Místico

Místico in March 2023

###

Mexico City, Mexican Federal District, Mexico

**Luis Ignacio Urive Alvirde** (born December 22, 1982) is a Mexican *luchador enmascarado*, or masked professional wrestler best known under the ring names **Místico** and **Carístico****,** where since 2006 he was the main técnico (face/storyline hero) in CMLL and the biggest box office draw in all of Mexico. Místico is Spanish for "Mystic", a religious ring character who is the storyline protégé of the wrestling priest Fray Tormenta. Místico left AAA in October 2015, after which he adopted the new ring name Carístico. On August 25, 2021, Urive would regain his old ring name Místico back after his tag team partner and the second person to that was wrestling under his old ring name Carlos Muñoz left CMLL in the same day.

Urive is the son of Manuel Almanza, who wrestled under the ring name "Dr. Karonte", the brother of wrestlers Astro Boy, Argos, Argenis and Mini Murder Clown, the cousin of wrestler Magnus and the nephew of CMLL booker Tony Salazar.

## Professional wrestling career

### Training and early career (1998–2003)

Urive was trained for his professional wrestling debut by his father and his uncle Tony Salazar who is a retired wrestler that works as a booker for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, Mexico's oldest and largest wrestling promotion. Místico made his debut on April 30, 1998 working as "Dr. Karonte, Jr." at the age of 15. In 2000 he changed his ring name to "Astro Boy" in honor of his older brother who had died months earlier, who had worked as the original Astro Boy. Later on he was joined by another brother who worked as "Astro Boy II" to form a tag team. In 2003 Místico travelled to Japan to work for Michinoku Pro where he was billed as "Komachi", a ring persona he took over from fellow luchador Volador Jr. who had played the part for about a year.

### New Japan Pro Wrestling (2009–2011)

On January 4, 2009, Místico made his debut for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) at Wrestle Kingdom III in Tokyo Dome. Místico wrestled in the opening match, teaming with Prince Devitt and Ryusuke Taguchi to defeat Averno, Gedo and Jado when Místico made Averno submit using his trademark move "La Mística". After the match, Místico said he would like to return to NJPW and challenge for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. On February 15, 2009, Místico successfully defended his CMLL Welterweight Championship against Mephisto on a NJPW show in Sumo Hall, Tokyo. Místico injured his knee during the match, although he was back in action by the end of the week. Místico, Misterioso Jr., and Okumura were scheduled to work for NJPW in early May but the tour was cancelled due to the outbreak of the Swine flu pandemic.

In August 2009 Místico completed his third tour with NJPW, accompanied by Okumura. On August 13, Místico teamed up with Tiger Mask to defeat Okumura and Tomohiro Ishii. Two days later, Místico defeated Tiger Mask to become the new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion. Upon his return to Mexico, Místico teamed with Tiger Mask and Shocker as they defeated Último Guerrero, Atlantis, and Arkangel at *Dragomania IV*. Místico had his first successful IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship defense on September 29, defeating Jushin Thunder Liger. On November 8 at NJPW's Destruction '09 show Mistíco lost the IWGP title back to Tiger Mask. Místico returned to Japan in January 2011, taking part in the CMLL and New Japan Pro Wrestling co–promoted *Fantastica Mania 2011* shows. On the first show on January 22 Místico teamed with IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi and IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Prince Devitt in a six-man tag team match, in which they were defeated by Averno, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Tetsuya Naito, when Averno pinned Místico. At the second show the following day, Místico defeated Averno in his final match for CMLL.

### Return to Japan (2016–2020)

On August 21, 2016, Carístico returned to NJPW, teaming with Titán and Volador Jr. in a six-man tag team match, where they defeated Euforia, Gran Guerrero and Último Guerrero. On September 16, Carístico returned to Michinoku Pro, entering the 2016 Fukumen World League and defeating Samba Rio de Janeiro in his first round match. Three days later, Carístico defeated Revolucion in the finals to win the tournament. Over the next three days, Carístico defeated Jackie Lin, SUGI and finally Revolución to win the tournament and force Revolución to unmask.

## Other media

Capitalizing on Místico's popularity, CMLL created a comic book starring Místico as an urban hero. The comic reached its 50th issue in December 2007.
Místico starred in a music video for the song "Me Muero" by the Spanish pop group La 5ª Estación and in two music videos for Banda Pequeños Musical.
In 2009, he starred in a commercial endorsing the PAN (National Action Party) political party in Mexico.

Urive, as Sin Cara, appears as a playable character in the video games *WWE '12*, *WWE '13* and *WWE 2K14*.

## Wrestling style, persona, and reception

Early in his career Urive began to stand out from other lower ranked wrestlers because of the speed that he was able to execute various high flying *lucha libre* moves and dives both in and out of the ring. Pro Wrestling Illustrated noted that his *La Mística* finishing move was often executed so fast that his opponents did not have time to react until it was locked in. *La Mística* is, in reality, a series of moves used by many wrestlers over the years, but Urive's combination of the spinning Tilt-a-whirl headscissors takedown transitioned into a single arm DDT that brings his opponent to the mat, allowing him to instantly switch the move into a Fujiwara armbar, normally on the opponent's left arm, that would force his opponent to submit. The "La Mística" move became so synonymous with the Místico character that Urive's successor also adopted it as his finishing move. Urive would on occasion use the move while working as Sin Cara and made it his main finishing move after returning to Mexico. Working as Sin Cara he primarily used a Moonsault side slam and a Senton bomb as his finishing moves. Both finishing moves are executed off the top rope, for the Moonsault side slam an opponent was thrown off the top rope with Urive landing on top of the opponent while the Senton sees Urive leap off the top rope onto a prone opponent.

In 2006 and 2007, the readers of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter voted him the "Best Flying Wrestler" category based on his in-ring performance in Mexico. However, his reputation as a wrestler in Mexico contrasted with his work in WWE. While he was considered a huge deal when he signed with WWE, he developed a reputation of being prone to not being able to execute some of the high-risk/high-flying moves, labeling the problems as "botching" the moves. The reputation followed him for the entire three years of his WWE career. Former WWE producer Arn Anderson stated that "this guy didn’t show me anything. Not a damn thing. He had a bad attitude." Rey Mysterio said during an interview that Urive didn't "have the desire" to be in WWE. Jorge Arriaga, who took the Sin Cara character when Urive was fired, said that "[the original Sin Cara] is the biggest signing that he [Triple H] had from Mexico. He comes in, he doesn't do anything".

Throughout his career, Urive has primarily portrayed a *técnico* (those that portray the good guys in wrestling) character, with brief periods of time where he played a more ambiguous character who straddled the *técnico*/*rudo* divide. When introduced as Místico in 2004 CMLL created an elaborate fictional backstory, where Místico was an orphan who was taught to wrestle by Fray Tormenta, a wrestling priest who also acted as his *Padrino* ("Godfather") early on. As part of the religious backstory Místico would often pose with his hands put together in a "praying" motion as well as adorning his tights with crucifix like patterns. Early in his career he wore mainly white trunks and masks with either silver or gold adornment, earning him the nickname "*El Príncipe de Plata y Oro*" ("The Prince of Silver and Gold). The Místico mask only has eye holes, totally covering the nose, mouth, and ears, a design that was replicated in the masks Urive wore or wear as Sin Cara, Myzteziz and Carístico with variations on the design that adorns the mask. The Carístico mask retains the same basic design as the Místico but with an added crucifix on the forehead and sweeping wing design around the eye openings.

## In wrestling

* **Finishing moves**
	+ *La Mística* (Tilt-a-whirl headscissors transitioned into a single arm DDT or facebuster, sometimes floated over into a Fujiwara armbar)
* **Signature moves**
	+ Asai DDT
	+ Corkscrew plancha
	+ Diving crossbody
	+ Handspring back elbow
	+ Hurricanrana, sometimes while springboarding
	+ Multiple arm drag variations
		- Japanese
		- Springboard
		- Tilt-a-whirl
		- Top rope, sometimes preceded by a tilt-a-whirl headscissors takedown
	+ Multiple kick variations
		- Back heel
		- Drop, sometimes from the top rope
		- Enzuigiri from the ring apron
		- Super
		- Tiger feint
	+ Springboard moonsault, sometimes while diving
	+ Suicide dive
	+ Tornado DDT, sometimes while standing
* **Entrance themes**
	+ "Ameno" by Era

## Championships and accomplishments

* **Michinoku Pro Wrestling**
	+ Fukumen World League (2016)
	+ Michinoku Trios League (2003) – with HAYATE and Yamabiko
* **New Japan Pro Wrestling**
	+ IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
* **Pro Wrestling Illustrated**
	+ PWI ranked him #**3** of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2007
* **Wrestling Observer Newsletter**
	+ Best Box Office Draw (2006)
	+ Best Box Office Draw of the Decade (2000–2009)
	+ Best Flying Wrestler (2006–2007)
	+ Wrestler of the Year (2006)

## References

1. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Caristico`
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Online World of Wrestling. Sin Cara . Retrieved on 2011-02-24.
3. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `WWE release`
4. ↑ Caldwell, James 2014-01-31. Newswire: Original Sin Cara joins new promotion, new DDP video for "FTB" tour, Punk in WWE newspaper ad, Cartoon Network/WWE, Orton inspires comic book cover? . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2014-01-31.
5. ↑ Sin Cara está fuera de WWE  (in Spanish). *MedioTiempo* (2014-01-24). Retrieved on 2014-01-24.
6. ↑ "Número Especial - Lo mejr de la lucha ilbre mexicana durante el 2003". *SuperLuchas*Spanish. January 5, 2003. Issue 40.
7. ↑ Amador, Cristina 2009-02-13. Místico viajó de nuevo a Japón  (in Spanish). Univision.com. Archived from the original on 2009-08-16. Retrieved on 2009-08-16.
8. ↑ (Results) New Japan, 2/15/09 . Strong Style Spirit (2009-02-15). Retrieved on 2009-08-16.
9. ↑ "Lo Mejor de la Lucha Libre Mexicana 2009". *SuperLuchas*Spanish. January 8, 2010. 348.
10. ↑ Ocampo, Jorge 2009-04-28. Mistico, Misterioso II y Okumura no podrán estar en Japón para las funciones de NJPW  (in Spanish). *SuperLuchas*. Retrieved on 2009-08-16.
11. ↑ Resultados NJPW (13 de Agosto) – Místico hace equipo con Tiger Mask  (in Spanish). *SuperLuchas* (2009-08-13). Retrieved on 2009-08-16.
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Ocampo, Jorge 2009-08-15. Místico vence a Tiger Mask IV y obtiene el cinturón IWGP Jr.  (in Spanish). *SuperLuchas*. Retrieved on 2009-08-16.
13. ↑ http://estrellasdelring.blogspot.com/2009/08/resultados-dragonmania-iv.html
14. ↑ Oculto, Rostro 2009-09-29. CMLL- Místico retiene el Campeonato Completo Jr. IWGP ante Jushin "Thunder" Liger en Puebla  (in Spanish). *SuperLuchas*. Retrieved on 2009-09-29.
15. ↑ Resultados NJPW Destruction – Tiger Mask vence a Místico – Team 3D y Nakamura retienen  (in Spanish). *SuperLuchas* (2009-11-08). Retrieved on 2009-11-08.
16. ↑ Flores, Manuel 2011-01-22. Resultados "Fantasticamanía" – CMLL/NJPW en Japón – Los mexicanos perdieron todos los duelos por campeonatos  (in Spanish). *SuperLuchas*. Retrieved on 2011-01-30.
17. ↑ Zayfren 2011-01-23. Resultados NJPW Presents CMLL Fantastica Mania 2011, 23 de enero.  (in Spanish). *SuperLuchas*. Retrieved on 2011-01-30.
18. ↑ Boutwell, Josh 2011-02-11. Viva La Raza! Lucha Weekly . WrestleView. Retrieved on 2011-02-11.
19. ↑ Super J-Cup 2016  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2016-08-21.
20. ↑ *ja:カリスティコ（初代ミスティコ）がみちのくのリングに凱旋！4年前の不祥事で活動を休止していたSugiが復活！* (in Japanese). *Battle News* (2016-09-17). Retrieved on 2016-09-17.
21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Michinoku Pro 6th Fukumen World League - Tag 4 . *Cagematch*. Retrieved on 2016-09-19.
22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 "Pro Wrestling Illustrated 500 – 2008: 17 Mistico". *Pro Wrestling Illustrated*. Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, United States: Sports and Entertainment publications LLC. August 2008. p. 50. October 2008.
23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Verano2014`
24. ↑ Salazar López, Alexis A. 2013-06-17. Resultados Arena México Domingo 16 de Junio '13  [Arena Mexico Results, Sunday June 16, 13] (in es). *Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre*.
25. ↑ Salazar López, Alexis A. 2013-09-14. Resultados Arena México Viernes 13 de Septiembre '13  [Arena Mexico Results, Friday September 13, 13] (in es). *Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre*.
26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Parks, Greg 2011-05-06. Parks' WWE SmackDown report 5/6: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of the show, including Christian's Championship Celebration . Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved on 2011-05-07.
27. ↑ Caldwell, James 2012-09-03. Caldwell's WWE Raw results 9/3: Ongoing "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw – Punk returns home, Anger Management . Pro Wrestling Torch.
28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 28.3 Meltzer, Dave (January 22, 2007), "2006 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards", *Wrestling Observer Newsletter* (Campbell, CA): 1–12, ISSN 1083-9593{{#if:| Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; name "WON2006" defined multiple times with different content
29. ↑ https://en.superluchas.com/la-contratacion-de-mistico-puede-ser-la-mas-importante-en-la-historia-de-wwe/
30. ↑ Johnson, Kyle 2015-12-03. WWE can make La Sombra a top star if they want to learn from past mistakes . *Figure 4 Wrestling Observer Online*.
31. ↑ https://westwoodonepodcasts.com/pods/arn/
32. ↑ https://www.mediotiempo.com/lucha-libre/wwe/le-faltaron-ganas-a-sin-cara-rey-mysterio
33. ↑ https://superluchas.com/caristico-antes-sin-cara-triple-h-me-enterro-en-wwe/
34. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Jan22`
35. ↑ Ocampo, Jorge 2007-09-24. Infierno en el ring, 74 aniversario de la arena mexico  [Inferno in the Ring, the 74th anniversary of Arena Mexico] (in es). *Súper Luchas*.
36. ↑ Carístico, dispuesto a apostar su Máscara contra Místico  [Carístico, willing to bet his mask against Místico] (in es). *Record* (2018-04-11).
37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 37.2 37.3 37.4 37.5 37.6 37.7 37.8 Trionfo, Richard. WWE Main Event Report: Shield vs. Usos and Henry; Divas in Action; Sin Cara Versus Curtis Axel With Paul Heyman's Commentaty in a New Light . PWInsider. Retrieved on 2014-08-09.
38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 38.2 Mistico Profile . CageMatch. Retrieved on 2011-02-24.
39. ↑ Tedesco, Mike 2011-05-13. Smackdown Results – 5/13/11 . WrestleView. Retrieved on 2011-07-01.
40. ↑ Tedesco, Mike 2011-04-11. Raw Results – 4/11/11 . WrestleView. Retrieved on 2011-07-01.
41. ↑ Parks, Greg 2011-06-24. Parks' WWE SmackDown report 6/24: Ongoing "virtual time" coverage of the show, including Barrett vs. Jackson for the Intercontinental Championship . Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved on 2011-07-01.
42. ↑ Trionfo, Richard. WWE Main Evemt Report: Miz and Sandow Have Wawm Up Matches For Payback; Barrett on Commentary; The Rise of The Usos Continues?; and More . PWInsider.
43. ↑ Tait, James 2011-06-11. Tait's WWE SmackDown report 6/10: Alt. perspective review of Friday's show, Tait Reax & Smackdown break down . Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved on 2012-08-15.
44. ↑ Tedesco, Mike 2011-09-10. Smackdown Results – 9/9/11 . WrestleView. Retrieved on 2012-08-15.
45. ↑ James, Justin 2012-07-26. James's WWE Superstars report 7/26: Ryder in main event, Sin Cara finds opponent with good chemistry, Gabriel & Kidd . Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved on 2012-08-13.
46. ↑ Caldwell, James 2012-08-13. Caldwell's WWE Raw results 8/13: Ongoing "virtual-time" coverage of live Raw – Brock-Hunter contract signing, Punk vs. Show, final Summerslam hype . Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved on 2012-08-13.
47. ↑ James, Justin 2012-07-19. James's WWE Superstars report 7/19: Sin Cara vs. McIntyre main event, U.S. champ in action, Cody Rhodes, more . Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved on 2012-08-13.
48. ↑ Valdés, Apolo 2014-02-22. Apareció una 'cara mística' en AAA  (in Spanish). *MedioTiempo*. Retrieved on 2014-02-22.
49. ↑ Trios League 2003 . Pro Wrestling History.
50. ↑ Pro Wrestling Illustrated Top 500–2007 . *Pro Wrestling Illustrated*. Wrestling Information Archive. Retrieved on 2010-03-28.
51. ↑ Beltrán, William 2010-08-03. Según el Wrestling Observer... ¿Quiénes son los mejores los mejores de la década?  (in Spanish). *SuperLuchas*. Retrieved on 2010-08-05.