Your Guide to Lucha Libre at Arena Mexico in Mexico City

I think I caught Michael off-guard when I asked him the following one day:

“Do you want to go to a Lucha match in Mexico City?”

“…Are you being serious?” he asked, scanning my face for hints of sarcasm or joking.

“Of course I’m being serious,” I replied, smiling.

He couldn’t contain his excitement, and quite frankly, neither could I.

Yet neither of us are fans of wrestling here in the States, and neither of us has ever watched a live match. Friends and coworkers were astonished, “You’re really going to that?”

“Of course.”

We take any opportunity we can to engage with the local community and customs whenever we travel (except for bullfighting—that’s something I won’t be watching), even if it is something we wouldn’t do at home. This is how we found ourselves outside of Arena Mexico on a recent Sunday evening. Are you considering visiting a Lucha Libre match?

Well, stop.

Stop considering, that is, and go ahead and grab your credit card to book it already.

Ready? Let’s walk through the whole amazing process:

TIPS FOR ATTENDING A LUCHA LIBRE MATCH IN MEXICO CITY

Book your tickets

Tickets can be purchased at the Arena or they can be ordered online ahead of time via Ticketmaster. Just like buying event tickets anywhere else, you’ll search for available show dates and times (our show was on a Sunday at 5 p.m., which is Family Night).

Select your seats wisely (the first few rows can be messy and rowdy; our seats were in row seven, but I think I would have preferred to sit in row four), and check out as usual. The only ticket pickup option will be Will-Call (edit: Ticketmaster now offers digital ticket delivery), and there will be a statement after checkout indicating that you will need to pick up your tickets no later than two days before the event.

Don’t fret! Upon contacting Ticketmaster I was told that people who pay with non-Mexican credit cards have until two hours before the show to collect their tickets.

Collect your tickets

If you are unable to have your tickets issued digitally, you’ll need to collect them before the match. For the city center, you can find a map of Ticketmaster pickup locations here. Find one near where you’ll be staying or visiting, and click on the icon to verify that Will Call tickets are available at that location for pickup (you must check each location individually to determine if Will Call is available).

We collected our tickets on the fifth floor at the Liverpool department store near the Zócalo (Liverpool Centro). I needed to show my ID card, have the confirmation number, and provide the credit card I used to pay, which was then charged a small fee to verify the card was still valid. The process was relatively quick, and we were soon back on the city streets with our shiny new tickets.

Arrive at the Arena Mexico

We arrived at the Arena Mexico a few minutes after the show began, so sadly we missed the intro. But thankfully our Uber driver dropped us off right out front, and we quickly scurried past the ticket scalpers outside and made our way in.

You’ll be required to open any bags, and potentially submit to a pat-down by a guard of the same gender. Unfortunately, cameras are not allowed into Arena Mexico (hence the cell phone photos here!). Once we made it through security, the lobby and concession area were nearly empty, though I hear it is usually packed before the show begins.

Purchase snacks and drinks

Be sure to bring small bills and coins with you, as there are plenty of snacks and drinks to be had at reasonable prices. Michael and I ordered two “large” beers—which each consisted of two bottles of Tecate poured into a large plastic cup. It’s pretty easy to guess why they don’t want you to have glass in the arena!

Find your seats

The arena seating chart is very confusing, but there are plenty of ushers standing by to guide you to your seat. Our usher himself seemed a bit lost, but we ended up at the correct seats, so I suppose that’s all that matters. Be sure to have $10-20 MXN handy as a tip, as the usher will be expecting it.

Cheer and jeer with the crowd

Settle in and watch the wrestlers and the crowd, because both are equally interesting. The amateur wrestlers kick off the night’s fights, and eventually, the headliners emerge to either maintain their status as the winner or challenge an old competitor for a rematch.

Each bout begins with a set of four scantily-clad girls dancing while the wrestlers are announced and strut down to the ring. The wrestlers showboat for a bit before climbing into the ropes (or flipping over them—whatever their style!). There’s a bit of yelling and circling by the opponents, and then the match really starts with an awkward beginning.

The wrestlers begin taking turns slapping each other in the chest (yes, really—there is a lot of chest-slapping). That leads to more hands-on combat and, if they’re really good, some acrobatics. The crowd chants vary according to which wrestler is in the ring (and even on family night, many of the chants aren’t suitable for television!); typically the crowd cheers for the técnicos, the acrobatic “good guys” over the brutish rudos, but not always.

Follow the crowd’s lead, and cheer or boo as necessary. If you get hungry or thirsty while the fights are going on, there’s no need to interrupt your match-watching to queue up food or drink because you’ll have ample opportunity to order snacks and beverages from the concessionaires walking by announcing their wares. Pizza, popcorn, chips, soda, and beer are all available—just flag down the person carrying the item you’re craving.

Purchase a souvenir

Like a well-oiled machine, the match will suddenly end and the audience will scatter (the match we saw ended promptly at 7 p.m.). We heard that wrestlers occasionally appear in the lobby for photos after the match, but none did on this night.

After about fifteen minutes, the staff cleared everyone out into the streets, where several stands were selling lucha masks to kids and adults alike. Mask prices vary according to wrestler, size, and quality. Michael brought his own souvenir home: a Blue Demon Mask for about USD 5.

We noticed that prices started rising as time passed and the people began leaving. If you see something you’d like and the price is right, go ahead and snag it, as it might change if you walk away.

Make plans afterward

The area immediately outside of the Arena Mexico isn’t somewhere you’ll want to hang around long, so call an Uber or get moving. As it wasn’t dark yet, we walked comfortably along Avenida Cuauhtémoc to Avenida Obregón, where we grabbed food, drinks, and churros along the way, before walking the rest of the way back to our Airbnb. But in any case, you should make a solid plan after so you’re not shuffling around after dark.

FINAL NOTES ON ATTENDING A LUCHA LIBRE MATCH

A trip to Mexico City isn’t complete without a trip to see a Lucha Libre match, and I can’t encourage you enough to attend at least one. Sure, it’s highly theatrical, but it’s also culturally relevant, inexpensive, and a fun and safe evening out.

I would definitely suggest that families visit for the Sunday afternoon show; kids will love seeing the wrestlers in action, and won’t need to know a word of Spanish to understand what’s going on (and if you’re sensitive about foul language, it’s probably best if they don’t!).

By the end of the night, they’ll have chosen their favorite wrestler and will know which mask to select. I look forward to another visit to Mexico City so we can attend the Friday night show, which promises to be a bit larger and rowdier (edit: in 2019, we did just that!).

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Questions for you

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Your Guide to Lucha Libre Matches at Arena Mexico in Mexico City