Hector Garza Dead

Hector Garza died today due to lung cancer at the age of 43.

My thoughts:
I think this is a real shame. He did live a full life and the life of a celebrity, but he had much more to offer whether it be as a person or as a wrestler.

I remembered first seeing Hector Garza in WCW. His corkscrew plancha was always highlighted by Mike Tenay and he was one of the many WCW luchadores who never got their due. Due to him not wearing a mask, he never got covered as much as a Rey Mysterio or a Juventud Guerrera. He went from being a main eventer in Mexico, to almost a no-name wrestler in WCW. After WCW closed, he went back to Mexico, he returned to the main event and in 2004 had a great run with Perro Aguayo Jr as Perros Del Mal in CMLL. The Perros were the hottest thing in wrestling and were super over as a heel/tweener group. Their biggest moment was probably when they got Latin Lover, who was a big mainstream star in Mexico at the time, to appear with them as an honorary member in CMLL. This run would probably end up being the highlight of his career minus appearing at a WWF Royal Rumble in a 6-man. One other memorable match was when he beat Pierroth Jr. in a hair vs hair match. Pierroth Jr.'s Boricua Army turned on Pierroth and Pierroth was shaved and covered in some type of plant.

During this time, Hector Garza got a chance in TNA and once again shined, mostly due to Mike Tenay. TNA was really interested in him since he had a great look, talent and could help get them Mexican viewers, which they craved. Unfortunately, he ended up getting busted for illegal muscle building drugs and it ended his TNA run. He returned again to Mexico in the main events and stayed there until the end of his career.

Hector Garza stopped wrestling in 2011 due to finding out he had cancer and was reportedly in rough shape as of late. If I remember correctly, they even did a tribute show for him to help pay some of his high medical bills. I personally always figured he would beat the cancer and would be okay, but we all take life for granted sometimes and unfortunately when our time is up, our time is up.

Hector was a really good wrestler who was a total package. He was ripped to shreds, had a good look and was capable of good matches and great highflying moves. While he did go about as far you can in Mexico, his American career never turned out the way it probably should. Had he debuted a few years later and stayed out of trouble, he could have been where Alberto Del Rio is now.

One last but interesting note comes from RobViper13, who mentioned that Hector Garza is still the Mexican National Heavyweight Champion, even though he hasn't competed in two years. This is common in Mexico, but Hector was a champion and will go out as one.

Best wishes to Hector Garza's family and friends and thank you for the memories Hector! You will never be forgotten.