PWI is reporting the sad news today that iconic lucha libre star Rayo de Jalisco, real name Maximo Linares Moreno, died on Thursday night at age 85. Rayo de Jalisco is one of the most recognizable faces in Mexican wrestling history, alongside his contemporaries like El Santo and Blue Demon, starting his career in the 1950s, becoming wildly popular in the 1960s, and following them into feature film and pop culture infamy in the 1970s.
If you aren’t familiar with these films, please watch this trailer as soon as possible:
Rayo de Jalisco was also an AAA Hall of Famer (class of 2014), a 2-time Mexican National Tag Team Champion, a former 3-time NWA Middleweight Champion, and more. His son, Rayo de Jalisco Jr., is also a legend, with multiple CMLL Heavyweight Championship reigns in his 30+ years in the business. Jr. has never lost the mask; Jalisco Sr. famously won the mask of La Bestia in 1975, but ultimately lost his to Blue Demon in 1989.
Jalisco’s was famous for his reverse headbutts, which you can see in action here:
https://twitter.com/Friedful/status/1020115524288565248
We send our thoughts and condolences to Rayo de Jalisco’s family, friends, and fans, as even with the generational gifting of the mask, it’ll be impossible to replace the lucha legends of the past. Rest in peace, ray of Jalisco.
