 Black Panther in July 2020 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Unrevealed Torreón, Coahuila, Mexico[1] |
| Parent | Blue Panther (father) |
| Relatives |
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| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring names |
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| Billed height | 1.77 m (5 ft9+1⁄2 in) |
| Billed weight | 84 kg (185 lb) |
| Trained by |
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| Debut | 2011 |
Dark Panther (born 1989) is thering name of aMexicanluchadorenmascarado (or maskedprofessional wrestler), working for the Mexicanprofessional wrestling promotionConsejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). He portrays atecnico ("Good guy") wrestling character. His 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.[3] He is the son of Genaro Vazquez Nevarez, better known asBlue Panther, and is a brother of wrestlerBlue Panther Jr. and Chachorro Lagunero. Initially wrestling in secret under the ring nameSilver, he adopted his father's former ring nameCachorro (Spanish for "Cub") in 2014, which played off the Blue Panther name. He has since changed his ring on three more occasions: firstly toThe Panther (2014–2018), secondly toBlack Panther (2018–2021), and then to his current ring name in 2021.
Black Panther is a son of professional wrestler, Genaro Vazquez Nevarez, better known under thering nameBlue Panther and a brother ofBlue Panther Jr. and Chachorro Lagunero.[4] His full given name is not a matter of public record in accordance withLucha libre traditions where the true identity ofmasked wrestlers is kept private whenever possible.[4] Both of Nevarez' oldest sons were featured in interviews around their father well before they became professional wrestlers, their names were never explicitly stated and they always wore the same Blue Panther mask that their father used to conceal their identifies and that of the then masked Nevarez.[5] He is the cousin of Jesus Toral López, better known asBlack Warrior, a long time wrestler. While he wanted to become a professional wrestler, his father disapproved of the idea, while his mother supported him from the beginning.[1] In April 2020 a younger brother was introduced to the wrestling world, using the ring name Chachoro Lagunero ("The Lagunero Puppy"), wearing a version of his father's Blue Panther mask design.[2]
CMLL originally stated that the wrestler known as Black Panther made his professional wrestling debut in early 2014 when he began working under the "Cachorro" ring name, but later on revealed his true debut year as 2011.[6] In 2020, Black Panther revealed that he began training for a professional wrestling career without his father knowing about it. He made his debut, wrestling as the masked character "Silver" without the knowledge of anyone in his family.[1] When his father later discovered that his son was already a wrestler, he relented but asked his son to change his ring name to "Chachorro", like he himself has been known as early in his career. He was first introduced as "Cachorro" and wearing a black and white version of his father's Panther themed mask during a show to honor his father's 35th anniversary as a wrestler in the fall of 2013. At the time his older brother was also introduced to the wrestling world as Black Panther with a similar mask, but no announcement of his official CMLL debut date was given at the time.
Cachorro made his official in-ring debut under that name as one of 12 men to complete inConsejo Mundial de Lucha Libre's 2014La Copa Junior on January 1, 2014. All competitors were second, or third-generation wrestlers competing in atorneo cibernetico elimination match. Both Chachorro and Black Panther were on therudo ("Bad guy") team to even out the numbers between the two sides. The match also includedCanelo Casas,Dragon Lee,Hijo del Signo,Guerrero Negro Jr.,Herodes Jr.,Hombre Bala Jr.,Oro Jr.,Robin,Stigma and eventual tournament winnerSuper Halcón Jr. During the match Cachorro eliminated Dragon Lee, but was himself eliminated eighth by Super Halcón Jr.[7] FollowingLa Copa Junior both Cachorro and Black Panther stated to team up with their father forsix-man tag team matches, with the trio being billed asLos Divinos Laguneros ("The divine from the Lagoon"). They quickly began to faceLa Dinastia Casas ("The Casas Dynasty";El Felino and his two sonsTiger andPuma), continuing a long running storyline between Blue Panther and the Casas family. Later that month Cachorro entered the 2014Torneo Gran Alternativa ("Great Alternative") tournament, which is an annual tag team tournament that has a wrestling rookie team up with an experienced wrestler for the tournament. Cachorro was teamed up with his father for the tournament, defeating the team ofEl Rebelde (rookie) andAverno in the first round before losing to Oro Jr. (rookie) andLa Sombra in the second round of the tournament.[8]
On March 23, Cachorro competed in a 16-mantornero cibernetico match, competing for one of eight spots in CMLL's annualEn Busca de un Ídolo ("In search of an idol") tournament. Cachorro, along withCavernario, Dragon Lee, Guerrero Negro Jr.Hechicero,Star Jr.,Soberano Jr. and Super Halcón Jr. qualified for the tournament while Black Panther, Canelo Casas, El Rebelde,Espiritu Negro,Flyer, Herodes Jr.,Metálico and Oro Jr. were all eliminated.[9] The first round of the tournament saw Cachorro face off against all 7 opponents in around-robin tournament format. After the matches each wrestler was given points by a panel of judges as well as points off an online poll. After the first round Cachorro ended up ranked third, winning four of the matches, gaining 216 points from the judges and 137 points from the online poll. In the second round of the tournament Cachorro only defeated eventual tournament Cavernario and ended up in 4th place, 3 points behind 3rd place and 55 points behind the highest point scorer.[10] On August 25, it was announced that Cachorro would team up with fellow rookie Dragon Lee for theCMLL 81st Anniversary Show, marking Cachorro (and Dragon Lee's) first appearance at CMLL'sAnniversary Show, the promotion's most important show of the year. They were scheduled to compete in the first match against the brother-duo of Puma and Tiger.[11]
"With his ability and being the son of Blue Panther, his future with his new name, The Panther, I see him as an almost sure-fire superstar for decades unless his ring style leads to early injuries that take him down."
During a press conference on November 19, Cachorro announced that he was changing his ring name to "The Panther" and adopting a new mask as well. At the same press conference, Black Panther announced he was taking the name "Blue Panther Jr."[13] On December 19, 2015 The Panther andGuerrero Maya Jr. teamed up to defeatLa Comando Caribeño ("The Caribbean Commando";Misterioso Jr. andSagrado) to win theCMLL Arena Coliseo Tag Team Championship, The Panther's first CMLL championship.[14] In the fall of 2015 The Panther became involved in a storyline rivalry withSúper Comando, a low ranked maskedrudo, part of a team known asLos Hombres del Camuflaje. Over the course of several months the two often faced off on opposite sides of tag team and six-man matches, often with Súper Comando targeting his younger opponent, tearing his mask to push the storyline that he wanted to teach the rookie a lesson.[15][16] In early December CMLL announced that Súper Comando and The Panther would joint 10 other wrestlers; Blue Panther Jr.,Puma andTiger,Cancerbero,Esfinge,Fuego,Pegasso,Raziel,Sangre Azteca andTritón in the main event of the 2015Infierno en el Ring show.[17] TheInfierno en el Ring match came down to Súper Comando and The Panther being the last two wrestlers in the steel cage, with The Panther forcing Súper Comando to submit. Afterwards Súper Comando was forced to unmask and announce his real name.[18] In 2018, during a match onArena Mexico's Tuesday show, the announcer kept calling The Panther "Black Panther", the first ring name of his brother.
In January 2016, The Panther made his Japanese debut by taking part in the CMLL andNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) co-producedFantastica Mania 2016 tour.[19] On the fifth show of the tour, he and The Panther successfully defended the Arena Coliseo Tag Team Championship againstBobby Z andOkumura.[20] On November 3, 2016 The Panther made his debut for the US basedRing of Honor (ROH) promotion at theirSurvival of the Fittest double show in Texas. On night one The Panther defeatedWill Ferrara,Silas Young andYohey to advance in the "Survival of the Fittest" tournament.[21] On the following night he lost a six-way match when he was eliminated byDalton Castle in a match that was won byBobby Fish.[22]
| Winner (wager) | Loser (wager) | Location | Event | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Panther (mask) | Súper Comando (mask) | Mexico City, Mexico | Infierno en el Ring | December 25, 2015 | [a][23] |
