Silver King

###

Torreón, Coahuila, Mexico

###

Camden Town, London, England

**César Cuauhtémoc González Barrón** (born January 9, 1968) was a Luchador Enmascarado (masked wrestler) and actor. He was known best as **Silver King**, but also had an extensive stint as **Black Tiger III**, the third incarnation of the Black Tiger character. He is the son of luchador Dr. Wagner and the brother of Dr. Wagner, Jr. González worked for many years with El Texano as the tag team "Los Cowboys" winning tag team championships in both Mexico and Japan. Silver King has worked for the Universal Wrestling Association (UWA), Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) and various smaller federations all over the world. González also starred as the villain "Ramses" in the movie *Nacho Libre*, starring Jack Black. In June 2010, González began using the ring name **Silver Cain/Kain** when wrestling in Mexico City as a way to be able to officially be allowed to wear his mask again.

## Professional wrestling career

César González grew up in wrestling; his father Dr. Wagner was a well known Luchador from the 1960s until a car accident ended his wrestling career in 1986. Both César González and his brother (real name undocumented) Dr. Wagner, Jr. began wrestling at an early age. César made his debut in November 1986 and initially used the name El Invasor (Spanish for "the Invader"). Within a year of his debut, he changed his name and started working as the Luchador Emmascadero (masked wrestler) Silver King. Silver King started working for the Universal Wrestling Association in the lower matches on the cards. On November 12, 1987, Silver King wrestled in a Lucha de Apuestas (a "Bet" Match) where he put his mask on the line against El Hijo del Santo's mask. When Silver King lost he was forced to unmask and in lucha tradition reveal his true name, it was here that it was first revealed that Silver King was one of Dr. Wagner's sons.

### Black Tiger III

After leaving WCW, he returned to CMLL and began wrestling for CMLL's Japanese affiliate, New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). In 2001, he adopted the Black Tiger character previously used by Mark Rocco and Eddie Guerrero making him the third person to appear under the mask, which is why he’s generally referred to as Black Tiger III. As Black Tiger, he wrestled several tours with New Japan starting out working a series of matches with the storyline opponent of the Black Tiger, Tiger Mask – in this case Tiger Mask IV. Together with his brother Dr. Wagner Jr. he had an unsuccessful IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship challenge against the team of Jushin Thunder Liger and El Samurai in 2001. During 2003 NJPW began to phase out most of the Luchadors they had employed over the years and thus Black Tiger III began working regularly in Mexico for CMLL, this marked the first time the gimmick was used for a longer period of time outside of NJPW. Since the storyline in Mexico was that Black Tiger III was Japanese they could not acknowledge the fact that he and Dr. Wagner, Jr. were in fact brothers (in Japan Black Tiger has until now always been portrayed by a foreigner). He usually ended up as Dr. Wagner Jr.'s back-up but on March 31, 2001, Black Tiger III, Dr. Wagner Jr. and Universo 2000 won the CMLL World Trios Championship from Atlantis, Black Warrior and Mr. Niebla. The team would hold the Trios title for over a year until being unseated on July 9, 2004, by Black Warrior, El Canek and Rayo de Jalisco, Jr. When their father (Dr. Wagner) died on September 12, 2004, Dr. Wagner, Jr. was turned *tecnicó* (good guy by sympathy but since González was working as Black Tiger III and not publicly acknowledged as the son of Dr. Wagner he remained a *rudó* (bad guy). Dr. Wagner Jr.'s turn meant that Black Tiger III did not have a partner or a direction, he began working for CMLL’s associate International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG) and some of the smaller CMLL shows, basically in a holding pattern. González kept working as Black Tiger even when NJPW introduced Rocky Romero as the latest Black Tiger (Black Tiger IV) but due their working relationship with NJPW, CMLL decided that when González worked for them he needed a different "persona". He was repackaged as "El Bronco" complete with a new mask and promoted as someone new to CMLL. González made his debut as "El Bronco" teaming up with Elektro (who had just jumped from Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) to CMLL) and L.A. Park against the original members of Los Guerreros del Infierno (Último Guerrero, Rey Bucanero, and Tarzan Boy). The match was seen as a letdown as the crowd did not appreciate Elektro and did not buy into the "El Bronco" gimmick and the scheduled rematch was rebooked with Hijo de Lizmark and Místico taking over their roles in the match and González as El Bronco replacing Lizmark Jr. in the 2005 Gran Alternativa tournament where his team lost in the first round. After the Gran Alternativa González only made sporadic CMLL appearances as González. González continued to wrestle as Black Tiger III in IWRG and in other independent Mexican wrestling promotions. On February 4, 2006, González finally gave up the Black Tiger name as he lost a "Lucha de Apuestas" to L.A. Park and was unmasked. After losing his mask González went back to working as Silver King.

### All Japan Pro Wrestling (2007)

In late 2007, Silver King started working for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) where he became masked once again. In a break from tradition Silver King did not change gimmicks but remasked under the same gimmick he was unmasked as in 1987. Silver King won the World Junior Heavyweight Championship on March 1, 2007, by defeating Katsuhiko Nakajima. He held the title for under two months as he lost it to Ryuji Hijikata on April 29, 2007.

## Nacho Libre

In 2005, González was cast as the villain opposite Jack Black's character in the Paramount Pictures Production *Nacho Libre*. In the film, González wears a golden mask and outfit and plays the top luchador known as *Ramses*. After the movie opened, González wore the golden outfit at least once during a defense of his UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship.

## Personal life

At one point César González introduced a wrestler known as "Silver King, Jr." and claimed that the masked wrestler was his son who had inherited the name from him. González later distanced himself from that wrestler, stating that he was not his son and a fraud. It is not an uncommon practice in Lucha Libre for wrestlers to pay for the use of someone's ring name, claiming to be a member of their family.

## Death

During a match against Juventud Guerrera on May 11, 2019, González suffered a stroke in the ring and died a short time after from a heart attack.

## In wrestling

* **As Silver King**
	+ **Finishing moves**
		- Moonsault
		- *Silver Driver* (Super Death Valley driver)
		- *Silver Kick* (Superkick)
	+ **Signature moves**
		- Airplane spin
		- Suicide dive
		- Tornado DDT
* **As Black Tiger III**
	+ **Finishing moves**
		- *Black Tiger Bomb* (Sitout crucifix powerbomb)
		- Death Valley driver
		- Kneeling belly to belly piledriver
		- Tiger suplex
* **Managers**
	+ Miss Hancock
	+ Jennifer Blake
* **Entrance theme**
	+ "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana
* **Nicknames**
	+ *El Fabuloso* (The Fabulous One)
	+ *El Efectivo* (The Effective One)

## Championships and accomplishments

* **All Japan Pro Wrestling**
	+ World Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
* **Asistencia Asesoría y Administración**
	+ AAA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Último Gladiador
* **Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre**
	+ CMLL World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
	+ CMLL World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with El Texano (1) and Dr. Wagner, Jr. (1)
	+ CMLL World Trios Championship (1 time) with Dr. Wagner, Jr. and Universo 2000
	+ CMLL Torneo Gran Alternativa (1995) – with Shocker
* **International Wrestling Association of Japan**
	+ IWA World Tag Team championship *(Japan version)* (1 time) – with El Texano
* **International Wrestling Revolution Group**
	+ IWRG Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
	+ IWRG Intercontinental Trios Championship (2 times) – with El Pantera and Pentagón Black (1) and Joe Líder and Último Gladiador (1)
	+ Copa Higher Power (2004) – with NOSAWA Rongai, GARUDA & Mazada
	+ Copa Higher Power (2010)
* **Llaves y Candados**
	+ LyC Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Dr. Wagner Jr.
* **Universal Wrestling Association**
	+ UWA World Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
	+ UWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with El Texano
* **World Wrestling Association**
	+ WWA World Tag Team championship (2 times) – with El Texano
* **Pro Wrestling Illustrated**
	+ PWI ranked him # **68** of the 100 best tag teams during the "PWI Years" with El Texano in 2003.
	+ PWI ranked him # **46** of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 2001.

## Footnotes

1. ↑ Examples of this includes El Hijo de Cien Caras, who was not the son of Carmelo "Cien Caras" Reyes as well as a number of wrestlers using the "Brazo" name despite not being members of the Alvarado wrestling family.
2. ↑ Steel Cage Match that also included Hijo de Cien Caras, Canek Jr., Dos Caras, Jr., Dr. Wagner, Jr., Villano V and Mano Negra

## References

General
* "Luchas 2000". *La Dinastia Wagner*Spanish. Juárez, Mexico: Publicaciones citem, S.A. de C.V. pp. 1–35. Especial 23.

Specific

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Statistics for Professional wrestlers". *PWI Presents: 2008 Wrestling Almanak and book of facts*. Kappa Publications. pp. 66–79. 2008 Edition.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Fallece Silver King en plena lucha por un infarto al miocardio  [SIlver King dies in the middle of a match from a myocardial infarction] (in Spanish). *Record* (2019-05-11). Retrieved on 2019-05-11.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Dan Madigan (2007). *Mondo Lucha a Go-Go: The Bizarre and Honorable World of Wild Mexican Wrestling*. Rayo. ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: EMLL CMLL Trios Title", *Wrestling Title Histories*. Archeus Communications, 396. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Enciclopedia de las Mascaras". *BLack Tiger III*Spanish. Mexico. July 2007. p. 34. Tomo I.
6. ↑ AJPW Excite Series 2007 tour results . Shining Road. Archived from the original on 2008-04-28. Retrieved on 2008-05-02.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Championship . Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved on 2009-02-19.
8. ↑ AJPW Growin' Up tour results . Shining Road. Retrieved on 2008-05-02.
9. ↑ Boutwell, Josh 2012-03-24. Viva La Raza! Lucha Weekly . *WrestleView*. Retrieved on 2012-05-02.
10. ↑ Madigan, Dan (2007). "A family affair", *Mondo Lucha a Go-Go: the bizarre & honorable world of wild Mexican wrestling*. HarperColins Publisher, 128–132. ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3.
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Silver King profile . Obsessed With Wrestling. Retrieved on 2009-08-08.
12. ↑ Silver King y Ultimo Gladiador, exponen  (in Spanish). Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (2010-11-30). Retrieved on 2010-12-01.
13. ↑ Stacy Keibler's profile . Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved on 2008-03-11.
14. ↑ Cano Vela, Eduardo 2011-06-17. AAA TripleManía XIX (Cobertura y resultados 18 de junio de 2011) – Mesias pierde la cabellera, Jeff Jarrett nuevo Megacampeón, Dr. Wagner vence a RVD  (in Spanish). *SuperLuchas*. Retrieved on 2011-06-19.
15. ↑ AJPW Excite Series 2008 tour results . Shining Road. Retrieved on 2008-05-02.
16. ↑ Marquina, Alva 2010-06-06. Triplemania 18 (Cobertura y resultados 6 junio 2010) – La Parka vs. L.A. Park – Electroshock vs. Dr. Wagner Jr. – Los Perros del Mal en AAA  (in Spanish). *SuperLuchas*. Retrieved on 2010-06-06.
17. ↑ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: EMLL CMLL Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre heavyweight Title", *Wrestling Title Histories*. Archeus Communications, 395. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
18. ↑ Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: EMLL CMLL Tag Team Title", *Wrestling Title Histories*. Archeus Communications, 396. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
19. ↑ CMLL Gran Alternativa #2 . Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved on 2009-02-19.
20. ↑ International Wrestling Association World Tag Team Title . Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved on 2009-02-19.
21. ↑ Ruiz Glez, Alex 2010-06-26. Silver King nuevo campeón mundial completo de IWRG – Bombero infernal perdió la cabellera  (in Spanish). *SuperLuchas*. Retrieved on 2010-06-27.
22. ↑ Mexicool, Rey 2011-03-04. 3 de marzo – Arena Naucalpan: Joe Líder, Silver King y Último Gladiador, nuevos Campeones Intercontinentales de Tríos IWRG ¿Los títulos se van a la Triple A? – Los Piratas retienen su Campeonato Intercontinental de Parejas IWRG  (in Spanish). *SuperLuchas*. Retrieved on 2011-03-05.
23. ↑ "2005 Lo Mejor de la Lucha Mexicana". *SuperLuchas*Spanish. January 3, 2006. issue 140.
24. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/167909216606834/photos/a.577072919023793.1073741826.167909216606834/884152651649150/?type=1&theater
25. ↑ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: Universal Wrestling Federation Light Heavyweight Title", *Wrestling Title Histories*. Archeus Communications, 397. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
26. ↑ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: UWA Tag Team Title", *Wrestling Title Histories*. Archeus Communications, 399. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
27. ↑ World Championship Wrestling Clash of Champions 1–20 . Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved on 2009-02-19.
28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 Ruiz Glez, Alex 2010-09-07. CMLL: 79 historias, 79 Aniversario, las 79 luchas estelares  (in Spanish). *SuperLuchas*. Retrieved on 2012-10-20.