“My name is RJ Brewer and I’m from Phoenix, Arizona,” the wrestler proclaims, in a video of a recent match provided by the promoter. Taunts inside the arena get louder.

The wrestler proceeds to rail against Mexican beer and to demand that people speak English. Then he points to the message painted on the backside of his red trunks: “SB1070” — a reference to Arizona’s controversial immigration law. The crowd, some wearing masks of their favorite Mexican wrestlers, shrieks even louder.

When his masked opponent in a red cape appears, the crowd erupts into cheers.

Lucha libre — or “free wrestling” in Spanish — is a brand of Mexican wrestling that dates to the 1930s. The sport came north to the United States along with Mexican immigrants, and over the years it has spawned clubs in US cities with large Latino communities.

As promoters target growing Mexican immigrant and Mexican-American markets, they and their wrestlers’ fictional personas have begun to adopt a more overtly political storyline revolving around immigration. It’s akin to what US wrestling promoters did in the 1980s and 1990s, when they took on race and the Cold War, but with one key twist — now the American is the bad guy.

“It’s something that we’ve been building in our TV shows and we’ve gotten a lot of positive reaction to it,” said Steve Ship, CEO of Lucha Libre USA, which this week is launching a “Masked Warriors” tour. “So we are bringing it right to our audience.”

Arizona’s immigration law requires all immigrants in the state to obtain or carry immigration registration papers and requires police, while enforcing other laws, to question people’s immigration status if there is a reasonable suspicion they’re in the country illegally. The law is being challenged by the federal government and has sparked protests by Latino advocates around the country.

On shows that have aired on Spanish-language stations and MTV2, RJ Brewer — whose real name is John Stagikas and works as a real estate agent across the country in Massachusetts — advocates for deportations and calls on Americans to support laws that target illegal immigrants.

“This is different than any other program I’ve been involved with because usually I have to work really hard to get the audience to hate me,” Stagikas said in an interview with The Associated Press. “With this, I just walk in with the Arizona flag and the audience boos before I even say a word.”

Popular Mexican luchador and immigrant hero known as Blue Demon, Jr., who is RJ Brewer’s main opponent, said he enjoys his role. He thinks the rivalry will draw more needed attention to the immigration debate.

“I represent the Latino people. We are human beings,” said the wrestler, who wears a mask and whose name is not publicly known, from his Mexico City home. “I support the immigrant people no matter what country they come from.”

Lucha Libre USA is pushing the immigrant storyline as its main draw on websites, social media, Spanish-language television and YouTube videos.

“It sounds like clever piece of theater,” said Tatcho Mindiola, director of the Center for Mexican American Studies at the University of the Houston. “It may have the effect of solidifying that sense of community (among Latinos) since most can identify with what’s going on Arizona. But I don’t think it will result with rallies in the streets.”

Mindiola said focusing on the immigration debate is smart since the issues dominate coverage on Spanish-language media and resonate with many US-born Latinos.

Politics and professional wrestling often have mixed. Dave Meltzer, editor of the Wrestling Observer, a newsletter that follows professional wrestling, said during US foreign affairs flaps the “foreign menace,” whether it was the Iron Sheik during the Iran hostage crisis or Russian bad guy Nikolai Volkoff during the Cold War, gave hero stars an opponent everyone could hate.

And in the 1980s, the popular Junkyard Dog, played by the late Sylvester Ritter, who was black, helped break down racial conflicts by acting as the ultimate good guy in southern states where racial tensions were still present.

With Lucha Libre USA, the character of RJ Brewer has been built around promotional videos in which he openly shows disdain for anything “foreign.” In one video, Stagikas is shown “patrolling” the Arizona-Mexico border after his mom tipped him off that some Mexican luchadores were about to cross over illegally.

Blue Demon, Jr., is shown as the protector of immigrants and a wrestler who is fighting for a larger cause.

Still, Meltzer said Lucha Libre USA was taking a big swing by booking large venues in major markets, especially because pro wrestling overall is suffering due to the economy.

“I don’t know how they are going to do it,” said Meltzer. “Lucha libre is even having a hard time in Mexico.”

Ship said it’s a risk he’s willing to take because that market hasn’t been tapped.

“The Hispanic market is a growing market that few are going after,” said Ship, referring to the growing US Latino population. “In many cases, we are seeing multigenerational families coming out to cheer for their luchadores. So I think we’ll be expanding in the future.”