There was a cycle to Mr. Niebla. He’d be riding high, beloved for the fans, and even sometimes the promotion. Inevitably, something would happen – his body or mind betraying him – and it would seem to have Mr. Niebla his professional career. A few months would pass, past problems would be forgiven or forgotten, and Mr. Niebla would find himself back in that embrace of the fans again. It happened so many times, especially the second half of his career, that it felt as if it would go on forever. Mr. Niebla had been ill in recent months, but it just that cycle, and he’d surely be back again. There were reports of him feeling better, making appearances at wrestling shows to apologize for not being able to wrestle but promising to be back soon. A benefit show was announced for January 4th – maybe he’d return to the ring then to shore up CMLL during the FantasticaMania return. Even when there was a recent report Niebla might be near the end of his career due to this illness, it was impossible to take seriously. Niebla suffered professional and personal near-deaths before, and he’d be back like the other times, no other possibility was conceivable.
Mr. Niebla passed away earlier Monday, reportedly due to a blood infection. Niebla, real name Efren Tiburcio, was only 46 years old. It was a hard 46 years.
He arrived in CMLL in 1995 and was a world trios champion with two years. Mr. Niebla’s heavyweight size, combined with agility and natural charisma, made him stand out. CMLL was still reloading after the departure of talent to AAA, and Niebla seemed like someone who could carry the promotion into the future, a bigger version of Atlantis. Niebla & Shocker were paired up as rising stars, then broken up to be career rivals. Niebla took Shocker’s mask at the 1999 CMLL Anniversary show, a big of sleight of hand convincing fans that would be the Villano III/Atlantis match while trying to elevate the younger wrestlers. (It worked well enough for CMLL to put Volador, Sombra, Ultimo Guerrero, and Atlantis in a similar scenario a decade and a half later.) Niebla got Shocker’s mask, but Shocker took off over the next few years while Niebla stalled out. CMLL and newspapers had occasional reports of Mr. Niebla as out of action with knee issues. He did legitimately have knee problems throughout his career, but it also became code alcohol-related suspensions. (Those suspensions became so well known that Mr. Niebla would later feel required to confirm actual injuries in case the fans thought he was suspended again.) Lucha libre is an alcohol-filled environment, and Mr. Niebla’s battle against alcoholism both shaped and destroyed his career.
CMLL pulled Mr. Niebla off shows in July 2006 with a claimed shoulder injury. Mr. Niebla started wrestling indies that weekend, having been fired by CMLL for causing one problem too many. Niebla drifted around the indies for the rest of the year until AAA picked him up to start 2007. The AAA run saved Mr. Niebla’s career. Niebla was cast as the newest member of Abismo Negro’s Vipers, and immediately fit in as part as the evil bumbling fool. His confidence, which had faded away alongside his CMLL career, returned as he played the rudo for the first time. AAA didn’t ask much of Niebla in his first year in the promotion, but he earned their trust. AAA went with Niebla in 2008, flipping Abismo Negro to the tecnico side in a feud over the future of the Vipers. It was a great idea that never got the TripleMania mask versus mask ending it deserved. Abismo Negro was in the midst of a losing battle against addiction himself and vanished from the promotion for a couple of months. Niebla jumped ship, making a surprise return to CMLL. Niebla would later blame the decision on Abismo Negro being unprofessional, and talked about facing Mistico & Dr. Wagner in a mask match instead.
That’s not as strange as it might sound now. Mr. Niebla’s jump to CMLL spurred the creation of La Peste Negra. That group is comedy today but began with a rough edge when Niebla, Negro Casas, and Heavy Metal formed the team. Niebla was a prominent name and a valuable mask, recharged by the unfinished Abismo Negro feud, CMLL was booming due to Mistico, and Niebla just had to keep it together long enough to earn CMLL’s trust. It never happened, he couldn’t hold his demons in check long enough. Niebla would have a public incident, attempt to wrestle while being out of it, and CMLL would punish Niebla with a suspension. That Mistico/Niebla mask match probably should’ve happened on the 2009 Anniversary card. Niebla was left off it instead. He’d be part of the 2011 multi-man cage match and then never again in an Anniversary main event. CMLL wouldn’t take the risk of booking Niebla in a vital position and have him show up in no condition to perform.
Mr. Niebla eventually began to acknowledge his alcoholism publicly and bring it into his character, wrestling as a drunken wildman. He was great at it, bringing back comedy spots from his youth while outshining his partners and opponents with his giant personality. Niebla became more famous for it and a perfect character for the increasingly tourist-based crowd. Still, he and the promotion couldn’t do much more with it, fearing the inevitable relapse. Niebla should’ve been one of the top stars for CMLL for the last decade. He was one of the more popular ones, but his issues prevented him from being able to cease on that popularity.
CMLL was right to fear those relapses, which seemed to become more public as he grew older. Niebla infamously was selected by NJPW management to work the 2015 FantasticaMania tour and ended the tour hospitalized from what appeared to be another relapse. CMLL’s increased live streaming also led to Mr. Niebla’s incidents becoming tougher for CMLL to hide. An August 2018 Niebla performance went viral. CMLL seemed to react more to the virality than even to Niebla’s actions, letting him go from the promotion for six months, the longest he’d been gone since his AAA trip. Niebla came back, as he always did – he was talented, and his peers seemed to love him despite his issues. Every relapse led to a hope that this would be the time Niebla would find a way to get better.
Mr. Niebla passed away due to blood infection, which isn’t directly related to alcoholism. Chronic alcoholism has been linked to a reduced immune system and increased risk of danger from blood infections, though. We don’t know the details of Niebla’s death. We also don’t know the details of Niebla’s battle against alcoholism outside of those suspensions. Promotions and Mexican wrestlers are more private about those issues than they might be in the US, and there’s no knowing what was tried and who helped. The only information we know from the outside is Mr. Niebla was not able to overcome his issues, and his professional rivals (Shocker & Abismo Negro) suffered similarly. Substance addiction is a problem inside of lucha libre, though not one addressed publically. The only good thing which might come out of Mr. Niebla passing away would be people trying to find a better way to treat it than was done for him.
Rest in peace