Antonio Sánchez Rendón (born September 4, 1954), is a retired Mexican ''
luchador
Lucha libre (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term used in Latin America for professional wrestling. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has developed into a unique form ...
'', or
professional wrestler
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...
best known under the
ring name
A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...
''El Signo'' (
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
for "The Symbol"). Rendón was part of ''
Los Misioneros de la Muerte
Los Misioneros de la Muerte (Spanish for the Missionaries of Death') was a Mexican ''Lucha libre'', or professional wrestling Trio that has been credited with making the two out of three falls six-man tag team match the most common match form in ...
'' ("The Missionaries of Death") with
Negro Navarro
Negro Navarro (born June 12, 1957) is the ring name of Miguel Calderón Navarro, a Mexican ''luchador'', or professional wrestler. Navarro works as a Freelancer on the Mexican independent circuit as well as making regular appearances for Inter ...
and
El Texano
Juan Conrado Aguilar Jáuregui (November 26, 1958 – January 15, 2006), better known by his ring name El Texano, was a Mexican ''Lucha libre, Luchador'', or Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. From the early 1970s to the early 2000s, ...
a team that is credited with popularizing the
Trios match
Much like the singles match, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace. Tag team ladder m ...
in Mexico to the point that it became the most common match for in Mexican Lucha Libre. Sánchez made his professional wrestling debut in 1971 and officially retired in 2010, after 38 years of active competition. At least one of Sánchez's children is also a professional wrestler, working under the name
Hijo del Signo
Marco Antonio Sánchez Rodríguez (born April 30, 1987) better known by his ring name El Hijo del Signo or Signo Jr., is a Mexican professional wrestler currently working for the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Li ...
("Son of the Sign", born 1985) since 2008.
Personal life
Most wrestlers in Mexico try to maintain a separation between their professional career and their personal life, which is also true of Antonio Sánchez Rendón, confirming only the most basic details of his life such as birth age and location etc. He was born on September 4, 1954 in
Ocotlán de Morelos
Ocotlán de Morelos is a town and municipality in the state of Oaxaca, about 35 km south of the center of the city of Oaxaca along Highway 175.
It is part of the Ocotlán District in the south of the Valles Centrales Region. The area was a ...
,
Oaxaca
Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...
,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
and trained for his professional wrestling career under
Billy Robinson
William Alfred Robinson (18 September 1938 – 3 March 2014) was a British professional wrestler and wrestling instructor. Robinson was one of the few wrestlers who was successful in several continents (Europe, North America, Asia and Oceania ...
, Chamaco Azteca and El Carnicero. Sánchez has at least one child, a son born in 1985 who now wrestled as the ''
enmascarado'', or masked character
Hijo del Signo
Marco Antonio Sánchez Rodríguez (born April 30, 1987) better known by his ring name El Hijo del Signo or Signo Jr., is a Mexican professional wrestler currently working for the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Li ...
, but since he is an ''enmascarado'' his birth name is reported on out of respect of lucha libre traditions.
It is not documented if he has other children or if he is still married to the mother of Hijo del Signo.
Professional wrestling career
Sánchez made his professional wrestling debut on September 16, 1971 a few weeks after turning 17 years old. He began wrestling as the ''enmascarado'' character "El Signo" ("The Sign"), wearing a mask (most often black) with an upside down
question mark
The question mark (also known as interrogation point, query, or eroteme in journalism) is a punctuation mark that indicates an interrogative clause or phrase in many languages.
History
In the fifth century, Syriac Bible manuscripts used ques ...
on the front of it.
Sánchez started his wrestling career in the lighter weight divisions, often in the Lightweight or Welterweight divisions, where the official limits were around and .
In 1974 El Signo lost a ''
Luchas de Apuestas
Lucha libre (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term used in Latin America for professional wrestling. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has developed into a unique form ...
'', or bet match to Gatúbedo and as a result was forced to unmask and reveal his birth name as per
Lucha Libre
Lucha libre (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term used in Latin America for professional wrestling. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has developed into a unique form ...
traditions.
While he had unmasked he retained the
ring name
A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...
El Signo and began working for the
Universal Wrestling Association
The Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) was a Mexican ''Lucha Libre'' or professional wrestling promotion based in Naucalpan, Mexico State that operated from 1975 until 1995. The name of the actual promotion was Lucha Libre Internacional (LLI) ...
(UWA), one of two major wrestling promotions in Mexico (the other being
Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as ''Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre'' (''EMLL'') (''Mexi ...
(EMLL)). In the UWA he defeated
El Matemático to win the
UWA World Lightweight Championship
The UWA World Lightweight Championship (''Campeonato Mundial de Peso Ligero UWA'' in Spanish) is an inactive professional wrestling championship promoted by the Mexican wrestling promotion Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) from 1975 until some ...
, his first championship ever.
[ During that time period he formed a regular ]tag team
Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...
with Lobo Rubio, and the two hand an extended storyline feud with the team of El Matemático and Black Man Black Man may refer to:
* Black people
* ''Black Man'' (novel), a 2007 novel by Richard Morgan
*Black Man (song), a 1976 song by Stevie Wonder
*Black Man (wrestler), a Mexican wrestler
*Bogeyman
The Bogeyman (; also spelled boogeyman, bogyman, ...
that started with the UWA title match and came to an end on January 29, 1978 when Signo and Lobo Rubio lost a tag team ''Luchas de Apuestas'' match and both were forced to be shaved bald as a result. In late 1978 El Signo vacated the UWA World Lightweight Championship for unexplained reasons, although the most likely being that he moved up into the Welterweight division and was too heavy to be considered a Lightweight. On June 24, 1979 El Signo won the UWA World Welterweight Championship
The UWA World Welterweight Championship is a championship in professional wrestling that is primarily contested for in various Lucha Libre promotions in Mexico. In 1993, the championship was recognized by the Japanese professional wrestling promoti ...
from Bobby Lee
Robert Lee Jr. (born September 17, 1971) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and podcaster. From 2001 to 2009, Lee was a cast member on ''MADtv'', and he co-starred in the ABC single-camera sitcom series ''Splitting Up Together'' alongside ...
, fully establishing him as a Welterweight wrestler.[
]
Los Misioneros de la Muerte
In the late 1970s the UWA promoters were noticing that rival EMLL had achieved financial and critical success with their lighter divisions, often having Lightweights or Welterweights in their main events while the UWA relied primarily on their heavyweight division for their main event matches. promoter Francisco Flores wanted to develop his own group of smaller, faster wrestlers into top level competitors and came up with the idea to team El Signo up with two similar sized wrestlers Miguel Calderón Navarro, known as Negro Navarro
Negro Navarro (born June 12, 1957) is the ring name of Miguel Calderón Navarro, a Mexican ''luchador'', or professional wrestler. Navarro works as a Freelancer on the Mexican independent circuit as well as making regular appearances for Inter ...
and Juan Conrado Aguilar Jáuregui, who was working under the name El Texano
Juan Conrado Aguilar Jáuregui (November 26, 1958 – January 15, 2006), better known by his ring name El Texano, was a Mexican ''Lucha libre, Luchador'', or Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. From the early 1970s to the early 2000s, ...
, forming a trie known as ''Los Misioneros de la Muerte
Los Misioneros de la Muerte (Spanish for the Missionaries of Death') was a Mexican ''Lucha libre'', or professional wrestling Trio that has been credited with making the two out of three falls six-man tag team match the most common match form in ...
'' ("The Missionaries of Death"). They were paired up against another trio of young, lightweight and high flying wrestlers, a trio of brothers dubbed ''Los Mosqueteros de Diablo'' (The Devil's Musketeers), Brazo de Oro ("Golden Hand"), Brazo de Plata
José Luis Alvarado Nieves (March 19, 1963 – July 26, 2021) was a Mexican luchador best known under the ring name Brazo de Plata, a name he had used since his debut in 1977. He is also well known for his appearances in WWE as Super Porky. Al ...
("Silver Arm") and El Brazo
Juan Alvarado Nieves (July 30, 1961 – October 15, 2013) was a Mexican Luchador (professional wrestler). He was best known under the ring name El Brazo (Spanish for "the Arm"), which he used since his debut in 1980. Alvarado was part of the Al ...
("The Arm"). Early on in the storyline Brazo de Oro defeated El Texano in a ''Luchas de Apuestas
Lucha libre (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term used in Latin America for professional wrestling. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has developed into a unique form ...
'', or bet match, which forced El Texano to unmask. The storyline expanded and saw the unmasked Misionaros clash with the masked Mosqueteros on UWA promoted cards all over Mexico. The fan reception to those matches and the positive coverage in various Lucha Libre magazines was so big that other promoters around Mexico wanted to book them on their shows, not as individuals but as teams, which was the start of the trios match becoming more and more prominent in Lucha Libre. With the team being so in demand UWA started to feature Los Misioneros more often that by 1981 ''Los Misioneros'' began working high on the card, often working the main event match starting a trend of having trios matches instead of singles matches as the regular main event match format, something that helped make that match format the most common match type in Lucha Libre since then.
In 1981 the ''Los Misioneros de la Muerte'' name became a household name after a match in ''El Toreo de Quatro Caminos'', UWA's main venue. During the main event ''Los Misioneros'' faced off against then 64-year-old El Santo
Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta (23 September 1917 – 5 February 1984), known professionally as El Santo or in English The Saint, was a Mexican luchador enmascarado (Spanish for "masked professional wrestler"), actor and folk hero. He is one of the mo ...
, who was teaming up with Huracán Ramírez
Daniel García Arteaga (April 9, 1926 – October 31, 2006), best known under the ring name Huracán Ramírez (English: "Hurricane Ramírez"), was a Mexican ''luchador enmascarado'' (or masked professional wrestler) and actor. García was nei ...
and Rayo de Jalisco
Máximino Linares Moreno (November 22, 1932 – July 19, 2018) was a Mexican ''luchador'' (professional wrestler) and lucha film star, better known under the ring name Rayo de Jalisco ("The Lightning Bolt from Jalisco"). He is considered to be ...
. During the match El Santo collapsed in the middle of the ring, suffering a heart attack after a hard blow to the chest. His life was only saved due to the actions of Ramírez who administered CPR at ringside. After the match the Lucha Libre magazinez, prompted by Francisco Flores, played off the real life tragedy by promoting ''Los Misioneros'' as the team that nearly killed the biggest name in Lucha Libre ever. The event made the team the most hated trio in Mexico for years to come and helped fill ''El Torero'' arena to the brim when ''Los Misioneros'' teamed up with Perro Aguayo
Pedro Aguayo Damián (18 January 1946 — 3 July 2019) better known as "(El) Perro Aguayo" (Aguayo the dog) and El Can de Nochistlan (The Nochistlan Dog) was a Mexican wrestler through the 1970s to the 1990s.
Aguayo was the first person ever ...
to face El Santo, Gory Guerrero
Salvador Guerrero Quesada (January 11, 1921 – April 18, 1990), better known as Gory Guerrero, was one of the premier Mexican American professional wrestlers in the early days of Lucha Libre when most wrestlers were imported from outside Mexico ...
, Huracán Ramírez and El Solitario
Roberto González Cruz (May 22, 1946 – April 6, 1986) was a Mexican professional wrestler who wrestled under the name El Solitario. During his career he held both the NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship and the NWA World Middleweight Cham ...
in El Santo's retirement match. Following Santo's retirement ''Los Misioneros'' feuded with the top faces
The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may affe ...
(wrestlers portraying "good guy" characters) such as ''Los Tres Caballero'' (Aníbal Aníbal is the Spanish and Portuguese masculine given name equivalent of Hannibal (q.v.), itself a latinization of the Greek name Hanníbas (Ἀννίβας), derived from “ḥnbʿl” in the Carthaginian language (Carthaginian Punic script, 𐤇 ...
, El Solitario and Villano III
Arturo Díaz Mendoza (March 23, 1952 – August 21, 2018) was a Mexican professional wrestler who performed under the ring name Villano III (in Spanish Villano Tercero). Díaz was a second-generation wrestler, son of ''luchador'' Ray Mendoza an ...
) both in trios and in individual competition. During the storyline El Solitario turned on his two partners, when he attacked El Signo with a bottle and costing ''Los Tres Caballeros'' an important match. The attack made the smaller ''Los Misioneros'' more sympathetic to the crowd, who began to support them more and more despite ''Los Misioneros'' being booked on the shows as heel characters ("bad guys"). On June 10, 1983 El Signo won the UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship
The UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship (''Campeonato Mundia de Peso Semicompleto Junior UWA'' in Spanish) is a professional wrestling championship that was originally promoted by the Mexican lucha libre professional wrestling) promot ...
from El Solitario as part of their long running storyline, marking the third division El Signo had won the UWA title in.[ He would later be stripped of the title for making an unsanctioned title defense on a non-UWA show.][ Their popularity as a trio also led to them being invited to tour ]Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, facing off against New Japan Pro-Wrestling
(NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...
(NJPW) light weight wrestlers such as Gran Hamada
, better known by his ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler, the first to adopt the high-flying Mexican lucha libre style. He has wrestled for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, the Universal Wrestling Federation, Michinoku Pro and All Japan Pro ...
, Tiger Mask
is a Japanese manga series written by Ikki Kajiwara and illustrated by Naoki Tsuji. The series was first published in Kodansha's ''Bokura Magazine'' from 1968 to 1970 and was later published in ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from 1970 to ...
, George Takano
, born June 23, 1958, is an American-Japanese retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler better known under the ring name . He was also billed from Uganda under the alias The Cobra, a Lucha libre#Masks, masked wrestler Glossary of prof ...
, Akira Maeda
(born Go Il-myeong (Hangul: 고일명, Hanja: 高日明), January 24, 1959) is a Japanese mixed martial arts promoter, writer and retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist of Korean descent. Maeda was also known by the ring name K ...
and Osamu Kido
(born February 2, 1950) is a Japanese professional wrestler who wrestled for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He participated in the foundation of New Japan of 1972 and the foundation of Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF) in 1984. In 2005, aft ...
.
In 1984 ''Los Misioneros'' won the UWA World Trios Championship
The UWA World Trios Championship is a tag team professional wrestling championship created by the Mexican Universal Wrestling Association and defended there until the UWA closed in 1995. Since then, the championship has been defended in various p ...
for the first time, although it is not documented for exactly how long.[ On January 1, 1985 Negro Navarro won his first singles championship, the ]UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship
The UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship (''Campeonato Mundia de Peso Semicompleto Junior UWA'' in Spanish) is a professional wrestling championship that was originally promoted by the Mexican lucha libre professional wrestling) promot ...
, when he defeated the then champion Aníbal Aníbal is the Spanish and Portuguese masculine given name equivalent of Hannibal (q.v.), itself a latinization of the Greek name Hanníbas (Ἀννίβας), derived from “ḥnbʿl” in the Carthaginian language (Carthaginian Punic script, 𐤇 ...
. The title run only lasted 50 days, ending on February 25, 1985 when he lost to Mano Negra.[ In the mid-1980s the "War" between the UWA and EMLL had cooled off enough for ''Los Misionerios'' to actually wrestle on the EMLL 53rd Anniversary Show, losing a trios ''Luchas de Apuestas'' to ]Ringo Mendoza
Genaro Jacobo Contreras is a retired Mexican professional wrestler, or ''Luchador'' in Spanish, and is a professional wrestling trainer for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). Contreras is best known under the ring name Ringo Mendoza, which he ...
, Américo Rocca
Javier Hernández Padilla (born September 22, 1952) is a semi-retired Mexican ''Luchador'', or professional wrestler best known under the ring name Américo Rocca. Hernández also worked as the '' enmascarado'' (masked) ''Ponzoña'' from 1990 un ...
and Tony Salazar
Antonio Salazar Gómez, (born January 15, 1949) is a retired Mexican ''luchador'', or professional wrestler who works as the ring announcer for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre's (CMLL) Sunday shows in ''Arena Coliseo''. He is best known under the ...
. Los Misionerios regained the UWA World Trios Championship in 1987 defeating ''Los Villanos'' (Villano III, Villano IV
Tomás Díaz Mendoza (born April 9, 1965) is a Mexican professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Villano IV (''Villano Cuarto''). Within the stable Los Villanos, he has wrestled for Universal Wrestling Association (UWA), AAA, and Wor ...
and Villano V
Raymundo Díaz Mendoza Jr. (born March 22, 1960) is a Mexican professional wrestler, who has performed under the name Villano V (Villano Quinto, which means "Fifth Villain") until he was unmasked on March 20, 2009, after which he became known a ...
), after what was considered the "peak" of ''Los Misionerios''. With an influx of other popular trios both in the UWA and in Mexico in general ''Los Misioneros'' days on the top of the Trios scene came to an end, which was followed by the end of ''Los Missioneros de la Muerte'' in its original form. During a UWA World Trios Championship match against ''Los Villanos'' El Texano threw in the towel to save his partner El Signo any more punishment. After the match and title loss his partners turned on El Texano and attacked him after the match. The attack was done primarily to write El Texano out of the UWA storyline as he had given notice that he was leaving.
UWA Promoter Francisco Flores decided to try to keep the ''Los Misioneros de la Muerte'' team active even after the departure of El Texano and experimented with a number of different partners for Navarro and El Signo. Teaming with the masked wrestler Black Power ''Los Misioneros'' defeated ''Los Villanos'' (Villano I
José de Jesús Díaz Mendoza (June 28, 1950 – January 4, 2001), known by the ring name of Villano I (Villano Primero), was a Mexican ''luchador'' '' enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestler. He was the son of ''luchador'' Ray Mendoza, ...
, Villano IV and Villano V) to win the UWA Trios Championship. Negro Navarro won the UWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship
The is a title that was originally promoted by the Mexican lucha libre promotion Universal Wrestling Association. After the UWA closed in 1995 the title was defended on the Mexican independent circuit and in the Puerto Rican promotion World Wres ...
from Shu El Guerrero on December 27, 1993 and would hold that title until the promotion closed in 1995.[ The trio held on to the Trios Championship for 454 days, until May 1, 1993 where they lost them to El Engendro, Shu El Guerrero and ]Scorpio, Jr.
Rafael Núñez Juan (born October 11, 1966) is a Mexican ''Luchador'' or professional wrestler who is best known under his Ring name Scorpio Jr. Núñez is the son of professional wrestler "Scorpio", and was trained by his father and Rafael Sala ...
, they regained the championship later that year, on December 25 and held them into 1994 where they lost the belts back to Engendro, Shu el Guerrero and Scorpio, Jr.[ Black Power was later replaced by Rocky Santana and that version of ''Los Misioneros'' did win the UWA World Trios Championship on two occasions, holding the distinction of being the last team to hold the titles before the UWA closed in 1995.][ After the end of the UWA ''Los Misioneros'' made a few appearances for ]AAA
AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to:
Airports
* Anaa Airport in French Polynesia (IATA airport code AAA)
* Logan County Airport (Illinois) (FAA airport code AAA)
Arts, entertainment, and me ...
, UWA's successor of sorts and one of the two biggest wrestling promotions in Mexico along with CMLL. The appearances included a match at Triplemanía III-A
Triplemanía III-A was the first of three parts of the third Triplemanía professional wrestling show series promoted by Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA). 1995 was second year to feature the "Triplemanía Series" of shows with 3, refe ...
where a version of ''Los Misioneros'' (Navarro, Signo and a masked wrestler called "Misionero") defeated the team of El Torero
Jose Isias Cancio Allon (born July 6, 1959) is a retired Mexico, Mexican ''Lucha libre, Luchador'', or professional wrestling, professional wrestler best known under the ring name ''El Torero'', a bullfighter ring persona. Cancio also wrestled as ...
, El Mexicano and Dragón de Oro.
Independent Circuit
After the closure of the UWA in 1995 Negro Navarro and El Signo split up, going their separate ways on the Independent circuit, only teaming together for special occasions. Signo joined AAA and was given a new ring character, a masked heel character called "Piromaniaco" (Pyromaniac
Pyromania is an impulse control disorder in which individuals repeatedly fail to resist impulses to deliberately start fires, to relieve some tension or for instant gratification. The term ''pyromania'' comes from the Greek word (''pyr'', 'fi ...
) but he only made a few appearances under that name before reverting to his unmasked El Signo identity. In 1996 El Signo began working for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as ''Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre'' (''EMLL'') (''Mexi ...
(CMLL; previously known as EMLL) during a time where CMLL were given the rights to the Mexican National Trios Championship
The Mexican National Trios Championship (''Campeonato National Trios'' in Spanish) is a three-man tag team professional wrestling championship, sanctioned by the "Comisión de Box y Lucha Libre Mexico D.F." (''Mexico City Boxing and Wrestling ...
by the Mexican boxing and wrestling commission. El Signo teamed up with Blue Panther and Fuerza Guerrera
Fuerza Guerrera (born December 13, 1953) is a Mexican ''Luchador enmascarado'' (or masked professional wrestler) who made his debut in 1978. In his career Guerrera has worked for every major wrestling organization in Mexico including Consejo Mund ...
, two wrestlers with a similar background and age to compete in the tournament for the titles. On July 6, 1996 the team defeated El Brazo, Brazo de Plata and Super Electra in the tournament finals to win the championship.[ During his time in CMLL he had an occasion to team up with Negro Navarro again, for the Salvador Lutteroth Memorial Tag Tournament held as part of ]Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as ''Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre'' (''EMLL'') (''Mexi ...
(CMLL; formerly known as EMLL)'s 1999 '' Homenaje a Dos Leyendas: El Santo y Salvador Lutteroth'' show on March 19, 1999. Navarro and El Signo teamed up to represent the "old school" wrestlers of Lutteroth's era and defeated Olímpico
Joel Bernal Galicia (born December 6, 1965) is a Mexican ''Luchador'', or professional wrestler retired, better known under the ring name Olímpico. Olímpico is sometimes Anglicised as "Olympico", and means "Olympian" in Spanish. From his debut ...
and Tony Rivera
Javier Espinosa Romero (born December 30, 1973) is a Mexican ''luchador'', or masked professional wrestler best known under the ring name Tony Rivera. As Rivera he is currently working on the Mexican professional wrestling independent circuit po ...
in the first round of the tournament. In the semi-finals they lost to eventual tournament winners Mr. Niebla
Efrén Tiburcio Márquez (February 22, 1973 – December 23, 2019), known under the ring name Mr. Niebla, was a Mexican luchador enmascarado ( Spanish for masked professional wrestler) who worked for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). "Ni ...
and Shocker. El Signo stopped working full-time for CMLL in 1999 or 2000, despite still being part of the Mexican National Trios Championship team, leaving the title to be mainly inactive and not highly promoted. El Signo made a special appearance for CMLL on March 3, 2001 on their '' Juicio Final'' ("Final Justice") show, losing the Mexican National Trios Championship to Mr. Niebla, Olímpico
Joel Bernal Galicia (born December 6, 1965) is a Mexican ''Luchador'', or professional wrestler retired, better known under the ring name Olímpico. Olímpico is sometimes Anglicised as "Olympico", and means "Olympian" in Spanish. From his debut ...
and Safari
A safari (; ) is an overland journey to observe wild animals, especially in eastern or southern Africa. The so-called "Big Five" game animals of Africa – lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and Cape buffalo – particularly form an importa ...
. In 2003 El Signo worked a number of matches for AAA, including a match where the original ''Los Misioneros'' were reunited for AAA's 2003 ''Guerra de Titanes
Guerra de Titanes (Spanish for "War of the Titans") is a major annual professional wrestling event in Mexico promoted by the Lucha Libre AAA World Wide (AAA) promotion. The show is the "End of year" show and is traditionally held in December with ...
'' show where they defeated El Brazo, Sangre Chicana
Sangre Chicana (Spanish for "Chicano Blood") is the ring name of retired Mexican professional wrestler Andrés Durán Reyes (born November 30, 1951). Reyes made his professional wrestling debut in 1973, wearing a red mask with a gold stripe, unde ...
and Pirata Morgan
Pedro Ortiz Villanueva (born July 29, 1962) is a Mexican professional wrestler, or luchador, and wrestling trainer who is best known under the ring name Pirata Morgan. Ortiz made his professional wrestling debut in 1979 and has in the last 20 ye ...
. In the following years El Signo primarily worked on the Mexican independent circuit, wrestling other wrestlers who were considered "Old School", wrestlers who made their debut in the mid-1980s or before. He had a number of matches against Villano III, including at least two occasions where he lost a ''Luchas de Apuestas'' against him.[ El Signo had his last professional wrestling match on May 1, 2010 as he participated in a ten-man ]steel cage match
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
that was the main event of the "El Signo Retirement Show" in Arena Neza. The match saw Halcon Dorado, Jr. lose the match and was forced to unmask.
Championships and accomplishments
*Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as ''Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre'' (''EMLL'') (''Mexi ...
**Mexican National Trios Championship
The Mexican National Trios Championship (''Campeonato National Trios'' in Spanish) is a three-man tag team professional wrestling championship, sanctioned by the "Comisión de Box y Lucha Libre Mexico D.F." (''Mexico City Boxing and Wrestling ...
( 1 time) – with Blue Panther and Fuerza Guerrera
Fuerza Guerrera (born December 13, 1953) is a Mexican ''Luchador enmascarado'' (or masked professional wrestler) who made his debut in 1978. In his career Guerrera has worked for every major wrestling organization in Mexico including Consejo Mund ...
*Universal Wrestling Association
The Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) was a Mexican ''Lucha Libre'' or professional wrestling promotion based in Naucalpan, Mexico State that operated from 1975 until 1995. The name of the actual promotion was Lucha Libre Internacional (LLI) ...
**UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship
The UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship (''Campeonato Mundia de Peso Semicompleto Junior UWA'' in Spanish) is a professional wrestling championship that was originally promoted by the Mexican lucha libre professional wrestling) promot ...
( 1 time)
**UWA World Light Heavyweight Championship
The UWA World Light Heavyweight Championship (''Campeonato Mundial Semi Completo de UWA'' in Spanish) is a singles professional wrestling championship initially promoted by the Mexican Lucha Libre wrestling based promotion Universal Wrestling As ...
(2 times
"2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...
)
**UWA World Lightweight Championship
The UWA World Lightweight Championship (''Campeonato Mundial de Peso Ligero UWA'' in Spanish) is an inactive professional wrestling championship promoted by the Mexican wrestling promotion Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) from 1975 until some ...
( 1 time)
**UWA World Trios Championship
The UWA World Trios Championship is a tag team professional wrestling championship created by the Mexican Universal Wrestling Association and defended there until the UWA closed in 1995. Since then, the championship has been defended in various p ...
( 6 times) – With Negro Navarro
Negro Navarro (born June 12, 1957) is the ring name of Miguel Calderón Navarro, a Mexican ''luchador'', or professional wrestler. Navarro works as a Freelancer on the Mexican independent circuit as well as making regular appearances for Inter ...
and El Texano
Juan Conrado Aguilar Jáuregui (November 26, 1958 – January 15, 2006), better known by his ring name El Texano, was a Mexican ''Lucha libre, Luchador'', or Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. From the early 1970s to the early 2000s, ...
(2), Negro Navarro
Negro Navarro (born June 12, 1957) is the ring name of Miguel Calderón Navarro, a Mexican ''luchador'', or professional wrestler. Navarro works as a Freelancer on the Mexican independent circuit as well as making regular appearances for Inter ...
and Black Power II (2), Negro Navarro
Negro Navarro (born June 12, 1957) is the ring name of Miguel Calderón Navarro, a Mexican ''luchador'', or professional wrestler. Navarro works as a Freelancer on the Mexican independent circuit as well as making regular appearances for Inter ...
and Rocky Santana (2)
**UWA World Welterweight Championship
The UWA World Welterweight Championship is a championship in professional wrestling that is primarily contested for in various Lucha Libre promotions in Mexico. In 1993, the championship was recognized by the Japanese professional wrestling promoti ...
( 1 time)
**WWF Light Heavyweight Championship
The WWF Light Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) promotion. The title was challenged by light heavyweights at a maximum weight of 215 lbs (before deactivation, ...
( 1 time)[Prior to 1997 the WWF title was promoted almost exclusively in Mexico under an agreement with the ]World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
. In 1997 the WWF decided to promote the Light Heavyweight Championship on their own shows, not officially recognizing the title lineage from before that point in time.
*Wrestling Observer Newsletter
The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts.
Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four We ...
:*Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter (WON) Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling and mixed martial arts hall of fame that recognizes people who make significant contributions to their professions. It was founded in 1996 by Dave Meltzer, editor of t ...
(Class of 2019) as part of ''Los Misioneros de la Muerte
Los Misioneros de la Muerte (Spanish for the Missionaries of Death') was a Mexican ''Lucha libre'', or professional wrestling Trio that has been credited with making the two out of three falls six-man tag team match the most common match form in ...
''
''Luchas de Apuestas'' record
Footnotes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Signo, El
1954 births
Living people
Mexican male professional wrestlers
Professional wrestlers from Oaxaca
Professional wrestling trainers
20th-century professional wrestlers
21st-century professional wrestlers
Mexican National Trios Champions
UWA World Trios Champions
UWA World Welterweight Champions
UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Champions
UWA World Light Heavyweight Champions
UWA World Lightweight Champions