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 crowned the

WWF Light Heavyweight Champion 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, ...

, though pre-1997 title reigns are not included in WWE's official history for that title. In 2012, Aguayo was inducted into the

AAA Hall of Fame The AAA Hall of Fame is a hall of fame which honors professional wrestlers and wrestling personalities, established and maintained by the Mexico based national wrestling promotion Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA). Inductees Individuals See als ...

. Aguayo was notably the last major rival of El Santo. Often prone to blading, Aguayo has been described by American pundits as a cross between

Terry Funk Terrence Funk (born June 30, 1944) is an American retired professional wrestler, rapper, disc jockey and actor. Funk is known for the longevity of his career – which spanned more than 50 years and included multiple short-lived retirements – a ...

and

Bruno Sammartino Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino (October 6, 1935 – April 18, 2018) was an Italian-born American professional wrestler, best known for his work with the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF, now WWE). There, he held the WWWF World Heavywei ...

(for his willingness to brawl and overpower opponents). One of the biggest box office attractions in

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 ...

history, prominent professional wrestling journalist and historian

Dave Meltzer David Allen Meltzer (born October 24, 1959) is an American journalist who reports on professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Since 1983, he has been the publisher and editor of the ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON''). He has als ...

described Aguayo as "one of the hardest working and most charismatic wrestlers ever". Aguayo's son also wrestled as

Perro Aguayo Jr. Pedro Aguayo Ramírez (July 23, 1979 – March 21, 2015) was a Mexican ''luchador'' or professional wrestler and promoter who achieved fame in lucha libre as Perro Aguayo Jr. or El Hijo del Perro Aguayo ("The Son of Perro Aguayo"). He was the re ...

or El Hijo del Perro Aguayo ("The Son of Perro Aguayo").

Professional wrestling career

Aguayo was synonymous with 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) as one of its top heels and one of the top

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower Human leg, leg. Structure To distribute the compressive for ...

s in lucha libre overall. In the 1990s, Aguayo helped found

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 o ...

, later known simply as AAA, and his three-way feud with

Konnan Charles Ashenoff (born Carlos Santiago Espada Moises; January 6, 1964),''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'', Dave Meltzer, ed., May 10, 2010, issue.Sims, Steve"Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame/Founded by Dave Meltzer - Konnan". Accessed August 1, 2016. O ...

and

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 ...

proved to be one of the most successful programs in terms of box office receipts. He stayed with AAA until 2000, even making an appearance on WWF's

Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after the Royal Rumble match, a modified battle roya ...

in 1997 in a match that featured lucha libre legends like

El Canek Felipe Estrada (born June 19, 1952), known as El Canek or simply Canek, is a Mexican '' luchador enmascarado'' or masked professional wrestler best known for the 20 years he worked for the Universal Wrestling Association where he held the UWA Wo ...

Mil Máscaras Mil Máscaras (born Aarón Rodríguez Arellano, July 15, 1942) is a Mexican luchador (professional wrestler) and actor. He is regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers of the lucha libre tradition in Mexico – along with El Santo and Blue Demo ...

and up and comers who would later make names for themselves like

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 ...

and Heavy Metal. He came to

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 ...

to feud with

Los Capos Los Capos (Spanish for "The Bosses") was a Lucha Libre stable consisting of Cien Caras, Máscara Año 2000 (often written as "Dos Mil") and Universo 2000, and at one point also included Apolo Dantés. Los Capos is also often referred to as ''Los ...

. He was successful in taking the hair of Cien Caras and

Máscara Año 2000 Jesús Reyes González (born 10 March 1958) is a Mexican ''Luchador'', or professional wrestler, best known under the ring name Máscara Año 2000 or Máscara Año Dos Mil. His ring name is Spanish for "Mask of the year 2000", originally referri ...

but he lost his slated retirement match against

Universo 2000 Andrés Reyes González (April 18, 1963 – May 1, 2018) was a Mexican professional wrestler, or luchador, who was best known under the ring name Universo 2000. Reyes made his professional wrestling debut in 1985 and worked for Consejo Mundial de ...

. He remained in retirement until his son began feuding with Los Capos as well. Cien Caras claimed he could not retire until his business with Aguayo was finished so a double hair vs. hair match was set with Perro Aguayo and Perro Aguayo Jr. taking on Cien Caras and Máscara Año 2000. The Aguayos were successful and Perro Aguayo returned to retirement and Cien Caras went into semi-retirement. On 5 August 2012, at ''

Triplemanía XX Triplemanía XX was a professional wrestling event scripted and produced by the AAA promotion, which took place on August 5, 2012, at Arena Ciudad de México in Mexico City, Mexico. The event was the twentieth annual Triplemanía, which is AAA's b ...

'', Aguayo was inducted into the

Personal life

He was the father of the

Los Perros del Mal Los Perros del Mal (''English: The Dogs of Evil'') was a Mexican ''Lucha libre'' wrestling group stable, originally competed in Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre and in Lucha Libre AAA World Wide (AAA). The name (meaning "The Dogs of Evil") is a pla ...

stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

founder

, who died on 21 March 2015, during a wrestling match at the age of 35.

Death

On 3 July 2019, Aguayo died at the age of 73, his death was announced through a social media post by the "Los Perros del Mal" account. According to them, his death was caused by a heart attack. His funeral was held on 4 July in

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...

at a Funeraria Gayosso. On 5 July, a mass was held for Aguayo at the Parque Funeral Colonias de Guadalajara, the same place where in 2015 he farewell his son Perro Aguayo Jr., with the attendance of family, friends and fans before ultimately being

cremated Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre i ...

Championships and accomplishments

AAA Campeón de Campeones Championship The AAA Campeón de Campeones (Spanish for "Champion of Champions") was a singles professional wrestling championship promoted by AAA between 1996 and 2005. Being a professional wrestling championship, it is not won legitimately; it is instead wo ...

( 1 time) :*

IWC World Heavyweight Championship The International Wrestling Council (IWC) World Heavyweight Championship (Campeonato Mundial de Peso Completo de la IWC in Spanish) was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the Mexican professional wrestling promotion, Luch ...

( 1 time) :*

Mexican National Heavyweight Championship The Mexican National Heavyweight Championship (called the ''Campeonato Nacional Completo'' in Spanish) is a Mexican Lucha Libre (professional wrestling) championship created and sanctioned by the Mexico City Boxing and Wrestling Commission (Span ...

( 1 time) :*

Mexican National Tag Team Championship The Mexican National Tag Team Championship ''()'' is a national Mexican professional wrestling championship controlled by the (Mexico City Boxing and Wrestling Commission) and competed for by two-man tag teams. The championship was created in ...

(2 times) - with

:* Rey de Reyes 1998 :*

(Class of 2012) *

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 ...

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 ...

( 3 times) :*Occidente Middleweight Championship (1 time) *

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

( 1 time) :*

UWA World Heavyweight Championship The UWA World Heavyweight Championship (''Campeonato Mundial peso Completo de UWA'' in Spanish) was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship originally promoted by Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) until it closed in 1995. Aft ...

( 1 time) :*

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 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 Ass ...

( 1 time) :*

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 ...

(

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 Tag Team Championship The UWA World Tag Team Championship is a tag team professional wrestling championship created by the Mexican Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) and defended there until the UWA closed in 1995. After the UWA's closing, the title was inactive unt ...

( 1 time) - with

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 ...

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, ...

( 7 times) *

World Wrestling Association The World Wrestling Association (WWA) (Asociación Mundial de Lucha Libre in Spanish) is a lucha libre promotion based in the Tijuana-area of Mexico. It was founded in 1986 by Benjamin Mora Jr.. It featured some of Mexico's best ''luchadores'' a ...

WWA World Heavyweight Championship The World Wrestling All-Stars (WWA) World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in World Wrestling All-Stars. It was the primary championship in the WWA. The title was sanctioned by WWA as their world ...

( 3 times) *

World Wrestling Council The World Wrestling Council (WWC) (Spanish: "Consejo Mundial de Lucha"), is a Puerto-Rican professional wrestling promotion based in Puerto Rico. It was originally established as Capitol Sports Promotions in 1973 by Carlos Colón Sr., Victor J ...

WWC World Junior Heavyweight Championship The WWC Junior Heavyweight Championship is a championship contested for in the Puerto Rican professional wrestling promotion, the World Wrestling Council. While weight classes are generally not strictly adhered to in professional wrestling tod ...

( 1 time) *

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 ...

WWF Intercontinental Tag Team Championship The WWF Intercontinental Tag Team Championship was a championship in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) during 1991. The belts were abandoned later in July 1991 when the WWF severed ties with UWF Japan. Reigns See also * List of f ...

(1 time, inaugural and final) – with Gran Hamada *

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publish ...

:*PWI ranked him # 38 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "

PWI Years ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publi ...

" in 2003. *

Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards This is a list of both active and inactive ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' awards created by professional wrestling and mixed martial arts (MMA) journalist Dave Meltzer. The first fourteen awards were created in 1980 as an informal poll between ...

:* Best Babyface (1995) :*

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 1996)

''Luchas de Apuestas'' record

Notes

References

;General sources - Championship Information * ;General sources - Career * * * ;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Aguayo, Perro 1946 births 2019 deaths 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers Mexican male professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Zacatecas People from Nochistlán Mexican National Middleweight Champions Mexican National Tag Team Champions NWA World Middleweight Champions UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Champions UWA World Heavyweight Champions UWA World Light Heavyweight Champions