Franco Colombo Passes Away at 73

Franco Colombo, whose real name was Javier Esparza Coronado, has passed away at the age of 73. His niece announced the news on social media, requesting prayers for the family and recalling how loved he was by everyone. She remembered family walks from childhood and noted that he is now in heaven with her father.

Coronado began his wrestling career in the 1970s after training under Diablo Velasco. He worked for CMLL when it was still known as EMLL, competing mostly unmasked except for a period as La Silueta. During that time he held the Mexican Welterweight Championship for 92 days spanning 1980 and 1981.

He left the promotion in the late 1980s but later returned in a backstage role. In that capacity he revamped the company's developmental system and played a key part in hiring or training many of CMLL's current trainers.

Coronado and CMLL separated for the last time in 2021. Reports indicated the split involved either a pandemic-related pay cut that led to his exit or him being removed from the programming committee.

As of the time of his passing, CMLL had not issued any statement regarding Coronado's death.