When I started The Luchadora Project, the idea was simple: document the year in women’s lucha libre and leave a record that does justice to the work. The matches, the rivalries, the wrestlers who kept showing up and delivering—those stories deserve to be remembered, whether they unfolded in a major arena or on a regional card. The awards grew out of that same idea. If we’re going to look closely at the year, we should also recognize the people who shaped it.
The ballot is now open for the inaugural Luchadora Project Awards, honoring the luchadoras, matches, teams, and rivalries that distinguished themselves in 2026. Work in CMLL, AAA, independent promotions, regional groups, and other Mexican lucha libre organizations is eligible. No one promotion owns this conversation.
The awards consider in-ring performance, consistency, significance, achievement, and lasting impact. Some categories ask voters to weigh a full year of work; others focus on a particular match, team, or rivalry. We’ll also make one announcement that reaches beyond the 2026 ballot.
Inaugural Luchadora Project Hall of Famer
In January, alongside the award winners, we’ll announce the first Luchadora Project Hall of Famer. This recognition is about preserving the history behind the work we follow today. The inaugural honoree’s name will come later, but the Hall of Fame belongs at the start of this story: The Luchadora Project was built to document women’s lucha libre, and that means honoring the people who have shaped it.
Luchadora of the Year
This award takes the widest view. It recognizes the luchadora with the most outstanding overall year, weighing her in-ring performances alongside consistency, accomplishments, prominence, significance, and impact on lucha libre. A title win or a remarkable match can strengthen the case, but neither tells the whole story on its own. Who put together the year that will be hardest to leave out of the record?
Most Outstanding Luchadora
Luchadora of the Year considers the whole picture; Most Outstanding Luchadora concentrates on the wrestling. Match quality, execution, psychology, versatility, and consistency across a full body of work are the measures here. This is where voters can recognize someone whose performances were exceptional from bell to bell, regardless of whether she had the year’s biggest spotlight.
Luchadora Match of the Year
What made a match stay with you after the bell? This category considers the quality of the wrestling, the story told in the ring, the crowd’s response, and the match’s significance. Spectacular moments count, certainly, but so does everything that connected them: the pacing, the stakes, and the performances that made the finish matter.
Rookie of the Year
Recognizing the luchadora who made the strongest impression in her first documented year of professional wrestling. For the 2026 award, her first verifiable professional match must have taken place between October 1, 2025, and September 30, 2026. A dated recording, published result, or other reliable contemporary record can establish that match. Earlier professional work under another publicly established ring identity counts; a new name, mask, or promotion does not restart eligibility. Training matches and exhibitions do not count.
Consider her 2026 work in Mexican lucha libre: in-ring performance, development, consistency, accomplishments, and impact relative to her experience. The Luchadora Project will resolve disputed eligibility based on the available evidence.
Most Improved Luchadora
Improvement can be obvious, or it can arrive a little at a time: cleaner execution, stronger matches, a more convincing character, steadier performances, greater confidence. This award looks at year-over-year growth in a luchadora’s work or presentation. It isn’t simply a second breakout award; it’s a chance to recognize the progress behind the finished product.
Luchadora Tag Team of the Year
The best regular teams offer more than two strong wrestlers sharing a corner. This award considers chemistry, teamwork, match quality, consistency, accomplishments, and significance over the course of the year. How well did the partners work together? What did they build as a team that neither could have produced alone?
Rivalry of the Year
A compelling rivalry gives each new encounter a reason to happen. This award recognizes a sustained rivalry or storyline involving luchadoras, considering its progression, emotional pull, match quality, significance, and payoff. One heated exchange might catch everyone’s attention; carrying that attention through a story is the harder achievement.
International Luchadora of the Year
This category recognizes a wrestler primarily based outside Mexico, or whose regular work is with promotions outside Mexico, who made a significant impact in Mexican lucha libre during 2026. Voters should consider her appearances and performances in Mexico, match quality, accomplishments, and contribution to the scene. Eligibility is about where a luchadora primarily works, not her nationality: wrestlers competing primarily or full-time in Mexico are not eligible for this award.
Vote in the 2026 Luchadora Project Awards by Friday, December 18. The award winners and the inaugural Hall of Famer will be announced in January.
This sounds amazing! Great idea, really looking forward to it