Abismo Negro

Andrés Alejandro Palomeque González Palomeque started working in a gymnasium where wrestlers were trained at the age of thirteen, initially cleaning after hours to pay for his gym access. He began training to become a professional wrestler under Don Nerio Soto, who worked under the ring name El Noruego ("The Norwegian"), and his brother Delio Soto after the family moved back to the Tabasco region. Don later recollected how he and his family took the young man in and made him part of their family, practically adopting him while he was enrolled in Soto's wrestling school, and later as he worked on the local wrestling circuit. As Furor, Palomeque won his first Lucha de Apuestas ("bet match"), defeating his mentor, El Noruego, in a match where Noruego's hair and Palomeque's mask was at stake. At Triplemanía II-A on April 26, 1994, he, Rey Misterio and Rey Misterio Jr. to defeat Los Destructores ("The Destroyers"; Rocco Valente, Tony Arce and Vulcano).

In early 1995, Winners participated in a Relevos Suicidas ("Suicide Relays") tag team match, in which the losing team members have a match of their own, with the loser being forced to unmask; Winners' team won the match. At Triplemanía III-B on June 18, he placed his mask on the line against Marabunta, defeating him to retain it. On June 30, at Triplemanía III-C, Winners lost his mask to Caló, thus never being able to wear it again. On July 15, Winners, Caló, El Mexicano and La Parka defeated Fishman, Flowers, Jerry Estrada and Villano IV in one of the featured matches of Triplemanía IV-C.

Abismo Negro (1997–2004) On January 10, 1997, Palomeque made his debut under the new character "Abismo Negro" in an eight-man tag team match. The character was that of a cheating villain (rudo) with a flamethrower display routine, created by using a lighter and an Aerosol spray can, which he regularly used during his entrance and, on occasion, during a match. On June 7, he, Mini Abismo and new Vipers member Electroshock lost to Octagón, his mascot Octagóncito, and Pentagón at Triplemanía VI.

In 1999, Los Vipers split into two factions, with Negro leading a splinter group called Los Vipers Extreme ("The Extreme Vipers"), consisting of Electroshock, Pentagón, Shiima, El Cuervo and Mini Abismo, while Cibernético created a group called Los Vipers Primera Clase ("First Class Vipers"). After less than two months, the angle was dropped and Los Vipers reunited. Not long after, Cibernético formed a group intent on taking over AAA called Lucha Libre Latina (LLL); it was inspired by World Championship Wrestling (WCW)'s New World Order (nWo). Negro became one of the driving forces in LLL's feud with AAA owner Antonio Peña and his AAA loyalists, feuding with the likes of La Parka Jr., Latin Lover and Octagón. Negro's position as one of AAA's top workers was cemented on March 5, 2000, when he competed in the Rey de Reyes ("King of Kings") tournament. In the opening round, he defeated Dos Caras, Killer and Psicosis II, and in the finals, he defeated El Alebrije, Charly Manson and Cibernético to win the tournament.

Negro's status as a main eventer caused storyline issues between him and Cibernético, leading to a series of matches to see who should lead Los Vipers. On September 29, at Verano de Escandalo ("Summer of Scandal"), Negro defeated Cibernético. A steel cage match between the two at Guerra de Titanes ("War of the Titans") on December 8 ended without a winner, after which the rivalry cooled off. In 2001, Negro lost to La Parka Jr. in the finals of that year's Rey de Reyes. At Triplemanía IX on May 26, Negro, Cibernético, Electroshock and Máscara Maligna lost to Máscara Sagrada, Alebrije, Octagón and La Parka Jr., when Negro was forced to submit. In December 2002, Negro and Mini Abismo lost to Sagrada and Máscarita Sagrada in the finals of a tournament to crown the inaugural AAA Mascot Tag Team Champions. In 2004, LLL was phased out in favor of a new super group, La Legión Extranjera ("The Foreign Legion"), meaning that Los Vipers now regularly teamed with foreign wrestlers, including NWA-TNA performers like Abyss.

World Wrestling Federation (1997) Shortly after his debut as Abismo Negro, he made his World Wrestling Federation (WWF) debut, as part of a working relationship between the WWF and AAA, Negro appeared in January against Perro Aguayo Jr. and made two additional appearances on Monday Night Raw in March 1997. During AAA's tour of Japan, Negro wrestled in the main event of Triplemanía VIII on July 5, where he, Cibernético, Electroshock and Shiima lost to Octagón, Jushin Thunder Liger, Latin Lover and Cuije. Amid rumors that he was jumping from CMLL to AAA, Negro remained in AAA and was sent on a tour with Pro Wrestling Noah in the spring of 2006. In the following weeks, Negro and Team AAA won against Elix Skipper, Jerry Lynn and Sonjay Dutt, and finally all of Team USA in a four-on-four match to claim the Americas X Cup. On March 10, Team AAA successfully defended the X Cup against Team Canada, as Negro and Guerrera defeated Jack Evans and Teddy Hart to tie the score between the two teams, allowing for a final four-on-four elimination match that Team AAA won. Negro and the rest of Team AAA were rebranded as "Team Mexico" for the 2004 World X Cup Tournament. He remained undefeated until April 7, when his team lost to James Mason and Jason Allgood in one of the first matches of the tournament. Later that night, Team Mexico defeated Team UK to even the score. The World Cup saw Team Mexico lose to Team USA, Team Canada (Young and Bobby Roode), and Team Japan (Mitsu Hirai Jr. and Ryuji Hijikata). Team Mexico tied in points with Team USA and Team Canada, meaning that a representative of each team met in an Ultimate X match to determine the winner of the tournament. Garza represented Mexico, but Team USA's Chris Sabin won the match and the tournament.

Return to AAA (2005–2009) After the World X Cup tournament ended, Negro returned to AAA full-time, taking full charge of Los Vipers. AAA hinted at a possible técnico turn when Negro, Psicosis and Mini Psicosis attacked Cibernético. The two fought in a cage match that Cibernético won, but they eventually reconciled their differences once more. The on again, off again storyline with Cibernético was put on hold when Cibernético suffered a severe knee injury in late 2006.

In late 2007, AAA created a ring persona for a new wrestler called Black Abyss, who donned a mask, attire and wrestling style reminiscent of Negro. During the fall of 2008, AAA pushed their storyline further by having Black Abyss "injure" Negro with his own move, the Marinete. Both Negro and Black Abyss were booked in the same four-way elimination match qualifier at Rey de Reyes on March 15, which turned out to be Negro's final televised appearance. Negro eliminated Black Abyss, but was in turn eliminated by Latin Lover. Black Abyss expressed his desire to honor Negro by maintaining the character following his death, although AAA showed little interest in featuring it prominently on television; he left AAA in October 2010.

Personal life Palomeque was married to a woman named Martha for 15 years, and the couple had four children, two girls and two boys. Palomeque's wife has been suffering from breast cancer for a number of years. One of his sons wrestles under the ring name "El Fiscal".

He often appeared on the morning television program Vida TV in full wrestling gear and persona, being billed as Abismo Negro. He usually appeared as a kind of judge for talent contests on the show, earning him the nickname Fiscal De Hierro de la Televisión ("The Iron Judge of Television"). The Abismo Negro character was one of the first characters used to promote the game and show the quality of the graphic rendering.

Death and legacy Palomeque was found dead on March 22, 2009; his body was found in a river near the town of El Rosario, Sinaloa. According to a bus driver who was transporting Palomeque and other passengers to Mexico City two nights earlier, Palomeque became agitated, panicked and demanded to be let off the bus despite it being 1:30 in the morning. A text message he sent to his wife after leaving the bus confirmed that Palomeque found himself lost on the dark hillside. After receiving the text message, his wife contacted local wrestling promoter Vicente Martinez, who organized a search party. On the morning of March 22, Palomeque was found floating face down in the river. Afterwards, medical expert Jesús Enrique Castro López stated that such an anxiety attack could be steroid related, but Palomeque's alleged steroid abuse has not been confirmed. A memorial was held in Mexico City on March 24 for friends and family of Palomeque, many of whom showed up without their masks on, to keep the focus of the event on Palomeque. His body was subsequently cremated, with the ashes taken to Villahermosa to be buried.

During Triplemanía XVII on June 13, 2009, there was a moment of silence in memory of Abismo Negro, Antonio Peña and Mitsuharu Misawa (who died in the ring the night before). On October 26, AAA held the Torneo Abismo Negro in honor of Palomeque; the tournament was a seven-man gauntlet-style match and included a mix of five AAA veterans and two Abismo Negro students. The participants were Cuervo, Black Abyss, Gato Eveready, Kempo Dragon, Joe Líder, Extreme Tiger and Relámpago. Relámpago, Abismo Negro's last student to turn professional, won the match after 48 minutes. The event was not televised and did not become an annual event. On September 27, 2011, AAA announced the start of a competition to find a new Abismo Negro, although it ended without anyone taking over the character.

Championships and accomplishments Asistencia Asesoría y Administración AAA Mascot Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Mini Abismo Negro Mexican National Middleweight Championship (1 time) Pro Wrestling Illustrated PWI ranked him #91 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 2004 Total Nonstop Action Wrestling America's X Cup (2004) – with Mr. Águila, Juventud Guerrera, Héctor Garza and Heavy Metal

Luchas de Apuestas record

Winner (wager)Loser (wager)LocationEventDateNotesFuror (mask) El Noruego (hair) Comalcalco, Tabasco, Mexico Live event N/A Winners (mask) Marabunta (mask) Tonalá, Jalisco, Mexico Triplemanía III-B Super Caló (mask) Winners (mask) Madero, Tamaulipas, Mexico Triplemanía III-C Abismo Negro (hair) Stuka Jr. (hair) N/A Live event N/A Abismo Negro (hair) The Panther (hair) Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico Live event Abismo Negro (hair) El Alebrije (hair) Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico Live event