Ephesto
Profile
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Biography
00's CMLL regular, starting as a tecnico but eventually switching over to the rudo side.
A fan of Blue Panther, he learned with Panther's original trainer and took the Panterita name as tribute to him. Trained for three years before his first match. Moved to Monterrey in 1986, quickly became a main event star and the biggest draw in the region by 1991.
Pantera (or sometimes Panterita) del Ring made occasional appearances in EMLL at the start of the 90s, and but was lured to AAA when that group started up in 1992. He was one of another of young up and coming stars in the group, and even was a tag team champion with Latin Lover in 1995, but never became the national top star he was expected to be.
Ephesto rose to prominence with Promo Azteca as rudo Pantera del Ring in 1997. He won the initial tournament for the Aztecas Middleweight Championship over Angel Azteca and Black Dragon. Pantera del Ring worked an upper midcard level for the group until it fell apart. He likely returned home to the Comarca Lagunera region.
Ephesto returned to Mexico City in 2000 as Safari, a midcard tecnico. There were occasional attempts to work him team with others as a tecnico unit, but nothing panned out. The trios run with Volador Jr. & and Felino was derailed by injuries, and the prior championship run with Olimpico & Mr. Niebla seemed more to spotlight them than to set up any memorable feuds. Safari seemed like a pleasant enough tecnico, one with a very strange submission finish, but did not break out of CMLL's usual pack.
Safari changed over to Hombre Sin Nombre in late 2005 (though he continued to work some dates outside of Mexico City as Safari.) Without a name, and with a full body black outfit only notable for how ordinary it looked, Hombre Sin Nombre started as a rudo with no connection to his previous identity. A contest was announced to come up with a new name, though it's not clear if the contest was ever completed. Hombre Sin Nombre snuck lower on the card than his previous identity, somewhat due to a new batch of younger CMLL wrestlers passing him up.
Near the end of 2007, Hombre Sin Nombre finally got a new name: Epehsto, after the Greek God Hephaestus. Ephesto debuted as a trios partner to tag team Averno & Mephisto, and the three man called themselves the La Triada del Terror. The new look - a mask with a ram horn design - new allies and new name turned Ephesto's career back upwards. He's seen by most as the least member of the trio, but the team has gotten him in much more high profile roles than he was previously, and he's succeeded in the chances he's been given. Ephesto and La Sombra had a great match for the NWA World Welterweight Championship in December of 2008. Epehsto was unable to take a belt home on that night, but had a strong effort.
In his next title match versus Rey Bucanero for the CMLL World Light Heavyweight Championship, following the two interfering in each other's matches, Ephesto triumphed by attacking Rey's left knee until Bucanero was unable to return to the ring. The champion was counted out to end that fall, and tie the match, and the ringside doctor stopped the match before the third fall, giving Ephesto the championship. Bucanero is not expected to return until December of 2009, but is already talking about a mask vs hair match against Ephesto.
Early in their careers, when they had all just traveled from La Lagunera to try making it in Mexico City lucha libre, Ephesto, Hooligan and Ultimo Guerrero were very close, and also very poor. They managed to make it thru the hard times, and the shared tough experiences they went thru made to refer to each other brothers early on. More recent interviews have cleared up that they're not biologically related.
As a rudo, Ephesto is less flashy but has shown a lot of skill in navigating younger opponents thru matches. The 2008 match versus Sombra was a great example of his abilities:
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Luchas de apuestas record
| Date | Apuesta | Winner(s) | Loser(s) | Arena and/or Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ??/??/?? | hair | Panterita del Ring | Acuario | Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes |
| ??/??/?? | hair | Panterita del Ring | Guerrero Negro | Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes |
| ??/??/?? | mask | Panterita del Ring | Drago | Torreón, Coahuila |
| ??/??/?? | mask | Panterita del Ring | Astro Flash | Torreón, Coahuila |
| 9?/??/?? | mask | Panterita del Ring | Megatron | Arena Coliseo - Monterrey, Nuevo León |
| 92/??/?? | hair | Panterita del Ring | Principe Island | Monterrey, Nuevo León |
| 92/??/?? | hair | Panterita del Ring | Kendo | Monterrey, Nuevo León |
| 98/11/22 | mask | Panterita del Ring | White Wolf (Andy Anderson) | Arena Coliseo - Monterrey, Nuevo León |
