Hechicero

Hechicero / Rey Hechicero (born in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico) is a Mexican luchador enmascarado, or masked professional wrestler currently working for the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) and on the Mexican independent circuit portraying a rudo ("Bad guy") wrestling character. Hechicero'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. He is billed as "Rey Hechicero" when making appearances outside of CMLL, but there is no pretense that it is two difference characters that he is playing. Hechicero is Spanish for "Wizard" and "Rey Hechicero" means "Wizard King".

Professional wrestling career

In Lucha Libre there is a long-standing tradition of keeping the personal information of masked wrestlers private from the public, including wrestling promotions not revealing their real names and news outlets not asking for personal details in interviews.^[1] Because of this tradition the real name of the wrestler known under the ring names Rey Hechicero and Hechicero is not public knowledge, nor has the year of his birth been established, Hechicero himself has stated that he made his debut, on February 15, 2001, on his birthday. Hechicero resides in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico but it has not been confirmed if this is also his birthplace. During interviews he revealed that he had been trained by a number of Monterrey local wrestlers both before making his debut and after such as Arcángel, Cachorrro Zapata, Chucho Villa, Garringo, Mario Segura, Pequeño Diamante and Shibata. Began working for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) in late 2013/early 2014.

Rey Hechicero (2001–current)

Rey Hechicero made his debut on February 15, 2001, in his home town of Monterrey, Nuevo León working for a local wrestling promotion. In 2004 he was listed as having worked a number of matches for the Naucalpan, State of Mexico based International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG) but did not tour extensively outside of Nuevo León.^[2] In 2007, Rey Hechicero became involved in a storyline feud against another local Monterrey wrestler called Gitano del Norte ("The Gypsy of the North"), a storyline that led to both men putting their masks on the line on the outcome of a Lucha de Apuestas ("Bet match"). Rey Hechicero won and forced him opponent to unmask, which in Lucha Libre is considered more prestigious than winning championships.^[1][3] He capped 2007 by defeating Tigre Universitario to win the WWA World Middleweight Championship^[3] Defeating Tigre Unversitario for the championship was part of a long running storyline between the two, a storyline that would see both of them involved in a four-man Lucha de Apuesta on March 23, 2008. Both Rey Hechicero and Tigre Universitario escaped from the match with their masks while Valiente pinned Sergio Romo, Jr. to force Romo to be shaved bald after the match since he was not masked.^[4][5]

In late 2008 Rey Hechicero was scheduled to team up with Último Guerrero for a Ruelta de la Muerta ("Roulette of death") tournament where the losers of the match advance and the losing team would have to fight each other for their masks. Rey Hechicero suffered an injury shortly before the tournament and had to be replaced by Difunto II. There was no clear verification if Rey Hechicero was indeed injured or if the replacement was done because whomever had originally agreed to lose their mask changed their mind.^[6] Also in 2008 Rey Hechicero began working for a local promotion called Poder Y Honor ("Power and Honor"; PYH) and in 2009 he outlasted Chucho Mar Jr., Estrella Dorada Jr. and Tigre Universitario to become the inargual PYH Heavyweight Champion. In the following years he worked for a number of wrestling promotions as they toured through Monterrey, including winning the mask of Caifán Rockero I on a Perros del Mal show in March 2010. Rey Hechicero continued to work for local wrestling promotions in Monterrey even after making his CMLL debut in 2014, he even continues to be billed as "Rey Hechicero" despite CMLL shortening his ring name to simply "Hechicero".

Hechicero (2014–current)

In early 2014 Rey Hechicero was introduced as part of CMLL's Generacion 2014 class, alongside seven other wrestlers making their CMLL debut around the same time. His name was shortened to simply "Hechicero", possibly because CMLL already had someone working as Rey Bucanero, Rey Escorpión, and Rey Cometa and wanted to reduce the possible confusion. Hechicero was the only member of Generacion 2014 who was not a related to someone working for CMLL or a second generation wrestler, and he and Espiritu Negro were notably older than the rest of the group. He made his in ring debut on January 7, teaming with El Rebelde and El Rebelde's father Hooligan, losing to the team of Dragon Lee, Star Jr., and Starman on a show in Guadalajara, Jalisco, the site of one of CMLL's wrestling schools. A month later Hechicero participated in his first major CMLL event, teaming with one of CMLL's most experienced rudos Último Guerrero to take part in the 2014 Torneo Gran Alternativa ("The Great Alternative Tournament") where a rookie (in storyline terms) and a veteran team up for a tag team elimination match. The annual Gran Alternativa tournament is used to showcase the younger wrestlers of the team. Hechicero and Star Jr. won an eight man Battle Royal used to determine the match ups for the first round of the tournament. Hechicero and Guerrero defeated Star, Jr. and Atlantis in the first round of the tournament, but were defeated by eventual tournament winners Barbaro Cavernario and Mr. Niebla in the second round of the tournament.^[7]

Hechicero was one of sixteen wrestlers given a chance to compete in the 2014 En Busca de un Ídolo ("In search of an idol") tournament. The En Busca de un Ídolo tournament featured younger wrestlers, mostly low to mid card wrestlers where they were given an opportunity to showcase their wrestling skills on a national scale. As part of the tournament each wrestler would earn points from the outcome of their matches, feedback from a panel of judges and a weekly online poll. Hechicero was one eight wrestlers to qualify as he survived a Torneo cibernetico elimination match along with Cavernario, Chachorro, Dragon Lee Guerrero Negro, Jr., Soberano, Jr., Star Jr., and Super Halcón, Jr.^[8] Hechicero ended up on the team being coached by Virus each week, with coaching focusing not just on the actual wrestling but also how to play their characters in the ring, interact with the fast etc.^[8] During the weekly judging Hechicero received praise for his in-ring skills but also got several comments on the fact that he did not wrestle a very rudo style and needed to be more aggressive in the ring, something he tried to incorporate from week to week. After the first round Hechicero won almost every single weekly poll, propelling him to the top of the ranking at the end with a total of 565 points, 114 more than the second place Cavernario. In the week between the first and the second round Hechicero teamed up with Virus and Cachorro to defeat Negro Casas, Cavernario and Dragon Lee on the May 23 Super Viernes show.^[9] In the second round Hechicero lost to Cavernario but defeated both Dragon Lee and Cachorro to earn 250 points, including the majority of the online poll votes, putting him in the finals against Cavernario.^[10] In the final Cavernario defeated Hechicero two falls to one to win the tournament.^[11] The following week all eight "Busca" competitors two trainers faced off in a torneo cibernetico elimination match that saw Negro Casas eliminate Virus as the last man to win the match.^[12] In the weeks following the En Busca de un Ídolo finals Hechicero began teaming with Mephisto and Ephesto for a couple of shows, possibly signaling that CMLL had plans to make them a trio after Mephisto and Ephesto's regular partner Averno had left CMLL. Later when Mephisto and Ephesto were announced as teaming with El Hombre Sin Nombre ("The Man with No Name") there was initial confusion if that meant Hechicero was being given a new ring identify, but once El Hombre made his debut his physical appearance and wrestling style did not match Hechiero. On the October 10, 2014 Super Viernes show Hechicero debuted a new look, including a new mask design and trunks in black with gold or red embellishment.^[13] In January 2016, Hechicero made his Japanese debut by taking part in the CMLL and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) co-produced Fantastica Mania 2016 tour.^[14]

In wrestling

• Finishing moves
  • El Conjuro (Swinging backbreaker)

• Nicknames

• "El Rudo más Técnico "

Championships and accomplishments

• Poder Y Honor
  • PYH Heavyweight Championship (1 time, current)

• Mexican Independent Promotions
  • WWA World Middleweight Championship (1 time)^{[Footnote 2][3]}

Luchas de Apuestas record

Footnotes

References