 Garza posing on the ring ropes during an entrance in 2010 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Héctor Solano Segura (1969-06-12)June 12, 1969[1] Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico |
| Died | May 26, 2013(2013-05-26) (aged 43)[2] Punta Allen, Quintana Roo, Mexico |
| Cause of death | Lung cancer[2] |
| Children | El Sultán (son) |
| Parent | Humberto Garza (father) |
| Relatives |
|
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name | Héctor Garza |
| Billed height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1] |
| Billed weight | 95 kg (209 lb)[1] |
| Billed from | Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico[1] |
| Trained by | |
| Debut | September 4, 1992[1] |
| Retired | October 7, 2012 |
Héctor Solano Segura (June 12, 1969 – May 26, 2013) was a Mexicanprofessional wrestler, better known by thering nameHéctor Garza. During his career he worked for various major Mexicanprofessional wrestling promotions such asConsejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL),Perros del Mal Producciones and, at the time of death,AAA. Garza also worked for several major promotions such asWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW), theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF) andTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) in the United States.
Solano was a second-generation wrestler, son of Humberto Garza. His own son, known as El Sultán, also became a professional wrestler after Garza's death. The extended Garza family includesAngel Garza andHumberto Carrillo (formerly known as Último Ninja). In 2017 Garza Jr. adopted a ring persona similar to that of Solano, paying homage to his uncle'srudo ("bad guy") persona and wrestling style.
At the time of his death, Garza was in the middle of his second reign with theMexican National Heavyweight Championship. He had also won theCMLL World Heavyweight Championship, theCMLL World Tag Team Championship three times, theCMLL World Trios Championship five times in CMLL and theIWC World Heavyweight Championship, theMexican National Light Heavyweight Championship and theMexican National Tag Team Championship. He was posthumously inducted in theAAA Hall of Fame.
After being trained by his uncle Mario Segura, and Mr. Lince and Blue Fish, Solano made hisprofessional wrestling debut in 1992, using thering name "Héctor Garza", after his father who worked as Humberto Garza.[1] He initially wrestled forFederacion Internacional de Lucha Libre (FILL; "International Wrestling Federation" in Spanish) promotion in Monterrey, Nuevo León.[1] As Garza, his first prominent storyline feud played out in 1993 as he was paired with El Sanguinario ("The Bloodthirsty One"), who portrayed a ruthlessrudo (a "heel character", those that portray the "bad guys" in wrestling),[3] juxtaposed with the young, fan-friendlytécnico (or "face character", those who portray the "good guys"). On June 6, 1993, Garza won his firstLucha de Apuestas, or "Bet match", when he defeated El Sanguinario to force El Sanguinario to be shaved bald as a result.[4] Two months later, Garza defeated Sanguinario once more, this time to win the FILL Light Heavyweight Championship.[5]
After his local success in Monterrey,Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) hired him to work nationally instead, joining the world's oldest professional wrestling promotion as part of CMLL's rebuilding after a split that led to the creation ofAsistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA). He was put over veteranrudos likeBestia Salvaje andSatánico in hair matches and Garza quickly became one of the top técnicos in the company. In the following year, he teamed withDos Caras andLa Fiera to win theCMLL World Trios Championship,[6] and lost toEmilio Charles Jr. in the final of theLa Copa Junior, a tournament for second-generation wrestlers.[7]
When Garza joined AAA, he was also able to work for the US-basedWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF) through AAA's working agreement.[8] His first televised WWF appearance saw him defeatT.L. Hopper on an episode ofSuperstars.[9] At the 1997Royal Rumblepay-per-view show Garza teamed up withEl Canek andPerro Aguayo to defeatFuerza Guerrera,Heavy Metal andJerry Estrada.[8] He worked several more matches for the WWF, with his last appearance for the company taking place on March 10, 1997, where he,Latin Lover andOctagón lost toPentagón, Heavy Metal andPierroth on the 200th episode ofMonday Night Raw.[10]
In AAA he often worked as part of a trio known asLa Maquina del Amor ("The Love Machine") alongside Heavy Metal and Latin Lover, a group of young, good looking, fan favorites that were very popular with the female fans.[2] All three members ofLa Maquina del Amor qualified for the 1997Rey de Reyes tournament along with Octagón, which Latin Lover won.[11][12] Later that year Garza teamed up withSuper Nova for the "Young Stars" tag team tournament. In the first round the duo defeated May Flowers and Pentagón, but lost to Fuerza Guerra andMosco de la Merced in the semi-finals.[13]
The AAA/WWF collaboration ended in mid-1997, which led to many AAA workers wrestling for WWF's rival,World Championship Wrestling (WCW), later in the year.[14] Garza made his WCW debut on May 20 by defeatingPsychosis at alive event. He made his televised debut in WCW on the May 26 episode ofMonday Nitro by teaming withJuventud Guerrera andSuper Calo to defeatCiclope,Damien andLa Parka in a six-man tag team match. His first televised singles match in WCW took place on the June 7 episode ofSaturday Night againstBilly Kidman, which Garza won. The young Garza would become known in WCW for his twirling turnbuckle to floorplancha called the "corkscrew plancha".[1] On the June 30 episode ofNitro, Garza received his first title shot in WCW as he unsuccessfully challengedLord Steven Regal for theWorld Television Championship.[15] The following month, he made his first pay-per-view appearance in WCW atBash at the Beach, where he teamed with Juventud Guerrera andLizmark Jr. to defeatLa Parka, Psychosis andVillano IV.[16]
On the September 22 episode ofNitro, Garza enjoyed the biggest moment of his WCW career by scoring an upset victory overScott Hall. The victory was played off as a "fluke" and Hall defeated Garza two weeks later onNitro in just over a minute as a follow-up to the storyline.[14] Garza competed in theWorld War 3 battle royal at thenamesake event for a futureWCW World Heavyweight Championship opportunity but failed to win the match. Garza continued to team with and compete against various luchadors in tag team matches and singles competition while alternating between WCW and Mexico. He took a hiatus from WCW in early 1998 and competed in his native Mexico throughout the year. He returned to WCW on the September 7 episode ofNitro by unsuccessfully challenging Juventud Guerrera for theCruiserweight Championship.
On the October 5 episode ofNitro,Eddie Guerrero interrupted a match between Garza andDamien and prevented luchadors from fighting each other and instead urging them to unite which resulted in the formation of Guerrero's new factionLatino World Order (lWo), consisting of the underutilized Mexican wrestlers on the WCW, with Garza joining in as one of the pioneer members of the group. The group began feuding withRey Misterio Jr. as he refused to join the lWo.[14] The following month, atWorld War 3, Garza participated in the namesake battle royal for a future World Heavyweight Championship opportunity but failed to win. LWO prematurely disbanded in 1999 after Guerrero was injured in a car accident and theNew World Order attacked various LWO members and threatened them to disband with the PresidentRic Flair urging them to disband the group and fight on WCW side with the promise of a better treatment thanEric Bischoff.
Following the dissolution of LWO, Garza resumed competing in WCW's lower mid-card, competing mostly against fellow luchadors while also serving as anenhancement talent to upper mid-card wrestlers. Garza's final televised match in WCW took place on the February 18 episode ofThunder, where he teamed withSilver King againstKonnan and Rey Misterio Jr. in a losing effort. Garza's last match for WCW took place at a live event on October 1, where he teamed with King to defeat Los Villanos (Villano IV andVillano V).[17] Garza was released from his WCW contract in November 1999 as part of mass releases including twenty-one other wrestlers due to budget cuts.
In late 1999, Garza returned to AAA where he became involved in a long-running storyline feud with Heavy Metal, Latin Lover andPerro Aguayo Jr. that would span several years. On December 26, 1999, Héctor Garza defeatedPirata Morgan to win theIWC World Heavyweight Championship, his first championship reign in AAA. 98 days later, Garza lost the championship back to Pirata Morgan.[18] Two months later Garza defeatedSangre Chicana to win theMexican National Light Heavyweight Championship on a show in his home town of Monterrey.[19]
As part of their ongoing storyline, Garza and Aguayo Jr. teamed up to defeatLos Vipers (Abismo Negro andElectroshock) to win theMexican National Tag Team Championship, starting a 61-day reign.[19] Their reign was ended byEl Texano and Pirata Morgan on September 8, 2000.[19] The four-way feud led to aLucha de Apuetas match between Garza and Heavy Metal as part of AAA's 2001Guerra de Titanes PPV. The match saw Garza pin Heavy Metal in the third and deciding fall, forcing Heavy Metal to have all of his hair shaved off.[2][20]
After the 2001Guerra de Titanes the feud shifted to focusing on Garza and Latin Lover instead. On May 5, 2002, Garza defeated Latin Lover to win theMexican National Heavyweight Championship as part of the escalating tension between the two.[21] On November 15, 2002, at that year'sGuerra de Titanes show, Garza, Latin Lover, Perro Aguayo Jr. andMr. Águila faced off in asteel cage match. Latin Lover defeated Garza, causing him to have his hair shaved off for the first time in his career.[22] On May 5, 2003, he lost the Mexican National Heavyweight Championship toE; Zorro, exactly one year after winning it.[21] On October 26, 2003, Garza lost anotherLucha de Apuestas match to Latin Lover, which turned out to be his last major storyline in AAA.[22]
In 2004, he returned to the United States forTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling during AAA's working agreement with the company. Along with Abismo Negro, Juventud Guerrera, Mr. Águila and later Heavy Metal, "Team Mexico" was successful in winning the America's X-Cup.[23] AfterTeam Canada was repackaged,Team Mexico became faces.[24] In June, he returned to CMLL.[25]
While the AAA-TNA deal was still in effect, Garza wrestled exclusively in Mexico. In CMLL, he helped Perro Aguayo Jr. adopt a "heel" character, becoming one of the "bad guys" in wrestling, and became involved in Aguayo's storyline feud with El Hijo del Santo. Eventually, he would help foundLa Furia del Norte withEl Terrible andTarzan Boy. Teaming with Tarzan and Terrible, La Furia chased after and defeated the CMLL Tríos championsBlack Warrior,El Canek andRayo de Jalisco Jr.[26] Meanwhile, in the United States, the AAA-TNA deal was terminated, which led to TNA to bringing Garza back. He returned forTNA Victory Road 2004, TNA's first three-hour pay-per-view when he won aTwenty Man X-Division Gauntlet.[27] The push continued with a match againstNWA World Heavyweight ChampionJeff Jarrett on TNA's weekly TV show.
After being deported for drug possession, he returned to working full-time in Mexico for CMLL. He teamed with Perro Aguayo Jr. againstLos Capos and became a major part of the new group,Los Perros del Mal along with members of La Furia del Norte, Los Pierroths andLa Familia de Tijuana. In August, Pierroth Jr. was ejected from the group and Garza volunteered to face him in a hair vs. hair match, which Garza won.[28] After theDr. Wagner Jr. vs.Atlantis mask vs. mask match fell through, CMLL decided to go with Héctor Garza and Perro Aguayo Jr. vs.Universo 2000 andMáscara Año 2000 double hair vs. hair match as the main event of theCMLL 72nd Anniversary Show. Three weeks before the show, Garza hit Máscara Año 2000 with a "Martinete" (tombstone piledriver). The match for the anniversary show was changed to a triangle match with Universo 2000 vs. Perro Aguayo Jr. vs. Héctor Garza where the last man to get pinned gets his hair shaved. In the end, Universo pinned Garza with help of a low blow from his brother, Cien Caras, and Pierroth's valet,La Nazi.[29]
In 2008 Garza began teaming withEl Hijo del Fantasma andLa Máscara and the trio quickly won the vacant CMLL World Trios Championship when they defeatedBlue Panther,Dos Caras Jr. andMístico in the finals of a tournament for the title.[30] The team lost, then regained the trios title to the team of Atlantis,Último Guerrero andNegro Casas.[31][32] In March 2010 signs of dissention amongst the team began showing as Garza left the ring during a trios match mistakenly thinking that one of his teammates had attacked him.[33] Following this Garza kept insincerely insisting that he was still atecnico and that his team was getting along great. Further doubts about Garza's allegiance arose when he teamed up with theRúdoPólvora for the 2010Gran Alternativa tournament. The team defeatedSensei and La Máscara in the first round with Garza showing no problems in going after his teammate. They also defeatedRey Cometa and Blue Panther as well asDiamante andLa Sombra to qualify for the finals. On theApril 30, 2010 Super Viernes Garza and Pólvora won the 2010Gran Alternativa when they defeatedDelta andVolador Jr.[34] When Garza, La Máscara and Hijo del Fantasma were booked for a CMLL World Trios defense the following week, Garza complained that his partners had agreed to the match without asking him, but swore that he would still be professional about it.[35] During the title defense on theMay 7, 2010 Super Viernes Garza attacked both Hijo del Fantasma and La Máscara, allowingLa Ola Amarillo (Hiroshi Tanahashi,Okumura andTaichi) to win the CMLL World Trios Championship, turning full blownRudo in the process.[36]
During a trios match with theLos Invasores team ofEl Alebrije,Histeria andManiaco going against Garza, Brazo de Plata and Toscano, Garza turned on his teammates and joinedLos Invasores. CMLL held a press conference on May 20, 2010, 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 Olímpico was part of theInvasores group. It was also announced that Garza and Mr. Águila were the co-leaders ofLos Invasores.[37] At theJuly 16, 2010 Super Viernes Héctor Garza and Mr. Águila defeated the team of La Sombra and Volador Jr. to win the CMLL World Tag Team Championship, Garza's third reign and Mr. Águila's first reign.[38] On November 2, 2010, Garza and Águila lost the CMLL World Tag Team Championship toDragón Rojo Jr. and Último Guerrero.[39]
On January 4, 2011, Garza made his debut forNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) atWrestle Kingdom V in Tokyo Dome, where he andJushin Thunder Liger were defeated byMáscara Dorada and La Sombra in a tag team match.[40][41] Garza returned for a tour of New Japan on July 8, 2011.[42] His tour of the promotion concluded on July 18, when he was defeated byCMLL World Middleweight Champion, Jushin Thunder Liger in a non-title match.[43] Upon Garza's return to CMLL, he turnedtechnico and leftLos Invasores.[44] On August 12, Garza defeated Último Guerrero to win theCMLL World Heavyweight Championship for the first time.[45]
On November 11, 2011, Garza held a press conference, announcing that he had left CMLL and joined Perro Aguyao Jr.'sPerros del Mal Producciones as a member of thePerros del Mal stable. Before leaving CMLL, Garza handed the World Heavyweight Championship belt back to the promotion.[46] Behind the scenes, Garza had offered to lose the title to El Terrible prior to leaving the promotion, but CMLL refused to allow him to wrestle another match.[47] Garza made his debut for the promotion on November 13, when he ran in to save Perro Aguayo Jr.,Damián 666,Halloween andX-Fly fromLos Psycho Circus,Nosawa and Zumbi.[48] The following day, Garza returned to AAA, when he, along with members ofLos Perros del Mal, attackedEl Mesías andJack Evans, after they had defeated Aguayo andChessman in a match.[49] On December 16 atGuerra de Titanes, Garza, Aguayo and Halloween defeated Evans,Fénix andDrago in a six-man tag team match.[50] On February 14, 2012, Garza defeated champion X-Fly, El Hijo del Perro Aguayo, El Mesías,El Texano Jr. and Toscano in a six-way elimination match at aPerros del Mal Producciones event to win the Mexican National Heavyweight Championship for the second time.[51] On August 5 atTriplemanía XX, Garza's accidental chair shot to El Hijo del Perro Aguayo cost thePerros del Mal leader his match for theAAA Mega Championship.[52] On August 10,Los Perros del Mal turned on Garza and kicked him out of the stable.[53]
Héctor Solano Segura was born on June 12, 1969, in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico, son of professional wrestler Humberto Garza. His brother works as a professional wrestler and promoter under the ring name "Humberto Garza Jr." and his son, originally known as "Último Ninja" in Mexico and "Humberto Carrillo" inNXT,[54] is a professional wrestler, using the name El Sultán.[55] His uncle is Mike Segura, better known under the ring name "El Ninja".[56] Solano's cousin is known as "El Ninja Jr.", and his nephew, Humberto Garza Solano, works under the ring nameAngel Garza.[54][57]
In 2005, Solano was set to wrestle Scott Hall at TNA'sFinal Resolution 2005 but was arrested inHouston, Texas, for possession ofsteroids.[58][59] The police foundDeca-Durabolin andPrimobolan, both of which are legal to have and use in Mexico, but not in the United States, and Solano claimed that he had legal prescriptions for them but could not produce them at the time of his arrest. Solano was deported back to Mexico and barred from entry for a number of years, effectively ending his career in the United States. Garza claimed that he did not know the steroids were illegal in the United States and that he was humiliated by the guards.[60]
On October 15, 2012, a press release revealed that Solano had been diagnosed withlung cancer.[61] He retired from active competition to undergochemotherapy and additional treatment.[62][63] He died on May 26, 2013, from the cancer at the age of 43.[64] He was the reigning Mexican National Heavyweight Champion at the time of his death.[65] As a result of his death, the "Comisión de Box y Lucha Libre Mexico D.F." (the Mexico City Boxing and Wrestling Commission) deemed the Mexican National Heavyweight Championship inactive.[2][66]
On August 9, 2015, atTriplemanía XXIII, Garza was inducted into theAAA Hall of Fame.[67] When his nephew Humberto Garza Solano began working forLucha Libre AAA Worldwide, he changed his ring name from "El Hijo del Ninja" to "Garza Jr." in honor of his uncle, adopting both the look and some of the mannerisms and wrestling moves that his uncle had become known for.[68]
† = deceased
| Humberto Garza | Unidentified Garza | Mario Segura | Unidentified Garza | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Héctor Garza † | Humberto Garza Jr. | Unidentified | Ninja Jr. | Máscara Púrpura | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| El Sultán | Humberto Carrillo | Angel Garza | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Winner (wager) | Loser (wager) | Location | Event | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Héctor Garza (hair) | Sanguinario (hair) | Monterrey, Nuevo León | FULL show | June 27, 1993 | [4] |
| Héctor Garza (hair) | El Satánico (hair) | Mexico City | 39. Aniversario de Arena México | April 7, 1994 | [2][79] |
| Héctor Garza (hair) | El Brazo (hair) | Mexico City | CMLL show | August 4, 1995 | [2] |
| Héctor Garza (hair) | MS-1 (hair) | Puebla, Puebla | CMLL show | November 27, 1995 | [80] |
| Héctor Garza (hair) | Bestia Salvaje (hair) | Mexico City | Super Viernes | December 1, 1995 | [a] |
| Héctor Garza (hair) | El Satánico (hair) | Mexico City | Super Viernes | December 15, 1995 | [2] |
| Héctor Garza (hair) | Pirata Morgan (hair) | Puebla, Puebla | CMLL Lunes Arena Puebla | July 29, 1996 | [2] |
| Héctor Garza (hair) | Kick Boxer (hair) | Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua | AAA show | July 23, 2000 | [b] |
| Héctor Garza (hair) | Toro Irisson (hair) | Xalapa, Veracruz | AAA show | October 27, 2000 | [c] |
| Héctor Garza (hair) | Heavy Metal (hair) | Mexico City | Guerra de Titanes | November 11, 2001 | [d] |
| Héctor Garza (hair) | Pimpinela Escarlata (hair) | Monterrey, Nuevo León | FULL show | July 6, 2003 | [83] |
| Latin Lover (hair) | Héctor Garza (hair) | Monterrey, Nuevo León | AAA show | October 26, 2003 | [22] |
| Héctor Garza (hair) | Pierroth Jr. (hair) | Mexico City | Super Viernes | August 19, 2005 | [28] |
| Universo 2000 (hair) | Héctor Garza (hair) | Mexico City | CMLL 72nd Anniversary Show | September 16, 2005 | [e] |
| Héctor Garza (hair) | Super Parka (hair) | Monterrey, Nuevo León | FULL show | March 18, 2007 | [f] |
| Perro Aguayo Jr. (hair) | Héctor Garza (hair) | Mexico City | Homenaje a Dos Leyendas | March 21, 2008 | [86][87] |
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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