Misplaced Pages

#745254

59-548: Black Warrior may refer to: Black Warrior (wrestler) , a professional wrestler (luchador) Xuanwu (god) , a Taoist god whose name is sometimes translated as the "Black Warrior" Black Tortoise , a Chinese constellation also known as the Black Warrior of the North Tuskaloosa , a paramount chief whose name is often translated as "Black Warrior" Black Warrior River ,

118-412: A luchas de apuestas beyond the obvious purpose of elevating the winner. If the loser is a younger wrestler, then the loss of the mask can sometimes lead to a promotional push after unmasking, or the wrestler being given a new ring persona. Older wrestlers often lose their masks during the last couple of years of their career, often for a big payday depending on how long and successful a career they've had;

177-561: A luchas de apuestas , a "bet fight" where each wrestler bets their mask. The luchas de apuestas is usually seen as the culmination of a long and heated storyline between two or more wrestlers, with the winner getting the "ultimate victory". It is customary for the loser of such a match to reveal his real name, where he's from and how long he has been a wrestler before taking the mask off to show his face. Unmasked wrestlers will wager their hair instead, risking having his or her head shaved bald in case of defeat. There can be several reasons to book

236-572: A ( high-speed dive out of the ring ). In 2001 Black Warrior entered the Leyenda de Plata (the silver legend) tournament, still a rudo but hearing the cheers of the crowd more and more. In the semi-final Warrior faced Black Tiger III and the two did a "double turn" where Black Warrior became a fan favourite (called a técnico in Mexico) while Black Tiger III became a rudo . Warrior won the tournament when he defeated previous year's winner Negro Casas to claim

295-543: A 1966 mask vs mask match. His own mask was pulled off by opponent Big Daddy during a televised match in December 1975, an important turning point in Daddy's rise in popularity. Nagasaki later voluntarily unmasked in a ceremony in the ring on TV in December 1977. By 1986 he was back under the mask and was the top villain of All Star Wrestling from this point until his second retirement in 1993. Another successful masked wrestler from

354-464: A career by the volume of masks they have won rather than the general quality of their opponents—wrestler Super Muñeco claims to have won over 100 masks, with at least 80 verifiable luchas de apuestas wins, while Estrella Blanca is said to have the most luchas de apuestas , with over 200 masks won. The Destroyer , an American, was the first masked wrestler to work in Japan during the 1960s but remained

413-468: A component of more outlandish characters such as the tag teams Les Piranhas and Les Maniaks (a team of evil masked clowns) and Mambo Le Primitiv, based on the film character of King Kong . This tradition continued in the early 21st century with Cybernic Machine, a masked wrestler playing a "computer virus" character, who was a successful heel in France. The original wrestling masks were often masks attached to

472-407: A higher degree of anonymity about their personal lives. Some wrestlers become larger-than-life characters, such as El Santo , one of the most popular cultural icons who always wore his mask in public, revealing his face only briefly in old age, and was even buried in his trademark silver mask. In lucha libre, the highest achievement is not winning a championship but winning the mask of an opponent in

531-467: A life. And this human being sometimes sacrifices a lot to give this other identity life. The Luchador mask, known as a mascara in Spanish, “draws from Mexican history in which Mayans and Aztecs warriors would complete for superiority”. The style of the masks represent “animals, gods, mythological figures and other elements of Mexican folklore”. "The mask is the luchador's identity, both in and out of

590-407: A masked heel. Doing so, however, was banned under French wrestling rules - if unmasked, a wrestler would crouch on the mat face-down until the referee restored his mask. One of the earliest successes of televised wrestling in France was the feud between babyface masked wrestler L'Ange Blanc , and black clad heel masked wrestler Le Bourreau de Bethune Another successful masked heel of the 1960s

649-420: A novelty with very few Japanese wrestlers choosing to wear a mask. The first Japanese masked wrestler is considered to be Shozo Kobayashi , who briefly competed under a mask as Fukumen Taro ("Masked Taro"). In the 1970s Mil Máscaras became the first Mexican Luchador to work on a regular basis and became very popular with the fans. The original Tiger Mask , Satoru Sayama was inspired by Mil Máscaras to create

SECTION 10

#1732849105746

708-561: A river in Alabama named for Tuskaloosa Black Warrior Basin , a geological feature in Alabama and Mississippi CSS Black Warrior , a ship named for Tuskaloosa The Black Warrior Affair between Spain and the United States, named for a ship named for Tuskaloosa Black Warrior Review , a literary magazine in Tuscaloosa, Alabama See also [ edit ] Guerrero Negro ,

767-455: A tag team Luchas de Apuestas with the hair of the losing team on the line. On December 7, 2007 Warrior and Bucanero lost and had their heads shaved completely bald as a result of the stipulation, in the main event of CMLL's pay-per-view Sin Piedad (Without Mercy). After a draw between Sangre Azteca and Dragón Rojo Jr. the two began teaming together regularly and soon added Black Warrior as

826-474: A top that snapped in the groin making it very uncomfortable for the people wearing it. If the masks were not attached to the top, then they were made from uncomfortable material such as brushed pig skin, leather or suede . In the 1930s, a Mexican shoe maker called Antonio Martinez created a mask on request from Charro Aguayo that became the standard for wrestling masks created since then. The basic design consists of four pieces of fabric sewn together to create

885-445: A tradition in lucha libre. High-profile luchas de apuestas include El Santo winning the mask of Black Shadow , Los Villanos winning the masks of all three Los Brazos ( El Brazo , Brazo de Oro and Brazo de Plata ), Atlantis winning the mask of Villano III , La Parka unmasking both Cibernético and El Mesias , Villano V taking Blue Panther 's mask and Último Guerrero winning the mask of Villano V. Some wrestlers have made

944-401: A well known wrestler in a storyline where they must get around various "stipulations" or betray a trust without revealing their true identity. For instance wrestlers who are suspended in a storyline return under a mask under another name, usually with it being very obvious who is under the mask. Examples of this include: Hulk Hogan as Mr. America , Dusty Rhodes as The Midnight Rider , André

1003-407: A wrestler slated for retirement will be unmasked in one of his final bouts or at the beginning of a final tour, signifying loss of identity as that character. Sometimes, losing the mask signifies the end of a gimmick, with the wrestler moving on to a new gimmick and mask, often without public acknowledgement of the wrestler's previous persona. The wrestling mask is considered "sacred", so much so that

1062-490: A wrestler to begin working in a new area as a "fresh face". Sometimes workers wore masks in one territory and unmasked in another territory in order to keep their two identities separate. Many wrestlers have had very successful careers while masked such as The Destroyer/Dr. X , Mr. Wrestling , Masked Superstar and the Spoiler . In the days where professional wrestling was more regional, with less national television coverage, it

1121-577: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Black Warrior (wrestler) Jesús Toral López (January 7, 1969 – January 10, 2023) was a luchador , or professional wrestler , who worked almost exclusively in Mexico. López achieved his most success under the ring name Black Warrior . He was best known for his work for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) between 1995 and 2013, as well for his work in some independent promotions, highlighting his time at

1180-427: Is still an incredibly popular sport in Mexico, with souvenir masks being sold at events and online. Masks are colorfully designed to evoke the images of animals , gods , ancient heroes , and other archetypes , whose identity the luchador takes on during a performance. Most wrestlers in Mexico start their career wearing a mask, but over the span of their careers, a substantial number of them will be unmasked. Sometimes,

1239-652: The Arena Mamá Lucha-S . Being a coach of this sport, he served as a teacher in the Arena Mamá Lucha-S promotion. Over the years Black Warrior had played both the rúdo (the Spanish term used for the villains in wrestling) and técnico (the Spanish term used for the good guys in wrestling). Before assuming the "Black Warrior" ring persona, López worked for almost a decade under various ring personas, generally with little success. His only previous ring persona of note

SECTION 20

#1732849105746

1298-567: The Distrito Federal Trios Championship early in 1992. The trio held the title for almost a year before being defeated by Los Guerreros del Futuro (Damain El Guerrero, Guerrero Del Futuro, and Guerrero Maya). When then CMLL booker Antonio Peña left CMLL to form his own promotion Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) López was one of the wrestlers who left CMLL with him. Peña had hoped to sign all three Metalicos but in

1357-776: The NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship , his first singles championship. In 1997 Warrior, Panther, and Dr. Wagner Jr. almost won the CMLL World Trios Championship , but lost in the finals of the tournament to crown new champions. Warrior briefly parted with the NWA World Light Heavyweight Title when Shocker beat him in May 1997 but regained it in March 1998. On December 18, 1998, the team of Warrior, Panther, and Wagner, Jr. finally won

1416-509: The NWA World Middleweight Championship on May 12, 2006. After months of scripted hostility between Warrior and Místico the two faced off in a Luchas de Apuestas (bet fight), mask versus mask match at CMLL's 73rd Anniversary show . The match saw Místico defeat Black Warrior, two falls to one, to win Black Warrior's mask. For the first time in his career Warrior was forced to unmask and show his face in public. Following

1475-506: The United States in the early 1870s. In 1915, Mort Henderson started wrestling as the "Masked Marvel" in the New York area making him the first North American wrestler to perform with such a gimmick. In the subsequent years many wrestlers would put on a mask after they had been used in an area, or territory, that their popularity and drawing ability diminished, it would be an easy way for

1534-727: The Universal Wrestling Association (UWA), EMLL's main Mexican competitor, where he worked as La Máscara (Spanish for "the Mask") for three years, still with limited success. In 1991 he returned to EMLL, now renamed CMLL, where he got his first big break; López was given the ring persona of Bronze (Bronce) and teamed up with the popular duo of Oro and Plata to form a trio called Los Metalicos (the Metals). Teaming with Oro and Plata, López won his first wrestling championship when they won

1593-668: The 1970s was blue-eye martial artist Kung Fu, played by Eddie Hamill, who lost his mask after a 1976 televised defeat by Mick McManus but continued to wrestle unmasked still as Kung Fu, winning the British Heavy Middleweight Championship in 1986. At Christmas 1979, Big Daddy defeated and unmasked Mr. X on television. Subsequently, during the 1980s in Joint Promotions , masked wrestlers were generally built towards being fodder for Big Daddy to defeat, unmask and humiliate in headline tag matches on ITV, such as

1652-468: The 2001 "Leyenda de Plata" trophy. In February 2002, Ola Lagunero vacated the trios title when Panther and Wagner kicked Black Warrior out of the group. On March 17, 2002, the new Ola Lagunero (Panther, Dr. Wagner Jr., and Fuerza Guerrera ) defeated Warrior, Mr. Niebla , and Antifaz del Norte in a match for the vacant championship. Three months later Warrior, Mr. Niebla, and Atlantis won the CMLL trios title from

1711-654: The CMLL World Trios Championship after several attempts when they defeated Bestia Salvaje , Scorpio Jr. , and Zumbido to win the vacant title. The team, billed as Ola Lagunero held the Trios title for over 1,140 days. On March 6, 2000, Black Warrior lost the NWA World Light Heavyweight title to Tarzan Boy after a reign lasting 727 days. In subsequent months Black Warrior began to hear cheers, especially because of his high risk "Tope of death" move,

1770-479: The Giant as Giant Machine , Brian Pillman as The Yellow Dog , The Miz as The Calgary Kid , Dan Marsh as Mr. X and Bo Dallas as Mr. NXT . Jimmy Valiant once returned under a mask as Charlie Brown from Outta Town after losing to Paul Jones in a "Loser Leaves Town" match (a stipulation where the loser of the match must resign from the organization for which he worked). Mickie James also revealed to be under

1829-492: The Mexican National Trios Championship. They lost the title back to Los Reyes de la Atlantida on October 30, 2012. On February 21, 2014, Black Warrior made a surprise return to AAA as the newest member of Los Perros del Mal . He then defeated Psicosis , Psycho Clown , and El Texano, Jr. to advance to the final of the 2014 Rey de Reyes tournament. On March 16 at Rey de Reyes , Black Warrior

Black Warrior - Misplaced Pages Continue

1888-637: The Spoiler ( Drew McDonald ) King Kendo (aka Red Devil) , Battle Star, El Diablo, the Black Baron, the Masked Marauders tag team and The Emperor. Meanwhile in All Star Wrestling - apart from Nagasaki - they were mostly treated as short lived reflections of recent fads in popular culture. In 1995, All Star shows were frequently headlined by a masked tag team based on the Power Rangers franchise, until

1947-407: The basic shape that covers the entire head. The mask has openings for the eyes, nose and mouth with colorful trim around the open features, known as "Antifaz" in Spanish. The back of the mask is open with a "tongue" of fabric under laces to keep it tight enough to not come off accidentally during a match. The first variation in style came when the jaw and mouth area was removed from the mask to expose

2006-462: The copyright owners intervened. In the 21st century, El Ligero wrestled successfully for both the traditional and American-style promotions. Bauer as the Masked Wrestler of Paris in the 1860s, would be followed by more masked wrestlers in his home country. A wrestling mask was known in France as a "cagoule" (hood) and fans would often chant "he he la cagoule" to encourage the babyface to unmask

2065-488: The end only López jumped so Peña was forced to "repackage" him with a new ring persona. From 1992 to 1995 López worked for AAA under various gimmicks such as "Super Star", "Drágon de Oro" (Golden Dragon), "Bali" and "Vegas", but did not achieve the same success as he had as "Bronce". In 1995 he returned to CMLL, in a deal brokered by his uncle who wrestled for CMLL as Blue Panther . López became "Black Panther" and teamed up with his uncle and other "Lagunero" area wrestlers laying

2124-554: The fall, leading to a Luchas de Apuesta , hair vs. hair match between Black Warrior and Yujiro on October 16, 2009, a match which Black Warrior lost and subsequently had his hair shaved off after the match. On June 20, 2012, Black Warrior turned rudo and formed the Los Depredadores del Aire ("The Flying Predators") stable with Mr. Águila and Volador Jr. Two days later, Los Depredadores del Aire defeated Los Reyes de la Atlantida (Atlantis, Delta , and Guerrero Maya Jr.) to win

2183-478: The first masked wrestler on ITV, The Outlaw (Gordon Nelson) was announced as being an American. The most famous masked wrestler in British history, Peter Thornley , the original British version of Kendo Nagasaki , made his professional debut - complete with masked Samurai gimmick - in 1964 but did not appear on television until 1971. Nagasaki's first big victory was a win over mentor (and real life trainer) Bartelli in

2242-506: The foundation for a group that would later become known as "Ola Lagunero" (the Lagunero Wave). In May 1996 López changed ring personas once again as he became "Black Warrior", a bad guy (called a rudo in Spanish) who teamed with his uncle Blue Panther and other Lagunero workers such as Dr. Wagner Jr. With the new image came success, as on October 15, Black Warrior defeated El Dandy to win

2301-418: The intentional removal of a mask is grounds for disqualification. If a wrestler is unmasked during the match, his top priority is to cover up his face and they usually get help from people at ringside to do so. Most masked wrestlers wear their masks for any and all public appearances, using the mask to keep their personal life separate from their professional life; because of the mask, most Mexican wrestlers enjoy

2360-580: The largest town in the municipality of Mulegé in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur, whose name translates as "Black Warrior" Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Black Warrior . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black_Warrior&oldid=1090269657 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

2419-511: The late 1960s. Successful masked wrestlers up until this point included Count Bartelli (Geoff Condliffe), the White Angel ( Judo Al Hayes ) and Doctor Death (promoter Paul Lincoln as the top villain of his own major independent promotion). Masked wrestlers were frequently disparaged by top promoters during this period as a symptom of the allegedly "anarchic" conditions in American wrestling - indeed

Black Warrior - Misplaced Pages Continue

2478-505: The loss of his mask Black Warrior made several successful title defenses against Místico until finally losing the NWA World Middleweight Title back to him on April 29, 2007. After the feud with Místico ended Black Warrior worked as an upper-card rudo although not with any major storylines. In late 2007 Black Warrior became involved in a storyline that saw Warrior and Rey Bucanero team up to take on Shocker and Lizmark Jr. in

2537-574: The mask when she returned to WWE as Alexa Bliss 's partner. When I put on the mask, I'm transformed. The mask gives me strength. The mask gives me fame. The mask is magical. When I remove the mask, I'm a normal human who can walk right by you, and not even get a "hello". Usually with the mask on, everything is positive. Without the mask I'm a normal being who has his problems, who cries, who sometimes suffers. I could tell you that I really admire El Hijo del Santo . But do you know who I admire more ? The human being. Thanks to him, El Hijo del Santo has

2596-947: The masked "Tiger Mask" persona. After the success of Tiger Mask several wrestlers have adopted the mask, mainly lighter wrestlers who like Sayama had a more high flying and flashy style. The wrestling mask is held in more regard by the Japanese fans than the North American fans but isn't as "sacred" as the Mexican mask, meaning that the wrestler can perform both masked one day and unmasked another if he so wishes. Famous Japanese masked wrestlers include Jyushin Thunder Liger , Último Dragón , El Samurai , The Great Sasuke , Dragon Kid and Bushi . Although at live shows, masked wrestlers were as prolific in British wrestling as its American counterpart, they were largely kept off ITV 's television coverage until

2655-408: The match Black Warrior made a challenge on behalf of Yujiro for a "hair vs. hair" match with Garza. This led to all men being involved in a 15-man steel cage Luchas de Apuestas match at Infierno en el Ring that Naito won by pinning Toscano. After not teaming with the other members of Poder Mexica during mid-2009, Black Warrior left the group. Black Warrior's feud with No Limit continued through

2714-445: The more successful the wrestler that's unmasked, the bigger the honor for the winner. The first luchas de apuestas match was presented on July 14, 1940 at Arena México . The defending champion Murciélago was so much lighter than his challenger Octavio that he requested a further condition before he would sign the contract: Octavio would have to put his hair on the line. Octavio won the match and Murciélago unmasked, giving birth to

2773-413: The new Ola Lagunera. The trio lost the title March 2003 but Warrior regained it on July 9, 2004, with El Canek and Rayo de Jalisco, Jr. , beginning a 133-day reign. After losing the trios title Black Warrior had a hard time finding any direction, at one point he publicly pleaded with CMLL to turn him rudo via an interview for Box y Lucha magazine. In early 2006 Warrior began working with Místico and

2832-461: The ring. Luchadores will keep their faces and real names a secret throughout their entire lives; some of the more iconic luchadores have even been buried in their mask." WWE hall of famer El Santo is one of the most iconic luchadores. He “helped fuel the growth and reputation of lucha libre throughout the world”. “WWE Hall of Famer Eddie Guerrero once wrote that ‘Calling him a legend doesn’t even do justice to how big he was. In his heyday, Santo

2891-411: The skin. Other masks have solid material over the mouth, nose, eyes or all three, in the case of fabric covering the eyes a stretched fabric that is see through up-close is used. Originally being made from fabric, masks have evolved and are now made from a variety of materials from cotton to nylon to various vinyl polymers in many different colours and patterns. Several additions have been made to

2950-629: The third man to form a trio called Poder Mexica . The group saw mixed success around Mexico but remained undefeated in Arena Mexico, CMLL's main venue, earning the group a shot at the Mexican National Trios Championship held by Sagrado , La Sombra , and Volador Jr. Poder Mexicana won the title in their first attempt, defeating the champions on February 3, 2009. Shortly after winning the Championship Black Warrior

3009-500: The two quickly earned a shot at the CMLL World Tag Team Championship , held by Averno and Mephisto . During the third fall of the match, Místico accidentally collided with Black Warrior causing their team to lose. Weeks later, during a rematch, Black Warrior turned on Místico, attacking him during the match and then walking out. The storyline with Místico was further intensified when Black Warrior defeated Místico for

SECTION 50

#1732849105746

3068-463: Was Big Van Vader , who was also known for his in-ring agility despite his large frame during the 1980s and 90s. Other notable examples are Rey Mysterio , Mankind , Kane , Doom , Edge & Christian as 'Los Conquistadores' & Owen Hart as 'Blue Blazer' . Today, masked wrestlers are not a common sight in the United States and Canada , but masked wrestlers have a long history in that region, dating back to 1915. A mask sometimes will be used by

3127-509: Was L'Homme Masqué (The Masked Man). Spanish wrestler Angelito initially wore a silver mask in France before taking it off midway through a 1971 televised match with Jacky Richard. Another Spaniard, Oscar "Crusher" Verdu, who wrestled under a mask as Der Henker, would win the French Heavyweight Championship in 1983. British wrestler Dave Larsen wrestled in France under a mask as Zarak. In the 1980s, masks were primarily worn as

3186-474: Was bigger than Hulk Hogan and ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin combined’”. The Mexican fanbase quickly took to the mystery of the masked man and soon after, Mexican wrestlers themselves started wearing masks, becoming "enmascarados". Early masks were simple with strong, basic colors designs that could be recognized even in the back row of the arena. Over the years, the masks evolved to become very intricate and colorful, drawing on Mexico's rich history. Lucha Libre

3245-525: Was defeated in the finals of the tournament by La Parka . After leaving AAA, Black Warrior made his debut for Lucha Libre Elite on November 15, 2015. In his last years, he won the Arena Mamá Lucha-S Cruiserweight Championship, which he successfully defended against Coyote Azteca in his last match held on January 1, 2023. López was the nephew of wrestlers Blue Panther (real name Genaro Vásquez Nevares) and Héctor López. He

3304-473: Was married to the daughter of Mano Negra (real name Jesús Reza Rosales). López died on January 10, 2023, at the age of 54, three days following his birthday. Wrestling mask At the 1865 World's Fair , Theobaud Bauer debuted the mask, wrestling as "The Masked Wrestler" in Paris , France. He continued wrestling using the mask throughout France as part of a circus troupe in the 1860s before moving on to

3363-555: Was not uncommon for more than one person or team to use the same gimmick and mask, and there have at times been several masked "Interns", "Assassins" and "Executioners" working simultaneously. Tag team wrestling has seen more masked teams, using identical masks to create unity between wrestlers. Successful masked teams include the Masked Assassins , Blue Infernos and the Grapplers. One of the best-known North American masked wrestlers

3422-490: Was suspended from working in Mexico City, forcing Poder Mexica to draft Misterioso, Jr. to take the place of Black Warrior when they worked in Mexico City, making him an unofficial a member of Poder Mexicana. In mid-April 2009 Warrior returned to Arena Mexico to reunite Poder Mexico. On July 10, 2009, Black Warrior teamed with No Limit ( Naito and Yujiro ) to defeat the team of Héctor Garza , Toscano , and Sagrado, After

3481-763: Was that of "Bronce" (Spanish for Bronze) where he was a part of the "Los Metalicos" team, a team that was popular in the early 1990s, teaming with Oro and Plata. López was the nephew of Luchador Blue Panther , the son-in-law of Mano Negra and the brother-in-law of Mano Negra Jr. López made his professional wrestling debut In January 1984 in Gómez Palacio, Durango under the masked ring persona "Destroyer". In 1985 López began working for Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre (EMLL, later renamed Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, CMLL) where he worked as "Camorra", another masked persona. He worked for EMLL from 1985 until 1988 without achieving much success. In 1988 he left EMLL and joined

#745254