Mascara contra Mascara: The 5 greatest masks versus masks in free lucha history
This weekend, AAA presents a Mascara is the opposite of Mascara match between El Grande Americano and the Original El Grande Americano, the culmination of wrestling’s best – and most unexpected – feud to date in 2026.
While the recent US history of the mask vs. mask game is pretty tainted – anyone who remembers Hurricane Helms vs. Ripper Paul Birchell in the dying days of WWECW? – Mexico has always been the premier lucha free event. Mask matches have made up many of the biggest and most attended shows throughout the history of Mexican wrestling, dating back to the 1940s. El Santo versus Black Shadow in 1952 is arguably the most famous match in the history of the country, when Santo captured Shadow’s mask and became the biggest celebrity of all time in Mexico.
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As Saturday’s latest chapter in the lucha libre saga approaches, here are five of the biggest Mascara is the opposite of Mascara a test match before the big event.
El Hijo del Santo vs. Espanto Jr. — Aug. 31, 1986
El Hijo del Santo is a great host apuestas compare. In his career, he shaved 36 heads and captured 34 masks. Santo’s father captured the original Espanto mask, so this was part of an ongoing family feud (in kayfabe, Espanto Jr. was actually unrelated to the original Espanto).
While this game starts with technology, it’s improving quickly. With both men ripping off their masks and splattering blood from the hole, this delivers all the drama and violence you could want in an epic matchup. And although a mask match against El Hijo del Santo was always an impossible goal, Espanto leaves everything he has in the ring.
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Rayo de Jalisco vs. Cien Caras – September 21, 1990
The game was a disappointment at Arena Mexico – so many fans wanted to see it that they overwhelmed security, packed the stadium and broke into the bleachers.
This was the battle between the greatest of all technology of the period, Jalisco, against very dastardly love, Caras, former country manager of one of the three biggest teams in history, Los Hermanos Dynamitas.
Caras opens the match by smashing a guitar over Jalisco’s head and quickly takes the first fall, but Jalisco fights back to win the second, leading to an epic final race with the full crowd living and dying with each fall. Caras refuses to let go of his mask in the end, sparking a near riot. It may not be the most exciting rivalry, but it’s still a big, amazing spectacle – and some of the biggest stakes possible.
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Atlantis vs. Villano III – March 17, 2000
This is in strong contention to be one of the greatest professional wrestling matches of the 21st century – although in many ways it was a swan song to the great lucha classics of the 20th century.
Atlantis and Villano III engaged in a bloody, violent feud leading up to the match, full of brawls and brutal beatings. Apart from that, this match starts with a technicality, both of them have been trying to prove their ability for a long time. Unsurprisingly, it gets as bad as love Villano throws the first punch, leading to an open clinch for both men. (A slow-motion replay shows their heads butting like a pawpaw and a regular boxer.)
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The match then moves into a surprising series of nearfalls, where both men, covered in plasma, escape submissions and pins. Each fall means a lot more than they do in traditional wrestling because of the high stakes – stakes that are made clear when Villano III is revealed by his father, the legendary Rey Mendoza, and his entire family crying in the ring with him. The perfect pro-wrestling game.
La Sombra vs. Atlantis — September 18, 2015
Atlantis was an older shooter here, at 53 years old, nearing the end of his Hall of Fame career – although somehow still tying up his boots a decade later – yet he was still testing his entry on the biggest stage of all for free: The betting match at the CMLL Anniversario show.
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Last year Atlantis had taken the mask of his peer, Ultimo Guerrero, in a classic match. Here he was taking on a surprising young star, La Sombra, a 25-year-old stud in his own sport, who would go on to achieve great success in WWE and AEW just like Andrade.
Atlantis wins the first fall by DQ and crashes in the second fall, so by the time the third and deciding fall comes around, it’s like he’s behind even though the two men are technically tied. The third fall comes with Atlantis trying to survive the rising tide long enough to lock on his balancer, his legendary Altantida, and somehow, against all odds, the hero pulls out the last one. apuestas victory.
Villano IV vs. Pentagon Jr. — October 15, 2022
This is probably the last of the old, bloody lucha apuestas you will see on the main stage. TKO-owned AAA won’t let guys fight like this, and CMLL is a very tourist-oriented brand and has locked the blade for decades (although the recent Mistico vs. MJF match was remarkably different).
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This was the final match of the tournament where the losers advanced to the mask vs. Villano IV finished his career with three amazing fights, first against LA Park, then against Psycho Clown (son of his eternal rival Brazo de Plata). This was the last fight – he was the last of the Villanos, the last of Rey Mendoza’s sons to fight, and he was determined to get out behind the shield.
Pentagon Jr., who now participates in WWE as Penta, has already gained fame and popularity in the US, but this was the biggest match of his career in Mexico.
The game is full of glamor and situations, violence and drama. Villano IV and Pentagon Jr. they raised welts in their opponents’ skulls with heavy, violent punches; Villano uses the same pinning combination that his brother used to take Blue Panther’s mask; and Pentagon Jr. attempts Atlantida, who took Villano III’s mask, before Pentagon Jr. hit a violent punt and an armbreaker to send the big Villano IV to work.
