Sergio Emilio Charles Garduño (October 12, 1956 – December 28, 2012) was a 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 o ...

), who is best known under the ring name Emilio Charles Jr. Over the years, Charles worked for all of the major Mexican

professional wrestling promotion A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling that has little relationship to the rules of the amateur olympic form. "Promotion" also describes a role which entails man ...

s, including

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),

Asistencia Asesoría y Administración Antonio Peña Promotions, S.A. de C.V. d/b/a Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide is a Mexican Lucha Libre ( professional wrestling) promotion based in Mexico City, Mexico. Commonly referred to as simply AAA (pronounced "triple A"; an abbreviation of its ...

and

International Wrestling Revolution Group International Wrestling Revolution Group (Grupo Internacional Revolución in Spanish; the Spanish name is used for the promotion while the English initials are used for the title governing body) is a Lucha Libre promotion based in Naucalpan, S ...

. He is also one of the founding members of the wrestling group called ''Los Destructores'' ("the Destroyers"), along with Vulcano and Tony Arce. He was also a key member of the group ''Los Guapos'' ("the Handsome Ones"), as well as a group called ''Los Talibanes'' (the

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...

), both with longtime wrestling partners and friends

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 Sal ...

and

Bestia Salvaje Juan Manuel Rodriguez Carillo (February 11, 1962 – March 20, 2008) was a Mexican luchador, best known by his ring name Bestia Salvaje, who competed in Mexican and international promotions during the 1980s and 1990s, most notably with Emili ...

Personal life

Sergio Emilio Charles Garduño was born on October 12, 1956, in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico. His father was a professional wrestler in the 1940s and 1950, and was known under the ring name Emilio Charles.

Professional wrestling career

While his father was a professional wrestler, Emilio Charles Jr. was not trained by him; instead, he was trained by

Diablo Velasco Cuahutémoc Velasco Vargas (April 28, 1919 – June 13, 1999) was a Mexican professional wrestler and trainer under the name Diablo Velasco. Velasco trained many famous Mexican wrestlers, including Gory Guerrero, Raul Armas, Los Hermanos Crucero, ...

and Abuelo Carrillo before making his debut in February 1980.

Los Destructores (1987–1990)

In the mid-1980s, he joined up with the real life-brother tag team of Tony Arce and Vulcano, to form a trio known as ''Los Destructores'' ("the Destroyers"). The group was created in the same vein as ''

Los Infernales ''Los Infernales'' (Spanish for "the Infernals") is a Mexican professional wrestling group, called a stable. The stable was created in 1984 and consisted of El Satánico, MS-1 and Espectro Jr. A later version where Pirata Morgan replaced Espec ...

'', a trio of '' rudos'' (bad guys) who worked well together and could produce top-quality matches with a variety of opponents. On January 31, 1988, ''Los Destructores'' defeated Hombre Bala,

Jerry Estrada Jerry Estrada (full name, Gerardo Hernández Estrada; born January 10, 1958, Monclova, Coahuila) is a semi-retired Mexican '' luchador'' (professional wrestler). For most of his career, he has portrayed a ''rudo'' ( heel, those that portray th ...

, and Pirata Morgan to win 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 ...

. ''Los Destructores'' held the titles for almost two years and had a series of championship defenses that drew packed houses all over Mexico. While teaming with Arce and Vulcano, Charles also worked as a singles wrestler, including a long drawn-out storyline with

Atlantis Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas (mythology), Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works ''Timaeus (dialogue), Timaeus'' and ''Critias (dialogue), Critias'' ...

. The storyline saw Charles win the

NWA World Middleweight Championship The NWA World Middleweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) between 1939 and 2010. For most of its existence, it was defended in the Mexican '' lucha libre'' promotion Consejo Mundial ...

from Atlantis on July 17, 1988, only to lose it back to him eleven days later. Charles became a two time NWA Middleweight champion on August 12, 1988, when he defeated Atlantis for the title once more. His run as a double champion ended on April 28, 1989, when

Ángel Azteca Juan Manuel Zúñiga (June 24, 1963 – March 18, 2007) was a Mexican professional wrestler, or '' Luchador'' as they are called in Spanish, best known for working under the ring name Ángel Azteca (Aztec Angel) since the late 1980s. Zúñiga is ...

won the Middleweight title. On November 20, 1989, ''Los Destructores'' lost the trios title to

Black Terry Esteban Mares Castañeda (born September 3, 1952) is a Mexican '' luchador'', or professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Black Terry. Wrestling since 1973, he was once part of a group called ''Los Temerarios'' alongside Jose Luis Fel ...

, Jose Luis Feliciano, and Shu El Guerrero. Not long after the title loss, Charles left ''Los Destructores'', who decided to replace him with Rocco Valente instead. On August 30, 1990, Charles defeated Javier Cruz to win the

Mexican National Middleweight Championship The Mexican National Middleweight Championship ''()'' is a professional wrestling championship controlled by the ' (Mexico City Boxing and Wrestling Commission). The official weight definition of the middleweight division in Mexico is from . The ...

, holding it until November 20, when he lost the belt to

Octagón Juan Escalera (born March 27, 1961) is a Mexican luchador enmascarado (masked professional wrestler) better known as Octagón. He is best known for working for Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA), having worked for the company since it ...

. Charles remained active in the Middleweight division for over three years, defeating

El Dandy Roberto Gutiérrez Frías (born October 2, 1962) is a Mexican former professional wrestler and wrestling trainer, best known under the ring name El Dandy. He is the cousin of professional wrestler Juan Conrado Aguilar, known as El Texano, and th ...

to win the

CMLL World Middleweight Championship The CMLL World Middleweight Championship (Spanish: ''Campeonato Mundial de Peso Medio del CMLL'') is a professional wrestling world championship promoted by the Mexican wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). While lighter wei ...

on December 16, 1992. He held the championship for almost ten months before Dandy regained the title on October 5, 1993.

Los Chacales (1995–1996)

In early 1995, Charles formed a trio with

and

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 ...

, referred to as ''Los Chacales'' (Spanish for "

The Jackals ''The Jackals'' is a 1967 DeLuxe Color Western film from 20th Century Fox filmed at Killarney Film Studios South Africa. A remake of 1948's '' Yellow Sky'', it stars Vincent Price as a South African prospector named Oupa (grandpa) Decker and ...

"). The trio was one of eight teams competing in the Salvador Lutteroth Trios Tournament in March 1994. ''Los Chacales'' defeated ''La Ola Blanca'' (

Dr. Wagner Jr. Juan Manuel González Barrón (born August 12, 1965) is a Mexican ''luchador'' (Spanish for "professional wrestler") who is best known under the ring name Dr. Wagner Jr., having used that name since 1987. He is the son of Manuel González Rivera ...

, Gran Markus Jr., and El Hijo del Gladiador) in the opening round,

Dos Caras José Luis Rodríguez Arellano (born February 21, 1951) is a Mexican '' Luchador Enmascarado'' (masked professional wrestler) who wrestles under the ring name Dos Caras (Spanish for "two faces"). His most active years were in the 1970s and 1980 ...

, El Dandy, and

Héctor Garza Héctor Solano Segura (June 12, 1969 – May 26, 2013) was a Mexican professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Héctor Garza. During his career he worked for various major Mexican professional wrestling promotions such as Consejo Mu ...

in semifinals, and finally ''Los Brazos'' ( Brazo de Oro,

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 ...

, 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 Alv ...

) in the finals of the one-night tournament. The following week, ''Los Chacales'' defeated ''La Ola Blanca'' to win the

CMLL World Trios Championship The CMLL World Trios Championship (Spanish: "''Campeonato Mundial de Trios''") is a professional wrestling championship promoted by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) in Mexico. The title has existed since 1991 and is contested for by teams ...

, becoming the sixth overall championship team. Los Chacales' reign as CMLL World Trios Champions lasted 357 days, before they lost it to Dos Caras,

La Fiera Arturo Casco Hernández (March 17, 1961 – September 12, 2010) was a Mexican '' luchador'', or professional wrestler, best known under the ring name La Fiera, which is Spanish for "The Wild Beast". Hernández was a second-generation wrestler, fo ...

, and Héctor Garza at the first '' Homenaje a Salvador Lutteroth'' show on March 22, 1996. On September 1, Charles and

Apolo Dantés José Luis Amezcua Muñoz (born September 28, 1968) is a Mexican ''luchador'', or professional wrestler, trainer and promoter, best known by his ring name Apolo Dantés. He is the son of Alfonso Dantés, a successful and respected ''luchador' ...

won CMLL's Second Generation Tag Team Tournament. While most participants were second-generation wrestlers like Charles, the tournament also included some fictional family relationships, like Hijo del Gladiador. In 1997, the makeshift team of Charles,

El Satánico Daniel López López (born October 26, 1949) is a Mexican '' luchador'' (professional wrestler) and trainer, best known under the ring name El Satánico (Spanish for "The Satanic One"). He was originally an ''enmascarado'' (masked wrestler), but ...

, and

Rey Bucanero Arturo García Ortiz (born July 19, 1974) is a Mexican '' luchador'' or professional wrestler best known under the ring name Rey Bucanero. Ortiz, as Rey Bucanero, has worked for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) since 1996. His ring name is ...

defeated Apolo Dantés, Black Warrior, and Dr. Wagner Jr. in the finals of a one-night eight-team tournament to win the CMLL World Trios Title. The team only held onto the championship for a month before losing to ''La Ola Azul'' ("The Blue Wave"; Atlantis,

Lizmark Juan Baños (December 18, 1950 – December 16, 2015) was a Mexican '' luchador enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestler better known by the ring name Lizmark. The name was taken from the German battleship Bismarck. He was a multiple-time ...

, and

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 ...

) on April 29, 1997. A few months later, Charles and Wagner defeated Atlantis and Brazo de Plata in the final of an eight-team tournament to win the vacant

CMLL World Tag Team Championship The CMLL World Tag Team Championship (''CMLL Campeonato Mundial de Parejas'' in Spanish) is a professional wrestling World Tag Team Championship promoted by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL; Spanish for "World Wrestling Council") in Mexico ...

. While not being a regular team, the two managed to defend the title for five months before losing it to Mr. Niebla and Shocker on January 23, 1998.

Los Guapos (1999–2002)

After Shocker lost his mask at the

CMLL 66th Anniversary Show The CMLL 66th Anniversary Show ( es, 66. Aniversario de CMLL) was a professional wrestling major show event produced by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) that took place on September 24, 1999, in Arena México, Mexico City, Mexico. The event ...

, he stated he was okay with being unmasked since his face was "1000% Guapo" ("1000% Handsome"). He developed a narcissistic, self-obsessed ''rudo'' character, who exhibited various metrosexual traits and treated those who were not as handsome as him with scorn. In the following months, Shocker would often team up with Bestia Salvaje and

Following a series of

vignettes Vignette may refer to: * Vignette (entertainment), a sketch in a sketch comedy * Vignette (graphic design), decorative designs in books (originally in the form of leaves and vines) to separate sections or chapters * Vignette (literature), short, i ...

, Shocker convinced both of his partners to have their hair bleached blond and that they were also ''Guapo'' like him forming a group known as ''Los Guapos''. Scorpio Jr., and Bestia Negra were both older, seasoned veteran wrestlers and neither were actually considered attractive, in fact. Scorpio, Jr.'s nickname up until this point had been ''El Rey Feo'' ("The Ugly King"). In 2000, Shocker was invited to work for

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, 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 ...

(NJPW) on several occasions and due to his NJPW tours of Japan Scorpio Jr. and Bestia Negra often found themselves without a partner for Trios matches. Their solution was to bring in Emilio Charles Jr. to become the fourth ''Guapo'' team member, Charles Jr. like his partners used the Guapo name more ironically than factual. After returning from NJPW Shocker objected to someone joining "his" group without his approval, but at first agreed to it. Over the following months, Shocker's displeasure with the rest of the team grew, and eventually, he split from the team, turning '' tecnico'' in the process. Shocker began a long-running storyline feud with ''Los Guapos''. The storyline built to its peak at the 2001 ''

Sin Piedad ''Sin Piedad'' (Spanish for "No Mercy" or "No Pity", not to be confused with a similarly-titled series of PPV's hosted by WWE) is the collective name of a series of annual '' lucha libre'', or professional wrestling major show promoted by Mexican ...

'' show on December 14. In the main event, Shocker defeated Emilio Charles Jr. in a ''Lucha de Apuestas'' match, forcing Charles to have all his hair shaved off as a result of his loss. As a result of the victory, Shocker regained the rights to the "Los Guapos" name.

Los Talibanes (2002–2004)

While Shocker reformed ''Los Guapos'', initially with Máscara Mágica and later

El Terrible Damián Gutiérrez Hernández (born April 12, 1976), better known by his ring name El Terrible, is a Mexican professional wrestler who currently works for the Mexican wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). He portrays a ''ru ...

, Bestia Salvaje, Scorpio Jr., and Emilio Charles Jr. became known as ''Los Talibanes'' (The

Taleban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pa ...

). As part of their image change, all three wrestlers began wearing Bedouin robes and headdresses to the ring, pretending to be part of the terrorist group. The feud with Shocker and his group continued over the next two years, including several multi-man ''Lucha de Apuestas'' matches. On August 1, 2003, El Terrible defeated Bestia Salvaje in a ''domo de la muerte'' steel cage match that also included the other members of Los Talibanes and Los Guapos. The feud culminated in another six-way ''Lucha de Apuestas'' match on September 24, 2004, ending with Shocker pinning Bestia Salvaje, forcing him to have his hair shaved off afterward.

Final years (2005–2011)

Charles' schedule slowed down from 2005 to 2007, with him only working two notable storylines in that time period. The first one saw Charles shaved bald as a result of losing a ''Lucha de Apuesta'', to Máximo on October 29, 2006. In the last notable feud Charles worked, he wrestled newcomer Máscara Purpura in a series of matches, culminating in a ''Lucha de Apuesta'' bout on September 16, 2007, that Charles lost and was shaved bald as a result. After leaving CMLL in 2007, Charles worked a limited number of matches for

in 2009 and two matches on the

independent circuit In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indie circuit is the collective noun, collective name of independent professional wrestling promotions which are smaller than major televised promotions. It is roughly analogous to a minor lea ...

in 2011. His last recorded match taking place on December 3, 2011, as he,

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 ...

and Juventud Guerrera lost to ''Los Payasos'' (Coco Amarillo, Coco Azul, and Coco Rojo) by disqualification.

Death

Charles died in 2012 of kidney failure.

Championships and accomplishments

(CMLL) **

(

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 ...

) **

( 1 time) – with

(

) – with

and

(''Los Chacales''),

and

( 1 time) **

( 1 time) – with Vulcano and Tony Arce (''Los Destructores'') **

(

) **Distrito Federal Heavyweight Championship (1 time) ** Second Generation Tag Team Tournament (1995) – with

** Salvador Lutteroth Trios Tournament – with

and

''Luchas de Apuestas'' record

Footnotes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles, Emilio Jr. 1956 births 2012 deaths Deaths from kidney failure Mexican male professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Nuevo León Sportspeople from Monterrey 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers Mexican National Middleweight Champions Mexican National Trios Champions CMLL World Middleweight Champions CMLL World Tag Team Champions CMLL World Trios Champions NWA World Middleweight Champions UWA World Tag Team Champions