Carlos Ignacio Carrillo Contreras (November 5, 1940 – March 4, 1994) was a Mexican Luchador, or professional wrestler, known under the ring name Aníbal. Carrillo made his debut in November 1963, and adopted the enmascarado character (masked) Aníbal, named after the Carthaginian general Hanibal, in 1965. Carrilo's career peaked in the late 1960s and the 1970s as he worked for Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre and the Universal Wrestling Association, winning a number of championships. Carrillo was unmasked after losing a Lucha de Apuesta (bet fight) to Máscara Año 2000 on December 13, 1991. Carrillo retired from wrestling in 1993 and died from a brain tumor in 1994. El Hijo de Aníbal (Spanish for "the Son of Aníbal") is billed as Aníbal's son, but it has never been confirmed if he is indeed the son of Carrillo or if he paid for the rights to use the name, a practice not uncommon in Lucha Libre.
Professional wrestling career
Carrillo began training for a professional wrestling career at the age of 20, training in Gimnasio Baños Gloria and at the Gimnasio San Francisco de Portales under the tutelage of Chico Fernández and Salvador Flores. He made his professional wrestling debut in November 1963 and earned 40 pesos for the match. After wrestling for two years Carrillo was convinced by friends in the business that he needed to become an enmascarado, or masked wrestler, since young wrestlers who were popular wore masks. Carrillo came up with the name "Aníbal", after the Cartagenia general Hanibal who had crossed the alps and almost defeated the Roman Empire. Carrillo was given a blue mask, trunks and boots and became the highflying tecnico ("good guy" or Face), quickly earning the nicknames El Guerrero Cartaginés ("The Carthagenian Warrior") and La Saeta Azul ("The Blue Arrow"); later he was also referred to as La Furia Azul ("The Blue Fury")
During his early days as Aníbal Mil Mascaras and Black Shadow acted as his padrinos or mentors. In 1966 Aníbal won the Distrito Federal Light Heavyweight Championship, then lost it to Pepe Casas as he signed a contract with Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL). He spent the next couple of years working his way up the ranks in EMLL, honing his high flying skills into a top level competitor. 1970 was Aníbal's breakthrough year. He defeated Mashio Koma to win the NWA World Middleweight Championship on December 6, 1970, and was named El Halcón Magazine's "1970 Wrestler of the year". Aníbal's run with the NWA Middleweight title lasted over a year and saw him successfully defend the title in several high-profile main events. During his title reign Aníbal developed a heated rivalry with René Guajardo, a rivalry that saw the two face off in several main events all around Mexico. On March 30, 1973, Guajardo ended Aníbal's NWA Middleweight title reign. On June 28, 1974, Aníbal defeated Adorable Rubí to win the Mexican National Middleweight Championship in the main event of a show in Mexico City, Mexico. On September 20, Aníbal became a double champion, defeating El Cobarde in a match for the vacant NWA World Middleweight Championship. Aníbals run as a double champion ended when he lost the Mexican National Middleweight Title on November 29, 1974, to Ringo Mendoza. His success in the ring saw him named "Wrestler of the year" in 1974.