Festival de las Máscaras (2012)

Festival de las Máscaras (2012) (Spanish for "Festival of the Mask") was an annual professional wrestling major event produced by Mexican professional wrestling promotion International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG), which took place on August 2, 2012 in Arena Naucalpan, Naucalpan, State of Mexico, Mexico. For this annual event the "Comisión de Box y Lucha Libre Mexico D.F." (Mexico City Boxing and Wrestling Commission) allowed wrestlers who had previously been unmasked after losing a Luchas de Apuestas, or bet match, to wear their masks again. The show featured a total of five matches with a main event Best two-out-of-three falls six-man tag team match between the team of El Canek, Octagón and El Solar facing Cien Caras, Jr., Fuerza Guerrera and Negro Navarro.

Festival de las Máscaras (2012)
Official poster for the event
PromotionInternational Wrestling Revolution Group
DateAugust 2, 2012[1]
CityNaucalpan, State of Mexico[1]
VenueArena Naucalpan[1]
Event chronology
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Guerra de Empresas		 Next →
La Gran Cruzada
IWRG Festival de las Máscaras chronology
← Previous
2011		 Next →
2013

Production

Background

The wrestling mask has always held a sacred place in lucha libre, carrying with it a mystique and anonymity beyond what it means to wrestlers elsewhere in the world.[2] The ultimate humiliation a luchador can suffer is to lose a Lucha de Apuestas, or bet match. Following a loss in a Lucha de Apuesta match the masked wrestler would be forced to unmask, state their real name and then would be unable to wear that mask while wrestling anywhere in Mexico.[3] Since 2007 the Mexican wrestling promotion International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG; Sometimes referred to as Grupo Internacional Revolución in Spanish) has held a special annual show where they received a waiver to the rule from the State of Mexico Wrestling Commission and wrestlers would be allowed to wear the mask they previously lost in a Lucha de Apuestas. The annual Festival de las Máscaras ("Festival of the Masks") event is also partly a celebration or homage of lucha libre history with IWRG honoring wrestlers of the past. The IWRG's Festival de las Máscaras shows, as well as the majority of the IWRG shows in general, are held in "Arena Naucalpan", owned by the promoters of IWRG and their main arena. The 2012 Festival de las Máscaras show was the sixth year in a row IWRG held the show.

Storylines

The event featured five professional wrestling matches with different wrestlers involved in pre-existing scripted feuds, plots and storylines. Wrestlers were portrayed as either heels (referred to as rudos in Mexico, those that portray the "bad guys") or faces (técnicos in Mexico, the "good guy" characters) as they followed a series of tension-building events, which culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.

Previously unmasked wrestlers
Name Lost mask to Date Note
Bombero InfernalPanteraDecember 7, 1997 
CuchilloEl Hijo del SantoOctober 30, 1988[4]
Dr. CerebroEl Hijo del SantoMarch 1, 2001[5]
El Hijo del DiabloMísticoDecember 1, 2006[6]
KahozShockerDecember 15, 1995[7]
Oficial AK-47Trauma IDecember 22, 2011[8]
OritoN/AN/ADid not lose his mask but changed ring character to the unmasked Mike Segura.[9]
PanteritaFantasma de la OperaAugust 6, 2006Now works under the name Freelance.
RamboVillano IIISeptember 17, 1953 
VenenoGran Markus, Jr.March 17, 2002[10]
Villano IIIAtlantisMarch 17, 2000[11]
Villano VÚltimo GuerreroMarch 20, 2009[12]

Event

After the third match of the night IWRG held a tribute to La Cobra, whose son (either biological or storyline) had made his debut in the previous match as he teamed with El Pantera and Veneno to defeat Los Nuevos Temerarios (Alan Extreme, Black Terry and Bombero Infernal). They also paid tribute to Lucha Libre veterans Black Terry and Vilano III.[1] In the main event El Canek got the deciding pinfall for his team on Cien Caras, Jr. as Canek, Octagón and El Solar defeated Caras, Jr., Fuerza Guerrera and Negro Navarro. Following the match El Canek made a challenge to Cien Caras, Jr. for Caras, Jr.'s IWRG Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship while long time rivals Octagón and Fuerza Guerrera challenged each other to a Luchas de Apuestas match with their masks on the line. Neither match was committed to at the time.[1]

Results
No.Results[1][13][14]Stipulations
1Comando Negro, Eita and Imposible defeated Centvrión, Matrix, Jr. and Panterita – two falls to noneBest two-out-of-three falls six-man tag team match
2Dr. Cerebro, Orito and Trauma II defeated Oficial AK-47, El Hijo del Diablo and EternoBest two-out-of-three falls six-man tag team match
3El Pantera, La Cobra, Jr. and Veneno defeated Los Nuevos Temerarios (Alan Extreme, Black Terry and Bombero Infernal)Best two-out-of-three falls six-man tag team match
4Los Villanos (Villano III, Villano IV and Villano V) defeated El Triangulo de la Muerte (Cuchillo, Kahoz and Rambo)Best two-out-of-three falls six-man tag team match
5El Canek, Octagón and El Solar defeated Cien Caras, Jr., Fuerza Guerrera and Negro NavarroBest two-out-of-three falls six-man tag team match

References
  1. "IWRG Festival de Mascaras Expo Lucha Libre". The Gladiatores (in Spanish). July 24, 2012. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
  2. Madigan, Dan (2007). ""Okay... what is Lucha Libre?"". Mondo Lucha a Go Go: the bizarre& honorable world of wild Mexican wrestling. HarperCollins Publishers. pp. 29–40. ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3.
  3. "CANOE - SLAM! Sports - Wrestling - Viva la lucha libre!". Slam.canoe.ca. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
  4. Enciclopedia staff (July 2007). "Enciclopedia de las Mascaras". Cuchillo (in Spanish). Mexico. p. 61. Tomo I.
  5. Enciclopedia staff (October 2007). "Enciclopedia de las Mascaras". Santo, Hijo (in Spanish). Mexico. pp. 31–32. Tomo IV.
  6. Enciclopedia staff (October 2007). "Enciclopedia de las Mascaras". Místico (in Spanish). Mexico. p. 36. Tomo III.
  7. "Tecnicos - Shocker" (in Spanish). Fuego en el ring. Archived from the original on July 11, 2011. Retrieved October 17, 2009.
  8. Saavedra, Roman Farid (December 23, 2011). "IWRG: Oficial AK-47 pierde la mascara ante Trauma I". Súper Luchas Magazine (in Spanish). Retrieved January 31, 2013.
  9. Enciclopedia staff (October 1, 2007). "Enciclopedia de las Mascaras". Pantera (in Spanish). Mexico City, Mexico. p. 50. Tomo III.
  10. "March 2002 PPV "Apocalipsis"". ProWrestlingHistory. September 28, 2001. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
  11. Luchas 2000 staff. "Luchas 2000". Atlantis y sus Victimas (in Spanish). Ciudad Juárez, Mexico: Publicaciones citem, S.A. de C.V. pp. 32–35. Especial 30.
  12. Manuel Flores; Manuel Rivera (March 23, 2009). "Cayó la máscara de Villano V". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Mexico, D.F. pp. 3–7. 307.
  13. Redaccion (August 3, 2012). "Festival de Máscaras en Naucalpan". MedioTiempo (in Spanish). Retrieved February 6, 2013.
  14. "IWRG "Festival de las Máscaras" (Resultados 02/Ago/12): Rivalidades y retos de máscaras al por mayor – Las Cobras presentes". Súper Luchas Magazine (in Spanish). August 3, 2012. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
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