José Luis Alvarado Nieves (March 19, 1963 – July 26, 2021) was a Mexican ''

luchador ''Lucha libre'' (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term for the style of professional wrestling originating in Mexico. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has develope ...

'' best known under the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons ...

Brazo de Plata, a name he had used since his debut in 1977. He is also well known for his appearances in

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

as Super Porky. Alvarado was a member of the

Alvarado wrestling family The Alvarado wrestling family, also referred to as ''La Dinastia Alvarado'' ("The Alvarado Dynasty") in Spanish, is a Mexico City based family of professional wrestling, professional wrestlers. The family works primarily in Mexico but have made app ...

which includes his father

Shadito Cruz Juan Alvarado Ibarra (January 7, 1915 - February 3, 2003) was a Mexican ''luchador'', or professional wrestler, better known under the ring name Shadito Cruz. Best known as the patriarch of the Alvarado wrestling family that includes six of Alvara ...

, five brothers who used the "Brazo" name at some point and several third-generation wrestlers who have appeared over the last couple of years.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1977–1988)

Alvarado made his debut as "Brazo De Plata" (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

for "Silver arm"), an Enmascarado (masked wrestler) who worked mainly in

tag team match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. ...

es with his brother who worked as Brazo de Oro ("Gold arm") and in trios action with another brother known simply as

El Brazo Juan Alvarado Nieves (July 30, 1961 – October 15, 2013) was a Mexican '' luchador'' (professional wrestler). He was best known under the ring name El Brazo (Spanish for "the Arm"), which he used since his debut in 1980. Alvarado was part of th ...

("the arm"). Los Brazos, as they were billed, wrestled all over Mexico and made appearances for the

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

based NWA Hollywood Wrestling. While working for NWA Hollywood Wrestling, Plata and Oro won the

NWA Americas Tag Team Championship The NWA Americas Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the National Wrestling Alliance's NWA Hollywood Wrestling based out of Los Angeles, California. The championship began as the WWA World Tag Team Championship f ...

from Chino Chou and the Kiss on November 7, 1981. The brothers were also last holders of the Los Angeles version of the

NWA World Tag Team Championship The NWA World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling World Tag Team Championship, world tag team championship created by the National Wrestling Alliance. From 1948 to 1982, the NWA allowed List of National Wrestling Alliance territories ...

in 1982.

Losing the masks (1988–1990)

Over the years Brazo de Plata and his brothers competed in a large number of

Luchas de Apuestas ''Lucha libre'' (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term for the style of professional wrestling originating in Mexico. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has develope ...

("Bet fights") where they put their masks or hair on the line against their opponents. Los Brazos' most famous Luchas de Apuestas occurred on October 21, 1988, when Brazo de Plata, Brazo de Oro, and El Brazo all placed their masks on the line in a match against another well known Lucha libre family, Los Villanos, in this case

Villano I José de Jesús Díaz Mendoza (June 28, 1950 – January 4, 2001), best known by his ring name Villano I (Spanish language, Spanish: "Villano Primero"; English language, English: "Villain the first"), was a Mexican ''Lucha libre, luchador'' ''w ...

Villano IV Tomás Díaz Mendoza (born April 9, 1965), best known by his ring name Villano IV (Spanish: "Villano Cuarto"; English: "Villain the fourth"), is a Mexican ''luchador''. He has wrestled for Universal Wrestling Association (UWA), Lucha Libre AAA ...

and

Villano V Raymundo Díaz Mendoza (March 22, 1962 – August 29, 2024), best known by his ring name Villano V (Spanish: "Villano Quinto"; English: "Villain the fifth"), was a Mexican '' luchador'' (or professional wrestler). Following his unmasking in 20 ...

. The match was the culmination of a long feud (storyline) between the two families and saw all six wrestlers bleed profusely during the bout. In the end Los Villanos won the match, forcing all three Brazos to unmask and reveal their real names as is tradition in these types of matches. Despite losing their masks Los Brazos remained successful in the ring, winning various tag team and trios titles, such as the

UWA World Tag Team Championship The UWA World Tag Team Championship is a tag team professional wrestling championship created by the Lucha libre, Mexican Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) and defended there until the UWA closed in 1995. After the UWA's closing, the title was ...

UWA World Trios Championship The UWA World Trios Championship is a tag team professional wrestling championship created by the Mexican Universal Wrestling Association and defended there until the UWA closed in 1995. Since then, the championship has been defended in various p ...

WWA World Tag Team Championship The WWA World Tag Team Championship was the primary tag team title in the Indianapolis-based World Wrestling Association The World Wrestling Association (WWA) (Asociación Mundial de Lucha Libre in Spanish language, Spanish) is a lucha libre ...

and the WWA World Trios Championship.

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (1985–2005)

Alvarado debuted for

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as (EMLL) (''Mexican Wrestling Enterprise''). Founded in 1933, it is the oldest profe ...

(CMLL) in 1985. By the 1990s Los Brazos worked primarily for CMLL, where Plato, Oro and El Brazo won the

CMLL World Trios Championship The CMLL World Trios Championship (Spanish: "''Campeonato Mundial de Trios''") is a professional wrestling championship promoted by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) in Mexico. The title has existed since 1991 and is contested for by teams o ...

from ''

Los Infernales ''Los Infernales'' (Spanish for "the Infernals") is a Mexican professional wrestling group, called a stable. The stable was created in 1984 and consisted of El Satánico, MS-1 and Espectro Jr. A later version where Pirata Morgan replaced Espect ...

'' (

Pirata Morgan Pedro Ortiz Villanueva (born July 29, 1962) is a Mexican professional wrestler, or luchador, and wrestling trainer who is best known under the ring name Pirata Morgan. Ortiz made his professional wrestling debut in 1979 and has in the last 20 ye ...

, Satánico and MS-1) on April 6, 1993. Los Brazos lost the titles to

Dr. Wagner Jr. Juan Manuel González Barrón (born August 12, 1965) is a Mexican ''luchador'' (Spanish for "professional wrestler") who is best known under the ring name Dr. Wagner Jr., having used that name since 1987. He is the son of Manuel González Rivera ...

, Gran Markus Jr. and

El Hijo del Gladiador Arturo Beristain (born September 5, 1949) is a Mexican retired professional wrestler, or ''Lucha Libre, Luchador'' in Spanish language, Spanish, who works as a wrestling trainer at the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lu ...

. 1993 also saw Brazo de Plata get the biggest singles win of his career as he defeated

Black Magic Black magic (Middle English: ''nigromancy''), sometimes dark magic, traditionally refers to the use of Magic (paranormal), magic or supernatural powers for evil and selfish purposes. The links and interaction between black magic and religi ...

for the

CMLL World Heavyweight Championship The CMLL World Heavyweight Championship () is a men's professional wrestling Championship (professional wrestling)#World championships, world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the Mexican (''lucha libre'') promotion (CMLL). It was ...

, a title he would hold over a year. As the years wore on and Brazo de Plata's waistline expanded he found himself working a more comedic style, often seen as a specialty act. During this time period he was nicknamed "Super Porky" in reference to his weight gain, a nickname Brazo de Plata seemed to embrace.

World Wrestling Entertainment 2005–2006

Plata was hired by

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

(WWE) in 2005 as part of the

SmackDown! ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on USA Network in the United ...

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

's short-lived Juniors Division. Plata was billed as "Super Porky" and paired up with the minis of the Juniors division. Brazo de Plata's appearances played for comedy and no real in-ring appearances came of it before the entire Juniors division concept was ended in March 2006 and all the workers in the division were released.

Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (2006–2009)

After having worked for many years for CMLL Brazo de Plata jumped to its rival promotion

Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide Promociones Antonio Peña, S.A. de C.V. doing business as, d/b/a Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (commonly referred to as simply AAA, pronounced "Triple A" – an abbreviation of its original name Asistencia, Asesoría y Administración de Espectáculos ...

(AAA) making one of his first appearances at AAA's annual Verano de Escandalo show. Almost from the start Brazo de Plata began working a storyline with "Los Guapos VIP" a stable of wrestlers obsessed with their good looks, the polar opposite of the fun loving, overweight Brazo de Plata. At Verano de Escándalo, Brazo de Plata, Intocable, El Oriental and El Zorro lost to the team of Alan Stone, Hator,

Scorpio Jr. Rafael Núñez Juan (October 11, 1966 – November 7, 2024) was a Mexican ''luchador'', or professional wrestler, who was best known under his ring name Scorpio Jr. Núñez was the son of professional wrestler "Scorpio", and was trained by his ...

, and

Zumbido José Angel García Paz (born November 4, 1974) is a Mexican ''Luchador'', or professional wrestler, best known under the ring name Zumbido (Spanish for "Buzz"). He has worked for both (CMLL) and AAA throughout his career, but currently works o ...

. At the following featured show, Guerrera de Titanes 2006, Brazo de Plata had his hair shaved off as he lost a Dog collar chain match to Alan Stone and Scorpio Jr. The storyline with Los Guapos VIP continued throughout 2007 and into 2008 where it saw a surprising turn. Brazo de Plata's brother El Brazo jumped to AAA and attacked his own brother, taking the (storyline) control of the Los Guapos VIP group. The storyline fight of the two brothers came to a crescendo at Guerrera de Titanes 2008, where they faced off in a steel cage match where the loser would have his hair shaved off. El Brazo lost and had his hair shaved to put at least a temporary end to the storyline. He left AAA in March 2009, with his last appearance being March 15 at the

Plaza Nuevo Progreso The Plaza de toros Nuevo Progreso is a bullring in the Mexican city of Guadalajara, Jalisco. It is currently used for bull fighting and also for hosting musical events, and professional wrestling events. The bullring holds 16,561 people and was ...

Guadalajara, Jalisco Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

, losing to La Parka in a semi-final of the Reyes de Reyes Tournament, also featuring

Escoria José Ibarra is a Mexican Luchador (wrestler) who is best known as Escoria / Dark Escoria (Spanish for "Dreg"), a face character that works for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA). Ibarra has been part of The Black Family since it was formed, but left ...

and

Kenzo Suzuki is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his appearances with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), in Mexico with Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) and in the United States with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE ...

Later career (2009–2016)

After leaving AAA, Plata began working independent dates throughout the country as well as wrestling regularly for the

International Wrestling Revolution Group International Wrestling Revolution Group (Grupo Internacional Revolución in Spanish language, Spanish; the Spanish name is used for the promotion while the English initials are used for the title governing body) is a Lucha Libre professional wres ...

(IWRG), '' Perros del Mal Producciones'' (PdM), and his former home promotion CMLL. He wrestled his last match in 2016.

Death

On July 26, 2021, Nieves died at the age of 58; his cause of death was a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

. According to his son, wrestler

Psycho Clown Psycho Clown (born December 16, 1985) is the ring name of a Mexican '' luchador'' '' enmascarado'', or masked professional wrestler, signed to Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA). Psycho Clown's real name is not a matter of public record, as is often ...

, his father's girlfriend called him to tell him he was not breathing. Psycho Clown arrived at his father's house and performed CPR, to no success.

Alvarado family

The Alvarado wrestling family spans three generations starting with Shadito Cruz followed by his 6 sons and a third-generation who have begun wrestling in recent years. José Alvarado has 5 children who have all followed in his footsteps, his sons José (working as Máximo),

and Magia Jr. and his two daughters Danah and Gloria Alvarado Nava, who wrestles as

Goya Kong Gloria Alvarado Nava (born May 4, 1987) is a Mexican ''luchadora'' best known by the ring name Goya Kong for her time working for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) and Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). She is the third-generation ''Luchadora'' ...

. † = deceased

Championships and accomplishments

( 1 time) **

( 1 time) – with Brazo de Oro and El Brazo **

Mexican National Tag Team Championship The Mexican National Tag Team Championship ''()'' is a national Mexican professional wrestling championship controlled by the (Mexico City Boxing and Wrestling Commission) and competed for by two-man tag teams. The championship was created in 1 ...

( 1 time) – with Brazo de Oro **

Mexican National Trios Championship The Mexican National Trios Championship (''Campeonato Nacional de Tríos'' in Spanish) is a three-man tag team professional wrestling championship, sanctioned by the "Comisión de Box y Lucha Libre Mexico D.F." (''Mexico City Boxing and Wrestl ...

( 3 times) – with Brazo de Oro and

(2) and El Brazo and Super Elektra (1) *Federación Internacional de Lucha Libre **FILL Trios Championship (1 time) – with Brazo de Oro and El Brazo *

NWA Hollywood Wrestling NWA Hollywood Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Los Angeles) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Los Angeles, California in the United States that promoted professional wrestling matches throughout Southern California. It ...

( 1 time) – with Brazo de Oro ** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Los Angeles version)'' ( 1 time) – with Brazo de Oro *

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...

**PWI ranked him #229 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the

PWI 500 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...

in 2006 *

Universal Wrestling Association The Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) was a Mexican ''Lucha Libre'' or professional wrestling promotion based in Naucalpan, Mexico State that operated from 1975 until 1995. The name of the actual promotion was Promociones Mora y Asociados and ...

( 1 time) – with Brazo de Oro **

( 3 times) – with Brazo de Oro and El Brazo *

World Wrestling Association The World Wrestling Association (WWA) (Asociación Mundial de Lucha Libre in Spanish language, Spanish) is a lucha libre promotion based in the Tijuana-area of Mexico. It was founded in 1986 by Benjamin Mora Jr.. It featured some of Mexico's best ...

(1 time) – with Brazo de Oro **

WWA World Trios Championship The WWA World Trios Championship (''Campeonato Mundial de Trios WWA'' in Spanish) is a six-man (or ''trios'') Tag Team Championship in the Mexican lucha libre (Professional wrestling) promotion World Wrestling Association (WWA) in Mexico. It was ...

(1 time) *''

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four Wee ...

'' **

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling and mixed martial arts (MMA) hall of fame that recognizes people who make significant contributions to their professions. It was founded in 1996 by Dave Mel ...

(Class of 2021) as part of ''

Los Brazos The Alvarado wrestling family, also referred to as ''La Dinastia Alvarado'' ("The Alvarado Dynasty") in Spanish, is a Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the L ...

'' *Other titles **Distrito Federal Trios Championship (1 time) – with Brazo de Oro and El Brazo **Distrito Federal Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with El Brazo **Puebla Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Brazo de Oro

''Luchas de Apuestas'' record

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 0–1 , Takumi Yano , Submission (

heel hook Heel hook may refer to: * Heel hook, in grappling * A climbing technique Climbing technique refers to a broad range of physical movements used in the activity or sport of climbing. Notable sub-groups of climbing technique include: *Aid climbin ...

) , Deep - 9th Impact , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:24 ,

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Notes

References

;General * ;Specific

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brazo de Plata 1963 births 2021 deaths 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century Mexican professional wrestlers 21st-century male professional wrestlers 21st-century Mexican professional wrestlers Alvarado family (professional wrestling) Mexican male professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Mexico City Mexican National Trios Champions CMLL World Heavyweight Champions CMLL World Trios Champions UWA World Trios Champions UWA World Tag Team Champions NWA Americas Tag Team Champions