The Sacrifice of El Difunto's Mother

With a lump in his throat and tears in his eyes, El Difunto, the wrestler of the Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, spoke on Mother's Day about the sacrifice his mother made to get him ahead and make him a good man. From Monday to Friday she would work, while on weekends she would step into the ring to fight at the Arena Coliseo de Guadalajara as La Mestiza, a tough job that led him to be a street-educated child.

"It has been worth all that I went through as a child. My parents were professional wrestlers, but they separated when I was about five years old. It was difficult. My mom played the role of both father and mother. She worked from sunrise to sunset all week, on the weekends she would go and fight on Saturday and Sunday, and when she fought in other places, she wouldn't come home until Monday and would go straight to work. For me, it was all about spending the whole day on the streets. From the moment I woke up until nightfall, I would be out with my friends, wandering around. I was a free child because no one could stop me," said the Tapatio gladiator, who sent a message to La Mestiza, his mother.

"I want to thank my mother for all her effort. I think it's very difficult for her and for me as her child, and I don't think words will ever be enough to thank her for everything she did for us. She never gave up, I think those were very difficult moments and here we are, giving it our all."

His Father Prepared Him

El Difunto had no contact with his father, who was known as Monje Cavernario in the world of wrestling, but when he decided to become a professional wrestler, he sought him out to train him.

"I looked for my dad, I wanted to meet him, see him, and he was the one who trained me. The training was very intense. He wanted me to be a professional wrestler, tough, not causing harm to others as they say. Having him in front of me and not behaving like my father scared me. When he was about to kick me, I would bow my head in fear and he would kick me right in the face. He would say, 'Don't bow down, if you really like this, go for it. Don't be afraid, take the blow, and then you can retaliate. But personally, it helped me a lot. It was tough training, and I am truly grateful for it because he was very strict. For example, when I wanted to drink water, he wouldn't let me. He would say that if I wanted to drink water during a fight, I had to finish the session first," said Difunto, who is also the nephew of Rito Romero, Pablo Romero, and Juventino Romero, idols of wrestling.

El Difunto thanked his father for being tough on him and turning him into a professional wrestler.

Independent Wrestling is Dangerous

Before reaching the "Big Leagues" as Difunto, adopting the name and image of a 1960s Tapatio gladiator, he worked as an independent wrestler, something he didn't enjoy because many of his colleagues were unprepared to be wrestlers or others just wanted to hurt and crush the dreams of starting gladiators.

"Dealing with colleagues who are sometimes unprepared is why professional wrestling has lost credibility, and it is very dangerous because they can drop you on your head. That was the fear. In independent wrestling, things are rougher, they have other ideas. There are wrestlers you have to watch out for because they want to break you. There are retired people who are frustrated, and you have to be careful with them," he concluded.