HISTORY

After watching a show in El Paso, Texas, Salvador Lutteroth brought the idea home: on September 21, 1933 he staged the first major card at Arena Modelo —soon renamed Arena México— and founded the Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre. That same decade brought the Escuela de Lucha Libre, the first masked wrestler (March 1934) and, in 1935, women's wrestling. The mask stopped being a costume and became identity and mystery.

The bet match —with a mask or a head of hair on the line— took hold as the dramatic signature of Mexican wrestling. In 1942 El Santo debuted, the silver-masked wrestler who would become the sport's greatest idol, and in 1943 Lutteroth opened Arena Coliseo, the first venue in the country built specifically for lucha libre.

On November 7, 1952, El Santo unmasked Black Shadow at Arena Coliseo and lit his legendary rivalry with Blue Demon, while cinema turned wrestlers into mass stars. The company joined the National Wrestling Alliance and, in 1956, opened the new Arena México: the Cathedral of Lucha Libre, compared to Madison Square Garden.

Lucha libre boomed both on the big screen and inside the ring. Rayo de Jalisco debuted in 1960 and in 1965 came Mil Máscaras, a character created for film who helped export Mexican wrestling worldwide. Bet matches and unmaskings —led by figures like El Santo and Huracán Ramírez— became the climax of every card.

Mil Máscaras became an international star wrestling in Japan and the United States, carrying the mystique of the masked man to new audiences. At home, competition arrived: in 1975, Ray Mendoza and Francisco Flores founded the UWA, a rival for years. El Santo remained the country's greatest cultural icon, on his way to retirement.

A new generation took over: El Hijo del Santo (1982) inherited his father's silver mask and Atlantis (1983) became one of the great masked técnicos. The company passed to Paco Alonso and, in 1986, the ban that had kept women from wrestling in Mexico City for decades was lifted. Trios and family stables ruled the cards.

In 1990 the company that had been Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre for 60 years was legally registered as Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, and soon wrestling returned to national television. In 1992 Antonio Peña left CMLL to found AAA: the split that divided Mexican wrestling in two and defined its modern era. 1996 brought the first Homenaje a Dos Leyendas.

CMLL launched its first pay-per-view and lived the Místico phenomenon, a figure who filled Arena México and renewed lucha's appeal among younger fans. Último Guerrero led the rudos with memorable tournaments, while trios like the Sky Team (Místico, Volador Jr. and La Sombra) emerged and ties with New Japan Pro-Wrestling deepened.

On September 19, 2014, Atlantis unmasked Último Guerrero in a historic match that made CMLL the second promotion in the Americas to top a million-dollar gate. Los Ingobernables emerged, several stars jumped to WWE, and streaming with New Japan took the Friday shows worldwide. In 2019, Salvador Lutteroth III —the founder's great-grandson— returned the family to the helm.

In 2020 the pandemic forced shows behind closed doors in an empty Arena México, including an 87th Anniversary with no crowd. The company forged new international alliances —among them with AEW— and in 2023 celebrated 90 years of history. With Místico still the marquee draw and figures like Templario, Hechicero and Atlantis Jr. on the rise, CMLL upholds the oldest wrestling tradition in the world.