Espectrito

Espectrito
Ring name(s)	Centellita Espectrito Espectrito I Pandita Chiquita Mini Vader El Torito Mongrel
Billed height	1.45 m (4 ft 9 in)
Billed weight	65 kg (140 lb)
Born	December 18, 1966 (1966-12-18) (age 44) Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico
Trained by	Drácula III
Debut	1984

Mario Mejia Jiminez (Born December 18, 1966) is a Mexican Mini-Estrella luchador , or Mini professional wrestler, best known under the ring name Espectrito. Jiminez worked for the World Wrestling Federation as "Mini Vader" and "El Torito" between 1997 and 1999. Jiminez was the first ever Mexican National Mini-Estrella Champion and IWC World Mini-Estrella Champion. Jiminez was originally an enmascarado, or masked wrestler, under the Espectrito name but lost it to Mascarita Sagrada in a Luchas de Apuestas match, a bet match where each wrestler puts his mask on the line. The Espectrito ring character is a Mini-version of wrestler Espectro, who was a well known Luchador from the 1960s-1980s.

Professional wrestling career

Mario Jiminez made his professional wrestling debut in 1984 under the ring name Centellita, working as a Mini-Estrella, or "Mini", division; working in the Mini division does not necessarily mean that Jiminez has dwarfism, as short wrestlers can also work in the "Mini" division.^[1] In 1989 Jimenez became part of Empressa Mexicana de Lucha Libre's (EMLL) newly created Mini-Estrella division. He was given the ring persona of "Espectrito" (Spanish for "Little Ghost"), a mini version of a wrestler named Espectro (Ghost) who had been very successful in the 1960s and 1970s. As Espectrito he began working a storyline feud against Mascarita Sagrada, a feud that still exists between the two to this day. In 1992 CMLL created the CMLL World Mini-Estrella Championship and held a one day tournament to find the first champion. Espectrito defeated Octagóncito in the first round but lost to rival Mascarita Sagrada in the finals.^[2]

A few months after the creation of the Mini-Estrella title Antonio Peña, the creative force behind the Mini-Estrella division and a CMLL Booker decided to leave CMLL to create his own promotion, Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA). Both Espectrito and Mascarita Sagrada decided to leave CMLL for AAA, staying loyal to the man that was responsible for creating the Minis division. The storyline between Espectrito and Mascarita Sagrada continued in AAA; AAA created their own Minis title, the Mexican National Mini-Estrella Championship and this time it was Espectrito who defeated Mascarita Sagrada to become the first champion.^[3] Espectrito would only hold the Minis title for three months before Sagrada defeated him for the belt.^[3] On August 6, 1994 Espectrito lost his mask as a result of losing a Luchas de Apuestas match, a "bet match" where the loser would unmask afterwards.^[4] On May 5, 1995 Espectrito defeated Mascarita Sagrada to win the IWC World Mini-Estrella Championship, holding it for two months before it was merged with the Mexican National Minis title in July, 1995 when Espectrito lost to Super Muñequito.^[5] Espectrito became a two time Mexian National Minis champion only days later when he defeated Super Muñequito for the title on July 26, 1996.^[3] Espectro's second title reign lasted less than two months, ending when Mascarita Sagarda, Jr. defeated him for the belt.^[3]

In 1997 AAA began a working agreement with the North American based World Wrestling Federation, which meant that several AAA workers appeared on WWF television programming. Jiminez was given the ring personal "Mini Vader", a miniature version of WWF wrestler Vader as he bore a striking resemblance both physically and facially.^[1] Mini Vader made a couple of appearances in early 1997, at times teaming with "Mini Mankind", Jiminez' real life brother.^[6] In Mid-1997 all the "Minis" that worked for the WWF were repackaged and Jiminez became "El Torito" (Little bull), a "human bull" character.^[7] As Torito he would work a series of matches against Mascarita Sagrada, repackaged as "Mini Nova" (after Super Nova) and Mascarita Sagrada, Jr. who had been repackaged as "Max Mini". Jiminez even made a Pay-Per-View appearance for the WWF, teaming with Battalion and Tarantula (his brother under a new name) in a losing effort against Mini Nova, Max Mini and Mosaic at the 1998 Royal Rumble.^[8] After AAA and WWF stopped working together in 1999 Jiminez still made appearances as El Torito until 2001 where he lost the mask in a Luchas de Apuestas against Pierrothito.^[7]

In recent years Jiminez has made appearances for Lucha VaVoom, worked for over a year in CMLL and made appearances for International Wrestling Revolution Group and now primarily works on the Mexican independent circuit.

Personal life

Mario Mejia Jiminez is the brother of twins Alejandro Jiminez, who wrestled as Espectrito II, and Alberto Jiminez, who wrestled as the original La Parkita . The Jiminez twins were both murdered on June 30, 2009, in a crime that made the news world wide.^[9]

In wrestling

• Finishing moves

• Senton
• Kick to the face

Championships and accomplishments

• Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA)

• Mexican National Mini-Estrella Championship (2 times)^[3]
• IWC Mini-Estrella Championship (2 times)^{[Note 1][5]}

Lucha de Apuesta record

See also: Luchas de Apuestas

Wager	Winner	Loser	Location	Date	Notes
Mask	Mascarita Sagrada	Espectrito	Los Angeles, CA, USA	01994-08-06 August 6, 1994	[4]
Hair	Octagóncito	Espectrito	Veracruz, Veracruz	01995-05-31 May 31, 1995	[4]
Hair	Torerito	Espectrito I	Jalisco	01996-12-14 December 14, 1996
Hair	Tzuki	Espectrito I	Tijuana, Baja California	02000-09-29 September 29, 2000
Mask	Pierrothito	El Torito	Puebla, Puebla	02001-11-26 November 26, 2001	'Relevos Suicidas: Lost to Tzuki and Ultimo Dragoncito[7]
Hair	Asturiano	Espectrito I	Puebla, Puebla	02004-07-26 July 26, 2004

Footnotes

1. ^ "International Wrestling Council" was the name used to Promote AAA in the United States between 1994 and 1995

References

Professional wrestling portal

1. ^ ^{a b} Madigan, Dan (2007). "You ain't seen nothing yet: the minis". Mondo Lucha Libre: the bizare & honorable world of wild Mexican wrestling. HarperColins Publisher. pp. 209—212. ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3. 
2. ^ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: EMLL CMLL Midget (miniestrella) Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 396. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d e} Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: Mexican National Midget (Miniestrella) Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 398. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4. 
4. ^ ^{a b c} Enciclopedia staff (August, 2007). "Enciclopedia de las Mascaras" (in Spanish). Espectrito (Mexico City, Mexico): p. 12. Tomo II. 
5. ^ ^{a b} Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: IWC Midget Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 400. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4. 
6. ^ "Raw is War #202" (in German). CageMatch.net. March 17, 1997. http://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=3552. Retrieved August 2, 2009. 
7. ^ ^{a b c} Enciclopedia staff (November, 2007). "Enciclopedia de las Mascaras" (in Spanish). El Torito (Mexico City, Mexico): pp. 22. Tomo V. 
8. ^ "Wrestling's Historical Cards". PWI Presents: 2009 Wrestling Almanak and book of facts (Kappa Publications): pp. 118—119. 2009 Edition. 
9. ^ Rodriquez, Salvador (July 1, 2009). "Hallan en hotel a La Parkita y Espectrito II muertos" (in Spanish). Récord.co.mx. http://www.record.com.mx/tmf/fallecen-la-parkita-y-espectrito-jr.html. Retrieved August 2, 2009. ^{[dead link]}

Persondata
Name
Alternative names
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Date of birth	December 18, 1966
Place of birth	Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico
Date of death
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