Jerry Estrada

Jerry Estrada (full name, Gerardo Hernández Estrada; born January 10, 1958) is a semi-retired Mexican professional wrestler. For most of his career, he has portrayed a rudo (heel, those that portray the "bad guys") character, nicknamed "El Puma". His rudo persona was pattered on various glam rock bands, complete with colorful spandex and what was described as a "rock and roll" attitude in the ring. He was originally active from 1978 until 2003, when he was forced to retire due to chronic injures caused by his signature bumps outside the ring. Estrada began working select matches again in 2018.

Estrada was a major star for Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL) during the 1980s, but was one of the first wrestlers to leave EMLL to work for Antonio Peña's newly started Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) in 1992. He also had a brief run in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1997 and 1998 when AAA and WWF had a working agreement. From 1991 to 2008, Mini-Estrella Enrique del Rio worked under the ring name Jerrito Estrada, a mini version of Jerry Estrada. Over the years, Estrada has held a number of championships for both AAA and CMLL, including the Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship, the CMLL World Light Heavyweight Championship, the Mexican National Middleweight Championship and the Mexican National Trios Championship with Hombre Bala and Pirata Morgan, collectively known as Los Bucaneros. He also participated in the main event of Triplemanía II-A, losing a Lucha de Apuestas, or bet match, to Heavy Metal, and was forced to have all his hair shaved off as a result.

Early life Gerardo Hernández Estrada was born on January 10, 1958, in Monclova, part of the northern Mexican state of Coahuila. During his various jobs, he met professional wrestler Herodes, who started to train him alongside notable wrestling trainer Alberto Moras. After unmasking, Estrada began working under the name Jerry Estrada, the only name he has used since 1978. He slowly developed a "rock and roll" style in-ring character, inspired by various early to mid-1980s bands. Most wrestlers at the time wore more traditional wrestling tights and trunks, but Estrada opted to wear black or dark colored spandex with bright colored tassels and bandanas, similar to the onstage outfit worn by glam rockers such as Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider. In 1986, EMLL, as part of its emerging trios division, paired Estrada with Pirata Morgan and Hombre Bala to form Los Bucaneros ("The Buccaneers"). Estrada had his hair cut short and began wrestling wearing a faux eyepatch to complement their pirate image. By late 1991, EMLL changed their name to Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) and created a number of "World" championships to help usher in the new name; one such title was the CMLL World Light Heavyweight Championship. CMLL held a tournament in late 1991 that saw Estrada defeat MS-1, Mascara Año 2000 and Black Magic on his way to the finals, where he became the first champion by defeating Pierroth Jr., who eventually dethroned Estrada after 175 days with the title.

In 1994, Estrada became involved in a storyline feud with one of AAA's top tecnicos ("good guys"), Heavy Metal, with the now-veteran Estrada playing the role of the angry veteran wrestler who did not believe Heavy Metal was tough enough to be a top-level wrestler.

In March 1995, Estrada defeated La Parka to win the Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship, holding it for 131 days before losing it back to La Parka. At Triplemanía III-C on June 30, Estrada got a small measure of revenge as he teamed with Caras, Máscara Año 2000 and Fishman to defeat Konnan, Aguayo, Latin Lover and Sagrada. The following year, he worked all three Triplemanía shows, first teaming up with Juventud Guerrera to defeat El Pantera and Super Caló at Triplemanía IV-A on May 11. Estrada, Arandu and El Sanguinario then lost to Antifaz, Latin Lover and Sergio Romo Jr. at Triplemanía IV-B on June 15. Finally, on July 15, Estrada, Fishman, May Flowers and Villano IV lost to El Mexicano, La Parka, Super Caló and Winners on the undercard of Triplemanía IV-C. On February 21, 1997, Estrada was one of the first participants in Rey de Reyes ("King of Kings"), which would become an annual tournament. In the first round, Latin Lover outlasted Estrada, Máscara Sagrada Jr. and The Killer. At Triplemanía V-A on June 13, Estrada and El Picudo were one of four teams competing in a Lucha de Apuestas, which they survived without losing their hair.

World Wrestling Federation (1997) In early 1997, AAA began a working relationship with the North American-based World Wrestling Federation (WWF), with AAA sending several of their wrestlers to the United States to wrestle on WWF shows. Estrada made his only WWF appearance at Royal Rumble on January 19, where he teamed with Fuerza Guerrera and former rival Heavy Metal in a loss to Aguayo, El Canek and Héctor Garza. During this time, he also worked several tours for the Puerto Rico-based World Wrestling Council (WWC), where he was part of a group called La Invasión Azteca ("The Aztec Invasion") that also included Pierroth, Rico Suave and Villano III. A year later, on September 16, 2001, Estrada, Pirata Morgan, El Texano, and El Engendro lost to La Parka Jr., Máscara Sagrada, Sangre Chicana, and Octagón on the undercard of Verano de Escándalo ("Summer of Scandal"). On September 4, 2002, Estrada and Misterioso were paired for a storyline feud with Enfermero Jr. and Pimpinela Escarlata, which led to Estrada and Misterioso having all their hair shaved off as a result of losing a Lucha de Apuestas.

Retirement and return (2003–present) In mid-2003, Estrada announced that his physical condition would force him to retire. Over the years, Estrada had become known for a move known as Salida de Bandera ("The Exit Sign"), where he would be thrown over the top rope with great height and crash to the floor. While professional wrestling is a staged event and his opponents would do their best to protect Estrada, the years of hitting the floor took a toll on his body, forcing him to retire. On May 25, Estrada teamed with former rival Pierroth and Super Crazy, losing his retirement match to Tinieblas, Perro Aguayo Jr. and Villano III. In mid-2009, the Perros del Mal wrestling promotion held a benefit show for Estrada, with a portion of the proceeds going to Estrada. It was later revealed that Estrada used a wheelchair for years after his retirement due to compounding back and knee injuries.

In subsequent years, Estrada improved his health through both rehabilitation and treatment enough to the point where he was able to participate in a match. On August 8, 2013, Estrada came out of retirement for one more match, headlining a show billed as "Jerry Estrada's Retirement Show". He, Gato Fantasma and Silencio defeated Memo, Rey Demonio Jr. and Stuka. By 2018, Estrada's health and mobility had improved to the point that he competed in a total of five matches that year. IWAS World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Juventud Guerrera Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre / Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre CMLL World Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time) Mexican National Middleweight Championship (1 time) Mexican National Trios Championship (1 time) – with Hombre Bala and Pirata Morgan International Wrestling All-Stars IWAS Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Juventud Guerrera World Wrestling Council WWC World Junior Heavyweight Championship (2 times) Pro Wrestling Illustrated PWI ranked him # 75 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 1998.

Luchas de Apuestas record

Winner (wager)Loser (wager)LocationEventDateNotesJerry Estrada (hair) Gran Cochisse N/A Live event N/A Jerry Estrada (hair) Tony Arce (hair) Mexico City, Mexico Live event Jerry Estrada (hair) Franco Colombo (hair) Mexico City, Mexico Super Viernes Cachorro Mendoza (hair) Jerry Estrada (hair) Mexico City, Mexico Live event Jerry Estrada (hair) Ultraman (hair) Unknown Live event El Satánico (hair) Jerry Estrada (hair) Mexico City, Mexico Live event Jerry Estrada (hair) La Fiera (hair) Mexico City, Mexico Live event Jerry Estrada (hair) Stuka (hair) Monclova, Coahuila AAA Sin Limite Jerry Estrada (hair) Stuka (hair) Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas Live event Pimpinela Escarlata and Hijo del Enfermero (hair) Jerry Estrada and Misterioso (hair) Tijuana, Baja California Live event Jerry Estrada (hair) Espectro Jr. (hair) Monterrey, Nuevo León AAA Sin Limite

Footnotes