Rafael Núñez Juan (born October 11, 1966) is 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 or ...

who is best known under his

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 ...

Scorpio Jr. Núñez is the son of professional wrestler "Scorpio", and was trained by his father and Rafael Salamanca before making his debut on August 30, 1985. Núñez was originally an '' Enmascarado'', masked wrestler, but lost his mask as a result of a loss to the team of

Negro Casas José Casas Ruiz (born January 10, 1960) is a Mexican professional wrestler (called a '' Luchador'' in Spanish) and trainer working for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) under the ring name Negro Casas. He is the son of former wrestler tur ...

and

El Hijo del Santo Jorge Ernesto Guzmán Rodríguez (born August 2, 1963) is a Mexican '' luchador enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestler and political activist, best known under the ring name, El Hijo del Santo ("The Son of the Saint"). Guzmán is the you ...

on March 19, 1999, after which his real identity was revealed. Over the years Scopio Jr. has worked for virtually all 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 o ...

(AAA) 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, Sta ...

(IWRG). He is also one of the founding members of the wrestling group called ''Los Guapos'' (the Hansomes) 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 (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

), both with longtime wrestling partners and friends

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

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 ...

. During his time in CMLL, he won 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 ...

with

as well as the 1998 ''

Leyenda de Plata The ''Leyenda de Plata'' (Spanish for "the Silver Legend") is an annual lucha libre tournament held by the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) since 1998. The tournament honors El Santo, ''Enmáscarado de ...

'' tournament. While working for IWRG he won the

IWRG Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship The IWRG Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship (''Campeon Intercontinental Peso Completo IWRG'' in Spanish) is a singles Championship in the Mexican ''lucha libre'' (Professional wrestling) promotion International Wrestling Revolution Group (I ...

on four occasions, the

IWRG Intercontinental Tag Team Championship The IWRG Intercontinental Tag Team Championship (''Campeonato Intercontinental de Parejas IWRG'' in Spanish) is a professional wrestling tag team championship promoted by the Mexican professional wrestling promotion International Wrestling Revolut ...

with Ricky Cruz, the

IWRG Intercontinental Trios Championship The IWRG Intercontinental Trios Championship (''Campeon Intercontinental Trios de IWRG'' in Spanish) is a ''Trios'' (six-man) tag team Championship promoted by the Mexican Lucha libre professional wrestling promotion International Wrestling Revol ...

with

Cerebro Negro Ricardo Antonio Morales Gonzalez (born September 30, 1973 in Mexico City, Mexico), better known under the ring name Cerebro Negro ("Black Brain"), is a Mexican '' luchador'', or masked professional wrestler currently working for the Mexican profes ...

and Veneno and the 2008 ''Rey del Ring'' tournament.

Early life

Rafael Núñez Juan was born on October 11, 1966, in Mexico City, Mexico. He was the son of Rafael Núñez Contreras, who wrestled 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 ...

Scorpio from the 1960s until the 1990. Originally Núñez father did not want his son to become a professional wrestler, instead encouraging him to participate in other sports instead. At the age of 14, Núñez joined the National Institute of Sport (''Instituto Nacional del Deporte'') where he took up

Olympic wrestling Since the Olympic Games began in Athens in 1896, wrestling (in the form of Greco-Roman wrestling) became a focus of the Games, with the exception of the 1900 Summer Olympics when wrestling did not appear on the program. Freestyle wrestling and wei ...

, a sport he participated in for two years.

Professional wrestling career

At the age of 16 Núñez attended a professional wrestling school in

Mexico City, Mexico Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of Mex ...

under the tutelage of Rafale Salamanca. During his first lesson, Núñez was put through such a rigorous regime that it made him vomit. When Núñez returned for lessons the following day Salamanca agreed to train him full-time as well as getting his father to take part in his training. On August 30, 1984, Núñez made his professional wrestling debut, teaming with Pioloto Suicida against Los Bándalos (Memo Arenas and Ray Torres). Núñez initially worked as an ''enmascarado'' called ''Imágen'' but later changed his name to Scorpio Jr. - a name his godfather had used when teaming with Núñez father and a name he now used to openly acknowledge his family connections.

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (1990–2004)

When Scorpio Jr. began working 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 ...

he became a friend of

and

, forming a group that would team together off and on for years.

Scorpio Jr. and Bestia Salvaje (1996–1999)

Scorpio Jr. and Bestia Salvaje became involved in a controversial storyline as they teamed with

El Felino Jorge Luis Casas Ruiz (born March 22, 1964), better known by his ring name El Felino ("The Feline"), is a Mexican '' luchador'' (or professional wrestler) working for Mexican wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). Casas starte ...

against Felino's brother

, El Dandy, and Héctor Garza. During the match it looked like El Felino turned on his brother, allowing Bestia Salvaje and Scorpio Jr. to beat up Negro Casas. During the final moments of the match, El Felino pulled his mask off, revealing that it was actually

in disguise, making his surprise CMLL return after losing to Casas at the

CMLL 63rd Anniversary Show The CMLL 63rd Anniversary Show ( es, 63. Aniversario de CMLL) was a professional wrestling major show event produced by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) in 1996. Different sources identify different shows in September as the actual Anniversa ...

. The surprise appearance of El Hijo del Santo and the attack on Negro Casas resulted in a minor riot in Arena Mexico. This led to Scorpio Jr. and Bestia teaming with El Hijo del Santo on a regular basis over the following two years, often opposite Negro Casas and various partners. In late 1998 Bestia Salvaje and Scorpio Jr. turned on El Hijo del Santo during a match, leading to Negro Casas saving his former rival. Bestia and Scorpio Jr. won the vacant

after defeating

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 s ...

, Atlantis and

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

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 Dr. Wagner Jr. on November 13, 1998 in a tournament. The tag team championship became a focus of the storyline with El Hijo del Santo and Negro Casas, which lead to a match on February 5, 1999. Casas and Hijo del Santo won the match by disqualification and thus the championship as well, but refused to accept the belts due to how the match ended. The two teams had a rematch the following week, where Bestia Salvaje and Scorpio Jr. regained the championship. The storyline reached its highlight at the 1999 ''

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 on March 19. The show was El Hijo del Santo risk his mask and Negro Casas risk his hair as they defeated Bestia Salvaje and Scorpio Jr. in the main event. As a result of the loss, Bestia Salvaje was shaved bald, while the masked Scorpio Jr. was forced to remove his mask and reveal his name, Rafael Núñez Juan.

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 ...

Shocker he stated that he was okay with being unmasked since his face was "1000% Guapo" ("1000% Handsome"). He developed a narcissistic, self-obsessed ''

rudo Rudo ( sr-cyrl, Рудо) is a town and municipality located in Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 7,963 inhabitants, while the town of Rudo has a population of 1,949 inhabitants. It is f ...

'' character, who exhibited various

metrosexual ''Metrosexual'' is a portmanteau of '' metropolitan'' and ''sexual'' coined in 1994, describing a man of ambiguous sexuality, (especially one living in an urban, post-industrial, capitalist culture) who is especially meticulous about his groomin ...

traits and looked down on anyone who was not as handsome as he was. In the following months, Shocker would often team up with Scorpio Jr. and Bestia Salvaje. Following a series of vignettes, 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''. Scorpiro, Jr. and Bestia Negra were both older, seasoned veteran wrestlers and neither were actually considered good looking, in fact Scorpio, Jr.'s nickname up until that point had been ''El Rey Feo'' ("The Ugly King"). 2000 Shocker was invited to work for

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling 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 Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...

(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 went along with 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 The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and A ...

robes and headdresses to the ring, pretending to be part of the

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

group. The feud with Shocker and his group continued over the following 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 afterwards.

Independent circuit (2005–)

When Scorpio Jr. and

Zumbido José Angel García Paz (born November 4, 1974) is a Mexican '' Luchador'', or professional wrestler, best known under the ring name Zumbido (Spanish for "Buzz"). He has worked for both Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) and AAA throughout hi ...

left CMLL to join

(AAA) he formed ''Los Guapos'' in AAA as well. When Scorpio Jr. left AAA in 2008 the ''Los Guapos'' remained in AAA and Scorpio Jr. disassociated himself with the group. After leaving AAA Scorpio Jr. joined

(IWRG) where he won their annual ''

Rey del Ring The IWRG Rey del Ring (Spanish for "King of the Ring") refers both to an annual tournament and a professional wrestling championship promoted by the Mexican Lucha libre professional wrestling promotion International Wrestling Revolution Group ( ...

'' tournament in 2008. He also teamed up with

Ricky Cruzz Ricky may refer to: Places *Říčky (Brno-Country District), a village and municipality in the Czech Republic *Říčky v Orlických horách, a village in the north of the Czech Republic *Rickmansworth, a town in England sometimes called "Ricky" ...

to win the

from '' Los Junior Capos'' (

Hijo de Cien Caras Eustacio Jiménez Ibarra (March 21, 1976 – November 29, 2010) was a Mexican '' Luchador'' '' enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestler better known by the ring name of El Hijo de Cien Caras. The name is Spanish for "the Son of Cien Caras." ...

and

Hijo de Máscara Año 2000 Hijo de Máscara Año 2000 (born 1986) is a Mexican ''luchador enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestler currently working for the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) portraying a ''rudo'' ("Bad guy ...

) in the summer of 2009.

Personal life

Núñez is the father of two teenage boys, both of whom are Olympic style wrestlers. Núñez does not want his boys to follow in his footsteps and become professional wrestlers, just like his father did not initially want him to become a professional wrestler.

Championships and accomplishments

(

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 ...

) – with

: 1998 *Federación Universal de Lucha Libre :*FULL Championship (1 time) *Full Contact Wrestling :*FCW Live Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *

International Wrestling League International Wrestling League (IWL) (Liga Internacional de Lucha Libre in Spanish) is a professional wrestling promotion based in Deportivo Tlalli, in Tlalnepantla, Mexico State. It was founded as Independent Wrestling League on August 13, 201 ...

:*IWL International Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Super Crazy *

( 4 times) :*

( 1 time) - with Ricky Cruz :*

( 1 time) – with Cerebro Negro and Veneno :*

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

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/UWF Intercontinental Tag Team Championship The UWA/UWF Intercontinental Tag Team Championship was a tag team championship created from the working relationship between the Mexican Universal Wrestling Association and the Japanese Universal Lucha Libre (also called Universal Wrestling Fed ...

( 1 time) – with Shu El Guerrero :*

UWA World Trios Championship The UWA World Trios Championship is a tag team professional wrestling championship created by the Mexican Universal Wrestling Association and defended there until the UWA closed in 1995. Since then, the championship has been defended in various pr ...

( 3 times) – with Shu El Guerrero and Engendro (2), Shu El Guerrero and

Villano V Raymundo Díaz Mendoza Jr. (born March 22, 1960) is a Mexican professional wrestler, who has performed under the name Villano V (Villano Quinto, which means "Fifth Villain") until he was unmasked on March 20, 2009, after which he became known a ...

(1)

''Luchas de Apuestas'' record

Notes

References

External links

*Scorpio Jr. profiles a
Cagematch.net
{{Navboxes, , list1= {{Portal bar, Biography, Mexico {{CMLL World Tag Team Championship {{IWRG Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship {{IWRG Intercontinental Tag Team Championship {{IWRG Intercontinental Trios Championship {{IWRG Rey del Ring Championship {{Leyenda de Plata {{Los Guapos {{UWA World Tag Team Championship {{UWA World Trios Championship 1966 births Living people Professional wrestlers from Mexico City Mexican male professional wrestlers Masked wrestlers 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers CMLL World Tag Team Champions UWA World Trios Champions UWA World Tag Team Champions