Mascara De Muerte IV

Mascara De Muerte – 1939 / 1966, 27 year career w/ the mask.

In 1939 a group of Mexican lucha libre promoters came together to create the ultimate rudo. A heel wrestler so hated people would come from miles around to watch get bested. There was an abundance of amazing technicos, men like the living legend and cultural hero El Guerrero Del Dios. But none of the foreigners and monsters that faced him every really drew the real ire of the lucha libre fans. Enter a tall, lean grappler of the classic European style. And a black and white mask adorned with the classic deaths head skull and crossbones. The first Mascara De Muerte. He was the true blue villain, calm cool and collected mat based wrestling peppered with a fair amount of chicanery. Hell... he wrote the BOOK on heel chicanery.  

His wars against hero technico El Guerrero Del Dios are now the stuff of wrestling legend. The wars they would fight over the following decades sold out arenas all over Mexico. Never once did Mascara De Muerte turn technico. For the entirety of his near thirty year career he was one of the most hated rudo in all of lucha libre. In the early sixties, his skills waning, he slowly started to fade into the background. But that was far from the end of the legend of the Mascara De Muerte.


Mascara De Muerte II – 1971 / 1981, 10 year career w/ the mask.

A few years years after the original Mascara De Muerte retired from the ring a new more violent version of the character debuted under the banner of a promoter named Jose Ricardo Munoz. In short order the man known as arguably the most unpredictable and bloodthirsty rudo to ever dawn a mask entered the lucha libre world. Mascara De Muerte II was a stocky barrel chested little man that started his career as mostly a wild kinetic brawler. All haymakers and stomps. He’s described by most as the least successful of the four incarnations but he still managed to carve out his own wild bloody niche in the lucha libre history books. Not one single match went by that this relentless barefoot brawler didn’t rip and tear at the flesh (and masks) of his opponents. Billed as a true monster Mascara De Muerte II definitely set himself apart from his predecessors slick cool almost super villain like style.

Number two’s end came during a match in Mexico City, an unadvised plancha was all it took to end the career of this seemingly indestructible wild man. One foot caught on the ropes and he was diving head first into the hard concrete floor. The subsequent broken neck was the final sad blow to a career filled with potential. As criticized as he was in his time his controversial style and wild antics helped usher lucha libre into a new era, the days of slow paced mat based battles was for the most part done and gone, high flying and blood and guts was the order of the day. Mascara De Muerte II was a trend setter by any definition.


Mascara De Muerte III – 1982 / 2012, 30 year career w/ the mask.

It wasn't long before Jose Ricardo Munoz was hot to keep the train rolling with yet another new Mascara De Muerte. But unlike back in the 40's modern day lucha libre was filled to the brim with evil clowns and vile demons looking to steal babies and yadda yadda, etc. What he needed was another big babyface. And nothing screams babyface like pure unfiltered nostalgia. He stripped away the blood and guts and decided to play on the "simpler times" a "yearning for the old days" and bring back a more classic looking Mascara De Muerte. He found his man in a young bodybuilder named Hugo Garcia. The son of a German missionary woman and a legendary local strongman competitor, Hugo was indeed a good kid... he also happened to be built like a brick shithouse. When he was old enough Hugo began training at the very same gym his locally-famous father had haunted most of his life... a gym Jose Munoz just happens to scout raw untapped talent for his showcases and for the very well regarded wrestling school he co-owns, Guerreros Gimnasio.

As soon as he saw Hugo and his huge six foot two inch frame looking like he was cut from granite he saw a star in the making. It wasn’t long before Hugo made his debut under the rudo moniker of "The German Brute." A dated high stepping Nazi gimmick that was simple cheap heat but due to Hugo’s dirty blonde hair and light features it worked real well. The goofy heel gimmick was only a formality though to see if Hugo could hang in the ring with the rest of the boys in Jose’s stable of lucha libre greats. He was a tad slow on his feet and very green, nobody would mistake him for a technician or ANY kind of high flyer but he definitely had a natural knack for the art of wrestling. Enter Mascara De Muerte III.

He made his debut assisting Guerrero Del Dios Jr. of all people. Dios Jr. being the son of the very man the original Mascara De Muerte feuded with for almost three decades. This action immediately won the hearts of the fans; the simple nostalgia factor struck the right chord at the right time and III became down right beloved in no time. The duo tagged on and off for years all the while Mascara De Muerte III acted like a sponge slowly but surely becoming a more than competent ring general. His career spanned three decades and was filled with many good memories and classic matches... and admittedly, far more than a few heel turns. His impassioned speech the night he retired in early 2012 after the classic last encounter with long time tag team partner slash mortal enemy Guerrero Del Dios Jr. is one of the all time great moments in lucha libre history.


Mascara De Muerte IV – debut as MDM 2015

DJ Munoz wanted to wrestle since the day he could crawl. Growing up around his fathers business it was inevitable. But the Jose would have none of it, livid about his sons decision to peruse the life of a "goddamn wrestler." Daniel trained in secret with a host of his fathers friends and associates. Only further infuriating the elder Munoz. Daniel was a natural. Small but with the kind of coordination and speed you'd look for in a potential Olympic gymnast. Beyond his high flying ability though Daniel took to the more technical side of wrestling like a fish to water. Having grown up a huge fan of mixed martial arts and Brazilian jujitsu, DJ had been haunting dojos, training camps and fight gyms most of his life. He'd start his career wrestling under a near countless list of half baked masks and gimmicks. Cats, wolves, a few farm animals, like ten different birds, even a ninja turtle once. It wasn't long before, begrudgingly mind you, Jose presented his son with a slick modern day reproduction of the original Mascara De Muerte's boots, tights and mask. With a note attached... "don't fuck it up, boy."

(Fun Fact: ... the ninja turtle? Raphael, in case you were wondering.)





Daniel James “DJ” Munoz - the showstopping current day Mascara De Muerte, son of legendary wrestling promoter Jose Munoz.

Jose Ricardo Munoz - Long time promoter of lucha libre events in and around Mexico City. Acquired the rights to the Mascara De Muerte gimmick from the original Muerte before he vanished. A hard man, very businesslike, very hard on his son. Not a fan of DJ becoming a wrestler.

Hugo Garcia - Mascara De Muerte III. The big bodybuilder that most modern day fans associate with the Mascara De Muerte legend. Wearing the mask with pride for around thirty years. Now happily retired, he came out of the closet recently and revealed to the world his long time relationship with friend and fellow luchador Hector “Fishman Deluxe” Navarro. Also helped train and break young DJ Munoz into the business. 

Hector Navarro - The former exotico luchador Fishman Deluxe, now unmasked and working as a referee in New Orleans based DEFIANCE Wrestling. Helped train DJ and break him into the business. Openly gay, longtime partner of Hugo Garcia who's better known to wrestling fans as Mascara De Muerte III. Hector & Hugo are like uncles to DJ, closer relationship than he has with his own father.

Guerrero Del Dios Jr. - Older luchador in the twilight of his career, son of the original technico, the Mexican icon Guerrero Del Dios. With his father’s wars with the original Muerte back in the early days of lucha and then his own successful tag team... and his own bloody battles with MDM3 in the 80’s and 90’s, the legacies of the Holy Warrior and Death’s Head have always been firmly intertwined. Owns Guerreros Gimnasio (Warriors Gym) in Mexico City. A wrestling school started by his father and co-owned by Jose Munoz.  Dios Jr. (or Tio as DJ calls him) is a mentor, the original trainer and a dear dear friend of Daniel. Retired with his mask intact, he's never seen without the classic stark white and silver mask of Guerrero Del Dios.