Wrestleview’s Gregory “Grash” Walek passed along an article by Wired.com looking at Lucha Libre.
“Well, Sol, in the early 1900s, professional wrestling was mostly a regional phenomenon in Mexico until Salvador Lutteroth founded the Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (Mexican Wrestling Enterprise) in 1933, giving the sport a national foothold. The promotion company flourished and quickly became the premier spot for wrestlers. As television became a viable entertainment medium during the 1950s, Lutteroth could broadcast wrestling across the nation, subsequently yielding a popularity explosion for the sport. Moreover, the emergence of television allowed Lutteroth to turn lucha libre’s first breakout superstar into a national pop-culture phenomenon.”