Instead, it became the site of a tragedy that was broadcast to the world in real-time. A routine sequence, a miscalculation of inches, and a fatal whiplash effect resulted in the death of Perro Aguayo Jr. right in the center of the ring. The incident remains a harrowing case study in the fragility of life inside the squared circle, the chaos of emergency response in independent wrestling, and the profound guilt carried by those who survive.
The Prince of Lucha Libre
To understand the magnitude of the loss, one must appreciate the stature of Perro Aguayo Jr. In Mexico, his father, Perro Aguayo Sr., is a figure comparable to Hulk Hogan or Ric Flair. He was a brawler who defined the 1970s and 80s.
When his son entered the business at the age of 15, expectations were impossibly high. Yet, Aguayo Jr. exceeded them. He possessed his father’s toughness but added a modern athleticism and a natural charisma that captivated audiences. He founded Los Perros del Mal, a stable that transcended promotions, appearing in both CMLL and AAA. By 2015, he was 35 years old, in his physical prime, and arguably the biggest draw in Mexico.
His opponent that night, Rey Mysterio, was a longtime friend. They had come up together in the business. This match was not a grudge match; it was a homecoming for Mysterio and a showcase for Aguayo.
The Incident: The Dropkick and the Ropes
The match began with the fast-paced, high-flying action typical of the Lucha style. The crowd was raucous. Several minutes into the bout, the sequence that led to the tragedy unfolded.
Rey Mysterio executed a dropkick on Perro Aguayo Jr. The move was designed to set up Mysterio’s signature finisher, the “619.” The mechanics of the spot require the opponent to fall forward onto the middle rope, resting their neck on the cable so Mysterio can swing through the ropes and kick them in the face.
Aguayo took the dropkick to his shoulder/upper body. He stumbled forward. However, his positioning was slightly off. Instead of landing chest-first or neck-first in a controlled manner, his neck struck the edge of the ring ropes with a violent, snapping motion.
The ropes in wrestling rings are often steel cables wrapped in rubber or tape. They have very little give. The impact caused a severe whiplash effect. Aguayo’s body went limp immediately. He slumped to the bottom rope, his eyes open but unseeing.
The Confusion in the Ring
What followed was a terrifying display of the “show must go on” mentality colliding with a medical emergency. The other participants in the match did not immediately realize the severity of the injury.
Rey Mysterio hit the 619. However, seeing that Aguayo was unresponsive, he adjusted his trajectory to go over Aguayo, avoiding any contact with his head. The other wrestler, Manik (T.J. Perkins), and Xtreme Tiger continued to work the match around the fallen body.
Konnan, the legendary wrestler and booker who was at ringside as a second, was the first to realize something was fatally wrong. He approached Aguayo and began shaking him, trying to revive him. This action, while born of panic and concern, was later criticized by medical experts, as moving a patient with a potential spinal injury can exacerbate the damage.
The match continued for nearly two more minutes. Mysterio eventually pinned Manik to end the bout. The celebration was nonexistent. The focus had shifted entirely to the man slumped in the corner.
The Medical Response Controversy
The medical response at the Auditorio Municipal became a subject of intense scrutiny and legal investigation. Fans in the arena filmed the chaos on their phones, and the footage spread across the internet within minutes.
It appeared to take a significant amount of time for medical personnel to attend to Aguayo. When they did, the scene lacked the professional equipment expected at a major sporting event. There was no spinal board immediately available.
In a grim visual that shocked the world, Aguayo was eventually carried out of the arena on a piece of plywood that served as a makeshift stretcher. He was rushed to the Hospital del Prado in Tijuana, located just blocks away from the arena.
The promotion, The Crash, later explained that the designated stretchers were already in use in the back, attending to other wrestlers who had been injured in earlier matches. This explanation did little to quell the outrage regarding the lack of preparedness for a life-threatening injury.
The Cause of Death
At the hospital, doctors worked frantically to save Aguayo’s life. However, the damage was catastrophic. He was pronounced dead at approximately 1:00 AM on March 22, 2015.
The official cause of death was cardiac arrest due to a cervical stroke caused by three fractured vertebrae. Specifically, the C1, C2, and C3 vertebrae were fractured.
Dr. Ernesto Franco, the arena doctor, explained to the media that the injury was not a direct result of a blow, but rather the whiplash. The sudden snap of the neck against the ropes had severed or severely damaged the spinal cord, leading to immediate respiratory and cardiac failure. It was a freak accident. The dropkick from Mysterio was standard; the landing was just millimeters off.
The Aftermath for Rey Mysterio
The psychological toll on Rey Mysterio was immense. He had delivered the move that preceded the death of his friend. In the days following the incident, Mysterio received death threats from fans who did not understand the mechanics of wrestling and blamed him for “killing” Aguayo.
However, the Aguayo family immediately absolved Mysterio of any blame. At the funeral, Perro Aguayo Sr. and his wife embraced Mysterio, making it clear they viewed it as a tragic accident inherent to the risks of the sport.
In an interview with The Sun years later, Mysterio reflected on the trauma.
“I questioned myself. I questioned why I was even back in the ring. It was a very hard time for me to get back in and perform.”
Konnan, who was arguably the closest person to Aguayo in the business, was also devastated. He had been the one shaking Aguayo, trying to wake him up, a memory that he has stated haunts him.
The Investigation and Changes
The Baja California state prosecutor’s office opened an investigation into the death, treating it as potential manslaughter. They interviewed the wrestlers, the referee, and the medical staff.
The investigation focused heavily on the delay in medical attention. Dr. Ernesto Franco was questioned regarding why he was not at ringside the moment the injury occurred (he was attending to another wrestler). Ultimately, the authorities ruled the death an accident, and no criminal charges were filed against any of the performers or the promoter.
The tragedy did, however, lead to changes in Lucha Libre regulation. The Tijuana Boxing and Wrestling Commission implemented stricter rules regarding medical equipment availability. Promotions were mandated to have paramedics at ringside for every match, not just in the backstage area. The use of the plywood board was cited as a failure that could never be repeated.
The Funeral and the Retirement
The funeral of Perro Aguayo Jr. in Guadalajara was a massive, emotional event. Thousands of fans lined the streets to pay their respects. The wrestling community turned out in force.
The tragedy also marked the end of Perro Aguayo Sr.’s public life. The legend, already retired from the ring, was heartbroken by the loss of his son. He withdrew into privacy, rarely appearing at wrestling events again until his own death in 2019. The dynasty had been broken.
Legacy of the Leader
Today, the legacy of El Hijo del Perro Aguayo is complex. He is remembered as one of the greatest rudos of his generation, a man who revitalized the villain archetype in Mexico. His faction, Los Perros del Mal, remains iconic, and their t-shirts are still worn by fans in arenas across the country.
However, his death also serves as a permanent warning about the dangers of the industry. It debunked the myth that “fake” wrestling is safe. It showed that a routine move, performed thousands of times without incident, can turn fatal in a split second if the geometry is slightly off.
The image of Perro Aguayo Jr. slumped on the ropes, while the match continued around him, is one of the most chilling visuals in the history of the sport. It changed the way referees and wrestlers react to unresponsiveness. The “work” stops immediately now when a head injury is suspected. That protocol, paid for in blood on a night in Tijuana, is perhaps the most enduring legacy of the leader of the Dogs of Evil.
