WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.439 Welcome to another Deep Dive. We're really incredibly 00:00:03.439 --> 00:00:05.219 glad you're here with us today. Yeah, absolutely. 00:00:05.459 --> 00:00:07.400 Thanks for tuning in. If you're a longtime listener, 00:00:07.559 --> 00:00:10.039 you know our mission is always the same. We take 00:00:10.039 --> 00:00:12.279 a stack of source material, maybe it's a dense 00:00:12.279 --> 00:00:15.320 academic article or a pile of research notes, 00:00:15.460 --> 00:00:18.239 and we pull out the most vital, fascinating nuggets 00:00:18.239 --> 00:00:21.199 of insight just for you. Right. It's essentially 00:00:21.199 --> 00:00:23.839 your shortcut to being well -informed on a topic. 00:00:24.079 --> 00:00:27.679 Exactly. But today... Our mission is entirely 00:00:27.679 --> 00:00:31.640 unique. We're looking at a single Wikipedia biography. 00:00:31.980 --> 00:00:35.000 Just one page. Just one page. It's the bio of 00:00:35.000 --> 00:00:37.700 a Mexican professional wrestler named Pequeño 00:00:37.700 --> 00:00:41.060 Nitro. And he actually recently passed away at 00:00:41.060 --> 00:00:43.189 the incredibly young age of 40. It's tragic, 00:00:43.289 --> 00:00:46.189 really. It is. But our goal here isn't just to 00:00:46.189 --> 00:00:48.590 recite an Internet bio. We want to use this one 00:00:48.590 --> 00:00:52.189 really fascinating career as a key to unlock 00:00:52.189 --> 00:00:54.729 the secretive, high stakes and deeply complex 00:00:54.729 --> 00:00:58.109 world of Mexican lucha libre. It really is the 00:00:58.109 --> 00:00:59.750 perfect lens for this. And I want to say right 00:00:59.750 --> 00:01:01.570 at the top, even if you are not a wrestling fan, 00:01:01.670 --> 00:01:03.530 even if the idea of professional wrestling doesn't 00:01:03.530 --> 00:01:05.790 usually appeal to you, stick with us. Oh, yeah. 00:01:05.829 --> 00:01:07.569 You do not want to skip this one. You are going 00:01:07.569 --> 00:01:10.870 to find this deeply compelling. What we're really 00:01:10.870 --> 00:01:13.629 talking about today is the extreme psychology 00:01:13.629 --> 00:01:17.390 of secret identities. Which is wild. It is. We're 00:01:17.390 --> 00:01:19.870 going to look at some of the most ingenious psychological 00:01:19.870 --> 00:01:23.189 tournament structures ever designed in sports 00:01:23.189 --> 00:01:25.489 entertainment, including this brilliant loser 00:01:25.489 --> 00:01:28.769 advances format. I still can't wrap my head around 00:01:28.769 --> 00:01:31.069 that one. It's a total mind bender. But above 00:01:31.069 --> 00:01:33.769 all, we're looking at a masterclass in storytelling 00:01:33.769 --> 00:01:36.609 and what it actually means to make an ultimate 00:01:36.609 --> 00:01:46.750 personal sacrifice for your craft. It's... Okay, 00:01:46.750 --> 00:01:48.730 let's unpack this. Let's start by looking at 00:01:48.730 --> 00:01:51.209 the man behind the mask. Or at least the pieces 00:01:51.209 --> 00:01:53.109 of him we're allowed to see. Right, the pieces 00:01:53.109 --> 00:01:54.989 that are actually on the public record. Yeah. 00:01:55.069 --> 00:01:57.829 Because as we're going to explore, the line between 00:01:57.829 --> 00:02:00.650 the human being and the character is fiercely 00:02:00.650 --> 00:02:03.549 guarded in this culture. So looking at the background 00:02:03.549 --> 00:02:06.510 we have, Pequeño Nitro was born in Toluca, Mexico 00:02:06.510 --> 00:02:09.939 back in March of 1984. March 9th specifically. 00:02:10.500 --> 00:02:13.740 Yep. And right away, his physical profile tells 00:02:13.740 --> 00:02:17.319 a story. He was a smaller guy. The bio says he 00:02:17.319 --> 00:02:20.180 was built at just around 1 .60 meters, so about 00:02:20.180 --> 00:02:23.599 5 '3", and a little over 64 kilograms, which 00:02:23.599 --> 00:02:25.900 is like 140 pounds. Which is definitely on the 00:02:25.900 --> 00:02:27.759 smaller side for a pro wrestler. Definitely. 00:02:28.080 --> 00:02:31.120 But despite his size, his training pedigree was 00:02:31.120 --> 00:02:34.669 absolutely serious. Before he ever stepped into 00:02:34.669 --> 00:02:37.750 a professional ring for his 2005 debut, he was 00:02:37.750 --> 00:02:40.310 trained by a trio of highly respected veterans. 00:02:40.590 --> 00:02:44.090 Let's see, it was El Gijo del Gladiador, El Satanico, 00:02:44.210 --> 00:02:46.969 and Franco Colombo. That physical profile you 00:02:46.969 --> 00:02:49.169 mentioned, being 5 '3", is really the defining 00:02:49.169 --> 00:02:52.009 factor of his early career path. He wrestled 00:02:52.009 --> 00:02:54.310 for the Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre. We'll 00:02:54.310 --> 00:02:56.889 just call him CMLL for short. Good call. CMLL 00:02:56.889 --> 00:02:59.210 is one of the oldest and most prestigious promotions 00:02:59.210 --> 00:03:01.909 in the world. And within CMLL, he competed in 00:03:01.909 --> 00:03:04.789 their Mini Estrella division. Now, it's really 00:03:04.789 --> 00:03:06.509 important to clarify how that division works 00:03:06.509 --> 00:03:08.870 because the terminology can be confusing to outsiders. 00:03:09.289 --> 00:03:11.270 Yeah, the word mini kind of implies something 00:03:11.270 --> 00:03:14.639 very specific in English. Exactly. The term mini 00:03:14.639 --> 00:03:17.000 in Lucha Libre doesn't strictly mean the wrestler 00:03:17.000 --> 00:03:19.860 has dwarfism, though that can be the case for 00:03:19.860 --> 00:03:22.719 some competitors. Very often, the mini Estrella 00:03:22.719 --> 00:03:25.099 division is simply a weight and height class 00:03:25.099 --> 00:03:27.719 for wrestlers of shorter stature. Like a cruiserweight 00:03:27.719 --> 00:03:30.560 division almost. Similar to that, yes. They are 00:03:30.560 --> 00:03:33.219 smaller athletes, absolutely. But they are competing 00:03:33.219 --> 00:03:36.020 with a level of speed, athleticism, and physical 00:03:36.020 --> 00:03:38.960 intensity that is just staggering. That brings 00:03:38.960 --> 00:03:41.840 us to the actual persona he adopted. The name 00:03:41.840 --> 00:03:45.120 Pequeño Nitro basically translates to Little 00:03:45.120 --> 00:03:47.979 Nitro. Right. And his entire ring character was 00:03:47.979 --> 00:03:51.960 a direct homage to another regular -sized wrestler 00:03:51.960 --> 00:03:54.979 on the roster who simply went by Nitro. Both 00:03:54.979 --> 00:03:57.479 of these guys wrestled as rudos. And if you aren't 00:03:57.479 --> 00:03:59.699 familiar with Lucha Libre terminology, Arrudo 00:03:59.699 --> 00:04:02.020 is the villain. They're the bad guys. The bad 00:04:02.020 --> 00:04:04.300 guys, the rule breakers, the antagonists that 00:04:04.300 --> 00:04:06.599 the crowd absolutely loves to hate. So Pequeño 00:04:06.599 --> 00:04:08.740 Nitro was officially introduced to the fans under 00:04:08.740 --> 00:04:11.199 this villainous moniker in the summer of 2009. 00:04:11.740 --> 00:04:14.280 He came onto the scene as the first and only 00:04:14.280 --> 00:04:16.639 member of a group called the Little Tuareg Warriors, 00:04:16.980 --> 00:04:19.980 Los Pequeños Guerreros Tuareg. Right, which was 00:04:19.980 --> 00:04:22.480 designed to be a miniature version of a faction 00:04:22.480 --> 00:04:26.199 led by the original full -sized Nitro. What's 00:04:26.199 --> 00:04:28.759 fascinating here is a completely bizarre booking 00:04:28.759 --> 00:04:32.000 decision made by CMLL's management. You have 00:04:32.000 --> 00:04:34.600 this incredibly talented smaller wrestler, Pequeño 00:04:34.600 --> 00:04:38.379 Nitro. His entire identity, his name, his aesthetic, 00:04:38.540 --> 00:04:41.459 and his villainous alignment are all explicitly 00:04:41.459 --> 00:04:44.399 based on this larger wrestler. They even put 00:04:44.399 --> 00:04:46.939 him in parallel factions. Exactly. The groundwork 00:04:46.939 --> 00:04:50.699 is perfectly laid for a part - But CMLL never 00:04:50.699 --> 00:04:53.339 actually had the two men associate during their 00:04:53.339 --> 00:04:56.000 matches. Wait, never? Never. Despite being the 00:04:56.000 --> 00:04:58.480 little version of Nitro, they were kept entirely 00:04:58.480 --> 00:05:01.319 separate in the ring. But that makes absolutely 00:05:01.319 --> 00:05:03.500 zero sense from a business or a storytelling 00:05:03.500 --> 00:05:05.889 standpoint. Why would a promotion go through 00:05:05.889 --> 00:05:08.230 the trouble of creating a mini version of an 00:05:08.230 --> 00:05:11.069 established villain, link them in name and costume, 00:05:11.310 --> 00:05:13.269 and then never put them on camera together to 00:05:13.269 --> 00:05:15.029 capitalize on it? You'd think they would want 00:05:15.029 --> 00:05:17.209 that visual payoff. Isn't the whole point to 00:05:17.209 --> 00:05:19.470 have the sidekick assist the main bad guy? In 00:05:19.470 --> 00:05:21.629 traditional Western media, absolutely, you'd 00:05:21.629 --> 00:05:24.709 pair them up immediately. But Lucha Libre often 00:05:24.709 --> 00:05:27.089 operates on a different kind of dream logic. 00:05:27.829 --> 00:05:30.870 Sometimes the homage itself is considered enough 00:05:30.870 --> 00:05:33.360 of a hook for the audience. Just the name recognition. 00:05:33.800 --> 00:05:36.600 Right. The promotion wanted the instant heat 00:05:36.600 --> 00:05:38.660 and recognition that came with the Nitro name, 00:05:38.800 --> 00:05:41.100 but they didn't want to dilute the storylines 00:05:41.100 --> 00:05:43.560 of their regular -sized wrestlers by mixing the 00:05:43.560 --> 00:05:46.540 divisions. It's a very peculiar choice. It's 00:05:46.540 --> 00:05:49.000 essentially saying to the audience, yes, these 00:05:49.000 --> 00:05:51.160 two characters are intimately connected in our 00:05:51.160 --> 00:05:53.519 universe, but no, you will never see them actually 00:05:53.519 --> 00:05:56.439 interact. It's so strange. It's like creating 00:05:56.439 --> 00:05:59.120 a Robin to your Batman, but they just operate 00:05:59.120 --> 00:06:00.759 in completely different cities and never take 00:06:00.759 --> 00:06:03.009 a phone call. That's a great way to put it. But 00:06:03.009 --> 00:06:06.629 honestly, that corporate mystery pales in comparison 00:06:06.629 --> 00:06:09.209 to the absolute sanctity of the mask in Mexican 00:06:09.209 --> 00:06:11.310 wrestling. This is something I really want you, 00:06:11.370 --> 00:06:13.370 the listener, to wrap your head around because 00:06:13.370 --> 00:06:16.110 the psychology of it is just mind -bending. It 00:06:16.110 --> 00:06:18.290 really is the core of the culture. The Queño 00:06:18.290 --> 00:06:21.209 Nitro was a luchador and a masquerado, a masked 00:06:21.209 --> 00:06:23.990 wrestler. And in the traditions of Lucha Libre, 00:06:24.089 --> 00:06:27.610 that means his real legal name is completely 00:06:27.610 --> 00:06:29.670 unknown to the public. It's not on the Wikipedia 00:06:29.670 --> 00:06:32.290 page. It's not anywhere. Exactly. It isn't a 00:06:32.290 --> 00:06:34.269 matter of public record. It's not leaked on blogs. 00:06:34.629 --> 00:06:38.069 A masked wrestler's private life is guarded with 00:06:38.069 --> 00:06:40.670 a level of secrecy that rivals government intelligence. 00:06:40.889 --> 00:06:43.750 It really does. And it forces you to ask, how 00:06:43.750 --> 00:06:47.050 does a person operate in a highly public... televised 00:06:47.050 --> 00:06:49.589 touring entertainment industry while maintaining 00:06:49.589 --> 00:06:52.389 total anonymity. Especially in the modern internet 00:06:52.389 --> 00:06:54.550 era. Right. If we look at his career timeline, 00:06:54.949 --> 00:06:57.430 the dedication to the secrecy becomes almost 00:06:57.430 --> 00:06:59.449 unbelievable. We know he made his professional 00:06:59.449 --> 00:07:02.689 debut in 2005, but he didn't adopt the Pecanio 00:07:02.689 --> 00:07:05.610 Nitro mask and persona until the summer of 2009. 00:07:06.009 --> 00:07:08.189 So there's this massive four -year gap. a huge 00:07:08.189 --> 00:07:11.189 gap because lucha libre is so fiercely dedicated 00:07:11.189 --> 00:07:13.509 to keeping true identities and previous ring 00:07:13.509 --> 00:07:16.430 names a secret whatever names masks or identities 00:07:16.430 --> 00:07:18.329 he wrestled under for those first four years 00:07:18.329 --> 00:07:21.250 are completely unconfirmed wow to this day the 00:07:21.250 --> 00:07:23.810 public simply does not know who he was from 2005 00:07:23.810 --> 00:07:26.790 to 2009. i really want you to just imagine that 00:07:26.790 --> 00:07:29.959 scenario in your own life for a second Imagine 00:07:29.959 --> 00:07:32.939 working in a highly competitive, highly public 00:07:32.939 --> 00:07:37.000 profession for four solid years. You are out 00:07:37.000 --> 00:07:39.100 there every night performing, traveling the country, 00:07:39.199 --> 00:07:41.879 building your skills, and taking massive physical 00:07:41.879 --> 00:07:44.759 risks that take a toll on your body. You're building 00:07:44.759 --> 00:07:48.139 a resume. You are. And then management gives 00:07:48.139 --> 00:07:51.040 you a new character. To take that job, you have 00:07:51.040 --> 00:07:53.199 to completely erase your four -year history. 00:07:53.579 --> 00:07:56.639 You put on a new mask, you take a new name, and 00:07:56.639 --> 00:07:58.720 to the public you are a completely new entity 00:07:58.720 --> 00:08:01.480 born in the summer of 2009. You start from zero. 00:08:01.720 --> 00:08:03.819 You can never tell a fan, hey, remember that 00:08:03.819 --> 00:08:06.819 great match in 2007? That was me. It takes an... 00:08:06.959 --> 00:08:09.060 unbelievable level of discipline to never claim 00:08:09.060 --> 00:08:11.259 credit for your own past sweat and tears. It 00:08:11.259 --> 00:08:13.139 is the ultimate commitment to the present illusion, 00:08:13.459 --> 00:08:16.139 which the industry calls kayfabe. You are choosing 00:08:16.139 --> 00:08:18.480 to let your actual self disappear so that the 00:08:18.480 --> 00:08:21.279 myth can live. That is heavy. It is. And once 00:08:21.279 --> 00:08:23.339 he accepted that myth and became Pequeño Nitro 00:08:23.339 --> 00:08:26.399 in 2009, the promotion wasted absolutely no time 00:08:26.399 --> 00:08:28.279 throwing him into the fire to see if this new 00:08:28.279 --> 00:08:30.660 character could survive. So you've erased your 00:08:30.660 --> 00:08:33.809 past. You have a brand new mask. How do you actually 00:08:33.809 --> 00:08:36.789 prove to the audience that Pequeño Nitro is someone 00:08:36.789 --> 00:08:39.190 they should care about? You take risks. Massive 00:08:39.190 --> 00:08:41.250 risks. Let's look at the mechanics of the map, 00:08:41.409 --> 00:08:43.529 because the structures of these Lucha Libre matches 00:08:43.529 --> 00:08:46.950 are just wild. His in -ring debut, under the 00:08:46.950 --> 00:08:51.029 new name, was a tag team match on July 14, 2009. 00:08:51.549 --> 00:08:54.690 He teamed up with Pequeño Valencia and Pequeño 00:08:54.690 --> 00:08:56.429 Black Warrior, right? Right, and they defeated 00:08:56.429 --> 00:08:59.519 Bam Bam, Presidio de Oro, and Electrico. So he 00:08:59.519 --> 00:09:02.480 wins his debut. But exactly one month later, 00:09:02.779 --> 00:09:06.179 CMLL threw him into the absolute deep end. He 00:09:06.179 --> 00:09:09.279 was booked in a massive 14 -man steel cage match. 00:09:09.600 --> 00:09:11.820 Just a month in? Just a month. And the stakes 00:09:11.820 --> 00:09:13.860 weren't just about winning a trophy. This was 00:09:13.860 --> 00:09:15.659 a match where wrestlers were literally risking 00:09:15.659 --> 00:09:18.200 their masks. And we need to emphasize how terrifying 00:09:18.200 --> 00:09:21.100 that is for a newly minted character. The rules 00:09:21.100 --> 00:09:23.799 of these cage matches are brutal. Walk us through 00:09:23.799 --> 00:09:26.759 it. 14 men start inside. The goal is to climb 00:09:26.759 --> 00:09:29.279 over the top and escape. But the last two people 00:09:29.279 --> 00:09:31.059 left inside the cage are trapped, and they are 00:09:31.059 --> 00:09:33.139 forced to wrestle each other right then and there 00:09:33.139 --> 00:09:35.480 in a bet match for their mask. So if you're the 00:09:35.480 --> 00:09:38.379 last one. If you lose that final bout, you are 00:09:38.379 --> 00:09:40.360 unmasked in front of the world. Your character 00:09:40.360 --> 00:09:43.779 is dead. Pequeño Nitro was completely untested 00:09:43.779 --> 00:09:46.559 in this new persona, and he's in a cage mixing 00:09:46.559 --> 00:09:49.639 both regular -sized competitors and mini -wrestlers. 00:09:49.860 --> 00:09:51.700 Which means he's at a physical disadvantage, 00:09:51.940 --> 00:09:56.019 too. Exactly. But he managed to survive. He escaped 00:09:56.019 --> 00:09:59.559 the steel cage, saving his mask and essentially 00:09:59.559 --> 00:10:02.659 saving his new career. Escaping that cage proved 00:10:02.659 --> 00:10:05.440 he could survive the chaos, but he still needed 00:10:05.440 --> 00:10:08.580 to prove he was a legitimate contender. And that 00:10:08.580 --> 00:10:11.580 brings us to the spring of 2010 and a tournament 00:10:11.580 --> 00:10:14.580 called the Pequeños Reyes del Air. The Little 00:10:14.580 --> 00:10:17.460 Kings of the Air. Yes, it was a Tornillo Cibernético, 00:10:17.639 --> 00:10:20.440 a multi -man elimination tournament packed with 00:10:20.440 --> 00:10:22.139 the best talent in the mini Estrella division. 00:10:22.750 --> 00:10:24.669 And here is where we get a really fascinating 00:10:24.669 --> 00:10:26.750 peek behind the curtain of professional wrestling. 00:10:26.889 --> 00:10:28.950 We know the outcomes are predetermined, right? 00:10:29.090 --> 00:10:31.190 Right. It's scripted entertainment. Well, according 00:10:31.190 --> 00:10:34.250 to the source material, CMLL actively chose to 00:10:34.250 --> 00:10:36.850 book Bikini Nitro as the sole winner of this 00:10:36.850 --> 00:10:39.269 massive tournament. And that corporate decision 00:10:39.269 --> 00:10:42.789 is incredibly revealing. In a predetermined sport, 00:10:43.049 --> 00:10:45.350 winning a tournament isn't just about showing 00:10:45.350 --> 00:10:48.080 off your athletic skills. It's a very public 00:10:48.080 --> 00:10:49.759 corporate endorsement. They're handing you the 00:10:49.759 --> 00:10:53.659 ball. Exactly. CMLL decided to book him to win 00:10:53.659 --> 00:10:56.200 to manufacture exposure and build his credibility 00:10:56.200 --> 00:10:58.519 with the audience. They were telling the fans, 00:10:58.659 --> 00:11:01.840 this is our next big star. Pay attention. Because 00:11:01.840 --> 00:11:04.980 he won, he was immediately granted a title shot 00:11:04.980 --> 00:11:07.399 for the CML World Mini Estrella Championship 00:11:07.399 --> 00:11:11.340 against the current champion Bam Bam. The very 00:11:11.340 --> 00:11:13.559 next week. Wait, this is where I get confused 00:11:13.559 --> 00:11:16.200 by the booking logic again. They handpick him 00:11:16.200 --> 00:11:19.740 to win this huge, grueling tournament to build 00:11:19.740 --> 00:11:21.779 him up as a massive threat. But then the very 00:11:21.779 --> 00:11:24.899 next week, they script him to lose the championship 00:11:24.899 --> 00:11:26.840 match against Bambam. Yeah, he didn't win the 00:11:26.840 --> 00:11:29.200 belt. Why build him up just to pull the rug out 00:11:29.200 --> 00:11:31.480 from under him at the finish line? It's the delicate 00:11:31.480 --> 00:11:34.299 balancing act of long -term storytelling. In 00:11:34.299 --> 00:11:36.159 wrestling, you are always trying to serve two 00:11:36.159 --> 00:11:38.960 masters. You need to create rising stars to keep 00:11:38.960 --> 00:11:41.100 the show fresh, but you also have to protect 00:11:41.100 --> 00:11:43.679 the prestige of your reigning champion. Ah, I 00:11:43.679 --> 00:11:45.899 see. By having Pequeño Nitro win the tournament, 00:11:46.120 --> 00:11:48.340 you elevate him permanently in the eyes of the 00:11:48.340 --> 00:11:52.220 fans. He is now a proven main eventer. But by 00:11:52.220 --> 00:11:54.580 having Bam Bam retain the title in a hard -fought 00:11:54.580 --> 00:11:57.139 match, you signal that the mountain is still 00:11:57.139 --> 00:11:59.779 incredibly hard to climb. It keeps the suspense 00:11:59.779 --> 00:12:02.320 alive. Right. It gives Pequeño Nitro something 00:12:02.320 --> 00:12:04.500 to chase, and it gives the audience a reason 00:12:04.500 --> 00:12:06.559 to keep buying tickets. That makes a lot of sense. 00:12:06.740 --> 00:12:08.659 The chase is always more profitable than the 00:12:08.659 --> 00:12:11.639 catch. And the promotion kept giving him opportunities 00:12:11.639 --> 00:12:15.580 to chase greatness. Later that same year, in 00:12:15.580 --> 00:12:20.000 August 2010, CMLL... held the Torneo Bicentenario. 00:12:20.240 --> 00:12:22.399 The Bicentennial Tournament. Yes, this was a 00:12:22.399 --> 00:12:24.720 monumental event celebrating the 200th anniversary 00:12:24.720 --> 00:12:27.700 of Mexico's independence. For the wrestlers in 00:12:27.700 --> 00:12:29.960 the Mini Estrella Division, the stakes were life 00:12:29.960 --> 00:12:32.799 -changing. Oh, this was huge for them. The ultimate 00:12:32.799 --> 00:12:35.220 winner of this tournament would receive a permanent 00:12:35.220 --> 00:12:37.399 promotion to compete in the regular -sized division. 00:12:37.980 --> 00:12:40.580 Now, Pequeño Nitro didn't win this one. He was 00:12:40.580 --> 00:12:42.919 actually outlasted by a wrestler named Dimas 00:12:42.919 --> 00:12:46.919 3 .1 Cis, who eventually took the prize. But 00:12:46.919 --> 00:12:48.779 it shows you the ultimate ceiling these athletes 00:12:48.779 --> 00:12:50.860 are striving for. They aren't just fighting for 00:12:50.860 --> 00:12:52.720 trophies. They are fighting to transcend their 00:12:52.720 --> 00:12:55.460 division entirely. Which brings us to the following 00:12:55.460 --> 00:12:57.899 year and perhaps one of the most psychologically 00:12:57.899 --> 00:12:59.940 punishing and brilliant tournament structures 00:12:59.940 --> 00:13:02.600 ever conceived in sports entertainment. Here's 00:13:02.600 --> 00:13:04.720 where it gets really interesting. Let's talk 00:13:04.720 --> 00:13:07.980 about August 2011 and the infamous Ruleta de 00:13:07.980 --> 00:13:11.169 la Muerte, the roulette of death. The Ruleta 00:13:11.169 --> 00:13:13.789 de la Muerte is an absolute masterpiece of high 00:13:13.789 --> 00:13:16.649 -stakes psychology. The entire format is based 00:13:16.649 --> 00:13:19.750 on a Lucha Libre concept called Parejas Increibles. 00:13:19.950 --> 00:13:22.230 Incredible pairs. Yes. Here is how it works. 00:13:22.409 --> 00:13:24.789 The promoters take two wrestlers who absolutely 00:13:24.789 --> 00:13:27.870 despise each other, usually a rudo bad guy and 00:13:27.870 --> 00:13:30.309 a tecnico good guy who have been locked in a 00:13:30.309 --> 00:13:33.029 bitter, violent feud, and forces them to team 00:13:33.029 --> 00:13:36.139 up. Which is already a recipe for disaster. Precisely. 00:13:36.220 --> 00:13:38.759 But the genius is in the tournament mechanics. 00:13:39.240 --> 00:13:41.799 In a normal tournament, you try to win your match 00:13:41.799 --> 00:13:44.139 so you can advance to the finals and win a prize. 00:13:44.440 --> 00:13:47.659 The roulette of death flips that completely upside 00:13:47.659 --> 00:13:50.919 down. It uses a loser's advance format. It is 00:13:50.919 --> 00:13:53.620 so incredibly backwards. It is a game theory 00:13:53.620 --> 00:13:56.440 nightmare for the competitors. Tag teams face 00:13:56.440 --> 00:13:58.860 off, and the team that loses the match is the 00:13:58.860 --> 00:14:00.940 one that advances to the next round. So you want 00:14:00.940 --> 00:14:03.210 to win immediately. The ultimate goal is to win 00:14:03.210 --> 00:14:04.970 a match as quickly as possible so you can be 00:14:04.970 --> 00:14:06.809 eliminated from the tournament and go home safe. 00:14:07.049 --> 00:14:09.990 Because if you keep losing, you sink deeper and 00:14:09.990 --> 00:14:12.070 deeper into the bracket until you hit the finals. 00:14:12.289 --> 00:14:13.929 And the finals are where the real danger is. 00:14:14.029 --> 00:14:17.289 Exactly. The team that loses that final tag team 00:14:17.289 --> 00:14:20.710 match faces the ultimate penalty. Those two partners, 00:14:20.909 --> 00:14:22.690 who already hate each other, must immediately 00:14:22.690 --> 00:14:24.889 turn around and wrestle against each other in 00:14:24.889 --> 00:14:28.409 a lucha de apuestas. A bet match. Yes. A match 00:14:28.409 --> 00:14:31.149 where either their mask or their hair is literally 00:14:52.720 --> 00:14:56.799 That is just brilliant television. So on this 00:14:56.799 --> 00:14:59.429 2011 roulette of death. Pequeño Nitro was forced 00:14:59.429 --> 00:15:02.549 to team up with a wrestler named Ario. Against 00:15:02.549 --> 00:15:04.470 all odds, they managed to plunder differences 00:15:04.470 --> 00:15:07.669 aside, defeated the team of Bam Bam and Pirathito, 00:15:07.929 --> 00:15:10.649 won their match, and safely eliminated themselves 00:15:10.649 --> 00:15:12.509 from the tournament. They saved their masks. 00:15:12.789 --> 00:15:15.509 They did. But saving their masks that night was 00:15:15.509 --> 00:15:17.549 really just planting the seeds for their ultimate 00:15:17.549 --> 00:15:20.690 destruction later. That brief, forced partnership 00:15:20.690 --> 00:15:23.730 between Pequeño Nitro and Ario laid the groundwork 00:15:23.730 --> 00:15:27.200 for a massive, deeply personal rivalry. Fast 00:15:27.200 --> 00:15:30.559 forward to 2012, CMLL management decides to make 00:15:30.559 --> 00:15:32.840 Pequeño Nitro one of the primary focal points 00:15:32.840 --> 00:15:34.980 of the entire Mini Estrellas division. And who 00:15:34.980 --> 00:15:36.960 do they pair him against? His former tournament 00:15:36.960 --> 00:15:39.840 partner, Aereo. The escalation of this feud is 00:15:39.840 --> 00:15:43.559 textbook Lucha Libre storytelling. It didn't 00:15:43.559 --> 00:15:45.799 start with grand declarations. It started with 00:15:45.799 --> 00:15:48.740 creeping animosity. They would be booked in these 00:15:48.740 --> 00:15:52.440 chaotic six -man tag team matches. Where there's 00:15:52.440 --> 00:15:54.360 bodies flying everywhere. Right. There would 00:15:54.360 --> 00:15:56.980 be four other guys in the ring doing incredible 00:15:56.980 --> 00:16:00.779 acrobatics, but Pequeño, Nitro, and Aereo would 00:16:00.779 --> 00:16:03.000 just completely ignore the rest of the match 00:16:03.000 --> 00:16:05.340 to beat the living daylights out of each other. 00:16:06.000 --> 00:16:08.360 The tunnel vision was palpable. They just wanted 00:16:08.360 --> 00:16:10.659 to destroy each other. And then the storyline 00:16:10.659 --> 00:16:13.700 escalated to the ultimate taboo in Lucha Libre. 00:16:13.840 --> 00:16:16.220 They started tearing at each other's masks. They 00:16:16.220 --> 00:16:18.419 would even win matches by outright ripping the 00:16:18.419 --> 00:16:20.720 other man's mask off to blind them and gain an 00:16:20.720 --> 00:16:23.440 unfair advantage. Which is incredibly disrespectful 00:16:23.440 --> 00:16:26.240 in that culture. Beyond disrespectful. They weren't 00:16:26.240 --> 00:16:27.919 just attacking each other's bodies anymore. They 00:16:27.919 --> 00:16:29.600 were attacking each other's sacred identities. 00:16:29.940 --> 00:16:31.860 Which means we are barreling toward the climax. 00:16:32.259 --> 00:16:35.080 You can only rip a man's mask so many times in 00:16:35.080 --> 00:16:37.929 Mexico. before blood has to be drawn and a permanent 00:16:37.929 --> 00:16:40.350 price has to be paid? If we connect this to the 00:16:40.350 --> 00:16:42.929 bigger picture, all of this psychological warfare, 00:16:43.149 --> 00:16:46.070 all of this disrespect, has to result in a definitive, 00:16:46.210 --> 00:16:49.149 cathartic conclusion for the audience. The tension 00:16:49.149 --> 00:16:52.210 was unsustainable. It had to end. In July of 00:16:52.210 --> 00:16:54.870 2012, CMLL announced the only logical conclusion, 00:16:55.330 --> 00:16:57.629 a Luchas de Apuestas match, the ultimate bet 00:16:57.629 --> 00:17:01.210 match. On July 15th, both Pequeño Nitro and Ario 00:17:01.210 --> 00:17:02.990 stood in the center of the ring and put their 00:17:02.990 --> 00:17:05.450 masks on the line. I cannot overstate the weight 00:17:05.450 --> 00:17:07.730 of this moment. For the loser, there is no coming 00:17:07.730 --> 00:17:09.950 back. Your character is dead. Your anonymity 00:17:09.950 --> 00:17:13.170 is gone. And when the dust settled, Pequeño Nitro 00:17:13.170 --> 00:17:16.230 emerged victorious. He won the bout. And because 00:17:16.230 --> 00:17:19.289 Lucha Libre traditions are absolute, Ario was 00:17:19.289 --> 00:17:21.500 forced to physically unmask. in the middle of 00:17:21.500 --> 00:17:24.119 the ring, forever surrendering his secret identity 00:17:24.119 --> 00:17:26.019 to the public. While Pequeño Nitro protected 00:17:26.019 --> 00:17:28.420 his own mask, cementing his legacy as a ruthless, 00:17:28.680 --> 00:17:31.359 untouchable rudo, he defended the mask brilliantly. 00:17:31.980 --> 00:17:34.339 But sadly, the physical toll of this industry 00:17:34.339 --> 00:17:37.039 is unforgiving, and the legend of Pequeño Nitro 00:17:37.039 --> 00:17:40.819 has come to an unexpectedly early close. The 00:17:40.819 --> 00:17:42.579 final piece of information we have to share today 00:17:42.579 --> 00:17:46.539 from the source material is a somber one. Keño 00:17:46.539 --> 00:17:49.940 Nitro passed away on May 18, 2024. He was only 00:17:49.940 --> 00:17:52.460 40 years old. When you step back and look at 00:17:52.460 --> 00:17:54.559 the whole picture we've painted today, it is 00:17:54.559 --> 00:17:57.039 quite an incredible journey. We've explored how 00:17:57.039 --> 00:17:59.819 a wrestler of shorter stature carved out a fierce, 00:17:59.980 --> 00:18:02.920 legitimate, and terrifying legacy in the mini 00:18:02.920 --> 00:18:05.039 -Estrella division. We've unpacked the intricate, 00:18:05.259 --> 00:18:07.380 almost sadistic tournament designs of Mexican 00:18:07.380 --> 00:18:10.200 wrestling. From surviving a 14 -man steel cage 00:18:10.200 --> 00:18:12.799 to navigating the psychological minefield of 00:18:12.799 --> 00:18:15.380 the roulette of death. And above all, we've seen 00:18:15.380 --> 00:18:17.160 an unparalleled commitment to the art of the 00:18:17.160 --> 00:18:19.539 character. This was a man who erased four years 00:18:19.539 --> 00:18:21.859 of his early career, guarded his real name from 00:18:21.859 --> 00:18:24.299 the world at all costs, and routinely put that 00:18:24.299 --> 00:18:26.279 fabricated identity on the line in the center 00:18:26.279 --> 00:18:28.839 of the ring, knowing one mistake could end it 00:18:28.839 --> 00:18:31.680 all. So what does this all mean? I think the 00:18:31.680 --> 00:18:34.599 story leaves us with a profound, lingering question 00:18:34.599 --> 00:18:37.019 about the nature of identity and the sacrifices 00:18:37.019 --> 00:18:40.000 we make for our work. What does it truly mean 00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:42.119 for a human being to dedicate their physical 00:18:42.119 --> 00:18:45.160 body to endure the bruises, the travel and the 00:18:45.160 --> 00:18:48.839 injuries, to commit their entire career and ultimately 00:18:48.839 --> 00:18:51.980 their entire public legacy to a persona that 00:18:51.980 --> 00:18:54.339 demands the total erasure of their true self? 00:18:54.420 --> 00:18:57.539 It's a huge sacrifice. It is. When Pequeño Nitro 00:18:57.539 --> 00:19:00.019 passed away at just 40 years old, his real name 00:19:00.019 --> 00:19:02.079 remained a fiercely kept secret from the public. 00:19:02.299 --> 00:19:05.019 To the fans, to the historians, to the world 00:19:05.019 --> 00:19:07.880 at large, he left behind only the legend of the 00:19:07.880 --> 00:19:11.339 mask. The vulnerable, flawed, everyday man beneath 00:19:11.339 --> 00:19:14.119 it belongs exclusively to his loved ones. That's 00:19:14.119 --> 00:19:15.960 a powerful thought. It makes you look inward 00:19:15.960 --> 00:19:18.039 at the everyday world we all inhabit. We all 00:19:18.039 --> 00:19:19.940 wear masks in our professional lives. We all 00:19:19.940 --> 00:19:22.500 craft a specific persona that we put on for our 00:19:22.500 --> 00:19:25.559 colleagues, our audiences, our clients. How much 00:19:25.559 --> 00:19:27.880 of your true, authentic self are you actively 00:19:27.880 --> 00:19:29.980 erasing to maintain that professional character? 00:19:30.220 --> 00:19:32.799 And when your career is finally over, what legacy 00:19:32.799 --> 00:19:34.980 will your mask leave behind? Something to think 00:19:34.980 --> 00:19:35.200 about.