Raul Mendoza

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.[4][3] Mendoza was eliminated from the tournament in the first round by The Brian Kendrick.[5] 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.[6] On February 9, 2018 at an NXT live event, Mendoza won a battle royal to become the number one contender to the NXT Championship.[7] The following day on February 10, Mendoza was defeated by NXT Champion Andrade "Cien" Almas.[7] Mendoza made his 205 Live debut on the July 23, 2019 episode of 205 Live, where he teamed with Humberto Carrillo to defeat Kalisto and Gran Metalik. On the November 1 episode of 205 Live, Mendoza unsuccessfully challenged the NXT Cruiserweight Champion Lio Rush. 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.[8] On the June 17 episode of NXT, Escobar would reveal the name of his new faction with Wilde and Mendoza to be El Legado del Fantasma. Escobar, Wilde and Mendoza would once again attack Maverick as Escobar put Maverick through a table.[9]