Early career Mendoza made his
professional wrestling debut on September 16, 2006. Over the next ten years, Mendoza would primarily compete on the Mexican
independent circuit, most notably appearing for independent promotions Desastre Total Ultraviolento (DTU),
Perros del Mal (PdM), and the
International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG), while also appearing for national promotion
Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) and Japanese promotion
Pro Wrestling Noah.
WWE (2016–present) Cruiserweight Championship pursuit (2016–2020) In June 2016, Mendoza was announced as a participant in the
WWE Cruiserweight Classic, a 32-man single-elimination tournament featuring competitors 205 lbs. and under, as a representative from Mexico. Mendoza was eliminated from the tournament in the first round by
The Brian Kendrick. Following the Cruiserweight Classic, Mendoza was signed by WWE, who assigned him to compete in the
NXT developmental territory. Mendoza made his
NXT debut on the May 25, 2017 episode, being defeated by
Velveteen Dream. On February 9, 2018, at an NXT live event, Mendoza won a battle royal to become the number one contender to the
NXT Championship. The following day on February 10, Mendoza was defeated by NXT Champion
Andrade "Cien" Almas. On the November 1 episode of
205 Live, Mendoza unsuccessfully challenged the
NXT Cruiserweight Champion Lio Rush.
Legado Del Fantasma and Latino World Order (2020–present) On the March 11 episode of NXT, Mendoza was abducted by a group of masked men and thrown into a van in the parking lot in what was originally an interview of
Mia Yim. On the April 1 episode of NXT,
Joaquin Wilde was similarly abducted during a post-match interview. On the June 10 episode of NXT, Mendoza made his return as he along with Wilde (who was also kidnapped) were revealed as the mysterious masked men and they aligned themselves with
Santos Escobar as they attacked
Drake Maverick, thus establishing himself as a
heel. At night one of
The Great American Bash, the trio was named "
Legado Del Fantasma". In their first match as a team, Legado del Fantasma defeated Maverick and Breezango in a six-man tag team match on the second night of The Great American Bash. Wilde and Mendoza would start competing in NXT's tag team division and
205 Live. At
NXT TakeOver XXX, Wilde and Mendoza competed against Breezango (
Fandango and
Tyler Breeze) and the team of
Oney Lorcan and
Danny Burch in a triple threat match to determine the #1 contenders for the
NXT Tag Team Championship but were unsuccessful in winning the match. On night one of
Super Tuesday, Legado lost to
Isaiah "Swerve" Scott and Breezango in a
street fight when Scott pinned Escobar, leading up to a match between Escobar and Scott for Escobar's Cruiserweight Championship at
NXT TakeOver 31, where Wilde and Mendoza assisted Escobar in retaining the title. In 2021, Wilde and Mendoza entered the
2021 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic in which they lost to the eventual winners
MSK (
Nash Carter and
Wes Lee) in the semifinal round. They also faced MSK and
Grizzled Young Veterans (
James Drake and
Zack Gibson) on night one of
NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver in a match with the Tag Team titles on the line, which MSK won. At
NXT Takeover: In Your House, Legado del Fantasma would face NXT North American champion,
Bronson Reed and NXT Tag Team champions,
MSK in a winners take all, six-man tag team match in which, Legado del Fantasma were unsuccessful in winning the titles. On the August 24 episode of
NXT, Elektra Lopez made her debut helping Legado Del Fantasma win against
Hit Row. In April 2022 Mendoza's name would be changed to Cruz Del Toro. On the October 7 episode of
SmackDown, Del Toro alongside Wilde and Escobar would join
Zelina Vega on the
SmackDown brand. On the March 10 episode of
Smackdown, Del Toro alongside the rest of Legado Del Fantasma helped
Rey Mysterio against
The Judgment Day, turning face in the process. On the 31 March episode of
SmackDown, Rey reformed the
Latino World Order and invited Legado Del Fantasma to join as a token of appreciation for aiding him in his fight against his son,
Dominik, and The Judgment Day. On the November 10 episode of
SmackDown, Escobar defected from LWO and removed Vega, Wilde and Del Toro from Legado del Fantasma the following week. Wilde and Del Toro participated in the
2024 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament, defeating
Chase University's
Duke Hudson and Riley Osborne on the January 16, 2024 episode of
NXT but lost to
Carmelo Hayes and
Trick Williams in the semifinals two weeks later. At Night 2 of the
2024 WWE Draft, LWO were drafted to the
Raw brand. ==Other media==