| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Raúl Mendoza (1991-11-25)November 25, 1991 (age 33) Cosio, Aguascalientes, Mexico |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Cruz Del Toro Jinzo[1] Raul Mendoza[1] Ronnie Mendoza[1] Tribal[1] |
| Billed height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[2] |
| Billed weight | 190 lb (86 kg)[2] |
| Billed from | Córdoba, Veracruz[2] |
| Trained by | Angel del Futuro[1] Black Tiger[1] Gran Apache[1] El Mexicano[1] Ricky Marvin[3] Simba I[1] |
| Debut | September 16, 2006[1] |
Raúl Mendoza (born November 25, 1991) is a Mexican professional wrestler. As of 2016, he is signed toWWE, where he performs on theRawbrand under the nameCruz Del Toro and is a member of theLatino World Order. He was a former founding member ofLegado Del Fantasma.
Mendoza made hisprofessional wrestling debut on September 16, 2006.[1] Over the next ten years, Mendoza would primarily compete on the Mexicanindependent circuit, most notably appearing for independent promotions Desastre Total Ultraviolento (DTU),Perros del Mal (PdM), and theInternational Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG), while also appearing for national promotionLucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) and Japanese promotionPro Wrestling Noah.
In June 2016, Mendoza was announced as a participant in theWWE Cruiserweight Classic, a 32-man single-elimination tournament featuring competitors 205 lbs. and under, as a representative from Mexico.[4][3] Mendoza was eliminated from the tournament in the first round byThe Brian Kendrick.[5] Following the Cruiserweight Classic, Mendoza was signed by WWE, who assigned him to compete in theNXTdevelopmental territory. Mendoza made hisNXT debut on the May 25, 2017 episode, being defeated byVelveteen Dream.[6] On February 9, 2018, at an NXT live event, Mendoza won a battle royal to become the number one contender to theNXT Championship.[7] The following day on February 10, Mendoza was defeated by NXT ChampionAndrade "Cien" Almas.[7] Mendoza made his205 Live debut on the July 23, 2019 episode of205 Live, where he teamed withHumberto Carrillo to defeatKalisto andGran Metalik. On the November 1 episode of205 Live, Mendoza unsuccessfully challenged theNXT Cruiserweight ChampionLio Rush.
On the March 11 episode of NXT, Mendoza was abducted by a group of masked men and thrown into a van in the parking lot in what was originally an interview ofMia Yim. On the April 1 episode of NXT,Joaquin Wilde was similarly abducted during a post-match interview. On the June 10 episode of NXT, Mendoza made his return as he along with Wilde (who was also kidnapped) were revealed as the mysterious masked men and they aligned themselves withSantos Escobar as they attackedDrake Maverick, thus establishing himself as aheel.[8] At night one ofThe Great American Bash, the trio was named "Legado Del Fantasma". In their first match as a team, Legado del Fantasma defeated Maverick and Breezango in a six-man tag team match on the second night of The Great American Bash.
Wilde and Mendoza would start competing in NXT's tag team division and205 Live. AtNXT TakeOver XXX, Wilde and Mendoza competed against Breezango (Fandango andTyler Breeze) and the team ofOney Lorcan andDanny Burch in a triple threat match to determine the #1 contenders for theNXT Tag Team Championship but were unsuccessful in winning the match. On night one ofSuper Tuesday, Legado lost toIsaiah "Swerve" Scott and Breezango in astreet fight when Scott pinned Escobar, leading up to a match between Escobar and Scott for Escobar's Cruiserweight Championship atNXT TakeOver 31, where Wilde and Mendoza assisted Escobar in retaining the title.
In 2021, Wilde and Mendoza entered the2021 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic in which they lost to the eventual winnersMSK (Nash Carter andWes Lee) in the semifinal round. They also faced MSK andGrizzled Young Veterans (James Drake andZack Gibson) on night one ofNXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver in a match with the Tag Team titles on the line, which MSK won. AtNXT Takeover: In Your House, Legado del Fantasma would face NXT North American champion,Bronson Reed and NXT Tag Team champions,MSK in a winners take all, six-man tag team match in which, Legado del Fantasma were unsuccessful in winning the titles. On the August 24 episode ofNXT, Elektra Lopez made her debut helping Legado Del Fantasma win againstHit Row. In April 2022 Mendoza's name would be changed to Cruz Del Toro.
On the October 7 episode ofSmackDown, Del Toro alongside Wilde and Escobar would joinZelina Vega on theSmackDownbrand.[9] On the March 10 episode ofSmackdown, Del Toro alongside the rest of Legado Del Fantasma helpedRey Mysterio againstThe Judgment Day, turning face in the process.[10] On the 31 March episode ofSmackDown, Rey reformed theLatino World Order and invited Legado Del Fantasma to join as a token of appreciation for aiding him in his fight against his son,Dominik, and The Judgment Day.[11][12]
On the November 10 episode ofSmackDown, Escobar defected from LWO and removed Vega, Wilde and Del Toro from Legado del Fantasma the following week.[13][14] Wilde and Del Toro participated in the2024 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament, defeatingChase University'sDuke Hudson and Riley Osborne on the January 16, 2024 episode ofNXT but lost toCarmelo Hayes andTrick Williams in the semifinals two weeks later.[15][16] At Night 2 of the2024 WWE Draft, LWO were drafted to theRaw brand.[17]
Mendoza has appeared inWWE SuperCard,[18]WWE 2K22,[19]WWE 2K23[20] andWWE 2K24[21] as a playable character.
