<P> CMLL currently recognizes and promotes twelve "World Championships" for various weight divisions and classifications, six national level and six regional level championships . The CMLL Anniversary Show series is the longest running annual major show, starting in 1934, with the CMLL 84th Anniversary Show being the most recent . CMLL also regularly promotes major events under the names Homenaje a Dos Leyendas ("Homage to two legends"), Sin Piedad ("No Mercy"), Sin Salida ("No Escape"), Infierno en el Ring ("Inferno in the Ring") during the year . CMLL has promoted their regular weekly Super Viernes ("Super Friday") on a regular basis since the 1930s . Founder Salvador Lutteroth funded the building of Arena Coliseo in 1943, making it the first building in Mexico built specifically for professional wrestling . </P> <P> Prior to 1933, lucha libre shows in Mexico were primarily promoted by foreign promoters doing the occasional match through Mexico or a few scattered local promoters, especially along the U.S. border, who brought in American professional wrestlers as their main attractions . </P> <P> In 1929, Salvador Lutteroth, who at the time was a property inspector for the Mexican Tax department, moved to Ciudad Juárez near the Mexico / U.S. border . During a trip to El Paso, Texas Lutteroth witnessed a professional wrestling show and was intrigued by the show and especially the main event Greek wrestler Gus Pappas . Four years later Lutteroth, along with his financial backer Francisco Ahumada chartered Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL; The "Mexican Wrestling Enterprise"), the first Mexican owned wrestling promotion in the country . EMLL held their first shown on September 21, 1933, considered the "birth of Lucha libre" and led to Lutteroth being known as "the father of Lucha Libre". </P> <P> EMLL initially tried to book Arena Nacional, the premier boxing venue in Mexico City but the promoters would not let him rent it, forcing Lutteroth and EMLL to take up residence in Arena Modelo, an abandoned and run down facility that Lutteroth was able to use as his home base . The concept of Lucha Libre quickly became very popular, so much so that the EMLL 1st Anniversary Show drew a sell out crowd of 5,000 paying fans . In 1934, an American wrestler debuted in Mexico under a black, leather mask, and Lutteroth dubbed him "La Maravilla Enmascarada" or "The Masked Marvel". In the United States the concept of the masked wrestler was more of a mid-level attraction, but the reaction to La Maravilla Enmascarada led to Lutteroth and the EMLL officials to introduce more masks, starting with a wrestler known simply as El Enmascarado ("the Masked Wrestler") and late on El Murciélago Enmascarado ("The Masked Bat"). Through the use of the masks and ring characters EMLL helped create the sacred position of the mask in Lucha libre, making it the ultimate status symbol for luchadors . In the early days of EMLL most of the top names were Americans, but with time EMLL introduced several Mexican natives that became so popular that they began to main event most of the EMLL shows . In order to expand their business EMLL began working with a number of local wrestling promoters across Mexico, allowing them to use the EMLL name and some of their contracted wrestlers while also gaining access to local wrestlers in return . Each booking office was independent of each other but the main office in Mexico City had the final say if there were disputes over who would be able to book certain wrestlers . </P>

Who is considered the father of la lucha libre in mexico