Silver Cat

Silver Cat
Birth nameAntonio Hernández Herrada
Born(1970-04-08)April 8, 1970
Mexico City, Mexico
DiedMarch 29, 2024(2024-03-29) (aged 53)
Mexico City, Mexico
Parent(s)
Relatives
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)
  • El Enjambre
  • Reptil
  • El Hijo del Espectro
  • Silver Cat
Billed height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Billed weight90 kg (200 lb)
Trained by
  • Espectro I
  • Rafael Salamanca[1]
Debut1989
Retired2021

Antonio Hernández Herrada (April 8, 1970 – March 29, 2024), best known under the ring name Silver Cat, was a Mexican professional wrestler. He was mostly known for his appearances in the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA). As Silver Cat, Hernández was a member of Los Vatos Locos, a Kiss look-alike group of wrestlers, with whom he held the Mexican National Atómicos Championship. Prior to 2001, he had previously worked as El Enjambre, Reptil and El Hijo del Espectro.

Professional wrestling career

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Early career

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Silver Cat began wrestling under the name El Enjambre in 1991 in Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL) which the following year would change its name to Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). El Enjambre's last match in CMLL was on May 22, 1992, where he teamed with Arkángel de la Muerte and Marabunta to defeat Eclipse, Guerrero Samurai #2 and Pegaso.[2] When Antonio Peña left CMLL in 1992 to start his own rival promotion called AAA, El Enjambre was one of the wrestlers who followed.[3] Probably due to trademark registration from the previous promotion, he changed his name to Reptil. However, the new gimmick was short-lived when, starting in 1993, he began using the ring name El Hijo del Espectro (the son of Espectro).

Los Vatos Locos

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In mid-1998 Peña put together a new group of wrestlers, a stable called Los Vatos Locos (Spanish for "the crazy guys"), which included Silver Cat's brother Picudo. This stable became very popular at the turn of the century and until its breakup in 2007, where they often went to matches against Los Vipers and The Black Family.[4][5]

On April 20, 2001, El Hijo del Espectro lost his wrestling mask after losing in a lucha de apuestas match in Tijuana.[6][7] After losing the mask, he adopted the Silver Cat gimmick. Los Vatos replaced May Flowers with Silver Cat, a ring persona patterned after Kiss drummer Peter Criss "the Catman" character,[7][8] making Los Vatos Locos; the group even began carrying instruments to the ring and "perform". On November 23, 2001, the new incarnation of Los Vatos Locos defeated longtime rivals Los Vipers to win the Mexican National Atómicos Championship once more.[9] Los Vatos third title reign lasted for over a year, 374 days, before they lost the titles back to Los Vipers. After losing the Atómicos title Los Vatos Locos featured less prominently on AAA shows, not making a single major show appearance after September 16, 2002, when they appeared at Verano de Escándalo.[10]

Later career

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On March 1, 2020, Silver Cat wrestled for AAA for the first time in 13 years, in a match where he, along with Venus and Mamba, lost a match to Pimpinela Escarlata, Lady Shani and Centinela.[11] His last documented match took place on April 3, 2021 where he along with his nephew Picudo Jr., May Flowers and Nygma defeated the group Infierno Rockers at the Arena Azteca Budokan in Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl.[1]

Personal life and death

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Antonio Hernández Herrada was the son of Espectro I and the younger brother of Picudo.[12] He was also the cousin of Antonio Peña, the founder of AAA.[13]

On March 29, 2024, Silver Cat passed away, which was first reported by his former teammate May Flowers via social media. The cause of death has not been made public, but it is already known that he suffered from health problems, including alcoholism.[14][8]

Championships and accomplishments

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Luchas de Apuestas record

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Winner (wager) Loser (wager) Location Event Date Notes
La Parka Jr. (mask) El Hijo del Espectro (mask) Tijuana, Baja California Live event April 20, 2001 [16]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Silver Cat". cagematch.net – The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  2. ^ Axel Saalbach. "Silver Cat - Facts @ Wrestlingdata.com". wrestlingdata.com. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  3. ^ Navarro, Iván (March 29, 2024). "Muere Silver Cat, figura de la lucha libre mexicana" (in Spanish). Telediario. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  4. ^ j.ortiz (August 3, 2018). "Fallece el Picudo, integrante de los Vatos Locos en los 90's". Record.com.mx (in Spanish). Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  5. ^ "Fallece a los 53 años el luchador de la AAA Silver Cat de los Vatos Locos". 24 Morelos - últimas noticias de Morelos (in Spanish). March 31, 2024. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  6. ^ "Rinden tributo a La Parka en Tijuana". TJ Sports (in Mexican Spanish). February 1, 2020. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  7. ^ a b "¿Quién fue y de qué murió Silver Cat, figura de la lucha libre mexicana?". La Razón (in Spanish). March 30, 2024. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Muere el luchador Silver Cat, exestrella de la AAA". El Heraldo de México (in Spanish). March 30, 2024. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  9. ^ a b "Los Reyes de Mexico: La Historia de Los Campeonatos Nacionales". Lucha 2000 (in Spanish). December 20, 2004. Especial 21.
  10. ^ "Asistencia Asesoria y Administracion Verano de Escandalo". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved February 19, 2009.
  11. ^ "AAA: 2020-03". www.luchadb.com. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  12. ^ Lewis III, Harris M. (2003). Biographical Dictionary of Professional Wrestling (2nd ed.). McFarlane. p. 101. ISBN 9781476605050.
  13. ^ "Grandes Figuras de la Lucha Libre". Espectro I (in Spanish). Portales, Mexico. November 2008. p. 21. 17.
  14. ^ Apolo Valdés (March 30, 2024). "Falleció Silver Cat, integrante de los Vatos Locos". Superluchas (in Spanish). Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  15. ^ Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: National Atómicos Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 402. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  16. ^ "Enciclopedia de las Mascaras". La Parka Jr. (in Spanish). Mexico City, Mexico. October 2007. p. 48. Tomo III.
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