Thunder | |
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Birth name | Luke Fordward [1] |
Born | October 7, 1981 [2] Malabar, New South Wales, Australia [3] |
Died | 30 June 2016 34) | (aged
Cause of death | Stomach cancer |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Taipan [3] Thunder [4] Thunderbird [5] |
Billed height | 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) [4] [6] |
Billed weight | 133 kg (293 lb) [6] |
Trained by | Tony Salazar [4] Franco Colombo El Satánico [4] Demus 3:16 |
Debut | 2007 [3] |
Luke Fordward (October 7, 1981 – June 30, 2016) better known by his ring name Thunder, was an Australian masked professional wrestler (referred to as a luchador enmascarado in Mexico) best known for his work in the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). [5] He made his Mexican debut in early 2013 portraying a tecnico ("good guy") wrestling character. After a lengthy absence due to injury, he returned in August 2014 as a rudo ("bad guy"). He was one of only a few Australian wrestlers to work in Mexico.
Forward started his wrestling career in 2007 in Australia. From 2010 to 2011, He worked as Taipan for Okinawa Pro Wrestling in Okinawa, Japan.
In late 2012, the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) began showing videos of an unidentified masked wrestler, simply referred to as "Mr. 2013". Later on the promos revealed that the man in question was an Australian wrestler called Thunderbird. It was originally believed that Thunderbird was someone who had already worked for CMLL and appeared on TV under a different name and mask and others believed it was Chris Masters coming to CMLL under a new persona. [7] In later promos Thunderbird's Australian accent confirmed that this was someone who had not worked for CMLL before, making him the first Australian to wrestle for CMLL. [5] When he finally made his in-ring debut on 28 January 2013 his name was shortened to simply "Thunder". [8] Thunder teamed up with Rush and La Mascara to defeat the trio of Averno, Mephisto and El Terrible. [9] On 18 March, Thunder teamed up with El Terrible for a Torneo Increibles de Parejas (incredible pairs tournament) in Puebla, Puebla, the tournament featured tag teams made up of a tecnico ("good guy") and a rudo ("Bad guy") wrestler specifically for the tournament. Thunder and rudo El Terrible defeated the team of Ángel de Oro and Rey Escorpión in the first round, but lost to La Sombra and Mr. Águila in the second round and was eliminated from the tournament. [10] In October 2013, Thunder teamed up with Tritón to compete for a shot at the CMLL World Tag Team Championship, but the team lost in the first round to Los Invasores (Morphosis and Kraneo). On 25 October Thunder made his debut on CMLL's Super Viernes ("Super Friday") show, the promotion's main show, teaming up with Rush and La Sombra as the team lost to El Terrible, Vangelis and Tama Tonga. [11] In early 2014 Thunder stopped making wrestling appearances for CMLL, with no official explanation given for why he stopped working for CMLL. He later revealed that he suffered a leg injury that forced him to not compete while recuperating. [4]
After an almost seven-month absence, Thunder returned to the ring during the 5 September 2014, Super Viernes show, entering the ring after the semi-main event match was over. To the surprise of the crowd, Thunder turned rudo by attacking Volador Jr., throwing him outside the ring. To underscore the severity of the attack, CMLL organized to have Volador Jr. taken from the arena on a stretch afterwards. [12] The following day it was announced that Thunder would appear at the CMLL 81st Anniversary Show, teaming with Mr. Niebla and Euforia to fight Volador Jr., Máscara Dorada, and Valiente. [13] The following week Thunder attacked Máscara Dorada after Dorada finished competing in a match, targeting his 81st Anniversary Show opponent.
On 5 June 2015, Thunder joined Dragón Rojo Jr., Pólvora, and Rey Escorpión as the fourth member of Los Revolucionarios. [14] In June 2016 it was revealed that Thunder had been diagnosed with an unidentified form of cancer, which explained his disappearance from CMLL near the end of 2015. [15]
On 30 June 2016, Fordward died from stomach cancer; he was 34 years old. [16] [17] [18]
Felipe de Jesús Alvarado Mendoza is a Mexican luchador, or professional wrestler best known by the ring name La Máscara for his time working for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) and was the co-founder and leader of Los Mercenarios.
Ramón Ibarra Rivera, better known by his ring name Volador Jr., is a Mexican luchador, who works for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). He portrays a técnico wrestling character and is considered one of the top level técnicos in the promotion. He is the son of Super Parka, and his ring name refers to his father's previous gimmick, Volador. Ibarra is the nephew of the original La Parka, the cousin of El Hijo de L.A. Park and the uncle of Flyer; he is also related to a number of other luchadors in the Ibarra family.
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The CMLL Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles or "National Incredible Pairs Tournament" is an annual Lucha Libre tournament for Tag Teams traditionally held early in the year. The tournament is based on the Lucha Libre Parejas Increíbles match type where two wrestlers of opposite allegiance, portraying either heels (villains), referred to as "Rudos" in Lucha Libre wrestling terminology or faces, or "Tecnicos".
Salvador Munguia is a Mexican luchador, or professional wrestler retired, currently working for the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) portraying a tecnico wrestling character Metálico. Metálico originally worked under a mask and his real name was not a matter of public record, as is often the case with masked wrestlers in Mexico where their private lives are kept a secret from the wrestling fans, but he was forced to unmask after losing a match in August 2014.
The Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) has traditionally held an annual Reyes del Aire tournament since 2005. There was no tournament in 2010 and both 2007 and 2012 saw two Reyes del Aire tournaments. The tournament includes a varying number of wrestlers, competing in a Torneo cibernetico match, essentially a multi-man elimination match with the last competitor remaining is declared that year's Rey del Aire and is given a trophy. CMLL holds a similar tournament for their Mini-Estrella division called Pequeños Reyes del Aire. Being a professional wrestling tournament, it is not won legitimately; it is instead won via predetermined outcomes to the matches that are kept secret from the general public.
The CMLL 80th Anniversary Show was a professional wrestling event produced by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) that took place on September 13, 2013, in CMLL's home arena Arena México in Mexico City, Mexico. The event commemorated the 80th anniversary of CMLL, the oldest professional wrestling promotion in the world. CMLL's anniversary show is their biggest, most important show of the year, comparable to the Super Bowl for the National Football League or WrestleMania for WWE. The CMLL Anniversary Show series is the longest-running annual professional wrestling show, starting in 1934.
Carlos Soriano Mendoza, better known under the ring name El Cholo is a Mexican luchador, or professional wrestler currently working for the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) portraying a rudo wrestling character and is one-third of the Mexican National Trios Champions. Until 2015 El Cholo's real name was not a matter of public record, as was often the case with masked wrestlers in Mexico where their private lives are kept a secret from the wrestling fans. When he was unmasked he revealed his real name.
The Arena México 57th Anniversary Show was a major professional wrestling event produced by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) that took place on April 26, 2013, in CMLL's home arena Arena México in Mexico City, Mexico. The event commemorated the 57th anniversary of the completion of Arena México in 1958. Upon its completion Arena Mexico became CMLL's main venue and has served as the host of almost all major shows since then.
El Juicio Final (2014) was a professional wrestling major show event that was produced by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) which took take place on August 1, 2014, in Arena México, Mexico City, Mexico. This was the fourteenth time that CMLL used the name "Jucio Final" for one of their major shows.
Sin Salida was a professional wrestling major event produced by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) that took place on June 2, 2013, in Arena México, Mexico City, Mexico. The main event featured a 10-man Steel cage match contested under Lucha de Apuestas, or "Bet match" rules where the loser would be forced to either unmask or, if he was already unmasked, have all his hair shaved off. This particular match included 10 Mini-Estrellass with 4 of them risking their mask and six risking their hair. The final moments of the match saw Shockercito pin Pequeño Violencia to win the match. The other featured match of the show saw Negro Casas defend the NWA World Historic Welterweight Championship against Máscara Dorada. The show also included three additional matches.
The CMLL 81st Anniversary Show was a major professional wrestling event produced by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) that took place on September 19, 2014, in CMLL's home arena Arena México in Mexico City, Mexico. The event commemorated the 81st anniversary of the creation of CMLL, which is the oldest professional wrestling promotion in the world. CMLL's anniversary show is their biggest, most important show of the year, comparable to the Super Bowl for the National Football League or WrestleMania for World Wrestling Entertainment. The CMLL Anniversary Show series is the longest-running annual professional wrestling show, starting in 1934.
In September 2014 Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) held three CMLL Super Viernes shows on Friday nights. On September 19 they replaced the regular Friday night show with their 81st Anniversary Show, CMLL's biggest show of the year and the culmination of a number of storylines built up in the previous weeks or months. Some of the matches from Super Viernes are taped for CMLL's weekly shows that air on television in Mexico in the following week. The first two Super Viernes shows focused primarily on the build towards the 81st Anniversary show, especially the Lucha de Apuestas, mask vs. mask match main event of the show between Atlantis and Último Guerrero that would be the culmination of a storyline years in the making. It was also used to feature a quickly escalating storyline between Rey Cometa and Cavernario, leading up to one of the featured matches at the Anniversary Show. The post anniversary Super Viernes show featured the first round of the La Copa Junior VIP tournament, the second such tournament of 2014, this time featuring higher ranking wrestlers than the January 1, 2014 version. The tournament would continue into October 2014.
In October 2014 the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) held a total of five CMLL Super Viernes shows on Friday nights as there were no special events to replace their regular Friday night shows. Some of the matches from Super Viernes were taped for CMLL's weekly shows that air on television in Mexico in the following week. The first and second Super Viernes show in October featured the first and final rounds of the La Copa Junior VIP tournament, the second such tournament of 2014, which featured higher ranking wrestlers than the January 1, 2014 version. In the end Máximo defeated Mephisto to win the tournament. The October 31st Super Viernes saw the return of L.A. Park, who had not worked for CMLL since 2008, along with his son El Hijo de L.A. Park.
August started out with the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) holding a special major event called Juicio Final on Friday August 1 instead of their traditional Friday night CMLL Super Viernes show, but for the remaining four Fridays they held their traditional Super Viernes show, CMLL's main weekly show. The shows focused both on continuing storylines from Juicio Final as well as storylines building interest for their next show, the CMLL 81st Anniversary Show. At the Juicio Final show long time rivals Atlantis and Último Guerrero finally agreed to a Lucha de Apuestas, or bet match, for their wrestling masks, which they promoted as La Lucha del siglo. The shows also furthered issues between the trio known as Los Ingobernables and their continuing rivalry with Negro Casas and his team known as La Peste Negra as well as Shocker building towards a match at the 81st Anniversary Show. The August 8 Super Viernes featured the only championship match of the month as Dragón Rojo Jr. successfully defended the CMLL World Middleweight Championship against rival Rey Escorpión, continuing the feud between the two that started when Dragón Rojo Jr. left a group known as Los Revolucionarios del Terror, a group led by Rey Escorpión. August also saw the annual Universal Championship return as CMLL held the two first rounds on the 15th and 22nd. Former Universal Champions La Sombra and Último Guerrero both qualified for the finals and in the end Guerrero won, making him the first ever two time Universal Champion, The August 22, 2014 Super Viernes marked the first Super Viernes show where El Sagrado worked as a heel (referred to as a "Rudo" in Mexico when he teamed up with Misterioso Jr. and El Terrible, losing to the team of Blue Panther, Rey Cometa and Sagrado's rival Fuego.
In November 2014 the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) will hold a total of five CMLL Super Viernes shows on Friday nights as they have not currently announced any special events to replace their regular Friday night shows. Some of the matches from Super Viernes are taped for CMLL's weekly shows that air on television in Mexico in the following week. The Super Viernes events features a varying number of professional wrestling matches, in which some wrestlers were involved in pre-existing scripted feuds or storylines and others were teamed up with no backstory reason as such. Wrestlers themselves portrayed either villains or fan favorites as they competed in matches with pre-determined outcomes.
Los Ingobernables is a lucha libre stable based in the Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) promotion. It was formed in April 2014 by La Máscara, Rush and La Sombra, and has since become renowned as one of the top antagonistic groups in CMLL history. As members of the group, La Máscara has held the CMLL World Light Heavyweight Championship and the CMLL World Tag Team Championship alongside Rush, while La Sombra has held the NWA World Historic Middleweight and Welterweight Championships. Through CMLL's working relationship with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), Tetsuya Naito joined the stable in 2015, eventually forming an offshoot group named Los Ingobernables de Japón in the Japanese promotion.
The CMLL Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increíbles 2016 or "National Incredible Pairs Tournament 2016" was a tag team Lucha Libre tournament held by the Mexican wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). The tournament is based on the Lucha Libre Parejas Increíbles match concept, which pairs two wrestlers of opposite allegiance, one portraying a villain, referred to as a "rudo" in Lucha Libre wrestling terminology, and one portraying a fan favorites, or "técnico".
The CMLL International Gran Prix (2016) was a lucha libre, or professional wrestling, tournament produced and scripted by the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre that took place on July 1, 2016 in Arena México, Mexico City, Mexico, CMLL's main venue. The 2016 International Gran Prix was the twelfth time CMLL held an International Gran Prix tournament since 1994 and the first one in eight years. All International Gran Prix tournaments have been a one-night tournament, always as part of CMLL's Friday night CMLL Super Viernes shows. The event was available as an internet pay per view (iPPV) both in and outside of Mexico.