Espectro I
Espectro I | |
---|---|
Birth name | Antonio Hernández Arriaga |
Born | Arturo Hernandez Herrada (son)[1] | February 9, 1934
Family | Antonio Peña (nephew) Espectro Jr. (nephew) Cadaver de Ultratumba (nephew) Guerrero de la Muerte (nephew) |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Tony Hernández Espectro de Ultratumba El Espectro Espectro I |
Trained by | Rolando Vera |
Debut | 1951[1] |
Retired | September 25, 1959 1974 |
Antonio "Toño" Hernández Arriaga (February 9, 1934 – October 13, 1993) was a Mexican
Hernández is one of a limited number of enmascarados, or masked wrestlers, to voluntarily unmask, option to remove the mask as he announced his retirement due to injuries. He would later return to wrestling but, without the mask, the Espectro character did not have the same impact. He later became a trainer, having trained such wrestlers as Fuerza Guerrera and the current Espectro Jr.
Early life
Antonio Hernández Arriaga, referred to as "Toño" by his family and friends, was born on February 9, 1934, in
Professional wrestling career
Hernández made his in-ring debut in 1951, using the ring name Tony Hernández as he worked for Vera's wrestling promotion in Nuevo León. Early on he worked mainly in the first or second match, not making much headway.[3] In 1953 former referee Roberto Rangel showed a magazine he bought called Los Espectros de Ultratumba (Spanish for "The Spectres from Beyond the Grave)") to local promoter Jesús Garza Hernández. The two thought it would make for a great wrestling character and unbeknownst to Hernández the promoter had a green suit and mask created specifically for Hernández. While Hernández did not like to wrestle in a full body suit, he still went ahead with the character, wrestling as "Espectro de Ultratumba" from that point on.[1] Working with the promoter Hernández began to develop the Espectro de Ultratumba character further, adding in a large degree of theatrics to his matches, including using an actual coffin as part of his entrance. Prior to his matches, he would be carried to the ring in the coffin, often by several hooded pallbearers or wrestlers dressed like ghosts, allowing Espectro to emerge from the coffin "like a ghost rising from the grave".[4] The spectacle of the entrance combined with the showmanship of Hernández himself made the Espectro de Ultratumba character very popular with the locals.[3]
By 1954, he signed a contract with
On April 21, 1957, Espectro defeated
Hernández surgery was costly. 30,000 Mexican peso, which Lagarde initially offered to pay. Chavo Lutteroth, son of EMLL founder Salvador Lutteroth decide to cover the bill, negotiating with the doctors to only pay half price as a favor to Lutteorth.[3] While he was unable to work the union of professional wrestlers held several shows in his benefit.[3] After recovering Hernández kept training, keeping physically fit by, among other things, practicing Yoga.[4] He returned to the ring in 1962, but was not allowed to wrestle in Mexico City itself due to his prior neck injury. Working smaller shows around Mexico, without his mask, the Espectro character did not go over and well as in the past.[4] In 1974 he lost a Lucha de Apuesta match to Huracán Ramírez and was forced to have his hair shaved off as a result.[4]
Retirement and death
By mid-1974 Hernández' health had deteriorated to the point where he was forced to retire from wrestling, opting instead to become a professional wrestling trainer, teaching his students both the technical aspects of Lucha Libre as well as the showmanship he had been renowned in the 1950s. Among his students were his sons
Legacy
The Espectro character proved to be so popular and memorable that versions of the character is still used today. Below is a list of wrestlers who at some point has used the Espectro character or a variation there of:
- Espectro II – Gerardo Tapia Salinas, teamed with the original Espectro.[3]
- Epectro Jr. – Antonio Peña, played the part from 1974 until 1980.[3]
- Epectro Jr. (II) – Nephew of Hernández, has used the character since 1985.[3]
- Espectro II Jr. – Played the role of the son of Espectro II, portrayed by Jaime Enríquez from 2010 through 2014[12]
- Espectro 2000 – Arturo Hernández, son of the original.[3]
- Hijo de Espectro – Antonio Hernández, son of the original.[3]
- Espectro de Ultratumba – later known as Gran Cochisse.[3]
- Espectro de Ultratumba – Antonio Peña, played the part in 1985–1986.[3]
- Espectro de Ultratumba (II) character introduced in 2008, said to be the son of Hernández.
- Cadaver de Ultratumba – A variation of the Espectro character, brother of the current Espectro Jr.
- Espectrito/Espectrito de Ultratumba – Mario Pérez Jiménez, a Mini-Estrella[13]
- Espectrito II/Espectrito de Ultratumba II/Espectrito Jr. – Alejandro Pérez Jiménez, brother of Espectrito I, also a Mini-Estrella[13]
- Espctrito Jr. – Valentín Aguilar García, later known as Mini Chessman.[13]
Championships and accomplishments
- Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre
- Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[7][14]
- Mexican National Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ray Mendoza[6]
- Occidente Middleweight Championship (1 time)[5]
Luchas de Apuestas record
Winner (wager) | Loser (wager) | Location | Event | Date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
El Espectro (mask) | Alex Romano (hair) | Guadalajara, Jalisco | Live event | April 3, 1955 | [4] |
Espectro I (mask) | Gorillita Flores (hair) | Puebla, Puebla | Live event | July 19, 1958 | [4] |
Espectro I (mask) | Torbelino Blanco (mask) | Mexico City | EMLL 25th Anniversary Show | September 26, 1958 | [4][8][9] |
Sombra Vengador (mask) | Espectro ($1,000) | N/A | live show | 1960 | [4][Note 1] |
Huracán Ramírez (mask) | Espectro (hair) | Pachuca, Hidalgo | live show | April 29, 1974 | [4][15] |
Footnotes
- ^ Instead of putting his mask on the line Espectro I put money on the line.
References
- ^ ISBN 9781476605050.
- ^ "Lucha Libre: Conoce la historia de las leyendas de cuadrilátero". El Espectro (1931) (in Spanish). Mexico. 2008. p. 20. Grandes Figuras de la Lucha Libre.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Grandes Figuras de la Lucha Libre". Espectro I (in Spanish). Portales, Mexico. November 2008. p. 21. 17.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Enciclopedia staff (August 2007). "Enciclopedia de las Mascaras". Espectro I (in Spanish). Mexico. pp. 21–22. Tomo II.
- ^ ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- ^ ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- ^ ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- ^ a b c "Historia de Los Aniversarios del CMLL". The Gladiatores Magazine (in Spanish). September 2, 2010. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
- ^ a b c Ruiz Glez, Alex (September 7, 2010). "CMLL: 79 historias, 79 Aniversario, las 79 luchas estelares". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved October 20, 2012.
- ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3.
- Lucha Libre AAA World Wide. Archived from the originalon 4 October 2009. Retrieved October 14, 2009.
- ^ "Número Especial – Lo mejor de la lucha libre mexicana durante el 2010". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). January 12, 2011. 399.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3.
- ^ "Los Reyes de Mexico: La Historia de Los Campeonatos Nacionales". Lucha 2000 (in Spanish). 2004-12-20. Especial 21.
- ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3.