergara. He starred in 20 films.
** Las Luchadoras were a female tag team (Lorena Velázquez and ''gringa'' actress Elizabeth Campbell) who starred in six films, some of which made it into the English-language market (e.g., ''Wrestling Women vs. the Aztec Mummy''). The stars were actresses, not professional wrestlers. Lady luchadoras did exist at the time, but few had movie-star good looks and most wouldn't be recognized by the Mexican Comision de Box y Lucha Libre until the 1980s.
** Neutron, a black-masked hero who resembled [[WebAnimation/HomestarRunner Strong Bad]], starred in dozens of films, but only three had an English dub. One, ''Neutron the Atomic Superman vs. the Death Robots'' (AKA ''Losautómatas de la muerte'') was a Podcast/RiffTrax VOD.
* El Santo is a character in ''3 Dev Adam'' ("Film/ThreeBigMen"), a.k.a. ''Turkish ComicBook/SpiderMan'' or ''Turkish ComicBook/CaptainAmerica'' (Spider-Man is actually the ''villain'' of the movie).
* The fun CaptainErsatz of El Santo in ''Film/JesusChristVampireHunter'' is named El Santos to [[LawyerFriendlyCameo avoid lawsuits]]. Barely. Except there's a Mexican comic book character [[Franchise/ElSantos with that name]].
* Jack Black's character in ''Film/NachoLibre'', whom is loosely based on Fray Tormenta.
* ''Wrestlemaniac'' had a homicidal mutant luchador, whose MO was to TearOffYourFace.
* In ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan'', Peter gets the initial idea for the Spider-Man mask upon seeing a poster of a luchador mask with a similar red-and-blue coloring.
* The villain in ''Film/OSS117LostInRio'' is also a South American wrestling promoter, and has two masked luchadores as henchmen... [[spoiler:''Nazi'' masked luchadores!]]
* In ''Film/{{Machete}}'', during the invasion of Sartana's apartment, one of the mooks wears a luchador mask.
* In ''Film/MacheteKills'', [[spoiler:Sartana]] gets murdered by a man in a luchador mask, and Machete gets attacked by a squad of gun-toting luchadores. Later, Machete finds the mask of the murderer in [[BigBad Luther Voz's]] lair, and Voz admits it was him.
* In ''Film/{{Hellboy|2019}}'', Hellboy's first mission that the audience sees in the film is him going into a Lucha Libre arena to locate a BRPD agent who was supposed to take out a vampire cult. [[spoiler:Unsurprisingly, the agent has been turned into a vampire himself, which is revealed when Hellboy rips off his mask, and ends up ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice in short order]].
* ''Film/SignatureMove'': Alma's mother was once a luchadora, as shown in a photo of her with a mask from those days. She used the name Luna Peligrosa. Zaynab starts getting into wrestling herself, wearing masks like this with Alma while they watch a bout and afterward too. Later on Zaynab becomes a luchadora and uses one while wrestling too.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* One of these works for Wolfram and Hart in ''Series/{{Angel}}'', and is the focus of [[Recap/AngelS05E06TheCautionaryTaleOfNumeroCinco one of the more interesting Season 5 episodes.]] Specifically, he is a disgraced hero whose four brothers died to save the world. Also, before his brothers died they were [[NoodleIncident famous for defeating]] ''"El Diablo Robotico!"'' a robot built by the devil.
* In ''Series/LosLuchadores'', watch Lobo Fuerte and his plucky sidekicks Turbine and Maria Valentine fight evil in Union City.
* An episode of ''Series/TheMiddleman'' featured a gang of luchadores obsessed with killing The Middleman's martial arts trainer and mentor, Sensei Ping (who also, incidentally, wore the mask of a luchador).
* In one episode of ''Series/TopGearUS'' that took place mostly in Mexico, Adam had to transport a gaggle of unruly luchadores to a charity event as part of a challenge.
* In the ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' episode [[Recap/SupernaturalS09E02DevilMayCare "Devil May Care" (S09, Ep02)]], Kevin uncovers a photo of Sergeant Bates doing jello shots off a naked guy in a Luchador mask.
* An episode of ''Series/TopChef Masters'' has the chefs cooking for the crowd of a Lucha Vavoom show, a combination lucha libre/burlesque show whose tagline is "sexo y violencia."
* A big influence in the evolution of the SHOCKER {{Mooks}} in the original ''Series/KamenRider'': Initially the henchmen were guys in berets with creepy facepaint. In episode 14, SHOCKER brings in their top agent from Mexico, a cactus-themed luchador-esque monster named Sabetregon. He had his own personal minions, who dressed in black tights and wore lucha masks with a cactus on them. Apparently, someone liked the look, because afterwards, the main SHOCKER forces began wearing similar costumes, only with a skeleton motif replacing the cactus one.
* In ''Series/{{Snowfall}}'', El Oso gets his nickname from his career as a masked luchador.
* A bull themed android wearing a luchador mask appeared late into the story of ''Series/UchuSentaiKyuranger''. He called himself Jubeef, a clue to his real identity as [[spoiler:Champ/Ouishi Black, Kyuranger's missing member]]. Noone was any [[PaperThinDisguise particularly]] [[DullSurprise surprised]].
* ''Series/{{CSI}}'': In "Mascara", one of Langston's former grad assistants is murdered. He discovers that she was investigating Mexican wrestlers to solve a series of unsolved murders.
* The ProWrestlingEpisode of ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'', "Lucha de Apuestas", features El Cura, a NoCelebritiesWereHarmed vesion of El Santo who wears gold instead of silver, and who, when the Legends meet him, is a BrokenAce, having seen his fame taken by El Lobo (actually Koanane the Kaupe). Constantine, who is a fan of the El Cura monster movies that will now never exist, is apalled.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]
* The Masked Luchador is a particularly popular character in modern surf music. There are several bands that wear Mexican wrestling masks and adopt mexican-sounding names as part of their stage shows, or even write songs about lucha films and luchadores (the song Los Campiones Del Justicio by The Ghastly Ones). It is believed that the American surf band Los Straitjackets is responsible for this, as they adopted the masks early in their career and subsequently made the genre popular through Mexico because of this, spanning bands like Sr. Bikini or The Blue Demons, all adopting the masks and hiding identity. There's even a FRENCH surf band adopting the masks, called The Bikini Men.
* Strangely enough, the Mexican wrestling masks have been also adopted by several goregrind and grindcore bands, most notably Gut from Germany. Even more strange, the porno-grind bands seem to have an affinity for the masked luchador : Gut of course, but check guys like Ultimo Mondo Cannibale or Spasm.
* One member of the superhero-rock band The Justice Force 5 is a vampire luchador. Well, not really, but that's his gimmick.
* The cover of the Jesus Jones album, ''Perverse'' shows a [[https://image.ibb.co/kVfAEU/jesusjones.jpg big, masked]] Luchador face.
* Music/JillSobule's "Mexican Wrestler":
-->"Sometimes I wish I was a wrestler\\
A Mexican wrestler in a red vinyl mask\\
I would pick you up and body slam you\\
And possibly cause you physical harm"
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music Videos]]
* In the video for "Warrior" by Music/{{Kimbra}}, [[Music/FosterThePeople Mark Foster]], and A-Trak, Mark and A-Trak are forced to don luchador's masks and fight other people in masks. [[spoiler:It later turns out their opponents are forced to fight as well.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]
* Mexican wrestling, of course. Removing an opponent's mask is cause for disqualification and one of the worst things a "Rudo" ({{Heel}}) can do. That is unless the mask was removed after losing a "Mask vs. Mask" or "Mask vs. Hair" match, making {{humiliating wager}} matches more important in Mexican Lucha Libre than ''title'' matches!
* Masked Luchadores did not actually start in Mexico, believe it or not, though no one is sure exactly ''where'' that was for certain; the first man on record to wrestle professionally with a mask was the French "Masked Wrestler" and the first to bring it into the country of Mexico was known as "The Masked Marvel", and his {{secret identity}} gimmick had been going on long enough in the USA already for him to be a LegacyCharacter. Still, "Maravilla Enmascarada" caught on in Mexico like nowhere else before, so [[Wrestling/{{CMLL}} EMLL]] booker Salvador Lutteroth tried to duplicate this success with Wrestling/ElSanto. In the end, Maravilla's success wasn't duplicated but dwarfed, as El Santo became Mexico's most famous luchador.
* Did not stop after Masked Marvel went to Mexico either, continuing to occasionally appear in USA wrestling with names like "The Destroyer" and, after death of the territories, in the "cruiserweight" divisions. WCW and WWF/WWE each had a few wrestlers take on the style, [[Wrestling/ReyMysterioJr Rey Mysterio(Jr)]] being a prominent name in both and WWE promoting Wrestling/SinCara heavily, although they insisted [[Wrestling/AlbertoDelRio Dos Caras Jr unmask,]] despite him wearing it to a 9-5 record in MMA.
* After El Santo retired, the most popular masked luchadores in Mexico were Black Man and Kung Fu, collectively known as Los Tres Fantasticos alongside Kato Kung Lee(who was Panamanian, and did not wear a mask). Black Man had in fact been El Santo's StuntDouble in movies before finally catching on in the ring, and the three are responsible for putting Lucha Libre Internacional on the map, making its governing body UWA respected around the world and making three on three TagTeam matches the most popular {{gimmick match|es}} in Mexico, as they succeeded the retiring Santo's feud with Los Misonaries de la Muerte.
* Masked Luchadoras are not as ingrained in popular culture, in spite of El Santo giving Irma González his blessing to wrestle as Novia del Santo, due to Mexico City's commision banning luchadoras for decades and most smaller bodies following suit. A few others such as Original!La Diabólica, El Galactico's DistaffCounterpart La Galactica, Pantera's counterpart Pantera Sureña and Flor De Loto managed to become local legends even with the limited booking. With the ban's lifting Princesa Sugehit was booked and imitated around the world with ([[LegacyCharacter The second]])La Diabólica, Star Fire and Ludark Shaitan also gaining international attention.
* It's also not uncommon for non-luchadores to [[CharlieBrownFromOuttaTown pretend to be one as a trick]]. If a heel does it, like when Wrestling/KurtAngle became "El Gran Luchador" during his feud with Wrestling/EddieGuerrero, it's a sign of them being a devious wang, whereas if it's a {{face}} that pulls it off, like when Kaz Hayashi became "El Gringo" for a night, it's usually so they can get their hands on a cowardly heel who has been ducking them in straight-up fights.
* Wrestling/DelWilkes isn't Mexican, but as [[{{Eagleland}} "the Patriot"]] he has sported a mask, making him an interesting example. Before this he was part of a TagTeam known as the Wrestling Machines in USWA as Wrestling Machine #2.
* WWE Hall of Famer Mil Máscaras is arguably the one to pave the way for some of the most prominent Mexican superstars like Wrestling/ReyMysterioJr and Wrestling/EddieGuerrero in the US(though they were both US nationals. Mexican nationals haven't done so well outside the indies in post territory US) or Wrestling/SilverKing, Bengala, Dr Wagner Jr, Wrestling/{{Mistico}}, Mascara Dorada, Dragon Lee and Wrestling/LaSombra in Japan's 'Puroresu' promotions.
* Masks are not as common on the Caribbean scene as Mexico but still are very common. The Broncos of The Dominican Republic and La Atilleria Pesada (Thunder Y Lightning) of Puerto Rico being some of the regional icons. Outside of the Caribbean, Zeuxis is Puerto Rico's most famous masked luchadora.
* The Invaders used to be "THE" masked TagTeam[=\=]PowerTrio of the Caribbean but [[OvershadowedByControversy Invader #1 went and tarnished their legacy]] by killing Wrestling/BruiserBrody, causing Los Broncos to overtake them in popularity.
* Not uncommon in Japanese wrestling either, with famous wrestlers like [[Wrestling/SatoruSayama Tiger Mask]], Wrestling/JushinThunderLiger, Wrestling/UltimoDragon and Wrestling/TheGreatSasuke. The aforementioned Eddie Guerrero was also the second Black Tiger, nemesis of Tiger Mask. There in fact exists an entire sub brand of Japanese "Puroresu", "Lucharesu". FULL, Wrestling/MichinokuProWrestling and Wrestling/{{Toryumon}}[=\=]Wrestling/DragonGate(FULL and Toryumon [[SarcasmMode coincidentally]] growing directly out of Mexican based EMLL and IWRG respectively) being among those most widely known, Pantera, Atlantis and La Flamita being the first Mexican enmascarados to build lucharesu legacies.
* Many of Bolivia's most popular wrestlers are [[{{Expy}} tributes]] to famous Mexican luchadores, such as Super Payaso for Super Muñeco and La Super Muerte for Wrestling/LaParka. Less derivative South American luchadores include Panama's Chacho Medina and his [[WrestlingFamily son]] Veneno, who became [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff big in Mexico]]. La Momia is a [[FountainOfExpies common]] one throughout Central and South America, with "Ramses" being a particularly memorable one in Bolivia.
* Wrestling/{{ECW}} helped to popularize the style in the United States, with alumni including the aforementioned Rey Mysterio Jr., Wrestling/{{Psicosis}}, Wrestling/LaParka, and Juventud Guerrera. Most of ECW's luchadores came form Wrestling/{{AAA}} and ended up getting poached by Wrestling/{{WCW}} for their cruiserweight division.
** Psicosis lost his mask in Wrestling/{{WCW}} in 1999, and has wrestled without it since then. When he appeared on the first ''Wrestling/{{ECW}} One Night Stand'', he wore the mask to the ring and took it off before the match. The fans then proceeded to chant "Put the mask on!"
* [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson American Dragon]](teamed alongside Wrestling/{{C|hristopherDaniels}}urryman) and [[Wrestling/SaraDelRey American Angel]] became masked luchadores in Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling and LLF, respectively. Similarly, El Ilegal Chicano([[IronicNickname Actually]] Puerto Rican Carlos of boxing's famous Cotto family) was initially given a mask in AAA.
* Wrestling/RingOfHonor had [[Wrestling/SamiZayn El Generico]], The Generic Luchador. The twist is that he's Canadian. While he's billed as being from Tijuana, and speaks very little English when in character, what makes it funnier is that even if you don't know anything about the man under the mask, you can tell at first glance that he's really a white guy; he's kind of pale, and he also sports a red goatee. Jossed further in NXT: he's Syrian-Canadian.
* ROH also had some straighter examples, bringing Stuka Jr, Hechicero, El Soberano Jr and Bandido to the US as well as booking the aforementioned Dragon Lee and Caristico.
* Wrestling/{{TNA}} has an interesting example in Sangriento, a luchador played by established X-Division wrestler The Amazing Red, who continued to appear unmasked in different parts of the show treated as a separate individual(this same stunt in WCW may have lead to Reina Jubuki being stripped of he CMLL World Woman's title belt (if it wasn't them being horrified by her being on a roster that was suddenly overflowing with Triple A luchadores) and was fodder for the Suicide vs Motor City Machine Guns feud in TNA itself)
* World Wonder Ring STARDOM's annual Mask Fiesta turns everyone who is not already a masked luchador/a one for the night.
* Revolution British Wrestling and later, Wrestling/{{Progress Wrestling}}, have El Ligero.
* The SMS PowerStable of the Australia based PWA have the [=InstaGraham=], [=SnapChad=], [=FaceBrooke=] trio. {{Hipster}} luchadores.
* Wrestling/LuchaUnderground's buzz saw another influx of luchadores into the US. In addition to masking non luchadores like Matt Cross(Son Of Havoc), [[Wrestling/TrevorMann Ricochet]](Prince Puma), Wrestling/CheerleaderMelissa(Mariposa) and El Mesías(Mil Muertes) it also opened up new bookings for Mexican enmascarados Fénix, Drago, Wrestling/PentagonJr and Sexy Star.
* Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling features several masked wrestlers on its roster: The Wrestling/LuchaBrothers, Luchasaurus, [[Wrestling/TheDarkOrder Evil Uno and Preston Vance]], and BreakoutCharacter Fuego Del Sol. AEW puts a twist on the luchador tradition by not making in-ring unmaskings illegal, and not enforcing permanent unmaskings. On a few rare occasions, this has allowed heels to score a dirty win by unmasking an opponent and pinning them while they are shocked.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/AllFleshMustBeEaten'' supplement Zombie Smackdown has an entire chapter based on ''lucha libre'', with sample characters including El Hijo del Abejarro (Son of the Bumblebee). The main story in the chapter, of coruse, features a villainous ''rudo'' named [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Muerte]].
* ''Lucha Libre Hero'' from [[TabletopGame/HeroSystem Hero Games]] is based off the ''lucha'' films mentioned above.
* One of the sample characters in the ''Martial Arts'' supplement for ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'' is "Del Duque", a heroic crimefighter in a Luchador-style mask hailing from a world that seems to operate on low-budget-TV-series logic. He is also by far the most powerful of the sample characters (at 350 character points, he's in the lower-end superhero range).
* In ''TabletopGame/ChuubosMarvelousWishGrantingEngine'', Laodemus Schwan is an itinerant masked wrestler and adventurer.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* La Mariposa and Mr. Strong from the ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive'' games. La Mariposa (a.k.a. [[spoiler:Lisa]]) from ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive 4'' is a FragileSpeedster variant. Her [[MeaningfulName name is meaningful]] because it means "butterfly" in Spanish, and she wears a butterfly shaped mask.
* Jugglernort from the ''[[VideoGame/DJHero DJ Hero]]'' series is one of the more subverted examples, being an ex-wrestler who did time in the clink, then became an underground DJ after he was released. True to form though, he is never seen without his Luchador mask, however he is anything ''but'' a gentle giant.
* ''VideoGame/{{Extrapower}}'' features Sharkungo, a [[ProWrestlingIsReal Star Lore Superstar]] always seen in his star-faced red mask.
* ''{{VideoGame/Guacamelee}}'' is the videogame TropeCodifier. The player character, Juan Aguacate, dons a magical luchador mask to empower himself in his pursuit of the villainous Carlos Calaca, and to rescue his childhood sweetheart Lupita from Calaca's clutches. Over the course of the game, he obtains lucha libre moves such as body slams and grappling techniques to aid him in his quest.
* Creator/Suda51 has a thing for Masked Wrestling, and includes it in his games:
** ''VideoGame/FlowerSunAndRain'' has Mr. Pirate and his protege, El Crasher who are training for Crasher's next fight.
** MASK de Smith, a character in ''VideoGame/Killer7''. Easily the most powerful character in the game. While he doesn't actually use his wrestling techniques to fight the game's enemies (preferring a pair of grenade launchers for combat, probably because the enemies would just [[ActionBomb blow up when he got close]]), his special skills make good use of his strength, being able to smash through solid barriers bare-handedly.
** You can also collect luchador trading cards in ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'', ''[=Killer7=]'''s SpiritualSuccessor.
** It's quite possible that the [[AnimalMotifs tiger motif]] that appears throughout the game associated with Travis Touchdown, is a subtle {{homage}} to the Japanese wrestler Manga/TigerMask. Interestingly enough, Tiger Mask appeared in ''Fire Pro Wrestling D''. [=Suda51=] began working on videogames with the ''Fire Pro Wrestling'' series.
* ''VideoGame/TotalOverdose'' has a super move that summons a luchador named Mysterioso.
* ''VideoGame/FreakyFlyers'' had a character named Cactus Rose. Her backstory included a brief stint as a masked wrestler.
* El Fuerte from ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIV'' is one of these.
** Despite the mask and attitude, Japanese wrestler Rainbow Mika from ''VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha'' is a subversion. Her and her fighting style are actually based off ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puroresu#Joshi_puroresu joshipuro,]]'' a type of women's pro wrestling that originated in Japan. She's often mistaken as a straight example of a Masked Luchador thanks to joshipuro being relatively unknown outside of Japan (with the likes of the Wrestling/JumpingBombAngels and Wrestling/BullNakano having very brief runs in Wrestling/{{WWE}} in the 1980s and 1990s), and the fact that El Fuerte happens to be a huge fan of hers doesn't help matters.
* Pretty much every Mexican character from Creator/{{SNK}} is a wrestler of some description. ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters''[='=] Ramon fits the FragileSpeedster archetype, while Tizoc[=/=]Griffon Mask from ''VideoGame/FatalFury'' is very much the Fray Tormenta type (minus the priest part). Angel actually fights more like an American wrestler (complete with [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Peoples' Elbow]]). ''King of Fighers XIV'' puts all three of them together as the Mexico Team, though Tizoc has undergone a FaceHeelTurn and rebranded himself as the King of Dinosaurs.
* ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'' has a [[QuirkyMinibossSquad quartet of minibosses]] who are all gimmicky luchadores based on both animals and card suits. This despite the fact that [[{{Spexico}} the level they're found in is based on Spain]].
* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
** Crasher Wake, a Gym Leader in ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'' who uses water-type Pokemon.
** ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'' introduces Hawlucha, a luchador [[NobleBirdOfPrey hawk]]. It's a Fighting/Flying type and attacks with flying presses, mirroring a luchador's acrobatic fighting style.
** In the ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire]]'' remakes, one of the outfits that Cosplay Pikachu can wear is a luchador outfit. Like Hawlucha, it knows Flying Press with this outfit.
** ''VideoGame/PokkenTournament'' introduces Pikachu Libre, who is basically the luchador-wearing Cosplay Pikachu in a cameo. And it indeed fights like a luchador.
** During ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'', you meet a masked wrestler known as the Masked Royal who invites you to fight in the Battle Royal. [[BlatantLies He's also totally not Professor Kukui under there. What are you talking about?]]
* King and Armor King from the ''Franchise/{{Tekken}}'' series.
** King (and King II) even follow in the Fray Tormenta mould (King was listed as an actual priest; King II was one of the original orphans).
** However, King I, King II and Armor King I follow the more conventional wrestling style. Armor King II has some luchador-based moves, but not all. Then in ''Tekken Tag Tournament 2'', there's a female luchador named 'Jaycee' [[spoiler:(who's actually Julia Chang)]].
* El Blaze, a newcomer to the ''VideoGame/VirtuaFighter'' series who is a blatant {{expy}} of Rey Mysterio.
* The NES game ''Tag Team Wrestling'' featured a pair of masked wrestlers called the Strong Bads. Yes, they were the inspiration for [[WebAnimation/HomestarRunner that other Strong Bad]].
* ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing''
** There's a luchador costume available as one of the many "costume themes."
** ''New Leaf'' introduces a villager actually named "Lucha". He's a bird with a face that's stylized to look like a lucha mask. Another villager with a luchador theme is Stinky, a jock cat.
* Masked Wrestlers and UnderGroundMonkey variants called ___ Gigas are common foes in ''VideoGame/Persona3'' and ''VideoGame/Persona4''.
* The Soccer game ''Sega Soccer Slam'' featured the character El Diablo, a massive powerhouse who [[ThirdPersonPerson only refers to himself in the third person]].
* ''VideoGame/ShadowHeartsCovenant'' features this in Joachim Valentine, who first appears as the masked Grand Papillion. One of his special abilities is that every now and then he'll don the mask in a fight and receive a massive stat boost.
* ''[[VideoGame/KatamariDamacy We Heart Katamari]]'' includes a cousin named Lucha, who appropriately enough has the appearance of a luchador.
* El Pianca, one of the three default heroes from ''VideoGame/KnuckleBash'', is a luchador who's never seen without his mask. There's also a trio of luchador boss enemies you fight on a ring in a later stage.
* Manga/TigerMask, the Japanese wrestler, appears in ''VideoGame/FireProWrestling D''.
** And in ''[[MassiveMultiplayerCrossover Shonen Sunday vs. Shonen Magazine]]''.
* ''VideoGame/SaturdayNightSlammasters'' has El Stinger/Stingray and Astro/Scorpio, whose designs are a nod/ripoff to real wrestlers Lizmark and Tinieblas respectively.
* [[MeaningfulName Greco]] from ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'' (meaningful since his ward's name is 'Romana'-wrestling pun). He's also both a psychic ''and'' a priest. Did we mention ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'' is kind of weird?
* WhatCouldHaveBeen example: Creator/HideoKojima's first draft for the war-based game he was told to design was a game called ''Lost Warld'', starring a masked luchadora (a female luchador). However, the draft got canned, and thus ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' was born.
* [[VideoGame/RumbleRoses Evil Rose]] should fit the bill pretty well.
* There is a videogame based on the AAA (One of the 2 major Lucha Libre associations in Mexico). The tagline? ''No es wrestling, es '''Lucha Libre''''' (It's not ''wrestling'', it's ''Lucha Libre'').
* Masked Muscle from ''[[VideoGame/PunchOut Super Punch-Out!!]]''. Yes, in a BOXING game.
* The Heavy from ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' has a luchador mask called the "Large Luchadore", and in ''VideoGame/PokerNightAtTheInventory'', he asks [[WebAnimation/HomestarRunner Strong Bad]] if his mask means he wrestles, like Iron Sheik. Strong Bad snubs the idea, saying he's a wrestle ''man'', not a hack wrestl''er''.
** A promotional offer for VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird also gives the Heavy Killbane's mask.
* ''VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird'' has The Luchadores, an entire gang made up of luchadores led by one wrestler named [[NamestoRunAwayFromReallyFast Killbane, the Walking Apocalypse]]. He also prefers going by Killbane over his real name, and [[DoNotCallMePaul will react violently]] to anyone who calls him by it.
* "Ringside" from ''VideoGame/RhythmHeaven Fever'' involves a masked wrestler answering interview questions and posing for the cameras after a big match. Notably, he doesn't seem to be actually ''listening'' to the questions -- both the English and Japanese versions [[BlahBlahBlah have the questions as gibberish]], to which he responses with "Yeah", flexing or posing for the cameras.
* There's a sequence in ''Videogame/{{Yakuza}} 3'' during which Kazuma Kiryuu and Rikiya Shimabukuro stage a wrestling match for the children at Kazuma's orphanage, posing as masked wrestlers Dragon Mask and Ricky Mask. The costume shows up in later installments as a bonus outfit.
** ''Yakuza Kiwami'' features at least one as a combatant in the arena. Lucha Hawk is a textbook example, with the name, mask and fighting style down to a T. Charon Martinez has a reasonable name and mask for a luchador, but his fighting style is stated to be a very Japanese style of kenpo that has never left Japan.
* El Plancha (a.k.a. Dice) from the Creator/{{Toaplan}} BeatEmUp ''Knuckle Bash''.
* Star Man from ''VideoGame/ProWrestling''.
* Various Luchadore costume pieces are available for unlock as [=PvP=] rewards in ''Videogame/ChampionsOnline.''
* The title character (and the game's actual protagonist, Mutt) in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfElLobodestroyoVsLaLigaDeLosVillanos''.
* ''VideoGame/RaymanLegends'' has the world "Fiesta De Los Muertos," where many of the enemies resemble masked luchadors, including the boss.
* ''[[VideoGame/RavingRabbids Rabbids Rumble]]'' has Loco Libre, a Rabbid who happens to be one of the mightiest wrestlers in South America, and also apparently spends 23 hours at the gym according to his official bio card.
* ''VideoGame/DeadRising2: Off the Record'' features luchadore zombies.
* ''VideoGame/LiveALive'' has Great Aja, "a Japanese wrestler who has mastered the techniques of the Mexican Lucha Libre champ, El Rudo."
* ''VideoGame/{{Lisa}}'' has Rage 'El Rage' Ironhead, and energetic luchador party member who attacks with his head.
* In the second case of ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies'', a masked wrestler called "The Amazing Nine-Tails" plays a pretty big part. In the WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue, [[spoiler:Mayor Tenma]] says he has started wrestling under a second, {{Heel}} persona... which has ended up putting him in the unfortunate situation of his two personas being scheduled to fight each other, and he has no clue how he's going to pull that off.
* The sport of ''Truxican'' Wrestling is mentioned occasionally in the ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'' series. Assuming Truxicans are [[SpaceJews Space Mexicans]] as their name implies (not to mention one sidequest involving a [[MexicanStandoff Truxican Standoff]]), it probably involves masked luchadores.
** The character Krieg has an unlockable Truxican wrestler mask under the name DOUBLE SUPLEX TIME!
* ''VideoGame/{{Battleborn}}'' now has one of these in one Francesco Drake, "El Dragón". He's got the added benefit of [[ArtificialLimbs cybernetic arms]] and the ability to [[ManOnFire light himself on fire]] -- [[IncendiaryExponent to his enemies' detriment.]]
* The Sacred Heart faith in ''VideoGame/AfterTheEndAPostApocalypticAmerica'' counts Wrestling/ElSanto among its patron deities. Followers of El Santo can become ''luchadores'' themselves, and face each other in wrestling matches -- unlike in El Santo's day, they [[ProWrestlingIsReal fight for real]]. The Sacred Heart also has a holy order of luchador knights, ''La Orden de la Mascara'' (The Order of the Mask).
* ''Videogame/HitmanAbsolution'' has 47 track down Sanchez to an underground fighting ring where he is scheduled to face off against a masked fighter known as The Patriot. A special way to complete the mission is to disguise 47 as The Patriot and go into the ring to kill him in hand-to-hand combat in front of a cheering crowd who doesn't realize that the two of you are fighting for real, even after 47 takes off his mask halfway through the fight.
* ''VideoGame/HongKongNinja'' has wrestlers in luchador masks as GiantMook-type enemies in quite a few areas.
* ''VideoGame/BurritoBison'' stars a buffalo-themed masked wrestler. The third game in the series introduces two partners, El Pollo and Pineapple Spank.
* ''VideoGame/GodHand'' has two boss fights against a ''gorilla'' in a luchador outfit, complete with a tiger-themed mask. (Or judging by the zipper on his back, perhaps he's just a human in a gorilla costume.)
* ''VideoGame/RenownedExplorers'' has a luchador named Dolores Garcia as one of the avilable explorers, specializing in Athletics and Quick Wits. Her personal story card involves her encouraging the other two explorers in the party to form a wrestling team which gives you additional income in between expeditions due to them participating in wrestling matches during the downtime.
* ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'' features Ruler Quetzalcoatl Santa/Samba, an [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot Aztec goddess, luchadora, samba dancer, and santa]], all at the same time. She has a pair of minor costumes where she dons masks, the Tecnica and Ruda Mascaras, which make her look more heroic or villainous, respectively.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Animation]]
* ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'': Strong Bad's look is based on this, although the mask is apparently [[NotAMask his actual face.]] He actually wrestles in a few toons, although he makes it clear in one of them that "Being an awesome wrestler has nothing to do with awesome wrestling moves." Furthermore, in the same toon he goes through a variety of gimmicks none of which are the straight Masked Luchador gimmick -- the final one even involves facepaint over his "mask"! Oh, and for some reason he wears ''boxing'' gloves. Which, again, are apparently his actual hands.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* Dr. [=McLuchador=] from ''WebComic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcninja'', who was exiled from Cumberland for his extreme, wrestling-based methods. And his extreme methods in general, really. [[spoiler:It turns out that the real [=McLuchador=] died years ago in obscurity. The one who appears is [=McNinja=] himself (who faked his death thanks to the events of the last plot arc), using the persona to infiltrate [[BigBad King Radical]]'s organization.]]
* El Lightning Blue from ''Webcomic/TheBMovieComic''.
* This is the outfit that Muko wears in the Act 1 cover of ''Webcomic/FurryFightChronicles'' as her Combagal theme. She finds the CoolMask of it in Chapter 30 but has yet to buy it.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* Lucha Jack of ''Website/{{Bogleech}}'' is a JerkWithAHeartOfGold homunculus created by [[MadScientist Dr. Caligari]]. His adventures include chopping a yeti to bits with his [[ChainsawGood chainsaw]], battling his arch-nemesis, [[MalevolentMaskedMen Enemigo]], and defeating an [[EldritchAbomination interdimensional rainbow owl named Morpheus]] who spreads his comfort by humping anything.
* [[http://static.fjcdn.com/large/pictures/05/1e/051ea4_3893794.jpg LOS TIBURON, THE SHARK OF THE LAND!]]
* Website/SomethingAwful's [[https://www.somethingawful.com/author/28/ El Pinto Grande]] is kind of a luchador-flavored FunnyForeigner from a CloudCuckooland version of Mexico. He always appears in costume and bandies about wrestling terminology and anecdotes while mostly just providing commentary on the news of the day, instead of doing any actual wrestling.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* The entire cast of ''WesternAnimation/MuchaLucha'' consists of young masked luchadores attending "The [[SuperheroSchool Foremost World-Renowned International School of Lucha]]", but not all of them are Mexican.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheAngryBeavers'' had El Grapadura (The Stapler), who had his own TV show and even starred in a movie with the beavers.
* ''WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse'': Skurd eventually fixes the glitch that prevented the Omnitrix from giving Rath clothes, resulting in Rath wearing a masked luchador outfit... and also speaking Spanish, for some reason.
* El Toro Fuerte[[labelnote:translation]]The Strong Bull[[/labelnote]], a professional luchador from ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures''. In his debut episode, "The Mask of El Toro Fuerte", El Toro had attached the [[SuperStrength Ox Talisman]] to the forehead of his mask, and considered the notion of being unmasked to be of the highest disgrace.
* A stock background character in ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents''.
* White Pantera's costume in ''WesternAnimation/ElTigre'' is highly reminiscent of these.
* Pantha, a female Brazilian luchadora from ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003''.
* [[WesternAnimation/TheHauntedWorldOfElSuperbeasto El Superbeasto.]]
* Johnny "the Mayor" Bledsoe, the mayor of Hill Valley on the bizarre ''WesternAnimation/TheOblongs'', wore a luchador mask (and a business suit), although he acted more like an American wrestler--"Macho Man" Wrestling/RandySavage, specifically.
* Speaking of the Macho Man, he also voices the superhuman Luchador "Wrass-Lor" in an episode of ''[[WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory Dial M for Monkey]]''. The plot: "Fight me or I destroy the earth!"
* The two dogcatchers working for Doctor Applecheeks in ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerryTheMovie'' resemble Mexican wrestlers.
* One shows up in, of all things, ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender,'' as one of the professional earthbenders that Toph beats in "The Blind Bandit."
* Soos dresses up as one in the Summerween episode of ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls''.
** Soos's dad in Weirdmagedeon seems to be one, but it's revealed to be fake.
* ''WesternAnimation/LegendOfTheThreeCaballeros'' reveals fairly early on that Panchito is actually the masked luchador El Gallo Loco[[labelnote:translation]]The Crazy Rooster[[/labelnote]]. It's a PaperThinDisguise, but Jose seems generally surprised by the revelation when it first comes up. In Episode 9, El Gallo Loco returns to take on [[TheDragon Baron Von Sheldgoose]] in a wrestling match to try to thwart the villains' evil plan.
* ''WesternAnimation/OKKOLetsBeHeroes'': Mr. Gar is shown to have been a ''luchador'' named "El Bow" when he was first recruited for [[SuperTeam P.O.I.N.T.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/MayaAndMiguel'': The titular characters have a retired luchador, Gus "El Guamazo" Lopez, as a downstairs neighbor. He bakes now, and prefers it that way.
[[/folder]]
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