 Carbajal, as Adorable Rubí posing with theMexican National Middleweight Championship belt. | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Rubi Rubalcaba[1] (1931-12-31)December 31, 1931[1] |
| Died | June 23, 2012(2012-06-23) (aged 80)[2] Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico[2] |
| Family | Divino Roy (Nephew)[1] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Silvestre Carbajal Bestia Roja Rubi Rubalcava/Rubi Ruvalcaba Adorable Rubí |
| Billed height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) |
| Billed weight | 96 kg (212 lb) |
| Trained by | Jose Rojas[1] Pepe "Lince" Hernandez[1] |
| Debut | December 1965 (No later than)[1] |
| Retired | 1989 |
Ruben Carbajal Lopez (December 31, 1931 – June 23, 2012) was a MexicanLuchador, orprofessional wrestler who is best known under thering namesAdorable Rubí andRubi Rubalcava / Rubi Rubalcaba.[2] As Adorable Rubí he was one of the pioneers of theExótico wrestling style, mixingCross-dressing with wrestling to create a type or wrestling character that was more sexually ambiguous and self-obsessed. The "Adorable Rubí" character was inspired byDizzy Gardenia, the first successfulExótico character to compete in Mexico. During his career he won theMexican National Cruiserweight Championship,Mexican National Middleweight Championship andNWA 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.
Ruben Carbajal Lopez was born on December 31, 1931, inMoctezuma, Sonora,Mexico, son of Manuel Carbajal and Maria Lopez.[1] 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.[1] He attended the "February 24" Primary School in Moctezuma and one year of High School before he dropped out to pursue a career inlucha libre (professional wrestling). He had first seenlucha libre at the localEl CortijoBull fighting arena and later visitedMexico City where he began training at the wrestling school associated withArena México andEmpresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL), which was the biggest wrestling promotion in Mexico in the early 1960s.[1] During his childhood Carbajal's idol, along with many others in Mexico, wasEl Santo.[3] 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.[1] Once he was taught all the fundamentals of amateur wrestling he began training under Pepe Hernandez who taught him professional wrestling.[1]
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.[1] In his debut, he lost to veteran wrestler Tony Infante and was paid a total of 37.00Pesos for the match.[1] Following his debut, EMLL sent him toMonterrey,Nuevo León 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 headlinerRené 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.[1] 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"[1] Unfortunately, there were only so many positions on the main show that he found himself only working sporadically in Mexico City.[1]
Working in Monterrey, Carbajal met and worked with El Chamaco Naturalista who used anExótico ring character. Due to Carbajal's light build and long, wavy hair, Monterre promoterGory Guerrero suggested that perhaps anExótico 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.[3] 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.[3] In 1971, Carbajal returned to the national level, adopting a brand new ring persona transforming from the serious wrestler Rubi Ruvalcaba to the flamboyant, prissyExótico "Adorable Rubí", a character he had patterned after one of the originalExóticosDizzy 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 lessmacho than wrestlers usually displayed. Together with fellowExóticos El Bello Greco and Sergio el Hermoso, he formed a trio known asLa Ola Lila ("The Lilac Wave") that would work all over Mexico, headlining shows on several occasions.[4] 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 theMexican National Middleweight Championship from then reigning champion Ciclón Veloz Jr. on December 14, 1973.[5][6] As Adorable Rubí, he would defend the championship for over six months, until it was decided to move the title toAníbal on June 28, 1974.[5][6] During theEMLL 41st Anniversary Show on September 20, 1974, he wrestledRingo Mendoza to a time limit draw.[7][8][9] Later in the year, he was booked in a championship match against Aníbal, playing up the rivalry between the flamboyantExótico rule breaker Adorable Rubí and the popularmasked good guy Aníbal as a continuation of the title change earlier in the year. The match was for Aníbal'sNWA World Middleweight Championship and took place on December 13, 1974, in a match where Aníbal retained the championship by pinning the challenger.[10][11] Carbajal has stated in interviews that Aníbal was the first wrestler to defeat him in aLuchas de Apuestas, or bet match, and thus forced the image obsessed character to be shaved completely bald after his loss.[3] At the first of theEMLL 42nd Anniversary Shows, Adorable Rubí andColoso Colosetti lost atag teamLuchas de Apuestas match toLos Gemelo Diablos ("The Twin Devils") and was once again shaved bald after the match.[8][9][12]
In 1976, EMLL decided to book Adorable Rubí as theNWA World Light Heavyweight Champion when he defeatedDr. Wagner on February 27, 1976.[13] 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.[13] On April 23, 1976, he teamed up withAlfonso Dantés, losing to the team of Carbajal's childhood idol El Santo andEl Halcón, losing to them on the undercard of the20. Aniversario de Arena México show.[14] 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.[13] Rubí teamed up withSangre Chicana for theEMLL 45th Anniversary Show on September 22, 1978, where they faced and defeatedEl Cobarde and Dragón Rojo in the main event of the show. Following the match El Cobarde and Dragón Rojo were shaved bald as per theLuchas de Apuestas stipulation.[8][9][15][16] During the mid-to-late 1970s, Carbajal teamed up with his nephew who wrestled as theExótico wrestler Divino Roy ("Divine Roy").[1] On April 7, 1980, as part of the24. Aniversario de Arena México show, Adorable Rubí and El Nazi lost to the team ofEl Faraón and Ringo Mendoza and once again he had to be shaved bald after the match.[14] On Marcy 13, 1981, Adorable Rubí was unsuccessful in his challenge for theMexican National Heavyweight Championship as he lost toCien Caras.[6][17]
In the early-1980s, a new type ofExótico emerged in Mexico, where they were now overtly homosexual, somethings in real life, sometimes only in their ring persona, adopting certain aspects also found indrag queen culture.[18] With the rise in popularity of "out"Exótico characters, such asPimpinela Escarlata, Adorable Rubí was often called the last "Old School Exótico" character in Mexico.[1][3][18] 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.[3] In 1982, he teamed up with Herodes, El Faraón andTony Benetto for a four-on-three handicap match againstAndre the Giant, Halcón Ortiz andCésar Curiel during one of Andre's special tours of Mexico, losing to the visiting giant.[19] EMLL decided to give Adorable Rubí one last championship reign in 1984 as he defeatedÁngel Blanco to become the second ever holder of theMexican National Cruiserweight Championship.[6][20] 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 toCharro de Jalisco on October 24, 1986.[6][20] His only known match since 1986 was aLuchas de Apuestas match againstPerro Aguayo in May 1989, which resulted in theExótico being shaved bald one last time.[21]
Carbajal retired in 1989 and settled inGuadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico where he lived quietly, only occasionally doing interviews about his wrestling past.[3] Carbajal died on June 23, 2012, in his home town of Guadalajara from a Kidney Infection.[1]
| Winner (wager) | Loser (wager) | Location | Event | Date | Notes | EL Bello GRECO (hair) | Adorable Rubí (hair) | arena coliseo Loser 1968 | Aníbal (mask) | Adorable Rubí (hair) | N/A | Live event | N/A | [3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dr. Wagner (mask) | Adorable Rubí (hair) | Mexico City | Live event | N/A | [22] | |||||||||
| El Fantasma (mask) | Adorable Rubí (hair) | El Pavillón Azteca | Live event | 1984 | [23] | |||||||||
| Super Muñeco (mask) | Adorable Rubí (hair) | N/A | Live event | N/A | [24] | |||||||||
| Adorable Rubí (hair) | Paco Pardínez (hair) | Mexico City | Live event | March 1, 1974 | ||||||||||
| Los Gemelos Diablo (hair) | Coloso Colosetti and Rubí Rubalcava (hair) | Mexico City | EMLL 42nd Anniversary Show (1) | September 19, 1975 | [8][9][12] | |||||||||
| Sangre Chicana and Adorable Rubí (hair) | El Cobarde and Dragón Rojo (hair) | Mexico City | EMLL 45th Anniversary Show | September 1978 | [25] | |||||||||
| Ringo andCachorro Mendoza (hair) | Adorable Rubí and Divino Roy (hair) | Mexico City | Live event | June 22, 1979 | [26][27] | |||||||||
| El Faraón andRingo Mendoza (hair) | El Nazi and Adorable Rubí (hair) | Mexico City | 24. Aniversario de Arena México | April 7, 1980 | [14][27] | |||||||||
| Halcón Ortiz (mask) | Adorable Rubí (hair) | Mexico City, Mexico | Live event | June 18, 1982 | [28] | |||||||||
| Halcón Ortiz (mask) | Adorable Rubí (hair) | Mexico City | Live event | December 10, 1982 | [28] | |||||||||
| Ringo Mendoza,César Curiel and Rey Salomón (hair) | Tony Benetto, Herodes and Adorable Rubí (hair) | Mexico City | Live event | December 10, 1982 | [27][29] | |||||||||
| Perro Aguayo (hair) | Adorable Rubí (hair) | Naucalpan, State of Mexico | Live event | May 1989 | [21] |
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
