Mephisto (born December 10, 1968) is a Mexican professional wrestler signed to Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), where he is a member of the Los Infernales stable. As he is masked, his real name is not a matter of official record, which by Mexican wrestling traditions means that his personal life is kept secret from the general public.
A second-generation wrestler, being the son of Astro Rey/Kahoz, he worked as both Astro Rey Jr. and Kahoz Jr. before rising to prominence in 2001 as a member of Los Infernales under the gimmick of Mephisto. He and fellow member Averno later formed a regular tag team, Los Hijos del Averno ("The Sons of Hell"), which was considered one of Mexico's top teams in the 2000s. Mephisto then became the leader of Los Hijos del Infierno ("The Sons of the Inferno") alongside Ephesto and Luciferno.
Mephisto has won multiple individual CMLL championships and held the Mexican National Trios Championship with the other Hijos del Infierno. Previously, he has held the CMLL World Tag Team Championship, CMLL World Trios Championship, CMLL World Welterweight Championship, Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship, Mexican National Welterweight Championship, NWA World Welterweight Championship, and was the inaugural NWA World Historic Welterweight Champion. He also won the Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles with Místico in 2016.
Personal life The man later known as Mephisto was born on December 12, 1968, in Mexico City, the son of Alberto Leonel Hernández López, better known as the professional wrestler "Astro Rey" (Spanish for "Astro King") and later on as "Kahoz". By 1971, his father had started wrestling, which meant that the future Mephisto grew up around wrestlers, wanting to become one himself from a very early age.
Professional wrestling career Early career (1988–1992) After training under his father and uncle, a luchador known as "El Gallo Giro", he made his debut in 1988 under the ring name "Kahoz Jr.", a tribute to his father's final wrestling character, working for various promotions in Mexico and Japan. His father, however, urged him to change gimmicks to the one that got his father the most fame, "Astro Rey Jr." (or simply "Astro Jr.").
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (1992–present)
Astro Rey Jr. / Sendero (1992–2001) Astro Rey Jr. made his debut for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) on October 4, 1992, at their main venue, Arena México, teaming with Aguila de Plata to defeat Bufalo Salvaje and El Cortado. He received his first major opportunity on April 7, 1995, when he teamed with veteran Dr. Wagner Jr. for the Torneo Gran Alternativa ("Great Alternative Tournament"). They defeated Guerrero de la Muerte and Mocho Cota and Atlantico and Atlantis to advance to the finals, which they lost to Shocker and Silver King.
From late 1997 to 1998, he wrestled under the name Sendero, which earned him a spot at the CMLL 65th Anniversary Show on September 18, 1998, where he and El Oriental lost to Halcon Negro Jr. and Virus. Upon his return as Astro Rey Jr., on March 22, 1999, he won the Mexican National Welterweight Championship from Arkangel de la Muerte. On April 2, he was paired with Shocker in that year's Torneo Gran Alternativa, defeating Apolo Dantés and Karloff Lagarde Jr. in the first round, before losing to Atlantico and Mr. Niebla in the second round. Astro Rey Jr. lost the title to Karloff Lagarde Jr. on October 23, 2000, leading to a mask vs. hair Lucha de Apuestas ("bet match") between the two seven days later, which Astro Rey Jr. won, forcing his opponent to have his hair shaved off.
Los Infernales (2001–2006)
In the summer of 2001, El Satánico, who was feuding with former Los Infernales ("The Infernals") stablemates Último Guerrero, Rey Bucanero and Tarzan Boy, recruited him to be a part of the new incarnation of Los Infernales and feud with the splinter group. During a televised segment, Satánico used his supposed "satanic powers" to turn tecnico (face) Rencor Latino into one of his "minions", the rudo (heel) "Averno" ("Hell"), while Astro Rey Jr. became Mephisto; unlike Averno, no references to his previous identities were made at the time. When Tarzan Boy was injured and unable to wrestle, Bucanero and Guerrero recruited Máscara Mágica to even the numbers. The storyline between the two factions culminated when all seven wrestlers fought in a steel cage match at the CMLL 68th Anniversary Show on September 28, where the winning side would gain the rights to the Los Infernales name. In the end, Satánico pinned Mágica to gain the rights and his mask.
On June 23, 2002, Los Infernales won the Mexican National Trios Championship from Olímpico, Mr. Niebla and Safari, which they lost to La Familia de Tijuana (Nicho el Millonario, Halloween and Damián 666) on September 27. When Nicho stopped appearing for CMLL during their feud, the trios championship was vacated, but Los Infernales refused to take them without a match. This storyline led to an eight-team trios title tournament that Los Infernales lost. Instead, they won a tournament to become the number one contenders for the CMLL World Trios Championship, but lost to champions Black Tiger III, Dr. Wagner Jr. and Universo 2000 on August 1. At the end of the year, Averno and Mephisto turned on Satánico and split from the group, venturing out on their own. On February 4, 2004, Mephisto defeated El Satánico to win the CMLL World Welterweight Championship, which he successfully defended against the likes of Volador Jr., Zumbido, Felino and Neutrón.
Mephisto and Averno defeated Atlantis and Blue Panther for the CMLL World Tag Team Championship on April 2, 2005. The team would defend the title several times over the next year in very well-received matches that led to several reporters labeling them as one of the best Mexican tag teams in the 21st century. At the CMLL 72nd Anniversary Show on September 16, Mephisto, Damián El Terrible and Tarzan Boy lost to Dr. Wagner Jr., Místico and Negro Casas. Their most prominent defense was on the last Arena México show of 2005 against Casas and El Hijo del Santo. In early 2006, they successfully defended their title twice against Místico and Black Warrior, who were unable to get along, before losing it to Místico and Casas on April 14. At the CMLL 73rd Anniversary Show on September 29, they teamed with Alex Koslov to defeat El Sagrado, Felino and Último Dragón.
Triada del Terror / Perros del Mal (2006–2008)
In late 2006, Mephisto and Averno formed a regular trio with Ephesto (named after the Greek god Hephaestus), who was given an "underworld" character. The three came to the ring wearing black, hooded robes and were briefly introduced as Los Ku Klux Klan, before dropping the controversial name to become La Triada del Terror ("The Trio of Terror"). Mephisto lost his CMLL World Welterweight Championship to Místico on April 10, 2007, ending his reign after 1,141 days. At the CMLL 74th Anniversary Show on September 28, he, Averno and Olímpico lost to Bucanero, Casas and Marco Corleone.
Mephisto and Averno defeated Dos Caras Jr. and La Sombra in the finals of a tournament on January 25 to become the number one contenders for the CMLL World Tag Team Championship, defeating Atlantis and Guerrero for the title on February 1, but lost it to Místico and Héctor Garza on March 10. When the commission declared the title vacant after a match resulted in a double disqualification, the two teams fought for the vacant title on May 23, with Místico and Garza reclaiming it. La Triada del Terror defeated El Hijo del Fantasma, La Máscara and Volador Jr. at the CMLL 75th Anniversary Show on September 19. On December 7, they defeated Místico and Garza for their third CMLL World Tag Team Championship. With the exception of Ephesto, Mephisto and Averno were invited to join Perro Aguayo Jr.'s Perros del Mal ("The Bad Dogs") faction; they were only briefly a part of it before Aguayo Jr. and a number of other members left CMLL.
Los Hijos del Averno (2009–2014)
Mephisto and Averno remained with CMLL, forming the group La Jauria del Terror ("The Hounds of Terror"), later renamed Los Hijos del Averno ("The Sons of Hell"), alongside Ephesto, El Texano Jr. and El Terrible. On January 16, 2009, Mephisto and Averno lost the championship to Super Sky Team (La Sombra and Volador Jr.). Three days later, Mephisto unsuccessfully challenged La Sombra for the NWA World Welterweight Championship. At Homenaje a Dos Leyendas ("Homage to Two Legends") on March 20, Los Hijos del Averno defeated Blue Panther, El Sagrado and Toscano. On May 27, Mephisto defeated La Sombra in a rematch to capture the title. Being a champion made Mephisto eligible for the Universal Championship tournament on June 12, where he lost to Garza in the first round. He made his first successful title defense against Místico on July 13. At the CMLL 76th Anniversary Show on September 18, Los Hijos del Averno lost to La Máscara, La Sombra and Volador Jr. On October 12, Mephisto was the last wrestler eliminated by Volador Jr. in the Reyes del Aire ("Kings of the Air") torneo cibernetico. At Sin Salida ("No Escape") on December 4, he and Ephesto unsuccessfully challenged La Sombra and Volador Jr. for the CMLL World Tag Team Championship. Nine days later, he failed to win the Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship from Místico.
As part of their ongoing rivalry, Mephisto was forced to team with El Hijo del Fantasma for the Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles ("National Incredible Pairs Tournament") on January 22, 2010, but lost to El Terrible and Volador Jr. in the first round. Four days later, he retained his title against Valiente. At Homenaje a Dos Leyendas on March 19, Los Hijos del Averno defeated El Hijo del Fantasma, Máscara Dorada and Valiente. He and rookie Cancerbero lost in the first round of the Torneo Gran Alternativa on April 16 to Diamante and La Sombra. On July 30, La Sombra defeated Mephisto in the first round of that year's Universal Championship tournament. During Mephisto's reign, his title was replaced with the NWA World Historic Welterweight Championship. Mephisto was one of fourteen men putting their mask on the line in a Lucha de Apuestas steel cage match in the main event of the CMLL 77th Anniversary Show on September 3; he was the second man to leave the cage, retaining his mask as all three members of Los Hijos del Averno quickly left the cage. He participated in the La Copa Junior ("The Junior Cup") tournament, but lost to La Sombra in the first round on December 10. Mephisto used a pair of boxing gloves to retain his title against El Hijo del Fantasma on January 14, 2011. They were again paired for the Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles on February 18, losing to La Sombra and Misterioso II in the first round. On March 13, Mephisto lost the NWA World Historic Welterweight Championship to La Sombra. In April, El Terrible and El Texano Jr. split from Los Hijos del Averno to form a new faction with Bucanero called La Fuerza TRT ("The TRT Power").