Emanuel Alejandro Rodriguez (born November 14, 1986) is an American professional wrestler best known for his time in WWE as Kalisto.
He made his initial debut in 2006 on the independent circuit as Samuray del Sol. He would later join AAA, for whom he wrestled as Octagón Jr. He eventually left AAA due to his busy independent schedule, and continued to work for smaller promotions until 2013, when he signed on with WWE's NXT brand, taking on the name Kalisto. In 2014, he, with Sin Cara, won the NXT Tag Team Championship.
In 2015, he was promoted to the main roster, and in 2016, won the United States Championship twice. In 2017, he won the WWE Cruiserweight Championship for the first time.
In 2021, Kalisto was released from WWE during a round of budget cuts.
Tropes:
- Arch-Enemy: Enzo Amore.
- Bridal Carry: In his match with Ryback at Payback, when he's executing his springboard corkscrew to Ryback, who is on the floor, Kalisto can be seen not getting enough height to clear the ropes, his head nearly hitting the ring canvas had it not been for Ryback reaching out and catching him in this hold.
- Borrowed Catch Phrase: To Ryback on SmackDown.
-
Breakup Breakout: Okay, so they haven't exactly broken up the Lucha Dragons, but with Sin Cara out that led to Kalisto becoming involved in a feud with Alberto Del Rio and actually winning the US Championship twice! - Catchphrase: Whenever he gets any speaking parts, expect him to say something along the lines of, "That's what lucha is! It means to fight!"
- Continuity Nod: Salida del Sol, the name of his standing shiranui finisher, is a nod to his pre-WWE identity of Samuray del Sol.
- Costume Porn: In true Luchador fashion; his Wrestlemania costume deserves special mention.
- David Versus Goliath: Tends to get paired against much bigger guys, particularly when it comes to title matches. His feud with Ryback basically only started because Ryback, who is 6'3'' and 291 pounds, wanted to show that size matters, only to get proven wrong on two consecutive PPVs.
- Expy: Of Rey Mysterio. They even sound somewhat alike if you listen to Kalisto talk.
- Extremity Extremist: Nearly all of his striking attacks are kicks.
- Kid-Appeal Character
- Pint-Sized Powerhouse: At 5'6'' and 170 pounds he's tiny as far as WWE wrestlers go.
- The Quiet One: Doesn't talk much. Perhaps this is to preserve his mystique as opposed to any sort of language barrier - like Rey, he's of Mexican descent but grew up here in the U.S. (Chicago in his case) and is fluently bilingual.
