| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Antonio Sánchez Rendón (1954-09-04)September 4, 1954 Ocotlán de Morelos,Oaxaca, Mexico |
| Died | 5 June 2024(2024-06-05) (aged 69) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | El Signo Piromaniaco |
| Billed height | 1.72 m (5 ft7+1⁄2 in) |
| Billed weight | 98 kg (216 lb) |
| Trained by | Billy Robinson Chamaco Azteca El Carnicero |
| Debut | September 16, 1971 |
| Retired | March 17, 2013 |
Antonio Sánchez Rendón (born September 4, 1954 — June 6, 2024)[1] was a Mexicanluchador, orprofessional wrestler, best known under thering nameEl Signo (Spanish for "The Symbol"). Rendón was part ofLos Misioneros de la Muerte ("The Missionaries of Death") withNegro Navarro andEl Texano a team that is credited with popularizing theTrios match in Mexico to the point that it became the most common match in Mexican Lucha Libre. Sánchez made his professional wrestling debut in 1971 and officially retired in 2010, after 38 years of active competition. At least one of Sánchez's children is also a professional wrestler, working under the nameHijo del Signo ("Son of the Sign", born 1985) since 2008.
Most wrestlers in Mexico try to maintain a separation between their professional career and their personal life, which is also true of Antonio Sánchez Rendón, confirming only the most basic details of his life such as birth age and location etc. He was born on September 4, 1954, inOcotlán de Morelos,Oaxaca,Mexico, and trained for his professional wrestling career underBilly Robinson, Chamaco Azteca and El Carnicero. Sánchez has at least one child, a son born in 1985 who now wrestled as theenmascarado, or masked characterHijo del Signo, but since he is anenmascarado his birth name is reported on out of respect of lucha libre traditions.[2][3] It is not documented if he has other children or if he was still married to the mother of Hijo del Signo.
Sánchez made his professional wrestling debut on September 16, 1971, a few weeks after turning 17 years old. He began wrestling as theenmascarado character "El Signo" ("The Sign"), wearing a mask (most often black) with an upside downquestion mark on the front of it.[4] Sánchez started his wrestling career in the lighter weight divisions, often in the Lightweight or Welterweight divisions, where the official limits were around 70 kg (150 lb) and 78 kg (172 lb).[5] In 1974 El Signo lost aLuchas de Apuestas, or bet match to Gatúbedo and as a result was forced to unmask and reveal his birth name as perLucha Libre traditions.[4] While he had unmasked he retained thering name El Signo and began working for theUniversal Wrestling Association (UWA), one of two major wrestling promotions in Mexico (the other beingEmpresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL)). In the UWA he defeatedEl Matemático to win theUWA World Lightweight Championship, his first championship ever.[6] During that time period he formed a regulartag team with Lobo Rubio, and the two hand an extendedstoryline feud with the team of El Matemático andBlack Man that started with the UWA title match and came to an end on January 29, 1978, when Signo and Lobo Rubio lost a tag teamLuchas de Apuestas match and both were forced to be shaved bald as a result.[4] In late 1978 El Signo vacated the UWA World Lightweight Championship for unexplained reasons, although the most likely being that he moved up into the Welterweight division and was too heavy to be considered a Lightweight. On June 24, 1979, El Signo won theUWA World Welterweight Championship fromBobby Lee, fully establishing him as a Welterweight wrestler.[7]
In the late 1970s the UWA promoters were noticing that rival EMLL had achieved financial and critical success with their lighter divisions, often having Lightweights or Welterweights in their main events while the UWA relied primarily on their heavyweight division for their main event matches. promoterFrancisco Flores wanted to develop his own group of smaller, faster wrestlers into top level competitors and came up with the idea to team El Signo up with two similar sized wrestlers Miguel Calderón Navarro, known asNegro Navarro and Juan Conrado Aguilar Jáuregui, who was working under the nameEl Texano, forming a trie known asLos Misioneros de la Muerte ("The Missionaries of Death"). They were paired up against another trio of young, lightweight and high flying wrestlers, a trio of brothers dubbedLos Mosqueteros de Diablo (The Devil's Musketeers),Brazo de Oro ("Golden Hand"),Brazo de Plata ("Silver Arm") andEl Brazo ("The Arm"). Early on in the storyline Brazo de Oro defeated El Texano in aLuchas de Apuestas, or bet match, which forced El Texano to unmask. The storyline expanded and saw the unmasked Misionaros clash with the masked Mosqueteros on UWA promoted cards all over Mexico. The fan reception to those matches and the positive coverage in various Lucha Libre magazines was so big that other promoters around Mexico wanted to book them on their shows, not as individuals but as teams, which was the start of the trios match becoming more and more prominent in Lucha Libre. With the team being so in demand UWA started to feature Los Misioneros more often that by 1981Los Misioneros began working high on the card, often working the main event match starting a trend of having trios matches instead of singles matches as the regular main event match format, something that helped make that match format the most common match type in Lucha Libre since then.[3][8]
In 1981 theLos Misioneros de la Muerte name became a household name after a match inEl Toreo de Quatro Caminos, UWA's main venue. During the main eventLos Misioneros faced off against then 64-year-oldEl Santo, who was teaming up withHuracán Ramírez andRayo de Jalisco. During the match El Santo collapsed in the middle of the ring, suffering a heart attack after a hard blow to the chest. His life was only saved due to the actions of Ramírez who administered CPR at ringside.[9] After the match the Lucha Libre magazine, prompted by Francisco Flores, played off the real life tragedy by promotingLos Misioneros as the team that nearly killed the biggest name in Lucha Libre ever.[9] The event made the team the most hated trio in Mexico for years to come and helped fillEl Torero arena to the brim whenLos Misioneros teamed up withPerro Aguayo to face El Santo,Gory Guerrero, Huracán Ramírez andEl Solitario in El Santo's retirement match.[9][10] Following Santo's retirementLos Misioneros feuded with the topfaces (wrestlers portraying "good guy" characters) such asLos Tres Caballero (Aníbal, El Solitario andVillano III) both in trios and in individual competition. During the storyline El Solitario turned on his two partners, when he attacked El Signo with a bottle and costingLos Tres Caballeros an important match. The attack made the smallerLos Misioneros more sympathetic to the crowd, who began to support them more and more despiteLos Misioneros being booked on the shows asheel characters ("bad guys"). On June 10, 1983, El Signo won theUWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship from El Solitario as part of their long running storyline, marking the third division El Signo had won the UWA title in.[11] He would later be stripped of the title for making an unsanctioned title defense on a non-UWA show.[11] Their popularity as a trio also led to them being invited to tourJapan, facing off againstNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) light weight wrestlers such asGran Hamada,Tiger Mask,George Takano,Akira Maeda andOsamu Kido.
In 1984Los Misioneros won theUWA World Trios Championship for the first time, although it is not documented for exactly how long.[12] On January 1, 1985, Negro Navarro won his first singles championship, theUWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship, when he defeated the then championAníbal. The title run only lasted 50 days, ending on February 25, 1985, when he lost toMano Negra.[11] In the mid-1980s the "War" between the UWA and EMLL had cooled off enough forLos Misionerios to actually wrestle on theEMLL 53rd Anniversary Show, losing a triosLuchas de Apuestas toRingo Mendoza,Américo Rocca andTony Salazar.[13][14] Los Misionerios regained the UWA World Trios Championship in 1987 defeatingLos Villanos (Villano III,Villano IV andVillano V), after what was considered the "peak" ofLos Misionerios. With an influx of other popular trios both in the UWA and in Mexico in generalLos Misioneros days on the top of the Trios scene came to an end, which was followed by the end ofLos Missioneros de la Muerte in its original form. During a UWA World Trios Championship match againstLos Villanos El Texano threw in the towel to save his partner El Signo any more punishment. After the match and title loss his partners turned on El Texano and attacked him after the match. The attack was done primarily to write El Texano out of the UWA storyline as he had given notice that he was leaving.
UWA Promoter Francisco Flores decided to try to keep theLos Misioneros de la Muerte team active even after the departure of El Texano and experimented with a number of different partners for Navarro and El Signo. Teaming with the masked wrestler Black PowerLos Misioneros defeatedLos Villanos (Villano I, Villano IV and Villano V) to win the UWA Trios Championship. Negro Navarro won theUWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship from Shu El Guerrero on December 27, 1993, and would hold that title until the promotion closed in 1995.[11] The trio held on to the Trios Championship for 454 days, until May 1, 1993, where they lost them to El Engendro, Shu El Guerrero andScorpio, Jr., they regained the championship later that year, on December 25 and held them into 1994 where they lost the belts back to Engendro, Shu el Guerrero and Scorpio, Jr.[12] Black Power was later replaced by Rocky Santana and that version ofLos Misioneros did win the UWA World Trios Championship on two occasions, holding the distinction of being the last team to hold the titles before the UWA closed in 1995.[12] After the end of the UWALos Misioneros made a few appearances forAAA, UWA's successor of sorts and one of the two biggest wrestling promotions in Mexico along with CMLL. The appearances included a match atTriplemanía III-A where a version ofLos Misioneros (Navarro, Signo and a masked wrestler called "Misionero") defeated the team ofEl Torero, El Mexicano andDragón de Oro.[15]
After the closure of the UWA in 1995 Negro Navarro and El Signo split up, going their separate ways on the Independent circuit, only teaming together for special occasions. Signo joined AAA and was given a new ring character, a masked heel character called "Piromaniaco" (Pyromaniac) but he only made a few appearances under that name before reverting to his unmasked El Signo identity. In 1996 El Signo began working forConsejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL; previously known as EMLL) during a time where CMLL were given the rights to theMexican National Trios Championship by the Mexican boxing and wrestling commission. El Signo teamed up withBlue Panther andFuerza Guerrera, two wrestlers with a similar background and age to compete in the tournament for the titles. On July 6, 1996, the team defeated El Brazo, Brazo de Plata and Super Electra in the tournament finals to win the championship.[16] During his time in CMLL he had an occasion to team up with Negro Navarro again, for theSalvador Lutteroth Memorial Tag Tournament held as part ofConsejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL; formerly known as EMLL)'s 1999Homenaje a Dos Leyendas: El Santo y Salvador Lutteroth show on March 19, 1999. Navarro and El Signo teamed up to represent the "old school" wrestlers of Lutteroth's era and defeatedOlímpico andTony Rivera in the first round of the tournament. In the semi-finals they lost to eventual tournament winnersMr. Niebla andShocker.[17] El Signo stopped working full-time for CMLL in 1999 or 2000, despite still being part of the Mexican National Trios Championship team, leaving the title to be mainly inactive and not highly promoted. El Signo made a special appearance for CMLL on March 3, 2001, on theirJuicio Final ("Final Justice") show, losing the Mexican National Trios Championship to Mr. Niebla,Olímpico andSafari.[18] In 2003 El Signo worked a number of matches for AAA, including a match where the originalLos Misioneros were reunited for AAA's 2003Guerra de Titanes show where they defeated El Brazo,Sangre Chicana andPirata Morgan.[19] In the following years El Signo primarily worked on the Mexican independent circuit, wrestling other wrestlers who were considered "Old School", wrestlers who made their debut in the mid-1980s or before. He had a number of matches against Villano III, including at least two occasions where he lost aLuchas de Apuestas against him.[20] El Signo had his last professional wrestling match on May 1, 2010, as he participated in a ten-mansteel cage match that was the main event of the "El Signo Retirement Show" in Arena Neza. The match saw Halcon Dorado, Jr. lose the match and was forced to unmask.
| Winner (wager) | Loser (wager) | Location | Event | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gatúbedo (mask) | El Signo (mask) | Naucalpan, State of Mexico | UWA show | 1974 | [4] |
| El Cobarde II (mask) | El Signo (hair) | N/A | Live event | N/A | [4] |
| El Texano (hair) | El Signo (hair) | Naucalpan, State of Mexico | UWA show | N/A | [4] |
| Perro Aguayo (hair) | El Signo (hair) | Naucalpan, State of Mexico | UWA show | N/A | [24] |
| Rambo (hair) | El Signo (hair) | Naucalpan, State of Mexico | UWA Live event | N/A | [4] |
| El Signo (hair) | La Gacela (hair) | N/A | Live event | November 20, 1977 | [4] |
| Black Man andEl Matemático (masks) | El Signo and Lobo Rubio (hair) | Naucalpan, State of Mexico | UWA show | January 29, 1978 | [4] |
| El Signo (hair) | Gran Hamada (hair) | Naucalpan, State of Mexico | UWA show | December 17, 1978 | [4] |
| Gran Hamada,Enrique Vera andKobayashi (hair) | Los Misioneros de la Muerte (hair) (El Signo,El Texano and Negro Navarro) | Mexico City | UWA show | June 7, 1981 | [4][25] |
| Los Misioneros de la Muerte (hair) (El Signo,El Texano and Negro Navarro) | Takano,Saito andKobayashi (hair) | Mexico City | UWA show | June 13, 1982 | [4] |
| Villano III (mask) | El Signo (hair) | Naucalpan, State of Mexico | UWA show | August 1, 1982 | [20] |
| El Solitario (mask) | El Signo (hair) | Tijuana, Baja California | UWA show | June 12, 1983 | [4] |
| Babe Face (hair) | El Signo (hair) | Naucalpan, State of Mexico | UWA show | June 24, 1984 | [Note 2] |
| Los Misioneros de la Muerte (hair) (El Signo,El Texano and Negro Navarro) | El Dandy,Talismán andJerry Estrada (hair) | Mexico City | UWA show | September 5, 1986 | [26] |
| Ringo Mendoza,Américo Rocca andTony Salazar (hair) | Los Misioneros de la Muerte (hair) (El Signo,El Texano and Negro Navarro) | Mexico City | EMLL 53rd Anniversary Show | September 19, 1986 | [13][14] |
| El Signo (hair) | Kato Kung Lee (hair) | Naucalpan, State of Mexico | UWA 14th Anniversary Show | January 29, 1989 | [4][27][28] |
| Enrique Vera (hair) | El Signo (hair) | Naucalpan, State of Mexico | Live event | March 4, 1990 | [4] |
| Brazo de Oro (hair) | El Signo (hair) | Mexico City | Live event | November 28, 1990 | [4] |
| El Signo (hair) | El Engendro (hair) | Mexico City | Live event | July 19, 1993 | [4] |
| Latin Lover (hair) | El Signo (hair) | Naucalpan, State of Mexico | Live event | May 1, 1994 | [4] |
| Villano III (mask) | El Signo (hair) | Puebla, Puebla | Live event | July 25, 1994 | [20] |
| Ringo Mendoza (hair) | El Signo (hair) | Mexico City | Live event | September 6, 1998 | [4] |
| El Signo (hair) | Brazo de Oro (hair) | Oaxaca, Oaxaca | Live event | February 11, 2001 | [4] |
| El Signo (hair) | Challenger (mask) | Oaxaca, Oaxaca | Live event | March 18, 2001 | [4] |
| El Signo (hair) | Challenger (hair) | Oaxaca, Oaxaca | Live event | March 25, 2001 | [4] |
| El Signo (hair) | Ray Alcántara (hair) | Oaxaca, Oaxaca | Live event | June 10, 2001 | [4] |
| Villano III (hair) | El Signo (hair) | Mexico City | Live event | July 29, 2001 | [4][20] |
| El Solar (mask) | El Signo (hair) | Pachuca, Hidalgo | Live event | December 17, 2002 | [4] |
| Justiciero (hair) | El Signo (hair) | Coacalco, State of Mexico | Live event | June 1, 2003 | [4] |
| Villano III (hair) | El Signo (hair) | Querétaro, Querétaro | Live event | August 13, 2004 | [20] |
| Villano III (hair) | El Signo (hair) | Naucalpan, State of Mexico | Live event | January 16, 2005 | [Note 3][20] |
| El Dandy (hair) | El Signo (hair) | Pachuca, Hidalgo | Live event | September 14, 2009 | [Note 4] |
Articulo 242: "Ligero 70 kilos / Welter 78 kilos"
