Gory Guerrero

Salvador Guerrero Quesada[1] (January 11, 1921 – April 18, 1990), better known as Gory Guerrero, was one of the premier Mexican-American professional wrestlers in the early days of Lucha Libre when most wrestlers were imported from outside Mexico. He wrestled primarily in Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre (EMLL) between the 1940s and 1960s. He was also the patriarch of the Guerrero wrestling family.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Guerrero and the second or maternal family name is Quesada.
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 deathCirrhosis due to hepatitis
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

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

Professional wrestling career

In Mexico, Guerrero joined a gym with the intention to learn to box, but instead learned lucha libre from Diablo Velasco and El Indio Mejía.[3][1] He wrestled his first professional wrestling match on September 14, 1937, jobbing to El Rojo.[3][1] He began his career in Mexico working under the ring name Joe Morgan, but later changed his name to Gory Guerrero—a reference to his bloody matches.[2][6] He made his debut for the Mexico City promotion Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre (EMLL) in 1943 and was named "Rookie of the Year" later that year.[6] In 1945, he briefly held the Mexican National Welterweight Championship.[6][7][8] Several months later, he won the Mexican National Middleweight Championship, which he held for approximately one year.[6][9][10] Guerrero and his brothers also feuded with Cavernario Galindo and his brothers.[6] In the late 1940s, Guerrero began tag teaming with El Santo as the undefeated La Pareja Atómica (The Atomic Pair).[2][6] Guerrero also appeared in some of El Santo's films.[6] He also feuded with Enrique Llanes and his tag team partner Tarzán López.[11] He defeated Lopez for the NWA Middleweight title.[12] In 1954, he wrestled a championship match against NWA World Heavyweight Champion Lou Thesz but did not win the title.[2][6]

Guerrero broke away from EMLL in 1966 after refusing to drop the NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship to Ray Mendoza.[3][11] He worked as an independent in the mid-1960s.[11] He also began to branch out into booking and training with Dory Funk Sr.[11] In addition, he helped run shows in NWA Hollywood Wrestling for two years, and later he booked shows for World Class Championship Wrestling.[13] With age his in-ring performing decreased until his ultimate retirement in the 1980s. Guerrero is credited with the invention of La de a Caballo (Camel Clutch) and the Gory Special, a type of backbreaker.[3][11] He also invented the back to back 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

Guerrero's wife Herlinda was the sister of wrestler Enrique Llanes.[11] They married in 1947.[11] They had six children: four sons Chavo, Mando, Héctor, Eddie, and two daughters, Maria and Linda.[3][11] 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 developed cirrhosis due to hepatitis.[14]

Championships and accomplishments

Notes

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 Apuestas record
See also: Luchas de Apuestas
Winner (wager) Loser (wager) Location Event Date Notes
Gory Guerrero (hair)The Red Mistery (hair)N/ALive eventApril 27, 1945 

Footnotes
  1. Guerrero, Eddie. Cheating Death, Stealing Life: The Eddie Guerrero Story, p. 5.
  2. Madigan, Dan (2007). "Dorada de lucha libre: Gory Guerrero". Mondo Lucha Libre: the bizarre & honorable world of wild Mexican wrestling. HarperCollins Publisher. pp. 189–193. ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3.
  3. "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. "Gory Guerrero". Onlineworldofwrestling. 14 June 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. ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3.
  6. Guerrero, Eddie. Cheating Death, Stealing Life: The Eddie Guerrero Story, p. 6–8.
  7. Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: National Welterweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 392. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  8. Lucha 2000 Staff (December 20, 2004). "Los Reyes de Mexico: La Historia de Los Campeonatos Nacionales". Lucha 2000 (in Spanish). Especial 21.
    • Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: National Middleweight Championship". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 392. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  10. "Los Reyes de Mexico: La Historia de Los Campeonatos Nacionales". Lucha 2000 (in Spanish). 2004-12-20. Especial 21.
  11. Guerrero, Eddie. Cheating Death, Stealing Life: The Eddie Guerrero Story, p. 9–10.
  12. Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). "Mexico: EMLL NWA World Middlweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. pp. 389–390. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  13. Guerrero, 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. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  16. Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2006). "Mexico: EMLL NWA Welterweight Heavyweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. p. 390. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  17. Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  18. Duncan, Royal; Gary Will (2006). "(Oregon & Washington) Portland: NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. pp. 317–320. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  19. Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  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. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  21. "NWA Texas Tag Team Title [E. Texas]". wrestling-titles.com. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  22. "National Wrestling Alliance World Tag Team Titles [W. Texas]". Wrestling-Titles. Retrieved February 21, 2017.

References

Further reading
  • Wrestling With God by Chad Bonham, 2001, ISBN 1-58919-935-9, pp. 125–138.
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