Catalina García (born May 4, 2000), known under the ring name La Catalina, is a Chilean professional wrestler. She previously wrestled in WWE under the ring name Katrina Cortez, and was hired at only 18 years old which was a historic event for Chilean pro wrestling, as no female Chilean wrestler had previously wrestled in WWE.
| La Catalina | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 4, 2000 Santiago, Chile |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) |
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| Trained by |
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| Debut | 1 February 2014 |
Professional wrestling career
editBefore joining the WWE, García trained at the RLL Wrestling Academy.[1] In 2021, she left WWE, largely due to her work visa expiring.[2] After this, she took her career to Mexico, where she first wrestled on the independent scene before becoming a poster name for Big Lucha.[3]
On March 3, 2023, García made her debut in Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre. Up until this point, La Catalina had wrestled wearing a wrestling mask and her identity was known to the public, as is common in lucha libre.[4] But before her debut, she voluntarily took off the mask, which is very unusual, as a luchador normally loses the mask through a loss in a stake match, so-called lucha de apuestas.[5]
In CMLL, La Catalina has since had a very successful career, including a long-standing rivalry with compatriot Stephanie Vaquer, where they both wrestled for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Japan's largest wrestling promotion.[6][7]
In July 2024, García announced that she will have to undergo surgery in August of that year for a cyst, and that she had been struggling with a lot of pain for the last year.[6]
Personal life
editLa Catalina is married to El Elemental, a Mexican professional wrestler from Mérida, known from Big Lucha and who has also wrestled a lot in the United States and Canada. The couple married in April 2024. El Elemental now trains with CMLL but has yet (2024) to make his debut there.[8]
Championships and accomplishments
edit- Revolucion Lucha Libre
- RLL Women's Championship (2 times)
References
edit- ^ "La Catalina". cagematch.net (in German). Retrieved 2024-07-27.
- ^ "Katrina Cortez - WWE News, Rumors, & Updates". FOX Sports. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
- ^ "Big Lucha (FRI) 10/14/2022 Bandidos Gym, Iztapalapa, Distrito Federal [Mas Lucha]". www.luchadb.com. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
- ^ Madigan, Dan (2007). "Okay... what is Lucha Libre?". Mondo Lucha A Go-Go: the bizarre & honorable world of wild Mexican wrestling. HarperCollins Publishers. pp. 29–40. ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3.
- ^ "Chilena se desenmascara para luchar en la Arena México". El Universal (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-07-27.
- ^ a b Andrew Thompson (2024-07-11). "La Catalina opens up about undergoing surgery for cyst". POST Wrestling | WWE AEW NXT NJPW Podcasts, News, Reviews. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
- ^ "Stephanie Vaquer vs La Catalina CMLL vs NJPW Fantasticamania". 411MANIA. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
- ^ "Amor en el ring: El sorpresivo matrimonio de la chilena ex WWE "La Catalina" con luchador mexicano | Deportes". La Cuarta (in Spanish). 2024-04-02. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
External links
edit- La Catalina's profile at Cagematch.net
