Fishman passes away

Fishman, José Ángel Nájera Sánchez, passed away on Saturday. He had just reached his 66th birthday on Thursday.

Fishman was born in Torreon, but started wrestling and first grew to fame as a Juarez luchador. He’d return to that city often in his career. He became a national star in Arena Mexico in the late 70s, with his iconic green and yellow mask standing out on magazines. (It’s a mask that resonates even today; when Daga & Garza did their run-in debut on The Crash a few months ago, they picked Canek and Fishman’s masks becuase they look cool.) Fishman won the masks of El Faraon, Sangre Chicana and Cobarde I, three luchadors who would go onto have long and important careers, in the span of 16 months. He also defeated Blue Demon twice for titles, first for the NWA Welterweight Championship and later for the national version, in that same period of time.

Fishman jumped to the rival UWA promotion, where he was consistently among the top light heavyweight stars thru the 80s as both a tecnico and a rudo. He traded wins and championships with Perro Aguayo, Villano III, and old rival Sangre Chicana, and headlined many shows during the strongest period in the history of the company. He was an opponent for foreign wrestlers when they came to UWA, and was brought to the US and Japan as a visiting star.

Fishman’s drop off mirrored the UWA. Fishman actually was part of the original group of luchadors in AAA, but his (by then) slower style didn’t work in that context or on TV. Fishman had stretches in both AAA & CMLL thru 2000, but generally as a name from the past rather than an important star of the moment. Fishman lost his mask in 2000 to Mascara Sagrada, the main event of a short lived promotion GWAS, with a disappointing turnout and suggestions Fishman wasn’t paid what he was promised for the match.

Fishman hasn’t been forgotten by lucha libre, but his place at the end probably wasn’t what he was expecting when he was main eventing packed El Toreo shows. If UWA had survived, he probably would’ve been brought back forever as a star of their best days. Without his home promotion, Fishman wasn’t afforded the same long term high respect as a Canek. His mask match wasn’t the memorable classic that gave a reason for people to always remember him like Villano 3’s. Instead, Fishman was sort of a relic of a bygone era, still a huge star to people who followed and admiring lucha libre of that time but not meaningful to younger generations. He spent the last few years of his active career wrestling for small independents, for promoters who remembered the name. He teamed with one son as Hijo de Fishman for a time, then stripped him (the current Black Fish) of the name after a falling out and gave another son the name. Fishman was still listed on shows as recently as last year, though some of those may have been his son being listed under his name.

There’s no details on Fishman’s funeral service.