Mexican Wrestling Superheroes Movie Review

There are those who will tell you that professional wrestling and cinematic fantasy aren't that far apart. Aside from the issue of how “real” pro-wrestling is, both it and fantasy films involve the viewer in a larger-than-life world, where conflicts are at once both simpler and vastly more complex than they are in day-to-day life.

B oth are about heroes and villains. Of course, of the two, it's the movies that involve themselves with the threat of alien invasion, rampaging monsters, and evil geniuses…that sort of thing has no place in the wrestling ring. Or does it?

In the ‘60s and ‘70s, the Mexican film industry created a new kind of superhero, a wrestling star who is also a man of valor and unimpeachable morals (this alone would qualify as a fantasy, according to many fans). This mighty defender of justice would go a few rounds against a ringside adversary, sign fans’ autographs, and then, heeding an urgent plea for help from a super-scientist or government official, zoom off to battle threats from another world. Never seen without his mask, but not infrequently shirtless (the better to show off his muscles), the wrestling superhero used not only his martial skills but an arsenal of gadgets that usually resembled something from a kids’ toy-chest. Villains mocked these devices at their peril, however; those light-bulb rayguns were deadly!

The archetypal Mexican wrestling hero was unquestionably El Santo. Immediately recognizable by his silver and blue mask, Santo waged a one-man war of justice against a veritable army of werewolves, bat-people, female vampires, robots, zombies, and other creatures of evil (including a giant amoeba that looked like an over-filled, out-of-control trash bag). There were over thirty Santos movies made up to 1982 – Santo Vs. the Television Assassin was the last one, but like all the best heroes, Santo's legend lives on in the hearts of his fans.

There were other wrestling heroes, of course, just as there were U.S. superheroes other than Superman. Neutron, Blue Demon, and Mil Mascaras. Lest anyone think this brand of heroics was strictly for the men-folk, there was also a brief but highly regarded series of Wrestling Women movies. The best known are Wrestling Women Vs. the Aztec Mummy and Wrestling Women Vs. the Killer Robot, which featured one of the strangest robots in cinematic history.

So what are you waiting for? Grab a couple of these tapes and hit the mat!