Valiente (wrestler)

Valiente
Born (1974-05-30) May 30, 1974 (age 50)[1]
Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico[2]
Children3
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Valiente
Billed height1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[2]
Billed weight92 kg (203 lb)[2]
Billed fromMexico City, Mexico[2]
Trained byFuerza Aerea[3]
Hijo del Gladiador[3]
Guerrero del Futuro[3]
Franco Colombo[3]
DebutMay 30, 1996[3]

Valiente (Spanish for "Valiant"; born May 30, 1974) is a Mexican luchador enmáscarado (or masked professional wrestler), and is mainly known for his work in the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). Valiente'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.[4] He won the 2008 and the 2012 Reyes del Aire tournaments and is a former Mexican National Welterweight and CMLL World Trios Champion.

Professional wrestling career

Valiente made his debut in 1996, working on the Mexican independent circuit. After not making much headway Valiente actually retired from professional wrestling in the late 1990s. After almost five years away from the ring Valiente returned to wrestling in the early 2000s, hoping to make a name for himself.[5] His ring name Valiente is Spanish for "Valiant", which is expressed by the sword icon on his mask.[6]

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (2005–present)

By 2005, Valiente began working regularly for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) while also training under Hijo del Gladiador and Guerrero del Futuro to hone his skills. Valiente worked as a low to mid-card wrestler, a high flying tecnico (good guy or face character) whose high risk moves contradicted his short, overweight stature.[5] Valiente took part in the 2006 Reyes del Aire (Spanish for "Kings of the Air") tournament, unfortunately he was the first wrestler eliminated.[7] Valiente also participated in the Reyes del Aire in 2007, eliminating Super Nova, before being eliminated himself.[8] Valiente also earned a spot at that year's Anniversary show, teaming with Métalico and Stuka Jr. to defeat Los Infernales (Euforia and Nosferatu) and Loco Max, with Valiente making the winning pin on Euforia.[9]

After participating in all previous Reyes del Aire except the first one, the 2008 tournament was finally Valiente's year to shine as he outlasted Loco Max, Stuka Jr., Virus, Flash, Diamante Negro, Máscara Purpura, Euforia, Ephesto, Volador Jr., Mr. Águila, La Máscara, Misterioso Jr., La Sombra and Sangre Azteca.[10] A month later, Valiente worked CMLL's Infierno en el Ring event, teaming with Rocky Romero and El Sagrado losing to Averno, Mephisto, and Ephesto.[11] 2008 turned out to be Valiente's "breakthrough" year, winning Reyes del Aire and making several major show appearances.[5] He even competed in the Leyenda de Azul tournament on December 12, 2008, but did not win.[12] After a hiatus, Valiente returned in mid-2009. On August 16, 2009, Valiente defeated Sangre Azteca for the Mexican National Welterweight Championship, his first wrestling title.[13] By virtue of holding the Mexican National Welterweight Championship Valiente participated in the 2010 Universal Championship tournament. He was part of "Block B" that competed on the August 6, 2010 Super Viernes show where he was eliminated from the tournament when he lost to Volador Jr. in the first round.[14] On July 15, 2011, Valiente lost the Mexican National Welterweight Championship to Pólvora, ending his reign at 698 days.[15] On November 24, 2011, Valiente won CMLL's annual Bodybuilding Contest and was as a result granted the nickname of "Mr. CMLL".[16] On August 15, 2012, Valiente won the second Reyes del Aire tournament that CMLL held in 2012, lastly eliminating Dragón Rojo Jr. by disqualification.[17] In late 2012 and early 2013, Valiente worked a series of matches against Pólvora, building to a title match between the two as they fought for Pólvora's CMLL World Welterweight Championship. The match took place on February 2, 2013, and saw Pólvora retain the championship.[18] In March 2013 Pólvora and Valiente were teamed up for the 2013 Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increibles ("National Incredible Pairs Tournament") a tag team tournament where the concept was that rivals would be forced to work together to win the tournament. While the two managed to work together they still lost their first round match to the team of Atlantis and Último Guerrero.[19][20] In March 2013, Valiente was announced as participating in the 2013 En Busca de un Ídolo ("In search of an Idol") tournament that would take place from May to July 2013 as one of eight competitors.[21] He made it all the way to the finals of the tournament on July 12, before losing to Vangelis.[22] Meanwhile, Valiente also formed the Los Estetas del Aire ("Air Aesthetes") stable with Máscara Dorada and Místico, with whom he went on to win the CMLL World Trios Championship on June 16.[23] After Dorada's departure from CMLL in early 2015, Valiente and Místico formed the Sky Team stable with Volador Jr.,[24] winning the CMLL World Trios Championship on February 13.[25] At Homenaje a Dos Leyendas, Volador Jr. and Valiente defeated El Terrible and Rey Bucanero to win the CMLL World Tag Team Championship.

Appearances outside CMLL

Valiente was scheduled to make his first appearance for the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania based Chikara as part of the 2010 King of Trios tournament that ran from April 23 – 25 at The Arena in Philadelphia. Valiente was to team with Skayde and Turbo to form "Team Mexico". Their first round opponents were scheduled to be Die Bruderschaft des Kreuzes (Claudio Castagnoli, Ares and Tursas), Chikara's top heel group at the time.[26] However, on April 22, Chikara announced that they no longer expected Valiente to honor his commitment with the company, after he stopped returning their phone calls and didn't board his flight to Philadelphia.[27] Doubts later arose if Skayde ever actually contacted Valiente about arranging the booking or not. In April 2010, it was announced that Valiente and Máscara Dorada would travel to Japan in early May to participate in New Japan Pro-Wrestling's first ever Super J Tag Team tournament.[28] In the first round of the tournament they lost to former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Ryusuke Taguchi and Prince Devitt in just under eight minutes.[29] On January 4, 2012, Valiente returned to New Japan at Wrestle Kingdom VI, where he teamed with Atlantis, Taichi and Taka Michinoku in an eight-man tag team match, where they were defeated by Jushin Thunder Liger, Kushida, Máscara Dorada and Tiger Mask.[30] On April 7, 2013, Valiente returned to New Japan Pro-Wrestling at Invasion Attack, where he and La Máscara unsuccessfully challenged Tama Tonga and El Terrible for the CMLL World Tag Team Championship.[31] Valiente returned to New Japan on October 25, when he and Bushi entered the 2013 Super Jr. Tag Tournament, defeating Kushida and Yohei Komatsu in their first round match.[32] They were eliminated from the tournament in the semifinals on November 6 by the Forever Hooligans (Alex Koslov and Rocky Romero).[33]

Personal life

Around 2009, some of Valiente's family members asked him for permission to use his ring name, which is not uncommon in lucha libre.[5] These luchador enmáscarados, named Valiente Jr. and Hijo de Valiente, did not garner much success, so Valiente took the name back. His children also followed him into professional wrestling: his daughter Hera debuted in 2019, his son Valiente Jr. debuted in 2020 and another daughter Miss Olympia debuted in 2022.[34][35][36]

Championships and accomplishments

Luchas de Apuestas record

Main article: Luchas de Apuestas
Winner (wager) Loser (wager) Location Event Date Notes
Valiente (mask) Explosion 2000 (mask) Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes Live event January 11, 2007 [Note 1][3][6]
Valiente (mask) Sergio Romo Jr. (hair) Monterrey, Nuevo León Live event March 12, 2008 [Note 2][3][5]
Valiente (mask) Rey Pantera (hair) Xalapa, Veracruz Lucha Libre Radioactiva Segundo Aniversario June 27, 2024 [42]

Footnotes

  1. ^ Multi-man cage match that also included Volador Jr., Rey Bucanero, Marco Corleone, El Hijo del Diablo, Tony Rivera
  2. ^ Four-way match that also included Tigre Universitario and Rey Hechicero

References

  1. ^ "El Valiente CMLL Oficial Facebook". Facebook (in Spanish). Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d "Statistics for Professional wrestlers". PWI Presents: 2008 Wrestling Almanac and book of facts. Kappa Publications. pp. 66–79. 2008 Edition.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Tecnicos - Valiente". Fuego en el ring (in Spanish). Retrieved October 17, 2009.
  4. ^ Madigan, Dan (2007). "Okay... what is Lucha Libre?". Mondo Lucha A Go-Go: the bizarre & honorable world of wild Mexican wrestling. HarperCollins Publishers. pp. 29–40. ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3.
  5. ^ a b c d e Velázquez, Israel (March 9, 2009). "Entravista con Valiente". SuperLuchas (in Spanish). pp. 26–27. issue 305.
  6. ^ a b "Enciclopedia de las Mascaras". Valiente (in Spanish). Mexico City, Mexico. November 2007. p. 47. Tomo V.
  7. ^ "CMLL Reyes del Aire 2006". Pro Wrestling History. June 18, 2006. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  8. ^ "CMLL Reyes del Aire 2007". Pro Wrestling History. February 16, 2007. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  9. ^ Arturo Rosas Plata (September 29, 2007). "Lizmark, Al infierno". Ovaciones (in Spanish). Mexico, D.F.: Editorial Ovaciones, S. A. de C.V. p. 22. Número 20999 Año LX. Archived from the original on February 22, 2012. Retrieved September 19, 2009.
  10. ^ a b "CMLL Reyes del Aire 2008". Pro Wrestling History. May 9, 2008. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  11. ^ Yoav (June 15, 2008). "Resultados Infierno en el Ring en Vivo!". SuperLuchas (in Spanish). Retrieved September 21, 2009.
  12. ^ "Leyenda de Azul 2009". Pro Wrestling History. December 12, 2008. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  13. ^ a b "Lo Mejor de la Lucha Libre Mexicana 2009". SuperLuchas (in Spanish). January 8, 2009. 348.
  14. ^ Velazquez, Israel (August 7, 2010). "Resultados Arena México (6 agosto 2010): ¡Liger, segundo finalista por el Campeonato Universal! Místico vs. Psicosis, ¿antes de lo esperado?". SuperLuchas (in Spanish). Retrieved August 5, 2010.
  15. ^ Rodríguez, Édgar (July 16, 2011). "Pólvora, nuevo Campeón Welter". Récord. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved July 16, 2011.
  16. ^ a b "Valiente sorprende en fisicoculturismo" (in Spanish). Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Gaceta. November 24, 2011. Retrieved November 24, 2011.
  17. ^ a b Blanco, Alejandro (October 16, 2012). "Valiente y Triunfador" (in Spanish). Cinco Radio. Retrieved October 16, 2012.
  18. ^ "Los Invasores lustraron su título". Medio Tiempo (in Spanish). February 4, 2013. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
  19. ^ "Reviven por una noche los Guerreros de la Atlantida". Medio Tiempo (in Spanish). March 9, 2013. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
  20. ^ "Atlantis y Ultimo Guerrero a la final del Torneo de Parejas Increíbles". Estrellas del Ring (in Spanish). March 9, 2013. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
  21. ^ "En Busca de un Idolo regresa en mayo". SuperLuchas (in Spanish). March 21, 2013. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
  22. ^ "Resultados Arena México Viernes 12 de Julio '13" (in Spanish). Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre. July 13, 2013. Archived from the original on February 26, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  23. ^ a b Salazar López, Alexis A. (June 17, 2013). "Resultados Arena México Domingo 16 de Junio '13" (in Spanish). Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre. Archived from the original on June 20, 2013. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
  24. ^ Barradas, Bibiana (February 7, 2015). "Resultados Arena México Viernes 6 de Febrero '15". Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (in Spanish). Archived from the original on February 26, 2015. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
  25. ^ a b "'Sky team', satisfechos por título de tercias". MedioTiempo (in Spanish). February 14, 2015. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  26. ^ Csonka, Larry (April 9, 2010). "Opening Round Matches Announced For King of Trios 2010". 411Mania. Retrieved April 10, 2010.
  27. ^ "Valiente (probably) off King of Trios". Luchablog. April 22, 2010. Retrieved April 23, 2010.
  28. ^ "Máscara Dorada y Valiente estarán en NJPW para el Super J Tag Tournament". SuperLuchas (in Spanish). April 4, 2010. Retrieved April 10, 2010.
  29. ^ "Resultados NJPW "SUPER J TAG TOURNAMENT 1ST" – Lamentablemente los mexicanos pierden en primera ronda". SuperLuchas (in Spanish). May 8, 2010. Retrieved May 8, 2010.
  30. ^ "NJPW 40th anniversary Tour. レッスルキングダムVI in 東京ドーム" (in Japanese). New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Archived from the original on January 8, 2012. Retrieved January 4, 2012.
  31. ^ "Invasion Attack" (in Japanese). New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Retrieved April 7, 2013.
  32. ^ "Road to Power Struggle" (in Japanese). New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
  33. ^ "Road to Power Struggle" (in Japanese). New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Archived from the original on November 9, 2013. Retrieved November 6, 2013.
  34. ^ Cruz, Gabriel (July 20, 2021). "Hera, la luchadora que heredó un corazón valiente" [Hera, the fighter who inherited a brave heart]. El Universal (in Spanish). Retrieved March 16, 2024.
  35. ^ Cruz, Gabriel (April 1, 2022). "Olympia y Hera, las grandes herederas de El Valiente en la lucha libre" [Olympia and Hera, the great heirs of the Brave in wrestling]. El Gráfico (in Spanish). Retrieved March 16, 2024.
  36. ^ "El Valiente presenta a: Hera, Valiente Jr y Valientita, el Valiente Team". April 10, 2020. Retrieved March 16, 2024 – via YouTube.
  37. ^ Valdés, Apolo (October 29, 2016). "¡Gran sorpresa! Valiente campeón universal del CMLL". MedioTiempo (in Spanish). MSN. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  38. ^ López Peralta, Gonzalo (October 29, 2016). "El Valiente se proclama como nuevo Campeón Universal 2016: La Verdad Absoluta". Yahoo Deportes (in Spanish). Yahoo!. Archived from the original on October 30, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  39. ^ "A lo 'ingobernable', Diamante Azul y Valiente son Campeones de Parejas". MedioTiempo (in Spanish). MSN. November 18, 2018. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  40. ^ López Escalona, Arturo (October 19, 2019). "Star Jr y El Valiente ganaron La Gran Alternativa del CMLL". ESTO (in Spanish). Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  41. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2019 - the Internet Wrestling Database".
  42. ^ https://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=400673