Veneno

Rafael Ernesto Medina Baeza (born December 7, 1970), better known under the ring name Veneno ("Venom"), is a Panamanian luchador, or professional wrestler, living in Mexico and currently working for the Mexican professional wrestling promotion International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG) portraying a tecnico ("Good guy") wrestling character. He is related through marriage to the extended Casas wrestling family as his sister, also a wrestler under the ring name Dalys La Caribeña, is married to Negro Casas. Professional wrestling career Rafael Medina is the son of a Panama-based professional wrestling promoter and began his professional wrestling career on April 30, 1993 in his native Panama, working under the ring name "El Guapo Siniestro" ("The Sinister Hansome One"). At some point in the 1990s Mexican wrestler Negro Casas came to Panama to work for Medina's father and provided additional training for Medina. During this timeframe Casas met and married Rafael Medina's sister and when she moved to Mexico Medina followed her, settling down in Mexico. Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (2000–2005) In Mexico he became the enmascarado character "Veneno" (Spanish for "Venom") and began working for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), one of Mexico's largest, and the world's oldest, wrestling promotion. Veneno worked his first major CMLL show on March 30, 2001 when he teamed up with Rencor Latino, Arkangel de la Muerte only to lose to the team of Astro Rey, Jr., Pantera and El Felino on the under card of CMLL's Juicio Final show. On May 2, 2001 Veneno teamed up with Olímpico to compete in the 2001 Copa Ovaciones, sponsored by the Mexican newspaper Ovaciones. The team lost to Super Parka and Máscara Año 2000 in the first round. He later became a part of Pierroth, Jr.'s Los Boricuas (slang for "The Puerto Ricans") rudo (wrestlers who portray the "bad guys", also known as "heels") group and thus played the part of a Puerto Rican sympathizer, claiming that Puerto Rico was superior to Mexico in terms of the storyline. The group was led by Pierroth and also included Gran Markus, Jr., The Killer, Bestia Salvaje, Poder Boricua, Violencia, Nitro, Hijo del Pierroth, Pierrothito, Pequeño Violencia and La Nazi. Veneno, Hijo de Pirroth and Doctor X defeated Tony Rivera, Tigre Blanco and Volador Jr. on CMLL's annual Sin Piedad show.