And now, Rey Fenix!
Lucha Libre is a type of professional wrestling
that originated in Mexico over 140 years ago.
Made popular by the legendary wrestler El Santo,
the image of a masked luchador has become synonymous with
Mexican culture throughout the world.
When Mexican wrestlers introduced Lucha Libre to
American audiences, it reshaped what it meant to be a wrestler
with their high top aerial style.
And in return, US dollars poured into the hands of
Mexico's top performers, with contracts to wrestle
in the United States.
But the latest American election
has thrown all of this into question.
I've come to Tijuana to meet the next generation of stars
and promoters pushing Lucha Libre forward,
and learn how the Trump administration's
regressive policies toward the US-Mexican border
have left their access to the United States -
and most importantly US dollars - in question.
Oh.
There you are!
Sounds pretty good.
Oh my god, look at those lips!
Those are yours.
Those are your lips! Look, they're big!
I need to see your nose.
Take off your mask.
It's mine.
It's mine!
It's mine now!
So always I say my breakfast, my lunch and my dinner is Lucha,
is wrestling, because I can eat,
but at the same time I think in my mind.
My mind is work, you know.
You're about to become a parent.
Would you want your child to follow in your footsteps
and kind of go where you and your brother went?
Would you want your child to become a luchador?
Really, no.
Really, no. Uh...
That career is...
it's a little difficult.
The border between Tijuana and San Diego is
one of the busiest land crossings in the world.
Over 90,000 commuters a day cross into the United States.
Today, Fenix is travelling into the United States
to wrestle at an event in Long Beach.
He'll be making the journey legally with a newly granted
work visa that he received from being cast on
an American wrestling show.
Out of all the young luchadores in Mexico,
Fenix is one of the lucky few to have a work visa.
For me, I cross the border like all weekends.
Yeah.
Every weekend, and that is...
what's happened.
I don't care that three hours is still here,
you know, before we cross the border when I am in the ring,
and I hear the crowd, you know, tell my name.
Lucha Libre!
Yeah, or when the people say, "Lucha! Lucha!" I don't care.
Three hours is a small sacrifice.
Yeah, it's a small sacrifice.
When we start, we travel for 14 or 15 hours in a bus.
No, it was 21 hours!
For a show, 21 or 22 hours.
We did-- We take together the same bus for 20...
- 22 hours. - 22 hours!
For a show, one show, in a bus.
Oh, but it's... it's about the dream, you know?
It's about... Lucha Libre.
Look at that, a picture.
Thanks, bro. Good luck!
This is my fan.
But the thing that I saw from you guys that just blew me away
is the stuff you guys do on the streets,
like the things you do in traffic.
When did that start?
When did you start wrestling in the streets?
What do you hope to get out of Lucha?
Where do you hope this is going?
Unlike Fenix, Arcangel Divino and Ultimo Maldito do not have
work visas and have never crossed the border.
Without owning property or having a substantial amount of
money in a savings account, it's impossible for them to prove
they are not an immigration risk.
Thank you.
Welcome to the gym.
Right here?
Yeah, that wave of wrestlers that you're talking about,
luchadores that came up to America,
that was my first exposure watching on TV.
How important is it for luchadores to
be able to go over to America?
Rey Mysterio is the most successful luchador
of his generation.
It was he who took Mexican Lucha to the world stage,
making millions of fans and dollars
over the course of his career.
But those dollars were made in the United States.
The average luchador in Mexico will be paid less than $100
to wrestle in front of 5,000 screaming fans,
while the exact same wrestler will be paid $500 to wrestle
in front of 300 people in the United States.
We will build a great wall along the southern border!
Build the wall!
Build the wall! Build the wall! Build the wall! Build the wall!
One thing we've kind of picked up on conversations we've had
with a lot of the luchadores that we've met here is that
there is kind of like a fear of what is gonna come
under the presidency of Donald Trump.
Are those founded in real realities?
I guess a trend that we're seeing a lot in wrestling,
especially Lucha, are white wrestlers coming down
and really playing into sort of the fears of
what's to come with immigration, be it people coming down
being the son of Donald Trump, or coming down and saying
racist, inflammatory things to the audience.
Is that something that Lucha has always been?
Has it always been a chance for people to kind of vent about
things that are much larger than
what's happening just in the ring?
So what's the difference between a rudo and a tecnico?
Well, can we get in the ring and you show me
what makes Black Spider so dangerous?
Of course, with you, entiendo.
Agh!
Oof!
Mini Scorpion, thank you so much for having us here.
Gracias, gracias. El campeon.
So I guess can you explain a little bit about
where we are right now?
Buen.
How did you as a champion luchador
get involved in a space like this though?
I mean, it's very hard to get people to come
watch your product when, you know, at night,
people are being beheaded, and there's a ma-- you know,
there's shootings in the middle of the street.
You had these cartels in Mexico who are fighting the government
and each other for turf.
You know, obviously the most important ones
are all the border towns.
And the whole country went to hell.
And you know, there were people hanging from bridges,
and car bombs, and it was incredible, the violence.
And people were afraid to go out.
The drug cartel violence in Mexico
doesn't just affect border communities.
Over the last decade, the entire country has seen periods where
the rates of narco-related crime spike drastically.
It's a vicious circle exasperated by the outdated
drug war tactics of the US and Mexican governments.
The general fear of violence has kept tourists and locals away
from Lucha shows, and made it harder for luchadores to
earn a living inside Mexico.
So beautiful.
Car upholstery!
The significance of the mask in Lucha Libre
cannot be overstated.
Masked luchadores never remove their masks in public
unless forced to by an opponent in the ring.
One week before his death, the greatest masked wrestler
of all time, El Santo, after 50 years of being
totally anonymous, finally showed the public his face.
Oh, okay, you know?
One of the people that saw Arcangel and Ultimo Maldito
was Konnan, a legend in Lucha Libre.
Originally from Florida, he became a sensation in Mexico
before returning to the United States
to wrestle for the top promotions.
After his career in the ring ended,
he left to create his The Crash.
Konnan is credited with discovering, among others,
the great Rey Mysterio Jr.
I always say and my wife always says the same thing.
You know, first off, I thank God for
the opportunities that have been given to me.
And after God, I know it's Konnan.
Konnan is the person that opened up the doors for me.
When I saw Arcangel Divino and Ultimo Maldito,
I saw them in a video.
And I said wow, how crazy is that,
what they're doing, and they're very talented.
Yeah.
And so I had them both come to AAA where I used to work,
and they went out there and they killed it.
You wouldn't-- Bro, they were incredible.
And I was like bro, those are two future superstars.
So when I had my own promotion, the first thing I did was like
find those guys, let's put 'em in the ring,
and let's see what happens.
Fenix has come to Florida for
the biggest weekend in wrestling.
Over 100,000 wrestling fans have descended upon Orlando
to witness some of the best wrestlers on the planet,
both on and off the main events.
This is his opportunity to be seen by bookers and promoters
from around the world.
His performance in the ring will directly determine
the trajectory of his career,
and his ability to provide for his family.
Introducing first, Rey Fenix!
The Luchadores!
Fuck you!
Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit!
One, two, three!
Luchadores!
It's awesome, bro.
It's... I can't believe it, man.
It's like my brother and me, we bowed to the room.
We can't believe it.
It's like man, really?
I was like please, slap me!
You know, it's like a dream, man.
And I say to my... angels, thank you.
Yeah.
Because...
Because Lucha, wrestling,
that's the one that changed my life.
Changed my... my life, my family life.
I only can say thank you.
And I promise my family, my friends,
everybody, the angels in the sky, I promise!
I take the opportunity.
I never...
never... never say no.
Gracias.
Thank you, everybody.
Gracias a Dios.
And this is just the beginning, dude.
I know.
Dude, that's fucking awesome.
- Yeah, thank you, man. - No, thank you.
- Thank you, bro. - Dude, thank you.
Lucha Libre, when I started, was all Mexicans.
Those were the only guys that knew how to do it,
and those were the guys that did it.
So for me to now see that it's a global thing like it is,
or for me to now see fans meeting each other,
doing each other's chants, that's cool, bro.
That's really cool.
It's almost like when hip hop wasn't just a black or Latino
thing anymore, it was like a worldwide thing.
That's cool, that's what you want.
Oh shit!
I think like the big thing I'm taking away from my experience
here in Tijuana along the border is the hope that Lucha provides
for so many people here.
We've met people that come from very little,
and the fact is through wrestling,
through Lucha Libre, they've got the hopes of maybe, you know,
reaching that level that Rey Mysterio reached,
like affecting people all over the world.
But there is a massive barrier between making an okay living
as a luchador in Mexico and being able to kind of
live comfortably as a wrestler in America.