Miguel Ángel Chávez Velasco (born August 18, 1988), better known by his ring name Ángel de Oro (Spanish for "Angel of Gold" or "Golden Angel"), is a Mexican professional wrestler. He works for the Mexican wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), where he is one-half of the current CMLL World Tag Team Champions and Strong Openweight Tag Team Champions in his first reign. A second-generation wrestler, he is the son of retired wrestler Apolo Chávez, and the brother of Sergio Raymundo Chávez Velasco, who is also a professional wrestler under the ring name Niebla Roja.
Ángel de Oro joined CMLL in 2008 as part of a group called Los Ángeles Celestiales ("The Celestial Angels") alongside his brother (then billed as Ángel de Plata) and Ángel Azteca Jr., which phased out after his brother changed his ring persona in 2011. In 2018, he was defeated in a Lucha de Apuestas (mascara contra mascara; "mask vs. mask") match by El Cuatrero, and was forced to unmask and be identified. After many years of portraying a tecnico ("Good guy") wrestling character, Ángel de Oro and his brother turned rudo ("bad guy") and aligned themselves with El Terrible, eventually forming Los Nuevos Ingobernables.
His accolades in CMLL include being a former CMLL World Middleweight Champion, CMLL World Light Heavyweight Champion, Mexican National Trios Champion and Mexican National Light Heavyweight Champion. He has won several tournaments, including the Reyes del Aire three times, the 2011 Forjando un Ídolo, the 2020 Leyenda de Azul, the 2021 La Copa Junior VIP and the 2022 Copa Independencia. Through CMLL's partnerships, has also wrestled in Japan for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), and in the United States for Ring of Honor (ROH).
Professional wrestling career
Early career (20052008) Chávez and his older brother, Niebla Roja, are the sons of professional wrestler Apolo Chávez and grew up idolizing their father. Ángel de Oro was trained for his professional wrestling debut by Dibólico and Corsario Rojo, receiving further training from Gran Cochisse, El Satánico and Franco Columbo later in his career. He initially worked mainly for independent promotions around the Gómez Palacio, Durango area, often while feuding with his brother who, at the time, wrestled as Guerrero Inca ("Incan Warrior"). It was the feud between the two brothers that got Ángel de Oro noticed by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) talent scouts, landing him a contract with CMLL. His brother changed his ring character to Ángel de Plata ("Silver Angel") to complement his younger brother's ring character, and together they began training at CMLL's wrestling school in Guadalajara, Jalisco.
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (2008present)
Early years (2008–2011) The duo made their CMLL debut on July 4, 2008, wrestling as a team dubbed Los Angeles Celestiales ("The Celestial Angels"). They became a trio after being joined by Ángel Azteca Jr., who used a similar ring character. On April 7, 2009, Ángel de Oro participated in a ten-man torneo cibernetico for the vacant CMLL World Super Lightweight Championship, involving Ángel Azteca Jr., Rey Cometa, Pegasso, Tiger Kid, Pólvora, Inquisidor, Súper Comando, Angel de Plata and eventual winner Máscara Dorada. Later that year, Ángel de Oro was paired with Místico, CMLL's most popular wrestler at the time, for the Torneo Gran Alternativa ("Great Alternative Tournament"), where an experienced wrestler teams up with a newcomer; they were considered the favorite for the tournament. After defeating Atlantis and Camorra and Mr. Niebla and Tiger Kid, they lost in the finals to Okumura and Yujiro. On October 18, Ángel de Oro was one of twelve wrestlers risking their mask in a steel cage Lucha de Apuestas ("bet match"), but kept it safe as the tenth and last person to escape the cage. Los Ángeles Celestiales then lost in the first round to Los Cancerberos del Infierno (Euforia, Pólvora and Virus) in a tournament to crown new Mexican National Trios Champions, beginning a rivalry between the two groups, who faced off on various CMLL shows, including Super Viernes.
In early 2010, Ángel de Oro was voted "Newcomer of the year" by CMLL and Súper Luchas Magazine. On March 19, he, Fuego and Stuka Jr. lost to Poder Mexica (Dragón Rojo Jr., Misterioso II and Sangre Azteca) in the opening match of Homenaje a Dos Leyendas ("Homage to Two Legends"). He was one of twelve men who put their mask on the line in a steel cage match in the main event of Infierno en el Ring ("Inferno in the Ring") on July 18, which saw his brother, Ángel de Plata, trick him in order to escape the cage. Eventually, Ángel de Oro and Fabián were the last two wrestlers in the ring, with Ángel de Oro winning his first Lucha de Apuestas by pinning Fabián, forcing him to unmask and reveal his name, per lucha libre traditions. On August 15, Ángel de Oro represented Mexico City in a "Mexico City vs. Guadalajara" torneo cibernetico between young wrestlers trained at CMLL's wrestling school in Mexico and young wrestlers trained at CMLL's facility in Guadalajara. Ángel de Oro won the match for Mexico City after Guadalajara-trained Ángel del Mal (not related to Ángel de Oro and Ángel de Plata) betrayed his "home town" by costing Metal Blanco the match. On September 3, Ángel de Oro, Delta and Stuka Jr. defeated Los Guerreros Tuareg (Arkangel de la Muerte and Skándalo) and Pólvora at the CMLL 77th Anniversary Show. Up until the end of 2010, CMLL rarely promoted the fact that Ángel de Oro and Ángel de Plata were second-generation wrestlers, but acknowledged it when they both competed in the La Copa Junior ("The Junior Cup") tournament on December 25; Ángel de Oro lost to Negro Casas in the first round.
Championship reigns (2011–2018)
On January 1, 2011, Ángel de Oro won the Reyes del Aire ("Kings of the Air") tournament, lastly eliminating Virus. Eight days later, he, Diamante and Rush defeated Delta, Metro and Stuka Jr. to win the Mexican National Trios Championship. The following month, he was forced to team with rudo Último Guerrero in the Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increibles ("National Incredible Pairs Tournament"), where they defeated El Terrible and Toscano in the first round, but lost to Blue Panther and Dragón Rojo Jr. in the quarter-finals. Over the spring, Ángel de Oro was one of sixteen competitors in the inaugural Forjando un Ídolo ("Forging an Idol") tournament, designed to showcase some of CMLL's younger, lower ranked wrestlers and elevate one or more of them up the ranks. In the first round, he defeated Rey Escorpión, Palacio Negro and Cometa to earn nine points and win for his group, qualifying for the second round, where he defeated Fuego and Guerrero Maya Jr. to qualify for the finals; he then defeated Pólvora to win the tournament. On July 29, he was the third wrestler eliminated by Rey Bucanero in the Leyenda de Azul ("The Blue Legend") tournament.
By virtue of holding a championship, Ángel de Oro competed in the Universal Championship tournament, but lost to La Sombra in the opening round on September 2. On September 20, he, Diamante and Rush lost their championship to Los Invasores (Olímpico, Psicosis II and Volador Jr.). On February 3, 2012, Ángel de Oro won the Reyes del Aire back-to-back, becoming the first wrestler to ever do so. For the Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increibles later that month, he and Psicosis defeated El Felino and Bucanero in the first round, but lost to El Terrible and Rush in the quarter-finals. On April 29 and September 2, Ángel de Oro unsuccessfully challenged Casas for the NWA World Historic Welterweight Championship. Casas also eliminated him during the La Copa Junior on November 30, leading to a third title match on December 11, where Casas again defeated Ángel de Oro. In early 2013, he failed to win the Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increibles with Ephesto. In December of that year, Ángel de Oro suffered a severe knee injury during a six-man tag team match, requiring him to have surgery and spend several months out of the ring rehabilitating his knee.
Ángel de Oro returned from injury on June 2, 2014, defeating Escorpión on October 28 to win the CMLL World Light Heavyweight Championship. On February 7, 2015, as part of the Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increibles, Ángel de Oro was paired with Hechicero, who had been requesting a title match in the weeks before the tournament, but lost to Atlantis and Guerrero in the opening round. Throughout the year, he successfully defended the title against the likes of Gran Guerrero, Ripper and Pólvora. On October 2, Ángel de Oro lost to Shocker in the first round of the Universal Championship tournament. At Homenaje a Dos Leyendas on March 18, 2016, he, Cometa and Titán lost to Los Hijos del Averno (Ephesto, Luciferno and Mephisto). On April 8, Ángel de Oro lost the title to La Máscara, ending his reign at 528 days. The following week, he and Pólvora lost to Mephisto and Místico in the first round of the Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles. On May 21, Ángel de Oro entered a torneo cibernetico to determine the first Lucha Libre Elite Middleweight Champion, which was won by Caristico.
On March 25, 2017, Ángel de Oro defeated Dragón Rojo Jr. to win the CMLL World Middleweight Championship, ending his over five-year long reign as champion. The following month, he won his third Reyes del Aire. On June 29, he and Oro Jr. lost to Carístico and Soberano Jr. in the first round of that year's Torneo Gran Alternativa. On January 19, 2018, at Fantastica Mania 2018, Ángel de Oro lost the championship to El Cuatrero, as part of an ongoing storyline feud between the two. They were paired for the Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles, losing to Atlantis and Mr. Niebla in the first round on February 9. Their storyline culminated in a mask vs. mask Lucha de Apuestas at Homenaje a Dos Leyendas on March 16, where Ángel de Oro lost to El Cuatrero, being forced to remove his mask and publicly reveal his birth name, Miguel Ángel Chávez Velasco. On June 1 and July 16, he unsuccessfully challenged El Cuatrero for the championship.
Los Hermanos Chavez and Los Nuevos Ingobernables (2018–present) During the feud with El Cuatrero, Ángel de Oro resumed his partnership with Niebla Roja as Los Hermanos Chavez. At the CMLL 86th Anniversary Show on September 14, they teamed with Audaz to defeat La Peste Negra (El Felino and Casas) and Mephisto. The Universal Championship was the start of a storyline between Los Hermanos Chavez and Los Ingobernables (El Terrible and La Bestia del Ring), as El Terrible cheated to defeat Roja with La Bestia del Ring's help. Eventually, they all signed a contract for a Lucha de Apuestas in the main event of Homenaje a Dos Leyendas on March 15, 2019, where Los Hermanos Chavez defeated Los Ingobernables, forcing both El Terrible and La Bestia del Ring to have all their hair shaved off. On April 12, Ángel de Oro and La Bestia del Ring lost to Euforia and Guerrero Maya Jr. in the first round of the Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles. He, Roja and Mephisto defeated Los Guerreros Laguneros (Euforia and Gran Guerrero) and Soberano Jr. at the CMLL 86th Anniversary Show on September 27.