Black Skeller
| Black Skeller | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Veteran Juárez wrestler. In 2018, Black Skeller got fame due to a viral video shared through social media in which he is seen giving a chair shot to La Enigmática, a valet with poor wrestling training during a show in Arena El Mezquital. Days later, Juárez wrestling commissioner Sirenita announced they had stripped Black Skeller from his wrestling license in order to comply with local wrestling's statutes. In reply, Skeller declared his intention to continue wrestling elsewhere, looking to attend bookings in Mexico City.
Juarez luchador Black Skeller (Jorge Renato Chavez, 55) passed away on Monday. Skeller was a long-time local wrestler with two sons who wrestled. If you know the name outside of Juarez, you probably know it from a July 2018 viral video. I rewatched to remember the details. La Engimatica, who was not licensed as a wrestler and may not have been fully trained, was working apparently as a US-style valet outside the ring for a match with her father, El Enigmatico. Skeller’s beating her up as the video starts. She’s selling (or trying to sell with no experience in doing so), but Skeller’s attack goes far beyond what you’d expect from an outside person, or even someone who was actually in the match. It sure seemed like there was more going on there – maybe they had some other incident we didn’t see, maybe he was upset about her lack of selling, maybe he wasn’t of sound mind – because it was already strange. One of the other wrestlers does seem to step in at one point, but isn’t able to diffuse that situation. At one point, Skeller walks off camera, Engimatica gets back up to her feet, and then Skeller returns on camera and cracks her in the head with a chair. Enigmatica goes down, doesn’t move, then starts to convulse. People – they appear to be fans who were just at the show, not promotion employee medical personnel – noticed the situation and rushed to her aid at that point. Black Skeller had walked away after the chair shot, then returned after people started to huddle around La Enigmatica. Everyone seemed, with good reason, concerned Skeller might attack her again, and the wrestlers made a much stronger effort to get him away. The video ends there.
La Enigmatica was hospitalized for several days following the incident. The Juarez commission “retired” Black Skeller’s license, as well as suspending La Engimatica’s father’s wrestling license, on the belief that he brought an untrained person ringside. That action didn’t prevent it from being a terrible moment for lucha libre, showcasing indie wrestling’s tendency to lean in to horrible incidents. Black Skeller had a lot of friends and supporters in Juarez, though, and apparently told people it was all just a work. The viral infamy – he picked up the nickname “el Rey del Silla” – caused a brief turf war over which local promotion was using him anyway, and got him briefly booked outside of Juarez. It also led to a weird match where luchadora Zafiro – who had raised money for La Enigamitca – wrestled and defeated Black Skeller to avenge her in a odd match. The incident helped Black Skeller in the short term, but it was also the end of his career. There’s a Black Skeller who’s wrestled in recent years, but I believe it’s one of his sons – Black Skeller Jr. and Hijo del Black Skeller. The original Black Skeller had a few more matches in 2018, then appears to be done by 2020. It took a moment, but Black Skeller’s career eventually ended after that incident. The people in Juarez seem to remember him as a tough guy and respected wrestler, someone who would open his home to traveling wrestlers. That incident is how most outside of Juarez will know him.
Gallery
 |
Videos
