Early career (1994–1997) Saldaña debuted on January 3, 1994. In May 1997, he began wrestling for
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). In August 1997, he began wrestling for
Promo Azteca.
World Wrestling Federation (1997–2001) Delgado made his debut in the
World Wrestling Federation (WWF) on the November 3, 1997 episode of
Raw is War as part of its newly relaunched
Light Heavyweight division at the age of 19, wrestling under the
ring name Águila. This period included a match with
Taka Michinoku at
WrestleMania XIV for the
WWF Light Heavyweight Championship. On the May 9, 1998 edition of
Shotgun Saturday Night Delgado re-debuted under the name Papi Chulo, this time wrestling without a mask. He won the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship from
Gillberg on his 'debut' as Essa Ríos during the February 13, 2000 edition of
Sunday Night Heat. His reign was a short-lived one, as he would lose the title to
Dean Malenko a few weeks later. During his time as Essa Ríos, he was
managed by
Lita who would often repeat Ríos's finishing moves on wrestlers he had just beaten after a match. He and Lita had a feud with
Eddie Guerrero and
Chyna which led to a
European title match between Ríos and then-champion Guerrero at
Backlash, which Ríos lost. Ríos' partnership with Lita ended during the May 25, 2000 edition of Smackdown! after an angry Ríos attacked Lita because he had lost a match. It was there that the
Hardy Boyz came to Lita's rescue and feuded with him briefly, with Lita becoming their protégé. Ríos lapsed into obscurity by late 2000 but did have a brief feud with
Kurt Angle that culminated in a main event match on
Sunday Night Heat. He also had a small involvement in the Invasion angle, most notably unsuccessfully challenging
Chris Kanyon for the
WCW United States Championship on an episode of
WWF Metal, which would be his last televised match with the company on August 27 (aired September 1). Having been off
television for months, Ríos was released from the WWF and started accepting
Japanese
bookings in December 2001.
Extreme Championship Wrestling (1999) He had a high-flying match with Taka Michinoku during
Extreme Championship Wrestling's 1999
Cyberslam event. This would be his only match in ECW.
AAA (2001–2008) After being released in September 2001, he returned to Mexico for several years before working in
AAA as part of the LLL storyline. He soon returned to Mexico, however, continuing his feud with
El Zorro and forming "X-team" with Juventud Guerrera and
Charly Manson. In 2005, he jumped to Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre as a member of
Los Perros del Mal which was led by Héctor Garza and
Perro Aguayo, Jr. who had jumped from AAA in the past. When Perro Aguayo, Jr. left CMLL in the fall of 2008, Mr. Águila left the promotion with him to help form the
Perros del Mal Producciones.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2004) Águila made a comeback to the
United States in 2004 as part of
Team AAA/Mexico in
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling with
Abismo Negro,
Juventud Guerrera,
Héctor Garza and
Heavy Metal. He competed in TNA as part of the
X Division.
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (2010–2017) On May 16, 2010, Mr. Águila returned to CMLL, interfering in a match between
Psicosis II and
La Sombra, siding with Psicosis II and a group called
Los Invasores, the match also saw the return of
Rayo de Jalisco, Jr. who ended up siding with CMLL in their war against the outsider group. CMLL later held a press conference announcing that they would hold a special
Sin Salida event on June 6, 2010 that would center around the
Los Invasores vs. CMLL storyline. During the press conference it was revealed that Mr. Águila and Héctor Garza were the co-leaders of
Los Invasores. At the
July 16, 2010 Super Viernes, Mr. Águila and Héctor Garza defeated the team of La Sombra and
Volador Jr. to win the
CMLL World Tag Team Championship. On November 2, 2010, Águila and Garza lost the CMLL World Tag Team Championship to
Dragón Rojo, Jr. and
Último Guerrero. On December 3, 2010, at
Sin Piedad 2010 Águila had his trademark hair shaved off after being defeated by
Rey Bucanero in a
Lucha de Apuesta. On June 20, 2012, Águila formed the
Los Depredadores del Aire ("The Flying Predators") stable with
Black Warrior and Volador Jr. Two days later,
Los Depredadores del Aire defeated
Los Reyes de la Atlantida (
Atlantis,
Delta and
Guerrero Maya, Jr.) to win the
Mexican National Trios Championship. They lost the title back to
Los Reyes de la Atlantida on October 30, 2012. Águila, this time teaming with
Los Invasores members
Kraneo and Psicosis II, regained the title from
Los Reyes de la Atlantida on December 16, 2012. In the fall of 2012
Los Invasores began a feud against the CMLL World Trios Champions
El Bufete del Amor ("The Law of Love";
Marco Corleone,
Máximo and
Rush). The two teams fought several occasions with ''El Bufete's
CMLL World Trios Championship on the line, while Los Invasores
Mexican National Trios Championship being passed over compared to the more prestigious CMLL title. Mr. Águila was forced to team up with Máximo for the 2013 Torneo Nacional de Parejas Increibles ("National Incredible Pairs Tournament"), a tag team tournament teaming up wrestlers who would never team up otherwise, often because they are rivals, would be forced to work together. Mr. Águila and Máximo lost to the team of Máscara Dorada and Mephisto even though they were able to put their differences aside for one night. On June 30, Los Invasores
lost the Mexican National Trios Championship to La Máscara, Rush and Titán. On July 19 at Infierno en el Ring, Águila lost his hair to Shocker in a ten-man steel cage Lucha de Apuestas''.
Return to AAA (2017–present) In November 2017, Mr. Águila made a surprise appearance at Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide. ==Championships and accomplishments==