Fénix (wrestler)


Fénix is a Mexican luchador enmascarado currently under contract with All Elite Wrestling and Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide, where he is currently one-half of the AAA World Tag Team Champions in his second reign with his brother Pentagon Jr.. He is also currently known as Rey Fenix, and as King Phoenix when working for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre.
He is also known for his work with Impact Wrestling, where he is a former Impact World Tag Team Champion. He also works on the side for various American and Mexican independent promotions, most notably Pro Wrestling Guerrilla in the U.S., where he is a former one-time PWG World Tag Team Champion and The Crash Lucha Libre in Mexico.
After originally starting his career on the Mexican independent circuit in 2007, Fénix signed with AAA in January 2011, where he became the inaugural AAA Fusión Champion in March 2013. Through AAA, Fénix where he became the AAA Mega Champion, and also began working for Lucha Underground in late 2014, becoming the inaugural Gift of the Gods Champion in April 2015 and winning the promotion's top title, the Lucha Underground Championship, the following November. Fénix has also held the Lucha Underground Trios Championship, making him the first wrestler in Lucha Underground to have won all three championships. He has also wrestled in Japan for Pro Wrestling Noah and Pro Wrestling Wave. After leaving AAA in September 2016, Fénix changed his ring name first to Rey Fénix, then Fénix el Rey and finally to its current form of Rey Fenix. His ring names are Spanish for "Phoenix", "King Phoenix" and "Phoenix the King".
His real name is 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. He is the younger brother of fellow luchador Pentagón Jr., with whom he forms the tag team Lucha Brothers since 2007; together, they have held multiple tag team championships in Mexico and the United States.

Professional wrestling career

Fénix started his professional wrestling career in 2007, working as Máscara Oriental on the Mexican independent circuit in places like Puebla, Pachuca and Querétaro. He was eventually also invited by Blue Demon Jr. to work for his NWA Mexico and by Crazy Boy to work for his Desastre Total Ultraviolento promotion, before getting the opportunity to work for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide, one of the top two promotions in the country.

Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (2011–2016)

Prior to his AAA debut, Máscara Oriental was renamed Fénix, after the mythological bird, and given a new mask. He wrestled his debut match on January 27, 2011, when he, Atomic Boy and Gato Eveready defeated his real-life brother Dark Dragon, Tigre Cota and Tito Santana in a six-man tag team match. Fénix was instantly booked in a storyline rivalry with his brother. On June 18 at Triplemanía XIX, Fénix teamed with Aero Star, Argos and Sugi San in an eight-person tag team dark match, where they were defeated by La Milicia Extrema. Later in the year, Fénix formed a partnership with Jack Evans and, as a result, got involved in his rivalry with Los Perros del Mal leader El Hijo del Perro Aguayo. On December 16 at Guerra de Titanes, Fénix and Evans teamed with Drago, the former Gato Eveready, in a six-man tag team match, where they were defeated by Aguayo and his Perros del Mal stablemates Halloween and Héctor Garza.
On October 7, 2012, at Héroes Inmortales, Fénix received his first title opportunity in AAA, when he and Lolita unsuccessfully challenged Alan Stone and Jennifer Blake for the AAA World Mixed Tag Team Championship in a four-way match, which also included the teams of Atomic Boy and Faby Apache and Halloween and Mari Apache, who went on to win the match. On November 3, Fénix entered a tournament to determine the inaugural AAA Fusión Champion, defeating Dark Dragon, Drago and Toscano in his first round four-way match. Before the finals of the tournament, Fénix also received a shot at the AAA Cruiserweight Championship in a six-way ladder match at Guerra de Titanes on December 2, but was defeated by Los Perros del Mal member Daga. On March 17, 2013, at Rey de Reyes, Fénix gained a measure of revenge on Daga, when he defeated not only him, but also Crazy Boy and Juventud Guerrera in a four-way elimination finals of the tournament to become the first-ever AAA Fusión Champion. On June 16 at Triplemanía XXI, Fénix teamed with Drago in a five-way tag team match for the vacant AAA World Tag Team Championship, from which the two were the last team eliminated by the Mexican Powers. On August 18 at Héroes Inmortales VII, Fénix entered the 2013 Copa Antonio Peña, defeating El Mesías, Monster Clown and Silver King in his first round match. Later that same event, Fénix was defeated by La Parka in the finals, a four-way match, which also included Chessman and El Hijo del Fantasma. On March 16, 2014, at Rey de Reyes, Fénix won his first Lucha de Apuestas, when he won an eight-man Domo de la Muerte, saving his own mask and forcing Steve Pain to have his head shaved. On August 17 at Triplemanía XXII, Fénix put his AAA Fusión Championship on the line in a ten-way championship unification match contested also for the AAA Cruiserweight Championship. The match was eventually won by El Hijo del Fantasma. Fénix received another shot at the title on March 18, 2015, at Rey de Reyes, but was again defeated by El Hijo del Fantasma. On September 24, 2016, Fénix announced his departure from AAA.

Japan (2012, 2013, 2016)

On November 27, 2012, Fénix made his Japanese debut in Tokyo's Korakuen Hall, when he took part in an event held by women's wrestling promotion Pro Wrestling Wave, which featured participation from several AAA workers. Fénix teamed with Lolita and Pimpinela Escarlata in a six-person tag team match, where they were defeated by Ayako Hamada, Bachiko and Cima.
On September 2, 2013, Fénix announced that he would be returning to Japan on September 7 to work a tour with Pro Wrestling Noah, announcing his intention of going for the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship. The following day, the title match between Fénix and the reigning champion, Taiji Ishimori, was made official for September 22. Fénix started his tour with a win over Peruvian wrestler Kaiser. On September 12, Fénix pinned Ishimori in a tag team match, where he and Yoshinari Ogawa defeated Ishimori and Atsushi Kotoge. En route to the title match, Fénix scored two more pinfall victories over Ishimori, but on September 22 was defeated by the champion in the match for the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship. The match also marked the end of Fénix's first tour with Noah.
On April 20, 2016, Fénix returned to Japan to take part in the inaugural event of Akebono's Ōdō promotion. At the event, Fénix was defeated by Pentagón Jr.

Lucha Underground (2014–2018)

In August 2014, Fénix was announced as one of five AAA wrestlers to star in Lucha Underground, a new American television series on El Rey. Fénix debuted on the third episode on November 12, defeating Drago and Pentagón Jr. in a three-way main event by pinning Pentagón Jr., the former Dark Dragon. Over the next weeks, the two real-life brothers developed a storyline rivalry between them. On the January 14, 2015, episode, Fénix unsuccessfully challenged Prince Puma for the Lucha Underground Championship. Fénix then entered a new rivalry with Mil Muertes, becoming the first wrestler to defeat him in a singles match. As part of the storyline, Muertes' valet Catrina started coming on to Fénix, which eventually led to Muertes turning on her. Fénix, however, saved Catrina and took her as his own valet. The rivalry culminated on the March 18 episode, where Fénix defeated Muertes in a "Grave Consequences" casket match. On April 19 at Ultima Lucha, Lucha Underground's season one finale, Fénix defeated six other winners of Azteca Medallions to become the inaugural Gift of the Gods Champion, earning a future shot at the Lucha Underground Championship. On November 14 at the second season premiere, Fénix lost the Gift of the Gods Championship to King Cuerno. On November 21, Fénix regained the title from King Cuerno in a ladder match. The following day, Fénix defeated Mil Muertes to win the Lucha Underground Championship. He lost the title to Matanza in a 20-man Aztec Warfare match on December 12. At Ultima Lucha Dos on January 31, 2016, Fénix won the Lucha Underground Trios Championship, when he teamed with Aero Star and Drago to defeat Jack Evans, Johnny Mundo and PJ Black, becoming Lucha Underground's first Triple Crown Champion. They lost the title on May 7, when Drago turned on Fénix and Aero Star during a defense against Kobra Moon, Pindar and Vibora. At Ultima Lucha Tres, Fénix culminated a rivalry with Marty "the Moth" Martinez by defeating him in a Lucha de Apuestas Mask vs. Hair match.
The serie was discontinued after season finale, Ultima Lucha Cuatro.

American independent circuit (2015–present)

On August 28, 2015, Fénix made his debut for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla by entering the 2015 Battle of Los Angeles tournament, losing to Matt Sydal in his first round match. On September 4, Fénix made his debut for another American promotion, Chikara, when he, Aero Star and Drago entered the 2015 King of Trios tournament as "Team AAA". They defeated the Gentleman's Club in their first round match. The following day, Team AAA defeated the Nightmare Warriors to advance to the semifinals of the tournament. On September 6, Team AAA first defeated reigning King of Trios winners, the Devastation Corporation, in the semifinals and then Bullet Club in the finals to win the 2015 King of Trios. On May 6, 2016, Fénix made his debut for, losing to Pentagón Jr. In July 2016, it was reported that Fénix had moved to San Diego in order to start working full-time in the United States. On September 2, Fénix returned to PWG, entering the 2016 Battle of Los Angeles, from which he was eliminated in the first round by Will Ospreay. Two days later, Fénix and Pentagón Jr. unsuccessfully challenged The Young Bucks for the PWG World Tag Team Championship. On October 12, Fénix defeated Jeff Cobb, Jonathan Gresham and Sonjay Dutt at Lucha Ilimitado's inaugural event to become the first-ever Corazón de Oro Champion. On March 18, 2017, Fénix and Penta el Zero M defeated The Young Bucks and the team of Matt Sydal and Ricochet in a three-way match to win the PWG World Tag Team Championship. On September 1, Fénix entered the 2017 Battle of Los Angeles, defeating Rey Horus in his first round match. Two days later, Fénix defeated Zack Sabre Jr. to advance to the semifinals of the tournament, where he was eliminated by Keith Lee. On October 20, Fénix and Penta lost the PWG World Tag Team Championship to Jeff Cobb and Matt Riddle.

Mexican independent circuit (2016–present)

Following his departure from AAA, Fénix began working under the new ring name "Rey Fénix". Even though Fénix came up with the new name after his departure from the promotion, AAA trademarked the name Rey Fénix, which led to him changing his name to "Fénix el Rey". He, however, continued using both Fénix and Rey Fénix while working in the United States. On January 27, Fénix formed a new stable named La Rebelión with three other wrestlers who had recently quit AAA; Daga, Garza Jr. and his brother Pentagón Jr., now known as Penta 0M. The following month, with AAA also registering the Fénix el Rey name, Fénix announced that he would now be known as Rey Fenix.

Impact Wrestling (2018–2019)

Rey Fénix debuted with Impact Wrestling in an Impact Wrestling vs Lucha Underground co-promotional event at Wrestlecon in April 2018. Fénix and his brother Pentagón Jr. fought in a triple threat match with Impact Wrestling World Champion Austin Aries. Fénix and Pentagón Jr. were then announced to face each other in a match at the Impact Wrestling Redemption event. The match was subsequently changed to a triple threat match with Austin Aries defending the Impact World Championship instead. The match saw Pentagón Jr. take the victory and the championship. On the August 30 episode of Impact, Fénix unsuccessfully challenged Brian Cage for the Impact X Division Championship. On January 12, 2019, Pentagón and Fénix defeated LAX during the TV tapings in Mexico to win the Impact World Tag team Championship. At Impact Wrestling Rebellion. They lost the titles back to LAX in a Full Metal Mayhem match.

Major League Wrestling (2018–2019)

Rey Fénix made his debut for the U.S. based Major League Wrestling on January 11, 2018, where he lost to his brother Pentagón as part of MLW's "Zero Hour" show. The following month Los Lucha Bros defeated "Team TBD" and The Dirty Blondes to become the first holders of the MLW World Tag Team Championship in the restarted MLW. At MLW Fightland, held on November 8, 2018 Los Lucha Bros successfully defended the MLW World Tag Team Championship against the father/son team of L.A. Park and El Hijo de L.A. Park. The team would hold the titles until SuperFight on February 2, 2019, when they lost the MLW Tag Team Championship to The Hart Foundation. Fenix and Penta appeared at MLW's next event, Intimidation Games, which took place on March 2, 2019.

Return to AAA (2018-present)

After the main event of AAA's Verano de Escándalo show Fénix made his AAA return, attacking the rudos, including newly crowned AAA Mega Champion Jeff Jarrett. After the show Fénix stated that he was not signed with AAA full time, but worked as an independent wrestler and could work where he wanted to. While working for AAA he would be billed as "Fénix". On August 2, Fénix defeated Flamita and Bandido to be the number one contender and face Jarrett for the title in Triplemanía XXVI. At Triplemanía XXVI Fénix pinned Jeff Jarrett to become the AAA Mega Champion for the first time in his career. Fénix was originally announced as defending the AAA Mega Championship at Guerra de Titanes against Brian Cage, but due to an injury suffered in the weeks before the show, Fénix was unable to defend the championship. Because of the injury he also was unable to compete in the Lucha Capital tournament as originally planned. Laredo Kid won the tournament and was positioned as the next challenger for the Mega Championship.
On August 10, 2019, after almost a year without defending the AAA Mega Championship, Fénix defeated Laredo Kid, Puma King and Taurus in Saltillo to retain the championship. Fenix's reign would come to an end on October 19, 2019, losing to Kenny Omega at Héroes Inmortales XIII.

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (2018-2019)

On June 8, 2018, Rey Fénix made his Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre debut, working for AAA's biggest rival only 5 days after returning to AAA. For his debut, Rey Fénix teamed up with two of CMLL's top tecnicos, Carístico and Místico to defeat La Peste Negra and Último Guerrero. The following week he was billed as "King Phoenix" for his CMLL appearance. After the show he explained that he used that name until he had full legal rights to the name "Rey Fénix". King Phoenix continued to work for CMLL, even after he won the AAA Mega Championship. King Phoenix and Bárbaro Cavernario outlasted 16 other wrestlers in the first stage of the 2018 Leyenda de Plata tournament, with Bárbaro Cavernario defeating King Phoenix the following week to win the tournament. After the match it was revealed that King Phoenix suffered a hip or pelvic injury as a result of a mistimed dive out of the ring, and would be unable to compete for a least five weeks. He returned to CMLL on January 1, 2019, in the semi-main event of Sin Piedad, after recovering from his injury.

All Elite Wrestling (2019–present)

During an independent circuit show in Georgia, The Young Bucks came to the ring to offer the Lucha Brothers an All Elite Wrestling contract in a confrontation that ended with a verbal agreement and a handshake. It was subsequently revealed that Pentagón Jr. and Rey Fénix had agreed to a non-exclusive deal with AEW, due to their legal obligations to Lucha Underground. On February 7, 2019, at the All Elite Wrestling Ticket Announcement held at the MGM Grand Pool Splash, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Young Bucks were leaving the stage as The Lucha Brothers music played seeing Pentagón Jr., and Fénix making their first appearance with the company. The two teams faced off before a brawl ensued seeing Pentagón striking Matt Jackson first, while Fénix took out Nick Jackson with a super-kick. Pentagón then proceeded to package-piledrive Matt Jackson on the stage, before cutting promos and advertising themselves for the upcoming debut Pay-Per-View for the company, Double Or Nothing before exiting the stage. At Double Or Nothing, Fénix and his partner Pentagón Jr lost their AAA World Tag Team Championship to The Young Bucks. They won back the titles in a rematch organized by AAA at Verano de Escándalo. This led to a 6-man tag match at AEW Fyter Fest, where the Lucha Brothers teamed with Laredo Kid in another losing effort against The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega.

Personal life

Fénix has two brothers who are also professional wrestlers, his elder brother Pentagón Jr.as well as a younger brother who has worked under the ring names Ikaro.

Championships and accomplishments

Winner Loser LocationEventDateNotes
Máscara Oriental Mr. Kid N/ALive eventN/A
Fénix Steve Pain Monterrey, Nuevo LeónRey de Reyes
Fénix Marty Martinez Boyle Heights, CaliforniaUltima Lucha Tres
Rey Fenix Sami Callihan Berwyn, IllinoisAAW Defining Moment

Footnotes