3. Mexico Mil Mascaras
Mexico has one of the longest traditions of wrestling anywhere in the world, but their industry tends to be relatively self-contained. Only a handful of Mexicans have made their way to the WWE over the years, and while Alberto Del Rio has become a headliner, Sin Cara didnt exactly cover himself in glory. The Mexicools of Super Crazy, Juventud Guerrera and Psychosis were all only lower card attractions in the WWE. Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero, while Mexican in heritage, were born in the USA, and so do not qualify under our criteria. In fact, it was this very fact that Guerrero used to get killer heel heat in Mexicos AAA promotion. But there is one man who made a few appearances in the WWF who is a true Lucha legend. He is the uncle of Alberto Del Rio, the man of a thousand masks, Mil Mascaras. He was a man who broke the mould. As a heavyweight, he was accepted by American promoters as big enough to compete with the native talent. And yet he was small enough and graceful enough to execute what were considered jaw dropping aerial manoeuvres of their time. He was also a babyface, unlike the evil Mexican foreign invaders who had preceded him. Similar to Ultimo Dragon after him, he introduced the Mexican style of wrestling to Japanese fans. He arrived in the WWF in the mid 70s and after a ban on masks was lifted, became the first masked wrestler to compete at Madison Square Garden. He also challenged World champion Superstar Billy Graham for his title in a prolonged feud that really opened doors for international competition in the WWF and laid the foundations for masked stars of later years who travelled the world. He won his final championship in Mexico at the age of 49 and made his WWF pay-per-view debut at the 1997 Royal Rumble. If thats not enough, he also starred in no fewer than 19 feature films, similar to the all-time legend of Lucha, El Santo.