 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jesús Cristóbal Martínez Rodriguez[6] (1975-07-25)July 25, 1975 (age 50)[4] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | The Chrizh[1] Cristobal Martinez Jesus Cristobal Junior La Parka Negra (I) Neurosis El Zorro Zorro |
| Billed height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[2] |
| Billed weight | 91 kg (201 lb)[3] |
| Billed from | Guadalajara, Mexico[3] Sevilla, Spain |
| Trained by | Jorge Rodríguez[4] Flash[4] |
| Debut | October 2, 1993[5] |
Jesús Cristóbal Martínez Rodriguez[6] (born July 25, 1975)[4] is a Mexicanluchador (professional wrestler) who is best known asEl Zorro. His gimmick started out very similar to the fictional characterZorro complete with mask, but in recent years it has evolved and the mask has been eliminated. He is best known for his work in theLucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) promotion in Mexico, where he is a formerAAA Mega Champion. He has in the past worked both in Europe, Japan and made a few brief appearances for theWorld Wrestling Federation showWWF Super Astros. He was the "Deputy leader" of theLa Legión Extranjerafaction headed byKonnan. In December 2012, Martínez was repackaged asLa Parka Negra, the storyline nemesis ofLa Parka. He returned as El Zorro in October 2013, before departing the company in February 2017.
Martínez made his debut at age 17 at the "Plaza de Toros Jorge Rivera" inZapopan, Jalisco working as anEnmascarado (masked wrestler) calledNeurosis. In 1995 he changed identities and began working using another maskedgimmick known asJunior instead. While working as "Junior" he managed to win the Occidente Light Heavyweight Championship from but lost his mask to Cesar Dantés (Younger brother ofApolo Dantés). In 1996 he began to work for the short lived "Promo Azteca" where he adopted theEl Zorro gimmick. In Promo Azteca he teamed up with another young wrestler,Tarzan Boy and won the WWO World Tag Team Championship.[7] When Azteca folded Rodriquez began working for various companies all over Mexico, he even found himself making a couple of appearances on theWorld Wrestling Federation's Latin basedSuper Astros where he worked as Jesus Cristobal, essentially using the Zorro gimmick but without the mask.[8]
Zorro began working for AAA, later known asLucha Libre AAA Worldwide some time near the beginning of the century, mostly working low card matches. In 2002 Zorro won theUWA World Light Heavyweight Championship, his first of five reigns with the title.[9] Not long after winning the UWA title Zorro defeatedHéctor Garza to also win theMexican National Heavyweight Championship, thus becoming a double champion.[10] Zorro's first big storyline with AAA was afeud withMr. Águila over both the UWA Light Heavyweight title and the National Heavyweight titles, resulting in the two trading the titles back and forth several times in 2003 and 2004.[9][10]
After the storyline with Mr. Águila ended Zorro was put together withCharly Manson, a member ofLa Secta del Mesías (the biggestrudo or "villain" group in AAA) who wanted the Mexican National Heavyweight title. Zorro kept the title away from Manson until the two met atTriplemania XIV inside asteel cage. In order to get the match Manson was forced to put his hair on the line making it aLuchas de Apuestas ("Bet fight") where the loser would get his hair shaved off. The match saw interference fromLa Secta del Mesías giving the victory and the National title to Manson.[10][11]
After shaving off Zorro's hairLa Secta del Mesías placed a black mask on Zorro's head (One similar to Slipknot's Mick Thomsons Mask), the storyline was that the mask had an ancientMayan curse on it and could not just be removed.[12] In the weeks afterLa Secta put the mask on Zorro he seemed more erratic and not in control of himself.[12] The storyline progressed with Manson revealing that he had mental control over Zorro through the mask and used that control to have Zorro turn on his friends and do his bidding. The mind-control aspects of the story were dropped and instead they explained it by the mask having a bad influence on Zorro. When Manson leftLa Secta and joined up withLos Hell Brothers, turningtecnico ("good guy") in the process and the storyline with Zorro hit a dead end as there was no possible payoff left any more. Eventually the writing staff figured out a way to end the "trapped in a mask" storyline by having Zorro overcome the "evil influences" so that he could remove the mask and present it to the leader ofLos Hell Brothers (Cibernético) as a proof of his good intentions.
After removing the mask Zorro's character seemed a bit rougher, he his beard and hair had grown wilder while he wore the mask and he seemed more vicious in his attacks on the heels.[12] After a while Zorro shaved and had his hair cut, reverting to the persona he had before the "evil mask" storyline began.
At the 2007Verano de Escandalo Zorro teamed withLos Hell Brothers in aDomo De La Muerte cage match against the Black Family. Zorro escaped early on in the match leaving his team at a disadvantage. AfterLos Hell Brothers won the match a man came to the ring wearing the "iron mask" but that turned out to be Konnan. When Zorro appeared on the scene moments later he turned on thetecnicos, attacking them with akendo stick.[13] After the show Zorro claimed that he was shown the light; he was actually aSpaniard, not Mexican, and was against the Mexican contingent in AAA. Joining Konnan'sLa Legión Extranjera ("Foreign Legion"), El Zorro dubbed himself "El Profeta de la Lucha Libre" ("The Prophet of Wrestling") and, as part of his new character, began making prophecies, often accurately predicting future events.[12]
After Zorro's turn it became more and more obvious that Konnan considered El Zorro his "main man", the two even turned onAAA Mega ChampionEl Mesias and La Secta when Mesias did not want to grant Zorro a title match. The storyline lead to a three-way world title match between Zorro, El Mesias and Cibernético atGuerra de Titanes. During the match Cibernético receivedsecond and third burns to his back afterLa Legión put him through a table on fire (Cibernético was legitimately injured, it was not planned).[14] At a television show taping a few weeks later a storyline played out where El Zorro and the rest ofLa Legión Extranjera attacked and injured El Mesias so bad that he was hospitalized. This was a storyline constructed to cover up the fact that El Mesias was returning to his nativePuerto Rico for a few months. In the absence of both El Mesias and Cibernético Zorro became a main eventer, declaring himself the "Apostle of wrestling" (a play off Mesias claiming to be the Messiah of wrestling and Cibernético claiming to be a wrestling god). In early 2008 Zorro won the annualRey de Reyes tournament defeatingAbismo Negro,Mr. Niebla andAlan Stone in the finals.[15] The night Zorro became the 2008 Rey de Reyes Cibernético also made his triumphant return, defeating El Mesias in the main event to win the AAA Mega title.[15] Zorro immediately laid claim to the title, becoming the number one contender due to his Rey de Reyes victory. Zorro got his chance in the main event ofTriplemania XVI on June 13, 2008 but lost to Cibernético.[16] Zorro was also unsuccessful in his bid for the World title at the 2008Antonio Peña Memorial show where he lost a triangle match that also includedChessman.[17]
When Cibernético left AAA shortly after the memorial show the World title became vacant and Zorro immediately began campaigning for the title. With Konnan being in charge of the promotion after having won the storyline control of the company he booked El Zorro in a match against El Mesias for the vacant world title. As an added stipulation El Mesias would have to become a member ofLa Legión and do their bidding should he lose. the two met atGuerra de Titanes where Zorro was once again defeated in a world title match.[18]
AtTriplemania XVII, El Zorro turned on the Legion during the main event of the show. El Zorro came out wearing his old mask, handed Joaquin Roldan his kendo stick to help him keep Konnan from interfering in the main event. Keeping Konnan from interfering helped Roldan's Team AAA to win the match and take control of AAA away from the Legion.[19] In October El Zorro once again turnedrudo and re-joinedLa Legion Extranjera.[20] In the summer of 2010La Legión Extranjera merged withLos Perros del Mal,La Milicia andLos Maniacos to formLa Sociedad.[21][22] Afterwards, El Zorro, teaming with hisLegión stablemateHernandez, began feuding withLa Hermandad 187 (Nicho el Millonario andJoe Líder). On September 14 El Zorro and Hernandez defeatedLa Hermandad 187 via disqualification and afterwards beat them down, injuring Nicho and ruining his and Líder's upcoming rematch for theAAA World Tag Team Championship.[23] The feud came to an end on October 30, 2010, when El Zorro defeated Nicho in aLucha de Apuestaweapons match to take his hair.[24] After spending years working as amidcard talent, El Zorro was placed in a main event storyline in November 2010, when he teamed up withtechnico and AAA Mega ChampionDr. Wagner, Jr. in the 2010 Lucha Libre Premierparejas increibles tournament.[25] After reaching the semifinals of the tournament, El Zorro turned on Wagner, Jr. and challenged him to a match for the World Heavyweight Championship atGuerra de Titanes.[26][27] On November 28 El Zorro, Dr. Wagner, Jr., El Mesías and Electroshock faced each other in the Lucha Libre Premier semifinal four-way match. After eliminating Electroshock and Wagner, Jr., El Zorro and El Mesías faced each other in the final match, with El Mesías coming out victorious.[28] In the days leading up toGuerra de Titanes, El Zorro made another prophecy, saying that he was going to leave the event with the AAA Mega Championship.[29] On December 5 atGuerra de Titanes El Zorro defeated Dr. Wagner, Jr. with help from hisLa Sociedad stable mates to win the AAA Mega Championship for the first time.[30] In January 2011, Martínez confirmed that he had signed a two-year non-exclusive contract withAmerican promotionTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), with whom AAA had a working relationship with, and was just waiting for a start date with the promotion.[31][32][33] He, however, never made his debut for TNA. El Zorro made his first title defense on March 18, 2011, atRey de Reyes, defeatingLos Bizarros member Charly Manson, who had recently been tormenting him by hinting at a return of the iron mask.[34] Meanwhile, El Zorro'sLa Sociedad stablemate L.A. Park had earned himself a shot at the AAA Mega Championship, but Konnan, wanting to avoid dissension within his group, denied him his shot and instead named Manson the number one contender at Rey de Reyes. Following the event, El Zorro, having caught wind of Park's intention of going for his title, seemingly started interfering in Park's matches under his old mask, costing him back–to–back multi–man tag team matches at the April 27 and 30 TV tapings.[35][36] On May 18, the rest ofLa Sociedad turned on El Zorro, after which Konnan announced that his new business partner, TNA founderJeff Jarrett, would be challenging for his title atTriplemanía XIX.[37] It was later revealed that the man who had attacked Park under El Zorro's mask was actually Charly Manson, who had been sent by Cibernético to cause dissension within the ranks ofLa Sociedad.[38]
On June 18 at Triplemanía XIX, El Zorro lost the AAA Mega Championship to Jarrett.[39] At the July 9 tapings, El Zorro accepted Dr. Wagner, Jr.'s offer and joined the AAAtechnicos in the informalEjército AAA ("AAA Army") stable.[40] However, at the following taping on July 16, members ofLa Sociedad attacked El Zorro after a match and once again forced the iron mask over his head.[12] On July 31 atVerano de Escándalo, someone dressed as El Zorro, including wearing his mask, interfered in the AAA Mega Championship match, helping Jarrett retain the title by hitting L.A. Park with his signature guitar.[41] This person was later revealed asLa Sociedad member Chessman, whom Konnan had sent to interfere in the match in order to have Park go after El Zorro instead of continuing to chase his stablemate's title.[42] El Zorro continued representing AAA in matches againstLa Sociedad throughout 2012.[43]
On December 2, 2012, atGuerra de Titanes, Martínez made his debut as the masked "La Parka Negra",[44] therudo counterpart ofLa Parka, in a six-man tag team match, where he,Pentagón Jr. andSilver King, were defeated by La Parka,Octagón,Octagón Jr.[45][46] The storyline rivalry between La Parka Negra and La Parka heated up during AAA's first television taping of 2013 on January 18, when La Parka Negra andEl Hijo del Perro Aguayo defeated La Parka and Cibernético in aNo Disqualification match, during which La Parka Negra bloodied his rival after hitting him with a light tube.[47][48]
In a twist, El Zorro returned to AAA on October 18, 2013, atHéroes Inmortales VII, during a first round match in the 2013Copa Antonio Peña between La Parka and La Parka Negra,[49] who was now portrayed by the formerÚltimo Gladiador.[50] After walking around the ringside area, El Zorro slid his signature kendo stick inside the ring without making it clear who the weapon was meant for. La Parka ended up getting his hands on the weapon and used it to win the match.[51][52] On December 8 atGuerra de Titanes, El Zorro turnedrudo and joined the reformedLa Sociedad.[53] El Zorro later explained the turn, claiming that Konnan was the only person who cared for him and that he and the originalLa Sociedad were only trying to make him stronger, when the group turned on him in May 2011.[54]
On January 22, 2016, atGuerra de Titanes, El Zorro,Dark Cuervo andDark Scoria won the vacantAAA World Trios Championship.[55] They lost the title to OGT (Averno, Chessman andRicky Marvin) on November 4.[56] In February 2017, El Zorro left AAA.[57]
Following his departure from AAA, El Zorro began working for The Crash, where he became part ofPenta Zero M'sLa Rebelión stable, made up of former AAA wrestlers.[58]
On June 29, 2018 Martínez worked his first match for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre in over 18 years,[59] working under the name "The Chrizh". He teamed up with Cibernético, billed as "Ciber the Main Main" and "Sharlie Rock Star" (formerly Charly Manson), forming a trio known as "Klan Kaoz" (later renamed to "The Cl4n"). The trio made their CMLL debut in the main event of CMLL's weeklySuper Viernes show, losing toCarístico,Valiente and Volador Jr.[1] At theCMLL 85th Anniversary Show on September 14, 2018, The Cl4n defeatedLos Guerreros Laguneros (Euforia,Gran Guerrero andÚltimo Guerrero) to win theCMLL World Trios Championship.[60]
| Winner (wager) | Loser (wager) | Location | Event | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| César Dantés (hair) | Junior (mask) | Guadalajara, Jalisco | Live event | Unknown | |
| El Zorro (hair) | César Dantés (hair) | Guadalajara, Jalisco | Live event | Unknown | |
| El Zorro (hair) | El Texano (hair) | Tijuana, Baja California | Live event | November 30, 2001 | [Note 1] |
| El Zorro (hair) | El Brazo (hair) | Morelos, Mexico | Live event | November 25, 2002 | |
| El Zorro (hair) | Hijo del Enfermero (hair) | Tijuana, Baja California | Live event | July 11, 2003 | |
| Charly Manson (hair) | El Zorro (hair) | Naucalpan, Mexico State | Triplemanía XIV | June 18, 2006 | [Note 2] |
| El Zorro (hair) | Chessman (hair) | Naucalpan, Mexico State | Antonio Peña Memorial Show (2007) | October 7, 2007 | [64][Note 3] |
| El Zorro (hair) | Nicho el Millonario (hair) | Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua | Live events | October 30, 2010 | [Note 4][24] |
