Rayo de Jalisco Sr.
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Máximino Linares Moreno (November 22, 1932 – July 19, 2018) was 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 ...
'' (
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 ...
) and
lucha film Luchador films (or ''Lucha Libre films'') are Mexican professional wrestling/action/science-fiction/ horror films starring some of the most popular masked luchadores in Lucha Libre. The luchadores are portrayed as superheroes engaging in battle ...
star, better 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 ...
Rayo de Jalisco ("The 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 ...
"). He is considered to be one of the best wrestlers of his generation. Linares' son followed in his footsteps and is working under the name
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 ...
, wearing the same distinctive black mask with silver lightning bolt on it when wrestling. One of Linares' grandsons is also a wrestler, known as "Rayman". During his career, Linares held the
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 ...
on three occasions as well as the
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 ...
with ''lucha libre'' icon
El Santo Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta (23 September 1917 – 5 February 1984), known professionally as El Santo or in English The Saint, was a Mexican luchador enmascarado (Spanish for "masked professional wrestler"), actor and folk hero. He is one of the mo ...
. He was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 1996 and 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 ...
in 2014. Linares worked for
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 ...
for a large part of his career and was honored by them in 2013 as part of their 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 Libr ...
'' show.


Early life

Máximino Linares Moreno was born on November 22, 1932, in
Milpa Alta Milpa Alta is a borough (''demarcación territorial'') in Mexico City. It lies in the southeast corner of the nation's capital, bordering the State of Mexico and Morelos. It is the least populated, second largest and most rural of all the boroughs ...
,
Mexico City 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 o ...
, Mexico. He was the middle of three Linares brothers, older brother Antonio and younger brother Dionisio.


Professional wrestling career

By the late 1940s, both of Max Linares' brothers had become professional wrestlers, which led to Max himself training for a professional wrestling career under his older brother Antonio. Linares made his wrestling debut in February 1950, under the name "''Mr. Misterio''". He would later appear in
Mexico City 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 o ...
under the name "''Aguila Negra''" ("Black Eagle"). in 1954 Linares began working in the Mexican state of
Torreón Torreón () is a city and seat of Torreón Municipality in the Mexican state of Coahuila. As of 2021, the city's population was 735,340. The metropolitan population as of 2015 was 1,497,734, making it the ninth-biggest metropolitan area in the ...
where he adopted a masked character known as Dr. Curtis, or Doc Curtis. While in Torreón he worked a storyline feud with one of the top names in the state, Orlando Santa Cruz. The feud led to a ''
Lucha 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 ...
'' or "bet match" between the two on December 12, 1954. After the loss, Linares was forced to remove his Dr. Curtis mask and state his birth name as part of the ''Lucha de Apuestas'' tradition. He continued to work as Dr. Curtis and later on "Tony Curtis". In 1960, he appeared under the name "''El Rayo''" and in 1962, he finally appeared as "''Rayo de Jalisco''", wearing his trademark black mask with a lightning bolt across the face. Success soon followed for Rayo, winning the
National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA ...
Middleweight Championship and Occidente Welterweight Championship. Rayo would also win a series of matches against another famous luchador Chino Chow. He unmasked his rival La Bestia (The Beast) in a mask vs. mask match in 1964. Rayo would become the tag team partner of the legendary
Blue Demon Alejandro Muñoz Moreno (April 24, 1922 – December 16, 2000), better known by the ring name Blue Demon (''Demonio Azul'' in Spanish), was a Mexican film actor and ''luchador enmascarado'' (Spanish for masked professional wrestler). Blue Dem ...
and was named "The Best Wrestler" of 1963. Rayo feuded with Blue Demon near the end of both their careers. Blue Demon actually came out of retirement to face Rayo in a mask vs mask match. Rayo was defeated, revealing his face to the world as Maximo Linares Moreno.


Film career

Rayo also starred in
luchador film Luchador films (or ''Lucha Libre films'') are Mexican professional wrestling/action/science-fiction/ horror films starring some of the most popular masked luchadores in Lucha Libre. The luchadores are portrayed as superheroes engaging in battles ...
s along with other famous masked ''luchadors''. His films included; ''Superzam el Invencible'' ("Superzam the invincible"; 1971), ''El Robo de las Momias de Guanajuato'' ("The Robbery of the Mummies of Guanajuato"; 1972), ''Vuelven Los Campeones Justicieros'' ("The Return of the Champions of Justice"; 1972) and ''El Triunfo de los Campeones Justicieros'' ("The Triumph of the Champions of Justice"; 1974). In the ''Campeones Justiceros'' he worked together with a number of ''lucha libre'' legends such as Blue Demon,
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 Demon ...
,
Tinieblas Manuel Leal (born June 8, 1939), better known as Tinieblas ("Darkness"), is a Mexican people, Mexican lucha libre, luchador. Professional wrestling career Tinieblas began as a body builder and stunt man who was spotted by luchadores Black Shadow ...
and
El Médico Asesino EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...
.


Family

Linares' son followed his father into professional wrestling and became known as
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 ...
, since Junior has never lost his mask in the ring his real name is not a matter of public knowledge. Rayo de Jalisco Jr. married Josefina Tapia Rosas, who wrestled under the name "Mitzuki Wong". Linares' grandson also became a luchador, for a while known as El Hijo de Rayo de Jalisco Jr. (literally "The Son of Rayo de Jalisco Jr."), but took 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 ...
in 1999. Max Linares' older brother worked under the name "Tony Sugar", while his younger brother was the masked wrestler "Black Sugar".


Death

On July 19, 2018, Linares' family announced that he had died from natural causes at age 85.


Legacy

Rayo is considered a regional hero in the Mexican state of
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 ...
. In 1996, he was inducted into the
Wrestling Observer 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 ...
. Rayo de Jalisco Sr. was honored by CMLL at their 2013 ''
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 Libr ...
'' show on March 15, 2013, recognizing him for his contributions to wrestling over the years. Jalisco was inducted into the
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)
Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...
on August 17, 2014, at
Triplemanía XXII Triplemanía XXII was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) produced by the AAA promotion. It took place on August 17, 2014, at Arena Ciudad de México in Mexico City, Mexico. The event was the twenty-second annual Triplemanía, which is ...
.


Championships and accomplishments

*
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 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 ...
(Class of 2014) *
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 Arena México Tag Team Championship Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL; "World Wrestling Council") is a Mexico City-based professional wrestling promotion. It was founded in 1933 and is the oldest active promotion in the world. In the company's long history it has promoted a numb ...
(1 time) with
El Santo Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta (23 September 1917 – 5 February 1984), known professionally as El Santo or in English The Saint, was a Mexican luchador enmascarado (Spanish for "masked professional wrestler"), actor and folk hero. He is one of the mo ...
**
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 "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
El Santo Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta (23 September 1917 – 5 February 1984), known professionally as El Santo or in English The Saint, was a Mexican luchador enmascarado (Spanish for "masked professional wrestler"), actor and folk hero. He is one of the mo ...
**
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 Welterweight Championship (1 time) *Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards **
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


Filmography

*''Superzam el Invencible'' (''Superzam the invincible''; 1971) *''El Robo de las Momias de Guanajuato'' (''The Robbery of the Mummies of Guanajuato''; 1972) *''Vuelven Los Campeones Justicieros'' (''Becoming the Champions of Justice''; 1972) *''El Triunfo de los Campeones Justicieros'' (''The Triump of the Champions of Justice''; 1974)


Footnotes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rayo de Jalisco Sr. 1932 births 2018 deaths Masked wrestlers Mexican male professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Mexico City Mexican National Tag Team Champions NWA World Middleweight Champions 20th-century professional wrestlers