Mr. Niebla (born February 22, 1978) is a Mexican Luchador Enmascarado (Spanish for masked professional wrestler). Mr. Niebla's real name is unknown, as is the tradition in Lucha Libre for masked wrestlers. Mr. Niebla is Spanish for "Mr. Fog". Mr. Niebla is mostly known for working for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) from the early 1990s until 2007 and again from 2008. From 2007 to 2008 Mr. Niebla worked for CMLL's main Mexican rival (AAA) where he was part of the stable Los Vipers. On his return to CMLL he was one of the founding members of a stable known as ¨La Peste Negra (Spanish for "the Black Plague").

Professional wrestling career[link]

The wrestler who would later become known as Mr. Niebla made his professional wrestling debut on November 11, 1990 working under the Ring name Chamaco Audaz (the Audacious Kid).^[1] Later on he would work under various other ring names and various mask as El Pupilo (the Pupil), El Marquez, Shadow 2000, Chico Veloz (Fast Boy) and even Batman for a brief period.).^[3] In March 1992 he finally came up with the name "Mr. Niebla" which he has used ever since. Working as Mr. Niebla he would earn the nickname El Caballero del Estilo Diferente (the Gentleman with a different style).^[3]

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre[link]

In the early 1990s Mr. Niebla began working for Mexico's largest professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). Early on Mr. Niebla worked mainly for one of the local CMLL-affiliates but did manage to win both the Distrito Federal Welterweight Championship and the Distrito Federal Tag Team Championship once.^[4][5] By the mid-1990s Mr. Niebla worked full time for the main roster, taking part in the 1996 CMLL Torneo Gran Alternativa. Mr. Niebla was teamed with Héctor Garza and qualified for the finals but ultimately lost to Emilio Charles, Jr. and Rey Bucanero.^[6] In 1997 Mr. Niebla formed a trio with fellow good guys (called Técnicos in Lucha Libre) Lizmark and Atlantis called La Ola Azul (the Blue Wave). Om April 29, 1997 La Ola Azul defeated El Satánico, Emilio Charles, Jr. and Rey Bucanero to win the CMLL World Trios Championship, Mr. Niebla's first major title victory.^[7] Over the next year the team would successfully defend the title twice against the team of Apolo Dantés, Kevin Quinn and Steel and once against the previous champions. On January 23, 1998 Mr. Niebla teamed up with Shocker to win the CMLL World Tag Team Championship from Dr. Wagner, Jr. and Emilio Charles, Jr.^[8] Subsequently Niebla and Shocker would defend the tag team championship against Blue Panther and Black Warrior, Bestia Salvaje and Scorpio, Jr. and the Hermanas Dinamita (Cien Caras and Universo 2000). In October, 1998 Mr. Niebla suffered an injury during a match, an injury that was so severe that Mr. Niebla was forced to vacate both the Trios title and the Tag Team title.and la Ola Azul were forced to vacate the Trios title.^[7][8]

In early 1998 a wrestler in International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG) began working as "Mr. Niebla", even wearing the same style mask and trunks as the original Mr. Niebla. IWRG claimed that the original Mr. Niebla did not actually own the rights to the name but was given it by a trainer and that the IWRG had gotten permission from that same individual to use the Mr. Niebla name. When the original Mr. Niebla was injured CMLL brought in the second Mr. Niebla and had him work matches while the original was injured. When the original Mr. Niebla returned to the ring he immediately attacked the impostor. The storyline between the two Mr. Nieblas came to an end when the two met in a Luchas de apuestas, mask vs. mask match for the rights to the name. The original Mr. Niebla won, forcing the impostor to unmask and change his name to Mr. Mexico.^[3] Mr. Niebla continued to team with Shocker but the team were not able to win the Tag Team title back. On September 24, 1999, at the CMLL 66th Anniversary Show, the team of Nr. Niebla and Shocker faced Atlantis and Villaño III in a Relevos suicida match, a match where the losing team would fight each other for their mask. In the main event match of CMLL's 66th Anniversary show, Atlantis and Villaño III defeated the much less experienced team, afterwards Mr. Niebla defeated Shocker to unmask him.^[9] On March 30, 2001 Mr. Niebla teamed up with Olímpico and Safari to defeat Blue Panther, Fuerza Guerrera and El Signo to win the Mexican National Trios Championship.^[10] For the next 450 days the trios defended the title against Emilio Charles Jr., Bestia Salvaje and Scorpio Jr.; Satánico, Averno and Black Warrior; Gran Markus, Jr., Poder Boricua and Violencia and Los Infernales (Satanico, Averno, Mephisto). Their second defense against Los Infernales was unsuccessful and on June 23, 2002 Mr. Niebla, Olímpico and Safair lost the Mexican National Trios Title.^[10] Only a week prior, on June 16, 2002 Mr. Niebla had teamed up with Atlantis and Black Warrior to regain the CMLL World Trios Title from Dr. Wagner, Jr. Blue Panther and Fuerza Guerrera.^[11] The team defended the titles into 2003, losing them to Dr. Wagner, Jr, Universo 2000 and Black Tiger III on March 31, 2003.^[12] The match against Wagner, Universo and Black Tiger III was part of a longer storyline between Mr. Niebla and Universo 2000. The two had clashed in 2002 over Universo 2000's CMLL World Heavyweight Championship but at the time Universo 2000 had kept the title.^[13] On April 18, 2003 Mr. Niebla defeated Universo 2000 to become the CMLL World Heavyweight Champion.^[14] Mr. Niebla would successfully turn back the challenges of Universo 2000, Apolo Dantés, Shocker, Rey Bucanero and Tinieblas, Jr. over the next 543 days.^[13] On October 12, 2004 Mr. Niebla lost the CMLL World Heavyweight Championship back to Universo 2000 and was unsuccessful in his attempt to regain it.^[13][14] In late 2006 or early 2007 Mr. Niebla left CMLL, he would later explain the decision to as a desire for him to not "go backward" down the rankings of the promotion and felt he would get better opportunities elsewhere.^[15]

Asistencia Asesoría y Administración[link]

After working for CMLL for over a decade, Mr. Niebla left CMLL to work for their main rival Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) in later 2007. Niebla made his debut as one of Los Vipers, a long existing faction of villains (known as Rudos in Lucha Libre), and soon began challening Los Vipers' leader Abismo Negro for the leadership role. In the spring of 2008 the storyline saw the two physically fight over the leadership in matches where the job was on the line. Each time Abismo Negro won, but each time AAA head booker Joaquin Roldan announced that the decision was overturned and that Negro, despite winning, did not lead Los Vipers. After the second match the rest of Los Vipers turned on Abismo Negro and kicked him out of the group. The storyline was supposed to end in a Luchas de apuestas match between Niebla and Negro at TripleMania XVI. Later on the match was changed to a multi-man steel cage match including all of Los Vipers (Mr. Niebla, Black Abyss, Psicosis II and Histeria) and Abismo Negro with the last person in the cage being forced to unmask. A few days before the event the matchw as cancelled with AAA claiming that Abismo Negro had suffered a neck injury.^[16] On the night of TripleMania XVI Mr. Niebla quit AAA, opting to return to CMLL instead. Mr. Niebla later states that he left AAA because the big mask vs. mask match he was promised fell through the Abismo Negro was unable to work the TripleMania match and that he came back to CMLL looking to make his mark unmasking a "big name" such as Místico or Dr. Wagner, Jr.^[17] He also apologized to AAA if they were upset with the way he left but believed he handled everything in a professional manner and that he was up front about his ambitions for a "big name" mask vs. mask match.^[15]

La Peste Negra[link]

When Mr. Niebla returned to CMLL in July 2008, he quickly formed a group with Negro Casas and Heavy Metal called La Peste Negra (Spanish for "the Black Plague), a Rudo group that had a more comical approach to wrestling. The trio started wearing large afro wigs, painting their faces black and dancing during their entrances and generally worked a less serious style of match than was unusual, especially for a serious wrestler like Negro Casas.^[18] On September 2, 2008 the last Casas brother, El Felino turned Rudo as well and joined La Peste Negra. After Felino joined the group Heavy Metal was quietly phased out as he was not comfortable working the comedic style.^[18] Felino's wife Princesa Blanca joined the group in early 2009, turning Rudo to work with La Pestra, the turn led to Princesa Blanca winning the Mexican National Women's Championship from Marcela on January 30, 2009.^[19] La Pesta Negra's biggest triumf to date is Negro Casas' title win over Místico that brought the CMLL World Welterweight Championship into the group.^[20] In March, 2010 Mr. Niebla suffered a knee injury that kept him out of the ring for over three months. In early June, 2010 CMLL announced that after recuperating in Europe Mr. Niebla was ready to return to the ring, reuniniting La Peste Negra for the first time in several months.^[21] After making only a few in ring appearances Mr. Niebla disappeared from the CMLL booking sheets once again, replaced with Rey Bucanero. It was later revealed that his body had rejected the implant he had been given during his previous time away from the ring and it had to be replaced, putting him out of action for approximately a month before he was able to wrestle again.^[22] On August 16, 2010 it was announced that the recently returned Mr. Niebla would be 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.^[23] Mr. Niebla was the sixth man to leave the steel cage, keeping his mask safe. The match came down to La Sombra pinning Olímpico to unmask him.^[24] On July 29, 2011, Mr. Niebla defeated 15 other men to win the 2011 Leyenda de Azul.^[25] On March 2, 2012, at Homenaje a Dos Leyendas, Mr. Niebla and Atlantis defeated Rush and El Terrible to win the National Parejas Increibles tournament, where rivals teamed together.^[26]

In wrestling[link]

• Finishing moves
  • La Nieblina (Over-rotated Delfin clutch)^[27]
  • Diving splash

• Signature moves
  • Dragon screw
  • Handspring senton to an oncoming opponent
  • Modified figure-four leglock
  • Moonsault
  • Slap
  • Running shoulder block
  • Tope suicida

Championships and accomplishments[link]

• Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL)
  • CMLL World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[14]
  • CMLL World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Shocker^[8]
  • CMLL World Trios Championship (2 times) – with Atlantis and Lizmark, Atlantis and Black Warrior^[7][11]
  • Carnaval Incredible Tournament (2000) - with Ultimo Guerrero and Rey Bucanero
  • National Parejas Increibles Tournament (2012) - with Atlantis^[26]
  • Salvador Lutteroth Singles Tournament (1998)
  • Mexican National Trios Championship (1 time) – with Safari and Olímpico^[10]
  • Distrito Federal Welterweight Championship (1 time)^[2][4]
  • Distrito Federal Tag Team Championship (1 time) – unknown partner^[2][5]
  • Leyenda de Azul (2011)^[25]

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI ranked him #208 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2010^[28]

• Other promotions
  • WFS Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Vertigo^[2]

Luchas de apuestas record[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Mr. Niebla profiles at:
  • Cagematch.net

Mister, usually written in its abbreviated form Mr or Mr. (American English), is a commonly used English honorific for men under the rank of knighthood. The title derived from master, as the equivalent female titles, Mrs., Miss, and Ms, all derived from the archaic mistress. The title master was retained and used for boys and young men, but is now less commonly used. The plural form is Misters, or the abbreviation Messrs (UK) or Messrs. (US) ( /ˈmɛsərz/).^[1][2] This is an English abbreviation of the French "messieurs" (French pronunciation: [mesjø]), sometimes pronounced /ˈmɛsərz/ in English.

Usage[link]

When addressing someone directly: Mr. is usually used with the last name only ("May I help you, Mr. Thompson?"). In other circumstances, it can be used with either the last name or the full name ("This is Mr. John Smith."; "Would you please help, Mr Smith?"). In formal written address, it is usually used along with the full name, or with initials and surname.

When a man's name is unknown, "mister" is sometimes used informally by itself in direct address, as in, "Hello, mister," or "Are you all right, mister?" rather than the standard form of address, "Sir". Though not necessarily meant disrespectfully, such use may to some people seem rude.

In some subcultures, including the Southern United States, West Africa, and in some US urban communities, Mister is often used along with only the first name to simultaneously indicate familiarity and respect; some children are encouraged to use this form when referring to or addressing adults.

A formal written address to related men with common surnames may list each person on separate lines, or in the form "Misters John and Elias Smith", "The Messieurs Smith" or "Messrs. John and Elias Smith".^[3]

Historic etiquette[link]

Historically, Mr., like Sir, once indicated an ill-defined social status only applied to gentlemen or persons at or above one's own station as a mark of respect. This understanding is all but obsolete today.

In past centuries, Mr. was used with a first name to distinguish among family members who might otherwise be confused in conversation: Mr. Smith would be the eldest present; younger brothers or cousins were then referred to as Mr. James Smith and Mr. Robert Smith and so on. Such usage survived longer in family-owned business or when domestic servants were referring to adult male family members with the same surname: "Mr. Robert and Mr. Richard will be out this evening, but Mr. Edward is dining in," but such usage today is rare.

Professional titles[link]

"Mr" is sometimes combined with certain titles (Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Justice, Mr. Dean). The female equivalent is Madam. All of these except Mr. Justice are used in direct address and without the name. The title Mr. Justice is not used in direct address. In certain professional contexts in different regions, "Mr." has specific meanings; the following are some examples.

Medicine[link]

In the United Kingdom, some Commonwealth countries, South Africa and Ireland, many surgeons use the title Mr (or Miss, Ms, Mrs, as appropriate), rather than Dr (Doctor). Until the 19th century, earning a medical degree was not required to become a qualified surgeon.^[4]

Military usage[link]

In the United States Military, Warrant Officers and Chief Warrant Officers are addressed as Mister. In the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard it is proper to use Mister to refer to commissioned officers below the rank of commander.

In the British Armed Forces, a Warrant Officer is addressed as "Sir" by Other Ranks and Non-Commissioned Officers; Commissioned Officers, particularly of junior rank, should address a Warrant Officer using his surname and the prefix Mister, for example Mr Smith, although often their rank or appointment is used, for example "Sergeant Major," "Regimental Sergeant Major,", or "RSM".

In the British Armed Forces a Subaltern is often referred to by his surname and the prefix Mister by both Other Ranks and more senior Commissioned Officers, e.g. "Report to Mister Smithe-Jones at once" rather than "Report to 2nd Lieutenant Smithe-Jones at once".

Judges[link]

In the Courts of England and Wales, Judges of the High Court are called, for example, Mr Justice Crane (unless they are entitled to be addressed as Lord Justice). Where a forename is necessary to avoid ambiguity it is always used, for example Mr Justice Robert Goff to distinguish from a predecessor Mr Justice Goff. The female equivalent is Mrs Justice Hallett, not Madam Justice Hallett. When more than one judge is sitting and one needs to be specific, one would refer to My Lord, Mr Justice Crane. High Court Judges are entitled to be styled with the prefix The Honourable while holding office: e.g. the Honourable Mr Justice Robert Goff. In writing, such as in the law reports, the titles "Mr Justice" or "Mrs Justice" are both abbreviated to a "J" placed after the name. For example, Crane J would be substituted for Mr Justice Crane.^[5]

The Chief Justice of the United States may be referred to as either "Mr. Chief Justice," or "Chief Justice." For example, "Mr. Chief Justice Roberts," or "Chief Justice Roberts."

Catholic clerics[link]

Among Catholic clergy, "Mr" is the correct title and form of address for seminarians and other students for the priesthood and was once the proper title for all secular and parish priests, the use of the title "Father" being reserved to religious clergy only. This is still the case on the continent of Europe but the use of the title "Father" for parish clergy became customary around the 1820s.^{[clarification needed]}

A diocesan seminarian is correctly addressed as "Mr," and once ordained a transitional deacon, is addressed in formal correspondence (though rarely in conversation) as the Reverend Mister (or "Rev. Mr"). In clerical religious orders (orders which include or are primarily made up of priests), Mr is the title given to scholastics. For instance, in the Jesuits, a man preparing for priesthood who has completed the novitiate but who is not yet ordained is properly, "Mr John Smith, SJ" and is addressed verbally as "Mister Smith"—this is to distinguish him from Jesuit brothers, and priests. (Although, before the 1820s, many Jesuit priests were also called "Mr".) Orders founded before the 16th century do not, as a rule, follow this practice: a Franciscan or Dominican, for instance, becomes a friar after novitiate and so is properly titled "Brother," or, if a cleric, "Father."

Permanent deacons are not to be styled "the Reverend Mr", but instead simply as "Deacon" or "the Reverend Deacon" followed by their first and last names (e.g., "Deacon John Jones".^[6] It is also customary in some places, especially in the Eastern Catholic Churches to address deacons while speaking, like presbyters, as "Father" or "Father Deacon".

Other usages[link]

• "Mister" can also be used in combination with another word to refer to someone who is regarded as the personification of, or master of, a particular field or subject, especially in the fields of popular entertainment and sports, as Gordie Howe is referred to as "Mr. Hockey" or Reggie Jackson is known as "Mr. October."
• The husband of a famous woman is sometimes referred to with "Mr" prefixed to her name; e.g. Denis Thatcher was sometimes referred to as "Mr Margaret Thatcher." Such usage is not traditional and usually meant satirically.
• In Italian football, deference to a coach is shown by players, staff and fans referring to him as "Il Mister," or directly, "Mister." This is traditionally attributed to the conversion of the local game of Calcio to English-rules Association Football by British sailors, who would have been the first coaches.^[7]

Foreign equivalents[link]

• Afrikaans: Meneer (Mnr.)
• Amharic: አቶ (Ato)
• Albanian: Zotëri (Z.)
• Arabic: سيد (Sayyid)
• Armenian: Պարոն (Paron, Eastern Armenian), Պարոն (Baron, Western Armenian)
• Azeri: Cənab
• Bengali: জনাব (Janab)
• Belarusian Спадар (Spadar), Пан (Pan)
• Bulgarian: Господин (Г-н, G-n) (Gospodin)
• Burmese: U
• Catalan: Senyor (Sr.)
• Chinese: 先生; Hanyu Pinyin: Xiānsheng; Tongyong Pinyin: sian1 sheng; Jyutping: sin1 saang1; Cantonese Yale: sīn sāang; Zhuyin Fuhao: ㄒ｜ㄢ ㄕㄥ
• Croatian: Gospodin (Gosp.)
• Czech: pan (p.)
• Dutch: De heer, only when referred to in the third person and on envelopes; meneer or mijnheer (archaic), in all situations, but mostly in speech, except on envelopes; (dhr. but not Mr. as this is an academic title.)
• Esperanto: Sinjoro (S-ro)
• Estonian: Härra (Hr.)
• Finnish: Herra (Hra)
• French: Monsieur (M. or, more rarely, M^r)
• Filipino: Ginoo (G.)
• Georgian: ბატონი (Batoni)
• German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish: Herr (Hr)
• Greek: Κύριος, Kýrios (literally: "Lord"), abbreviation: κ., k. – plural: Κύριοι, Kýrioi, abbreviation: κ.κ., k.k.. Unlike English practice, this style is never to be used for the deceased; in such cases styles of religious connotation ("blessed", "forgiven", etc) are used..
• Hebrew: אדון (Adon) or מר (Mar)
• Hindi: श्री (Shri)
• Hungarian: úr
• Icelandic: Herra (Hr.)
• Ido: Sioro (Sro.) is used to refer to any adult person, male or female, married or not. If it is necessary to indicate that the person in question is an adult male, then Siorulo (Srlo.) is used.
• Indonesian: Tuan (Tn.)
• Irish: An t-Uasal (An tUas.)
• Italian: Signore (Sig.)
• Japanese: Japanese honorifics are affixed to the end of a proper name or official title and are defined less by gender than by the relationship between the speaker and addressee. The most common, however, is -san (さん^?), itself derived from the more formal -sama (様^?). In newspapers and other (mostly written) contexts, the most common honorific used is the Chinese-based -shi (氏^?).
  For more details on this topic, see Japanese honorifics.
• Kannada: ಶ್ರೀ (Shree)
• Kazakh: Мырза (Myrza)
• Korean: the suffix 씨 (Hanja: 氏, McCune-Reischauer Ssi, pronounced somewhat like "shi"). Honorific form is 군 (gun), and the feminine form is 양 (yang).
• Kotava: weltikye
• Latvian: kungs (k-gs)
• Lithuanian: Ponas (p.)
• Macedonian:Господин (Gospodin), Г-дин (G-din)
• Maltese: Sinjur (Sur)
• Malay: Encik (En)
• Marathi: श्री (Shri)
• Norwegian: Herr (Hr.)
• Occitan: Sénher (Sr.)
• Oriya: Sriman
• Papiamento: Sr.
• Persian: آقا (Āqā)
• Polish: Pan (P.)
• Portuguese: Senhor (Sr.)
• Punjabi: ਸਰਦਰ (Sardar), ਸਦਰ (Sdr.)
• Romanian: Domn (D-n)
• Russian: Господин (Gospodin), Г-н (G-n)
• Sanskrit: महानुभाव (Mahānubhāva)
• Serbian: Господин (Gospodin), Г-дин (G-din)
• Sinhalese: මහතා (Mahatha)
• Slovak: pán (p.)
• Slovene: gospod (g.)
• Spanish: Señor (Sr.)
• Somali: Seeydi
• Syriac: ܡܝܩܪܐ (Myaqro)
• Tamil: திரு (Thiru)
• Telugu: శ్రీ (Sri)
• Thai: นาย (Nai)
• Turkish: Bey (used after a first name, e.g. Mehmet Bey)
• Tswana: Rra
• Ukrainian: Пан (Pan)
• Urdu: ﺼﺎﺣﺐ (Sahib) used as a suffix after the name
• Vietnamese: ông
• Yiddish: רעב (Reb), abbreviated 'ר, used with the first name rather than the surname.

See also[link]

• Aptronym

References[link]

José Casas Ruiz (born January 10, 1960) is a Mexican professional wrestler (called a Luchador in Spanish) and trainer currently working for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) under the ring name Negro Casas. He is the son of former wrestler, turned referee Pepe Casas and brother of professeional wrestlers El Felino and Heavy Metal. Casas has trained several wrestlers, including Mephisto, Kazushige Nosawa, T.J. Perkins, Rocky Romero, and Ricky Marvin.

Casas has worked all over the world, making appearances for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in the United States of America as well as touring with New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) in Japan for over a decade. In Mexico Casas has worked for CMLL since the 1990s but has also wrestled for the Universal Wrestling Association (UWA), World Wrestling Association (WWA) and International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG). In 2008 Negro Casas joined with Mr. Niebla and Heavy Metal to form the group La Peste Negra (Spanish for "the Black Plague), a group that would later be joined by El Felino. He currently holds the NWA World Historic Welterweight Championship.

Biography[link]

José Casas was born in 1960, the son of professional wrestler Pepe "Tropi" Casas, and grew up around Tlalpan. Casas described his childhood as a happy and normal one, even though his father would be away from home for long stretches as he wrestled all over Mexico and the United States. Casas' father first took him to a wrestling show when Casas was five years old, bringing him to an event across the border in the United States.^[3][4] José Casas became hooked on wrestling from the moment he saw the first match, with his first idols being his father, Aníbal and El Solitario. Casas played football, soccer, volleyball and baseball while still in school and even started training in professional wrestling classes taught by his father and Raúl Reyes.^[3] José and his brothers, Erick and El Felino, often sat at ringside during their father's matches, pretending to be upset or cry whenever their father looked like he was getting beat up in the ring, a ploy that their father had taught them to help gain crowd sympathy.^[4]

Professional wrestling career[link]

Casas debut came in 1979 as a bit of a strange turn of events. José Casas was in an arena where his father was supposed to compete when the promoter told Casas that his father had not shown and that he needed the young Casas to fill in for him or he would have Pepe Casas banned from wrestling. Casas wrestled and won his first match, wearing street clothes only to discover Pepe Casas and Raúl Reyes waiting in the dressingroom. The two had played a joke on Casas to see how he handled himself in the ring.^[3] Casas chose the name "Negro Casas" ("Black Casas") as his ring name and decided not work wear a mask. In 1980 Casas worked a low card match at a "Coliseo Naucalpan" against an equally young Fuerza Guerrera, the match was so well liked by the audience that they threw money into the ring to show their preparations. Promoter Paco Alonso even entered the ring and asked the crowd to show their appreciation for the match they just saw, earning both Negro Casas and Fuerza Guerrera a regular job with Empressa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL). By 1984 Casas had begun working for Universal Wrestling Association, winning the UWA World Lightweight Championship from Black Terry on January 1, 1984.^[5] Casas held the championship for 301 days before losing it to El Hijo del Santo.^[5] The loss to El Hijo del Santo was part of a long running, very intense storyline between Casas and Hijo del Santo that drew favorable reviews and helped establish both wrestlers as future main eventers. The storyline included Hijo del Santo forcing Negro Casas to be shaved bald after losing a Luchas de Apuestas, or bet match.^[6]

In the late 1980s Negro Casas began working for the Mexican based World Wrestling Association (WWA) where he became the first man to hold the WWA Welterweight Championship, holding it from sometime in 1987 until he was defeated by Tornado Negro on April 14, 1989.^[7] Casas regained the title, but only held it briefly before losing again as he was leaving the WWA.^[7] Casas returned to the UWA in 1990 and on January 29, 1991 he won the UWA World Middleweight Championship from Super Astro.^[8] Casas held the title for 787 days, finally losing it to Último Dragón.^[8]

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre[link]

By the mid 1990s Casas worked regularly for CMLL and toured Japan several times a year, wrestling for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). On December 1, 1995 Negro Casas defeated longtime rival Hijo del Santo in the finals of a tournament to crown a new NWA World Welterweight Championship.^[9] Casas held the title for over 200 days, rarely defending until he participated in a tournament to unify 8 lightweight titles in NJPW's J-Crown tournament. Casas put the Welterweight title on the line but lost to Shinjiro Otani in the first round.^[9] Casas and El Hijo del Santo resumed their feud in 1997, culminating in another Lucha de Apuestas between the two. Negro Casas once again ended up on the losing side, losing two falls to one in the main event of CMLL's 63rd Anniversary show.^[6] Negro Casas would later state that El Hijo del Santo was one of his favorite rivals and good friends backstage.^[4] Following the Apuesta loss Negro Casas and El Hijo del Santo began teaming together in 1998 and in early 1999 the team defeated Bestia Salvaje and Scorpio, Jr. by disqualification, but refused to accept the CMLL World Tag Team Championship as they did not win by pinfall.^[10] After the refusal the title the two teams faced a few weeks later and this time Casas and Hijo del Santo won by pinfall to claim the title.^[10] The team reigned for over 400 days, until El Hijo del Santo left CMLL; forcing Negro Casas to vacate the title. When El Hijo del Santo returned in 2001 the duo picked up where they left off by defeating Último Guerrero and Rey Bucanero to win the tag team championship once again.^[11] After 210 days and several title defenses Guerrero and Bucanero finally regained the titles, ending the third and final reign of the Casas/Hijo del Santo team. Following the loss of the tag team titles Negro Casas began focusing on his singles career once again, winning the CMLL World Middleweight Championship from Emilio Charles, Jr. on April 26, 2004.^[12] On August 28, 2005 Negro Casas became a double champion when he won the IWRG Intercontinental Trios Championship, teaming with his brothers El Felino and Heavy Metal to defeat Black Tiger III, Pentagon Black and El Pantera to win the title.^[13] The trios title reign lasted 129 days, ended by the team of Cerebro Negro, El Veneno and Scorpio, Jr.^[13] In 2006 Negro Casas was teamed up with CMLL's rising star Místico, working together in a style very similar to Casas and Hijo del Santo. The two defeated Averno and Mephisto to win the CMLL Tag Team Championship, Casas' fourth and Místico's first, on April 14, 2006.^[14] On September 17, 2006 Negro Casas' 874 days reign ended at the hands of Averno.^[7] Casas and Místico lost the tag team titles to Último Guerrero and Dr. Wagner, Jr. on July 13, 2007 but quickly regained them a week later.^[14] The team of Último Guerrero and Atlantis finally dethroned the duo, keeping them away from the title in subsequent rematches.^[14] On November 11, 2007 Negro Casas won the IWRG Intercontinental Middleweight Championship by defeating Villaño III in the finals of a tournament to find a new champion. Casas has not lost the title, but since CMLL and IWRG stopped working together in 2008 he is no longer promoted as the champion with the title technically being inactive.^[15]

La Peste Negra[link]

In July 2008 Mr. Niebla returned to CMLL, forming a group a group with Negro Casas and Heavy Metal called La Peste Negra (Spanish for "the Black Plague), a Rudo group that had a more comical approach to wrestling. The trio started wearing large afro wigs, painting their faces black and dancing during their entrances and generally worked a less serious style of match than was unusual, especially for a serious wrestler like Negro Casas.^[4] On September 2, 2008 the last Casas brother, El Felino turned Rudo as well and joined La Peste Negra. After Felino joined the group Heavy Metal was quietly phased out as he was not comfortable working the comedic style.^[4] Felino's wife Princesa Blanca joined the group in early 2009, turning Rudo to work with La Pestra, the turn led to Princesa Blanca winning the Mexican National Women's Championship from Marcela on January 30, 2009.^[16] La Pesta Negra's biggest triumph to date is Negro Casas' title win over Místico that brought the CMLL World Welterweight Championship into the group.^[17] After the title win, La Peste Negra continued their feud with Místico and his various allies. The feud led to Místico and Negro Casas facing off in a Lucha de Apuesta on the CMLL 76th Anniversary Show, where Casas lost two falls to one and had his hair shaved off. After the match Místico challenged El Felino, Casas' cornerman, to an Apuesta some time in the future.^[18]

Negro Casas is close to celebrating his 30th anniversary as a wrestler with no plans on retiring, having avoided serious injuries during his career. Negro Casas is still considered one of the main eventers of CMLL.^[3] On January 29, 2010 Negro Casas teamed up with La Máscara to participate in CMLL's "Torneo Nacional de Pareja Increíbles" ("National Amazing Pairs tournament"), a tournament where CMLL teams up a Tecnico (La Máscara) and a Rudo (Casas) for a tournament. The two defeated El Texano, Jr. and Rouge in the opening round, El Sagrado and Shocker in the second round and Héctor Garza and Toscano in the semi-final to earn a spot in the final of the tournament.^[19] On February 5, 2010 Casas and La Máscara lost to Máscara Dorada and Atlantis in the finals.^[20] On February 14, 2010 Casas defeated Hijo del Fantasma to win the CMLL World Middleweight Championship for the second time.^[21] During most of April and into May Negro Casas tourned with New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) in Japan. On May 3, 2010 Casas lost the CMLL World Middleweight title to Jushin Liger during NJPW's Wrestling Dontaku 2010 show.^[22] On October 15, 2010, Charly Manson defeated Negro Casas in a Lucha de Apuesta to take his hair.^[23] On February 14, 2012, Casas defeated La Sombra to win the NWA World Historic Welterweight Championship for the first time.^[24] On March 2 at Homenaje a Dos Leyendas, Casas and Blue Panther wrestled to a draw in a Lucha de Apuesta and were, as a result, both shaved bald.^[25]

Personal life[link]

José Casas is a member of an extensive wrestling family, founded by his father Pepe "Tropi" Casas and also consists of his brothers Erick, who wrestles as "Heavy Metal" and El Felino (real name unrevealed), and a brother who is not a professional wrestler. Casas' sister-in-law (Felino's wife) is Mexican National Women's Champion Princessa Blanca.^[3] Casas' wife is the daughter of a Panamania wrestling promoter that Casas once worked for and she has been training for a professional wrestling career. His two daughters are training in Olympic style wrestling, also hoping to turn professional one day. José Casas does not train his daughters, entrusting that task to Ringo Mendoza, Tony Salazar, Arturo Beristain and Franco Colombo.^[3][4] One of Casas' daughters is married to professional wrestler Diamante who works for CMLL. Casas also has two nephews who work as Kid Tiger and Puma King, the sons of El Felino.

In wrestling[link]

• Finishing moves

• La Casita (Arm wrench inside cradle)^[26]
• Scorpion Deathlock
• Rikilariato (Lariat)

• Signature moves

• Arm trap crossface
• Black Fantasy (Matrix evasion)
• Black Pain (Casas applies an Ankle lock and then drops and smashes the leg onto his knee)
• Multiple Dropkick variations
  • 4:40 Volada (Running corner drop to a seated opponent)
  • Patada a la Rodilla (Low-angle drop to the opponent's knee)
  • Missile drop
  • Standing drop
• Jab
• Multiple kick variations
  • Savate
  • Shoot
  • Soccer
  • Spinning back
• Kneeling jawbreaker
• La Silla (seated senton onto the shoulders of a standing opponent at ringside)
• Multiple knife–edged chops & overhand slaps to the chest of a cornered opponent
• Running ankle pick
• Senton

• Nickname

• "El 4:40"^[4]

• Wrestlers trained

• Mephisto
• Kazushige Nosawa
• T.J. Perkins
• Rocky Romero
• Ricky Marvin

Championships and accomplishments[link]

• Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre

• CMLL World Middleweight Championship (2 times)^[12]
• CMLL World Tag Team Championship (5 times) – with El Hijo del Santo (3), Místico (2)^[10][11][14]
• CMLL World Trios Championship (1 time) – with último Guerrero and Atlantis^[27]
• CMLL World Welterweight Championship (1 time)^[7]
• NWA World Historic Welterweight Championship (1 time, current)^[24]
• NWA World Welterweight Championship (1 time)^{[9][Note 1]}
• Torneo Gran Alternativa (1994) – with Héctor Garza^[28]
• Leyenda de Plata: 2000^[29]
• Copa Bobby Bonales (2010)

• International Wrestling Revolution Group

• IWRG Intercontinental Middleweight Championship (1 time)^[15]
• IWRG Intercontinental Trios Championship (1 time) – with El Felino and Heavy Metal^[13]

• Mexican Provincial Championships

• Estado de Guerrero Lightweight Championship (1 time)
• Estado de México heavyweight championship (42 times)

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated

• PWI ranked him #85 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 2005

• Universal Wrestling Association

• UWA World Lightweight Championship (1 time)^[5]
• UWA World Middleweight Championship (1 time)^[8]

• World Wrestling Association

• WWA World Welterweight Championship (1 time)^[30]

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)

Lucha de Apuesta record[link]

Footnotes[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Professional wrestling portal

• Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (Spanish)
• Negro Casas at the Online World of Wrestling