Hechicero (Spanish for "Sorcerer") is a Mexican professional wrestler. He is signed to American promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of the Don Callis Family. He is also signed to Mexican promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), where he is the current CMLL World Heavyweight Champion in his second reign. He also makes appearances in Japan for CMLL's partner promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and in the United States for AEW's sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH).
Hechicero's real name is not publicly known, as is often the case with masked wrestlers in Mexico, where their private lives are kept a secret from the wrestling fans. He was formerly billed as Rey Hechicero ("Wizard King") when making appearances outside CMLL, but there is no pretense that it is two different characters that he is playing. In CMLL, he is a one-time NWA World Historic Light Heavyweight Champion, one-time CMLL World Trios Champion with Euforia and Mephisto as part of Los Infernales, and the winner of the 2023 Leyenda de Azul tournament.
Professional wrestling career
Early career (2001–2014) In Mexico, there is a long-standing tradition of keeping the personal information of masked wrestlers private from the public, including wrestling promotions not revealing their real names and news outlets not asking for personal details in interviews. As such, the real name of the wrestler known under the ring names Rey Hechicero and Hechicero is not public knowledge, nor has the year of his birth been established. Hechicero himself has stated that he made his debut for a local wrestling promotion in Monterrey, Nuevo León on February 15, 2001, referring to it as "Hechicero's" birthday; it has not been confirmed if Monterrey is his birthplace, although it is where he resides. During interviews, he revealed that he had been trained by a number of Monterrey local wrestlers, both before and after his debut, such as Arcángel, Cachorrro Zapata, Chucho Villa, Garringo, Mario Segura and Pequeño Diamante, as well as Japanese wrestler Katsuyori Shibata. In 2004, Rey Hechicero was listed as having worked a number of matches for the Naucalpan-based International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG), but did not tour extensively outside Nuevo León.
In 2007, he became involved in a storyline feud against another local Monterrey wrestler called Gitano del Norte ("The Gypsy of the North"), leading to both men putting their masks on the line on the outcome of a Lucha de Apuestas ("bet match"). Rey Hechicero won and forced his opponent to unmask which, in lucha libre, is considered more prestigious than winning championships. He capped 2007 by defeating Tigre Universitario to win the WWA World Middleweight Championship, which was part of a long running storyline between the two. Both men were involved in a four-man Lucha de Apuestas on March 23, 2008, escaping from the match with their masks while Valiente pinned Sergio Romo Jr., forcing Romo to be shaved bald since he was not masked. Later that year, he was scheduled to team up with Último Guerrero for a Ruleta de la muerte ("Roulette of death") tournament, where the losers of the match advance and have to fight each other for their masks. Rey Hechicero suffered an injury shortly before the tournament and was replaced by Difunto II. There was no verification if he had indeed been injured or if the replacement took place, since whoever had originally agreed to lose his mask changed his mind and Difunto II agreed to lose his match. Also in 2008, Rey Hechicero began working for a local promotion called Poder Y Honor ("Power and Honor"; PYH), and in 2009, he outlasted Chucho Mar Jr., Estrella Dorada Jr. and Tigre Universitario to become the inaugural PYH Heavyweight Champion. In the following years, he worked for a number of wrestling promotions as they toured through Monterrey, including winning the mask of Caifán Rockero I at a Perros del Mal show in March 2010.
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (2014–present)
Generacion 2014 (2014–2016) In early 2014, Rey Hechicero, now known as simply "Hechicero", was introduced as part of CMLL's Generacion 2014 class alongside seven other wrestlers making their CMLL debut around the same time. He was the only Generacion 2014 member not related to someone working for CMLL or a second-generation wrestler; he and Espíritu Negro were notably older than the rest of the group. Hechicero made his in-ring debut in Guadalajara, Jalisco, the site of one of CMLL's wrestling schools, on January 7, teaming with El Rebelde and Hooligan in a loss to Dragon Lee, Star Jr. and Starman. A month later, he and one of CMLL's most experienced rudos, Último Guerrero, participated in the Torneo Gran Alternativa ("Great Alternative Tournament"), where a rookie (in storyline terms) and a veteran team up for a tag team elimination match. Hechicero and Star Jr. won an eight-man battle royal used to determine the match ups for the first round, where Hechicero and Guerrero defeated Star Jr. and Atlantis, but were defeated by eventual tournament winners Bárbaro Cavernario and Mr. Niebla in the second round.
Hechicero was one of sixteen wrestlers competing in the annual En Busca de un Ídolo ("In search of an Idol") tournament, featuring younger wrestlers (mostly low-to-mid-card wrestlers) that were given an opportunity to showcase their wrestling skills on a national scale. Each wrestler would earn points from the outcome of their matches, feedback from a panel of judges and a weekly online poll. Hechicero was one of eight wrestlers to qualify, surviving a torneo cibernetico elimination match along with Cavernario, Cachorro, Dragon Lee, Guerrero Negro Jr., Soberano Jr., Star Jr., and Super Halcón Jr. He ended up on the team being coached by Virus each week, focusing not just on the actual wrestling, but also how to play their characters in the ring, interact with the fans and so on. During the weekly judging, Hechicero received praise for his in-ring skills, but also several comments on the fact that he did not wrestle a very rudo style and needed to be more aggressive in the ring, something he tried to incorporate from week to week. After the first round, Hechicero won almost every single weekly online poll, propelling him to the top of the ranking at the end with a total of 565 points, 114 more than the second place Cavernario. In the second round, Hechicero lost to Cavernario, but defeated both Lee and Cachorro to earn a total of 250 points, including the majority of the online poll votes, qualifying Hechicero for the finals against Cavernario, who defeated Hechicero to win the tournament.
Hechicero debuted a new look in October, including a new mask design and trunks in black with gold or red embellishment. As part of his image makeover, Hechicero began carrying a bowl that burned with red flames as part of his entrance rituals. At ringside, Hechicero often touches and sometimes scoops out the flames from the bowl without hurting his hands. On December 16, Hechicero and Cavernario unsuccessfully challenged Los Reyes de la Atlantida (Delta and Guerrero Maya Jr.) for the CMLL Arena Coliseo Tag Team Championship. For the Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increibles ("National Incredible Pairs Tournament") on February 27, 2015, Hechicero was forced to team with then-rival Ángel de Oro, losing to Atlantis and Último Guerrero in the first round. On March 20, at Homenaje a Dos Leyendas ("Homage to Two Legends"), Hechicero, Vangelis and Virus defeated Blue Panther Jr., The Panther and Stuka Jr. At Sin Salida ("No Escape") on July 17, Hechicero replaced Blue Panther Jr. for one match in that year's En Busca de un Ídolo tournament, losing to Delta. He and Vangelis unsuccessfully challenged Guerrero Maya Jr. and The Panther for the CMLL Arena Coliseo Tag Team Championship on May 28, 2016.
Feud with Stuka Jr. (2016–2021) On October 25, Hechicero outlasted Atlantis, Blue Panther Jr., Bobby Z, Esfinge, Gran Guerrero, Johnny Idol, La Máscara, Misterioso II, Stuka Jr., Valiente and Vangelis in a torneo cibernetico to earn a match for Rey Bucanero's NWA World Historic Light Heavyweight Championship, which he won on November 1, marking Hechicero's first CMLL championship. Later that month, he failed to win the Leyenda de Azul ("The Blue Legend") tournament. As part of their rivalry, Hechicero and Stuka Jr. were paired for the Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles, but lost to El Terrible and Rush in the first round on February 17, 2017. At Homenaje a Dos Leyendas on March 17, he teamed with Los Hijos del Infierno (Mephisto and Luciferno), replacing Ephesto, to unsuccessfully challenge El Sky Team (Místico, Valiente and Volador Jr.) for the CMLL World Trios Championship. During the Reyes del Aire ("Kings of the Air") tournament on April 7, Hechicero eliminated Dragon Lee and Máximo Sexy, before Volador Jr. eliminated him. By virtue of holding a title, he participated in the Universal Championship tournament on June 30, but lost to Volador Jr. in the first round. Hechicero, Dragón Rojo Jr. and Pólvora defeated Blue Panther Jr., The Panther and Stuka Jr. at the CMLL 84th Anniversary Show on September 16.
Hechicero was paired with Soberano Jr. for the Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles on February 2, 2018, but lost to Místico and Mephisto in the first round. On May 4, he and Espanto Jr. were disqualified during the first round of the Torneo Gran Alternativa against Electrico and Místico. Hechicero lost the NWA World Historic Light Heavyweight Championship to Stuka Jr. on August 14, failing to regain it on January 13, 2019. The two were paired for that year's Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles on April 19, but lost in the first round to El Cuatrero and Místico. At the CMLL 86th Anniversary Show on September 27, Hechicero, Bucanero and El Hijo del Villano III lost to Diamante Azul, Dulce Gardenia and Titán by disqualification. On February 14, 2020, he and Flyer lost to Bandido and Último Guerrero in the first round of the Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles. For a third time, Hechicero and Stuka Jr. were paired for the following year's edition of the tournament on June 11, but yet again failed to advance past the first round in a loss to Templario and Volador Jr. On September 3, he competed in the semi-final torneo cibernetico of a tournament for the Copa Independencia ("Independence Cup"), but was eliminated near the end by Guerrero.
CMLL World Heavyweight Champion (2021–present) At the CMLL 88th Anniversary Show on September 24, 2021, Hechicero defeated Último Guerrero to win the CMLL World Heavyweight Championship for the first time in his career. Following his title win, Hechicero joined El Satánico's reformed Los Infernales stable alongside Euforia and Mephisto. He made his first successful title defense on November 12 against Bárbaro Cavernario. At Homenaje a Dos Leyendas on March 18, 2022, Los Infernales lost to Los Guerreros Laguneros (Gran Guerrero and Último Guerrero) and Atlantis in the semi-finals of a tournament for the CMLL World Tag Team Championship. On April 22, Hechicero competed in that year's Universal Championship tournament, defeating Gemelo Diablo II in the first round before losing to Niebla Roja in the quarter-finals. He successfully defended the title against Euforia during the International Grand Prix on August 19. At the CMLL 89th Anniversary Show on September 16, Los Infernales defeated Negro Casas, Star Jr. and Titán. On September 30, at Noche de Campeones ("Night of Champions") on September 30, Los Infernales defeated Los Malditos (El Sagrado and Los Gemelos Diablo) to win the CMLL World Trios Championship, making Hechicero a double champion. On November 7, Hechicero lost the CMLL World Heavyweight Championship to Gran Guerrero.