Wikipedia

Gory Guerrero

In thisSpanish name,the first or paternalsurnameisGuerreroand the second or maternal family name isQuesada.

Salvador Guerrero Quesada[1](January 11, 1921 – April 18, 1990), better known asGory Guerrero,was one of the premier Mexican-Americanprofessional wrestlersin the early days ofLucha Librewhen most wrestlers were imported from outside Mexico. He wrestled primarily inEmpresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre(EMLL) between the 1940s and 1960s. He was also thepatriarchof theGuerrero wrestling family.

Gory Guerrero
Birth nameSalvador Guerrero Quesada
Born(1921-01-11)January 11, 1921[1]
Ray, Arizona,U.S.[1]
DiedApril 18, 1990(1990-04-18)(aged 69)[2]
El Paso, Texas,U.S.[2]
Cause of deathCirrhosisdue tohepatitis
FamilyGuerrero
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)José Martínez[3]
Gory Guerrero[3]
Billed height5 ft 9 in (175 cm)[4]
Billed weight210 lb (95 kg)[4]
Trained byDiablo Velasco[1][2][5]
Indio Mejía[1][2]
DebutSeptember 14, 1937[1][2]
Retired1985

Early life

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Guerrero was born inRay, Arizonato a family ofmigrant workers.[3][1]He attended school in the United States until the age of nine when his mother died.[1]His family moved toMexico,and Guerrero's father used his English-language skills to work as an interpreter inGuadalajara.[1]

Professional wrestling career

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In Mexico, Guerrero joined a gym with the intention to learn to box, but instead learnedlucha librefromDiablo Velascoand El Indio Mejía.[3][1]He wrestled his first professional wrestling match on September 14, 1937,jobbingto El Rojo.[3][1]He began his career in Mexico working under thering nameJoe Morgan, but later changed his name to Gory Guerrero—a reference to his bloody matches.[2][6]He made his debut for theMexico CitypromotionEmpresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre(EMLL) in 1943 and was named "Rookie of the Year" later that year.[6]In 1945, he briefly held theMexican National Welterweight Championship.[6][7][8]Several months later, he won theMexican National Middleweight Championship,which he held for approximately one year.[6][9][10]Guerrero and his brothers alsofeudedwithCavernario Galindoand his brothers.[6]In the late 1940s, Guerrero begantag teamingwithEl Santoas the undefeatedLa Pareja Atómica(The Atomic Pair).[2][6]Guerrero also appeared in some of El Santo's films.[6]He also feuded withEnrique Llanesand his tag team partnerTarzán López.[11]He defeated Lopez for theNWA Middleweight title.[12]In 1954, he wrestled a championship match againstNWA World Heavyweight ChampionLou Theszbut did not win the title.[2][6]

Guerrero broke away from EMLL in 1966 after refusing to drop theNWA World Light Heavyweight ChampionshiptoRay Mendoza.[3][11]He worked as an independent in the mid-1960s.[11]He also began to branch out into booking and training withDory Funk Sr.[11]In addition, he helped run shows inNWA Hollywood Wrestlingfor two years, and later he booked shows forWorld Class Championship Wrestling.[13]With age his in-ring performing decreased until his ultimate retirement in the 1980s. Guerrero is credited with the invention ofLa de a Caballo(Camel Clutch) and theGory Special,a type ofbackbreaker[3][11]stretch hold which has been modified into a facebuster move (Gory Bomb), a piledriver (Barry White Driver), a powerbomb (Stu Hart Special), a reverse STO (The Deal) or a neckbreaker/backbreaker (Widow's Peak).

Personal life and death

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Guerrero's wife Herlinda was the sister of wrestlerEnrique Llanes.[11]They married in 1947.[11]They had six children: four sonsChavo,Mando,Héctor,Eddie,and two daughters, Maria and Linda.[3][11]His grandson,Chavo Guerrero Jr.is also a wrestler. After retiring from active wrestling, Guerrero sold auto insurance. Guerrero would also open his home to aspiring wrestlers, training them in the backyard in an old ring.[13]Two weeks before his death, Guerrero's liver failed and he developedcirrhosisdue tohepatitis.[14]

Championships and accomplishments

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Notes

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1The NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship is no longer a championship that is sanctioned or acknowledge by the National Wrestling Alliance as a world title.
2The NWA World Welterweight Championship is no longer sanctioned or recognized by the NWA as a world title.
3This title would later be recognized by the NWA, though Guerrero's reign with it occurred prior to the formation of the National Wrestling Alliance. The NWA World Middleweight Championship is also currently not sanctioned or recognized by the NWA as a world title.

Luchas de Apuestasrecord

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See also:Luchas de Apuestas
Winner (wager) Loser (wager) Location Event Date Notes
Gory Guerrero (hair) The Red Mistery (hair) N/A Live event April 27, 1945

Footnotes

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  1. ^abcdefghijkGuerrero, Eddie.Cheating Death, Stealing Life: The Eddie Guerrero Story,p. 5.
  2. ^abcdefghMadigan, Dan (2007). "Dorada de lucha libre: Gory Guerrero".Mondo Lucha Libre: the bizarre & honorable world of wild Mexican wrestling.HarperCollins Publisher. pp.189–193.ISBN978-0-06-085583-3.
  3. ^abcdefgh"Lucha Libre: Conoce la historia de las leyendas de cuadrilátero".Gori Guerrero (1921–1990)(in Spanish).Mexico.p. 27. Grandes Figuras de la Lucha Libre.
  4. ^ab"Gory Guerrero".Onlineworldofwrestling. June 14, 2023.
  5. ^Madigan, Dan (2007). "Dorada de lucha libre: Las Leyendas, las peleas, los fósforos del resentimiento (the golden age of lucha libre: the legends, the feuds, the grudge matches): Diablo Velasco".Mondo Lucha A Go-Go: the bizarre & honorable world of wild Mexican wrestling.HarperCollins Publisher. pp.203–205.ISBN978-0-06-085583-3.
  6. ^abcdefghijklGuerrero, Eddie.Cheating Death, Stealing Life: The Eddie Guerrero Story,p. 6–8.
  7. ^abRoyal Duncan and Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: National Welterweight Title".Wrestling Title Histories.Archeus Communications. p. 392.ISBN0-9698161-5-4.
  8. ^abLucha 2000 Staff (December 20, 2004). "Los Reyes de Mexico: La Historia de Los Campeonatos Nacionales".Lucha 2000(in Spanish). Especial 21.{{cite news}}:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ab*Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: National Middleweight Championship".Wrestling Title Histories.Archeus Communications. p. 392.ISBN0-9698161-5-4.
  10. ^ab"Los Reyes de Mexico: La Historia de Los Campeonatos Nacionales".Lucha 2000(in Spanish). December 20, 2004. Especial 21.
  11. ^abcdefghGuerrero, Eddie.Cheating Death, Stealing Life: The Eddie Guerrero Story,p. 9–10.
  12. ^abRoyal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). "Mexico: EMLL NWA World Middlweight Title".Wrestling Title Histories(4th ed.). Archeus Communications. pp.389–390.ISBN0-9698161-5-4.
  13. ^abGuerrero, Eddie.Cheating Death, Stealing Life: The Eddie Guerrero Story,p. 26–27.
  14. ^Guerrero, Eddie.Cheating Death, Stealing Life: The Eddie Guerrero Story,p. 59.
  15. ^Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2006). "Mexico: EMLL NWA World Light Heavyweight Title".Wrestling Title Histories(4th ed.). Archeus Communications. p. 389.ISBN0-9698161-5-4.
  16. ^Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2006). "Mexico: EMLL NWA Welterweight Heavyweight Title".Wrestling Title Histories(4th ed.). Archeus Communications. p. 390.ISBN0-9698161-5-4.
  17. ^Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006).Wrestling Title Histories(4th ed.). Archeus Communications.ISBN0-9698161-5-4.
  18. ^Duncan, Royal; Gary Will (2006). "(Oregon & Washington) Portland: NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Title".Wrestling Title Histories.Archeus Communications. pp.317–320.ISBN0-9698161-5-4.
  19. ^Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006).Wrestling Title Histories(4th ed.). Archeus Communications.ISBN0-9698161-5-4.
  20. ^Will, Gary; Duncan, Royal (2000). "Texas: NWA Texas Tag Team Title [Von Erich]".Wrestling Title Histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present.Pennsylvania: Archeus Communications. pp.275–276.ISBN0-9698161-5-4.
  21. ^"NWA Texas Tag Team Title [E. Texas]".wrestling-titles.RetrievedDecember 27,2019.
  22. ^"National Wrestling Alliance World Tag Team Titles [W. Texas]".Wrestling-Titles.RetrievedFebruary 21,2017.

References

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Further reading

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