Mr. Águila

Mr. Águila
Aguila in 2007.
Birth name	José Delgado Saldaña[1]
Born	December 10, 1978[1] Guadalajara, Jalisco
Residence	Tijuana, Mexico
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Águila[1] Essa Ríos[1] Mr. Águila[1] Papí Chulo[1]
Billed height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2]
Billed weight	190 lb (86 kg)[2]
Billed from	Tijuana, Mexico[2]
Trained by	Diablo Velasco[3][4] Flash I[4]
Debut	January 3, 1994[1]

José Delgado Saldaña (born December 10, 1978) is a Mexican professional wrestler or luchador currently working for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). Outside of Mexico he is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation as Essa Ríos and Papí Chulo and for his work in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) in the US, CMLL and Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) in Mexico as Mr. Águila.

Professional wrestling career

World Wrestling Federation (1997–2001)

Delgado made his debut in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) on the November 3, 1997 episode of Raw is War as part of its newly relaunched Light Heavyweight division at the age of 18, wrestling under the Ring name Águila. This period included a match with Taka Michinoku at WrestleMania XIV for the Light Heavyweight Championship.^[5] He had a high-flying match with Michinoku during Extreme Championship Wrestling's 1999 Cyberslam event before capturing the WWF Light Heavyweight title from Gillberg on his 'debut' as Essa Ríos during February 13, 2000 edition of Sunday Night Heat. His reign was a short-lived one, as he would lose the title to Dean Malenko a few weeks later. During his time as Essa Ríos, he was managed by Lita who would often repeat Ríos's finishing moves on wrestlers he had just beaten after a match. He and Lita had a feud with Eddie Guerrero and Chyna which led to a European title match between Ríos and then-champion Guerrero at Backlash 2000, which Ríos lost.^[6] Ríos' partnership with Lita ended sometime later after an angry Ríos attacked Lita because he had lost a match. It was there that the Hardy Boyz came to Lita's rescue and feuded with him briefly, with Lita becoming their protégé. Ríos lapsed into obscurity by late 2000 but did have a brief feud with Kurt Angle that culminated in a main event match on Sunday Night Heat before once again only making occasional appearances. Having been off TV for months, Ríos started accepting Japanese bookings in 2001.^[1]

Asistencia Asesoría Y Administración (2001–2008)

After being released in 2001, he returned to Mexico for several years before working in AAA as part of the LLL storyline. He soon returned to Mexico, however, continuing his feud with El Zorro and forming "X-team" with Juventud Guerrera and Charly Manson. In 2005, he jumped to Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre as a member of Los Perros del Mal which was led by Héctor Garza and Perro Aguayo, Jr. who had jumped from AAA in the past. When Perro Aguayo, Jr. left CMLL in the fall of 2008, Mr. Águila left the promotion with him to help for the Perros del Mal Producciones.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2004)

Águila made a comeback to the United States in 2004 as part of Team AAA/Mexico in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling with Abismo Negro, Juventud Guerrera, Héctor Garza and Heavy Metal.^[7] He competed in TNA as part of the X Division, even challenging A.J. Styles for the TNA X Division Championship, until July 2004.^[1][8][9]

Los Invasores (2010–present)

On May 16, 2010, Mr. Águila returned to CMLL, interfering in a match between Psicosis II and La Sombra, siding with Psicosis II and a group called Los Invasores, the match also saw the return of Rayo de Jalisco, Jr. who ended up siding with CMLL in their war against the outsider group.^[10] CMLL later held a press conference announcing that they would hold a special Sin Salida event on June 6, 2010 that would center around the Los Invasores vs. CMLL storyline. During the press conference it was revealed that Mr. Águila and Héctor Garza were the co-leaders of Los Invasores.^[11] At the July 16, 2010 Super Viernes, Mr. Águila and Héctor Garza defeated the team of La Sombra and Volador, Jr. to win the CMLL World Tag Team Championship.^[12] By virtue of holding the CMLL World Tag Team Championship, Mr. Águila participated in the 2010 Universal Championship tournament. He was part of "Block B" that competed on the August 6, 2010 Super Viernes show where he was eliminated from the tournament when he lost to La Máscara in the first round.^[13] On November 2, 2010, Águila and Garza lost the CMLL World Tag Team Championship to Dragón Rojo, Jr. and Último Guerrero.^[14] On December 3, 2010, at Sin Piedad 2010 Águila had his trademark hair shaved off after being defeated by Rey Bucanero in a Lucha de Apuesta.^[15] On June 20, 2012, Águila formed the Los Depredadores del Aire ("The Flying Predators") stable with Black Warrior and Volador, Jr.^[16] Two days later, Los Depredadores del Aire defeated Los Reyes de la Atlantida (Atlantis, Delta and Guerrero Maya, Jr.) to win the Mexican National Trios Championship.^[17] They lost the title back to Los Reyes de la Atlantida on October 30, 2012.^[18] Águila, this time teaming with Los Invasores members Kraneo and Psicosis II, regained the title from Los Reyes de la Atlantida on December 16, 2012.^[19] In the fall of 2012 Los Invasores began a feud against the CMLL World Trios Champions El Bufete del Amor ("The Law of Love"; Marco Corleone, Maximo and Rush). The two teams fought several occasions with El Bufete's CMLL World Trios Chamipnship on the line, while Los Invasores Mexican National Trios Championship being passed over compared to the more prestigious CMLL title.^[20] Mr. Águila was forced to team up with Máximo for the 2013 Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increibles ("National Incredible Pairs Tournament"), a tag team tournament teaming up wrestlers who would never team up otherwise, often because they are rivals, would be forced to work together. Mr. Águila and Máximo lost to the team of Máscara Dorada and Mephisto even though they were able to put their differences aside for one night.^[21][22] On June 30, Los Invasores lost the Mexican National Trios Championship to La Máscara, Rush and Titán.^[23] On July 19 at Infierno en el Ring, Águila lost his hair to Shocker in a ten-man steel cage Lucha de Apuestas.^[24]

In wrestling

• Finishing moves
  • 450° splash^[1]
  • Moonsault^[25]
  • Rios Driver / Samurai Driver (Flip-over DDT)^[1] – WWF
  • Shooting star press^[1]
• Signature moves
  • Somersault plancha over the turnbuckles^[1]
  • Springboard arm drag^[1]
  • Vuelo de Águila (Running corkscrew plancha)^[1][4]
• Managers
  • Lita
  • Antonio Peña

Championships and accomplishments

• Asistencia Asesoría y Administración
  • Mexican National Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[26]
• Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
  • CMLL World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Héctor Garza^[12]
  • CMLL World Trios Championship (1 time) – with Héctor Garza and Perro Aguayo, Jr.^[27]
  • Mexican National Trios Championship (3 times) – with Damian 666 and Halloween (1) and Black Warrior and Volador, Jr. (1), and Kraneo and Psicosis II (1)^[28]
• International Wrestling Association
  • IWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[29]
• International Wrestling Revolution Group
  • Copa Higher Power (1997) – with Dr. Cerebro, Fantasy, Mr. Águila, Neblina and Tony Rivera
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI ranked him #446 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003^[30]
• Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
  • America's X Cup (2004) – with Juventud Guerrera, Abismo Negro, Héctor Garza and Heavy Metal^[4]
• Universal Wrestling Association
  • UWA World Light Heavyweight Championship (2 times)^[31][32]
• World Wrestling Federation
  • WWF Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
  • Rookie of the Year (1997)

Luchas de Apuestas record

Winner (wager)	Loser (wager)	Location	Event	Date	Notes
Último Guerrero (mask)	Mr. Águila (mask)	Mexico City, Mexico	CMLL 65th Anniversary Show	September 11, 1998	[33][34]
Mr. Águila (hair)	MS-2 (mask)	Tijuana, Baja California	Live event	December 5, 2003
Mr. Águila (hair)	Blade (hair)	Guadalajara, Jalisco	Live event	January 23, 2005
Los Guerreros del Infierno (hair) (Rey Bucanero and Tarzan Boy)	Los Perros del Mal (hair) (Damián 666 and Mr. Águila)	Mexico City, Mexico	50. Aniversario de Arena México	April 28, 2006	[35][36]
Rey Bucanero (hair)	Mr. Águila (hair)	Mexico City, Mexico	Sin Piedad (2010)	December 3, 2010	[15]
Shocker (hair)	Mr. Águila (hair)	Mexico City, Mexico	Infierno en el Ring (2013)	July 19, 2013	[Note 1][24]

Footnotes

1. This was a 10-man steel cage match, which also included Averno, Blue Panther, Máximo, Negro Casas, Rey Bucanero, Rey Escorpión, Rush and Brazo de Plata.

References

1. "Mr. Aguila". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved March 27, 2009.
2. "Statistics for Professional wrestlers". PWI Presents: 2008 Wrestling Almanak and book of facts (Kappa Publications). pp. 66–79. 2008 Edition.
3. Madigan, Dan (2007). "Dorada de lucha libre: Las Leyendas, las peleas, los fósforos del resentimiento (the golden age of lucha libre: the legends, the feuds, the grudge matches): Diablo Velasco". Mondo Lucha A Go-Go: the bizarre & honorable world of wild Mexican wrestling. HarperCollins Publisher. pp. 203–205. ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3.
4. "Profile". Bodyslamming.
5. Powell, John (March 20, 1998). "Austin wins WWF World Title at WrestleMania". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved March 27, 2009.
6. Powell, John (May 1, 2000). "Rock victorious at Backlash, Game Over for Triple H". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved March 27, 2009.
7. Abreu, Donnie (February 12, 2004). "TNA: Mexico scores America's Cup upset". SLAM! Sports. Retrieved March 27, 2009.
8. Clevett, Jason (May 27, 2005). "TNA: Extremely exciting X-Cup". SLAM! Sports. Retrieved March 27, 2009.
9. "NWA:TNA Impact (Week #3)". Online World of Wrestling. June 18, 2004. Retrieved March 27, 2009.
10. Rostro Oculto (May 16, 2010). "Resultados Arena México (16 mayo 2010): ¡Mr. Águila es parte de los invasores! ¡Rayo de Jalisco Jr. regresó al CMLL!". SuperLuchas (in Spanish). Retrieved May 17, 2010.
11. Boutwell, Jason (May 21, 2010). "Viva La Raza! Lucha Weekly". WrestleView. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
12. Velazquez, Israel (July 17, 2010). "Resultados Arena México (16 julio 2010): ¡Garza y Águila, nuevos Campeones de Parejas!". SuperLuchas (in Spanish). Retrieved July 17, 2010.
13. Velazquez, Israel (August 7, 2010). "Resultados Arena México (6 agosto 2010): ¡Liger, segundo finalista por el Campeonato Universal! Místico vs. Psicosis, ¿antes de lo esperado?". SuperLuchas (in Spanish). Retrieved August 5, 2010.
14. Ruiz Glez, Alex (November 2, 2010). "Arena Coliseo (resultados 2 de noviembre) Último Guerrero y Dragón Rojo Jr. nuevos campeones mundiales de parejas del CMLL". SuperLuchas (in Spanish). Retrieved November 3, 2010.
15. Ruiz Glez, Alex (December 3, 2010). "CMLL "Sin Piedad 2010" (cobertura y resultados 3 de diciembre del 2010) Eléctrico gana la máscara de Pequeño Warrior- Rey Bucanero gana la cabellera de Mr. Águila". SuperLuchas (in Spanish). Retrieved December 4, 2010.
16. Mexicool, Rey (June 20, 2012). "Infierno en el Ring de gladiadoras este 29 de junio en la Arena México" (in Spanish). SuperLuchas. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
17. Ruiz Glez, Alex (June 22, 2012). "Volador Jr., Mr. Águila y Black Warrior nuevos campeones nacionales de tercias". SuperLuchas (in Spanish). Retrieved June 23, 2012.
18. Mexicool, Rey (October 30, 2012). "Los Reyes de la Atlántida ¡Nuevos Campeones Nacionales de Tríos!". SuperLuchas (in Spanish). Retrieved October 31, 2012.
19. Mexicool, Rey (December 17, 2012). "Los Invasores conquistan... ¡la Atlántida!". SuperLuchas (in Spanish). Retrieved December 17, 2012.
20. "Sigue reinando el Buffet del Amor en el CMLL". MedioTiempo (in Spanish). February 18, 2013. Retrieved March 3, 2013.
21. "Volador y la Sombra a la Final del Torneo de Parejas Increíbles". MedioTiempo (in Spanish). March 2, 2013. Retrieved March 2, 2013.
22. Salazar López, Alexis A. (March 1, 2013). "ATLANTIS y ÚLTIMO GUERRERO ¿Estaremos frente a un duelo candidato para conmemorar el 80 Aniversario del CMLL?". Estrellas del Ring (in Spanish). Retrieved March 2, 2013.
23. Salazar López, Alexis A. (July 1, 2013). "Resultadoes Arena Coliseo Domingo 30 de Junio '13" (in Spanish). Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre. Archived from the original on July 2, 2013. Retrieved July 2, 2013.
24. Salazar López, Alexis A. (July 20, 2013). "Infierno en el Ring" (in Spanish). Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre. Archived from the original on July 20, 2013. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
25. "Pro Wrestling Illustrated 500 – 2008: 146 Mr. Aguila". Pro Wrestling Illustrated (Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, United States: Sports and Entertainment publications LLC). August 2008. p. 86. October 2008.
26. "National Heavyweight Title". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
27. "C.M.L.L. World Trios Title". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
28. "National Trios Title (Mexico)". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
29. "I.W.A. World Junior Heavyweight Title (Puerto Rico)". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
30. "PWI Years 500". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Wrestling Information Archive. Retrieved 2011-07-25.
31. "U.W.A. World Light Heavyweight Title". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
32. Westcott, Brian (2007). "UWA World Lightweight Heavyweight Title". Solie's Title Histories.
33. Arturo Rosas Plata (March 11, 2009). "Último Guerrero, listo para la lucha de Máscaras – Cobaré vengenza!". Ovaciones (in Spanish) (Mexico, D.F.: Editorial Ovaciones, S. A. de C.V.). p. 19. Número 21523 Año LXII. Retrieved March 29, 2009.
34. Ruiz Glez, Alex (September 7, 2010). "CMLL: 79 historias, 79 Aniversario, las 79 luchas estelares". SuperLuchas (in Spanish). Retrieved October 20, 2012.
35. Lucha 2000 Staff (April 2006). "Arena México: 50 anos de Lucha Libre". Lucha 2000 (in Spanish). Especial 28.
36. Centinela, Teddy (April 28, 2015). "En un día como hoy… 2006: Rey Bucanero y Tarzan Boy rapan a Damián 666 y Mr. Águila — Último Guerrero vence a Héctor Garza". SuperLuchas Magazine (in Spanish). Retrieved July 1, 2015.