Cesar Caballero (born November 25, 1977) is a Mexican luchadorenmascarado, or masked professional wrestler. Working under the ring nameOficial Factor, he appears for the Mexican professional wrestling promotionInternational Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG). Caballero previously worked under a number of other ring names including Mega, but they are not officially acknowledged, as the enmascarado character is promoted as a separate entity from his previous characters, which is often the case when a Mexican wrestler adopts a new masked character.[1]
Professional wrestling career
In Lucha Libre it is traditional to keep the true identify of a masked wrestler a secret, not revealing their real names and oftentimes not revealing what previous ring names they have competed under.[1] Caballero worked as "Mega" from 2000 taking the role from Último Gladiador.
In 2001 International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG) formed a new "trio" known as Los Megas, taking three of their regular competitors, putting them together with a character based on the Mega character. Último Vampiro was turned into Super Mega and a wrestler known as El Milionario became known as Ultra Mega. Los Megas portrayed a kid-friendly técnico (good guys) silver-and-black-clad group.[2][3]Los Megas defeated Los Oficiales (Guardia, Oficial and Vigilante) on August 2, 2001, to win the Distrito Federal Trios Championship, starting off a 161-day-long title reign.[4] The trio was defeated for the title by Dr. Cerebro, Cirujano, and Paramedico on January 10, 2002. Only a month later Mega and Ultra Mega defeated Fantasy and Star Boy to win the IWRG Intercontinental Tag Team Championship. They team held the title for 73 days until losing to MAZADA and NOZAWA.[5] Super Mega was later replaced with Omega to keep Los Megas a trio. Mega, Ultra Mega, and Omega teamed up to win the Distrito Federal Trios Championship at some point in 2002 and held the title until December 12, 2003, where they were defeated by Dr. Markus Jr., Dr. Muerte, and Enfermero Jr.. 2003 also saw Mega, Ultra Mega, and Omega win the IWRG Intercontinental Trios Championship from Nosawa, Takemura and Masada on June 5, 2003.[6] Mega and Ultra Mega also held the IWRG Tag Team Championship for almost a year between 2003 and 2004, winning the titles from Fantasy and Star Boy and losing them to Dr. Cerebro and Bombero Infernal.[7] In 2003 IWRG introduced a group designed to be the "archenemy" of Los Megas in the form of Los Comandos (Comando Mega, Comando Gama, and Comando Omega), who were dark and destructive to counter Los Megas' bright, kid-friendly personas.[8] The group feuded for the better part of a year. The storyline between the two factions saw Mega and Ultra Mega defeat Comando Mega and Comando Gama in a Lucha de Apuesta, mask vs. mask match on June 6, 2004.[8] Following the end of the feud with the Comandos, Los Megas began to fade away. At the 2004 Castillo del Terrorsteel cage match Mega lost to Black Dragon and was forced to unmask and reveal his birth name. It has not been documented what Caballero did between 2004 and 2012, he may have wrestled under a different mask maybe even retired for a period of time.
In late 2011 Oficial Spartan and Oficial Rayan formed Los Oficiales Elite, a group created to rival Los Oficiales (Oficial 911, Oficial AK-47, and Oficial Fierro).[9] In early 2012 Los Oficiales Elite became a trio with the introduction of Oficial Factor to the team. Factor was the returning Caballero under a new mask and ring character.[10] On March 18, 2012, Los Oficiales Elite defeated Los Gringos VIP (Apolo Estrada, Jr., Avisman and El Hijo del Diablo) to win the Distrito Federal Trios Championship, a title that is only sanctioned in Mexico City.[11] The Oficiales vs Oficiales Elite feud led to all six competitors putting their masks on the line in a steel cage match as the main event of the 2012 Guerra del Golfo show. During the show Oficial Factor and 911 both lost a steel cage match, which meant that the two were supposed to face off in the final match; as a show of unity, their respective partners all joined them in the steel cage, making it a six-way match instead. The match came down to Oficial Factor and Oficial AK-47 with Factor gaining the important victory, forcing AK-47 to have his hair shaved off as a result.[12] The feud between the two factions continued throughout 2012 with several highlights, including Oficial Factor winning the 2012 Rey del Ring tournament, defeating 29 other wrestlers including members of Los Oficiales.[13] On July 26, 2012, Los Oficiales ended Oficiales Elite's reign as Distrito Federal Trios Championship after 129 days.[14] In late 2012 the individual members of Los Oficiales Elite began focusing on individual storylines instead of the overall "Oficiales vs. Oficiales" storyline. Factor became involved in a storyline with El Hijo de Pirata Morgan, which saw Factor win the IWRG Junior de Juniors Championship from Hijo de Pirata, as well as lose and regain the Rey del Ring Championship.[15][16] In November 2012 it was announced that Oficial Factor, Hijo de Pirata Morgan, Oficial 911, and Hijo de Máscara Año 2000 had all agreed to risk their masks in a Prison Fatal steel cage match on December 2, 2012. The last person in the steel cage would be forced to unmask.[17] The Prison Fatal match came down to Factor and Oficial 911 after the other two competitors escaped the cage. At one point all Oficiales and Oficiales Elite were actually in the cage, but in the end 911 managed to escape, forcing Factor to unmask.[18] After unmasking he gave his name as Cesar Caballero, the same name he gave when he lost the "Mega" mask in 2004.[3] On January 1, 2013, Factor defeated El Hijo de Pirata Morgan to regain the IWRG Junior de Juniors Championship.[19] On May 16 Carta Brava, Jr. defeated Factor to win the Junior de Juniors Championship.[20]
^Steel cage match originally contested between Oficial 911 and Oficial Factor. Oficial AK-47, Oficial Fierro, Oficial Rayan and Oficial Spartans all entered the cage to interfere in the match.
^Steel cage match, which originally also included Hijo de Pirata Morgan and Hijo de Máscara Año 2000. Oficial AK-47, Oficial Fierro, Oficial Rayan and Oficial Spartans all entered the cage to interfere in the match.
References
^ abMadigan, Dan (2007). "Okay... what is Lucha Libre?". Mondo Lucha A Go-Go: the bizarre & honorable world of wild Mexican wrestling. HarperCollins Publishers. pp. 29–40. ISBN978-0-06-085583-3.
^"Enciclopedia de las Mascaras". Ultra Mega (in Spanish). Mexico City, Mexico. November 2007. p. 47. Tomo V.
^ abcdefgh"Enciclopedia de las Mascaras". Mega (in Spanish). Mexico City, Mexico. October 2007. p. 31. Tomo III.
^ ab"2001: Los Campeones". Box y Lucha Magazine (in Spanish). January 13, 2002. pp. 15–17. issue 2540.
^ abc"2000 Especial!". Box y Lucha Magazine (in Spanish). January 9, 2001. pp. 2–20. issue 2488.
^ abc"2002: considerar detrás". Box y Lucha Magazine (in Spanish). January 19, 2003. issue 2593.
^"Número Especial – Lo mejor de la lucha libre mexicana durante el 2004". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). January 24, 2005. issue 91.
^ abc"Enciclopedia de las Mascaras". Comando Mega (in Spanish). Mexico City, Mexico. August 2007. p. 56. Tomo I.
