| Los Arlequíns | |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Members | Arlequín Amarillo Arlequín Rojo Arlequín Verde Arlequín Negro I Arlequín Negro II |
| Debut | 2008 |
| Disbanded | 2010 |
Los Arlequíns (Spanish for "TheHarlequins") was a Mexicanprofessional wrestling group, called astable, who worked as arudo (term used for wrestlers who portray the "Bad guys") faction. All members of the group started out asmasked wrestlers, but several members lost their masks before the group was disbanded.
Los Arlequíns was a wrestling "concept" team, similar to the concept of aboy band, where several wrestlers are joined up and given a commonring identity; in this case all members of the group were based on theHarlequin character. The "concept" teams are widely used in Mexico, especially inInternational Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG) which often creates various concept teams to see if they become popular with the fans. Most concept groups only last a short time, but at times a concept is so successful that it works for a number of years.[1] In 2008 IWRG officials decided to repackage IWRG wrestlersManuel Mejia (formerly known as Capitan Sangre),Martin Hernandez Barron (previously known as Cyborg and other ring names) andVictor Manuel Montés, (formerly known as Omega among other names) and give them newrudo, or "bad guy",masked characters. Mejia was the first of the Arlequíns to make his debut, initially working simply as Arlequín, often teaming with Hijo de Pierroth andPierroth II, two wrestlers who also had a yellow and black "Harlequin" design in their wrestling gear. The trio unsuccessfully challengedLos Oficiales (Oficial 911.Oficial AK-47 andOficial Fierro) for theIWRG Intercontinental Trios Championship.[2] Arlequín and Hijo del Pierroth also unsuccessfully challengedLos Junior Dinamitas (Hijo de Cien Caras andMáscara Año 2000, Jr.) for theirIWRG Intercontinental Tag Team Championship, but once again came up short.[3]
In 2008 IWRG introduced two additional Arlequín characters, forcing Meija modify his name to Arlequín Amarillo ("Yellow Harlequin") when Hernandez and Montés were added to the group as Arlequín Verde ("Green Harlequin") and Arlequín Rojo ("Red Harlequin") respectively.[4] The trio all competed individually in the 2009Rey del Ring tournament, but none of them won the 30 man tournament.[5][6] On August 16, 2009, Arlequín Amarillo risked his mask on the outcome of a 10-mansteel cage match where the last man in the cage would be forced to unmask or have their hair shaved off underLuchas de Apuestas rules. In the end Amarillo kept his mask safe as he escaped the cage. A few months later Arlequín Amarillo was one of 10 wrestlers their mask on the line underLucha de Apuesta, rules in IWRG's annualEl Castillo del Terror ("The Castle of Terror") match. The match came down to Máscara Año 2000, Jr. and Arlequin as the final two wrestlers, with Máscara Año 2000, Jr. pinning his opponent to keep his mask safe.[7][8] The following month Arlequín Amarillo lost yet another steel cage match, this time to Oficial AK-47 and was forced to have his hair shaved off after the match.[4]
On September 16, 2009, Arlequín Rojo participated in IWRG's annualGuerra del Golfo event and lost the qualifying steel cage match, which put him in a match against Rigo where both wrestler's masks were on the line. Rigo won the match and the rights to remove Arlequín Rojo's mask.[9] A few weeks later Arlequín Amarillo and Rojo lost to the team of Rigo and Chico Che, which meant that both unmasked Arlequíns had their hair shaved off as well.[9] In late 2009 another Arlequín character was introduced, Arlequín Negro ("Black Arlequin") to make up for the fact that Arlequín Verde stopped appearing under that name and mask in IWRG. Arlequín Negro made his debut in a "Losers advance",Ruleta de la Muerte (Spanish for "Roulette of Death") tournament, in whichtag teams face off in a single-elimination tournament, but unlike traditional tournaments, it is the losing team that advances in the tournament and the losing team in the finals would be forced to face off against each other in aLuchas de Apuestas match. the team lost in the first round to advance in the tournament, but defeated Oficial AK-47 and Chico Che in the second round to keep their masks safe.[10] In early 2010 Arlequín Negro broke his leg in an accident, which forced him to retire. He was quietly replaced a few months later by someone else wearing the Arlequín Negro mask. By the end of 2010 the Los Arlequíns concept was slowly being phased out, the final chapter in the storyline came at the 2010El Castillo del Terror show where Arlequín Negro lost toComando Negro and was forced to unmask. After the match he revealed that his birth name was Jorge Hérnandez Gomez.[11][12][13] A week after theCastillo del Terror loss Los Arlequíns (Amarillo, Negro and Rojo) defeatedLa Ola Negra ("The Black Wave"; Comando Negro, Guerrero Negro and Magia Negra), but the storyline ended there as the Los Arlequíns concept was abandoned.
| Winner (wager) | Loser (wager) | Location | Event | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Máscara Año 2000 Jr. (mask) | Arlequin Amarillo (mask) | Naucalpan, Mexico State | El Castillo del Terror | November 2, 2008 | [Note 1] |
| Oficial AK-47 (mask) | Arlequin Amarillo (hair) | Naucalpan, Mexico State | IWRG show | December 21, 2008 | [Note 2] |
| Rigo (hair) | Arlequín Rojo (mask) | Naucalpan, Mexico State | Guerra del Golfo | September 16, 2009 | [9] |
| Rigo and Chico Che (hair) | Arlequín Amarillo and Arlequín Rojo (hair) | Naucalpan, Mexico State | IWRG show | September 25, 2009 | [9] |
| Comando Negro (mask) | Arlequín Negro II (mask) | Naucalpan, Mexico State | El Castillo del Terror | November 4, 2010 | [11][12][13] |