:Fray Tormenta
{{Short description|Mexican Catholic priest and lucha libre wrestler (born 1945)}}
{{BLP sources|date=November 2022}}
{{family name hatnote|Gutiérrez|Benítez|lang=Spanish}}
{{Infobox professional wrestler
|name=Fray Tormenta
|names= Fray Tormenta
|image=Fray Tormenta en interview (cropped).png
|image_size=
|caption=
|height={{height|m=1.78|precision=0}}
|weight={{convert|105|kg|lb|0|abbr=on}}
|birthname=Sergio Gutiérrez Benítez
|birth_date={{Birth date and age|1945|5|9}}
|birth_place=San Agustín Metzquititlán, Hidalgo, Mexico
|death_date=
|death_place=
|resides=
|billed=
|trainer=
|debut=1973
}}
Sergio Gutiérrez Benítez (born May 9, 1945){{cite web | url=http://bajolascapuchasmx.blogspot.com/2011/07/fray-tormenta-se-retira.html |title=Fray Tormenta se retira|work=Bajo Las Capuchas|date=July 21, 2011|accessdate=July 21, 2011}} is a Mexican Catholic priest who founded and supported an orphanage for 23 years as a lucha libre wrestler. While performing, he wore a red and yellow mask and used the ring name Fray Tormenta ("Friar Storm"). He made only sporadic in-ring appearances in the 2000s before retiring completely from wrestling in July 2011, but he still wears his mask even in his duties as a priest.
Biography
File:Fray Tormenta (2011).webm
Sergio Gutiérrez Benítez was born to José Gutiérrez García and Emilia Benítez on May 9, 1945, in San Agustín Metzquititlán, Hidalgo as the sixteenth of their seventeen children. He had long been inspired to become a masked luchador after watching two 1963 Mexican films, El Señor Tormenta (Mister Storm) and Tormenta En El Ring (Storm In The Ring) both of which featured the story of a poor Mexican priest who supported the children of his orphanage by fighting as a lucha libre wrestler at night. At age 22, Gutiérrez, at the time a drug addict and alcoholic, became interested in the priesthood and was inducted into the Piarists Order. His theological training took him to Rome, and then Spain, and for a while he taught philosophy and history at Roman Catholic universities in Mexico. He later became a secular priest in the Diocese of Texcoco, where he founded an orphanage named "La Casa Hogar de los Cachorros de Fray Tormenta", which would serve as the home of 270 children. In need of money to take care of the children, the father became the masked wrestler known as Fray Tormenta.
In 1991, French filmmakers made a movie loosely based on his life called {{Interlanguage link|L'Homme au masque d'or|fr}} (The Man In The Golden Mask) starring Jean Reno.
In 2006, American film maker Jared Hess made another film based on the story of Fray Tormenta called Nacho Libre, starring Jack Black. The Paramount film was produced by Jack Black, Mike White, and David Klawans. Benítez appears in the movie where he portrays a retired wrestler.
In 2007, Fray Tormenta appeared in the film Padre Tormenta as a priest who dons the luchador's mask and enters the ring to raise funds for the orphanage he directs.{{Cite web |url=http://peliculasbarbaloza.com/catalogohtml/mo-004.htm |title=Peliculas Barbaloza |access-date=2010-11-14 |archive-date=2012-11-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121116181850/http://peliculasbarbaloza.com/catalogohtml/mo-004.htm |url-status=dead }}
Currently, Fray Tormenta stars as a supporting character in the Mexican comic book series Místico: El Principe de Plata y Oro as a mentor to the lucha libre wrestler Místico.
In real life, although Fray Tormenta is now retired from professional wrestling, he still works at the orphanage as a priest and has inspired one of his children to take up his mantle so that the legend of Fray Tormenta can live on. The masked wrestler, whose real name is unknown, calls himself Fray Tormenta Jr.{{cite web|url=http://slam.canoe.com/Slam/Wrestling/2006/06/14/1630776.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151120124818/http://slam.canoe.com/Slam/Wrestling/2006/06/14/1630776.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 20, 2015|title=Fray Tormenta: The real Nacho Libre|website=canoe.com}} Although semi-retired from wrestling since 2001, he still wrestled occasionally and on January 11, 2011, won his second Lucha de Apuesta, by defeating Bugambilia, Super Crazy, X-Fly, Bestia 666 and Boy Danger, to win Bugambilia's hair.{{cite web | url=http://estrellasdelring.blogspot.com/2011/01/fray-tormenta-dejo-pelon-bugambila.html |title=Fray Tormenta dejó pelón a Bugambila|first=Alejandro |last=Velazquez Martinez |publisher=Estrellas del Ring |date=January 11, 2011|accessdate=January 13, 2011}} On July 3, 2011, Tormenta teamed with El Pantera and Solar to defeat Black Terry, Negro Navarro and Scorpio, Jr. at International Wrestling Revolution Group's Festival de las Mascaras.{{cite web | url=http://superluchas.com/iwrg-festival-de-las-mascaras-homenaje-a-fray-tormenta-resultados-3-de-julio-konnan-traiciona-a-su-equipo-canek-luchador-sorpresa-Frayo-de-jalisco-jr/ |title=Festival de las Máscaras – Homenaje a Fray Tormenta|first=Rey |last=Mexicool|work=Súper Luchas Magazine |date=July 4, 2011|accessdate=July 21, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121006225531/http://Superluchas.com/iwrg-festival-de-las-mascaras-homenaje-a-fray-tormenta-resultados-3-de-julio-konnan-traiciona-a-su-equipo-canek-luchador-sorpresa-rayo-de-jalisco-jr/|archive-date=October 6, 2012}} After the match Gutiérrez announced that he had wrestled his final match. On June 20, 2012, Tormenta made an appearance for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), officially giving his blessing to the second incarnation of Místico.{{cite web | url = http://superluchas.com/dragon-lee-se-convierte-en-mistico/ | title = Dragon Lee se convierte en "Místico" | date=June 20, 2012 | accessdate=June 20, 2012 | last=Mexicool | first=Rey | work=Súper Luchas Magazine | language = Spanish}}{{cite web | url = http://superluchas.com/dragon-lee-es-el-nuevo-mistico/ | title = Imagen: Dragón Lee es el nuevo "Místico" | accessdate=June 20, 2012 | last=Ruiz Glez | first=Alex | work=Súper Luchas Magazine | date = 20 June 2012 | language = Spanish}}
In popular culture
{{BLP unreferenced section|date=April 2020}}
The video game characters King from Tekken,{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080730205709/http://sports.ign.com/articles/885/885406p2.html|archive-date=July 30, 2008|author=Barnwell, Bill |url=http://sports.ign.com/articles/885/885406p2.html |title=The Ten Best Fake Wrestlers In Videogame History - Sports News at IGN |publisher=Sports.ign.com |date=2011-09-14 |url-status=dead|access-date=2011-10-13}} Crasher Wake from Pokémon, Tizoc from Fatal Fury, Leon from F-Zero, and Greco from Chrono Cross were inspired by his story, as were the movies Nacho Libre with Jack Black playing Ignacio/Nacho as the Fray Tormenta inspired character and the French film L'Homme au masque d'or (fr) with Jean Reno playing Father Victorio Gaetano.
''Luchas de Apuestas'' record
{{See also|Lucha libre#Luchas de Apuestas|l1=Luchas de Apuestas}}
| class="wikitable sortable" width=100% style="text-align: center"
!width=20% scope="col"|Winner (wager) !width=20% scope="col"|Loser (wager) !width=20% scope="col"|Location !width=20% scope="col"|Event !width=15% scope="col"|Date !class="unsortable" width=5% scope="col"|Notes | |||||
| Fray Tormenta (mask) | El Hijo de Judas (mask) | Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas | Live event | {{dts|1990|11|18}}{{cite web|url=https://members.f4wonline.com/wrestling-observer-newsletter/january-28-1991-wrestling-observer-newsletter-wwf-royal-rumble-review|title=January 28, 1991 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: WWF Royal Rumble review, tons of news|author=Observer Staff|publisher=Wrestling Observer Newsletter|website=F4WOnline.com|date=January 28, 1991|accessdate=September 4, 2019}} {{subscription required}} | |
| Fray Tormenta (mask) | Bugambilia (hair) | Pachuca, Hidalgo | Live event | {{dts|2011|01|11}} | Six–way match, also involving Super Crazy, X-Fly, Bestia 666 and Boy Danger. |
Notes
{{reflist|group=Note}}
References
=Footnotes=
{{Reflist}}
=General=
{{Refbegin}}
- {{Cite book | author= Various | title= Lucha Libre: Masked Superstars of Mexican Wrestling | publisher= Distributed Art Publishers, Inc. | year= 2005 | chapter = El Sacerdote Luchador / the wrestling priest | pages = 217–219 | isbn=968-6842-48-9}}
{{Refend}}
External links
- {{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20120630165816/http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2006/06/14/1630776.html Slam Sports: The Real Nacho Libre]}}
- [https://archive.today/20130102071054/http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1066880/index.htm Sports Illustrated article on Fray Tormenta]
- [https://www.theguardian.com/film/2006/aug/04/2 Guardian profile of Fray Tormenta]
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Category:Mexican Roman Catholic priests
Category:Mexican male professional wrestlers