Former WWE Stars Returns To Original Name In CMLL
Last week CM Punk joined AEW at AEW Rampage: The First Dance at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. One week later, lucha libre got a massive return of their own, albeit under far more convoluted circumstances.
Days after regaining the name that made him a superstar two decades ago, Caristico, best known for his run in WWE as the original Sin Cara, officially re-debuted as Mistico at CMLL's Friday night show in Arena Mexico. He teamed with Hechicero and Valiente to defeat Atlantis Jr., Gran Guerrero and Ultimo Guerrero in a two out of three falls match.
A twenty three year lucha veteran, Caristico first adopted the Mistico persona in 2004. He would go on to become CMLL's top star for the next half decade before joining WWE as Sin Cara in 2011. Injuries, trouble adapting to the WWE style and several other factors led to him being replaced by Sin Cara II (Hunico), followed by his release in February of 2014. Caristico would work a year for AAA under the name Myzteziz before rejoining CMLL in the fall of 2015.
Caristico was unable to take back the Mistico name initially, do to it being held by his successor, Mistico II. The two would become occasional rivals over the years before forming a tag team, winning the CMLL World Tag Team Championships in November of 2019. They would vacate the titles this past week after Mistico II departed the promotion. It is expected he will join up with his brothers, ROH stars Dragon Lee and Rush, both in the US and Mexico, under the name Dralistico.
It is widely speculated the departure led to CMLL quickly giving the Mistico name back to Caristico. He received a loud ovation in his first match back under the name, and led a comeback in the second fall where he showcased several of his classic moves. Mistico would ultimately give his team the win when he submitted Ultimo Guerrero with his trademark move, La Mistica, in the third fall.
You can see a tweet of Mistico making his entrance below.
El recibimiento a Mistico ha sido sencillamente impresionante. Los Guerreros y Atlantis Jr. tomaron ventaja, pero en la ronda intermedia fueron alcanzados por Hechicero y Valiente tras una reacción del Seminarista de los Ojos Blancos. #ViernesEspectacularCMLL pic.twitter.com/D977SZqS40
— Lucha Libre CMLL (@CMLL_OFICIAL) August 28, 2021