Puma SE, officially branded as PUMA, is a major German multinational company that produces athletic shoes, footwear, and other sportswear. The company was formed in 1924 as Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik by Adolf and Rudolf Dassler. The relationship between the two brothers deteriorated until the two agreed to split in 1948, forming two separate entities, Adidas and Puma. Both companies are currently based in Herzogenaurach, Germany.

The company is known for its football shoes and has sponsored acclaimed footballers, including Pelé, Eusébio, Johan Cruijff, Enzo Francescoli, Diego Maradona, Lothar Matthäus, Kenny Dalglish, Didier Deschamps, Robert Pires, Radamel Falcao, Samuel Eto'o, and Gianluigi Buffon. Puma is the sponsor of the Jamaican track athlete Usain Bolt. In the United States, the company is known for the suede basketball shoe it introduced in 1968, which eventually bore the name of New York Knicks basketball star Walt "Clyde" Frazier, and for its endorsement partnership with Joe Namath.

Following the split from his brother, Rudolf Dassler originally registered the new-established company as Ruda, but later changed to Puma.^[3] Puma's earliest logo consisted of a square and beast jumping through a D, which was registered, along with the company's name, in 1948. Puma's shoe designs feature the distinctive "Formstripe",^[4] with clothing and other products having the logo printed on them.

The company offers lines of shoes and sports clothing designed by Lamine Kouyate, Amy Garbers, and others. Since 1996 Puma has intensified its activities in the United States. Puma owns 25% of American brand sports clothing maker Logo Athletic, which is licensed by American professional basketball and association football leagues. Since 2007 Puma SE has been part of the French luxury group PPR.

History[link]

Background[link]

Christoph von Wilhelm Dassler was a worker in a shoe factory, while his wife Pauline ran a small laundry in the Bavarian town of Herzogenaurach, 20 km (12.4 mi) from the city of Nuremberg. After leaving school, their son, Rudolf Dassler, joined his father at the shoe factory. When he returned from fighting in World War I, Rudolf received a management position at a porcelain factory, and later in a leather wholesale business in Nuremberg.

Rudolf returned to Herzogenaurach in 1924 to join his younger brother, Adolf, nicknamed "Adi", who had founded his own shoe factory. They named the new business "Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik" (Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory). The pair started their venture in their mother's laundry. At the time, electricity supplies in the town were unreliable, and the brothers sometimes had to use pedal power from a stationary bicycle to run their equipment.^[5]

Adi drove from Bavaria to the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin with a suitcase full of spikes and persuaded United States sprinter Jesse Owens to use them, the first sponsorship for an African American. Owens won four gold medals. Business boomed; the Dasslers were selling 200,000 pairs of shoes annually before World War II.^[6]

[edit] Company split and creation of PUMA

Both brothers joined the Nazi Party, but Rudolf was slightly closer to the party. A growing rift between the brothers reached a breaking point during an Allied bomb attack in 1943. Adi and his wife climbed into a bomb shelter that Rudolf and his family were already in. "Here are the bloody bastards again," Adi said, apparently referring to the Allied war planes, but Rudolf was convinced his brother meant him and his family.^[7] When Rudolf was later picked up by American soldiers and accused of being a member of the Waffen SS, he was convinced that his brother had turned him in.^[5]

The brothers split the business in 1948. Rudolf moved to the other side of the Aurach River to start his own company. Adolf started his own sportswear company using a name he formed using his nickname—Adi—and the first three letters of his last name—Das—to establish Adidas. Rudolf created a new firm that he called "Ruda", from "Ru" in Rudolf and "Da" in Dassler. Rudolf's company changed its name to Puma Schuhfabrik Rudolf Dassler in 1948.^[8]

A pair of Puma sport-lifestyle shoes with the company's distinctive "Formstripe" design

Early years and rivalry with Adidas[link]

Puma and Adidas entered a fierce and bitter rivalry after the split. The town of Herzogenaurach was divided on the issue, leading to the nickname "the town of bent necks"—people looked down to see which shoes strangers wore.^[9] Even the town's two football clubs were divided: ASV Herzogenaurach club supported Adidas, while 1 FC Herzogenaurach endorsed Rudolf's footwear.^[5] When handymen were called to Rudolf's home, they would deliberately wear Adidas shoes. Rudolf would tell them to go to the basement and pick out a pair of free Pumas.^[5] The two brothers never reconciled, and although both are buried in the same cemetery, they are spaced apart as far as possible.

In 1948, the first football match after World War II, several members of the West German national football team wore Puma boots, including the scorer of West Germany's first post-war goal, Herbert Burdenski. Four years later, at the 1952 Summer Olympics, 1500 metres runner Josy Barthel of Luxembourg won Puma's first Olympic gold in Helsinki, Finland.

At the 1960 Summer Olympics Puma paid German sprinter Armin Hary to wear Pumas in the 100 metre sprint final. Hary had worn Adidas before and asked Adolf for payment, but Adidas rejected this request. The German won gold in Pumas, but then laced up Adidas for the medals ceremony, to the shock of the two Dassler brothers. Hary hoped to cash in from both, but Adi was so enraged he banned the Olympic champion.^[6]

[edit] The Pelé pact and subsequent affairs

A few months prior to the 1970 FIFA World Cup, Armin Dassler and his cousin, Horst Dassler, sealed an agreement which was dubbed "The Pelé pact". This agreement dictated that Pelé would be out of bounds for both Adidas and Puma. However, Pelé complied with a request by Puma's representative Hans Henningsen to increase the awareness and profile of Puma after he received $120,000 to wear the Formstripes.^[6] At the opening whistle of a 1970 World Cup finals match, Pelé stopped the referee with a last-second request to tie his shoelaces before kneeling down to give millions of television viewers a close-up of his Pumas.^[10] This outraged Horst, and future peace agreements were called off.

Two years later, during the 1972 Summer Olympics, Puma provided shoes for the Ugandan 400 metres hurdles champion, John Akii-Bua. After Akii-Bua was forced out of Uganda by its military government, Puma employed him in Germany. Eventually Akii-Bua returned to Uganda.

In May 1989, Rudolf's sons Armin and Gerd Dassler agreed to sell their 72 percent stake in Puma to Swiss business Cosa Liebermann SA.^[11]

Puma became a public company in 1986, and thereafter was listed on the Börse München and Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

Present day[link]

Parts of this article (those related to section) are outdated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. Please see the talk page for more information. (November 2010)

A Puma store in a shopping centre

Puma AG has 9,500 employees and distributes its products in more than 120 countries.^[when?] For the fiscal year 2003, the company had revenue of €1.274 billion. Puma were the commercial sponsors for the 2002 anime series Hungry Heart: Wild Striker, with the jerseys and clothing sporting the Puma brand. Puma ranks as one of the top shoe brands, after Reebok, Adidas, and Nike.^[12]

The company has been led by CEO and Chairman Jochen Zeitz since 1993. His contract was extended until 2012 in October 2007.^[13]

Japanese fashion guru Mihara Yasuhiro teamed up with Puma to create a high-end and high-concept line of sneakers^[14]

Puma is the main producer of enthusiast driving shoes and race suits. They are the primary producer for Formula One and NASCAR clothing. They won the rights to sponsor the 2006 FIFA World Cup champions, the Italian national football team, making and sponsoring the clothing worn by the team. They entered a partnership with Ferrari, Ducati and BMW to make Puma-Ferrari, Puma-Ducati and Puma-BMW shoes. On 15 March 2007 Puma launched its 2007/2008 line of uniforms for a club, and Brazilian football club Grêmio will be the first to use the laser-sewn technology, similar to that worn by Italy at the 2006 World Cup, because their season starts six months earlier than European clubs.

Special editions of King football boots[link]

In 2008 Puma commemorated the 40th anniversary of the "King" model of boots with a special anniversary edition,^[15] the King XL (XL is 40 in Roman Numerals), a tribute to Portuguese footballer Eusébio, who scored 42 goals with King boots in 1968, winning the Golden Boot Award as Europe's leading scorer. Puma have continued to release new versions of the King range, and released a version in 2009 to celebrate the history of Italian soccer, and in particular the Puma King XL Italia, in honour of double World Cup winning coach Vittorio Pozzo.^[16]

In 2010 a Puma King model was released commemorating the 50th birthday of Diego Maradona, with a model called the Puma King Diego Finale football boot. This edition was created in the colours of La Albiceleste, the Argentina National football team.

Takeover by PPR[link]

In February 2007 Puma reported that its profits had fallen by 26% to €32.8 million ($43 million; £22 million) during the final three months of 2006. Most of the decline in profits was due to higher costs linked to its expansion; sales rose by more than a third to €480.6 million.^[17]

In early April 2007 Puma's shares rose €29.25 per share, or about 10.2%, at €315.24 per share.^[18] On 10 April 2007 French retailer and owner of Gucci brand Pinault-Printemps-Redoute (PPR) announced that it had bought a 27% stake in Puma, clearing the way for a full takeover. The deal values Puma at €5.3 billion. PPR said that it would launch a "friendly" takeover for Puma, worth €330 a share, once the acquisition of the smaller stake was completed. The board of Puma welcomed the move, saying it was fair and in the firm's best interests.^[19] Since 17 July 2007 PPR owns 62.1 % of Puma stock. While PPR owns the majority of Puma's stock, Puma remains an independent company.

In July 2011 the company completed a conversion from an Aktiengesellschaft (German public limited company) to a Societas Europaea, the European Union-wide equivalent, changing its name from Puma AG Rudolf Dassler Sport to Puma SE.^[20] At the same time, Franz Koch replaced the long-serving Jochen Zeitz as the firm's CEO, with Zeitz becoming chairman.

Controversy[link]

Employment practices[link]

Organizations promoting fair trade and worker's rights criticize Puma's employment practices in their developing world factories, predominantly relating to workers in China, Turkey, El Salvador, and Indonesia.^[21][22][23]

Puma, like many globalised corporations, believes that "labour flexibility remains one of the key components to ensure that individual companies survive and grow". These "flexible" labour practices allow the company to manufacture quickly and cheaply, but often under exploitative conditions.^[24]

Freedom of association

Puma’s 2009 supplier list included close to 350 suppliers, the majority of which are located in Asia, predominately China, followed by Vietnam.^[25] In these locations, Puma reports that the rights of freedom of association and collective bargaining have been difficult to enforce.^[26] According to human rights and labour organisations,^[27] Puma does not have adequate policies in place to encourage suppliers to recognise workers' union rights. Puma does not require suppliers to allow their workers to form a union, nor does it require suppliers to sign union access agreements.^[28]

Puma frequently has short term contracts with its suppliers, which means that at any time it can leave an area, and its workers, if they can source their products more cheaply elsewhere.^[29] This lack of stability does not give supplier factories a good incentive to respect workers' rights. For instance, in 2004 Puma decided to stop ordering garments from the Lian Thai factory in Thailand just after the factory had agreed to cease discrimination against trade union members.^[29] In another incident, following the formation of an independent union at one of Puma’s Mexican suppliers, the company cut orders from the factory.^[30]

Puma has not taken action to minimise the use of short term contracts,^[24] though the prevalence of these contracts creates an atmosphere of economic insecurity and makes it difficult for workers to organise.

Low wages

In a number of regions, sportswear workers producing for Puma have been increasingly vocal about the serious inadequacy of their wages.^[31] Puma has not yet made a full commitment to pay a living wage.^[32] Puma is currently undertaking research into finding a practical solution to the problem of low wages in Asia, and is working with suppliers in Indonesia, India, and Cambodia to assess the feasibility of a minimum living wage.^[33] Labour organisations, such as the Asia Floor Wage campaign, hope that this process will lead to the implementation of living wages in the future. In the meanwhile, Puma has admitted that it is still trying to achieving full compliance with the minimum wage at a number of its suppliers.^[34]

Steps in the right direction

The company has made some steps towards greater transparency. In 2000 Puma began auditing all of its suppliers on a yearly basis, and makes the results available in its sustainability reports.^[35] Since 2005 it has publicly provided a list of its suppliers.

Puma has made a strong commitment to respecting workers rights in some areas. For example, Puma has obtained the Ethical Clothing Australia accreditation for its Australian-made products.^[36] This labour-friendly accreditation applies to only a tiny percentage of Puma’s total production.

Environmental practices[link]

In July 2011, Puma – along with other major fashion and sportswear brands including Nike, Adidas, and Abercrombie & Fitch – was the subject of a report by the environmental group Greenpeace entitled 'Dirty Laundry'. Puma is accused of working with suppliers in China who, according the findings of the report, contribute to the pollution of the Yangtze and Pearl Rivers. Samples taken from one facility belonging to the Youngor Group located on the Yangtze River Delta and another belonging to the Well Dyeing Factory Ltd., located on a tributary of the Pearl River Delta, revealed the presence of hazardous and persistent hormone disruptor chemicals, including alkylphenols, perfluorinated compounds, and perfluorooctane sulfonate.^[37]

Less than two weeks after the release of the Dirty Laundry report, Puma made a public commitment to deal with the issues raised by Greenpeace. The company's statement asserts that "Puma is committed to eliminate the discharges of all hazardous chemicals from the whole lifecycle and all production procedures that are associated with the making and using of Puma products."^[38] Greenpeace also confirmed Puma's commitment to eliminate all releases of hazardous chemicals from its entire product lifecycle, and across its global supply chain by 2020.^[39]

Timeline[link]

• 1920: Rudolf Dassler and his brother Adolf start making sports shoes
• 1924: Foundation of Gebrüder Dassler Schuhfabrik, Herzogenaurach, Germany
• 1948: Foundation of Puma Schuhfabrik Rudolf Dassler (1 October), Introduction of the ATOM, Puma's first football shoe
• 1949: Rudolf Dassler has the idea of football shoes with removable studs. He begins working on their development and production. Many football experts, like Sepp Herberger, are involved
• 1952: Introduction of the SUPER ATOM
• 1953: Development of ATOM's successor: the BRASIL
• 1958: Introduction of Puma's signature "Formstripe" at the FIFA World Cup in Sweden
• 1959: The company is transformed into a limited partnership named Puma-Sportschuhfabriken Rudolf Dassler KG
• 1960: Introduction of the technologically advanced vulcanization production technique
• 1966: Launch of the WEMBLEY, the predecessor model to the Puma King
• 1968: Launch of the legendary KING. Puma is the first manufacturer to offer sports shoes with Velcro fasteners
• 1968: Launch of the SUEDE
• 1973: Launch of the CLYDE. Designed for basket player Walt "Clyde" Fraizer, as a wider-fitting version of suede model
• 1974: Rudolf Dassler dies. His sons Armin and Gerd take over the company's management
• 1976: Introduction of the S.P.A.-Technology
• 1986: Transformation into a stock corporation
• 1989: Launch of the TRINOMIC sport shoe system
• 1990: Introduction of INSPECTOR, a growth control system for children's shoes
• 1991: Launch of the DISC SYSTEM sports shoe
• 1992: Capital increase by DM 20 million, share capital reaches DM 70 million
• 1993: Jochen Zeitz is appointed Chairman and CEO, Proventus/Aritmos B.V. becomes majority shareholder
• 1994: The first profit since the company's IPO in 1986 is registered
• 1996: Puma is listed in the German M-DAX index; introduction of the CELL technology, the first foam-free midsole
• 1997: Launch of the CELLERATOR
• 1998: Puma starts a cooperation with designer Jil Sander
• 1999: Puma becomes an official on-field supplier of the U.S. National Football League (NFL)
• 2000: Production of fireproof footwear in partnership with Porsche and Sparco
• 2001: Acquisition of the Scandinavian Tretorn Group
• 2002: Launch of the SHUDOH
• 2003: Majority shareholder Monarchy/Regency sells its shareholdings to a broad base of institutional investors
• 2004: Collaborative partnership with world-renowned designer Philippe Starck
• 2005: Mayfair Vermögensverwaltungsgesellschaft mbh acquires a total of 16.91% shareholding
• 2006: The company is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index; Introduction of the S.A.F.E. concept, a specific tool developed to continuously improve social and environmental standards. Shoe collection in cooperation with Alexander McQueen. Italy would go on to win the 2006 World Cup. Due to Puma's sponsorship of the Italian national team, many of the teams' players wore Puma cleats
• 2007: Voluntary public take-over by Pinault-Printemps Redoute; Prolongation of the contract with Jochen Zeitz by five years
• 2008: Melody Harris-Jensbach is appointed Deputy CEO; Designer and artist Hussein Chalayan becomes Creative Director, Puma also acquires a majority stake in Chalayan's business and Hussein Chalayan
• 2010: Signs two year deals to make the kits of Newcastle United, Motherwell, Hibernian, Burnley & Preston from the 2010–11 season
• 2011: Signs a deal to make kits of GNK Dinamo Zagreb from the 2011–12 season. Signs a three year deal with A-League champions Brisbane Roar^[40]
• 2012: Signs a four year deal to make kits of Barrow from the 2012–13 season.

Sponsorship[link]

This section requires expansion.

Puma is the sponsor of the Formula One racing team Red Bull Racing. The team is seen here at the 2010 Canadian Grand Prix.

New Zealand wicket-keeper and batsman Brendon McCullum wearing Puma wicket-keeping gloves and pads during a test match

Puma is a sponsor of sporting events and identities in Germany and internationally. The company sponsors numerous footballers and national football teams; the "Formstripe" especially has a heavy presence in Africa. Puma is the sponsor of a number of Premier League teams, most notably Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United (both until the end of 2011/12 season). In Australia, Brisbane Roar FC announced Puma as its Hyundai A-League exclusive apparel partner for three seasons beginning 2011/12.^[40]

In Australian Rules Football, Puma has long-standing marketing relationships with the Hawthorn Hawks and West Coast Eagles. Puma has been Hawthorn's apparel sponsor since the 1980s, the club's most successful era.

In cricket, Puma is the official apparel sponsor for the Deccan Chargers (representing the city of Hyderabad), and Rajasthan Royals (representing the city if Jaipur) in the Indian Premier League.^[41][42] International cricketers such as Yuvraj Singh (India), Craig Kieswetter (England), Adam Gilchrist (Australia) and Brendon McCullum (New Zealand) endorse the brand, and use the brand's cricket gear.^[43]

In Rugby Union, Puma entered an eight-year contract as official apparel sponsor of the Irish Rugby team since the beginning of season 2009–10.^[44] PUMA supplies the team kit, replica kit, and training equipment. Puma also sponsor English premiership side Bath Rugby.

Puma is also a sponsor of the web show The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers.

Acquisitions[link]

On 10 March 2010 Puma announced it would acquire 100 percent of Cobra Golf, based in Carlsbad, California, from Fortune Brands Inc., but did not provide any financial details.^[45]

Footnotes[link]

References

Bibliography

• Smit, Barbara (2009). Sneaker Wars. New York: Harper Perennial. ISBN 978-0-06-124658-6. 
• "Puma AG Rudolf Dassler Sport". Fundinguniverse.com. http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Puma-AG-Rudolf-Dassler-Sport-Company-History.html. Retrieved 6 November 2010. 

External links[link]

• Official website

Companies portal

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Born on April 6, 1963 in Mannheim, Germany, Jochen Zeitz is the CEO of the Sport & Lifestyle Group of PPR (company) and Executive Chairman of PUMA SE after serving 18 years as Chairman and CEO at PUMA.

Zeitz is also a member of the board and Executive committee of PPR, a Board member of Wilderness Safaris and Chair of the Sustainability Committee, and has been a member of the Board of Directors of Harley-Davidson since 2007, recently also becoming the Chair of Harley-Davidson’s newly created sustainability committee.

Early Life[link]

Studying in Germany, France, and the United States, Zeitz graduated from the European Business School in International Marketing and Finance.

Career[link]

Zeitz began his professional career with Colgate-Palmolive in New York and Hamburg. Zeitz joined PUMA in 1990 and in 1993 was appointed Chairman and CEO becoming the youngest CEO in German history to head a public company at the age of 30. Zeitz then spearheaded the worldwide restructuring of PUMA, which was in financial difficulties at the time, and implemented a long-term development plan^{[1] [2]}that saw PUMA’s share price gain around 4000 percent^[3] in 13 years, from 8.6 Euros in his first year as CEO to an all time high of 350 Euros^[4] when the majority stake of the company was acquired by PPR in 2007. Zeitz managed to turn PUMA from a low priced, undesirable brand into one of the top 3 brands in the sporting good industry.^[5]

In 2008 Zeitz introduced PUMAVision as an umbrella concept to implement an ethical framework defined by the four key principles of being Fair, Honest, Positive and Creative as applied to all professional behavior, business procedures and relationships throughout and outside of PUMA.^[6] In May 2011 he announced PUMA’s Environmental Profit & Loss Account^[7] that puts a monetary value to a businesses use of ecosystem services across the entire supply chain. In October 2010, Zeitz was appointed Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) at PPR and soon after launched PPR HOME,^[8] a new and holistic sustainability initiative across the global brands of the Group that operates four interconnected strands of Leadership, Ecology, Humanity and Creativity.

Philanthropy[link]

In 2008 Zeitz founded^[9] the not-for-profit “Zeitz Foundation of Intercultural Ecosphere Safety” to support creative and innovative sustainable projects and solutions that balance conservation, community development, culture, and commerce (the “4Cs”) in a quadruple bottom line approach, promoting an inclusive, holistic paradigm of conservation that enhances livelihoods and fosters intercultural dialogue while building sustainable businesses.

Author[link]

In 2010 Zeitz co-wrote and published “Prayer, Profit and Principles - Monk and Manager in dialogue” with Anselm Grün, a Benedictine monk.^[10] The book has been translated into 9 languages and covers topics such as: sustainability, the economy and prosperity, culture, values, success and responsibility.

Honours and awards[link]

Zeitz has received the Strategist of the Year three times from the Financial Times^[11], "Entrepreneur of the Year", ^[12] “Trendsetter of the Year” and “Best of European Business Award 2006″^[13]. In 2004, he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit of Germany.^[14] In 2009, Zeitz became Honorary Warden of Kenya by the Kenya Wildlife Service.^[15] In 2010, the German Sustainability Foundation gave Zeitz an award for Germany's most sustainable future strategies.^[16]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Board of Management - Website PUMA AG
• [1] PPR
• [2] PPR HOME
• [3] PUMAVision
• Who is Who: Jochen Zeitz (in German)
• Zeitz Foundation for Intercultural Ecosphere Safety
• The Long Run
• [4] (Zeitz Family History in German)

Puma King (born February 12, 1987) is a Mexican Luchador enmascarado, or masked professional wrestler currently working for the Mexico City based professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). Puma King frequently teams with his brother, luchador Tiger Kid. Puma King's real name is not a matter of public record, as is often the case with masked wrestlers in Mexico where their private lives are kept a secret from the wrestling fans.^[1] He is part of the Casas wrestling family, son of El Felino using a ring character and a mask very similar to his father and has been trained by another uncle Negro Casas.

Professional wrestling career[link]

Puma King is part of the Casas wrestling family although he is not the son of Negro Casas, Jorge Luis Casas (El Felino) or Erick Casas but of another Casas sibling that is not involved with wrestling. He made his 2006 at the age of just 16, wrestling as Puma King. Neither Tiger Kid, nor his older brother Tiger Kid, hid the fact that they were part of the Casas family, and with the use of the feline inspired names and mask that closely resembled the mask worn by El Felino it was speculated that they were the sons of El Felino. This was later denied by Puma King and Tiger Kid, claiming that they chose their names and masks as a tribute to their favorite uncle.^[2] In an interview with SuperLuchas published in early June 2010 El Felino finally revealed that he was indeed the father of both Tiger Kid and Puma King, but had kept it a secret to allow his children to succeed or fail on their own merits and not because of their family relationship to El Felino.

Puma King worked for International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG) not long after his debut, and although Tiger Kid also worked for IWRG the promotion only rarely used them as a team. In 2008 Puma King joined Tiger Kid in Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), the same promotion their uncles worked for. Both Puma King and Tiger Kid participated in the Trofeo Generacion Del 75 torneo cibernetico match, a tournament for wrestlers signifying the "future of CMLL during their 75th year", but lost as El Hijo del Fantasma won the trophy.^[3] Puma King teamed up with Villaño V to participate in the 2008 Gran Alternativa tournament. The Gran Alternativa tournament is an annual CMLL tournament that teams a veteran and a rookie (Novato) up for a tag team tournament. Villaño V was originally scheduled to team with El Brujo, but due to an injury Puma King was chosen to replace him.^[4] Puma King and Villaño V lost to Axxel and Blue Panther in the opening round of the tournament.^[5]

In CMLL Puma King and Tiger Kid frequently wrestle as a tag team, usually low on the card but they have made several appearances on CMLL Super Viernes, CMLL's biggest show of the week.^[6][7] In February, 2010 both Puma King and Tiger Kid became involved in El Felino's ongoing feud against La Sombra. It all began on February 2, 2010 where Puma King dressed up like his uncle El Felino to distract La Sombra during a match.^[8] A later doubleganger act backfired though and saw El Felino lose to La Sombra, which saw the end of the Tiger Kid/Puma King aid in the storyline.^[9] On April 23, 2010 Puma King participated in the 2010 Gran Alternativa, this time teaming with Último Guerrero. The team defeated Pegasso and Toscano in the first round and Durango Kid and El Texano, Jr. in the second round. In the finals of Block B Puma King and Último Guerrero were defeated by Delta and Volador, Jr.^[10] Puma King was one of 12 men who put their mask on the line as part of a 12-man steel cage match in the main event of the 2010 Infierno en el Ring. Early in the match his own brother, Tiger Kid, had betrayed his brother in order to escape the cage. Later on Puma King feigned an alliance with rival Ángel de Oro so they could both escape, only to turn on him and escape while Ángel de Oro remained in the cage. In the end Ángel de Oro defeated Fabián el Gitano in the Lucha de Apueta (bet match) portion of the match to unmask him.^[11]

Luchas de Apuestas[link]

References[link]

Professional wrestling portal