El Santo
#PWHS #Bio #Biography #Santo #ElSanto #Lucha #LuchaLibre #Mexico #Luchador
May 28, 1971 - San Antonio Express
If you ever do a "Mount Rushmore" of pro wrestlers from every continent, if you were to pick just one luchador to represent Mexico, 999 out of 1,000 people, in a heartbeat, would say just one name, El Santo.
El Santo (the Saint), born Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta, crosses over the world of lucha libre, into something much bigger. In fact, if you tried to compare his star power to someone in the States, you might even have to say names like Arnold Schwarzeneggar and Sylvester Stallone. He popularized lucha libre into just an attraction, and was also a movie star as well, appearing in 52 movies in his lifetime. Many of these movies were "B" type campy movies, such as "El Santo vs Las Mujeres Vampiras" (the female vampires), but many families went to the movies and fell in love with him and everything he represented, which was always "good" (like a John Cena nowadays), you could not turn him heel, no matter what, due to the amount of families he would bring to the movies and the sold out arenas.
Guzman started in either 1934 or 1935 in Mexico, under his real name and without a mask. For nine years, he continued to wrestle, using many names, such as El Hombre Rojo (the Red Man), El Demonio Negro (The Black Demon) and El Murcielago II (The Bat II). But a decision by his manager, Don Jesús Lomelí, in 1943, would change the face of the business forever. It was Lomeli's decision to create a trio of three masked wrestlers, all wearing silver masks and outfits. Guzman was given the choice of either El Diablo, El Angel, or El Santo. He obviously chose the right gimmick, and the rest is history.
Over his career, he won 35 matches where he put his mask on the line, and one of his most famous matches was a mask vs mask match against Black Shadow, in which after the unmasking of Black Shadow, his pareja (partner), Blue Demon, decided to "turn sides" and formed a partnership with El Santo, which became one of the most famous tag teams in lucha history. He also formed a famous tag team with Gori Guerrero (father of Eddie, Hector, Mando, and Chavo Guerrero), known as "La Pareja Atomica"
El Santo's last match took place on September 12th, 1982, only a week after his 65th birthday. He teamed with Gori to reform their famous tag team against Huracan Ramirez and El Solitario. He did go on a retirement tour, to accompany his son, El Hijo Del Santo, to the ring and introduce him to the crowd. To this date, El Hijo Del Santo is still one of the most beloved and successful luchadores in history as well.
El Santo passed away of a heart attack on February 5, 1984. To this date, his funeral remains one of the biggest events in the history of the country of Mexico. Per his wishes, he was buried with his famous silver mask on. After his death, a statue of El Santo was erected in his home town of Tulancingo and other statues have been created since then.
If you ever do a "Mount Rushmore" of pro wrestlers from every continent, if you were to pick just one luchador to represent Mexico, 999 out of 1,000 people, in a heartbeat, would say just one name, El Santo.
El Santo (the Saint), born Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta, crosses over the world of lucha libre, into something much bigger. In fact, if you tried to compare his star power to someone in the States, you might even have to say names like Arnold Schwarzeneggar and Sylvester Stallone. He popularized lucha libre into just an attraction, and was also a movie star as well, appearing in 52 movies in his lifetime. Many of these movies were "B" type campy movies, such as "El Santo vs Las Mujeres Vampiras" (the female vampires), but many families went to the movies and fell in love with him and everything he represented, which was always "good" (like a John Cena nowadays), you could not turn him heel, no matter what, due to the amount of families he would bring to the movies and the sold out arenas.
Guzman started in either 1934 or 1935 in Mexico, under his real name and without a mask. For nine years, he continued to wrestle, using many names, such as El Hombre Rojo (the Red Man), El Demonio Negro (The Black Demon) and El Murcielago II (The Bat II). But a decision by his manager, Don Jesús Lomelí, in 1943, would change the face of the business forever. It was Lomeli's decision to create a trio of three masked wrestlers, all wearing silver masks and outfits. Guzman was given the choice of either El Diablo, El Angel, or El Santo. He obviously chose the right gimmick, and the rest is history.
Over his career, he won 35 matches where he put his mask on the line, and one of his most famous matches was a mask vs mask match against Black Shadow, in which after the unmasking of Black Shadow, his pareja (partner), Blue Demon, decided to "turn sides" and formed a partnership with El Santo, which became one of the most famous tag teams in lucha history. He also formed a famous tag team with Gori Guerrero (father of Eddie, Hector, Mando, and Chavo Guerrero), known as "La Pareja Atomica"
El Santo's last match took place on September 12th, 1982, only a week after his 65th birthday. He teamed with Gori to reform their famous tag team against Huracan Ramirez and El Solitario. He did go on a retirement tour, to accompany his son, El Hijo Del Santo, to the ring and introduce him to the crowd. To this date, El Hijo Del Santo is still one of the most beloved and successful luchadores in history as well.
El Santo passed away of a heart attack on February 5, 1984. To this date, his funeral remains one of the biggest events in the history of the country of Mexico. Per his wishes, he was buried with his famous silver mask on. After his death, a statue of El Santo was erected in his home town of Tulancingo and other statues have been created since then.
Unique content strictly for the Professional Wrestling Historical Society.
Biography of El Santo.
Author: Roy Lucier.
Published: August 31, 2014.
Biography: #155.
Editor: Jimmy Wheeler.
Updated: November 29, 2018.
Unique content strictly for the Professional Wrestling Historical Society.
Biography of El Santo.
Author: Roy Lucier.
Published: August 31, 2014.
Biography: #155.
Editor: Jimmy Wheeler.
Updated: November 29, 2018.