Wrestler Pedro Aguayo Ramirez died on Saturday, March 21, in Tijuana while battling in a tag-team match against former WWE Superstar Rey Mysterio.
Yahoo Sports reported that Mysterio executed a dropkick then his signature "619" move on Ramirez, who is also known as Hijo del Perro Aguayo. This is where the situation ended unexpectedly.
PWTorch wrote that Ramirez received a kick in the trachea, instead of his face, to avoid the "619", resulting to a powerful whiplash. A video posted by AXIproductionz on YouTube showed the sequence of events. In the video, Ramirez was shown landing throat-first on the middle rope as Mysterio prepared for the "619". Mysterio avoided him on the actual attempt.
Ramirez was put on a back brace by a paramedic team then brought out of the arena at the Municipal Auditorium to be taken to Del Prado hospital. Mexican publication Zeta first reported that Ramirez was stabilized at the hospital after he lost consciousness. However, another local report revealed that Ramirez was pronounced dead at about 1:00 a.m. local time. Zeta confirmed with another news report that Ramirez died in the early morning of March 21.
F4WOnline reported that it is not clear whether Ramirez was injured when he fell on the ropes or was positioned badly while selling. For some, it was more likely that he got injured when he fell on the ropes, causing these to whiplash him. According to sources who were at the hospital, the initial cause of death was cervical spine trauma which resulted from the ropes snapping his neck. Ramirez was already unconscious when Mysterio attempted the "619". Mysterio saw that Ramirez was already out and did not him. The wrestlers continued the match when they realized that Ramirez was no longer responded and headed straight to the finish.
The Baja California state prosecutor's office initiated an investigation to look into the possibility of manslaughter. It was the second time that Mysterio wrestled after he left the WWE in February 2015.
Ramirez is the son of lucha libre legend Pedro Aguayo. Ramirez started his wrestling career at 15 years old in Mexico. He and his father proceeded to become three-time Mexican National Tag Team champions. He wrestled in AAA and CMLL.
AAA issued a statement forwarding their condolences to the family of Ramirez and thanking the media for the support and respect during their difficult time. Many wrestlers also forwarded their sentiments and condolences to Ramirez's family after hearing the terrible news.