Thunder (luchador)

Thunder
Birth name Not revealed[1]
Born Australia
Resides Mexico
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Mr. 2013
Thunderbird[2]
Thunder[3]
Billed height 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in)[3]
Billed weight 120 kg (260 lb)
Trained by Tony Salazar[3]
Franco Colombo
El Satánico[3]
Demus 3:16
Debut 2013 (As Thunder)[3]

Thunder (date of birth unrevealed) is an Australian masked professional wrestler (referred to as a luchador enmascarado in Mexico) currently working for the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL).[2] Thunder arrived in Mexico August of 2012 and began training under various professors for CMLL. He debuted in early 2013 portraying a tecnico ("Good guy") wrestling character. After a lengthy time off due to injury, Thunder returned in August of 2014 as a Rudo (professional wrestling) ("bad guy"). He is one of only a few Australian wrestlers to work in Mexico. Thunder's real name is not a matter of public record, as is often the case with masked wrestlers in Mexico where their private lives are kept a secret from the wrestling fans.[1]

Personal life

While the real name of the wrestler known as Thunder has not been revealed he has revealed a number of personal details through interviews. Including the fact that he began to train for a wrestling career at the age of 21, finding it difficult to learn the sport since pro wrestling is not wide spread in Australia.[3] At some point, presumably after he made his in ring debut, he travelled to Mexico to work there.[3]

Professional wrestling career

The wrestler known simply as "Thunder" debuted for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre in early 2013,but since he is a masked wrestler in Mexico his birth name is not a matter of public knowledge. In late 2012 the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) began showing videos of an unidentified masked wrestler, simply referred to as "Mr. 2013". Later on the promos revealed that the man in question was an Australian wrestler called Thunderbird. It was originally believed that Thunderbird was someone who had already worked for CMLL and appeared on TV under a different name and mask and others believed it was Chris Masters coming to CMLL under a new persona.[4] In later promos Thunderbird's Australian accent confirmed that this was someone who had not worked for CMLL before, making him the first Australian to wrestle for CMLL.[2] When he finally made his in ring debut on January 28, 2013 his name was shortened to simply "Thunder".[5] Thunder teamed up with Rush and La Mascara to defeat the trio of Averno, Mephisto and El Terrible.[6] On March 18 Thunder teamed up with El Terrible for a Torneo Increibles de Parejas ("Incredible pairs tournament) in Puebla, Puebla, the tournament featured tag teams made up of a tecnico ("good guy") and a rudo ("Bad guy") wrestler specifically for the tournament. Thunder and rudo El Terrible defeated the team of Ángel de Oro and Rey Escorpión in the first round, but lost to La Sombra and Mr. Águila in the second round and was eliminated from the tournament.[7] In October, 2013 Thunder teamed up with Tritón to compete for a shot at the CMLL World Tag Team Championship, but the team lost in the first round to Los Invasores (Morphosis and Kraneo. On October 25 Thunder made his debut on CMLL's Super Viernes ("Super Friday") show, the promotion's main show, teaming up with Rush and La Sombra as the team lost to El Terrible, Vangelis and Tama Tonga.[8] In early 2014 Thunder stopped making wrestling appearances for CMLL, with no official explanation given for why he stopped working for CMLL. He later revealed that he suffered a leg injury that forced him to not compete while recuperating.[3]

After an almost 7 month absence Thunder returned to the ring during the September 5, 2014 Super Viernes show, entering the ring after the semi-main event match was over. To the surprise of the crowd Thunder turned rudo by attacking Volador Jr., throwing him outside the ring. To underscore the severity of the attack CMLL organized to have Volador Jr. taken from the arena on a stretch afterwards.[9] The following day it was announced that Thunder would appear at the CMLL 81st Anniversary Show, teaming with Mr. Niebla and Euforia to fight Volador Jr., Máscara Dorada and Valiente.[10] The following week Thunder attacked Máscara Dorada after Dorada finished competing in a match, targeting his 81st Anniversary Show opponent.

In wrestling

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Madigan, Dan (2007). "Okay... what is Lucha Libre?". Mondo Lucha Libre: the bizarre & honorable world of wild Mexican wrestling. HarperColins Publisher. pp. 29–40. ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Redaccion (January 24, 2013). "Thunderbird, listo para su debut en el CMLL". MedioTiempo (in Spanish). MSN. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 "Thunder, un australiano que quiere brillar en el CMLL". Deportes (in Spanish). Diario Rotativo. October 14, 2014. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
  4. ↑ Alvarez, Bryan (December 19, 2011). "Dec 19 Figure Four Daily: Bryan Alvarez and Steve Sims talk Mysterio and Sin Cara injuries, top stories from CMLL and AAA, potential super mask match in 2013, magazine business in Mexico, tons more!". Wrestling Observer, Figure Four Online. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  5. ↑ Boutwell, Josh (February 1, 2013). "Viva la Raza!: Lucha Weekly 2/1/13". WrestleView. Retrieved September 13, 2014.
  6. ↑ Redaccion (January 29, 2013). "Thunder debuto con el pie derecho". MedioTiempo (in Spanish). MSN. Retrieved September 13, 2014.
  7. ↑ Boutwell, Josh (March 22, 2013). "Viva la Raza!: Lucha Weekly 3/22/13". WrestleView. Retrieved September 13, 2014.
  8. ↑ Redaccion (October 26, 2013). "Tama Tonga humilló a Rush". MedioTiempo (in Spanish). MSN. Retrieved September 13, 2014.
  9. ↑ Redaccion (September 6, 2014). "Reapareció Thunder, ahora es rudo". MedioTiempo (in Spanish). MSN. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
  10. ↑ "LXXXI ANIVERSARIO CMLL- CARTEL COMPLETO". CMLL Gaceta (in Spanish). Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre. September 6, 2014. Retrieved September 6, 2014.