Arena México is an indoor arena in Mexico City, Mexico, located in the Colonia Doctores neighborhood in the Cuauhtémoc borough. The arena is primarily used for professional wrestling, or lucha libre, shows promoted by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). The building is called the "cathedral of lucha libre". Arena México has a seating capacity of 16,500 when configured for professional wrestling or boxing events. The current building was completed in 1956, built by Salvador Lutteroth, owner of CMLL at the time and is the largest arena built specifically for wrestling. The building was used as the venue for the boxing competition at the 1968 Summer Olympics, and throughout the last half of the 20th century hosted several large boxing events.
Arena México
An empty Arena México configured for wrestling.
Lucha libre is the term for the style of professional wrestling originating in Mexico. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has developed into a unique form of the genre, characterized by colorful masks, rapid sequences of holds and maneuvers, and "high-flying" maneuvers, some of which have been adopted in the United States, Japan, and elsewhere. The wearing of masks has developed special significance, and matches are sometimes contested in which the loser must permanently remove his mask, which is a wager with a high degree of weight attached. Tag team wrestling is especially prevalent in lucha libre, particularly matches with three-member teams, called trios.
Plaque commemorating lucha libre as an intangible cultural heritage in Mexico City
El Santo
Mil Máscaras accompanied by the Bella Twins at the 2012 WWE Hall of Fame
Rey Mysterio Jr. hitting the "619" on Eddie Guerrero