Gran Markus, Jr.

Cándido Robles Cruz (August 14, 1953) is a retired Mexican Luchador, or professional wrestler . Cruz is best known under the ring name Gran Markus, Jr. and for his work in the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). Cruz originally worked under the name "Tony Benetto" but in the late 1980s he changed to being an enmascarado, or masked wrestler, taking the name Gran Markus, Jr. Cruz is not related to wrestler Gran Markus, it is a storyline relationship. Cruz has both teamed with and fought against the original Gran Markus. Cruz lost the "Gran Markus, Jr." mask on June 29, 1997 when he lost a Luchas de Apuesta match, or "bet match" to Mil Máscaras.
==Professional wrestling career==
Cándido Robles made his professional wrestling debut in 1977, adopting the ring name Tony Benetto upon his debut. As Benetto he initially wrestled on the independent circuit before signing with Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL), Mexico's largest and the world's oldest wrestling promotion. On January 16, 1980 Benetto won his first championship when he defeated El Halcón to win the Mexican National Heavyweight Championship. His first reign with the title lasted until July 26, 1980 when he lost to rising newcomer Cien Caras. Over the next couple of years Benetto would team with Rayo de Jalisco, Sr., defeating Sangre Chicana and Cien Caras to win the Mexican National Tag Team Championship on October 28, 1985. The duo held on to the championship until April 16, 1986 where they lost to Los Hermanos Dinamita (Cien Caras and his brother Máscara Año 2000).
In 1987 Robles abandoned the "Tony Benetto" character in favor of an enmascarado, or masked character, called "Gran Markus, Jr.". A character that, in storyline terms, was being presented as the son of Gran Markus, even if they were not actually related. Robles began wrestling under the white mask that had been Gran Markus' trademark for years, reinvigorating his professional wrestling career. On December 17, 1987 he became a two time Mexican National Heavyweight Champion, although it was not officially recognized as such at the time since there was no connection between the "Tony Benetto" character and Gran Markus, Jr. The second reign ended on August 7, 1988 when he was defeated for the title by Alfonso Dantés. In 1989 Gran Markus, Jr. began a storyline with the original Gran Markus, through which it was revealed that he was not actually the son of Gran Markus. During the storyline Gran Markus, Jr. defeated Gran Markus in a Luchas de Apuesta, or bet match, where Gran Markus ended up shaved bald after the match. n July 9, 1990 Gran Markus, Jr. won his third Mexican National Heavyweight Championship, defeating Popitekus for the belt. This third and final reign lasted three months before he lost the belt to Rayo de Jalisco, Jr., son of his former tag team partner. In the early-1990s Gran Markus, Jr. El Hijo del Gladiador and Dr. Wagner, Jr. formed a team called La Ola Blanca ("the White Wave"), named after the original La Ola Blanca that consisted of Dr. Wagner, Jr.'s father Dr. Wagner and Ángel Blanco. The trio defeated Los Brazos ("The Arms"; El Brazo, Brazo de Oro and Brazo de Plata) on April 22, 1994 to win the CMLL World Trios Championship. La Ola Blanca held the titles for almost a year, until March 31, 1995 when they were defeated by Los Cachales ("The Jackals"; Bestia Salvaje, Emilio Charles, Jr. and Sangre Chicana). The following year Gran Markus, Jr. and Hijo del Gladiador defeated Atlantis and Rayo de Jalisco, Jr. to win the CMLL World Tag Team Championship on behalf of La Ola Blanca. Their reign with the tag team belts only lasted for a month as Atlantis and Lizmark won the belts on October 18, 1996. In the late 1990s La Ola Blanca disintegrated, helped along by Gran Markus, Jr. losing his white mask in a Lucha de Apuesta match against Mil Máscaras on June 29, 1997. Following the mask loss Gran Markus, Jr. worked a feud against Los Brazos, defeating Brazo de Oro in a Lucha de Apuesta, hair vs. hair match, but ended up losing his own hair to Brazo de Plata on May 29, 1998. In the years that followed Gran Markus, Jr.'s career slowed down, working less dates and usually in smaller venues. During the early part of the 2000s Gran Markus, Jr. lost Luchas de Apuesta matches against Atlantis, Rayo de Jalisco, Jr., La Parka and Pierroth, Jr., having his hair shaved off each time.
==In wrestling==
*Finishing moves
:*Big Splash
:*Sitdown splash
*Signature moves
:*Avalanche Splash
==Championships and accomplishments==
*Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
:*CMLL World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with El Hijo del Gladiador
:*CMLL World Trios Championship (1 time) – with El Hijo del Gladiador and Dr. Wagner Jr.
:*Mexican National Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
:*Mexican National Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Rayo de Jalisco, Jr.
*Comisión de Box y Lucha Libre Mexico D.F.
:*Distrito Federal Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
===Lucha de Apuesta record===
Wager	Winner 	Loser 	Location 	Date 	Notes
Hair 	José Torres 	Tony Benetto 	Monterrey, Nuevo León 	Unknown	 
Hair 	Satánico 	Tony Benetto 	Unknown 	Unknown	 
Hair 	El Faraón and Ringo Mendoza 	Tony Benetto and Herodes 	Mexico City, Mexico 	 	 
Hair 	Halcón Ortiz 	Tony Benetto 	Mexico City, Mexico 	 	 
Hair 	Ringo Mendoza, César Curiel and Rey Salomón	Tony Benetto, Herodes and Adorable Rubi	Mexico City, Mexico 	 	 
Hair 	Halcón Ortiz 	Tony Benetto 	Mexico City, Mexico 	 	 
Hair 	Ringo Mendoza 	Tony Benetto 	Mexico City, Mexico 	 	 
Hair 	Gran Markus, Jr. 	Gran Markus 	Monterrey, Nuevo León 	 	
Mask 	Mil Máscaras 	Gran Markus, Jr. 	Naucalpan, Mexico State 	 	Match also included Tinieblas
Hair 	Gran Markus, Jr. 	Brazo de Oro 	Mexico City, Mexico 	 	
Hair 	Brazo de Plata 	Gran Markus, Jr. 	Mexico City, Mexico 	 	
Hair 	Atlantis 	Gran Markus, Jr. 	Guadalajara, Jalisco 	 	
Hair 	Rayo de Jalisco Jr. 	Gran Markus, Jr. 	Guadalajara, Jalisco 	 	
Hair 	La Parka 	Gran Markus, Jr. 	Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas	 	
Mask 	Gran Markus, Jr. 	Veneno 	Mexico City, Mexico 	 	
Hair 	Gran Markus, Jr. 	Veneno 	Mexico City, Mexico 	 	
Hair 	Pierroth, Jr. 	Gran Markus, Jr. 	Mexico City, Mexico 	 	
Hair 	Loco Zandokan II 	Gran Markus, Jr. 	Guadalajara, Jalisco 	 	 
==External links==
* Profile
* Profile
* Profile
Category:Mexican wrestlers
Category:1953 births
Category:1977 debuts
Category:2012 retirements
Category:Alianza Universal De Lucha Libre alumni
Category:Asistencia Asesoría y Administración alumni
Category:Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre alumni
Category:Extreme Air Wrestling alumni
Category:International Wrestling League alumni
Category:International Wrestling Revolution Group alumni
Category:Los Perros Del Mal alumni
Category:Toryumon Mexico alumni
Category:Universal Wrestling Association alumni
Category:Wrestle Association-R alumni
Category:Living people
Category:Male wrestlers