apuesta / ah-poo-ES-ta / bet
Masks are the heart of lucha libre wrestling — a superpowered secret identity that lets ordinary taxi drivers and teachers become high-flying daredevils or back street sluggers fighting for glory in arenas around the world. The mask is the most important piece of gear a luchador owns.
And since it’s the most valuable item in lucha libre, sometimes it becomes a bargaining chip — a trophy for a long-running feud, collateral for a championship shot — and a lucha apuesta is a match where a luchador puts his mask on the line.
Win? Keep your mask. Lose? Remove your mask in front of the whole crowd and reveal your everyday identity.
The secrecy of the identities behind the masks is crazy. There are now some family dynasties where it’s easy to guess the sons once you know the father’s identity, but it still comes as a huge shock when big-name luchadors lose their masks. We’ll likely see Atlantis wrestle in Mexico City, and this cat is in his late fifties and has survived about 20 luchas apuestas, and no one has any idea who he really is.