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El Hijo del Perro Aguayo (real name Pedro Aguayo Ramirez, who has also wrestled as Perro Aguayo Jr.), 35, passed away following a bout promoted by Lucha Libre independent promotion CRASH in Tijuana, Mexico last night headlined by Aguayo and TNA star Manik against Rey Mysterio and Extreme Tiger (TNA's Tigre Uno).
The cause of death is believed to have been cervical spine trauma caused by a blow to the head after Aguayo was kicked by Mysterio to set up a 619 and according to reports, struck his head on the ropes harshly while going down to get into the position to take the move. Whether those reports end up accurate or not remain to be seen. Obviously, there is still a lot to come from this sad story.
11:12 AM Update: A video of the complete bout has made it's way online, which provides a greater picture of what happened before Aguayo collapsed. All four men are battling in the ring when Aguayo is nailed with a missile dropkick. He takes a bump that results in him flopping over and landing on his stomach. He returns to his feet and takes a head scissors from Mysterio, bumping outside to the floor, twisting his body while running to take the move and go through the ropes. Aguayo lands on the outside and returns to the ring and is dropkicked, resulting in him landing against the ropes in the traditional position to take the 619. It appears Aguayo may have suffered a spinal trauma while taking the bump to the outside of the ring, not realized it (possibly due to the adrenaline of performing) and worsened the injury taking the dropkick after he returned to the ring. Once he hits the ropes, Aguayo is completely out and it appears that since he landed in the normal position to take the 619, that greatly added to the confusion as initially one would think he was just selling. [End update]
Video shot from the front row in Tijuana shows the immediate aftermath of that dropkick into the 619 set-up spot, where Aguayo appears to be in the normal positioning to take the 619 manuever. The video starts with Mysterio going to hit both Manik and Aguayo with a double 619. The video shows Aguayo leaning against the ropes in that position. Mysterio goes for the move and the spot appears to be that Manik and Aguayo would escape and get out of the way. Manik moves and Aguayo does not. Mysterio never connects with the 619, so any reports that the death was due to an error regarding that move are 100% incorrect.
Mysterio appears puzzled and he and the others begin to improvise as the referee checks on Aguayo, who is not moving. Extreme Tiger nails a dive to the outside on Manik as Konnan, who was on the outside, tries to checks on Aguayo but moves to allow room for the dive. Mysterio check on Aguayo, who is still draped in the position waiting for the 619.
Konnan tries to rouse Aguayo as Mysterio and Manik do another 619 spot right next to them. Konnan alerts the referee something isn't right. Mysterio nails a top rope splash and scores the pin to end the bout. About two minutes after the video starts, EMTS come to the ring and begin working on Aguayo.
A second video, shot right in front of the scene, shows EMTS arguing over the best way to transport Aguayo to the ambulance. There will obviously be talk about whether the EMTs came to the ring soon enough and whether that delay was a factor, but that will be a conversation for another day.
Aguayo was rushed to the hospital, but nothing could be done. His passing was announced about 1 AM Pacific, 4 AM Eastern by the local media.
"Godspeed Perro. Life goes so fast man," wrote Manik on Twitter. "I can't believe some of us pack our bags and don't make it home."
Aguayo, the son of the Lucha Libre legend, had been wrestling since he was 15 years old and literally grew up before the eyes of everyone who followed the Lucha product over the last several decades. Wrestling royalty in many ways, Aguayo initially debuted for AAA, moved on to CMLL and in recent years, was back working for AAA as well as many of the independent promotions that run Mexico.
Aguayo had just headlined the big AAA Rey de Reyes events this past Wednesday at the Auditorio Benito Juarez de Zapopan, teaming with Pentagon Jr. in a loss against Myzteziz (the original Sin Cara) & Rey Mysterio. He was as big a star as anyone in the current Lucha Libre scene.
AAA issued the following on Twitter: "The grief overwhelms our hearts. Rest in peace, El Hijo del Perro Aguayo."
CMLL issued a similar statement.
On behalf of everyone here at PWInsider.com, we express our deepest condolences to the family, friends and fans of Hijo del Perro Aguayo.
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