Brillante Jr.
| Brillante Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Unrevealed[1] |
| Born | 28 March 2001 Gómez Palacio, Durango |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Billed height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2] |
| Billed weight | 83 kg (183 lb)[2] |
| Trained by | Brillante/Moro III[2] Diamante[2] Cavernario de Torreón[2] Halcón Suriano Jr.[2] Virus[2] Último Guerrero[2] |
| Debut | March 29, 2015[3] |
Brillante Jr. (born 28 March 2001) is a Mexican luchador enmascarado, or masked professional wrestler currently working for the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), portraying a tecnico ("Good guy") wrestling character. 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.[1]
Family
[edit]Born in Gómez Palacio,[3][4] Brillante Jr. is a cousin of Andrade El Idolo, known from World Wrestling Entertainment and All Elite Wrestling in the United States. He recalls training together with Andrade when he was only four years old.[5]
He is part of the third generation of the Andrade/El Moro family to compete in lucha libre.[6] His great-grandfather, José Andrade, wrestled under the name "El Moro", while his uncles wrestle or wrestled under the names Diamante/Moro III (Sergio Andrade), Zafiro/Pentagoncito (real name unrevealed), Kevin (Juan Andrade), Espanto Jr./Pentagón (Jesús Andrade), and Espiritu Magico (Juan Andrade), and another one of his cousins works as the current Espanto Jr..[6] His sister Lady Shadow, also wrestles in CMLL.[3] His own father, however, was never a wrestler.[6]
Career
[edit]Early career
[edit]This Brillante Jr. made his debut March 2015 in Arena Azteca, with a mask very much resembling that of La Sombra, Andrade el Idolo’s old identity.[7] Before becoming La Sombra, Andrade El Idolo also used the name Brillante Jr. back in the mid-2000s.[8][9][10][11] Brillante Jr. wrestled locally in the Comarca Lagunera area for over five years, steadily improving and moving up the cards. He established himself as a top aerial wrestler in the area, and soon rose to the top of the cards of the local shows.[12]
In 2019 he worked a match for Pro Wrestling Mexico in Monterrey, a promotion then co-owned by Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide. Teaming with Kratoz and Último Maldito, they were defeated by the team of Komander, Dulce Canela and Baby Xtreme.[13] In 27 March 2022 he also worked a dark match for AAA in Torreón.[14]
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (2023–)
[edit]Brillante Jr's move to Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre and Mexico City came when he was invited to participate for the Comarca Lagunera team in CMLL's new Torneo de Escuelas tournament, where the CMLL trainees from Mexico City, Puebla, Guadalajara and La Laguna competed against each other in a series of multi-man matches. The tournament took place in February and March 2023.[15] Brillante Jr. and his teammates lost to the Mexico City team in the first round.[16] However, Brillante Jr. has since established himself as a main roster member in CMLL, working the opening matches both in Arena México and Arena Coliseo, as well as in Guadalajara and Puebla.[17] He has also relocated to the Mexico City area.[2]
On 4 April, Brillante Jr. wrestled in the Torneo Nueva Generación, a showcase multi-man match at the Arena Coliseo 80th Anniversary show, which marked his first appearance on a major CMLL show. Brillante Jr. was the fifth out of ten to be eliminated, by Rey Samuray, who went on to win the match.[18] On 23 June, Brillante Jr. wrestled for the first time on Viernes Espectaculares or Super Friday, which is CMLLs main show of the week. Together with Neón and Max Star his team defeated Capitán Suicida, Fuego and Valiente Jr. in the second match of the night.[19]
After winning a qualifier in Torreón, together with Misterio Blanco,[20] Brillante Jr. participated in a multi-man elimination match to crown a new Mexican National Lightweight Champion on 30 July 2023. Brillante Jr. survived until the final two, but eventually lost to Futuro, who became the new champion.[5][21] The concept of the tournament was that two wrestlers from Guadalajara, Mexico City, Puebla and Laguna respectively competed for the title.[20]
In November 2023, he was elected as part of the CMLL roster for Fantastica Mania 2024 with New Japan Pro Wrestling, marking his Japanese debut.[22]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Madigan, Dan (2007). "Okay... what is Lucha Libre?". Mondo Lucha A Go-Go: the bizarre & honorable world of wild Mexican wrestling. HarperCollins Publishers. pp. 29–40. ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Quiere Brillante Jr. Lucir". La Tarde. Archived from the original on 3 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
- ^ a b c Saalbach, Axel. "Brillante Jr. (II)". wrestlingdata.com. Archived from the original on 3 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
- ^ Méndez, Arturo (10 August 2023). "Brillante y Max Star, las grandes promesas del CMLL". ESTO (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 3 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
- ^ a b "CMLL – Arena México: Brillante Jr., el nuevo rostro de la lucha lagunera que busca forjar su propio legado". Mundo Deportivo USA (in Spanish). 11 August 2023. Archived from the original on 3 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
- ^ a b c IA, Mediotiempo (6 August 2023). "La Dinastía Andrade en la lucha libre: Historia, luchadores y legado". Mediotiempo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 3 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
- ^ "CMLL – Arena México: Brillante Jr., el nuevo rostro de la lucha lagunera que busca forjar su propio legado". Mundo Deportivo USA (in Spanish). 11 August 2023. Archived from the original on 3 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
- ^ Torreón, El Siglo de (5 September 2006). "Brillante Junior expone su máscara". www.elsiglodetorreon.com.mx (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 3 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
- ^ Alfredo (13 February 2013). "VIDEO: More Early La Sombra as Brillante Jr.!". LuchaWorld.com. Archived from the original on 3 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
- ^ Navarrete, Priscila (20 November 2015). "La WWE ficha al luchador mexicano 'La Sombra'". El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Archived from the original on 3 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
- ^ Jiménez, Alejandro (29 September 2020). "Lucha Libre en La Laguna: diez mejores luchadores en México y el mundo". Grupo Milenio (in Mexican Spanish). Archived from the original on 3 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
- ^ Durango, El Siglo de (28 January 2018). "La Lucha Libre, en su máximo nivel". www.elsiglodedurango.com.mx (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 3 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
- ^ Komander, Baby Xtreme y Dulce Canela vs Kratoz Brillante Jr y Ultimo Maldito, archived from the original on 3 October 2023, retrieved 3 October 2023
- ^ "Presentan función de Lucha Libre AAA en Torreón" (in Spanish). 8 May 2021. Archived from the original on 3 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
- ^ Valdés, Apolo (3 February 2023). "CMLL: Así serán los equipos del Torneo de Escuelas". Superluchas (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 3 October 2023. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
- ^ Valdés, Apolo (25 February 2023). "CMLL: Tonalli encabeza a la escuela CDMX a la victoria". Superluchas (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 3 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
- ^ Méndez, Arturo (10 August 2023). "Brillante y Max Star, las grandes promesas del CMLL". ESTO (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 3 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
- ^ "CMLL 80. Aniversario Arena Coliseo". Cagematch. Archived from the original on 3 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
- ^ Saalbach, Axel. "CMLL Viernes Espectacular, Friday, 2023/06/23". wrestlingdata.com. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
- ^ a b López, Arturo (28 July 2023). "Misterio Blanco y Brillante Jr, finalistas al Campeonato Nacional Ligero". Excélsior (in Mexican Spanish). Archived from the original on 28 July 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
- ^ "CMLL: Luego de 15 años se tendrá una lucha de Campeonato Nacional en La Laguna". Noticieros GREM. 9 September 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
- ^ "411MANIA". NJPW & CMLL Announce Talent Appearing for Fantasticamania 2024. Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
