Perro Aguayo Jr., a Mexican wrestler and promoter, died as a result of injuries in a match in Friday night in Tijuana, Mexico. He was 35.
Aguayo went limp on the ropes after being struck by Rey Mysterio Jr., or Oscar Gutierrez, a former WWE performer making his return to Mexican wrestling. He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to reports.
It was Mysterio's first match in Mexico's Asistencia Asesoría y Administración LLC, or AAA, since 1997.
Video from the match shows Aguayo going limp and hanging on the ropes while other wrestlers continued the performance. It was not discovered Aguayo was stricken for several minutes, despite a ringside observer's attempts to revive him and draw attention to his plight.
Ernesto Franco, identified as a wrestling commission doctor, was quoted by Mediotiempo.com as saying: "I was with [Aguayo] for about an hour trying to revive him." Injury to his cervical spine region made resuscitation difficult. An MRI examination was done to help determine the cause of death.
In its report on the incident, The Associate Press said Aguayo fell unconscious on the ropes, apparently after receiving a flying kick from Mysterio.
Mexican authorities reportedly will investigate the death as possible manslaughter.
AP also included two quotes regarding Aguayo's death.
"I have no words for this terrible news," AAA director Joaquin Roldan said through his Twitter account. "My sincerest condolences for the Aguayo Ramirez family."
"It makes me very sad because he was a professional colleague and I have great affection for his father," the wrestler Hijo del Santo said in a telephone interview. "I think the fans in Japan, the U.S. and Mexico of course, where he was very popular, must be in mourning, especially because of his youth. He had much ahead of him."
