Marcela (wrestler)

Marcela
Marcela in the ring in 2013
Personal information
BornMaría Elena Santamaría Gómez
(1971-05-31) May 31, 1971
Mexico City, Mexico
ChildrenSkadi (daughter)
Professional wrestling career
Ring nameMarcela
Billed height1.55 m (5 ft 1 in)[1]
Billed weight60 kg (132 lb)[1]
Trained by
DebutDecember 1985

María Elena Santamaría Gómez (born May 31, 1971) is a Mexican professional wrestler, known mainly for her work in the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), where she works under the ring name Marcela. She is one of the top técnicas (the "good" characters, or faces) in CMLL. Her daughter is also a professional wrestler, known under the name Skadi, who often teams with her mother. Santamaría has worked for CMLL since the early 1990s and has also wrestled in Japan and on the Mexican independent circuit.

In 2018, she began her fifth reign as CMLL World Women's Champion, which is a CMLL record. She is a one-time Mexican National Women's Champion, held the District Federal Women's championship for over five years, and won the XMW Women's Championship. She holds several major Lucha de Apuestas ("bet match") victories, winning the masks of La Gata, Rosa Negra and La Seductora, as well as the hair of La Briosa, Tiffany, Dalys la Caribeña and Princesa Blanca.

Early life

María Elena Santamaría Gómez was born on May 31, 1971, in Mexico City, Mexico.[1] She grew up in Mexico City, living close to Arena Coliseo, where Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL) held several wrestling events each week. Her mother was a fan and brought her daughter to the shows from a young age. Initially, when Marcela wanted to become a professional wrestler, her mother opposed it, causing a rift between them at the time, which was later reconciled. Marcela had her first child at the age of 16. Her second child, a daughter, became a professional wrestler as well, working under the ring name Skadi; she often teams with her mother.[2]

Professional wrestling career

Santamaría began training for her professional wrestling career in the mid-1980s, at a time when female wrestling was banned in Mexico City itself and only promoted by a few companies outside the capitol.[2] She made her debut in December 1985 in Actopan, Hidalgo.[1] For her debut, she borrowed an ill-fitting mask and boxing shoes, as she did not have any of her own. After the match, she decided to never wear a mask again.[2] She was billed simply as "Marcela" as she began working on the independent circuit. The ban on women's wrestling was lifted in 1986, allowing EMLL and other promotion's shows in the capitol to employ female wrestlers.[3]

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (early 1990s–present)

In the early 1990s, Marcela joined Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), winning her first Lucha de Apuestas ("bet match", the most prestigious match type in lucha libre) against La Migala on September 7, 1991, forcing La Migala to have her hair shaved off after the match.[4] During the mid-1990s to early 2000s, CMLL's women's division received minimal attention, prompting Marcela to wrestle for various minor promotions on the Mexican independent circuit.[5] On August 3, 2001, Marcela and male wrestler El Mohicano I defeated La Gata and Black Machine in an intergender Lucha de Apuestas, leaving their male and female opponents with bald heads.[4] She also competed in a torneo cibernetico elimination match for International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG)'s newly created Intercontinental Women's Championship, which was won by Ayako Hamada.[6][7]

In 2004, Marcela was given a full-time role with CMLL, coinciding with their renewed focus on women's wrestling.[4] At some point prior to September 20, Marcela won the Distrito Federal Women's Championship, with a successful defense against La Amapola on that day.[8] After she and Dark Angel outlasted Hiroka, India Sioux, La Medusa, La Nazi, Linda Star, Princesa Sujei and Sahori to qualify for the finals of a tournament for the vacant CMLL World Women's Championship, Marcela defeated Dark Angel to win it at the CMLL 72nd Anniversary Show on September 16.[9] She defended the title against Hiroka and La Amapola several times before losing it to Hiroka on June 9, 2006.[10] Marcela and Sujey outlasted twelve other women in a torneo cibernetico to qualify for the finals of a tournament for the vacant Mexican National Women's Championship, followed by Marcela defeating her for the title.[11] Marcela recorded one successful defense against La Amapola on August 5, 2007, before losing the championship to Princesa Blanca on January 30, 2009, ending her reign at 637 days.[12] On April 12, Marcela defeated and unmasked Rosa Negra in a Lucha de Apuestas at 53. Aniversario de Arena México.[13] Marcela defeated La Amapola on October 28, 2011, to win her second CMLL World Women's Championship,[14] but lost it after 29-days to Ayumi Kurihara in Japan.[15][16] She travelled to Mexico in March 2012 and lost the title back to Marcela on March 9.[17] During her third reign, Marcela successfully defended the championship on twelve occasions in Mexico, the United States and Japan.[18]

Marcela risked her hair in the main event ten-woman steel cage match of Infierno en el Ring ("Inferno in the Ring") on June 29, keeping it safe as the third woman to escape the cage.[19] During this time, Marcela began a storyline feud with the debuting Tiffany of Los Invasores ("The Invaders"), a group representing CMLL's main rival, AAA. It led to a Lucha de Apuestas on August 5, where Marcela pinned Tiffany and forced her to have her hair cut off.[20] Marcela's next major feud was with rising female star Dalys la Caribeña; the two met in a Lucha de Apuestas at Homenaje a Dos Leyendas ("Homage to Two Legends") on March 21, 2014, which Marcela won.[21] In another Lucha de Apuestas on August 1 at Juicio Final ("Final Judgment"), Marcela teamed with Sugej to defeat Blanca and La Seductora, who was forced to unmask, whereas Blanca was shaved bald and forced into retirement.[21] Marcela lost her title after 1,008 days to Syuri in Japan,[22] but regained it to begin her fourth reign on the last day of Syuri's Mexico tour on April 10, 2015.[23] She successfully defended the title against Dalys and Zeuxis, but it to Dalys on March 11, 2016.[24] On August 6, 2017, Marcela and Zeuxis outlasted seven other female wrestlers in a torneo cibernetico to qualify for the finals of a tournament for the vacant CMLL-Reina International Championship the following week, where Zeuxis pinned Marcela to win the title.[25][26] She defeatd Dalys for her fifth CMLL World Women's Championship reign on November 19, 2018,[27] making successful defenses against then-reigning Mexican National Women's Champion La Metálica on April 29, 2019, and La Amapola in July.[28]

Marcela competed in the inaugural Universal Amazonas Championship tournament in August in the first block of eight wrestlers, but was eliminated by Avispa Dorada.[29][30] When Dalys defeated La Metálica in the finals, she earned a title match with Marcela on September 27 at the CMLL 86th Anniversary Show.[31] However, the match was cancelled as Marcela suffered an ankle injury leading up to the show and was unable to compete.[32] Marcela successfully defended the title against Dalys in December and at the CMLL 87th Anniversary Show via disqualification on September 25, 2020.[28][33] Following the event, Marcela and her daughter, Skadi, participated in a tournament for the Mexican National Women's Tag Team Championship, defeating La Comandante and La Seductora in the first round, but lost to La Amapola and La Metálica in the quarter-finals.[34] She lost the CMLL World Women's Championship to Sugehit on October 23.[35] At Homenaje a Dos Leyendas on March 17, 2023, Marcela participated in the Copa Irma Gonzáles, where she eliminated La Amapola before being eliminated by Lluvia.[36] She won the following year's edition of the tournament on March 8, 2024.[37] On March 20, 2026, at Homenaje a Dos Leyendas, Marcela, La Magnífica and Sugehit were involved in a hair vs. hair three-way elimination match. In the end, Marcela pinned Sugehit and forced her to have all of her hair shaved off.[38]

Japan (1999–2019)

Marcela in Japan in 2019

CMLL has partnered with several Japanese wrestling promotions, sending their female representatives to female-only Japanese promotions. Marcela's first major tour of Japan ran from August to September 1999, where she worked for Big Japan Pro-Wrestling (BJW), starting with a victory over male exótico Andromeda on August 2.[39] She later returned to Japan for individual BJW matches in October and December.[39] She worked a second extended BJW tour from January 2, 2000, to March 31, 2001, frequently teaming with and facing off against Chihiro Nakano.[40] She returned to BJW in 2010 for their 15th Anniversary Death tour.[40] Marcela next worked with NEO Women's Pro Wrestling, Japanese Women Pro-Wrestling Project, International Women's * Grand Prix, and JDStar between 2001 and 2010.[41]

On May 5, 2011, Marcela unsuccessfully challenged La Amapola for the CMLL Women's World Championship at the debut show of Universal Woman's Pro Wrestling REINA. In November 2011, she returned, this time as CMLL Women's World Champion, but lost the title to Ayumi Kurihara at a REINA show.[41] Two years later, Marcela returned to unsuccessfully challenge Ray for the CMLL Women's World Championship.[41] Her 2014 return saw Marcela successfully turn back the challenge of Syuri on August 30, although she lost the title to Syuri on December 12, marking her third time losing it in Japan.[22][41] Marcela later returned to Japan for a tour including successful championship defenses against Tae Honma on January 27, 2019, and Tsukushi on September 15.[41]

Mexican independent circuit (2005–present)

Marcela, like all CMLL workers, is allowed to take independent circuit bookings on her off days. However, her independent work decreased as CMLL increased the promotion of women's wrestling.[42] One of her most significant independent matches was a six-woman steel cage match where the last woman in the cage would be shaved bald or forced to remove her mask. In the end, Marcela pinned La Migala, forcing her to be shaved bald afterward.[43] She also regularly worked for Toryumon Mexico, a company CMLL had a close working relationship with.[44]

CMLL has allowed Marcela to defend the CMLL World Women's Championship on non-CMLL shows. For example, she defended the championship against La Amapola at a show in Nezahualcoyotl in 2005.[45] She later challenged for the championship, but lost to La Amapola at a show in Guatemala,[16] and had a successful defense against La Amapola during her third reign.[46] September 9, 2012 saw Marcela outlast 11 other women to win the Copa Femenil Realizada tournament.[47] Later that year, Marcela defeated Ludark Shaitan to win the Xtrem Mexican Wrestling's Women's Championship.[48] The match was the only time that Marcela worked for XMW and never lost the championship in the ring.[49] On February 29, 2020, Marcela survived a six-way hair vs. mask match, escaping before India Sioux pinned Casandra to win the match and the right to cut Casandra's hair off.[50]

Ring of Honor (2017)

Through CMLL's partnership with the US-based Ring of Honor (ROH), Marcela appeared at Supercard of Honor XI on April 1, 2017, where she defeated La Amapola on the pre-show.[51][52]

Championships and accomplishments

Luchas de apuestas record

Winner (wager) Loser (wager) Location Event Date Notes
Marcela (hair)La Gata (mask)N/ALive eventN/A[4]
Marcela (hair)La Briosa (hair)N/ALive eventN/A[4]
Marcela (hair)La Migala (hair)San Juan Pantitlan. MexicoLive eventSeptember 7, 1991[4]
El Mohicano I and Marcela (hair)Black Machine and La Gata (hair)San Juan Pantitlan. MexicoLive eventAugust 3, 2001[4]
Marcela (hair)La Migala (hair)San Juan Pantitlan. MexicoLive eventMarch 18, 2005[a]
Marcela (hair)Rosa Negra (mask)Mexico City53. Aniversario de Arena MéxicoApril 12, 2009[13]
Marcela (hair)Tiffany (hair)Mexico CityLive eventAugust 5, 2012[20]
Marcela (hair)Dalys la Caribeña (hair)Mexico CityHomenaje a Dos LeyendasMarch 21, 2014[21]
Marcela (hair) and Princesa Sugehit (mask)Princesa Blanca (hair) and La Seductora (mask)Mexico CityEl Juicio FinalAugust 1, 2014[56]
Marcela (hair)Princesa Sugehit (hair)Mexico CityHomenaje a Dos LeyendasMarch 20, 2026[38]

Notes

  1. ↑ The match also included Josseline, La Amapola, La Briosa and La Fugitiva. [43]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Tecnico - Marcela" [Faces - Marcela]. Fuego en el Ring (in Spanish). Archived from the original on June 24, 2012. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 Sosa Cabrios, Andrea (March 11, 2019). "Marcela, entre los hombres: La reina de la lucha libre mexicana" [Marcela, among men: The queen of Mexican wrestling]. Chicago Tribune (in Spanish). Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  3. ↑ "3.8 - Lucha Feminil". Fuego en el Ring (in Spanish). Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre. Archived from the original on July 10, 2012. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Mujeres del Ring" [Women of the ring]. Marcela (in Spanish). Récord Magazine. April 2010. pp. 31–32. Año 2, No. 23.
  5. ↑ Madigan, Dan (2007). "Los Luchadoras". Mondo lucha a go-go: the bizarre and honorable world of wild Mexican wrestling. HarperCollins Publishers. pp. 220–224. ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3.
  6. ↑ "International Wrestling Revolution Group Intercontinental Women's Title". wrestling-titles.com. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  7. ↑ "IWRG". CageMatch. September 11, 2003. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Distrito Federal Women's Championship >> xx.xx.xxxx - xx.xx.2009: Marcela". CageMatch. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  9. 1 2 "2005 Lo Mejor de la Lucha Mexicana" [2005 the best of Mexican professional wrestling]. Súper Luchas (in Spanish). January 3, 2006. 140.
  10. ↑ "Lo Mejor de la Lucha Libre Mexicana duranted el 2006" [The best of Mexican professional wrestling in 2006]. Súper Luchas (in Spanish). December 23, 2006. 192. Retrieved July 11, 2009.
  11. 1 2 "Superluchas #244: Lo Mejor del 2007" [Superluchas #244: the best of 2007]. Súper Luchas (in Spanish). December 26, 2007. 244. Retrieved July 11, 2009.
  12. ↑ "Mexican National Women's Championship >> 04.05.2007 - 30.01.2009: Marcela". CageMatch. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  13. 1 2 Rivera, Manuel (April 20, 2009). "Marcela destapó a Rosa Negra" [Marcela unmasked Rosa Negra]. Súper Luchas (in Spanish). pp. 16–17. issue 311.
  14. 1 2 Santamaría, Jorge (October 28, 2011). "Repiten la dosis" [Repeat the dose]. Récord (in Spanish). Archived from the original on October 30, 2011. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
  15. ↑ 栗原あゆみＣＭＬＬ世界女子王座を初戴冠、１．８ブル中野引退興行へ出陣 [Ayumi Kurihara was crowned the CMLL World Women's Champion for the first time]. Sports Navi (in Japanese). Yahoo!. November 26, 2011. Archived from the original on November 30, 2011. Retrieved November 26, 2011.
  16. 1 2 "CMLL World Women's Championship >> 28.10.2011 - 26.11.2011: Marcela (2)". CageMatch. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  17. 1 2 Salazar López, Alexis A. (March 9, 2012). "Marcela de nueva cuenta Monarca Mundial Femenil del CMLL" [Marcela is the new and four time CMLL World Women's Champion]. Estrellas del Ring (in Spanish). Retrieved March 11, 2012.
  18. ↑ "CMLL World Women's Championship >> 09.03.2012 - 12.12.2014: Marcela (3)". CageMatch. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  19. ↑ Rodriquez, Alejandro (June 30, 2012). "Princesa Blanca destapa a Goya Kong". MedioTiempo (in Spanish). Retrieved October 3, 2012.
  20. 1 2 Salazar, Alexis (August 5, 2012). "Domingo 5 de Agosto del 2012" [Sunday August 5, 2012] (in Spanish). Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre. Archived from the original on July 19, 2012. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  21. 1 2 3 Salazar López, Alexis (March 22, 2014). "Homenaje a Dos Leyendas" [Homage to Two Legends]. Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (in Spanish). Archived from the original on July 2, 2014. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
  22. 1 2 Dark Angelita (December 12, 2014). "CMLL / Reina: Resultados "Reina in Shin-Kiba 1sr Ring" – 12/12/2014 – Syuri vence a Marcela" [CMLL / Reina: results "Reina in Shin-Kiba 1sr Ring" – 12/12/2014 – Syuri defeated Marcela]. Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved December 12, 2014.
  23. 1 2 "CMLL World Women's Championship >> 10.04.2015 - 11.03.2015: Marcela (4)". CageMatch. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  24. ↑ López Peralta, Gonzalo (March 12, 2016). "Lucha Libre Arena México 11 de Marzo de 2016" [Professional wrestling in Arena México March 11, 2016]. Yahoo! Deportes (in Spanish). Yahoo!. Archived from the original on April 12, 2023. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  25. ↑ "CMLL Domingos Arena Mexico". CageMatch. August 6, 2017. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  26. ↑ "Zeuxis, nueva Campeona Internacional CMLL-REINA" [Zeuxis, new CMLL-REINA International Champion]. MedioTiempo (in Spanish). August 14, 2017. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  27. 1 2 "CMLL World Women's Championship: 19.11.2018   today: Marcela". CageMatch. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  28. 1 2 "CMLL World Women's Championship >> 19.11.2018 - Today: Marcela (5)". CageMatch. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  29. ↑ "Forastero finge un foul y la Nueva Generación Dinamita se lleva el triunfo" [Forastero fakes a foul, and Nueva Generación Dinamita takes the win]. Marca (in Spanish). August 3, 2019. Archived from the original on September 20, 2019. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
  30. ↑ "Ciber derrotó a Último Guerrero; Metálica va por Campeonato Universal" [Ciber defeated Último Guerrero; Metálica is going for the Universal Championship]. MedioTiempo (in Spanish). August 3, 2019. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
  31. ↑ Dark Angelita (August 19, 2019). "CMLL: Dalys se corona como la primer Campeona Universal de Amazonas" [CMLL: Dalys is crowned the first Amazonas Universal Champion]. Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  32. ↑ Dark Angelita (September 26, 2019). "CMLL: Por lesión Marcela queda fuera del Aniversario 86" [CMLL: Marcela is out of the 86th Anniversary Show due to injury]. Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  33. ↑ "CMLL 87 aniversario: Resumen y resultados del gran show de la Lucha Libre" [CMLL 87th Anniversary: Summary and results of the great Lucha Libre show]. Marca. September 25, 2020. Archived from the original on October 25, 2020. Retrieved June 18, 2026.
  34. ↑ "¡Amapola y Metálica, a la gran final!" [Poppy and Metallic, to the grand final!] (in Spanish). Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre. October 2, 2020. Retrieved June 18, 2026.
  35. ↑ "Euforia y El Terrible, ¿quién será el Rey del Inframundo?" [Euforia and The Terrible, who will be the King of the Underworld?] (in Spanish). Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre. October 23, 2020. Retrieved June 18, 2026.
  36. ↑ Lozano, Pablo (March 18, 2023). "Princesa Sugehit campeona de la Copa Irma González 2023" [Princess Sugehit, champion of the 2023 Irma Gonzalez Cup.]. Kaiser Sports (in Spanish). Archived from the original on March 18, 2023. Retrieved June 18, 2026.
  37. 1 2 Rueda, Yael (March 8, 2024). "La noche de las Amazonas: El CMLL presentó una función totalmente femenil" [The Night of the Amazons: CMLL presented an all-female show]. ESTO Enlinea. Organización Editorial Mexicana. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
  38. 1 2 Méndez, Arturo (March 21, 2026). "¡La raparon! Marcela derrota a Princesa Sugehit y Pólvora pierde la máscara en Homenaje a Dos Leyendas" [They shaved her head! Marcela defeats Princesa Sugehit and Pólvora loses her mask at Homenaje a Dos Leyendas]. ESTO Enlinea (in Spanish). Organización Editorial Mexicana. Retrieved June 18, 2026.
  39. 1 2 "Marcela >> Matches >> 1999 >> Asia". CageMatch. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  40. 1 2 "Marcela >> Matches >> Big Japan Pro-Wrestling". CageMatch. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  41. 1 2 3 4 5 "Marcela >> Matches >> Asia". CageMatch. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  42. ↑ Ocampo, Ernesto, ed. (January 3, 2006). "2005 Lo Mejor de la Lucha Mexicana". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Mexico City, Mexico: Impresos Camsam, SA de CV. ISSN 1665-8876. 140.
  43. 1 2 "Wrestling in Nezahualcoyotl". CageMatch. March 18, 2005. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  44. ↑ "Marcela >> Matches >> Toryumon Mexico". CageMatch. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  45. ↑ "CMLL World Women's Championship >> 16.09.2005 - 09.06.2006: Marcela". CageMatch. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  46. ↑ "CMLL World Women's Championship >> 09.03.2012 - 12.12.2014: Marcela (3)". CageMatch. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  47. ↑ "IWS". CageMatch. September 9, 2012. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  48. 1 2 "El Hijo del Fantasma y Marcela triunfan en XMW" [El Hijo del Fantasma and Marcela triumph at XMW]. MedioTiempo (in Spanish). December 10, 2012. Retrieved December 10, 2012.
  49. ↑ "Marcela >> Matches >> Xtreme Mexican Wrestling". CageMatch. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  50. ↑ "Lucha Strong". CageMatch. March 29, 2020. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  51. ↑ Meltzer, Dave (March 24, 2017). "Daily Update: WrestleMania schedule, NJPW tickets, Kane". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  52. ↑ "ROH Supercard Of Honor XI". CageMatch. April 1, 2017. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  53. ↑ Rivera, Luis Manuel (November 23, 2009). "La Diabólica retuvo el título femnil del DF" [La Diabólica retained the DF women's title]. Súper Luchas (in Spanish). p. 11. issue 341.
  54. ↑ "Marcela y Volador Jr., reconocidos con la Copa Bobby Bonales" [Marcela and Volador Jr., recognized with the Bobby Bonales Cup]. MedioTiempo (in Spanish). July 1, 2017. Retrieved June 18, 2026.
  55. ↑ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) Female 50/100 for 2020". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  56. ↑ Reducindo, Miguel (August 2, 2014). "Resultados Arena México Viernes 1º de Agosto '14" [Arena México results, Friday August 1, 2014]. Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (in Spanish). Archived from the original on July 2, 2014. Retrieved August 2, 2014.
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