Kalisto | |
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Kalisto in March 2015
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Birth name | Emanuel Alejandro Rodriguez |
Born |
Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
November 14, 1986
Residence | Orlando, Florida, U.S. |
Spouse(s) | Abigail Rodriguez |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) |
Kalisto Octagón Jr. Samuray Samuray del Sol |
Billed height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) |
Billed weight | 170 lb (77 kg) |
Billed from |
Berwyn, Illinois Mexico City |
Trained by |
Billy Gunn Dusty Rhodes Gran Apache Norman Smiley Sara Amato Windy City Pro Wrestling |
Debut | 2006 |
Emanuel Alejandro Rodriguez (born November 14, 1986) is a Mexican-American professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Kalisto.
In 2006, Rodriguez made his professional wrestling debut on the Midwestern United States independent circuit, working under a mask and the ring name Samuray del Sol (Spanish for "Samurai of the Sun"). After establishing himself as one of the top high-flyers in the area, he began working for larger promotions in 2011 and was signed by Dragon Gate USA in 2012. The same year, he made his debut for Mexican promotion Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA), where, in November, he was repackaged as Octagón Jr., the storyline protégé of well-known luchador Octagón. He has also worked for Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South (IWA-MS), National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG).
In May 2013, he signed with WWE and was assigned to their developmental territory NXT, where he was renamed Kalisto. In September 2014, Kalisto, with Sin Cara as "The Lucha Dragons", won the NXT Tag Team Championship. In February 2015, Kalisto was promoted to WWE's main roster. In January 2016, he won his first singles title in WWE, the United States Championship, a title he has since held twice.