Preview: Lucha Libre London

By London_DaveK Last edited 188 months ago
Preview: Lucha Libre London
Lucha Libre London

With their acrobatic leaps and iconic masks, Mexican wrestlers are known all over the world. As one would expect, witnessing one of their wildly energetic matches generally involves buying a plane ticket to Mexico. For three days this weekend, however, you can experience all the thrills of a true Lucha Libre just by taking the Northern Line up to Chalk Farm.

Lucha Libre London brings sixteen of the best luchadores in the whole of Mexico to the Roundhouse. Among these stars of the ring are El Hijo del Santo, who is regarded by many as the greatest living luchador and, as his name indicates, is the son of El Santo, the man often credited with making the mask such a powerful symbol of the sport. Comedic film fans will appreciate the inclusion of Silver King, better knows as Ramses from Jack Black's Nacho Libre. Each wrestler has their own signature mask, fighting style and theme song, so expect to hear the DJ spin those tunes to get the crowd, and the luchadores, as frenzied as possible.

Doors open at 7:00 p.m. every night, with Saturday's matinee at 2pm. Each show will see all sixteen luchadores rumble through four bouts, each won by the best of three falls and comprised of either one-on-one, pairs or triple encounters. Hardcore fans looking to attend more than one show will be pleased to know that each will be different. If your hero is crushed by a villanous rudo one day, he'll have the chance to shine victoriously the next, so dust off your finest mask and come prepared to make some noise. We'll see you ringside!

Lucha Libre London at the Roundhouse, 4–6 July 2008 at 7 p.m. each night with an additional matinee at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Cost: £20 standing, £30–£75 seated.

Photo taken from daveknapik's Flickr photostream.

Last Updated 02 July 2008