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The basic plot to Nacho Libre is perfect for a movie. A monk poses as masked Mexican wrestler in order to raise money to save an orphanage. Little did people know that the movie was based on Fray Tormenta.
The world of luchador wrestling has always had an air of mystery around it. The tradition of wearing masks allowed the wrestler to convey so much about their character without ever saying a word. Certain mask designs would become iconic, so the legacy of the wrestler could continue on through many others. In many cases, they also hid the identity of the wrestler. So you could be cheering for your hero in the ring one evening, then you would pass them in the grocery store the next afternoon and not even know it. The identity of Fray Tormenta lasted for 23 years.
The few people who discovered the secret dismissed it. The chances of it being true were so unlikely that they assumed that they were mistaken. Under the mask was Sergio Gutiérrez BenÃtez, a Roman-Catholic priest.
Sergio spent his childhood in San AgustÃn Metzquititlán, Hidalgoas, Mexico. He was the second youngest child out of seventeen. He became inspired to become a luchador after watching two movies; ‘El Señor Tormenta’ (Mister Storm) and ‘Tormenta En El Ring’ (Storm in the Ring). Both movies followed the story of a Mexican Priest who supported the children in his orphanage by fighting as a wrestler at night.
By the age of 22, Sergio was already a drug addict and an alcoholic. For reasons that he himself didn’t understand, he became interested in joining the church. He was inducted into the Piarists Order, and attempted to give up his addictions cold turkey. During his training, he would travel to Spain (another Catholic, Hispanic country) and Rome (home of the Roman Catholic faith). He would also teach philosophy and history at Roman Catholic universities across Mexico. He became a secular priest in the Diocese of Texcoco.
It was while he was at this church he founded an orphanage named “La Casa Hogar de los Cachorros de Fray Tormentaâ€. It would become home for around 270 children. Sergio did not set out to fund the orphanage through wrestling. This decision came at a time when the orphanage was struggling to raise money to look after the children. So Sergio became the living in carnation of the movie character that once inspired him. Sergio donned the yellow mask and became Fray Tormenta (Friar Storm). His finishing move was the figure-four leglock, a submission hold that he dubbed “The Confessionalâ€. Sergio refused to let anyone know his secret because he understood that once people found out that he was a priest, they would never take him seriously as a wrestler.
In a case of life imitating art imitating life, a movie was made about Sergio’s life. In 1991, Jean Reno played Fray Tormenta in the French movie ‘L’Homme au masque d’or (The Man In The Golden Mask)’. As I already mentioned, the movie ‘Nacho Libre’ was based on Sergio’s tale. The most interesting movie was ‘Padre Tormenta’, a fictional movie based on Sergio’s real life, starring Sergio himself.
Sergio had semi-retired in 2001, he retired fully in 2011. One of his matches was his second Lucha de Apuesta. In these kinds of matches, the wrestler who gets pinned suffers a humiliating forfeit. These forfeits usually involve publically unmasking the loser, shaving his head or the loser announcing his immediate retirement. Sergio claimed the mask of Hijo de Judas in November, 1990. This latest victory saw him beat out Bugambilia, Super Crazy, X-Fly, Bestia 666 and Boy Danger in a six-way match. He would claim Bugambilia’s hair with the win on 11th January, 2011.
He made his final appearance at International Wrestling Revolution Group’s (IWRG) ‘Festival de las Mascaras’ event. He teamed with El Pantera and Solar to beat Black Terry, Negro Navarro and Scorpio, Jr. in a six-man tag match. After this match, Sergio announced his retirement.
On the 20th June, 2012, Sergio made one more appearance as Fray Tormenta. He showed up at a CMLL show (Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre) to give his blessing to the second incarnation of MÃstico. No, this is not the original Sin Cara. The Fray Tormenta character still appears as a supporting character in the Mexican comic book series ‘MÃstico: El Principe de Plata y Oro’ as a mentor to MÃstico.
To this day, Sergio still works at the orphanage as a priest. One of the children he raised now competes as Fray Tormenta, Jr. The identity of Sergio’s protégé is unknown. However, Sergio still wears the mask for public appearances. This includes his duties as a priest.
Many characters in other media have been based Fray Tormenta. The most obvious was King from the first two Tekken video games. King was a Roman-Catholic priest who competed in Mexican wrestling in order to raise money to support his orphanage. Between those games, he battles with alcoholism, like Sergio did in real life. From Tekken 3 onwards, the King character is portrayed by one of the children that the original King raised. In this instance, the video game story line was developed before the real life events.
The character Crasher Wake, the Pastoria City Gym Leader in Sinnoh, from Pokemon is also based on Fray Tormenta. Tizoc (Fatal Fury), Leon (F-Zero) and Greco (Chrono Cross) are also inspired by him.
The world of luchador wrestling has always had an air of mystery around it. The tradition of wearing masks allowed the wrestler to convey so much about their character without ever saying a word. Certain mask designs would become iconic, so the legacy of the wrestler could continue on through many others. In many cases, they also hid the identity of the wrestler. So you could be cheering for your hero in the ring one evening, then you would pass them in the grocery store the next afternoon and not even know it. The identity of Fray Tormenta lasted for 23 years.
The few people who discovered the secret dismissed it. The chances of it being true were so unlikely that they assumed that they were mistaken. Under the mask was Sergio Gutiérrez BenÃtez, a Roman-Catholic priest.
Sergio spent his childhood in San AgustÃn Metzquititlán, Hidalgoas, Mexico. He was the second youngest child out of seventeen. He became inspired to become a luchador after watching two movies; ‘El Señor Tormenta’ (Mister Storm) and ‘Tormenta En El Ring’ (Storm in the Ring). Both movies followed the story of a Mexican Priest who supported the children in his orphanage by fighting as a wrestler at night.
By the age of 22, Sergio was already a drug addict and an alcoholic. For reasons that he himself didn’t understand, he became interested in joining the church. He was inducted into the Piarists Order, and attempted to give up his addictions cold turkey. During his training, he would travel to Spain (another Catholic, Hispanic country) and Rome (home of the Roman Catholic faith). He would also teach philosophy and history at Roman Catholic universities across Mexico. He became a secular priest in the Diocese of Texcoco.
It was while he was at this church he founded an orphanage named “La Casa Hogar de los Cachorros de Fray Tormentaâ€. It would become home for around 270 children. Sergio did not set out to fund the orphanage through wrestling. This decision came at a time when the orphanage was struggling to raise money to look after the children. So Sergio became the living in carnation of the movie character that once inspired him. Sergio donned the yellow mask and became Fray Tormenta (Friar Storm). His finishing move was the figure-four leglock, a submission hold that he dubbed “The Confessionalâ€. Sergio refused to let anyone know his secret because he understood that once people found out that he was a priest, they would never take him seriously as a wrestler.
In a case of life imitating art imitating life, a movie was made about Sergio’s life. In 1991, Jean Reno played Fray Tormenta in the French movie ‘L’Homme au masque d’or (The Man In The Golden Mask)’. As I already mentioned, the movie ‘Nacho Libre’ was based on Sergio’s tale. The most interesting movie was ‘Padre Tormenta’, a fictional movie based on Sergio’s real life, starring Sergio himself.
Sergio had semi-retired in 2001, he retired fully in 2011. One of his matches was his second Lucha de Apuesta. In these kinds of matches, the wrestler who gets pinned suffers a humiliating forfeit. These forfeits usually involve publically unmasking the loser, shaving his head or the loser announcing his immediate retirement. Sergio claimed the mask of Hijo de Judas in November, 1990. This latest victory saw him beat out Bugambilia, Super Crazy, X-Fly, Bestia 666 and Boy Danger in a six-way match. He would claim Bugambilia’s hair with the win on 11th January, 2011.
He made his final appearance at International Wrestling Revolution Group’s (IWRG) ‘Festival de las Mascaras’ event. He teamed with El Pantera and Solar to beat Black Terry, Negro Navarro and Scorpio, Jr. in a six-man tag match. After this match, Sergio announced his retirement.
On the 20th June, 2012, Sergio made one more appearance as Fray Tormenta. He showed up at a CMLL show (Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre) to give his blessing to the second incarnation of MÃstico. No, this is not the original Sin Cara. The Fray Tormenta character still appears as a supporting character in the Mexican comic book series ‘MÃstico: El Principe de Plata y Oro’ as a mentor to MÃstico.
To this day, Sergio still works at the orphanage as a priest. One of the children he raised now competes as Fray Tormenta, Jr. The identity of Sergio’s protégé is unknown. However, Sergio still wears the mask for public appearances. This includes his duties as a priest.
Many characters in other media have been based Fray Tormenta. The most obvious was King from the first two Tekken video games. King was a Roman-Catholic priest who competed in Mexican wrestling in order to raise money to support his orphanage. Between those games, he battles with alcoholism, like Sergio did in real life. From Tekken 3 onwards, the King character is portrayed by one of the children that the original King raised. In this instance, the video game story line was developed before the real life events.
The character Crasher Wake, the Pastoria City Gym Leader in Sinnoh, from Pokemon is also based on Fray Tormenta. Tizoc (Fatal Fury), Leon (F-Zero) and Greco (Chrono Cross) are also inspired by him.
