Prepare for Flight: Get to Know Rey Fenix, WWE’s Newest Luchador

A little over two months ago, the iconic Penta made his WWE debut, taking on Chad Gable. Flash forward to Friday and his brother Rey Fenix is finally ready to join him in the company. Yes, after weeks of speculation and very less-than-subtle vignettes, WWE announced that the long-awaited debut of Rey Fenix will take place next Friday when SmackDown travels to the All State Arena in Chicago for it’s first show back in the states after a three-week long European Tour.

With less than 30 days left until WrestleMania 41, Rey Fenix is ready to show the WWE Universe what makes him so special. For those who don’t know much about him, Last Word on Pro Wrestling is here to help as we offer a comprehensive look at WWE’s newest luchador, the one who is always ready to take flight.

Who is Rey Fenix?

Much like his brother and many luchadors before him, little is known about the early years of the 34-year-old Rey Fenix, including his given name, which isn’t a matter of public record. Trained by El Apache, Cuchillo, Skayde, and Tony Salazar among others, Fenix is believed to have begun his career on Mexico’s independent circuit between 2005-2007 when he was just a young teenager. In 2007, while wrestling under the name Mascara Oriental, Fenix was invited by the legendary Blue Demon Jr. to join him in NWA Mexico and by Crazy Boy to work for Desastre Total Ultraviolento. This all led to Fenix receiving the opportunity to join AAA in September 2010.

Still one of the top two promotions in Mexico, Fenix made his debut in AAA in a dark match teaming with Konami against his brother, Penta, and Pesadilla. For both brothers, this was a tryout match and one that led to their signing with AAA full-time in 2011. That’s when Fenix received his current ring name, his character being rechristened from Mascara Oriental in favor of a name representative of the mythological bird. With a new identity and new mask, Fenix made his official debut for the promotion in January 2011, again taking on Penta, then known as Dark Dragon.  Fenix was victorious and briefly entered into a feud with Penta and his La Milicia faction. Fenix wrestled 21 matches in his first year with AAA, 13 of which were in tag team action against his brother. Their various feuding continued into approximately August of 2012. In November, Fenix began entering the title picture, wrestling more singles matches with AAA. He began the tournament to crown the inaugural AAA Fusion Champion, a tournament he’d emerge victorious at several months later in March of 2013.

And for both Fenix and Penta, it really was 2013 that marked the biggest years of their careers at that point. For it was in 2013 that Fenix received his first opportunity to work outside of Mexico when he took an excursion to Pro Wrestling NOAH in Japan. Fenix had wrestled once in Japan the prior year but this was his first time working a more regular schedule outside of his native Mexico. The excursion allowed Fenix a chance to grow his brand and was an opportunity for him to compete against some of the best junior heavyweights in the world. When Fenix returned to Mexico, he remained firmly planted near the top of AAA’s lightweight roster.

Lucha Underground Introduces the World to Rey Fenix

And then came 2014 and with it, the opportunity to do something incredibly unique. As it would turn out, it was an opportunity that helped make Fenix a household name. Alongside his brother, Fenix was one of five AAA wrestlers chosen to take part in the experimental Lucha Underground. As noted when we talked about Penta’s career, Lucha Underground can best be described as a blend of professional wrestling and dramatic cinema. Created by filmmaker Robert Rodriguez, who is known for his work in the suspenseful and supernatural genres, and Mark Burnett, the king of reality TV with hits including The Voice, The Apprentice, and Survivor, Lucha Underground was as much a TV show about wrestling as it was a wrestling show set within a serial drama. With each new character introduction, there was backstory and a reason to either root for the wrestler or against them. That was the case with Fenix, who debuted on the third episode of the show, defeating both Drago and his brother.

It was the first time Fenix wrestled on American soil but certainly wouldn’t be the last. As was the case with Penta, Lucha Underground made Fenix a star on the global stage. He impressed from the beginning and every time he touched the ring, he made new fans. Fenix’ incredible talent and athleticism were on full display as he took LU by storm. Fenix was one of LU’s early stars, involved in much of the main storylines at that time. He engaged in a feud with his brother in the early-going before moving on to challenge Prince Puma for the LU title and eventually, became the first wrestler to defeat and pin Mil Muertes, doing so on the final episode of 2014

Into 2015, Fenix would again defeat Muertes, this time in a brutal casket match. It all set Fenix up to receive an Aztec medallion which gave him the opportunity to compete for a brand new title. And at Ultima Lucha, which served as the final episode of season one, Fenix became the inaugural Gift of the Gods Champion, entering season two at the top of LU’s card. Fenix entered into a feud with King Cuerno (WWE’s Santos Escobar) that saw the two swap the title. Fenix regained the championship on the sixth episode of season two and by the eighth episode, he was a double champion, defeating Muertes yet again to claim the Lucha Underground Championship. Fenix didn’t hold the title long though, losing it the following episode in Aztec Warfare to Matanza Cueto.

2016 saw the rise of Pentagon Dark in Lucha Underground as Fenix took a backseat into the trios division. Alongside Aero Star and Drago, Fenix won the trios titles during Ultima Lucha Dos, making him the first ever triple crown champion in the company. In 2017, with LU not airing, Fenix wrestled the most matches he ever had in his career, over 130. And it wasn’t just in Mexico either, although he did call The Crash home for much of that year winning his second cruiserweight title with Konnan’s company (the first was in 2013). It was one of four titles Fenix won that year as he traveled the globe wrestling for PWG in California, AAW in Illinois, Fight Club Pro in England, Pro Wrestling Revolver in Ohio, Over the Top Wrestling in Ireland, Beyond Wrestling in Massachusetts, CZW in Florida, and so much more.

By 2018, Lucha Underground had folded and its exclusive non-competes signed by the wrestlers null and void. That meant Fenix was able to work for other televised companies and both he and Penta wasted no time in doing just that. The same year LU aired its final episode, the Lucha Bros were working for MLW and Impact/TNA Wrestling. In TNA, Fenix once again showcased his impressive abilities, wrestling in both the heavyweight and X-Division title pictures during his first year with the company. While Fenix wasn’t successful in his title pursuits, he made an unforgettable impression every time he hit the ring. Meanwhile in MLW, Fenix was successful, winning the tag titles with Penta. The two held the belts for over 200 days, defending against some of the top teams on the indies.

The Rise of the Lucha Brothers

Between 2011 and 2022, Fenix continued to wrestle in AAA with regularity. He is a six-time champion with the promotion, having won the World Cruiserweight Championship, Latin American Championship, Mega Championship, Fusion Championship, and World Tag Team Championship twice. That’s five different titles. Not sure if there is a term for that so let’s just call it a grand slam plus one. During his 11 12 years in AAA, Fenix was one of the promotion’s biggest and brightest stars. And he continued to wrestle for his home company, even as that star grew even bigger and even brighter.

As LU ended, the world was introduced to a Rey Fenix/Penta tag team, something that had rarely been seen to that point. These two have had careers synonymous with each other but it was often as opponents not teammates. That all changed on the indies as the Lucha Bros were born. Fenix wrestled a career high 136 matches in 2019, a large amount of which were alongside his brother. Together that year, the Lucha Bros at times held the TNA, MLW, AAA (2x), The Crash, and AEW tag titles. The brothers were unstoppable, capturing gold everywhere they went. The duo truly had become a household variety, wrestling for over 50 different companies and appearing all over the world and in some cases, on simultaneous TV channels.

Fenix is All Elite

Among the companies the brothers worked during their whirlwind 2019 was AEW. The brothers debuted for the promotion at Double or Nothing, unsuccessfully defending their AAA tag titles against the Young Bucks. The two tag teams had entered into a feud on the indies that led to two incredible tag matches in AEW, one won by each duo. And while the brothers lost, it truly was only the beginning. A few months later, Fenix and Penta were officially All Elite, calling AEW their new primary home.

In AEW, Fenix and Penta wrestled almost exclusively as a unit, nearly capturing the tag titles in a tournament held in mid-2019. In March 2020, Penta and Fenix joined with PAC as Death Triangle and together, the trio had much success, though much of it came later in their run. As 2020 came to a close, a world title tournament saw Fenix go head-t0-head with his brother for the first time in years. As Fenix was starting to get pushed by AEW into the singles spotlight, an unfortunate injury sidelined him. Fenix wrestled just 37 matches that year. Fenix opened 2021 with a world title opportunity against Kenny Omega and while he was unsuccessful, that year did see Fenix win his first title in AEW. At All Out that year, the brothers won the AEW tag titles inside a steel cage, while still holding the AAA belts as well. Both reigns were relatively short-lived however as the Lucha Bros dropped the AAA titles a few months later and only held the AEW belts a little longer after that.

2022 didn’t bring much success for the Lucha Brothers with Fenix again battling a period of injury. But in September, things began to turn around as Death Triangle won the World Trios Championships for the first time in their near-three-year run. Death Triangle battled the Elite in a best-of-seven series to mark the end of 2022 into 2023, which was ultimately won by the EVPs. Throughout 2023, the Lucha Brothers didn’t taste much success as a duo, though Fenix, finally healthy, received the singles push that had been years in the making. He received several title opportunities and in September, defeated Jon Moxley to win the AEW International Championship, his first singles title with the promotion. And all was not lost for the brothers either as 2023 saw them add Ring of Honor to their list of places where they’ve been tag team champions.

Fenix has Arrived in WWE

Things began to devolve between the Lucha Brothers and AEW in 2024, in particular with Fenix. Penta received his release from the company but Fenix was being held back and held to missed time. This led to Fenix coming out and claiming negligence on AEW’s part. All the while, Penta made his debut in WWE, something that he was long expected to do alongside his brother. WWE officials at the time were rumored to be planning for Fenix, knowing it was only a matter of time. After months of discontent, Fenix finally received his AEW release with no strings and no non-compete. You could say before the ink was even dry on that release that WWE was already airing vignettes. And sure enough, less than a month after the news broke that Fenix was out of AEW was it announced that he was heading to WWE.

It seems like the Lucha Brothers are destined to team again but for now, Rey Fenix will call SmackDown his home while Penta is over on Raw. This marks the first time since their Lucha Underground days that the brothers are wrestling largely independent of the other. Penta has already been tearing it up and is likely headed to a WrestleMania match for the Intercontinental Championship. Starting this Friday, it will be Fenix’s turn to show the world what he can do.