Raziel (8 February 1973 – 4 April 2022) was the
ring name of 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 ...
'' ''
enmascarado'' (or 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 o ...
), best known for his work in
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL).
Raziel's real name is not on public record, as is often the case with masked wrestlers in Mexico where their private lives are kept a secret from the wrestling fans.
He previously worked as Caligula for many years, forming the team ''Los Romanos'' along with Messala (who is now known as
Cancerbero
Daniel Nuñez Hernandez (born June 11, 1977), better known by his ring name Cancerbero, is a Mexican ''luchador'' (or professional wrestler), currently working for the Mexican wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). Cancerbero i ...
). The name "Raziel" is taken from the
Archangel
Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the hierarchy of angels. The word ''archangel'' itself is usually associated with the Abrahamic religions, but beings that are very similar to archangels are found in a number of other relig ...
Raziel
Raziel, ( ''Rāzīʾēl,'' "God is my Mystery") also known as Gallitsur ( Hebrew: גַּלִּיצוּר ''Gallīṣūr'') is an angel within the teachings of Jewish mysticism (of the Kabbalah of Judaism) who is the "Angel of Secrets" and the "An ...
in
Jewish mysticism, and is sometimes also written as "Raciel".
Professional wrestling career
The wrestler who was known as Raziel trained under
Skayde
Jorge Rivera Soriano (born September 2, 1964) is a Mexican luchador (Spanish for "professional wrestler") who is best known as a trainer. He has been a ''tecnico'' throughout his wrestling career. He is currently training wrestlers at Arena Xala ...
and
Brazo Cibernetico and was considered one of their top pupils at the time.
[ Upon his debut in 1996 he adopted the ring persona "Neo", teaming up with a fellow Skayde/Alvarado graduate who wrestled as "Geo", both '' enmascarados'' (masked wrestlers) who wrestled a high-flying style.] Early in their careers the duo worked for 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 ...
(AAA), and were part of a group called ''Los Cadetos del Espacio'' ("The Space Cadets") for a brief period of time. After their stint in AAA they worked for the short lived ''Promo Azteca
''Promo Azteca'' (AZTECA, originally known as ''Promotora Mexicana de Lucha Libre'', PROMELL) was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Tijuana, Mexico, by Fuerza Guerrera in 1995. It was taken over by Konnan and Jorge Rojas th ...
'' promotion as well as 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 ...
before changing their ring characters.
Los Romanos
In 2005 he began working for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) and was teamed up with another recent CMLL signee. CMLL gave Neo a new identity as Caligula, named after the Roman Emperor Caligula, the ring persona was that of a Roman soldier complete with a mask designed to look like a Roman soldier
This is a list of Roman army units and bureaucrats.
*'' Accensus'' – Light infantry men in the armies of the early Roman Republic, made up of the poorest men of the army.
*'' Actuarius'' – A military who served food.
*''Adiutor'' – A camp o ...
's helmet. His teammate was named Messala and given a similar Roman inspired gimmick and collectively they became known as ''Los Romanos'' ("The Romans"). The team worked as low ranked '' Rudos'' (bad guys) who mainly worked with young wrestlers to give them in-ring experience and to assess their talent. On 15 June 2008, ''Los Romanos'' participated in a tournament for the vacant CMLL Arena Coliseo Tag Team Championship
The CMLL Arena Coliseo Tag Team Championship (Spanish: ''Campeonato de Parejas de la Arena Coliseo del CMLL'') is a professional wrestling Tag team championship promoted by the Mexican Lucha Libre wrestling based promotion Consejo Mundial de Luch ...
but the experienced team lost to the makeshift team of Ángel Azteca, Jr. and Máscara Purpura in the first round. ''Los Romanos'' remained firmly placed in the opening or low card position throughout 2008 and into 2009.
Los Cancerberos del Infierno
On 18 November 2009, CMLL presented a new ''Rudo'' group, '' Los Cancerberos del Infierno'' ("The Infernal Cerberus") a team led by veteran mid-carder Virus
A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea.
Since Dmitri Ivanovsk ...
and consisted of rookies Pólvora
Pólvora (born July 19, 1979) is the ring name of a Mexican '' Luchador'' '' Enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestler best known for his work in the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). Pólvora's r ...
and Euforia as well as two new characters never used before: Raziel and Cancerbero. It was later revealed that Raziel and Cancerbero were not two new wrestlers, but the repackaged ''Los Romanos'' with Caligula changing his name to Raziel and Messala being turned into Cancerbero. In late 2009 ''Los Cancerberos'' participated in a tournament to crown new Mexican National Trios Champion, Virus, Pólvora, and Euforia represented the group and defeated ''Los Ángeles Celestiales'' ( Ángel Azteca, Jr., Ángel de Plata and Ángel de Oro
Miguel Ángel Chávez Velasco (born August 18, 1988), better known by his ring name Ángel de Oro (Spanish for "Angel of Gold" or "Golden Angel"), is a Mexican professional wrestler who works for the Mexican wrestling promotion Consejo Mundia ...
) in the first round. Following the tournament loss ''Los Ángeles Celestiales'' and ''Los Cancerberos del Infierno'' have developed a rivalry between the two groups, facing off on various CMLL shows, including their Friday night ''CMLL Super Viernes
CMLL Super Viernes (Spanish for "CMLL Super Friday") is the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre's banner event that takes place every Friday in Arena México in Mexico City, Mexico. The shows take place every Fr ...
'' show. On 15 January 2010, Super Viernes Raziel defeated Ángel de Plata in a ''Lighting match'', continuing the building storyline between the two factions. In May 2015 Raziel competed in a qualifying match for the 2015 version of En Busca de un Ídolo alongside 15 other wrestlers Raziel competed in a ''torneo cibernetico
A ''torneo cibernetico'' is a multi-man professional wrestling elimination match that was created and primarily used in Mexican ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotions, especially in Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). The match format ...
'', elimination match where the last eight wrestlers would qualify for the tournament. He competed against Akuma, Blue Panther Jr.
Blue Panther Jr. is the ring name of a Mexican ''luchador enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestler, formerly known as Black Panther. He is working for the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) portra ...
, Cancerbero, Canelo Casas
Canelo Casas (born 1982 in Mexico City, Mexico, currently residing in Cuernavaca, Morelos) is the ring name of a Mexican '' luchador'', or professional wrestler currently working for the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial ...
, Delta
Delta commonly refers to:
* Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet
* River delta, at a river mouth
* D ( NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta")
* Delta Air Lines, US
* Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19
Delta may also ...
, Disturbio
Disturbio (born March 30, 1979) is the ring name of Israel Aguilar Alvarez, a Mexican '' luchador'', or professional wrestler currently working for the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) portraying a ''r ...
, Esfinge
Esfinge (born June 14, 1993 in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico) is the ring name of a Mexican ''Lucha libre, Luchador wrestling mask, enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestler, currently working for the Mexican Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CM ...
, Flyer, El Gallo, Guerrero Maya Jr., Joker, Pegasso
Pegasso (born February 25, 1978) is a Mexican ''Luchador enmascarado'' (or masked professional wrestler) working for the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). Pegasso worked from Asistencia Asesoría y Ad ...
, Sagrado, Stigma and Boby Zavala. Raziel was the second wrestler eliminated as he was pinned by Guerrero Maya Jr. On 25 December 2015 as part of CMLL's annual ''Infierno en el Ring ''Infierno en el Ring'' is the name of an annual professional wrestling super show or pay-per-view (PPV) event held by the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) since 2008. The term ''Infierno en el Ring'' ...
'' show Raziel was one of twelve men risking their mask in the main event 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 ...
. He was the tenth man to leave the cage, keeping his mask safe in the process. In January 2017, Raziel made his Japanese debut by taking part in '' Fantastica Mania 2017'', the annual tour co-produced by CMLL and 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).
Death
Raziel died on April 4, 2022 at 49.
Championships and accomplishments
* Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
** 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 ...
(1 time) – with Cancerbero
Daniel Nuñez Hernandez (born June 11, 1977), better known by his ring name Cancerbero, is a Mexican ''luchador'' (or professional wrestler), currently working for the Mexican wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). Cancerbero i ...
and Virus
A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea.
Since Dmitri Ivanovsk ...
** 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 Cancerbero and Virus
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raziel
1973 births
2022 deaths
Masked wrestlers
Mexican male professional wrestlers
Professional wrestlers from Mexico City
Unidentified wrestlers
20th-century professional wrestlers
21st-century professional wrestlers
Mexican National Trios Champions
CMLL World Trios Champions