Yesterday, the only 4-time AAA Mega Champion, “Mesías” Ricky Banderas, announced on social media that his 12-year run with Mexican wrestling promotion AAA had ended. He stated on his Facebook that a press conference was going to be held to announce his next plans.
Banderas is from Bayamon, Puerto Rico, and started as a Latino prospect in Puerto Rico and for WWF/E – his name is a combination of pop artist Ricky Martin and Banderas from Antonio Banderas. He made a name for himself as the ace of Victor Quinone’s International Wrestling Association. With Banderas, IWA Puerto Rico shatter attendance records and even had a match that is deemed today as one of the best match in the island’s history, with Banderas going at it with El Rey Fenix (not to be confuse with the Lucha Underground star Fenix el Rey) in a sold-out baseball stadium in the early 2000s. He also would end up having legendary feuds with the likes of El Leon Apolo, Vampiro, Slash Venom (Flash Flanagan) and the iconic duo with Shane the Glamour Boy as “Los Hermanos del Dolor”.
In 2006, push by people like IWA agent, Bushwhacker Luke, Banderas joined AAA as Muerte Cibernética, were he would feud with La Parka. Banderas joined Cibernéticos stable in AAA “La Secta Cibernética” and would later fight over the supremacy in the group against Cibernético in a Casket Match.
Banderas would wrestle in IWA and various Latin American countries, but returned in 2007 to AAA as El Mesias, which was base off Banderas’s gimmick in IWA Puerto Rico. He would catapult himself to stardom in Mexico, winning the Mega Championship tournament and in the process becoming the first ever AAA Mega Champion. Mesias headlined various TripleMania and feud with the likes of L.A. Park, Dr. Wagner Jr., Texano Jr and El Hijo del Perro Aguayo. In his resume in AAA, he holds victories over WWE Champion AJ Styles, WWE Hall of Famers Sting and Jeff Jarret.
It was his success in AAA, that made other promotions like Total Non–Stop Action (TNA and now Impact Wrestling) and the MTV Project Wrestling Society X notice him. In his resume, he has won the Lucha Underground title, the WSX title, WWC Universal title, he AAA Mega Championship (in four occasion) and a dozen of other titles between Puerto Rico and Mexico.
In his latter years, even with his popularity as Mil Muertes, Mesias took a backseat in AAA and was less feature. Even with the chaos of the company, with veterans and young promising talents like Penta 0M and Fenix leaving, Mesias stayed with AAA until now.
He is still scheduled to appear in the LU vs. Impact Wrestling show in Wrestlecon but is unclear what other promotion he will work next. The Crash seems logical and he still in LU’s 4th season. With a proliferation of Puerto Rican promotions in Florida appearing, it’s no secret that Banderas will be working more actively in that area.
