Independent Wrestling Network Presents: Hispanic Heritage Month w/ Leon Garra

by Jason Spade Tue Sep 19, 2023 5:36 pm

The scene fades in to the usual IWN jingle and the smiling face of intrepid wrestling journalist, Troy Garter.

"Good afternoon, friends and fans, and welcome to the first episode of our month-long special for Hispanic Heritage Month! This month, we here at IWN are bringing you exclusive interviews with some of wrestling's hottest Hispanic wrestlers! From Baja California all the way to Madrid, the best and brightest of today's Hispanic wrestlers are itching to tell their stories! On today's episode we have the controversial Puerto Rican lion... Leon Garra!"

The camera pans to Leon Garra, who smiles and raises a hand.

"Hola."

"Alright Leon, for those of us who may not know, who are you and where are you from?"

"Well, I'm Leon Garra. I was born in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, and I still live there to this day."

"And how did you get into professional wrestling?"

"Professional Wrestling is very popular in Puerto Rico, and has been since the 1950's. I grew up seeing people like Savio Vega and Carlos Colon, Boricuas just like me, succeeding in the sport and it was inspiring. Truthfully, though, I never wanted to be a professional wrestler until I went to Mexico for the first time. Puerto Rican wrestling is beautiful and I love it dearly, but Lucha Libre... Oh, it is in a league of its own, man."

"What drew you to Lucha Libre in particular?"

"The colorful masks, the traditions, all of it. Wrestling in Puerto Rico, in my opinion, has never captured the soul of culture like Mexican Lucha Libre has. Truthfully, though, I may be biased... I did live in Mexico for many years, and part of the culture may have rubbed off on me a little."

"So you were trained in Mexico, then?"

"Oh, no. I fell in love with Lucha Libre while I was still in Puerto Rico, and that is where I was trained. Right in Aguadilla, in fact. I was very fortunate to find a good wrestling school so close to home."

"I have some more questions about your early career, but I understand they may be tough to talk about. So, I'll ask you; do you want to talk about Los Felinos Fatales?"

Leon shifts uncomfortably.

"It is... Difficult. But yes, I will answer your questions."

"Great! You mentioned living in Mexico for a while. Is that where you met the man who would go on to become Danger Cat?"

"Yes, but I did not live in Mexico until after we became a team. You see, I travelled a lot between Mexico and Puerto Rico early in my career, and I met Peligrosso on the Mexican independent circuit. Back then, Danger Cat was a solo act. He was trying to break into the American scene, but he did not speak English, so I helped him learn. We had a little bit of trouble understanding each other at first- Mexican Spanish and Puerto Rican Spanish are both a bit different, and trying to learn English on top of learning each other's dialect was a challenge, but I think it brought us closer together. It helped that I already spoke English."

Leon laughs. Troy nods, smiling along.

"You certainly do speak English quite well, I wouldn't even know you weren't a native speaker if you hadn't mentioned it."

"That is very kind, Troy, thank you."

"So how did Los Felinos Fatales come to be?"

"Truthfully, it was necessity. Peligrosso wanted to break into the American scene, and I wanted to break into the Mexican scene. So we teamed up; I became Golden Cat, trusted ally of Danger Cat, and Los Felinos Fatales was formed. Though, truth be told, we found little success in Mexico. We travelled around the United States, Mexico, Australia, but I guess our act just did not click with the people. It never bothered us, though, we were just happy to be together and doing what we loved. I broke my heart when we split the first time."

"First time? You mean your... Acrimonious split in 2022 wasn't the first time Los Felinos Fatales went their separate ways? What happened?"

"My daughter was born."

Leon smiles fondly.

"When Elena was born, it changed everything for me. My wife had been supportive of my work as a wrestler, even travelling with us sometimes, but now that we had a daughter, I could not continue the life we were living. Peligroso and I were having fun, and doing what we loved, but we were not making money. It was a hard choice, but Peligroso was understanding... Those five years away from the business, raising my daughter with my wife, were some of the best years of my life, but I never stopped missing wrestling. Do you want to know something that I have never told anyone else? Heh, Peligroso... Peligro. He will probably be upset that I told you this, but..."

Leon leans in closer.

"Peligroso was thinking about retiring a few years ago. The lack of success had finally got to him, and... Well, it seemed altruistic at the time, but looking back on it, perhaps I was just taking advantage of the opportunity to get back into the business. I did not want to see my friend retire, and I wanted back in, so it was my idea to reform Los Felinos Fatales in CMV. Peligroso was over the moon. And, well... The rest is history, I suppose."

Troy nods.

"That it is! Okay, Leon, we're running out of time so I have one more question for you: if there are any other young, aspiring Hispanic wrestlers out there, what would you tell them?"

Leon thinks about it.

"I would tell them... That it is a hard life. You will get hurt, you will lose money. You will spend an agonizing amount of time away from home, and your family. But work hard, honor the people and traditions that came before you, and remember where you came from. Do all that, and you will find it is one of the most rewarding lives a man can live."

"Beautiful. Thank you for coming, Leon. That's all the time we have for today's episode folks. Join us next week when we interview another CMV Superstar, the incomparable Rat in the Hat... Joseph Santos!"