CRUZ DEL TORO

Raul Mendoza is a 31-year-old Mexican professional wrestler. He is currently signed to the WWE and performs on SmackDown. His ring name is Cruz Del Toro.

Mendoza started his wrestling career in 2006 working primarily for promotions in Mexico and Japan. For the next 10 years, Mendoza wrestled on the Mexican independent circuit. He performed for independent promotions like Desastre Total Ultraviolento (DTU), Perros del Mal (PdM), and the International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG). Mendoza also wrestled for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA). In Japan, he wrestled for the Japanese promotion, Pro Wrestling Noah.

Raul Mendoza’s WWE Debut

Mendoza made his WWE debut in the Cruiserweight Classic in 2016. Representing his homeland of Mexico, he was eliminated in the first round of the tournament by The Brian Kendrick. After the tournament, he signed with WWE and was assigned to NXT.

On May 25, 2017, Mendoza made his NXT debut in a losing match to The Velveteen Dream. The following February, Mendoza won a battle royal thus making himself the number one contender for the NXT Championship. Mendoza had his first NXT title match but was defeated by NXT Champion, Andrade “Cien” Almas.

Raul Mendoza’s 205 Live Debut

On July 23, 2019, Raul Mendoza made his 205 Live debut. He teamed with Humberto Carrillo and together, they defeated Kalisto and Gran Metalik. A few months later in November, he challenged the NXT Cruiserweight Champion Lio Rush but was unsuccessful.

In May 2020, Mendoza was “kidnapped” as part of an NXT storyline. A group of masked men grabbed Mendoza and threw him into a van in the parking lot outside the arena. The following week Joaquin Wilde was also kidnapped. Raul Mendoza made his return to NXT television with Wilde that June. At that time, it was revealed that they were mysterious masked men. Mendoza and Wilde aligned themselves with Santos Escobar and called themselves, El Legado del Fantasma.

In 2021, Wilde and Mendoza entered the 2021 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. They lost to the eventual winners MSK (Nash Carter and Wes Lee) in the semi-final round. On night one of NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver, they faced MSK and Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake and Zack Gibson) in a match for the tag team titles. MSK won the titles.

At NXT Takeover: In Your House, Legado del Fantasma faced Bronson Reed and NXT Tag Team champions MSK in a winners take all, six man tag team match. Legado del Fantasma were unsuccessful in winning the titles. On the August 24th episode of NXT, Elektra Lopez made her debut helping Legado Del Fantasma win against Hit Row. WWE announced in April 2022 that Raul Mendoza’s new ring name was now, Cruz Del Toro.

Legado del Fantasma Drafted to SmackDown

On the October 7th edition of SmackDown, Cruz Del Toro alongside Wilde and Escobar joined Zelina Vega on the SmackDown brand. Del Toro, alongside the rest of Legado Del Fantasma helped Rey Mysterio against The Judgment Day, turning face in the process on the March 10th episode of Smackdown. On the March 31st episode of SmackDown, Rey reformed the Latino World Order and invited Legado Del Fantasma to join as a token of appreciation for aiding him in his fight against his son, Dominik, and The Judgement Day.

STATS

Birth name: Raul Mendoza
Born: November 25, 1991, Córdoba, Veracruz, Mexico
Height: 5 ft 7 in (174 cm)
Weight: 190 lb (86 kg)
Ring Name(s): Jinzo, Raul Mendoza, Ronnie Mendoza, Tribal, Cruz Del Toro
Current Roster: WWE SmackDown
Finishing Move(s): 450 splash

Cruz Del Toro’s Social Media:

• Desastre Total Ultraviolento
  • DTU Alto Impacto Championship (1 time)
• Pro Wrestling Noah
  • Noah Wrestling Camp (2014)
• Xtrem Mexican Wrestling
  • XMW International Cup (2012)