The greatest dishonor in Lucha Libre history

The mask was introduced into wrestling at the Manhattan Opera House in 1915, when Mort Henderson captured the imagination of fans and competed as “The Masked Marvel.” Although masked competitors were few and far between in the United States, wrestling masks became as important as wrestling itself in Mexico.

It is a little-known fact that the first masked wrestler in Mexico was American. A Mexican promoter saw "Cyclone" McKey perform in Texas and decided to bring McKey to work for his promotion, Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre (EMLL) in 1933. Mexican fans quickly took to the mystery of the masked man and before long, the land's native wrestlers started wearing masks, becoming "Enmáscarados." They made masks an integral part of Mexican culture, using them to transform themselves into real-life superheroes.

In 1942, Santo (Spanish for “Saint”) exploded on the Lucha Libre (Spanish for “Free Fighting”) scene and went on to become not only the most popular luchador in Mexico, but a national hero. In 1952, Santo became the star of his own comic book that was published for 35 years until 1987 - three years after he passed away. In 1958, Santo starred in his first of more than 50 movies. He succeeded in being embraced by his countrymen as a superhero, and even though he unmasked publicly for the first time in the twilight of his life, he was buried in his unmistakable silver mask.

Other masked luchadores, such as Blue Demon, Dr. Wagner Jr., El Solitario and Dos Caras, became national icons in Mexico. However, it was Mil Máscaras (Spanish for “1,000 Masks”) who stood out from the rest, becoming the first masked man to attain worldwide popularity. (MIL MÁSCARAS SUPERSTAR PAGE)

Mil Máscaras made his in-ring debut in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 1965, and by 1968 made his international debut in Los Angeles' Olympic Auditorium. He continued to blaze trails for luchadores by competing in All Japan Pro Wrestling and eventually WWE, becoming the first masked wrestler to compete in Madison Square Garden. Thanks to wrestling magazines, Mil Máscaras became nationally recognized in the United States, where at age 55, he competed in 1997's WWE Royal Rumble Match.

Although Mil Máscaras had a long career and achieved worldwide success, no one has done more to further the ongoing legacy of the masked luchador than Rey Mysterio. Following in the footsteps of his uncle, the original Rey Mysterio (Spanish for “King of Mystery”), he started his in-ring career at age 14, using a mask to conceal the fact that he was too young to legally compete. In 1995, Mysterio exploded onto the American wrestling scene with ECW and invented extreme Lucha Libre, performing high-flying hurancanranas from the roofs of cars in South Philadelphia parking lots.

Mysterio led the influx of Cruiserweights onto WCW’s internationally-televised stage and won its Cruiserweight Championship five times in five years. When WWE purchased WCW in 2001, Mysterio continued his success, winning WWE’s Cruiserweight Championship eight times.

However, it was at WrestleMania 22 on April 2, 2006, that Mysterio exceeded even his own dreams. It was there that the 5-foot-6-inch, 175-pound overachiever defeated Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle and Randy Orton in a Triple Threat Match to win the World Championship.

Mysterio’s contributions to the legacy of the luchador did not end there. On July 25, 2011, Mysterio won the most prestigious title in the history of wrestling, the WWE Championship, by defeating The Miz in a tournament final on Monday Night Raw. (WATCH)

With the decade-long saga of WWE’s two Sin Caras coming to an end in a Mask vs. Mask match on SmackDown (READ ABOUT THEIR HISTORIC RIVALRY), Mysterio spoke to WWE.com about the gravity of this match.

“There’s a tradition, a heritage a pride to your mask," Mysterio explained. "Masks have been a Mexican tradition for many generations. It’s a way to pay homage to our heritage. Being unmasked is the biggest dishonor for a luchador."

True, Mask vs. Mask Matches are common in Mexico, where this ultimate confrontation will take place. Yet there has never been such a match televised in 50 countries. Sin Cara vs. Sin Cara will make history for all of wrestling. On SmackDown, one of WWE’s two Sin Caras will suffer the single greatest dishonor in the history of Lucha Libre. (PREVIEW)