Look up com in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Com may refer to:

Academia[link]

• Communication
• Communication studies
• College of the Mainland, a community college in Texas City, Texas
• College of Marin, a community college in Kentfield, California
• COM•DTU, the former name of DTU Fotonik, Department of Photonics Engineering at the Technical University of Denmark
• Constitution of Medina, a document drafted by Muhammad to lay the structure of the first Islamic state
• COM, the code suffix used for courses offered by the School of Journalism and Communication, CUHK, Hong Kong

Business, politics and culture[link]

• Commerce
• Commander of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces, Canadian decoration post-nominal letters
• COM, the ISO Alpha-3 country code for Comoros
• Corporal, Captain or Colonel of the United States Marine Corps
• COM (manga magazine)
• collectivité d'outre-mer, a French overseas collectivity

Computing[link]

• COM (hardware interface) (or COM:), a serial port interface on IBM PC-compatible computers
• .com, an Internet top-level domain, originally short for "commercial"
• COM file, or .com file, short for "command", a file extension for an executable file in MS-DOS
• Component Object Model, a Microsoft software interface technology
• Computer
• Computer-on-module, a type of single-board computer
• Computer Output Microfilm

Fiction[link]

• Com, a hacker student at the Axis Institute in the novel Evil Genius
• Children of Men (film)

Music[link]

• I Com, an album by Miss Kittin

Gaming[link]

• COM, a non-player character in video games, short for Computer
• Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, a video game for the Game Boy Advance
• Children of Mana, a video game for the Nintendo DS

Science[link]

• Coenzyme M, an intermediate in methanogenesis
• Coma Berenices (constellation), standard astronomical abbreviation
• Center Of Mass
• Center of Momentum, or COM frame

Transport[link]

• COM, the ICAO airline designator for Comair

People[link]

• One of two figures named Com in the Book of Mormon: an early Jaredite king, son of Coriantum; and a late Jaredite king

See also[link]

• Command (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Andy McKee
Performing live in February 2008.
Background information
Born	(1979-04-04) April 4, 1979 (age 33)[1] Topeka, Kansas, U.S.
Genres	Folk, Instrumental, Fingerstyle guitar
Occupations	Guitarist
Instruments	Guitar, baritone guitar, harp guitar
Years active	2001 – present
Labels	Razor & Tie, CandyRat Records
Website	www.andymckee.com

Andy McKee (born April 4, 1979, in Topeka, Kansas) is an American fingerstyle guitar player, currently signed to the American record label Razor & Tie.

His style of playing and his compositions have earned him a considerable international fanbase. In late 2006, a live performance of his signature song "Drifting" became a Featured Video on YouTube and MySpace, achieving over 48 million views on the former to date and remaining one of its highest-rated music clips. A handful of McKee's other songs have experienced notable success on YouTube, such as "Rylynn" with over 22 million views. Similarly, McKee's cover of "Africa" reached over 9 million views before suddenly being removed by Candyrat Records.

Life and career[link]

McKee played his first guitar, an Aria nylon string bought by his father, at age 13. Initially underwhelmed by his guitar lessons, McKee's electric guitar-playing cousin inspired him to continue learning, taking him out for his 16th birthday to see a guitarist named Preston Reed perform live at a clinic. McKee later bought an instructional videotape from Reed and began to learn more complex guitar techniques from it, also earning his GED that year in order to quit attending high school. He began to draw influence from guitarists such as Michael Hedges, Billy McLaughlin, Pat Kirtley, and from Passion Session by Don Ross, as he continued studying the instrument on his own.

Nocturne (2001)[link]

In 2001, McKee independently released his first album, Nocturne. That same year, he was placed third at the National Fingerstyle Guitar Competition in Winfield, Kansas.^[2] In 2003, McKee toured in Taiwan with Jacques Stotzem, Isato Nakagawa, and Masaaki Kishibe, and earned first place in the Miscellaneous Acoustic Instrument contest of the Kansas State Fiddling and Picking Championships with a Ron Spillers harpguitar he purchased from Stephen Bennett in 2002.^[3],[4] The instrument can be heard in a number of his songs, such as "Into The Ocean" and "Gates of Gnomeria". Only 1,000 copies of Nocturne were ever produced and the album is now out of circulation.

Dreamcatcher (2004)[link]

McKee released his second album, Dreamcatcher, in 2004. The album includes his cover of "Africa", as well as "The Friend I Never Met", a song written in tribute to Michael Hedges. McKee used the title track to win the opportunity to perform with bassist Michael Manring, with whom he has since toured. Additionally, he placed second in the Fingerstyle Guitar Competition of the Canadian Guitar Festival that year.^[5] The album was later re-released by McKee's label in response to the popularity he garnered on YouTube.

Art of Motion (2005)[link]

McKee's third CD, Art of Motion, was released on Candyrat Records in November 2005 and earned considerable praise from established acoustic guitarists such as Don Ross, with whom McKee is currently on the same label, and has noted as one of his favorite artists. Most of the songs that McKee is known for on YouTube appear on the album, which has a handful of tracks carried over from Dreamcatcher as well. During the early stages of McKee's success on YouTube in late 2006 and early 2007, Art of Motion was the only album of his carried by Candyrat Records, and saw the most mainstream exposure as a result. In a couple of his songs he plays a harp guitar shown down and to the right.

Gates of Gnomeria (2007)[link]

After his popularity due to his performances on YouTube and touring extensively throughout much of 2007, McKee returned to the studio to record his fourth CD, Gates of Gnomeria. The album contains six new songs, one of which had already been seen on YouTube ("Gates of Gnomeria"), as well as two cover songs. McKee spent the majority of 2008 on tour throughout the world, performing with other Candyrat artists and promoting both Gates of Gnomeria and his collaborative album with Don Ross, The Thing That Came From Somewhere. He released a split DVD that same year with labelmate Antoine Dufour, each artist contributing eight songs to the disc; two of McKee's from Gates of Gnomeria.

Common Ground EP (2009)[link]

In between touring extensively, and helping promote his duo guitar record with Don Ross, McKee recorded an EP of 2 re-recordings of songs from his Dreamcatcher album, and a cover song by Japanese guitarist Masaaki Kishibe. The album was released digitally only, along with videos available on iTunes that include his performance of his 2 compositions, a video each that either does or does not include commentary.

Joyland (2010)[link]

McKee announced in May 2009 that he was intending to finish touring in the second half of the year and concentrate on recording his upcoming album. He stated in July 2009 that it will most likely be titled "Joyland", the title track of the album which originally went under the name "Music For A Vacant Amusement Park". The album was completed in November 2009 and was released in iTunes on March 23, 2010, and in stores on March 30, 2010 on Razor & Tie Records. According to McKee, "On this album I've branched out a bit and included some instrumentation on a couple of songs. There's also a new harpguitar tune and a couple of covers such as "Layover" by Michael Hedges and one of my favorite 80's tunes." (That one is Tears For Fears' "Everybody Wants To Rule The World".) The album also features a DVD full of 75 minutes worth of additional video material, including a documentary called Andy McKee: Joyland, and four new performance music videos. All four music videos have been released on YouTube and can be found at:

• "Never Grow Old"
• "Everybody Wants to Rule the World"
• "Hunter's Moon"
• "Joyland"

The documentary is currently only available for purchase as a part of the Joyland album CD/DVD.

Career progression[link]

Self-described as "just this guy from Topeka, Kansas who kind of blew up on the Internet about a week before Christmas", McKee became one of Candyrat Records' best-selling artists after their video of "Drifting" was massively upvoted by users at Digg.^[6] In the wake of this exposure, he appeared by invitation on Woodsongs as well as Last Call with Carson Daly, and his online store completely sold out of his various guitar tablature books. Due to the increased demand, he began to offer sheet music for nearly all of his songs on his official website. He also contributed to Josh Groban's 2007 Grammy-nominated Christmas album, Noël, playing guitar on the song "Little Drummer Boy". Groban's album went on to become the best-selling CD of 2007 in the U.S.,^[7] hitting #1 on the U.S. Billboard 200.^[8]
In 2010 McKee contributed to Lee Ritenour's highly acclaimed CD 6 String Theory that also features guitarists like Steve Lukather, Slash, Neal Schon, Tal Wilkenfeld, and Mike Stern.

In 2012 McKee supported Prince on his Welcome 2 Australia tour, opening the show with a solo performance. McKee also played with Prince's band during the concert on Purple Rain.

Response to filesharing[link]

McKee has, at least once in the past, personally commented on BitTorrent websites hosting his music, chastising downloaders for their actions. Posting to The Pirate Bay under the name "AlteredTuning" (which is the same handle he uses in all his internet message board appearances as well as on his own website's message boards), McKee sarcastically echoed other commenters' thanks to the original uploader of his album and urged people to purchase his work legitimately. His comments were met with approval while some pointed out that the exposure on The Pirate Bay might lead to increased sales.

"Yeah thanks a lot for uploading! It's not like I need to make a living with my music or anything. 8,676 thieves. If you really appreciate what I am doing, buy my CD legitimately so I can continue to compose music rather than work at K-Mart. I'm not Metallica. I don't have hundreds of thousands of dollars, much less millions. Andy McKee"

Equipment and influences[link]

McKee currently uses the following equipment:^{[citation needed]}

• Greenfield G4 and GB Guitars
• Greenfield HG1.2 Harp Guitar
• Lance McCollum Baritone Guitar
• Ron Spillers Harp Guitar
• K&K Sound Pickups (internal)
• DTAR Solstice Pre-Amp
• D'Addario Phosphor Bronze Medium Gauge
• Shubb Capos

McKee's influences include: Eric Johnson, Dream Theater,^[4] Michael Hedges, Preston Reed, Billy McLaughlin, Tommy Emmanuel, Björk, Steve Lukather, Metallica, Joe Satriani, Iron Maiden, Pantera, Steve Erquiaga, Vince Di Cola, Toto, Peter Gabriel, Imogen Heap, King Crimson, Primus, Pat Metheny, and Don Ross,

McKee began listening to metal, such as Dream Theater, at the age of 13. He described on Woodsongs how he was a "metal freak" during childhood, even performing a Metallica song in his high school talent show. It was not until he saw Preston Reed that his influences began to shift towards acoustic songwriters such as Don Ross and Michael Hedges. Both walks of music continue to influence him, though he has stuck with acoustic music in his professional life.

In response to certain comments regarding the source of his creative talent, McKee has proudly admitted to have never taken any recreational drugs in his life—a fact lauded by many of his fans online, including fellow guitarist Don Ross. Commenting on McKee's MySpace, Ross wrote:

"I too have never touched weed, pills, blow or needles. I'm always insulted when people find that hard to believe. 'How can you write such insane music straight?!?' Frick! Some of us are just creative using only the chemicals already present in our bodies. That goes for almost any musician I've had a close association with, contrary to the stereotypes. Hell, Zappa was sober all the time!

Bravo, Andy. I appreciate the fact that when you and I tour together, there's no junk going around, no smokes, no nothing. Keeping it clean. And we always have a fabulous time."

Discography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• McKee's Official Website
• Andy McKee's MySpace
• Andy McKee @ Razor & Tie
• McKee @ Candyrat Records
• Interview @ InstruMentalCase
• 2011 Andy McKee Interview on FingerstyleGuitarists.com

Danny MacAskill

Personal information
Full name	Danny MacAskill
Born	(1985-12-23) 23 December 1985 (age 26) Scotland
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Team information
Discipline	Trials
Role	Rider
Rider type	Street Trials

Danny MacAskill, (born 23 December 1985) also known as 'Danny MegaSkill', is a Scottish trials cyclist, from Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye. He works professionally as a street trials pro rider for Inspired Bicycles Ltd.^[1] He released 'April 2009', a five-and-a-half-minute street trials video, filmed by his flatmate Dave Sowerby, on YouTube on the 19th April 2009. The video quickly gained popular acclaim and widespread media attention. The video features stunts performed by MacAskill set to 'The Funeral' by Band of Horses.^[2]

As of April 2009, MacAskill, who was brought up in Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye,^[3] had been practising for more than 12 years. He gave up his job as a mechanic so he could ride full time.^[2] He now lives in Edinburgh.^[4] In June 2009, MacAskill appeared in the music video for Doves' single "Winter Hill".^[5] MacAskill also appeared in a TV-commercial for the new Volkswagen Golf Estate.^[6]

On 16 November 2010 MacAskill released a new video "Way Back Home" produced by Red Bull Media House. The video showcases locations around Scotland including Edinburgh Castle, North Berwick, wartime bunkers on the island of Inchgarvie beneath the Forth Bridge and a hydro-electric power station in the Scottish Highlands.^[7] In May 2011 Leica Cameras released a "Go Play" promo video featuring him doing tricks in the city of Cape Town. In August 9 of 2011 Cut Media released a video named "Industrial Revolutions". The video, set to 'The Wolves' by Ben Howard, features MacAskill doing tricks in an abandoned Scottish iron works. It was created for Channel 4's documentary Concrete Circus.^[8]

On 19 October 2011 MacAskill along with Inspired Bicycles released his signature trials frame, the Inspired Skye, to the public making him a full fledged professional rider.^[9]

In 2012 Danny MacAskill was nominated for the 2012 Adventurer of the Year Award. Danny MacAskill was nominated for changing the way a street trials rider can redefine how we view urban landscapes—and become a global icon in the process. The award is organised by the National Geographic.

Macaskill is currently managed by the German agency Rasoulution.^[10][11]

References[link]

External links[link]

• dannymacaskill.co.uk

Will Smith
Smith in 2011
Born	Willard Christopher Smith, Jr. (1968-09-25) September 25, 1968 (age 43) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Other names	The Fresh Prince
Occupation	Actor, producer, rapper
Years active	1985–1993, 1997–2005 (rapping), 1990–present (acting)
Spouse	Sheree Zampino (m. 1992–1995) «start: (1992)–end+1: (1996)»"Marriage: Sheree Zampino to Will Smith" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Will_Smith) Jada Pinkett Smith (m. 1997) «start: (1997)»"Marriage: Jada Pinkett Smith to Will Smith" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Will_Smith)
Children	Trey Smith Jaden Smith Willow Smith
Website
www.willsmith.com

Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. (born September 25, 1968),^[1] also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood.^[2] Smith has been nominated for four Golden Globe Awards, two Academy Awards, and has won multiple Grammy Awards.

In the late 1980s, Smith achieved modest fame as a rapper under the name The Fresh Prince. In 1990, his popularity increased dramatically when he starred in the popular television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The show ran for nearly six years (1990–1996) on NBC and has been syndicated consistently on various networks since then. In the mid-1990s, Smith moved from television to film, and ultimately starred in numerous blockbuster films. He is the only actor to have eight consecutive films gross over $100 million in the domestic box office and the only one to have eight consecutive films in which he starred open at #1 spot in the domestic box office tally.^[3]

Fourteen of the nineteen fiction films he has acted in have accumulated worldwide gross earnings of over $100 million, and four took in over $500 million in global box office receipts. As of 2011, his films have grossed $5.7 billion in global box office.^[4] His most financially successful films have been Bad Boys, Bad Boys II, Independence Day, Men in Black, Men in Black II, I, Robot, I Am Legend, Hancock, Wild Wild West, Enemy of the State, Shark Tale, Hitch and Seven Pounds. He also earned critical praise for his performances in Six Degrees of Separation, Ali and The Pursuit of Happyness, receiving Best Actor Oscar nominations for the latter two.

Family and early life[link]

Born and raised in the Wynnefield section of West Philadelphia, Smith also lived in Germantown in Northwest Philadelphia. His mother, Caroline (née Bright), was a school administrator who worked for the Philadelphia school board, and his father, Willard Christopher Smith, Sr., was a refrigeration engineer.^[5][6] He was raised Baptist.^[7] His parents separated when he was thirteen,^[8] and did not actually divorce until around 2000.^[9]

It is untrue, though widely reported, that Smith turned down a scholarship to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); he never applied to the school,^[10] although he was admitted to a "pre-engineering program" there.^[9] According to Smith, "My mother, who worked for the School Board of Philadelphia, had a friend who was the admissions officer at MIT. I had pretty high SAT scores and they needed black kids, so I probably could have gotten in. But I had no intention of going to college."^[11]

Recording and acting career[link]

Smith at the Emmy Awards in 1993

Early work (1985–1995)[link]

Smith started as the MC of the hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, with his childhood friend Jeffrey "DJ Jazzy Jeff" Townes as turntablist and producer,^[12] as well as Ready Rock C (Clarence Holmes) as the human beat box. The trio was known for performing humorous, radio-friendly songs, most notably "Parents Just Don't Understand" and "Summertime".^[12] They gained critical acclaim and won the first Grammy awarded in the Rap category (1988).^[12]

Smith had a line in "Voices That Care", a 1991 Persian Gulf War song by a celebrity group. Smith spent money freely during his early career and underpaid his income taxes.^[12] The Internal Revenue Service eventually assessed a $2.8 million tax debt against Smith, took many of his possessions, and garnished his income.^[13] Smith was nearly bankrupt in 1990, when the NBC television network signed him to a contract and built a sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, around him.^[12]

The show was successful and began his acting career. Smith set for himself the goal of becoming "the biggest movie star in the world," studying box office successes' common characteristics.^[8] His first major roles were in the drama Six Degrees of Separation (1993) and the action film Bad Boys (1995) which he starred opposite of Martin Lawrence.

Breakthrough (1996–2000)[link]

In 1996, Smith starred as part of an ensemble cast in Roland Emmerich's Independence Day. The film was a massive blockbuster, becoming the second highest grossing film in history at the time and establishing Smith as a prime box office draw.^[14] He later struck gold again in the summer of 1997 alongside Tommy Lee Jones in the summer hit Men in Black playing Agent J. In 1998, Smith starred with Gene Hackman in Enemy of the State.^[12]

He turned down the role of Neo in The Matrix in favor of Wild Wild West (1999). Despite the disappointment of Wild Wild West, Smith has said that he harbors no regrets about his decision, asserting that Keanu Reeves's performance as Neo was superior to what Smith himself would have achieved.^[15] Though in interviews subsequent to the release of Wild Wild West he stated that he "made a mistake on Wild Wild West. That could have been better."^[16]

2001–present[link]

Smith in September 2009

In 2005, Smith was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records for attending a record breaking three premieres in a 24-hour time span.^[17]

He has planned to star in a feature film remake of the television series It Takes a Thief.^[18]

On December 10, 2007, Smith was recognized at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. Smith left an imprint of his hands and feet outside the world renowned theater in front of many fans.^[19] Later that month, Smith starred in the film I Am Legend, released December 14, 2007. Despite marginally positive reviews,^[20] its opening was the largest ever for a film released in the United States during December. Smith himself has said that he considers the film to be "aggressively unique".^[21] A reviewer said that the film's commercial success "cemented [Smith's] standing as the number one box office draw in Hollywood."^[22] On December 1, 2008, TV Guide reported that Smith has been selected as one of America’s top ten most fascinating people of 2008 for a Barbara Walters ABC special that aired on December 4, 2008.^[23]

Smith is currently developing a film entitled The Last Pharaoh, in which he will star as Taharqa.^[24]

President Barack Obama has stated that if a film were to ever be made about his life, he would have Smith play his part, because "he has the ears". Obama stated that the two have discussed a possibility of a film based on the 2008 election, but this may not happen until the end of the Obama presidency.^[25]

Men in Black III opened on May 25, 2012. In it, Smith will play Agent J for the third time, being one of his more popular earlier roles coincides with the fact that it will be his first major starring role in four years.

On August 19, 2011, it was announced^[26] that Smith had returned to the studio with producer La Mar Edwards to make a new album. Edwards has worked with artists such as T.I., Chris Brown, and Game.

Smith and his son, Jaden, are currently filming After Earth, which is set for a 2013 release.

Personal life[link]

Nobel Peace Prize Concert December 11, 2009, in Oslo, Norway: Smith with wife Jada and children Jaden and Willow

Smith was raised by his parents in West Philadelphia. Smith credits his father's dedication when discussing his involvement in the lives of his own children: "I look at my father and how he was able to keep four kids fed and clothed and still managed to find time to spend with us."^[27] Smith married Sheree Zampino in 1992. They had a son, Willard Christopher Smith III, also known as "Trey", but divorced in 1995. Trey appeared in his father's music video for the 1998 single "Just the Two of Us".

Smith married actress Jada Pinkett in 1997. Together they have had two children: Jaden Christopher Syre (born 1998), his co-star in The Pursuit of Happyness, and Willow Camille Reign (born 2000), who appeared as his daughter in I Am Legend. Along with his brother, Harry Smith, he owns Treyball Development Inc.,^[28] a Beverly Hills-based company named after his first son. Smith and his family reside on Star Island in Miami Beach, Florida and in Los Angeles, Stockholm, Sweden^[29] and Philadelphia.

Smith was consistently listed in Fortune Magazine's "Richest 40" list of the forty wealthiest Americans under the age of 40. He donated $4,600 to the presidential campaign of Democrat Barack Obama.^[30] On December 11, 2009, Smith and his wife hosted the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway, when Obama had won the prize.^[31]

Smith has said he has studied multiple religions, including Scientology, and he has said many complimentary things about Scientology and other faiths. Despite his praise of Scientology, Smith said "I just think a lot of the ideas in Scientology are brilliant and revolutionary and non-religious"^[32][33] and "Ninety-eight percent of the principles in Scientology are identical to the principles of the Bible.... I don't think that because the word someone uses for spirit is 'thetan' that the definition becomes any different."^[34] He has denied having joined the Church of Scientology, saying "I am a Christian. I am a student of all religions, and I respect all people and all paths."^[35]

Smith gave $1.3 million to charities in 2007, of which $450,000 went to two Christian ministries, and $122,500 went to three Scientology organizations; the remaining beneficiaries included "a Los Angeles mosque, other Christian-based schools and churches, and [...] the Yitzhak Rabin Memorial Center in Israel".^[36] Smith and his wife have also founded a private elementary school in Calabasas, California, the New Village Leadership Academy, which uses Study Technology, a teaching methodology developed by L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology.^[37] Federal tax filing showed that Will Smith donated $1.2 million to the school in 2010.^[38]

In 2012 he expressed support for the legalizing of same-sex marriage, in an endorsement of president Barack Obama's declaration to adopt this stance on the issue.^[39]

Discography[link]

With DJ Jazzy Jeff[link]

• Rock the House (1987)
• He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper (1988)
• And in This Corner... (1989)
• Homebase (1991)
• Code Red (1993)

Solo[link]

• Big Willie Style (1997)
• Willennium (1999)
• Born to Reign (2002)
• Lost and Found (2005)

Filmography[link]

Television[link]

Film[link]

Box office grosses[link]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Iannucci, Lisa (2009). Will Smith: A Biography. Greenwood. ISBN 0-313-37610-7. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Will Smith

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Will Smith

• Official website
• Will Smith at the Internet Movie Database
• Will Smith at Yahoo! Movies
• Will Smith on Charlie Rose in 2002
• Will Smith at People.com
• Will Smith discography at MusicBrainz

Ephesto (born June 10, 1965) is a Mexican Luchador Enmascarado (Spanish for "Masked professional wrestler). Ephesto's real name has not been officially documented, a tradition in Mexican Lucha Libre where masked wrestlers' real names often are not a matter of public record. The wrestler currently known as Ephesto made his debut in 1982 and worked for almost 20 years as Pantera del Ring with limited success.^[2]

His current ring name "Ephesto" is derived from the Spanish name for Hephaestus, the Greek God of fire, Hefesto, in fact his name is sometimes spelled Hefesto in print sources.^[2] Ephesto is a member of the stable Los Hijos de Averno (Spanish for the sons of Hell) with Averno and Mephisto, while also being a former CMLL World Light Heavyweight and CMLL World Trios Champion.^[3][4]

Professional wrestling career[link]

He made his debut in 1982 at the age of 16 after training with Halco Suriano, Asterión, Satánico and Blue Panther. His first ring persona was Pantera del Ring (Spanish for the Panther of the Ring), a masked luchador with a panther inspired mask and trunks, inspired by his trainer Blue Panther. As Pantera del Ring, also referred to as Panterita del Ring', he signed with Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) in the very early 1990s and began working as a low card Technicó (the Lucha Libre term for a "Good guy"). When Antonio Peña, the head booker of CMLL at the time broke off to form the rival promotion Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA), Pantera del Ring was one of the CMLL workers that went with Peña in 1992. In AAA he teamed up with Latin Lover to win the Mexican National Tag Team Championship from the team of Fuerza and Juventud Guerrera on June 1, 1995. The team only held the Tag Team titles for three and a half months before losing them back to the Guerreras.^[5] By 1997 Panterita del Ring was working for the newly formed Promo Azteca promotion, this time as a Rudo (the Lucha Libre term for "bad guy"). He won the tournament to crown the first ever Aztecas Middleweight Champion defeating Ángel Azteca and Black Dragon in the finals.^[6] He eventually lost the title but kept working for Promo Azteca as an upper card worker until Promo Azteca folded in the late 1990s.

In 2000 he returned to CMLL and began working under the ring persona Safari, a mid-card Technico.^[2] Safari did not gain much momentum, generally working random tag matches until he was teamed up with Mr. Niebla and Olímpico and defeated the team of Blue Panther, Fuerza Guerrera and El Signo for the Mexican National Trios Championship on March 30, 2001.^[7] The team had a rather uneventful title reign that lasted 15 months but rarely saw the team defended the title until Los Nuevos Infernales (Averno, Mephisto and Satánico) won the titles from them on June 23, 2001.^[7] In late 2003 Safari teamed up with El Felino and Volador, Jr. to win a tournament for the vacant Mexican National Trios Championship, defeating Alan Stone, Super Crazy and Zumbido in a tournament final to claim the title.^[7] Safari's second run with the title proved to be about as long as the first one, 16 months, but once again did not result in many memorable matches or a sustained push for Safari. When Pandilla Guerrera (Doctor X, Nitro and Sangre Azteca) defeated Safari's team for the titles it signaled the last time the Safari character was given the spotlight.^[7]

In late 2005, only months after losing the Trios titles Safair became El Hombre sin Nombre (Spanish for "The Man without name"), a ring persona & name that indicates that the wrestler is a "blank slate", as he has no name and wrestles in plain black clothes & mask. CMLL started a contenst for the fans to come up with a new name and ring persona for this wrestler. As Hombre sin Nombre he worked as a Rudo with no public reference given to the fact that he was previously known as Safari. By the end of 2007 it was announced that El Hombre Sin Nombre finally had a name, Ephesto as suggested by a fan after the Greek God of fire, Hephaestus.^[2]

Working as Ephesto[link]

Along with the new name came a new look, dressing mainly in black with a mask with a ram's horn design and a new group of allies. Ephesto joined forces with Averno and Mephisto to form the stable La Triada del Terror (Spanish for the Trio of Terror), and although he was considered the low man in the group associating with two of CMLL's top Rudo acts meant he got more exposure as Ephesto than he ever did as Safari or El Hombre Sin Nombre. When Averno and Mephisto formed Los Hijos del Averno (Spanish for the Sons of Hell) Ephesto was one of the first to join up with them. In late 2008 Ephesto received a couple of shots at La Sombra's NWA World Welterweight Championship, his first chance at a singles title in CMLL. While he did not win the title the matches with La Sombra were very competitive and well received. In the spring/summer of 2009 Ephesto began targeting rival Rey Bucanero, challenging him for the CMLL World Light Heavyweight Championship. At first the storyline between the two saw Rey Bucanero turn down the challenge, only to late accept after Ephesto brought a ringside ticket for a show where Bucanero was in the main event and interfered in the match. On May 26, 2009 the two met with the title on the line, after each winning one fall the match was stopped by the referee as Rey Bucanero had suffered a serious knee injury. The referee awarded the match and the title to Ephesto, his first CMLL singles title.^[3] Bucanero's injury was so severe that it required surgery and he was out of action for six months. By virtue of holding the CMLL World Light Heavyweight Championship Ephesto participated in the 2010 Universal Championship tournament. He was part of "Block A" that competed on the July 30, 2010 Super Viernes show. He co-won the eight-man seeding battle royal, but was eliminated from the tournament when he lost to El Texano, Jr. in the first round of the actual tournament.^[8] On August 16, 2010 it was announced that Ephesto was one of 14 men putting their mask on the line in a Luchas de Apuestas steel cage match, the main event of the CMLL 77th Anniversary Show.^[9] Ephesto was the third man to leave the steel cage as all three members of Los Hijos del Averno quickly left the cage, keeping their masks safe. The match came down to La Sombra pinning Olímpico to unmask him.^[10] On February 22, 2011, Ephesto lost the CMLL World Light Heavyweight Championship to Rush, ending his reign at 637 days.^[11] On July 15, Los Hijos del Averno defeated La Generación Dorada (Máscara Dorada, La Máscara and La Sombra) to win the CMLL World Trios Championship.^[12] They would lose the title to El Bufete del Amor (Marco Corleone, Máximo and Rush) on February 19, 2012.^[13]

Personal life[link]

It has until recently been a common misconception that Ephesto, Ultimo Guerrero and Hooligan were all brothers. All three come from the "Lagunero" area in Mexico and early in their professional wrestling career the three stuck together to try and break into wrestling. This shared experience caused them to sometimes refer to each other as "Brother".

In wrestling[link]

• Finishing moves
  • La Safarina (Inverted three–quarter figure four surfboard) – innovated; used rarely after becoming Ephesto
  • Shoulderbreaker^[14]

• Signature moves
  • Fallaway slam
  • Second rope leg drop
  • Tope suicida

Championships and accomplishments[link]

• Asistencia Asesoría y Administración
  • Mexican National Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Latin Lover^[5]

• Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
  • CMLL World Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[3]
  • CMLL World Trios Championship (1 time) – with Averno and Mephisto^[12]
  • Mexican National Trios Championship (2 times) – with Olimpico and Mr. Niebla (1), and Volador, Jr. and El Felino (1)^[7]

• Promo Azteca
  • Aztecas Middleweight Championship (1 time)^[6]

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI ranked him #152 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 2007

Lucha de Apuesta record[link]

Footnotes[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Professional wrestling portal