Cándido Robles Cruz (born August 14, 1953) is a retired

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

'' Luchador'', 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 ...

. Cruz is 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 ...

Gran Markus Jr. and for his work in the 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 ...

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). Cruz originally worked under the name "Tony Benetto" but in the late 1980s he changed to being an enmascarado, or masked wrestler, taking the name Gran Markus Jr. Cruz is not related to wrestler Gran Markus – it is a storyline relationship. Cruz has both teamed with and fought against the original Gran Markus. Cruz lost the "Gran Markus Jr." mask on June 29, 1997 when he lost a '' Luchas de Apuesta'' match, or "bet match" to Mil Máscaras.

Professional wrestling career

Cándido Robles made his professional wrestling debut in 1977, adopting the

Tony Benetto upon his debut. As Benetto he initially wrestled 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 ...

before signing with Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL), Mexico's largest and the world's oldest wrestling promotion. On January 16, 1980 Benetto won his first championship when he defeated

El Halcón José Luis Melchor Ortiz (born July 23, 1947 in Mexico City, Mexico) is a Mexican retired ''Luchador'' (Professional Wrestler) best known by his ring name El Halcón. During his career, which spanned over five decades, he competed throughout the ...

to win the Mexican National Heavyweight Championship. His first reign with the title lasted until July 26, 1980, when he lost to rising newcomer

Cien Caras Carmelo Reyes González (born October 18, 1949) is a Mexican retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Cien Caras ("Hundred Faces"). He is best known for his appearances with the Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre. Personal l ...

. Over the next couple of years Benetto would team with

Rayo de Jalisco Sr. 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 ...

, defeating Sangre Chicana and Cien Caras to win the Mexican National Tag Team Championship on October 28, 1985. The duo held on to the championship until April 16, 1986 where they lost to '' Los Hermanos Dinamitas'' (Cien Caras and his brother Máscara Año 2000). In 1987 Robles abandoned the "Tony Benetto" character in favor of an '' enmascarado'', or masked character, called "Gran Markus Jr.". A character that, in storyline terms, was being presented as the son of Gran Markus, even if they were not actually related. Robles began wrestling under the white mask that had been Gran Markus' trademark for years, reinvigorating his professional wrestling career. On December 17, 1987, he became a two time Mexican National Heavyweight Champion, although it was not officially recognized as such at the time since there was no connection between the "Tony Benetto" character and Gran Markus Jr. The second reign ended on August 7, 1988, when he was defeated for the title by

Alfonso Dantés José Luis Amezcua Díaz (April 13, 1943 – July 30, 2008) was a Mexican professional wrestler who wrestled during the 1960s and 1970s under the ring name Alfonso Dantés (the name was taken from the main character of the Count of Monte Cristo no ...

. In 1989 Gran Markus Jr. began a storyline with the original Gran Markus, through which it was revealed that he was not actually the son of Gran Markus. During the storyline Gran Markus Jr. defeated Gran Markus in a '' Luchas de Apuesta'', or bet match, where Gran Markus ended up shaved bald after the match. On July 9, 1990 Gran Markus Jr. won his third Mexican National Heavyweight Championship, defeating Popitekus for the belt. This third and final reign lasted three months before he lost the belt to

Rayo de Jalisco Jr. Rayo de Jalisco Jr. (Spanish for "Lightning Bolt from Jalisco Jr."; born January 1, 1960) is the ring name of a Mexican Luchador Enmascarado (masked professional wrestler) whose real name has not been revealed, per Lucha Libre traditions. Ray ...

, son of his former tag team partner. In the early-1990s Gran Markus Jr.

El Hijo del Gladiador Arturo Beristain (born September 5, 1949) is a retired Mexican professional wrestler, or ''Luchador'' in Spanish, who works as a wrestling trainer at the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre's (CMLL) gym in Mexic ...

and

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 ...

formed a team called ''La Ola Blanca'' ("the White Wave"), named after the original ''La Ola Blanca'' that consisted of Dr. Wagner Jr.'s father

Dr. Wagner Manuel González Rivera (April 13, 1936 – September 12, 2004) was a Mexican professional wrestler, or ''Luchador'' best known under the ring name Dr. Wagner. González made his professional wrestling debut in 1961 and worked the majority of ...

and

Ángel Blanco José Ángel Vargas Sánchez (August 2, 1938 – April 26, 1986) was a Mexican ''Luchador'' or professional wrestler best known under the ring name ''Angel Blanco''. Vargas is the father-in-law of the first Ángel Blanco Jr. and the father of th ...

. The trio defeated ''Los Brazos'' ("The Arms"; El Brazo, Brazo de Oro and Brazo de Plata) on April 22, 1994, to win the CMLL World Trios Championship. ''La Ola Blanca'' held the titles for almost a year, until March 31, 1995, when they were defeated by ''Los Cachales'' ("The Jackals"; Bestia Salvaje,

Emilio Charles Jr. Sergio Emilio Charles Garduño (October 12, 1956 – December 28, 2012) was a Mexican ''luchador'' (or professional wrestler), who is best known under the ring name Emilio Charles Jr. Over the years, Charles worked for all of the major Mexican p ...

and Sangre Chicana). The following year Gran Markus Jr. and Hijo del Gladiador defeated Atlantis and Rayo de Jalisco Jr. to win the CMLL World Tag Team Championship on behalf of ''La Ola Blanca''. Their reign with the tag team belts only lasted for a month as Atlantis and Lizmark won the belts on October 18, 1996. In the late 1990s ''La Ola Blanca'' disintegrated, helped along by Gran Markus Jr. losing his white mask in a ''Lucha de Apuesta'' match against Mil Máscaras on June 29, 1997. Following the mask loss Gran Markus Jr. worked a feud against Los Brazos, defeating Brazo de Oro in a ''Lucha de Apuesta'', hair vs. hair match, but ended up losing his own hair to Brazo de Plata on May 29, 1998. In the years that followed Gran Markus Jr.'s career slowed down, working less dates and usually in smaller venues. During the early part of the 2000s Gran Markus Jr. lost ''Luchas de Apuesta'' matches against Atlantis, Rayo de Jalisco Jr., La Parka and

Pierroth Jr. Norberto Salgado Salcedo (born March 10, 1958) is a retired Mexican ''luchador'' (professional wrestler), primarily known under the ring name Pierroth Jr. Salgado made his professional wrestling debut on July 1, 1984, working as a '' luchador e ...

, having his hair shaved off each time. After Cándido Robles' retirement, another wrestler began using the "Gran Markus Jr." name on the Northern Mexican independent circuit. It was the more recent "Gran Markus Jr." who died due to complications from diabetes in March 2015, not Robles.

Championships and accomplishments

(CMLL) ** CMLL World Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with

** CMLL World Trios Championship ( 1 time) – with El Hijo del Gladiador and

** Mexican National Heavyweight Championship ( 3 times) ** Mexican National Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with

*Comision de Box y Lucha D.F. **Distrito Federal Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

''Luchas de Apuestas'' record

Footnotes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gran Markus Jr 1953 births Living people Mexican male professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Jalisco People from Guadalajara, Jalisco 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers Mexican National Tag Team Champions CMLL World Tag Team Champions CMLL World Trios Champions