{"id":27783,"date":"2018-10-11T20:19:21","date_gmt":"2018-10-12T00:19:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=27783"},"modified":"2018-10-11T20:19:21","modified_gmt":"2018-10-12T00:19:21","slug":"indie-watch-the-rise-of-puma-king","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2018\/10\/11\/indie-watch-the-rise-of-puma-king\/","title":{"rendered":"Indie Watch: The Rise of Puma King"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Indie Watch is our regular series that looks at all of the amazing talent working the independent circuits around the world. Some are veterans revitalizing their careers, some are indie prospects hitting their peaks, while others are names to be on the watch for! This edition looks at one of the new faces of lucha libre who is testing the international waters after making it big in his native Mexico. Puma King has begun working various US indies, and tonight made his television debut on IMPACT Wrestling.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s crazy how the indie wrestling scene keeps reinventing itself. Just months ago, guys like <strong>Keith Lee<\/strong>,<strong> Matt Riddle<\/strong> and <strong>Deonna Purazzo<\/strong> were snatched by <strong>WWE<\/strong> and the indie scene seemed to lose key main eventers. But now, a new crop of dedicated wrestlers is on the path for success. The recent <strong>Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG)<\/strong> <strong>Battle of Los Angeles<\/strong> featured many of those guys, but one that caught the eyes of many fans was the <em>Lucha Libre<\/em> feline <strong>Puma King<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-28086\" src=\"https:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2018\/10\/DowsJA_UUAA9XWM-e1539303320735.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"600\"><\/p>\n<p>Those in attendance at PWG&#8217;s BOLA were raving about the abilities of the somewhat unknown luchador. But Puma King comes from a long generation of talented wrestlers &#8211; one of his mentors (and relatives) is non-other that the 4.40, <strong>Negro Casas<\/strong>. Just some few months back, Puma King was in the preliminaries with his brother<strong> Kid Tiger<\/strong>, wrestling young talents in <strong>Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL)<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Mexico\u2019s premier promotion.\u00a0It seemed as if King was the victim of the slow-moving system of <strong>CMLL<\/strong>, in which rising trough the rankings of CMLL takes you years. Solid wrestlers have come out of that system, but other have taken another route.<\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=CkRy46VPUSg<\/p>\n<p><strong>Pentagon Jr.<\/strong> and <strong>Rey Fenix<\/strong> are clear examples of doing it yourself and winning big. They skipped the CMLL system \u2013 even though they were training there \u2013 and are now the biggest Mexican Lucha Libre attractions in the world. Another example was <strong>Hijo del Fantasma<\/strong>, like Puma King he was stuck in the system, but, after exiting for the promising AAA, he now is one of the best wrestlers in Mexico.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"En Busca de un Idolo &quot;Dragon Lee Vs Puma King&quot;\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ntJvNhihBfA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Puma King suspected that he needed a change and threw himself to the wolves. This summer, <a href=\"https:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/2018\/07\/16\/puma-king-announces-his-departure-from-cmll\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">he announced his departure from CMLL<\/a>. King at the time, only had the PWG BOLA tournament outside of CMLL. He was betting on himself and for the moment, is working. So far he&#8217;s been making waves in PWG, <strong>PCW ULTRA, Beyond Wrestling, CHIKARA, Major League Wrestling (MLW)<\/strong> and now IMPACT Wrestling.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>A New Luchador on Town<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Puma King first debuted with CMLL rival company <strong>AAA Worldwide<\/strong>. He started to team with <strong>ELITE<\/strong> guys, but his role is in the mid-card. Later came <strong>PCW Ultra<\/strong>, where he defeated <strong>Jake Atlas<\/strong> and <strong>Maxx Stardom<\/strong>. King seemed to get on a roll, but, where he really exploded, was in the PWG BOLA Tournament. His match against <strong>Dragon Gate<\/strong> star <strong>Flamita<\/strong> stole the show in night one. Is easy, Puma had the CMLL-fundamentals with a ferocity that can have incredible results in the indie scene.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Hechicero vs Puma  \u00a1\u00a1\u00a1 MANO A MANO !!!\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hSZyl8ZlU-U?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Now Puma is on the verge of breaking out. He debuted this Thursday on <strong>IMPACT Wrestling<\/strong> in a fatal four-way that opened tonight&#8217;s episode. Moreover, King will be in the WrestleMania weekend for the <strong>Wrestlecon<\/strong> show. Puma has gathered huge traction on the internet, with many mesmerized by his unique look and incredible ability. Watch out for the new Puma, the indie wrestling scene could become his jungle.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Catch Up on Previous Indie Watch Articles!<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/10\/11\/indie-watch-kevin-ku-punk-and-southern-wrestlings-not-dead\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Indie Watch: Kevin Ku<\/strong><\/a> (USA), October 11, 2018<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/10\/10\/indie-watch-the-filip-brothers\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Indie Watch: The Filip Brothers\u00a0<\/strong><\/a>(Australia), October 10, 2018<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/10\/09\/indie-watch-daga-the-technical-luchador\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Indie Watch: Daga<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>(Mexico), October 9, 2018<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/10\/05\/indie-watch-salina-de-la-renta\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Indie Watch: Salina de la Renta<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>(Puerto Rico), October 5, 2018<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/09\/29\/indie-watch-sheldon-jean\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Indie Watch: Sheldon Jean<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>(Canada), September 29, 2018<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/09\/25\/indie-watch-king-khash\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Indie Watch: King Khash<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>(USA\/Persia), September 25, 2018<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/09\/18\/indie-watch-bants-now-in-session-martina-the-session-moth\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Indie Watch: Martina \u2018The Session Moth\u2019\u00a0<\/strong><\/a>(Ireland), September 18, 2018<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/09\/09\/indie-watch-too-sick-for-this-world-zachary-wentz\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Indie Watch: Zachary Wentz\u00a0<\/a><\/strong>(USA), September 9, 2018<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/09\/04\/indie-watch-scotty-davis\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Indie Watch: Scotty Davis<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(Ireland), September 4, 2018<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/08\/21\/indie-watch-the-baddest-man-in-professional-wrestling-schaff\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Indie Watch:<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/08\/21\/indie-watch-the-baddest-man-in-professional-wrestling-schaff\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u00a0SCHAFF<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>(USA), August 21, 2018<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/08\/15\/bandido-luchador-mexico\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Indie Watch: Bandido<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(Mexico), August 15, 2018<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/08\/07\/indie-watch-aiden-prince-takes-flight-in-prince-city\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Indie Watch: Aiden Prince<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(Canada), August 7, 2018<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/05\/09\/the-business-slex-career-overview-videos\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Indie Watch: \u201cThe Business\u201d Slex<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>(Australia), May 9, 2018<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/05\/01\/robbie-eagles-career-overview-videos\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Indie Watch: Robbie Eagles<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>(Australia), May 1, 2018<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/04\/27\/prospect-watch-jordynne-grace\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Indie Watch: Jordynne Grace<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(USA), April 27, 2018<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/04\/13\/prospect-watch-d-l-hurst\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Indie Watch: D.L. Hurst<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(USA), April 13, 2018<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/01\/24\/prospect-watch-maine-state-posse\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Indie Watch: The Maine State Posse\u00a0<\/a><\/strong>(USA), January 24, 2018<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/01\/20\/prospect-watch-the-progress-women\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Indie Watch: The Women of PROGRESS<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(UK), January 20, 2018<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Indie Watch is our regular series that looks at all of the amazing talent working the independent circuits around the world. Some are veterans revitalizing their careers, some are indie prospects hitting their peaks, while others are names to be on the watch for! This edition looks at one of the new faces of lucha [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2085,"featured_media":28088,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6],"tags":[678,3436,676,2350,3281,1244,226,2346,1845,1807,2895,95,3074],"class_list":["post-27783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-north-america","tag-aaa","tag-bola-2018","tag-cmll","tag-dragon-gate","tag-elite-lucha-libre","tag-flamita","tag-impact-wrestling","tag-jake-atlas","tag-maxx-stardom","tag-negro-casas","tag-puma-king","tag-pwg","tag-tiger-kid"],"modified_by":"Jamie Greer","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2085"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27783"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27783\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}