José Luis Rodríguez Arellano (born February 21, 1951) is a Mexican ''
Luchador
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 ...
Enmascarado'' (masked
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 wrestles 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 ...
Dos Caras (
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
for "two faces"). His most active years were in the 1970s and 1980s, and he achieved his greatest success in Mexico's
Universal Wrestling Alliance
NWA All Star Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Vancouver) is a Canadian professional wrestling promotion, based in Vancouver, British Columbia. All-Star Wrestling folded in 1989 but returned in 2007 no longer affiliated with the National Wr ...
(UWA), where he won the
UWA World Heavyweight Championship
The UWA World Heavyweight Championship (''Campeonato Mundial peso Completo de UWA'' in Spanish) was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship originally promoted by Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) until it closed in 1995. Aft ...
three times. He has been called "the greatest heavyweight ever to come out of Mexico".
He is the creator of the ''Dos Caras Clutch'', a
hammerlock
An armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint or shoulder joint. An armlock that hyper-extends the arm is known as an armbar, and it includes the traditional armbar, pr ...
head scissors pinning combination.
Professional wrestling career
Rodríguez made his debut on January 6, 1970 at the age of 18 after training under Rafael Salamanca and Gory Medina.
He adopted 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 ...
''Dos Caras'' upon his debut, wearing a colorful mask with a figure of a two headed eagle on it to reflect his name.
Rodríguez later stated that the name and mask was not inspired by the
Two-Face
Two-Face is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. The character was created by Bob Kane and first appeared in ''Detective Comics'' #66 (August 1942). As one of Batman's ...
comic book character but as a "two faced cheater" character (called a ''Rudo'' or
Heel
The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower Human leg, leg.
Structure
To distribute the compressive for ...
in pro wrestling).
Through connections with his older brother who had been wrestling as
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 Br ...
for some years when Dos Caras made his debut he quickly landed a regular job with the
professional wrestling promotion
A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling that has little relationship to the rules of the amateur olympic form. "Promotion" also describes a role which entails man ...
Empresa Mexicana de la 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'') (''Me ...
(EMLL), the world's oldest and Mexico's largest promotion. In the early years he often teamed with another brother who wrestles under the name
Sicodélico in low card matches while gaining experience.
In 1975, wrestling promoters
Francisco Flores and Benjamín Mora and wrestler/trainer
Ray Mendoza
José Díaz Velázquez (July 6, 1929 – April 16, 2003) was a Mexican ''Luchador'', or professional wrestler, better known under his ring name Ray Mendoza. Diaz had great success in the National Wrestling Alliance, where he was a five time W ...
decided to break away from EMLL's very rigid structure where young wrestlers "paid their dues" for many years before being given an opportunity and founded their own wrestling promotion, the
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), as a direct competition to EMLL.
Dos Caras was one of the young EMLL wrestlers who decided to follow Flores to the UWA, gaining the opportunity to work high up on the card. Dos Caras worked his way up the ranks and on June 20, 1978 he defeated
Canek to win the
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 ...
, his first championship ever. Over the following 292 days Dos Caras defended the title several times, using it as a springboard up the rankings of the UWA. On April 8, 1979 Caras lost the belt to
Astro Rey
Astro may refer to:
Entertainment and media
* Astro (South Korean band), a South Korean boy band
* Astro (UB40) (1957–2021), member of the British reggae band UB40
* Astro (Chilean band), a Chilean indie rock band
* Astro (Japanese band), ...
.
[
Over the following years, Dos Caras developed both physically and style wise into a heavyweight wrestler, blending the ''Lucha libre'' style of wrestling with a more mat-based, United States style wrestling style. Years later author James Molinaro cites Caras' blend of several wrestling styles as one of the reasons he called him "the greatest heavyweight ever to come out of Mexico"][ On February 2, 1984 Dos Caras won the highest title in the UWA as he won the ]UWA World Heavyweight Championship
The UWA World Heavyweight Championship (''Campeonato Mundial peso Completo de UWA'' in Spanish) was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship originally promoted by Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) until it closed in 1995. Aft ...
by defeating Enrique Vera in a tournament for the vacant title.[ Dos Caras' first run as the headliner of the UWA lasted for 119 days, until June 24, 1984 when he lost the belt to Canek.][ In the mid -1980s tension between EMLL and the UWA subsided and the two groups cooperated on a series of shows. This cooperation meant that Dos Caras worked EMLL shows for the first time in 10 years, teaming with ]Villano III
Arturo Díaz Mendoza (March 23, 1952 – August 21, 2018) was a Mexican professional wrestler who performed under the ring name Villano III (in Spanish Villano Tercero). Díaz was a second-generation wrestler, son of ''luchador'' Ray Mendoza an ...
and Villano V
Raymundo Díaz Mendoza Jr. (born March 22, 1960) is a Mexican professional wrestler, who has performed under the name Villano V (Villano Quinto, which means "Fifth Villain") until he was unmasked on March 20, 2009, after which he became known a ...
to win the Mexican National Trios Championship
The Mexican National Trios Championship (''Campeonato National Trios'' in Spanish) is a three-man tag team professional wrestling championship, sanctioned by the "Comisión de Box y Lucha Libre Mexico D.F." (''Mexico City Boxing and Wrestling ...
from ''Los Brazos'' (El Brazo
Juan Alvarado Nieves (July 30, 1961 – October 15, 2013) was a Mexican Luchador (professional wrestler). He was best known under the ring name El Brazo (Spanish for "the Arm"), which he used since his debut in 1980. Alvarado was part of the Al ...
, Brazo de Oro and Brazo de Plata
José Luis Alvarado Nieves (March 19, 1963 – July 26, 2021) was a Mexican luchador best known under the ring name Brazo de Plata, a name he had used since his debut in 1977. He is also well known for his appearances in WWE as Super Porky. Al ...
).[ The title run only lasted 26 days as EMLL decided to take the belts off the UWA trio and have ''Los Brazos'' win them back on March 23, 1986.][ the EMLL/UWA cooperation ended not long after and Dos Caras once again focused on the UWA, defeating Canek to win his second UWA World title, a title he would hold until some time in 1987 where Canek won the title back.][
In the late 1980s, Dos Caras began wrestling for the Mexico-based ]World Wrestling Association
The World Wrestling Association (WWA) (Asociación Mundial de Lucha Libre in Spanish) is a lucha libre promotion based in the Tijuana-area of Mexico. It was founded in 1986 by Benjamin Mora Jr.. It featured some of Mexico's best ''luchadores'' a ...
(WWA) where he won the WWA World Heavyweight Championship
The World Wrestling All-Stars (WWA) World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in World Wrestling All-Stars. It was the primary championship in the WWA. The title was sanctioned by WWA as their world ...
in 1989. He would hold the title for approximately a year until losing the belt to Scorpio, Jr. on September 19, 1990.[ in 1992 Dos Caras became a three time UWA World Champion when he defeated El Canek. Caras' third and final UWA title reign came to an end after 154 days when Canek regained the title in ]Naucalpan
Naucalpan, officially Naucalpan de Juárez, is one of 125 municipalities located just northwest of Mexico City in the adjoining State of Mexico. The municipal seat is the city of Naucalpan de Juárez, which extends into the neighboring municipal ...
, Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
.[ In 1994 the UWA closed, leaving Dos Caras free to work for other promotions, allowing him to work for EMLL (now renamed "Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre"; CMLL) as well as various independent promotions. On March 22, 1996 Dos Caras teamed with ]Héctor Garza
Héctor Solano Segura (June 12, 1969 – May 26, 2013) was a Mexican professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Héctor Garza. During his career he worked for various major Mexican professional wrestling promotions such as Consejo ...
and La Fiera
Arturo Casco Hernández (March 17, 1961 – September 12, 2010) was a Mexican '' luchador'', or professional wrestler, best known under the ring name La Fiera, which is Spanish for "The Wild Beast". Hernández was a second-generation wrestler, fo ...
to win the CMLL World Trios Championship
The CMLL World Trios Championship (Spanish: "''Campeonato Mundial de Trios''") is a professional wrestling championship promoted by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) in Mexico. The title has existed since 1991 and is contested for by teams ...
from Bestia Salvaje
Juan Manuel Rodriguez Carillo (February 11, 1962 – March 20, 2008) was a Mexican luchador, best known by his ring name Bestia Salvaje, who competed in Mexican and international promotions during the 1980s and 1990s, most notably with Emili ...
, Emilio Charles, Jr. and 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 ...
.[ The team held the title until early 1997 when Garza left CMLL and the title was vacated.][
In the subsequent years, Dos Caras worked regularly for ]Lucha Libre AAA World Wide
Antonio Peña Promotions, S.A. de C.V. d/b/a Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide is a Mexican Lucha Libre (professional wrestling) promotion based in Mexico City, Mexico. Commonly referred to as simply AAA (pronounced "triple A"; an abbreviation of its or ...
(AAA), being instrumental in the professional wrestling debut of his son Dos Caras, Jr. in AAA. He would also work for International Wrestling Revolution Group
International Wrestling Revolution Group (Grupo Internacional Revolución in Spanish; the Spanish name is used for the promotion while the English initials are used for the title governing body) is a Lucha Libre promotion based in Naucalpan, Sta ...
(IWRG) although he never won any championships in either promotion. Currently Dos Caras still wrestles, although on a reduced schedule, he mainly works for independent promotions, especially the UWE Legends shows. He has been vocal about not wanting to work for one of the "big two" promotions in Mexico (CMLL and AAA) as he did not feel either promotion treated a wrestler with his history and status with enough respect.
On October 7, 2010, Dos Caras made a special appearance at a WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
''SmackDown
''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes simulc ...
'' live event in Mexico, where he was in his son Alberto Del Rio's corner in his match against Kofi Kingston
Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah (born August 14, 1981) is a Ghanaian-born American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Kofi Kingston. He appeared on WWE's NXT brand as one-hal ...
.
On December 4, 2013, Caras, along with Mil Máscaras, returned to Japan to take part in a Tokyo Gurentai
is a professional wrestling stable, currently made up of Fujita, Kikuzawa, Mazada, and Nosawa Rongai. The group was formed in 2000 by Kikuzawa, Mazada and Nosawa and has since appeared for Japan's four biggest promotions; All Japan Pro Wrest ...
event in Tokyo's Korakuen Hall
is a famous sports arena in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan, which has hosted many notable boxing, professional wrestling, kickboxing, mixed martial arts and Lethwei matches.
History
On April 16, 1962, the Korakuen Hall was officially opened with ...
. In the main event, the two defeated Mazada
(born May 23, 1975) is a Japanese people, Japanese professional wrestler, mostly known for his ring name Mazada (written in all capitals). He is one of the founding members of the renowned Stable (professional wrestling), stable Tokyo Gurentai a ...
and Nosawa Rongai
, better known by his ring names Nosawa and , (born December 17, 1976) is a Japanese freelance professional wrestler, best known for his appearances in All Japan Pro Wrestling and various independent promotions.
Career Early career (19952004)
Nos ...
to win the Tokyo World Tag Team Championship
is a professional wrestling stable, currently made up of Fujita, Kikuzawa, Mazada, and Nosawa Rongai. The group was formed in 2000 by Kikuzawa, Mazada and Nosawa and has since appeared for Japan's four biggest promotions; All Japan Pro Wres ...
.
On July 2, 2017, he appeared at Impact Wrestling's Slammiversary XV in the corner of Alberto El Patron, as Alberto defeated Bobby Lashley to unify the Impact Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship and GFW Global Championship.
Personal life
Rodríguez is the father of luchadors Alberto Del Rio
José Alberto Rodríguez Chucuan (born 25 May 1977) is a Mexican-American professional wrestler, professional wrestling promoter, sports commentator, and mixed martial artist, currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) as a c ...
(known as Dos Caras, Jr. while wrestling in Mexico) and Guillermo (now performing as El Hijo de Dos Caras), and the brother of luchadors 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 Demo ...
and Sicodélico. He has two nephews who wrestle under the names Sicodelico, Jr.
Aaron Rodríguez (born June 13, 1976) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Sicodelico Jr. Rodríguez is the son of Sicodelico and the nephew of Mil Máscaras and Dos Caras, and the cousin of Alberto Del Rio (Dos Car ...
and El Hijo del Sicodelico.
In films
In 2007 he appeared alongside his brother in the film ''Mil Mascaras vs. the Aztec Mummy
''Mil Mascaras vs. the Aztec Mummy'' (also known as ''Mil Mascaras: Resurrection'') is a 2007 Mexican-American lucha libre film starring the legendary Mexican wrestler and cult film star Mil Máscaras. It has the distinction of being the first lu ...
''.
Championships and accomplishments
* Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre / Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
**CMLL World Trios Championship
The CMLL World Trios Championship (Spanish: "''Campeonato Mundial de Trios''") is a professional wrestling championship promoted by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) in Mexico. The title has existed since 1991 and is contested for by teams ...
( 1 time) - with Héctor Garza
Héctor Solano Segura (June 12, 1969 – May 26, 2013) was a Mexican professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Héctor Garza. During his career he worked for various major Mexican professional wrestling promotions such as Consejo ...
and La Fiera
Arturo Casco Hernández (March 17, 1961 – September 12, 2010) was a Mexican '' luchador'', or professional wrestler, best known under the ring name La Fiera, which is Spanish for "The Wild Beast". Hernández was a second-generation wrestler, fo ...
**Mexican National Trios Championship
The Mexican National Trios Championship (''Campeonato National Trios'' in Spanish) is a three-man tag team professional wrestling championship, sanctioned by the "Comisión de Box y Lucha Libre Mexico D.F." (''Mexico City Boxing and Wrestling ...
( 1 time) - with Villano III
Arturo Díaz Mendoza (March 23, 1952 – August 21, 2018) was a Mexican professional wrestler who performed under the ring name Villano III (in Spanish Villano Tercero). Díaz was a second-generation wrestler, son of ''luchador'' Ray Mendoza an ...
and Villano V
Raymundo Díaz Mendoza Jr. (born March 22, 1960) is a Mexican professional wrestler, who has performed under the name Villano V (Villano Quinto, which means "Fifth Villain") until he was unmasked on March 20, 2009, after which he became known a ...
*Michinoku Pro Wrestling
(originally known as North Eastern Wrestling) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded by The Great Sasuke on October 1, 1992. It was the first independent wrestling promotion in Japan to not base its operations in Tokyo, but rather ...
**Fukumen World League (1995)
*''Pro Wrestling Illustrated
''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publish ...
''
**PWI ranked him #102 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years
''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publi ...
" in 2003
*Tokyo Gurentai
is a professional wrestling stable, currently made up of Fujita, Kikuzawa, Mazada, and Nosawa Rongai. The group was formed in 2000 by Kikuzawa, Mazada and Nosawa and has since appeared for Japan's four biggest promotions; All Japan Pro Wrest ...
** Tokyo World Tag Team Championship (1 time), current) – with Mil Máscaras[
*]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) ...
**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 ...
( 1 time)[the Mexico City Boxing and Wrestling commission sanctions the championship but it is promoted by CMLL]
**UWA World Heavyweight Championship
The UWA World Heavyweight Championship (''Campeonato Mundial peso Completo de UWA'' in Spanish) was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship originally promoted by Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) until it closed in 1995. Aft ...
( 3 times)
*World Wrestling Association
The World Wrestling Association (WWA) (Asociación Mundial de Lucha Libre in Spanish) is a lucha libre promotion based in the Tijuana-area of Mexico. It was founded in 1986 by Benjamin Mora Jr.. It featured some of Mexico's best ''luchadores'' a ...
**WWA World Heavyweight Championship
The World Wrestling All-Stars (WWA) World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in World Wrestling All-Stars. It was the primary championship in the WWA. The title was sanctioned by WWA as their world ...
( 1 time)
*Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
This is a list of both active and inactive ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' awards created by professional wrestling and mixed martial arts (MMA) journalist Dave Meltzer. The first fourteen awards were created in 1980 as an informal poll between ...
**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 1998)
''Luchas de Apuestas'' record
Footnotes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dos Caras
1951 births
Living people
Masked wrestlers
Mexican male film actors
Mexican male professional wrestlers
Professional wrestlers from San Luis Potosí
People from San Luis Potosí City
20th-century professional wrestlers
21st-century professional wrestlers
Mexican National Trios Champions
CMLL World Trios Champions
UWA World Heavyweight Champions
Mexican National Light Heavyweight Champions