Isabela "Chabela" Romero Rangel (September 11, 1936April 19, 1985) was a Mexican

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 ...

. She was one of the first Mexican women to become a professional wrestler when women became a regular fixture in the early 1950s. During her career she won the

Mexican National Women's Championship The Mexican National Women's Championship ( es, Campeonato Nacional Femenil) is a women's professional wrestling championship for female wrestlers sanctioned by the ''Comisión de Box y Lucha Libre Mexico D.F.'' (the Mexico City Boxing and Wrest ...

three times, and both the

UWA World Women's Championship The UWA World Women's Championship (''Campeonato Mundial Feminil de UWA'' in Spanish) was a singles women's professional wrestling championship promoted by the Mexican Lucha Libre wrestling based promotion Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) fro ...

and the Japanese

All Pacific Championship The All Pacific Championship was the secondary singles women's professional wrestling title in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling or AJW. The belt was started as the Hawaiian Pacific Championship in 1977 and was renamed the All Pacific Championship ...

once.

Professional wrestling career

Women's wrestling in Mexico prior to the 1950s was almost non-existent, with no known matches taking place from 1945 on and very few prior to that. In the early 1950s Jack O'Brien began training female wrestlers, including Isabela Romero, in his gym in

León, Guanajuato () , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Political divisions of Mexico, State , subdivision_name1 = , establishe ...

. She would work 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 ...

Chabela Romero alongside other O'Brien trainees such as Irma González, La Enfermera, La Dama Enmascarada, and Rosita Williams. She made her in-ring debut on March 27, 1955, participating in an all-female tournament in Mexico City. Romero won her first

at some point in the late 1950s, 1958 at the latest. Due to minimal written documentation from the time period it is uncertain as to who Romero won the championship from, nor who she lost it to. Records indicate that she started her second reign on December 6, 1965. In 1965 to 1966 Romero was involved in a storyline feud with Jarocita Rivero, that saw the two women trade the championship, first on May 12, 1966, and then back to Romero on August 11 of the same year. During the feud Jarocita Rivero defeated Romero in a ''

Lucha de Apuestas Lucha libre (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term used in Latin America for professional wrestling. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has developed into a unique form ...

'' ("Bet match"), which forced Romero to have all her hair shaved off as a result of the match stipulation. Records are uncertain as to when Romero's third and final reign as the Mexican National Women's Championship ended, as records are missing from late 1966 through 1980. Over the years Romero had a long running storyline feud with Irma González, which included several ''Lucha de Apuestas'' matches between the two. Romero lost to González on June 20, 1971, and again on January 17, 1974, both times leaving the ring without hair. Romero ended up winning the mask of Princesa Azul, as a result of her ''Lucha de Apuestas'' victory on November 1, 1975. At some point in the 1970s Romero gained a measure of revenge as she defeated González in a ''Lucha de Apuestas'' in Panama. The two ladies also took their feud to Japan, working for

All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling , nicknamed Zenjo (全女: 全 meaning "All", 女 meaning "Woman") was a ''joshi puroresu'' (women's professional wrestling) professional wrestling promotion, promotion established in 1968 by Takashi Matsunaga and his brothers. The group held th ...

for several tours throughout the mid-to-late-1970s. On May 20, 1978, Chabela Romero defeated Maki Ueda in the finals of a tournament to win the vacant

. She held the title for 81 days, before losing it to Ueda on a show in Tokyo, Japan. On February 25, 1979, Irma González defeated Romero in their fourth and last ''Lucha de Apuestas'' match, on a

Universal Wrestling Association The Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) was a Mexican ''Lucha Libre'' or professional wrestling promotion based in Naucalpan, Mexico State that operated from 1975 until 1995. The name of the actual promotion was Lucha Libre Internacional (LLI) ...

(UWA) show. After the feud with González concluded Chabela Romero and

Vicki Williams Vicki Williams (born April 21, 1956) is a retired female professional wrestler. She held the NWA Women's World Tag Team Championship three times with Joyce Grable. Professional wrestling career During a match in June 1971, midget wrestler Dar ...

became involved in a feud, in which Romero defeated

to win the

. The championship change led to a ''Lucha de Apuestas'' between the two as well, with Vicki Williams pinning Romero, forcing her to be shaved bald afterward. Chabela Romero ended up vacating the UWA World Women's Championship on April 19, 1981, for undocumented reasons.

Death

Romero died on April 19, 1985.

Championships and accomplishments

( 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 ...

( 3 times) *

( 1 time)

''Luchas de Apuestas'' record

Filmography

*''Doctor Doom'' (1963) (original title: ''Las luchadoras contra el médico asesino'') as Carmela Camacho "Vendetta" *''Wrestling Women vs. the Aztec Mummy'' (1964) (original title: ''Las luchadoras contra la momia'') as herself *''She-Wolves of the Ring'' (1965) (original title: ''Las lobas del ring '') as herself

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Romero, Chabela 1936 births 1985 deaths 20th-century Mexican actresses 20th-century female professional wrestlers Mexican film actresses Mexican female professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Puebla All Pacific Champions