- published: 03 Mar 2016
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Genaro Vazquez Nevarez is a Mexican professional wrestler currently working for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, better known by his ring name Blue Panther. The "Blue" part of his ring name is an homage to Aníbal, a wrestler he looked up to growing up who wore a blue mask.
Blue Panther began wrestling in northern Mexico in the late 1970s before getting noticed by René Guajardo in Monterrey. Guarjardo got Panther booked in Universal Wrestling Association and Panther made his debut in their main building, El Toreo de Cuatro Caminos in Naucalpan, in 1981. He wrestled on the undercard as a rudo (heel) before getting his first push in 1984 by winning the UWA World Welterweight championship from veteran worker Matemático at the end of the year. He had a feud with Black Man that saw him lose his UWA Welterweight title but win Black Man's mask in 1986. During the remainder of his UWA career, he won the UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship from Gran Hamada and traded the title back and forth with Solar I and won the mask of Kendo.
Jorge Guzmán Rodríguez (born August 2, 1963), better known as El Hijo del Santo ("The Son of the Saint"), is a Mexican professional wrestler, political activist and one of the most successful stars in Lucha Libre. He is the youngest son of the legendary professional wrestler, film actor and Mexican folk hero El Santo.
"Santito", as he is often called, was the only one of his father's 10 children to become a professional wrestler. He began wrestling without his father's consent in February 1982 as "El Korak" but he made his official debut as "El Hijo del Santo" in October of that year after he earned his college degree in Communication Science per his father's request. He shared his father's look, the silver mask, tights and cape, and moves but he was shorter and, although he would never become the same cultural icon, he would become a better in-ring performer than his father.
Early in his career, he was wrestled mainly for World Wrestling Association (WWA) (The Tijuana circuit) and Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) (a promotion that worked in the Mexico City area) but he did make his debut for Empressa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL) the promotion that later became Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) in Arena Mexico in the summer of 1983. He also was voted "Rookie of the Year" in Mexico.