El Ligero had his career ruined in 2020, after being accused of various levels of sexual harassment.
The British wrestler, who portrayed a masked Mexican luchador in the ring, was known as the work horse of the British indie wrestling scene. He was said to have wrestled on over 300 shows in one year, and was a fan favourite across the country.
He starred, and won titles, in numerous promotions. Most notably, he wrestled for Progress, WCPW and even the WWE (in their ill-fated NXT UK division). He was a high-flying star, and looked destined to remain a stalwart of the scene for years to come.
Then, one day, El Ligero was never seen again. The Speaking Out movement claimed another (alleged) predator, as Ligero was unceremoniously dumped out of the industry, hopefully never to return.
El Ligero Was Accused Of Being Abusive During Speaking Out
On June 18th, 2020, British indie wrestler Natalie Sykes accused El Ligero of various levels of abuse.
They met when she was just 17, and Ligero trained Sykes in the art of wrestling. During this time, he began to make obsessive comments about the young wrestler, making her very uncomfortable with how sexual they became.
El Ligero repeatedly asked her for photos in her wrestling gear, and hounded her for having relationships with people outside of wrestling. He bullied her – and them – for simply being together, even encouraging Sykes to break up with her partners.
His behaviour eventually went too far, and she confided in a friend. She also changed training schools, and the friend and others in the business made sure that Ligero would not bother her any more.
Natalie Sykes posted the allegations against El Ligero on Twitter on the same day that David Starr and his allegations kicked off the entire speaking out movement.
Sykes also posted similar claims from another female wrestler, who wanted to remain nameless. She alleged that El Ligero tried to get her into “1 on 1” sessions, and made inappropriate sexual comments about her.
WWE Fired Him After These Allegations Came Out
After conducting their own investigation into the claims, WWE fired El Ligero from his role in NXT UK.
He had been a constant presence in the promotion, albeit not as a main event player. Ligero had been a good hand in the mid-card since the promotion opened its doors. However, the allegations made him far too toxic for the WWE to keep employed any more.
WWE released El Ligero, as well as Kiwi wrestler Travis Banks, on June 26th, 2020. This was just over a week after the allegations came to light. His termination signalled the end of Ligero’s chances of becoming a wrestling superstar.
He even lost his job with Progress wrestling. Along with other wrestlers, including JD McDonagh (Jordan Devlin, at the time), Travis Banks and David Starr, El Ligero was fired from Progress wrestling, just one day after the allegations came to light.
He has not wrestled any matches since. As of 2024, El Ligero’s career as a professional wrestling is over.
El Ligero Blames “Personal Problems” For His Release
El Ligero did take responsibility for his actions. The disgraced wrestler spoke with Developmentally Speaking in 2023, where he blamed his release on his “personal problems”.
He added that they were entirely his fault, and that he failed to deal with issues that were “long embedded in me psychologically”.
“I got released in 2020 because of personal problems that I brought upon myself. It was no one else’s fault or anything like that. It’s something that to this day, three years later, I’m still completely accountable for and completely responsible for. It was personal problems that were long embedded in me psychologically that I failed to get a grip of and failed to be responsible for.”
El Ligero added that he received therapy following his release. He hasn’t wrestled since his release from the WWE. It’s likely that no British promotion will touch him following the allegations.
His last match was a battle royal on NXT on March 7th, 2020.
