Lung cancer has claimed the life of Hector Garza, who was a star in Mexico for two decades and is known to North American fans primarily for his time in WCW and briefly in TNA. He was 43 years old.
Garza’s fight against lung cancer first went public in October 2012. At that point, he retired from active competition and concentrated on fighting the disease, going through several rounds of chemotherapy. His colleagues in wrestling put on a number of benefit shows for him in Mexico.
Hector Garza
He was born Hector Segura on June 12, 1969, and has been wrestling since 1992, when he trained with his uncles in Monterrey. In Mexico, he grew into a headliner for both CMLL and AAA. Abroad, he made trips to Japan, America and was even in the WWE for the 1997 Royal Rumble.
Most wrestling fans here, though, recall Garza from his time in WCW during the Monday Night Wars, and in TNA. His corkscrew plancha was jawdropping, and in one interview, TNA star Shawn Hernandez joked about the tightness of Garza’s Speedo-like tights.
The lucha libre-influenced stars in WWE took the time to tweet about Garza’s passing.
“So so sad. The mexican wrestling lost one of their mayor [sic] wrestlers. RIP Hector Garza. Goodbye my friend,” wrote Sin Cara at @TheSinCaraWWE
“Beyond sad to hear of the passing of a huge inspiration of mine growing,” expressed Ricardo Rodriguez, @RRWWE.
Alberto Del Rio, @VivaDelRio, has a lot of history with Garza. “Rest in peace my great friend Hector Garza, el Querubin,” he wrote. When Del Rio, wrestling as Dos Caras Jr., decided to turn heel, it came against teammate Hector Garza, delivering a low blow. Caras Jr. then joined in a four-on-one attack on Garza, along with Averno, Memphisto and El Terrible.
In TNA, Garza was a part of the 2004 TNA World X Cup Tournament, with Team Mexico spearheaded by Konnan, and also including Heavy Metal, Absimo Negro, and Mister Aguila. He worked off and on there until 2005, when Garza was busted for steroid possession — which he claimed were for his knee — and was barred from the United States.
Wrestling historian Brian Wescott assembled a list of his titles on his website: Mexico: UWA World Middleweight Title; Mexico: CMLL World Trios Title-(5); Mexico: Mexican National Tag Team Title; Mexico: Mexican National Light Heavyweight Title; Mexico: Mexican National Heavyweight Title-(2); Mexico: CMLL World Tag Team Title-(3); Mexico: LLA Heavyweight Title; Monterrey: FILL Light Heavyweight Title; Mexico/California: AAA IWC World Heavyweight Title-(2); Mexico: CMLL World Heavyweight Title; Mexico: WWA World Tag Team Title;
His passing came on Sunday, May 26, 2013.