RIP Mr. Niebla

Longtime CMLL star Mr. Niebla passed away at the age of 46 earlier on 12/23,  reportedly due to a blood infection. His was a sad, cautionary tale in lucha: someone with undeniable charisma that unfortunately saw his career derail due to a long battle with alcoholism. He was very popular with his peers, as seen by him always being brought back when he'd get suspended, but the increasing visibility of his escapades with CMLL streaming more of their shows (plus an incident where he went on a Fantasica Mania tour and ended up hospitalized due to a relapse) led to CMLL using him less and less as of late. He's been ill for a while, but I get the impression that folks were under the impression that was either just code for another relapse (CMLL would often claim injury to explain his absences), or if he was sick he'd be back because that's just what he's always done. Honestly, there wasn't any reason to think otherwise, since he did it so man times before, but it seems this time the abuse he put his body through all those years was finally too much.