Adorable Rubí
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Ruben Carbajal Lopez (December 31, 1931 – June 23, 2012) was a Mexican '' Luchador'', or
professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...
who is best known under the
ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname 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 ...
s Adorable Rubí and Rubi Rubalcava / Rubi Rubalcaba. As Adorable Rubí he was one of the pioneers of the ''
Exótico In lucha libre, an ''exótico'' () is a male wrestler, known as a ''luchador'', who fights and performs while incorporating feminine aspects in to their wrestling personas, known as "gimmick (professional wrestling), gimmicks". They are charact ...
'' wrestling style, mixing
Cross-dressing Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes traditionally or stereotypically associated with a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and express onesel ...
with wrestling to create a type or wrestling character that was more sexually ambiguous and self-obsessed. The "Adorable Rubí" character was inspired by Dizzy Gardenia, the first successful ''Exótico'' character to compete in Mexico. During his career he won the Mexican National Cruiserweight Championship, Mexican National Middleweight Championship and NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship. While he played an effeminate, self-obsessed character where it was implied he was homosexual, it was never revealed if that was Carbajal's personal sexual orientation as well.


Personal life

Ruben Carbajal Lopez was born on December 31, 1931, in Moctezuma, Sonora,
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
, son of Manuel Carbajal and Maria Lopez. He had three sisters and three brothers, one of which later became a wrestler but had to retire early due to injuries sustained when he was the victim of an armed robbery. He attended the "February 24" Primary School in Moctezuma and one year of High School before he dropped out to pursue a career in ''
lucha libre ''Lucha libre'' (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term for the style of professional wrestling originating in Mexico. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has develope ...
'' (
professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...
). He had first seen ''lucha libre'' at the local ''El Cortijo''
Bull fighting Bullfighting is a physical contest that involves a bullfighter attempting to subdue, immobilize, or kill a bull, usually according to a set of rules, guidelines, or cultural expectations. There are several variations, including some forms wh ...
arena and later visited
Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...
where he began training at the wrestling school associated with Arena México and Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL), which was the biggest wrestling promotion in Mexico in the early 1960s. During his childhood Carbajal's idol, along with many others in Mexico, was El Santo. He began his training in 1963, first learning Olympic style amateur wrestling from professor Jose Rojas. During his time training in amateur wrestling Carbajal won several local tournaments. Once he was taught all the fundamentals of amateur wrestling he began training under Pepe Hernandez who taught him professional wrestling.


Professional wrestling career

In an interview in 2011, Carbajal recalled making his wrestling debut in October 1966; but while conducting research for Carbajal's obituary in 2012, ''SuperLuchas'' Magazine writer Teddy Baños found records indicating that Carbajal was actually working in December 1965 under the name "Silvestre Carbajal", putting the mistake down to Carbajal mis-remembering the date. In his debut, he lost to veteran wrestler Tony Infante and was paid a total of 37.00 Pesos for the match. Following his debut, EMLL sent him to
Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...
,
Nuevo León Nuevo León, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, is a Administrative divisions of Mexico, state in northeastern Mexico. The state borders the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, San Luis ...
to work for the local EMLL promoter to gain in-ring experience before returning to Mexico City at some point. In Monterrey, Carbajal got the opportunity to work with EMLL headliner René Guajardo as he worked in the northern Mexico for about two years. For part of the time, he was unable to compete due to a severe injury he suffered during a match with Bulldog Villegas. In 1968, he returned to Mexico City, working as "Rubi Ruvalcaba" now, and put on a series of matches that made him the 1968 EMLL "Rookie of the year" Unfortunately, there were only so many positions on the main show that he found himself only working sporadically in Mexico City. Working in Monterrey, Carbajal met and worked with El Chamaco Naturalista who used an ''
Exótico In lucha libre, an ''exótico'' () is a male wrestler, known as a ''luchador'', who fights and performs while incorporating feminine aspects in to their wrestling personas, known as "gimmick (professional wrestling), gimmicks". They are charact ...
'' ring character. Due to Carbajal's light build and long, wavy hair, Monterre promoter
Gory Guerrero Salvador Guerrero Quesada (January 11, 1921 – April 18, 1990), better known as Gory Guerrero, was one of the premier Mexican-American professional wrestlers in the early days of Lucha Libre when most wrestlers were imported from outside Mexi ...
suggested that perhaps an ''Exótico'' character would work for Carbajal. He later recalled that Chamaco Naturalista offered to teach him ballet to help with his character while Carbajal could teach him Spanish. After a year of ballet and working on incorporating the moves and mannerism into his repertoire, Carbajal was given a beautiful, sparkly ring robe by Chamaco Naturalista prior to his return to Mexico City. In 1971, Carbajal returned to the national level, adopting a brand new ring persona transforming from the serious wrestler Rubi Ruvalcaba to the flamboyant, prissy ''Exótico'' "Adorable Rubí", a character he had patterned after one of the original ''Exóticos'' Dizzy Gardenia who had worked in Mexico in the 1940s. As "Adorable Rubí", he displayed a very self-centered attitude, more worried about his looks and his hair than his opponent at times and portraying a character whose sexuality was less ''macho'' than wrestlers usually displayed. Together with fellow ''Exóticos'' El Bello Greco and Sergio el Hermoso, he formed a trio known as ''La Ola Lila'' ("The Lilac Wave") that would work all over Mexico, headlining shows on several occasions. The character was such a hit with the audience that EMLL decided to book him in Mexico City full-time, even deciding that he should win the Mexican National Middleweight Championship from then reigning champion Ciclón Veloz Jr. on December 14, 1973. As Adorable Rubí, he would defend the championship for over six months, until it was decided to move the title to Aníbal on June 28, 1974. During the EMLL 41st Anniversary Show on September 20, 1974, he wrestled Ringo Mendoza to a time limit draw. Later in the year, he was booked in a championship match against Aníbal, playing up the rivalry between the flamboyant ''Exótico'' rule breaker Adorable Rubí and the popular masked good guy Aníbal as a continuation of the title change earlier in the year. The match was for Aníbal's
NWA World Middleweight Championship The NWA World Middleweight Championship was a professional wrestling Championship (professional wrestling), championship in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) between 1939 and 2010. For most of its existence, it was defended in the Mexican ''lu ...
and took place on December 13, 1974, in a match where Aníbal retained the championship by pinning the challenger. Carbajal has stated in interviews that Aníbal was the first wrestler to defeat him in a ''
Luchas de Apuestas ''Lucha libre'' (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term for the style of professional wrestling originating in Mexico. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has develope ...
'', or bet match, and thus forced the image obsessed character to be shaved completely bald after his loss. At the first of the EMLL 42nd Anniversary Shows, Adorable Rubí and
Coloso Colosetti Elio Carlo Colosetti Drazich (May 19, 1948 – November 16, 2024) was an Argentine professional wrestling, professional wrestler who is primarily known under the ring name Coloso Colosetti. Colosetti wrestled primarily in Mexico and Southern Cali ...
lost a
tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establis ...
''Luchas de Apuestas'' match to ''Los Gemelo Diablos'' ("The Twin Devils") and was once again shaved bald after the match. In 1976, EMLL decided to book Adorable Rubí as the NWA World Light Heavyweight Champion when he defeated Dr. Wagner on February 27, 1976. The Light Heavyweight championship was considered one of the top championships in Mexico at the time, a step above the Mexican National championship he had won in the past. On April 23, 1976, he teamed up with
Alfonso Dantés José Luis Amezcua Díaz (April 13, 1943 – July 30, 2008) was a Mexican professional wrestler who wrestled during the 1960s and 1970s under the ring name Alfonso Dantés (the name was taken from the main character of the Count of Monte Cristo n ...
, losing to the team of Carbajal's childhood idol El Santo and El Halcón, losing to them on the undercard of the '' 20. Aniversario de Arena México'' show. On July 16, 1976, Carlos Plata became the new NWA World Light Heavyweight Champion, pinning Adorable Rubí in the main event of an Arena Mexico show. Rubí teamed up with
Sangre Chicana Andrés Durán Reyes (born November 30, 1951) is a retired Mexican professional wrestler best known by his ring name Sangre Chicana (Spanish for "Chicano Blood"). He rose to prominence in a feud with El Cobarde and Fishman that led to a Lucha ...
for the EMLL 45th Anniversary Show on September 22, 1978, where they faced and defeated
El Cobarde Miguel Ángel Delgado Reyes (August 28, 1947 – February 7, 1983) was a Mexican ''Luchador'', or professional wrestler that wrestled under the ring name ''El Cobarde'' (Spanish for "The Coward"). Delgado was born and died in Ciudad Juarez. Pers ...
and Dragón Rojo in the main event of the show. Following the match El Cobarde and Dragón Rojo were shaved bald as per the ''Luchas de Apuestas'' stipulation. During the mid-to-late 1970s, Carbajal teamed up with his nephew who wrestled as the ''Exótico'' wrestler Divino Roy ("Divine Roy"). On April 7, 1980, as part of the '' 24. Aniversario de Arena México'' show, Adorable Rubí and El Nazi lost to the team of
El Faraón José Luis Barajas Fernández is a retired Mexican professional wrestler, or '' Luchador'' as they are called in Spanish. Barajas is best known under the ring name, El Faraón (Spanish for "the Pharaoh"), a ring name and persona he used throughou ...
and Ringo Mendoza and once again he had to be shaved bald after the match. On Marcy 13, 1981, Adorable Rubí was unsuccessful in his challenge for 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 (Spani ...
as he lost to
Cien Caras J. Carmelo Reyes González (born May 11, 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 life ...
. In the early-1980s, a new type of ''Exótico'' emerged in Mexico, where they were now overtly homosexual, somethings in real life, sometimes only in their ring persona, adopting certain aspects also found in
drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses Drag (entertainment), drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate Femininity, female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have ...
culture. With the rise in popularity of "out" ''Exótico'' characters, such as
Pimpinela Escarlata Mario González Lozano (born April 18, 1969) is a Mexican '' luchador'', or professional wrestler, who works as an ''exótico'' for the Mexican Lucha Libre AAA World Wide promotion and Lucha Underground under the ring name Pimpinela Escarlata. ...
, Adorable Rubí was often called the last "Old School Exótico" character in Mexico. Both during active career and after his retirement, Carbajal expressed his dislike for the "New Exótico" where it was more about the spectacle of the character such as kissing other men as a way of gaining an advantage during a match than wrestling. In 1982, he teamed up with Herodes, El Faraón and Tony Benetto for a four-on-three handicap match against Andre the Giant, Halcón Ortiz and César Curiel during one of Andre's special tours of Mexico, losing to the visiting giant. EMLL decided to give Adorable Rubí one last championship reign in 1984 as he defeated
Ángel Blanco José Ángel Vargas Sánchez (August 2, 1938 – April 26, 1986) was a Mexican ''Luchador'' or professional wrestler best known under the ring name ''Angel Blanco''. Vargas is the father-in-law of the first Ángel Blanco Jr. and the father of th ...
to become the second ever holder of the Mexican National Cruiserweight Championship. His career was winding down as he only made one title defense during the 747 days that he held the championship which was a loss to Charro de Jalisco on October 24, 1986. His only known match since 1986 was a ''Luchas de Apuestas'' match against
Perro Aguayo 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 crown ...
in May 1989, which resulted in the ''Exótico'' being shaved bald one last time.


Retirement and death

Carbajal retired in 1989 and settled in
Guadalajara, Jalisco Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...
, Mexico where he lived quietly, only occasionally doing interviews about his wrestling past. Carbajal died on June 23, 2012, in his home town of Guadalajara from a Kidney Infection.


Championships and accomplishments

*
Empresa Mexicana de la 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 (EMLL) (''Mexican Wrestling Enterprise''). Founded in 1933, it is the oldest profe ...
** Mexican National Cruiserweight Championship ( 1 time) ** Mexican National Middleweight Championship ( 1 time) ** NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) **Rookie of the year / ''Novato del Año'': 1968


''Luchas de Apuestas'' record


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adorable Rubi 1931 births 2012 deaths Mexican male professional wrestlers Exóticos Professional wrestlers from Sonora People from Moctezuma, Sonora 21st-century Mexican LGBTQ people 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century Mexican professional wrestlers Mexican National Middleweight Champions NWA World Light Heavyweight Champions