Wikipedia

Ephesto

Ephesto (born July 10, 1965) is the best known ring name of a Mexican professional wrestler working for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) as Panterita del Ring. His real name has not been officially documented, a tradition in Mexican wrestling where masked wrestlers' real names often are not a matter of public record. He made his debut in 1982 and worked for almost 20 years as Pantera del Ring with limited success.[3] He later worked under the name Safari, winning the Mexican National Trios Championship on two occasions.

Ephesto
Ephesto in January 2017
Personal information
Born (1965-06-10) June 10, 1965 (age 61)[1]
Gomez Palacio, Durango, Mexico[1]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Ephesto
Hefesto
Hombre Sin Nombre
Pantera del Ring/Panterita del Ring
Safari
Billed height1.77 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)[1][2]
Billed weight95 kg (209 lb)[2]
Trained byHalcon Suriano[1]
Asterión[1]
El Satánico[1]
Blue Panther[1]
DebutMay 29, 1982[1]

His ring name "Ephesto" is derived from the Spanish name for Hephaestus, the Greek god of fire, Hefesto; in fact, his name is sometimes spelled Hefesto in print sources.[3] Ephesto is a founding member of the stable Los Hijos del Infierno (Spanish for the Sons of the Inferno) with Averno and Mephisto. In addition to being a two-time Mexican National Trios Champion, he is a former CMLL World Light Heavyweight Champion and CMLL World Trios Champion.

Professional wrestling career

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Early career (1982–1991)

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The wrestler later known as Ephesto made his professional wrestling debut in 1982 at the age of 16, after being trained by Halco Suriano, Asterión, El Satánico and Blue Panther. His first ring persona was Pantera del Ring ("The Panther of the Ring"), a masked luchador character (or enmascarado) with a panther inspired mask and trunks, in part as a homage to his trainer Blue Panther.[4]

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (1991–1992)

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As Pantera del Ring, sometimes referred to as "Panterita del Ring" ("Little Panther of the Ring"), he signed with Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) in the early 1990s and began working as a low card tecnicó ("good guy").[4]

Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (1992–1997)

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When Antonio Peña, the head booker of CMLL at the time, broke off to form the rival wrestling company Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA), Pantera del Ring was one of the CMLL workers that left CMLL to follow Peña in 1992. There, he and Latin Lover won the Mexican National Tag Team Championship by defeating the team of Fuerza and Juventud Guerrera on June 1, 1995. The team only held the tag team titles for three and a half months before losing them back to the Guerrera family.[5]

Promo Azteca (1997–1998)

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By 1997, Panterita del Ring was working for the newly formed Promo Azteca promotion, this time as a rudo ("bad guy"). He won the tournament to crown the first ever Aztecas Middleweight Champion by defeating Ángel Azteca and Black Dragon in the finals.[6] He eventually lost the title, but kept working for Promo Azteca as an upper card worker until Promo Azteca folded in the late 1990s.[4]

Return to CMLL (2000–present)

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Safari and El Hombre sin Nombre (2000–2006)

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In 2000, he returned to CMLL and began working under the ring persona Safari, a mid-level tecnicó.[3] After generally working random tag matches, Safari gained momentum when he teamed up with Mr. Niebla and Olímpico, defeating Blue Panther, Fuerza Guerrera and El Signo to win the Mexican National Trios Championship at Juicio Final ("Final Judgement") on March 30, 2001.[7] The team had their most notable title defense at the CMLL 68th Anniversary Show on September 28, defeating Gran Markus Jr., Poder Boricua and Violencia.[8] On June 23, 2002, they lost the title to Los Nuevos Infernales (Averno, Mephisto and El Satánico).[7] In late 2003, Safari, El Felino and Volador Jr. won a tournament for the vacant Mexican National Trios Championship, defeating Alan Stone, Super Crazy and Zumbido in the finals.[7] They lost the title on March 25, 2005, to Pandilla Guerrera ("Gang of Warriors"; Doctor X, Nitro and Sangre Azteca).[7]

In late 2005, only months after losing the trios titles, Safari transitioned into working as El Hombre sin Nombre ("The Man without Name"), a rudo ring persona with a name that indicates the wrestler is a "blank slate", since he has no name and wrestles in plain black trunks and mask; no public reference was given to the fact that he was previously known as Safari. CMLL started a contest for the fans to come up with a new name and ring persona for this wrestler.[3] Under this persona, he notably paired with Héctor Garza for the Torneo Gran Alternativa ("Great Alternative Tournament"), in which a rookie is paired with a veteran. On June 2, 2006, they defeated Máximo and Negro Casas in the quarter-finals, but lost to Misterioso Jr. and Perro Aguayo Jr. in the semi-finals.[9]

Ephesto (2006–2021)

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By the end of 2006, it was announced that El Hombre Sin Nombre finally had a name, Ephesto, as suggested by a fan, named after the Greek God of fire Hephaestus. He also adopted a new look, dressing mainly in black with a mask featuring a ram's horn design, and joined forces with Averno and Mephisto to form the stable La Triada del Terror ("The Trio of Terror").[3] They defeated El Hijo del Fantasma, La Máscara and Volador Jr. at the CMLL 75th Anniversary Show on September 19, 2008.[10] When Averno and Mephisto formed Los Hijos del Averno ("The Sons of Hell"), Ephesto was one of the first to join up with them. On December 7, Ephesto unsuccessfully challenged La Sombra for the NWA World Welterweight Championship.[11] In mid-2009, Ephesto entered a storyline against Rey Bucanero, challenging him for the CMLL World Light Heavyweight Championship. Bucanero initially turned down the challenge, only to later accept after Ephesto brought a ringside ticket for a show where Bucanero was in the main event and interfered in the match.[12] On May 26, Ephesto defeated Bucanero two falls to one for his first CMLL singles title, after the match was stopped by the referee when Bucanero suffered a serious knee injury.[13]

Now holding a title, Ephesto participated in the 2009 Universal Championship, a tournament designated for CMLL's champions, but lost to Místico in the first round on June 12.[14] At Sin Salida ("No Escape") on December 4, Ephesto and Mephisto unsuccessfully challenged La Sombra and Volador Jr. for the CMLL World Tag Team Championship.[15] Ephesto then participated in the 2010 Universal Championship; he was part of "Block A" that competed on the July 30 Super Viernes, co-winning the eight-man seeding battle royal, but was eliminated by El Texano Jr. in the first round of the actual tournament.[16] On August 16, it was announced that Ephesto was one of 14 men putting their mask on the line in a Luchas de Apuestas steel cage match in the main event of the CMLL 77th Anniversary Show.[17] Ephesto was the third man to leave the cage, as all three Los Hijos del Averno members quickly left and kept their masks safe.[18] On February 22, 2011, Ephesto lost the CMLL World Light Heavyweight Championship to Rush, ending his reign at 637 days.[19]

On July 15, Los Hijos del Averno defeated La Generación Dorada (Máscara Dorada, La Máscara and La Sombra) to win the CMLL World Trios Championship.[20] On September 2, Ephesto lost in the first round of the 2011 Universal Championship to his partner, Mephisto.[21] They lost the title to El Bufete del Amor (Marco Corleone, Máximo and Rush) on February 19, 2012.[22] On March 8, 2013, Ephesto was paired with técnico Ángel de Oro for the Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increibles ("National Incredible Pairs Tournament"), where rivals would be forced to work together. The two lost their first round match to Diamante Azul and Euforia.[23][24] On August 9, 2015, Los Hijos del Infierno defeated Los Reyes de la Atlantida ("The Kings of the Atlantis"; Atlantis, Delta and Guerrero Maya Jr.) to win the Mexican National Trios Championship, Ephesto's third trios title reign, but the first under the "Ephesto" ring character.[25] As such, Ephesto was eligible for the 2015 Universal Championship, where he was again defeated by Mephisto on October 9.[26] For the 2016 Universal Championship, Ephesto was eliminated in the first round by La Máscara.[27][28] Later that year, Ephesto started a storyline rivalry with Guerrero Maya Jr., as the two found themselves on opposite sides in various six-man tag team matches. As the rivalry grew, news outlets began speculating on if the two would put their masks on the line in a Lucha de Apuestas.[29]

Ephesto, Mephisto and Luciferno were scheduled to challenge El Sky Team (Místico, Valiente and Volador Jr.) for the CMLL World Trios Championship at Homenaje a Dos Leyendas ("Homage to Two Legends") on March 17, 2017. However, Ephesto was pulled out of the match after undergoing surgery the previous week when he contracted septicemia; Hechicero took his place.[30] On July 25, after eleven successful title defenses against both tecnicó trios (such as Ángel de Oro, Dragon Lee and Stuka Jr.) and rudo teams (such as Los Invasores; Olímpico, Kraneo and Ripper), Los Hijos del Infierno lost the title to Nueva Generación Dinamita (El Cuatrero, Forastero and Sansón).[31] On February 28, 2020, Ephesto and Luciferno participated in a tournament for the revived Mexican National Tag Team Championship, defeating Black Panther and Blue Panther Jr. in the first round, before losing to Soberano Jr. and Titán in the quarter-finals.[32] On November 27, Ephesto was the first wrestler eliminated by Diamante Azul in the torneo cibernetico as part of the Leyenda de Plata ("The Silver Legend") tournament.[33]

Return of Panterita del Ring (2021–present)

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On May 28, 2021, Ephesto revived the Panterita del Ring gimmick to team with his son, Panterita del Ring Jr., in the family-oriented Copa Dinastia ("Dynasties Cup") tournament. They were eliminated in the first round by Espíritu Negro and Rey Cometa.[34][35] The following month, he was paired with Gemelo Diablo II for the 2021 Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increibles, defeating Cometa and Raziel in the first round, before losing to Blue Panther Jr. and Sansón in the quarter-finals.[36] On September 2, 2022, he participated in a torneo cibernetico for the Copa Independencia ("Independence Cup"), but was eliminated early on by eventual winner Místico.[37] The next night, he unsuccessfully challenged El Terrible for the Mexican National Heavyweight Championship.[38] On June 11, 2023, he and his son lost to Dr. Karonte I and Místico in the first round of the Copa Dinastia tournament.[39] They entered the tournament again on June 16, 2024, this time with his son repackaged as the second Máscara Dorada. After defeating Valiente and Valiente Jr. in the first round, they lost to Stuka Jr. and Hijo del Stuka Jr. in the semi-finals.[40]

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2005, 2017)

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As Safari, he debuted for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in December 2005 as part of the "Battle Final" tour, working alongside Sangre Azteca as a tag team.[41] In January 2017, as Ephesto, he returned to Japan to compete in Fantastica Mania 2017, the annual tour co-produced by CMLL and NJPW.[42]

Personal life

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Ephesto's brother, Jesús Parra Ramírez, also works for CMLL under the name "Lucifierno" and has previously worked under ring names such as Hooligan, El Hombre Sin Nombre (years after Ephesto used the same name) and Último Rebelde.[43] For years, there was a common misconception among lucha libre fans that Ephesto, Último Guerrero, and Hooligan were all brothers. All three come from the "Lagunero" area in Mexico and early in their professional wrestling career, the three stuck together to try to break into wrestling. This shared experience caused them to sometimes refer to each other as "Brother" even though no familiar relationship exists between Último Guerrero and the Parra brothers.[43] Ephesto's nephew made his CMLL debut in 2014 under the name "El Rebelde".[44]

Championships and accomplishments

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Luchas de Apuestas record

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Winner (wager) Loser (wager) Location Event Date Notes
Pantera del Ring (mask)Acuario (hair)Aguascalientes, AguascalientesLive eventN/A[4]
Pantera del Ring (mask)Guerrero Negro (hair)Aguascalientes, AguascalientesLive eventN/A
Pantera del Ring (mask)Dragon (mask)Torreón, CoahuilaLive eventN/A
Pantera del Ring (mask)Astro Flash (mask)Torreón, CoahuilaLive eventN/A
Pantera del Ring (mask)Megatron (mask)Monterrey, Nuevo LeónLive eventN/A
Pantera del Ring (mask)Principe Island (hair)Monterrey, Nuevo LeónLive event1992
Pantera del Ring (mask)Kendo (hair)Monterrey, Nuevo LeónLive event1992
Pantera del Ring (mask)White Wolf (mask)Monterrey, Nuevo LeónLive eventNovember 22, 1998

References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Rudos – Ephesto". Fuego en el ring (in Spanish). Archived from the original on February 25, 2012. Retrieved October 17, 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 "Pro Wrestling Illustrated 500 – 2007: 152 Ephesto". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, United States: Sports and Entertainment publications LLC. September 17, 2007. p. 34. October 2007.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Rosas Plata, Arturo (December 5, 2006). "Hombre sin ... Ephesto!". Ovaciones (in Spanish). Mexico, D.F.: Editorial Ovaciones, S. A. de C.V. p. 22. Número 20706 Año LIX.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Enciclopedia staff (October 2007). "Enciclopedia de las Mascaras". Pantera del Ring (in Spanish). Mexico City, Mexico. p. 51. Tomo III.
  5. 1 2 Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: National Tag Team Titles". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. pp. 396–397. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  6. 1 2 Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Mexico: Aztec Middlweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. pp. 401. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "Los Reyes de Mexico: La Historia de Los Campeonatos Nacionales". Lucha 2000 (in Spanish). 2004-12-20. Especial 21.
  8. ↑ "Historia de los Aniversarios del CMLL". The Gladiatores (in Spanish). September 2, 2010. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved June 10, 2026.
  9. ↑ Jose, Miguel (June 10, 2006). "Gran Alternativa 2006". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). No. 164.
  10. ↑ "Blue Panther pierde la máscara ante Villano V". Vanguardia. Notimex. Retrieved June 10, 2026.
  11. ↑ Ocampo, Jorge (December 8, 2008). "Los Hijos del Averno conquistan el campeonato de parejas del CMLL". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved June 10, 2026.
  12. ↑ Ruiz Glez, Alex (May 26, 2009). "Rey Bucanero vs Ephesto por campeonato Semicompleto del CMLL (26-mayo-09)". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved June 10, 2026.
  13. 1 2 Ruiz González, Alex (2009-05-28). "Ephesto nuevo Campeón Semicompleto del CMLL". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved 2009-06-17.
  14. ↑ Rivera, Manuel (June 13, 2009). "CMLL Arena México (12 junio '09): Último Guerrero, segundo finalista al Campeonato Universal". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved June 10, 2026.
  15. ↑ Islas, Alejandro (December 5, 2009). "CMLL Sin Salida (4 diciembre 2009) – Texano Jr. y Terrible ganan las cabelleras de Yujiro y Naito". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved June 10, 2026.
  16. ↑ Velazquez, Israel (August 7, 2010). "Resultados Arena México (6 agosto 2010): ¡Liger, segundo finalista por el Campeonato Universal! Místico vs. Psicosis, ¿antes de lo esperado?". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved August 5, 2010.
  17. ↑ Ruiz Glez, Alex (August 15, 2010). "Liger, Atlantis, Mr. Niebla y Ultimo Guerrero entran al Juicio final del CMLL". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved August 16, 2010.
  18. ↑ Ocampo, Jorge (September 3, 2010). "Cobertura CMLL: El Juicio Final. LXXVII Aniversario de la Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved September 4, 2010.
  19. ↑ Ruiz Glez, Alex (February 23, 2011). "Arena México (resultados 22 de febrero) ¡Rush nuevo campeón mundial semicompleto del CMLL". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved February 23, 2011.
  20. 1 2 Rodríguez, Édgar (July 16, 2011). "Hijos del Averno ganan títulos". Récord (in Spanish). Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved July 16, 2011.
  21. ↑ Nemer, Paul; Boutwell, Josh (September 10, 2011). "Viva La Raza! Lucha Weekly". WrestleView. Retrieved June 10, 2026.
  22. ↑ Huerta, Diego (February 19, 2012). "Corleone, Rush y Máximo, nuevos Campeones Mundiales de Tríos CMLL". Récord (in Spanish). Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2012.
  23. ↑ "Reviven por una noche los Guerreros de la Atlantida". MedioTiempo (in Spanish). March 9, 2013. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
  24. ↑ "Atlantis y Ultimo Guerrero a la final del Torneo de Parejas Increíbles". Estrellas del Ring (in Spanish). March 9, 2013. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
  25. 1 2 Vacah (August 10, 2015). "CMLL: Resultados 9/08/2015". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved August 10, 2015.
  26. ↑ Valdés, Apolo (October 10, 2015). "Atlantis buscará el Campeonato Universal del CMLL". MedioTiempo (in Spanish). MSN. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
  27. ↑ "Volador Jr. segundo finalista y favorito para ganar el Campeonato Universal 2016: La Victoria Absoluta". Yahoo! Deportes (in Spanish). Yahoo!. October 22, 2016. Archived from the original on October 23, 2016. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  28. ↑ "Volador, finalista por el Campeonato Universal del CMLL". MedioTiempo (in Spanish). MSN. October 21, 2016. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
  29. ↑ "Guerrero Maya y Ephesto ¿Por las máscaras?". MedioTiempo (in Spanish). MSN. December 8, 2016. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  30. ↑ "Ephesto fuera de H2L, Hechicero tomará su lugar". MedioTiempo (in Spanish). March 17, 2017. Retrieved June 10, 2026.
  31. ↑ "Mexican National Trios Championship". Cagematch. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
  32. ↑ Martínez López, Uriel (February 28, 2020). "Carístico y Forastero ganan el torneo increíble de parejas". TUDN (in Spanish). Retrieved June 10, 2026.
  33. ↑ "¡Ángel de Oro se lleva la Leyenda Azul!". Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (in Spanish). November 28, 2020. Retrieved June 10, 2026.
  34. ↑ Valdés, Apolo (May 29, 2021). "Blue Panther Jr. y Black Panther se llevaron la Copa Dinastías". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved April 26, 2026.
  35. ↑ Valdés, Apolo (June 3, 2021). "Ephesto pasa a la historia, regresa Panterita del Ring". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved April 26, 2026.
  36. ↑ Carrera, Pep (June 18, 2021). "CMLL Spectacular Friday Live Show at the Arena Mexico Results (06/18/2021)". Lucha Central. Retrieved April 26, 2026.
  37. ↑ Valdés, Apolo (September 3, 2022). "Místico, primer finalista de la Copa Independencia del CMLL". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved April 26, 2026.
  38. ↑ Valdés, Apolo (September 4, 2022). "Terrible retuvo el Campeonato Nacional de Peso Completo". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved April 26, 2026.
  39. ↑ Valdés, Apolo (June 13, 2023). "Místico y Dr. Karonte I, a la final de Torneo Dinastías". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved April 26, 2026.
  40. ↑ Valdés, Apolo (June 17, 2024). "CMLL: Stuka Jr. y el Hijo de Stuka Jr. se llevan la Copa Dinastías 2024 a la mala". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved April 26, 2026.
  41. ↑ "12月3日(土)京都市体育館". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 7, 2006. Retrieved April 17, 2026.
  42. ↑ 【『Fantastica Mania』メンバー決定！】マキシモが待望の再来日！ アトランティス、ミスティコ、ボラドールにドラゴン・リー！ ゲレーロ、カベルナリオも参戦！. New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). November 11, 2016. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
  43. 1 2 Madigan, Dan (2007). "A family affair". Mondo Lucha a Go Go: the Bizarre & Honorable World of Wild Mexican Wrestling. HarperCollins Publishers. pp. 128–132. ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3.
  44. ↑ "Emoción al rojo vivo". El Popular (in Spanish). Archived from the original on October 27, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  45. ↑ Oacampo, Jorge (May 28, 2009). "Mephisto vence a Sombra y obtiene el título… ¿NWA Welter ? – Extraños cambios de título". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved June 17, 2009.
  46. ↑ "COPA BOBBY BONALES". CMLL. Retrieved September 4, 2025.

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