El Canek

Personal life

Felipe Estrada was born in Frontera, Tabasco, Mexico on June 19, 1952. He is the older brother of wrestlers Príncipe Maya and El Danés and the uncle of wrestler Rey Maya, the son of Príncipe Maya. Estrada himself has at least two sons, one wrestles as El Hijo del Canek ("The Son of El Canek") and another that has been introduced as Canek Jr., but who has not wrestled. Hijo del Canek is sometimes billed as Canek Jr., confusing him with his much younger brother.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1972{{ndash}}1973)

Estrada began training for his professional wrestling career in the nearby town of Villahermosa, Tabasco training under Indio Azteca, Maciste, El Remington I and El Chacal for his professional wrestling career. While training for a professional wrestling career he also learned the basics of Olympic style wrestling and also competed in bodybuilding competitions. As Universitario he teamed up with Ángel Azul and fought against the team of El Profeta and El Chilango Garcia. Later when he was ready to make his full-time debut Estrada bought a spare mask, boots and tights from Ángel Azul and began working as 'Príncipe Azul ("The Blue Prince"). He worked his first match as "El Canek" (billed as "Kanek" for that one match only) in the Torero de Cuatro Caminos in Naucalpan, Mexican State, an arena he would sell out repeatedly later in his career.

Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (1973{{ndash}}1975)

Shortly after his debut El Canek moved to Mexico City, working for Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL) while also training at "Gym Ham Lee" under head trainer Felipe Ham Lee as well as Sugi Sito and Fantasma de la Quebrada.This was the original Fantasma de la Quebrada, not a later wrestler also known as Fantasma de la Quebrada who made his wrestling debut in 1986. During his time with EMLL he would often tour the Northern territories for promoter René Guajardo. At that point he won the Northern Mexico Heavyweight Championship defeating Jose Torres, a man he would later also defeat in a Luchas de Apuestas match. Working mainly in the north El Canek won several headline matches, including unmasking El Destroyer and Lemus as well as winning the hair of Dory Dixon, Sunny War Cloud and Ruben Juarez but never worked regularly in EMLL's main territory in and around Mexico City.

Universal Wrestling Association (1975{{ndash}}1995)

In 1974 EMLL founder and owner Salvador Lutteroth brought his son into the promotion, grooming him to take over when the aging Lutteroth, Sr. eventually had to retire. This action combined with a very rigid and conservative promotional philosophy led EMLL's Promoter in Naucalpan, Mexico State, Francisco Flores, EMLL wrestler and trainer Ray Mendoza and investor Benjamin Mora, Jr. to break away from EMLL to form their own company called the Universal Wrestling Association. With the impending change of management in EMLL many wrestlers who had previously been loyal to Lutteroth decided to leave with Flores, Mendoza and Mora including promoters René and Karloff Lagarde as well as number of young wrestles, including El Canek who were frustrated with the lack of opportunities in EMLL. They held their first show on January 29, 1975, with El Canek teaming up with former rivals Dory Dixon and Sunny War Cloud to lose the semi-main event to the team of Mil Máscaras, Ray Mendoza and El Solitario. One of the early draws in the UWA was Mil Máscaras, but he began taking more and more bookings in both the United States and Japan, leaving little time for the UWA between tours, coupled with the age of two of the most recognizable wrestlers in the UWA, Mendoza and Guajardo, the UWA bookers were looking to create new headliners, with the two front runners being the tecnico (wrestling term for those that portray the "good guys") Dos Caras (brother of Mil Máscaras) and El Canek who played the part of a brutal, cheating rudo (those that portray the "bad guys") El Canek. The UWA decided to have El Canek defeat Dr. Wagner to win the Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship on January 15, 1978. The title run was used to build a storyline feud between El Canek and Dos Caras as Caras was immediately positioned as the next challenger and actually won the championship from El Canek on June 20, 1978 During the feud the fans responded favorably to the two wrestlers as each played their part to perfection, the physically imposing El Canek used his strength to dominate and gloat his way to becoming a rudo that the fans would gladly pay admission to see get beat up while Dos Caras became the quintessential tecnico, the hero of the people who overcame the odds and defeated the bad guys, while also being a very talented wrestler.

On September 27, 1978, El Canek defeated the legendary Lou Thesz to win the UWA World Heavyweight Championship, a move that signaled that he was now the "top name" in the UWA, gaining international attention by defeating the multi-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion Thesz. This made El Canek one of only a few wrestlers to ever be allowed to bodyslam André the Giant. He would later vacate the championship as he began to work regularly in the United States, especially in and around Texas. Not liking working in the US he returned to the UWA only a few months later.

Over the summer of 1982 the UWA made Dos Caras the next UWA World Heavyweight Champion, using the opportunity to revive the feud between Dos Caras and El Canek. In 1995 the UWA closed, with El Canek being the reigning and 13-time champion at that point in time. Even though the UWA had closed El Canek kept wearing the heavyweight championship belt and actually defended it on various shows around Mexico despite the UWA no longer being around.

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (1991{{ndash}}1994, 2004{{ndash}}2006)

By 1991 the UWA began working together with Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL, formerly EMLL), putting aside the issues that led to the split in the 1970s. As a result, El Canek began working regularly for CMLL as well beginning in 1991. In 1993 CMLL held a tournament to crown the first ever CMLL World Tag Team Champions and held a CMLL/UWA tournament the stretched out over several weeks. El Canek was teamed up with Dr. Wagner Jr. for the tournament and the team defeated Los Brazos (Brazo de Oro and Brazo de Plata) in the first round, Atlantis and El Dandy in the second round and finally Apolo Dantés and Rayo de Jalisco Jr. to earn a spot in the finale against Vampiro Canadiense and Pierroth Jr. The finale took place over three shows, with a best-two-out-of-three match stipulation. Canek and Wagner Jr. won the first match on March 19, while Vampiro and Pierroth Jr. won the second match on March 21. The final match took place on March 26, 1993, and saw El Canek and Dr. Wagner Jr. win the fall and thus become the first ever CMLL World Tag Team Champions. In November, 1994 El Canek stops working for CMLL, forcing CMLL to vacate the championship that he still held with Dr. Wagner Jr. at that point in time.

El Canek returned to CMLL almost a decade later, on March 26, 2005, teaming with Shocker and Máscara Mágica to defeat the trio of El Terrible, Rey Bucanero and Último Guerrero in the main event of CMLL's weekly Super Viernes. A few days later Canek's son El Hijo del Canek made his CMLL debut as well, running in during a match where Universo 2000 was about to tear the mask off his father. Upon his return to CMLL El Canek began a storyline feud with former partner Dr. Wagner Jr., with the story being that Dr. Wagner Jr. still resented Canek for leaving years earlier. As part of the storyline Dr. Wagner Jr. defeated El Canek to win the UWA World Heavyweight Championship on June 18, 2004. A few weeks later Canek got a measure of revenge as he, Black Warrior and Rayo de Jalisco, Jr. defeated Dr. Wagner Jr. Black Tiger III and Universo 2000 to win the CMLL World Trios Championship. The trio of Canek, Black Warrior and Rayo de Jalisco Jr. held the trios championship for 133 days before a team known as La Furia del Norte (Héctor Garza, Tarzan Boy and El Terrible) defeated them for the championship on November 19, 2004.

AAA (1996{{ndash}}2003, 2013)

After leaving CMLL in later 1996 he showed up in CMLL's rival AAA only weeks after his last CMLL match. El Canek worked one major match for the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE) because of AAA and WWF having a working agreement from 1996 to 1998, wrestling on the 1997 Royal Rumble out of San Antonio, Texas. He teamed up with Héctor Garza, Perro Aguayo, defeating the team of Heavy Metal, Jerry Estrada and Fuerza Guerrera when Aguayo pinned Heavy Metal. El Canek, Perro Aguayo and Tinieblas Jr. defeated Gorgeous George III, Jake Roberts and the Killer in the main event of AAA's Triplemanía V-A show. Two days later he also worked the main event of Triplemanía V-B as he, Perro Aguayo, Octagón and Cibernético defeated Jake Roberts, Gorgeous George III, El Cobarde II and Fuerza Guerrera.

Subsequently, Cibernético turned on El Canek, trying to take the UWA World Heavyweight Championship from him. On August 15, 1997, El Canek was able to retain the UWA World Heavyweight Championship, defeating Cibernético. in 1999 Cibernético defeated El Canek in a Bull Terrier match on March 31, followed by Canek defeating Cibernético in a steel cage match only 5 days later. On January 20, 2002, Cibernético won the UWA World Heavyweight Champions from El Canek. At the 2002 Rey del Ring ("Kings of the Ring") tournament El Canek defeated El Picudo, Septiembre Negro and El Hijo del Solitario in the semi-finals and then outlasted Pirata Morgan, Cibernético and Octagón to win the 2002 Rey de Reyes tournament. The win turned out to be one of El Canek's last AAA matches, basically regaining the UWA World Heavyweight Championship on the way out of the promotion.

Canek returned to AAA for a short stint in 2013, trying to repeat as Rey de Reyes, defeating Cibernético, Electroshock, Perro Aguayo Jr., Silver Cain and Toscano to earn a spot in the finals. In the finals he was pinned by El Mesisas. At the subsequent Triplemanía XXI show on June 16, 2013, Canek, former rival Universo 2000, Máscara Año 2000 and Villano IV lost to Dr. Wagner, Jr., Electroshock, La Parka and Octagón in a match that drew on the fact that the issues between Canek and Dr. Wagner Jr. were never resolved.

International Wrestling Revolution Group (2003{{ndash}}2006, 2009{{ndash}}2012)

After ending his first stint with AAA El Canek turned up in International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG) next, who promoted shows in Naucalpan, where El Canek used to main event during his UWA days. Early on he worked a program with Rayo de Jalisco Jr. over the WWA World Heavyweight Championship held by Rayo de Jalisco Jr. While in IWRG he also defended the UWA World Heavyweight Championship, a title he still claimed despite the UWA being inactive for eight years at that point in time. On May 5, 2005, El Canek and Rayo de Jalisco Jr. faced off against Perro Aguayo Jr. and Head Hunter I in a match where the winning team would then wrestle for the vacant IWRG Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship. Canel and Jalisco Jr won the match, then El Canek defeated Rayo de Jalisco Jr. to become the 13th over all IWRG Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion. While he was inactive IWRG did not vacate the Heavyweight title, but also did not promote it while El Canek was not working for them. El Canek returned to IWRG in 2009, bringing the championship belt back with him. Canek and El Hijo del Canek won a father/son tag team tournament that took place on December 20, 2009, defeating El Hijo del Pantera and Pantera, Exodia Olímpico, Máscara Año 2000 and Máscara Año 2000 Jr., Negro Navarro and Trauma I, El Hijo de Pirata Morgan and Pirata Morgan.

On April 18, 2010, El Canek, Máscara Año 2000 Jr., Scorpio Jr. and Pirata Morgan were forced to fight each other in a match where the first two men pinned would have to face off for either their mask, hair or in Canek's case the IWRG Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship. Scorpio and Morgan both pinned their opponents, forcing Canek and Máscara Año 2000 Jr. to fight. In the end the young Máscara Año 2000 Jr. defeated El Canek ending the 1444 long reign of El Canek. On December 20, 2012, El Canek and El Hijo del Canek competed in a five-team tag team steel cage match that was the main event of the Arena Naucalpan 36th Anniversary Show. The Caneks, Dr. Wagner Jr. and Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr, Los Capos Junior (Hijo de Máscara Año 2000 and Máscara Año 2000 Jr.) and La Familia de Tijuana defeated Los Piratas (Pirata Morgan and El Hijo de Pirata Morgan).

International Wrestling League (2011{{ndash}}present)

El Canek became the first International Wrestling League (IWL) Independent Heavyweight Championship when he defeated Dr. Wagner Jr. and L.A. Park to win the title. On January 13, 2015, he lost the title to Mr. Jack as part of an ongoing storyline between the two.

Today he still wrestles at 72 years old as of 2024.

Mixed martial arts career

Estrada is one of many wrestlers who has also competed in mixed martial arts (MMA). He fought in one MMA match for the Japanese DEEP 2001 promotion. For the match he was billed as "Felipe "El Canek" Estrada", publicly revealing his real name for the first time. He fought the match with his "El Canek" mask on and defeated Osamu Kawahara in his sole MMA match.

Mixed martial arts record

|ko-wins=1 |ko-losses=0 |sub-wins=0 |sub-losses=0 |dec-wins=0

| |Tokyo, Japan |MMA debut

Championships and accomplishments

• Alianza Universal De Lucha Libre
  • Copa Universo (2014)
• AAA
  • Rey de Reyes (2002)
• Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre/Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
  • CMLL World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Dr. Wagner, Jr.
  • CMLL World Trios Championship (1 time) - with Black Warrior and Rayo de Jalisco, Jr.
  • Northern Mexico Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• Independent Wrestling League/International Wrestling League
  • IWL Independent Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
• International Wrestling Revolution Group
  • IWRG Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• Leyendas Inmortales de la Lucha Libre
  • Copa Independencia (2014)
  • Copa Francisco Flores (2014)
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI ranked him # 79 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the PWI Years in 2003
  • PWI ranked him # 186 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 1995
• Universal Wrestling Association
  • Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • UWA World Heavyweight Championship (15 times)
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter
  • Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)

Luchas de Apuestas record

Notes

References

References

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