 Aguila in 2007 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | José Delgado Saldaña[1] (1977-12-10)December 10, 1977 (age 47)[1] Guadalajara,Jalisco, Mexico |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Águila[1] Essa Ríos[1] Mr. Águila[1] Papí Chulo[1] |
| Billed height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)[2] |
| Billed weight | 215 lb (98 kg)[2] |
| Billed from | Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico[2] |
| Trained by | Diablo Velasco[3][4] Flash I[4] |
| Debut | January 3, 1994 |
José Delgado Saldaña (born December 10, 1977) is a Mexicanprofessional wrestler (orluchador) best known by his ring nameMr. Águila in Mexican wrestling promotionsCMLL andAAA. Outside Mexico, Saldaña is best known for his work asEssa Ríos in theWWF.
Saldaña debuted on January 3, 1994. In May 1997, he began wrestling forConsejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). In August 1997, he began wrestling forPromo Azteca.
Delgado made his debut in theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF) on the November 3, 1997 episode ofRaw is War as part of its newly relaunchedLight Heavyweight division at the age of 19, wrestling under thering name Águila. This period included a match withTaka Michinoku atWrestleMania XIV for theWWF Light Heavyweight Championship.[5] On the May 9, 1998 edition ofShotgun Saturday Night Delgado re-debuted under the name Papi Chulo, this time wrestling without a mask.
He won the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship fromGillberg on his 'debut' as Essa Ríos during the February 13, 2000 edition ofSunday Night Heat. His reign was a short-lived one, as he would lose the title toDean Malenko a few weeks later. During his time as Essa Ríos, he wasmanaged byLita who would often repeat Ríos's finishing moves on wrestlers he had just beaten after a match. He and Lita had a feud withEddie Guerrero andChyna which led to aEuropean title match between Ríos and then-champion Guerrero atBacklash, which Ríos lost.[6] Ríos' partnership with Lita ended during the May 25, 2000 edition of Smackdown! after an angry Ríos attacked Lita because he had lost a match. It was there that theHardy Boyz came to Lita's rescue and feuded with him briefly, with Lita becoming their protégé. Ríos lapsed into obscurity by late 2000 but did have a brief feud withKurt Angle that culminated in a main event match onSunday Night Heat.
He also had a small involvement in the Invasion angle, most notably unsuccessfully challengingChris Kanyon for theWCW United States Championship on an episode ofWWF Metal, which would be his last televised match with the company on August 27 (aired September 1). Having been offtelevision for months, Ríos was released from the WWF and started acceptingJapanesebookings in December 2001.[1][7]
He had a high-flying match with Taka Michinoku duringExtreme Championship Wrestling's 1999Cyberslam event. This would be his only match in ECW.
After being released in September 2001, he returned to Mexico for several years before working inAAA as part of the LLL storyline. He soon returned to Mexico, however, continuing his feud withEl Zorro and forming "X-team" with Juventud Guerrera andCharly Manson. In 2005, he jumped to Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre as a member ofLos Perros del Mal which was led by Héctor Garza andPerro Aguayo, Jr. who had jumped from AAA in the past. When Perro Aguayo, Jr. left CMLL in the fall of 2008, Mr. Águila left the promotion with him to help for thePerros del Mal Producciones.
Águila made a comeback to theUnited States in 2004 as part ofTeam AAA/Mexico inTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling withAbismo Negro,Juventud Guerrera,Héctor Garza andHeavy Metal.[8] He competed in TNA as part of theX Division.[1][9][10]
On May 16, 2010, Mr. Águila returned to CMLL, interfering in a match betweenPsicosis II andLa Sombra, siding with Psicosis II and a group calledLos Invasores, the match also saw the return ofRayo de Jalisco, Jr. who ended up siding with CMLL in their war against the outsider group.[11] CMLL later held a press conference announcing that they would hold a specialSin Salida event on June 6, 2010 that would center around theLos Invasores vs. CMLL storyline. During the press conference it was revealed that Mr. Águila and Héctor Garza were the co-leaders ofLos Invasores.[12] At theJuly 16, 2010 Super Viernes, Mr. Águila and Héctor Garza defeated the team of La Sombra andVolador Jr. to win theCMLL World Tag Team Championship.[13] By virtue of holding the CMLL World Tag Team Championship, Mr. Águila participated in the2010 Universal Championship tournament. He was part of "Block B" that competed on theAugust 6, 2010 Super Viernes show where he was eliminated from the tournament when he lost toLa Máscara in the first round.[14] On November 2, 2010, Águila and Garza lost the CMLL World Tag Team Championship toDragón Rojo, Jr. andÚltimo Guerrero.[15] On December 3, 2010, atSin Piedad 2010 Águila had his trademark hair shaved off after being defeated byRey Bucanero in aLucha de Apuesta.[16]
On June 20, 2012, Águila formed theLos Depredadores del Aire ("The Flying Predators") stable withBlack Warrior and Volador Jr.[17] Two days later,Los Depredadores del Aire defeatedLos Reyes de la Atlantida (Atlantis,Delta andGuerrero Maya, Jr.) to win theMexican National Trios Championship.[18] They lost the title back toLos Reyes de la Atlantida on October 30, 2012.[19] Águila, this time teaming withLos Invasores membersKraneo and Psicosis II, regained the title fromLos Reyes de la Atlantida on December 16, 2012.[20] In the fall of 2012Los Invasores began a feud against the CMLL World Trios ChampionsEl Bufete del Amor ("The Law of Love";Marco Corleone,Máximo andRush). The two teams fought several occasions withEl Bufete's CMLL World Trios Championship on the line, whileLos Invasores Mexican National Trios Championship being passed over compared to the more prestigious CMLL title.[21] Mr. Águila was forced to team up with Máximo for the 2013Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increibles ("National Incredible Pairs Tournament"), a tag team tournament teaming up wrestlers who would never team up otherwise, often because they are rivals, would be forced to work together. Mr. Águila and Máximo lost to the team ofMáscara Dorada andMephisto even though they were able to put their differences aside for one night.[22][23] On June 30,Los Invasores lost the Mexican National Trios Championship to La Máscara, Rush andTitán.[24] On July 19 atInfierno en el Ring, Águila lost his hair toShocker in a ten-mansteel cageLucha de Apuestas.[25]
In November 2017, Mr. Águila made a surprise appearance at Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide.[26]
| Winner (wager) | Loser (wager) | Location | Event | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Último Guerrero (mask) | Mr. Águila (mask) | Mexico City | CMLL 65th Anniversary Show | September 11, 1998 | [34][35] |
| Mr. Águila (hair) | MS-2 (mask) | Tijuana, Baja California | Live event | December 5, 2003 | |
| Mr. Águila (hair) | Blade (hair) | Guadalajara, Jalisco | Live event | January 23, 2005 | |
| Los Guerreros del Infierno (hair) (Rey Bucanero andTarzan Boy) | Los Perros del Mal (hair) (Damián 666 and Mr. Águila) | Mexico City | 50. Aniversario de Arena México | April 28, 2006 | [36][37] |
| Rey Bucanero (hair) | Mr. Águila (hair) | Mexico City | Sin Piedad | December 3, 2010 | [16] |
| Shocker (hair) | Mr. Águila (hair) | Mexico City | Infierno en el Ring | July 19, 2013 | [a][25] |
| Mr. Águila (hair) | Dark Ozz (hair) | Zamora, Michoacán | Promotora Zamorana show | October 19, 2019 | [38] |
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