José Luis Amezcua Díaz (April 13, 1943 – July 30, 2008) was a
Mexican
Mexican may refer to:
Mexico and its culture
*Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America
** People
*** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants
*** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...
professional wrestler
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...
who wrestled during the 1960s and 1970s under the
ring name
A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...
Alfonso Dantés (the name was taken from the main character of the
Count of Monte Cristo
''The Count of Monte Cristo'' (french: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo) is an adventure novel written by French author Alexandre Dumas (''père'') completed in 1844. It is one of the author's more popular works, along with ''The Three Musketeers''. L ...
novel,
Edmond Dantès
Edmond Dantès () is a title character and the protagonist of Alexandre Dumas's 1844 adventure novel ''The Count of Monte Cristo''. Within the story's narrative, Dantès is an intelligent, honest and loving man who turns bitter and vengeful after ...
). He would later receive the nickname El Tanque (which means ''"The Tank"'') for his short but thick build. Dantés was the son of Al Amezcua, who wrestled in Mexico as Golden Terror. He and his brother Vick would follow their father into the sport. Vick would go on to wrestle as Septiembre Negro.
Professional wrestling career
Dantés was trained by
Diablo Velasco
Cuahutémoc Velasco Vargas (April 28, 1919 – June 13, 1999) was a Mexican professional wrestler and trainer under the name Diablo Velasco. Velasco trained many famous Mexican wrestlers, including Gory Guerrero, Raul Armas, Los Hermanos Crucero, ...
and he made his debut in 1960 at the age of 17. Dantés won his first major title when he defeated
Raúl Reyes
Luis Edgar Devia Silva (30 September 1948 – 1 March 2008), better known by his ''nom de guerre'' Raúl Reyes, was a leader, Secretariat member, spokesperson, and advisor to the Southern Bloc of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia–Pe ...
for the Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship on May 5, 1965. He would lose the title in February of the following year but eventually reclaimed the title twice before finally losing it on December 27, 1981. In the 1970s, Dantés won the NWA World Light Heavyweight title three times and defeated
Chavo Guerrero Sr.
Salvador Guerrero Llanes (January 7, 1949 – February 11, 2017), better known as Chavo Guerrero or Chavo Guerrero Sr., and also known during the 21st century as "Chavo Classic", was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for ...
on April 15, 1977, in Mexico City. In 1969, Dantés would team up with
Mil Mascaras
Mil, mil, or MIL may refer to:
Places
* Mil, Syria, a village in Syria
* Mil, Azerbaijan, a municipality in Beylagan Rayon
* Mil, Markazi, a village in Markazi Province, Iran
* Metropolitan area of Milan ( IATA code: MIL), Italy
* Mill Hill Broa ...
,
Francisco Flores and
El Medico
EL, El or el may refer to:
Religion
* El (deity), a Semitic word for "God"
People
* EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer
* El DeBarge, music artist
* El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...
to win three NWA America's Tag Team titles. He was involved in several hair vs mask matches and participated in a famous triangular tournament in which
El Halcon
EL, El or el may refer to:
Religion
* El (deity), a Semitic word for "God"
People
* EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer
* El DeBarge, music artist
* El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...
lost his mask. Dantés would later capture the hair of El Halcon and
El Faraón
José Luis Barajas Fernández is a retired Mexican professional wrestler, or ''Luchador'' as they are called in Spanish. Barajas is best known under the ring name, El Faraón (Spanish for "the Pharaoh"), a ring name and persona he used throughout ...
as well. He would also lose his hair to
Sangre Chicana
Sangre Chicana (Spanish for "Chicano Blood") is the ring name of retired Mexican professional wrestler Andrés Durán Reyes (born November 30, 1951). Reyes made his professional wrestling debut in 1973, wearing a red mask with a gold stripe, unde ...
, Pharaoh and
Ringo Mendoza
Genaro Jacobo Contreras is a retired Mexican professional wrestler, or ''Luchador'' in Spanish, and is a professional wrestling trainer for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). Contreras is best known under the ring name Ringo Mendoza, which he ...
. On March 30, 1984, Dantés captured the Mexican National Heavyweight Championship from
Cien Caras
Carmelo Reyes González (born October 18, 1949) is a Mexican retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Cien Caras ("Hundred Faces"). He is best known for his appearances with the Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre.
Personal l ...
, in Mexico City. He would lose the title but win it back one last time on August 8, 1988, when he defeated
Gran Markus, Jr. Dantés vacated the title when he retired in March 1989 at the age of 45. In his last few years, Dantés would team up with his sons
Apolo and Cesar. He was well respected within the industry for his work ethic and innovation in the ring. He is credited with inventing the ''
Toque Tapatio'', a move which
Tiger Mask
is a Japanese manga series written by Ikki Kajiwara and illustrated by Naoki Tsuji. The series was first published in Kodansha's ''Bokura Magazine'' from 1968 to 1970 and was later published in ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from 1970 to ...
would make popular outside Mexico as the ''Tiger Suplex''. In 1996, he was inducted into the
Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter (WON) Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling and mixed martial arts hall of fame that recognizes people who make significant contributions to their professions. It was founded in 1996 by Dave Meltzer, editor of ...
.
Championships and accomplishments
*Comisión de Box y Lucha Libre Guadalajara
**Occidente Middleweight Championship (1 time)
*
Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as ''Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre'' (''EMLL'') (''Mexi ...
**
NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship
The NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). For the majority of its existence the title was promoted by Mexican promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libr ...
(
5 times)
**
Mexican National Heavyweight Championship
The Mexican National Heavyweight Championship (called the ''Campeonato Nacional Completo'' in Spanish) is a Mexican Lucha Libre (professional wrestling) championship created and sanctioned by the Mexico City Boxing and Wrestling Commission (Span ...
(
2 times
"2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...
)
**
Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship
The Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship (''Campeonato Nacional Semicompleto'' in Spanish) is a national Mexican singles professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the ''Comisión de Box y Lucha Libre Mexico D.F.'' (''Mexico City ...
(
3 times)
*
NWA Hollywood Wrestling
NWA Hollywood Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Los Angeles) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Los Angeles, California in the United States that promoted professional wrestling matches throughout Southern California. It ...
**
NWA Americas Tag Team Championship
The NWA Americas Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the National Wrestling Alliance's NWA Hollywood Wrestling based out of Los Angeles, California.
The championship began as the WWA World Tag Team Championship f ...
(
3 times) – with
Mil Máscaras
Mil Máscaras (born Aarón Rodríguez Arellano, July 15, 1942) is a Mexican luchador (professional wrestler) and actor. He is regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers of the lucha libre tradition in Mexico – along with El Santo and Blue Demon ...
(2) and
Francisco Flores (1)
*''
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts.
Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four We ...
''
**
Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter (WON) Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling and mixed martial arts hall of fame that recognizes people who make significant contributions to their professions. It was founded in 1996 by Dave Meltzer, editor of t ...
(
Class of 1996)
''Luchas de Apuestas'' record
Notes
References
External links
Online World of Wrestling profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dantes, Alfonso
1943 births
2008 deaths
Mexican male professional wrestlers
Professional wrestlers from Jalisco
People from Guadalajara, Jalisco
20th-century professional wrestlers
NWA World Light Heavyweight Champions
NWA Americas Tag Team Champions
Mexican National Light Heavyweight Champions