Rayo de Jalisco Jr. (

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 "Lightning Bolt from

Jalisco Jalisco (, , ; Nahuatl: Xalixco), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco ; Nahuatl: Tlahtohcayotl Xalixco), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal En ...

Jr."; born January 1, 1960) is 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 ...

of a

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 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 ...

Enmascarado (masked

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 ...

) whose real name has not been revealed, 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. Rayo de Jalisco Jr. is the son of Rayo de Jalisco a famous wrestler from the early days of Lucha Libre; he also has a son who wrestles under the name

Rayman ''Rayman'' is a franchise of platform video games, created by video game designer Michel Ancel for Ubisoft. Since the release of the original ''Rayman'' game in 1995, the series has produced a total of 45 games across multiple platforms. The s ...

. Rayo Jr. is a former two time

CMLL World Heavyweight Champion The CMLL World Heavyweight Championship ( es, Campeonato Mundial de Peso Completo del CMLL) is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship established in 1991 and promoted by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). CMLL introduced the ...

and the reigning WWA World Heavyweight Champion, a title he has held since March 21, 2003. Rayo de Jalisco Jr.'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.

Early life

Rayo de Jalisco Jr. was born on January 1, 1960, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, son of legendary wrestler

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 ...

and the nephew of wrestlers Tony Sugar and Black Sugar. He was not initially trained by his father as his father did not want his son to follow into his profession; instead he trained under

Diablo Velazco 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, ...

Professional wrestling career

The future Rayo de Jalisco Jr. turned professional at the age of 15 and initially wrestled under the name "Rayman" to keep his father from finding out he was wrestling. After working as a wrestler for a year he finally revealed to his father that he was wrestling and that he was serious. After seeing his son wrestle, Rayo de Jalisco Sr. decided to allow his son to work as "Rayo de Jalisco Jr." and wear the lightingbolt mask that was synonymous with the Rayo de Jalisco character. Rayo de Jalisco Jr. worked most of the 1970s alongside his father, receiving further training along the way. By the early 1980s he was working for

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), Mexico's largest

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 ...

. In 1982 Rayo de Jalisco Jr. began a wrestling storyline, called a feud, with MS-1 that ended when Rayo de Jalisco Jr. defeated MS-1 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 ...

'', mask vs. mask match to unmask the hated

villain A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character a ...

(called a ''Rudo'' in Lucha Libre). Throughout the early 1980s Rayo de Jalisco Jr. teamed up with equally popular

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 ...

to form a very successful team, working main events all over Mexico. On January 8, 1984, Rayo de Jalisco Jr. captured his first singles championship as he defeated

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 ...

to win the

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 ...

. His first championship success also led to his greatest rivalry as Cien Caras turned on Rayo de Jalisco Jr. in his quest to win the Mexican National Heavyweight Title. Cien Caras defeated his former teammate for the title on March 30, 1984. On June 21, 1985, Rayo de Jalisco Jr. defeated MS-1 to capture the

NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship The NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). For the majority of its existence the title was promoted by Mexican promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libr ...

in the main event of an Arena Mexico show. In November 1985 Rayo de Jalisco Jr. teamed with

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 ...

and the Kiss 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 ...

from Los Brazos (

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 ...

, Brazo de Oro, and

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 ...

). The trio held the title for 275 days before losing it to Pirata Morgan,

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

, and Hombre Bala. On March 20, 1987, Rayo de Jalisco's 637-day reign as NWA World Light Heavyweight Champion ended as he lost to MS-1. By 1990 the storyline between Rayo de Jalisco Jr. and Cien Caras became so heated that they were the main event of EMLL's 57th Anniversary show in a ''Luchas de Apuestas'', mask vs. mask match. Rayo de Jalisco Jr. defeated Cien Caras two falls to one and forced Cien Caras to unmask. Over the next couple of years Rayo de Jalisco Jr. won the Mexican National Heavyweight Title on a further two occasions, defeating Gran Markus Jr. and El Egipico to win the title. His third and final reign ended on February 21, 1994, when he lost to

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 ...

On November 3, 1995, Rayo de Jalisco Jr. and

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'' ...

teamed up to win the

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 ...

from

The Headhunters The Headhunters are an American jazz fusion band formed by Herbie Hancock in 1973. The group fused jazz, funk, and rock music. History (and name) Hancock had grown dissatisfied with his prior band, Mwandishi, and wanted to make a band with a st ...

. The duo successfully defended it against

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 ...

and

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 ...

, and against

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'' ...

and

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 Wor ...

. On August 6, 1996, Gran Markus Jr. and El Hijo del Gladiador won the title from Rayo de Jalisco Jr. and Atlantis. On April 14, 1996, Rayo de Jalisco Jr. won the

CMLL World Heavyweight Championship The CMLL World Heavyweight Championship ( es, Campeonato Mundial de Peso Completo del CMLL) is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship established in 1991 and promoted by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). CMLL introduced the ...

from Apolo Dantés, the highest singles championship in the company. He made three successful defenses against the former champion Apolo Dantés, as well as thwarting the challenges of Gran Markus Jr. and Máscara Año 2000. On April 18, 1997, Rayo de Jalisco Jr. lost the title to

Steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

after a slow building storyline between the two. In 1997 Steel left CMLL to work for 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 ...

(WWF) as "Val Venis", ending the storyline with Rayo de Jalisco Jr. without a satisfactory conclusion. CMLL convinced the WWF to let Steel return to CMLL for a brief visit, just long enough to lose a ''Luchas de Apuestas'' to Rayo de Jalisco Jr. giving Rayo another mask win. A few months after unmasking Steel, Rayo de Jalisco Jr. became a two-time CMLL World Heavyweight Champion when he defeated Universo 2000 for the belt. He successfully defended the championship against Cien Caras and Mascara Año 2000, before losing it back to Universo 2000. Rayo de Jalisco Jr. was injured in the match against Universo 2000, as a mistimed Tombstone piledriver injured his neck, forcing him out of the ring for over six months and almost causing him to retire. In 2001 Rayo de Jalisco Jr. dropped the "Junior" part of his name as his son, who had wrestled for two years, took the "Rayo de Jalisco" name, sometimes billed as ''el Hijo de Rayo de Jalisco Jr.'' (the son of Rayo de Jalisco Jr.) and other times simply ''Rayo de Jalisco Jr.''. The confusing name changes only lasted for a couple of months before Rayo Jr's son changed his name to ''Hombre sin Nombre'' (the man without name) as part of a storyline where the son was trying to get out from Rayo de Jalisco Jr.'s shadow. His son would later begin working as "Rayman", the same name that Rayo de Jalisco Jr. originally used. Since 2003 Rayo de Jalisco Jr. has not worked for CMLL on a regular basis, instead he works for a number of

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 ...

Mexican promotions. On March 21, 2003, Rayo de Jalisco Jr. won the

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 ...

, defeating

Rey Misterio Sr. Miguel Ángel López Díaz (born July 8, 1956) is a Mexican retired professional wrestler and trainer, better known by his ring name, Rey Misterio ("Mystery King"). He is also referred to as Rey Misterio Sr. to distinguish him from his nephew. ...

in the finals of a tournament to crown a new champion. Rayo de Jalisco Jr. still holds that title to this day, later. In 2004 Rayo de Jalisco Jr. made a brief return to CMLL teaming up with Black Warrior and El Canek 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 ...

from

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 ...

, Universo 2000, and

Black Tiger A black tiger is a rare colour variant of the tiger, and is not a distinct species or geographic subspecies. Description There are reports and one painting (now lost) of pure black non-striped tigers (true melanistic tigers). Most black mammal ...

(III). The team quickly lost the title to

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 ...

Tarzan Boy "Tarzan Boy" is the debut single by Italian-based act Baltimora. The song was written by Maurizio Bassi and Naimy Hackett, and released in 1985 as the lead single from Baltimora's debut album '' Living in the Background''. The song was re-recor ...

, and

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 ...

. In 2005 Rayo de Jalisco Jr. suffered another serious injury when he injured both his knees in a match against Máscara Año 2000; his legs got caught on the ropes as he jumped out of the ring and he tore ligaments in both knees. The injury kept him out of the ring for almost half a year but he made a full recovery and returned to the ring. Rayo de Jalisco Jr. made his return to CMLL in May 2010, siding with the CMLL loyalists in their feud with ''

Los Invasores ''Los Invasores'' ( Spanish for "The Invaders") was a Mexican ''lucha libre'', or professional wrestling group, referred to as a stable in wrestling terms, working for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). The group was portrayed as a group of "o ...

'', especially ''Invasore'' members Universo 2000 and Máscara Año 2000, reigniting the long-running storyline between them. Rayo de Jalisco Jr. only worked a few matches for CMLL in mid-2010 but returned to the promotion in early 2013. He was on hand for a press conference, announcing that CMLL's annual ''

Homenaje a Dos Leyendas ''Homenaje a Dos Leyendas'' (Spanish for "Homage to Two Legends") is the collective name of a series of annual '' lucha libre'', or professional wrestling major show promoted by Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha ...

'' show would pay tribute to his father, Rayo de Jalisco Sr. During the press conference he was confronted by longtime rival Universo 2000 who challenged him to a match for the ''Dos Leyendas'' show. At the show, Rayo de Jalisco Jr., Shocker, and

Rush Rush(es) may refer to: Places United States * Rush, Colorado * Rush, Kentucky * Rush, New York * Rush City, Minnesota * Rush Creek (Kishwaukee River tributary), Illinois * Rush Creek (Marin County, California), a stream * Rush Creek (Mono Cou ...

defeated Universo 2000,

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

by disqualification. Two days later, on March 17, 2013, Rayo de Jalisco Jr. competed in a four-way,

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 ...

billed by IWRG as '' Prison Fatal'' ("Deadly Prison") against

Cien Caras Jr. Cien Caras Jr. (born October 18, 1976) is a Mexican ''luchador enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestler currently working for the Mexican professional wrestling promotion International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG) portraying a ''rudo'' ...

Máscara Año 2000 Jr. Ángel Omar Reyes Franco (born 16 January 1977) is a Mexican ''Lucha libre, luchador'' or professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known as Máscara Año 2000 Jr. He is working for Lucha Libre AAA World Wide (AAA), and International ...

, and

. During the match Hijo de Máscara Año 2000 interfered, which caused

Pirata Morgan Jr. Pirata Morgan Jr. (born January 23, 1981) is a Mexican '' luchador enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestler, who is working for the Mexican professional wrestling promotion International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG) portraying a '' tec ...

to enter the match as well to escalate the rivalry between ''Los Piratas'' and ''

Los Capos Junior ''Los Capos Junior'' (Spanish for "The Junior Bosses") is a Mexican professional wrestling group, called a stable, which is working on the Mexican Independent circuit, including regular appearances for International Wrestling Revolution Group (I ...

''. The match ended with Pirata Morgan being the last man in the cage and thus had his hair shaved off.

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 ...

(

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

and Black Warrior **

( 3 times) **

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 ...

( 1 time) – with Tony Benetto **

( 1 time) – with

and El Kiss **

( 1 time) ** Copa de Arena Mexico:

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

– Black Warrior and

Lizmark Jr. Juan Carlos Baños (born October 16, 1972) is a Mexican professional wrestler or "Luchador" known as Lizmark Jr. or El Hijo de Lizmark (The Son of Lizmark). Baños previously worked for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre and AAA. Lizmark Jr. works as ...

** International Gran Prix (

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

) *Federación Internacional de Lucha Libre **FILL Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Nueva Generación Lucha Libre **NGLLHeavyweight Championship (1 time, current) *

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 ...

( 1 time, current) ** WWA Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with Rayman

''Luchas de Apuestas'' record

Footnotes

References

External links

Cagematch.net profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rayo de Jalisco Junior 1960 births 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers Living people Masked wrestlers Mexican male professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Jalisco People from Guadalajara, Jalisco Unidentified wrestlers Mexican National Tag Team Champions Mexican National Trios Champions CMLL World Heavyweight Champions CMLL World Tag Team Champions NWA World Light Heavyweight Champions