Pénta made his World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) debut earlier this year, though before that, he worked in many independent wrestling companies and in All Elite Wrestling.
Pénta, whose real identity is unknown, became a luchador enmascarado in the early 2000s, where he became famous for his work in Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide. It was here that he took on the identity Pentagón Jr. in 2012. Allegedly, those prior who wrestled with the name Pentagón endured bad luck, so upon taking this new moniker, he adopted the catchphrase Cero Miedo, which translates to zero fear.
According to Pénta, the phrase came from a genre of Mexican music called The Corridos, specifically the band Los Buitres De Culiacan Sinaloa, who often say “Cero miedo mi compa” or no fear, my friend.
From his WWE debut, as I was not familiar with him prior, it was clear that his catchphrase was a perfect fit, as he takes a “zero fear” approach to his wrestling.
His match against Chad Gable immediately caught my attention. Pénta displays an aggressive style of wrestling that, in my opinion, isn’t seen often with the current WWE roster. I loved seeing his flips, strength and overall character in the ring. The catchy phrase that somehow the entire arena knew didn’t hurt, as well. So, I went to learn more about him, which is where I learned that Cero Miedo is more to many, including Pénta, than a tagline.
“Cero Miedo is not only the lucha move or the lucha gimmick, now it’s the lifestyle because I know a lot of people in different parts told me, ‘Hey, Pénta. Thanks for the Cero Miedo. I conquered cancer’ or some different things. When I hear this, it’s like, ‘Okay. I know what is my responsibility on my shoulders. Okay, I need to improve everyday — my body, my mind, my heart, my soul, everything — because I know I inspire a lot of people,” he said in an interview with Chris Van Vliet.
His only fear, continued Pénta, is not fighting for his dreams because 20 years ago, he started for this dream and worked in undesirable conditions — sometimes not being paid or wrestling in sketchy venues — and now, he is living his dream.
Ever since then, and learning more about his career, I, too, am going to aim to adopt the Cero Miedo lifestyle. I think seeing someone who has worked for 20 years for their dream and finally achieving it is inspiring for a number of reasons.
The first is that it’s a reminder that you are never too old to dream because, despite being in my 20s, I often feel like I’ve already “failed” and have “fallen behind.” The second is that Pénta is proof that, as long as you work hard and advocate for yourself, you’ll achieve your aspirations.
As I recently entered my 25th year in this world, Pénta has given me a newfound fire to fight for myself and the life I want to have. I’ve watched wrestling during significant periods of my life and I feel as though I’ve never felt such a draw toward a wrestler.
So, thank you, Pénta, for you have inspired yet another person.
Cero Miedo.
Kelley is news editor of the Hays Free Press and News-Dispatch. She can reached via email at brittanyk@haysfreepress.com.
