Hector Garza passes away

[PowerButchi]

Hector Garza, one of Mexico's top pro wrestlers over the past two decades, passed away Sunday after a battle with lung cancer. Garza was 43.

 

Garza's career ended in October when he was diagnosed with the cancer. He had wrestled all over the world during his career, including as a headliner for both CMLL and AAA for years.

 

He also worked for WCW, and was headed for a major push in TNA before being arrested on a steroid violation and not allowed back in the country. He had worked in Japan and was even on the 1997 WWF Royal Rumble show.

 

In recent years, he was the No. 2 man behind Perro Aguayo Jr. in Los Perros Del Mal, during the last big heyday of CMLL, where he frequently headlined major shows all over the country. Eventually the entire group left CMLL and was working with AAA, and he had split from the group when he got ill.

 

F4Wonline.com

 

 

[Professor Paul's Bin]

Terrible news. I was a big fan when I was first getting into TNA and he could do some impressive moves for a man of his build. Such a shame.

 

RIP.

[Loki]

Tragic news, 43 is no age.

[Forrest]

I'll repost my thoughts from the Lucha thread. As Loki said though, 43 is criminally young.

 

 

I remember someone mentioning he was in a bad way a while ago, but I really thought he'd get through it. I've made no bones about being a total mark for the WCW midcard, and the luchadores in particular, so I loved Garza. Didn't know much of his stuff south of the border, but he was always one of my favourites in WCW.

 

I watched his match with Scott Hall where he gets the upset win yesterday... What a pop!

 

RIP.

[Big Benny HG]

Aw man. It's been coming for a while (it looked bad when he was too sick to attend his own benefit show), but still sad news.

 

My first exposure to Hector Garza was on Saturday afternoons in the mid-90s watching (then-)EMLL on Galavision, where he instantly left an impression on me with his corkscrew plancha from the top rope to the floor, something I'd not seen anyone else do at that time. He jumped to AAA not long after, and I remember him being one of that promotion's wrestlers that had a short-lived and not particularly notable run in WWE in around 1996-1997 (wasn't he even in the 97 Royal Rumble?).

 

After Galavision disappeared from Astra satellite TV, it wasn't until I started following CMLL again through DVD traders in 2004 that I caught up with him, where he was a key part in the awesome week-to-week storyline where he tempted old pal Hijo del Perro Aguayo to turn on Negro Casas and come and join him over on the rudos side. That's where he really stood out to me as the perfect sleazy, slimy, greaseball heel, and he played that role to absolute perfection. That reunion with Aguayo Jr, realistically, was the beginning of Los Perros Del Mal, the coolest rudo gang around, who had great feuds with top babyfaces like El Hijo Del Santo and Mistico, as well as a fantastic rudos vs. rudos war with Los Capos/Los Hermanos Dinamita which resulted in crazy brawls every week for much of 2007. Garza was second only to Aguayo at that time, and fought for the Perros cause with hair matches on CMLL's biggest shows against Pierroth Jr and Universo 2000.

 

My following of lucha waned during 2008 (though I do intend to catch up with the major shows since then, then start watching the weekly TV on YouTube again), so pretty much the last I saw of him was his falling out with Aguayo Jr and their hair match at that year's 'Homenaje a dos Leyendas'. I haven't, therefore, seen any of his stuff with Los Invasores or his jump back to AAA with the Perros Del Mal.

 

Great wrestler who, if he hadn't have become ill, could probably have continued in the ring for at least another decade, turning on the sleaze as a veteran rudo long after his slick high-flying days were behind him.

 

Great shame.

[Phil Jones]

RIP Hector.

 

I was lucky enough to see Garza live just over a year ago in Mexico City where he teamed with NOSAWA to face Canek and Kensuke Sasaki. He looked great in that match - until he suffered a injury near the finish. It goes to show how quickly cancer works. Sad news.

[Vegeta]

R.I.P Hector Garza damn thats way too young.

[Vamp]

I've sadly only really caught the tail end of his career. He really stood out towards the end of his run in CMLL for me as being one of those guys who really knew how to get his character across. His jump to AAA was a big deal but of course it wasn't to be and he vanished not too log after. Would have been interesting to see what he'd have been doing now with Perro heading into that big hair vs. hair match at TripleMania. He's actually one of those guys whose old lucha stuff I wouldn't mind going back and checking out. Like somebody else said, you know someone's in a bad way when they can't even make their benefit show, but it still goes to show what an utterly vile disease cancer is when someone who'd otherwise be a very fit 43 year old passes away from it.

 

Also it tells you something when a guy who spent most of his career in Mexico and had a brief stint in TNA and a run in WCW's midcard as part of a group of luchadors get this much attention.

 

 

Thecubsfan obituatry below:

 

H

[the mullet]

RIP Hector Garza

[RIDDUM_N_STYLE]

Sad news, very underrated wrestler. 43 is no age to go

[ultimo the great]

I'm pretty shocked by the news, when i heard he couldn't be at the benefit show it didn't look good but just a week ago i read "Hector Garza says he doesn

[AshC]

Gutted to hear this news. He was so much fun to watch. Cheers Hector.

[Snitsky's back acne]

So sad. I remember first seeing him during WWF's short affiliation with AAA in 1997 and being very impressed.

 

RIP Hector Garza

[TAFKAC]

He was ridiculously good in TNA during the X Division World Cup stuff. Just oozed that nasty sleazeball attitude. A sad loss.

[Vamp]

There's a really great write up on Garza's career here: luchaworld