Perro Aguayo Sr. and Son
Pero Aguayo Jr. was a star. A charismatic, athletic talented, second generation wrestler who was a fantastic heel.
Like so many second generation stars he could work his ass off. But along with being an amazing in ring technician, he could cut a great promo. He had the "it" factor.
He drew money and sold tickets. The name of the game in the wrestling business. He was a genius marketer who made more money some years with his signature cool heel t shirt then he did with his wrestling earnings.
Earlier in the week i shared a great recap of Perro Jrs career. Take a look
http://www.f4wonline.com/more/more-top-stories/101-mexico/41750-a-look-at-the-career-of-perro-aguayo-jr
But one cannot talk about Perro Jr. Fully without understanding his fathers place in modern Mexican wrestling.
In this bittersweet video you see a Japanese television crew visiting the home of Perro Sr during his prime wrestling years. A young Perro Jr is shown working out side by side next to his hero.
His dad was one of the rare breed of Mexican legends....He didn't wear a mask.
When I think of Perro Senior, I think of the guy who drew huge money for the AAA promotion during a white hot period of Lucha Libre.
Perro Senior was already at borderline legendary status when he got one last incredible run in the early 90's. Fueled by a variety of factors, AAA caught on fire during this time.
The Mexican economy was booming with the Peso strong. NAFTA and a free market president created a boom in the economy which put more money in the countries working class.
On a car ride home from a Chicago Lucha show a veteran journeyman Luchador educated me on a big factor in the Lucha boom period. Wrestling returned to television.
In the 1960's Mexican regulators deemed wrestling too violent and banned it from television. Though Lucha Libre could be seen in Monterrey and Guadalajara it wasn't shown in the biggest TV market, Mexico City.
After decades off television, Lucha Libre returned in the Capital.
As if these two factors weren't enough to create a boom, two more key happenings added fuel to the fire.
Young talent.
Study any great territory from World Class, Mid South, AWA, Japan. Their boom periods were ignited by young new talent. Guys in their 20's who brought a level of action and sex appeal that veterans couldn't match.
Konan, Vampiro, Rey Mysterio Jr, El Hijo De El Santo, Eddy Guerrerro and Chris Jerico along with others all rose to prominence during this time.
The last ingredient in this cocktail was a promotional war.
Antonio Pena was the booker for the oldest promotion in wrestling, CMLL. He was a man who was prolific in creating new characters and angles.
After a series of disagreements, Pena finally walked out on CMLL and started his own promotion. HE LANDED a TV DEAL on Televisa. Many of the young stars followed him. he was the one who pushed and discovered them over the objections of the old guard of Lucha Libre.
The promotion was on fire with monster television ratings and packed arenas everywhere they went. They sold out the Los Angeles sports arena WWE had struggled to FILL on Wrestlemania SEVEN. Legitimately over 10,000 fans were turned away to see Konan face Jake Roberts.
When Pena needed a star Babyface to battle the recently turned heel Konan, Pena turned to his key veteran, Perro AguayO. Aguayo was a solid technico who could brawl with the best of them and a willing bleeder. His forehead resembled Dusty Rhodes in the amount of blade jobs he did regularly.
for a poor country, full of working class people, who were the bread and butter of the wrestling fan base of Mexico- Perro was one of them.
His never give up attitude, his bloody wars in the ring and his decades of sweat gave him legions of fans who loved and respected him as one of their own.
He didn't have movie star good looks. His family didn't come from money. He was the Mexican version of Dusty Rhodes.
The common man.
He would face Konan in a fued that culminated in the historic "When Worlds Collide" pay per view the WCW helped Triple A produce in 1994.
The bloody cage match headlined the card and Perro Aguayo senior would have his last run.
The writing was already on the wall the night of this incredible Pay Per View. Lucha Libre soon after entered a down period as did all of Mexico.
The Peso collapsed and with it the Mexican Miracle economy. the spending money of the poor and working class EVAPORATED. Lucha Libre suffered with diminishing crowds.
soon after talent fled Mexico exasperating the drought.
Rey Mysterio Jr., Guerrero, Konan and others went North to WCW for its guaranteed contracts and strong dollar payments.
It would take almost 5 years before Lucha began to draw healthy crowds again.
Perro Aguayo Jr. was responsible for helping bring Lucha back with a vengeance, this time with CMLL. His feud with the original Mistico, as well as his battles against santo AND his forming of the heel group "Los Perros del Mal" led to him being the top Mexican heel.
"ArenaMexicoDF" by Thelmadatter - Own work. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ArenaMexicoDF.JPG#/media/File:ArenaMexicoDF.JPG