Atlantis Jr.

Atlantis Jr.
Birth nameUnrevealed[a]
Born1998[2]
Mexico City, Mexico
Parent(s)Atlantis (father)[2]
RelativesEl Hijo de Atlantis (brother)
Atlantico (uncle)
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)
  • Atlantis Jr.
  • Tiburón
Billed height1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Billed weight87 kg (192 lb)
Trained by
DebutDecember 25, 2017

Atlantis Jr. (born 1998) is a Mexican luchador enmascarado (or professional wrestler). He works for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), where he is the reigning NWA World Historic Light Heavyweight Champion in his first reign. Through a working relationship with CMLL, he also appears in Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is a former ROH World Television Champion. He portrays a técnico ("good guy") wrestling character.

He made his in-ring debut in late 2017 under the ring name Tiburón ("Shark"), but was revealed to be the son of luchador Atlantis in late 2018, when he changed his name to "Atlantis Jr." and began wearing the same mask as his father.

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.

Personal life

Atlantis Jr. was born in 1998, and is a son of professional wrestler Atlantis, and an older brother of El Hijo de Atlantis. With neither Atlantis nor Atlantis Jr. having been unmasked, Mexican published sources have not revealed their name as per lucha libre tradition.[1] His uncle was a professional wrestler in the 1990s.[3] Atlantis Jr. started training for a professional wrestling career at the age of 12, with the only condition set was that he had to continue to study.[2] He was trained first by his father and later by the trainers at the Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) wrestling school, through the contacts of his father. At the school, he was trained by Ringo Mendoza, Virus, Arkangel de la Muerte, Último Guerrero, Último Dragoncito, and Franco Columbo over the subsequent eight years.[2]

Professional wrestling career

Independent circuit

Tiburón (2017–2018)

In interviews, Atlantis Jr. stated that he made his professional wrestling debut in 2017, although he did not confirm if he used the ring name Tiburón (Spanish for "Shark") early on or if he worked under a different, unrevealed, identity.[4] The first documented match for Tiburón took place on April 21, 2018, as he teamed up with Divino Boy, defeating Rokambole Jr. and Tackle as part of the Promociones Tragedias 25. Aniversario Mr. Niebla show.[5] His highest profile match at the time was the Dragon Scramble match that was part of the Toryumon Mexico Dragonmania XIII show, won by Argos.[6]

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre

Atlantis Jr. (2018–present)

His father Atlantis (pictured in 2013), wearing the same mask design as Atlantis Jr.

In late 2018, Atlantis and Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) officially introduced Atlantis Jr., acknowledging him previous ring name and officially giving him a mask identical to the one worn by his father.[2] He was introduced with the nickname El Principe del Atlantis ("The Prince of Atlantis"). During his debut interview he mentioned wanting to continue the rivalry his father had with Villano III as El Hijo de Villano III ("The Son of Villano III") had begun working for CMLL shortly before Atlantis Jr. was introduced.[2][7]

Atlantis Jr. made his official in-ring debut in Osaka, Japan, as part of the 2019 Fantastica Mania tour. The match saw Sansón and Okumura defeat the father/son duo, followed by them being humiliated as Sansón and Okumura stole their masks.[8] Atlantis Jr. would get a small measure of revenge on the last day of the tour as he defeated Okumura in his first singles match.[9]

In his first match on Mexican soil, he, his father and Místico defeated Bárbaro Cavernario, Templario and El Hijo del Villano III on January 29, 2019.[10] He worked his first major CMLL show as he, his father and Tritón defeated Los Hijos del Infierno (Ephesto, Luciferno, and Mephisto) on the undercard of the 63. Aniversario de Arena México show.[11][12][13] While working for CMLL, Atlantis Jr. was also allowed to work on the independent circuit, which led to Atlantis Jr. and El Hijo de Octagón defeating El Hijo de L.A. Park/El Hijo de Pirata Morgan and El Canek Jr./El Hijo de Dos Caras to win the UWE Tag Team Championship on June 29, 2019.[14]

The second-generation rivalry between the Atantis and the Villano family led to Atlantis Jr. and El Hijo del Villano III facing off in their first one-on-one match on July 5, 2019, a match that ended in a double count out as both wrestlers were fighting outside the ring for too long.[15] During the latter half of 2019, Atlantis Jr. began working more and more matches where he did not team up with his father. For the 2019 International Gran Prix show, Atlantis Jr. teamed up with Audaz, and Flyer defeated El Hijo del Villano III, Rey Bucanero, and Tiger.[16][17] This was followed by Atlantis Jr., Flyer, and Fugaz defeating Hechicero, El Hijo del Villano III, and Templario on the undercard of the 2019 Día de Muertos show.[18]

In 2020, Atlantis Jr. teamed with Flyer in a tournament for the vacant Mexican National Tag Team Championship. On March 6, at a Super Viernes show, they defeated Los Cancerberos del Infierno (Cancerbero and Raziel) in the first round, Rey Cometa and Star Jr. in the quarter-final and Felino and Tiger in the semi-final.[19] On March 13, they defeated El Hijo del Villano III and Templario in the final, by two falls to one.[20] After two title defenses,[21] they were defeated by Atrapasueños (Espíritu Negro and Rey Cometa) on July 9, 2021, ending their reign at 483 days.[22]

In 2022, he began feuding with Stuka Jr.[23] and on September 16, he won his first Luchas de Apuestas ("bet match"), forcing Stuka Jr. to unmask and reveal his birth name.[24] Atlantis Jr. had been working with Los Guerreros Laguneros on-and-off, occasionally going by Los Guerreros de la Atlantida, which was the name of the stable when his father was co-leader. However, he chose to work with his father in trios matches,[25] and eventually Stuka Jr. became the latest wrestler to join Los Guerreros. On February 4, 2023, Atlantis Jr. defeated Stuka Jr. for the NWA World Historic Light Heavyweight Championship, his first singles championship in the promotion.[26] On June 2, he teamed up with Star Jr. and Volador Jr. to defeat Los Infernales (Euforia, Hechicero and Mephisto) for the CMLL World Trios Championship.[27] On February 5, 2024, the trio were defeated by Los Barbaros (Bárbaro Cavernario, Dragón Rojo Jr. and El Terrible), ending their reign at 248 days.[28]

On June 28, due to the collaboration between CMLL and All Elite Wrestling/Ring of Honor, he defeated Kyle Fletcher to become the new ROH World Television Champion.[29] On July 26, at Death Before Dishonor, Atlantis Jr. successfully defended his title in a Survival of the Fittest match.[30] On the AEW WrestleDream 2024 pre-show, Atlantis Jr. lost the ROH World Television Championship to Brian Cage.

Championships and accomplishments

Luchas de Apuestas record

See also: Luchas de Apuestas
Winner (wager) Loser (wager) Location Event Date Notes
Atlantis Jr. (mask) Stuka Jr. (mask) Mexico City, Mexico CMLL 89th Anniversary Show September 16, 2022 [24]

Notes

  1. ^ Traditionally Mexican sources will not report on the birth name of a masked wrestler who has never been unmasked in the ring.[1]

References

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Becerra, César (November 14, 2018). "Atlantis Jr. prepara gira por Japón antes de hacer su debut oficial en México". Metro (in Spanish). Retrieved December 19, 2019.
  3. ^ Madigan, Dan (2007). "A family affair". Mondo Lucha Libre: the bizarre & honorable world of wild Mexican wrestling. HarperCollins Publisher. pp. 128–132. ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3.
  4. ^ "Atlantis Jr. suena con ser merjor que su papa". MedioTiempo (in Spanish).
  5. ^ "Promociones Tragedias 25. Aniversario Mr. Niebla". CageMatch. April 21, 2018. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
  6. ^ "Toryumon Mexico Dragonmania XIII". CageMatch. May 25, 2018. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
  7. ^ "CMLL Informa 12 de Deciembre de 2018" (in Spanish). VideosOficialesCMLL. December 12, 2018. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
  8. ^ "Atlantis Jr. humiliado en su debut en Fantasticamania". Record (in Spanish). January 11, 2019. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
  9. ^ Renner, Ethan (January 21, 2019). "NJPW/CMLL Fantastica Mania results: 'My Dad is a heel wrestler' match". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
  10. ^ "CMLL Guadalajara Martes". CageMatch. January 29, 2019. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
  11. ^ "CMLL Super Viernes - 63. Aniversario de la Arena Mexico". CageMatch. April 26, 2019. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  12. ^ López Escalona, Arturo (April 27, 2019). "Bárbaro Cavernario y Titán se llevan el Torneo Increíble" [Bárbaro Cavernario and Titán takes the Incredible tournament]. ESTO (in Spanish). Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  13. ^ Rosas Plata, Arturo (April 27, 2019). "¡Traición a Volador!" [Volador betrayed]. Ovaciones (in Spanish). Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  14. ^ a b "UWE Tag Team Championship". CageMatch. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
  15. ^ "NUEVA GENERACIÓN DINAMITA RETUVO EL CAMPEONATO NACIONAL DE TRÍOS". Record (in Spanish). June 5, 2019. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
  16. ^ Rosas Plata, Arturo (August 31, 2019). "Volador se roba el triunfo" (in Spanish). Ovaciones. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  17. ^ Lizarranga, Alfonso (August 31, 2019). "Volador Jr. por segunda ocasión ganador del Grand Prix". The Gladiatores (in Spanish). Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  18. ^ @VideosOficialesCMLL (November 1, 2019). "LUCHA LIBRE VIERNES ESPECTACULAR DIA DE MUERTOS 1 DE NOVIEMBRE DE 2019 FUNCION COMPLETA" (in Spanish). YouTube. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  19. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "CMLL Super Viernes". cagematch.net. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  20. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "CMLL Super Viernes". cagematch.net. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  21. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "CMLL". cagematch.net. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
    Kreikenbohm, Philip. "CMLL". cagematch.net. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  22. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "CMLL". cagematch.net. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  23. ^ "¡ATLANTIS JR. IMPARABLE JUNTO A LOS GUERREROS LAGUNEROS!" (in Spanish). Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre. February 20, 2022. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  24. ^ a b "CMLL 89th Aniversario Report: Atlantis Jr. unmasks Stuka Jr". postwrestling.com. September 17, 2022. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  25. ^ "¡Córtalas! Atlantis Jr. decide romper su alianza con Los Guerreros Laguneros". mediotiempo.com (in Spanish). December 3, 2022. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  26. ^ Daly, Wayne (February 5, 2023). "CMLL Results: Sabados de Coliseo – Mexico City, Mexico (2/4)". wrestling-news.net. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  27. ^ Daly, Wayne (June 3, 2023). "CMLL Results: Viernes Espectacular – Mexico City, Mexico (6/2)". wrestling-news.net. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
  28. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "CMLL Lunes Arena Puebla". cagematch.net. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  29. ^ a b Solowrestling (2024-06-29). "Atlantis Jr. se convierte en el nuevo campeón ROH TV". solowrestling.mundodeportivo.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-06-29.
  30. ^ Moss, Jeff (July 26, 2024). "ROH Death Before Dishonor live results: Mark Briscoe vs. Roderick Strong title match". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
  31. ^ Martinez Lopes, Uriel (March 14, 2020). "Atlantis Jr. y Flyer conquistan los campeonatos de parejas" [Atlantis Jr. and Flyer win the tag team championship]. TUDN (in Spanish). Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  32. ^ @mas_lucha (28 May 2022). "#ViernesEspectacularCMLL: Atlantis Jr. vence con la atlántida a Místico, y es el ganador de la Copa Jr. VIP 2022" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  33. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2021". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved October 9, 2021.