- René Guajardo
Manuel Guajardo Mejorado (
January 4 ,1933 -May 11 ,1992 ), better known as René Guajardo, was aMexican professional wrestler .Wrestling career
René Guajardo was born in
Villa Mainero ,Tamaulipas ,Mexico . At the age of 16, Guajardo decided to become a professionalluchador . He joined a wrestling gym inMonterrey, Nuevo León , where he was trained by Chema López and Rolando Vera.René made his debut in 1954 against Oso Negro. His hard work and determination caught the eye of
EMLL recruiters who offered him a contract with their promotion company. He debuted for EMLL inArena Coliseo onOctober 8 of that same year.During his first three years in the business, he wrestled as a técnico, but in 1957 he watched the then rudo
Karloff Lagarde wrestle in Monterrey and started to wonder if he'd have more success as a rudo. René and Karloff would eventually become good friends. Lagarde was already an established main event star and held the National Welterweight Title, however, most main event matches were comprised oftag team s, and he knew that he would have more success as a member of a tag team. Lagarde believed the young luchador had a lot of raw talent so he proposed that the two form a team, an offer which Guajardo accepted.After teaming with Lagarde, he began competing in main event matches in a matter of weeks. Guajardo thrived in the spotlight, his technical skills combined with his violent and energetic style made him one of the most hated rudos in Mexico. He was referred to as "un rudo con recursos" (a rudo with technical resources).
On
October 13 ,1960 , Guajardo defeated his mentor Rolando Vera in a match for theNWA World Middleweight Championship . For the next 13 years, Guajardo would exchange that title withAntonio Posa ,Rayo de Jalisco ,Aníbal ,Jerry London andRay Mendoza .During the 60s, Ray Mendoza, Lagarde and Guajardo formed an alliance both inside and outside of the ring. In the ring, they competed alongside one another, outside of it, they were top negotiators. The pressure the three wrestlers placed on EMLL helped improve the conditions of other wrestlers working for that promotion.
Guajardo and Lagarde's team, now known as "Los Rebeldes" (The Rebels), became National Tag Team champions in 1962. Guajardo, Lagarde and Mendoza would often team with one another, so when Lagarde and Mendoza were competing as a team, Guajardo would align himself with Rolando Vera and Benny Galán.
On June 22, 1967, Guajardo achieved one of the greatest victories of his wrestling career when he defeated
El Santo for theMexican National Middleweight Championship , a title which Santo held for four years. Guajardo held the title for a few months until he lost it onMarch 9 ,1968 to Alberto "El Platanito" Muñoz. Guajardo regained the title onNovember 20 ,1969 , then lost it for the final time onMay 13 ,1970 . In 1967, the Rebeldes team split up violently and both men started a long feud that culminated in their famous 1968 singles bout which saw Guajardo emerge victoriously.When the famous EMLL split came in 1974, Guajardo, Mendoza and Lagarde played an instrumental role in the newly formed
Universal Wrestling Association . OnNovember 26 ,1975 , Guajardo became the first everUWA World Middleweight Championship by defeating Anibal inMexico City . He would later lose the title then regain it onOctober 31 ,1976 fromGran Hamada , and finally lose it again onOctober 2 ,1977 to Anibal.Guajardo also began promoting "La Division del Norte" (The Northern Division) which was based in Monterrey and
Nuevo León . His promotion company was very successful as it featured a less traditional style of wrestling that included a lot of ringside brawling and the use of bottles, chairs and illegal objects to "spice up" the matches.Guajardo competed sporadically until 1982 when he quietly retired from the ring. In 1990, he competed briefly as Indio Guajardo for CWA in
Germany and the EWF inFrance . The primary reason for Guajardo working in Europe was to scout talent for the UWA promotion. He ended up bringingChris Benoit ,Owen Hart , andToo Cold Scorpio to the UWA after meeting them on this tour.During his career, Guajardo won several wager matches against famous wrestlers, such as Halcon de Oro, Ray Mendoza,
Black Shadow , Felipe Ham Lee, Chino Chow, Yamamoto andPerro Aguayo . He also appeared in four lucha libre action films.René Guajardo continued working as a wrestling promoter until his death on May 11, 1992, as a result of complications resulting from liver cancer. In 1996, he was inducted into the
Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame . [ [http://www.100megsfree4.com/wiawrestling/pages/mexico/mextag.htm Wrestling Information Archive - Mexican Tag Team Title History ] ] [ [http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/r/rene-guajardo.html Online World of Wrestling ] ] [ [http://www.obsessedwithwrestling.com/profiles/r/rene-guajardo.php Obsessed With Wrestling ] ] [ [http://uk.imdb.com/name/nm0345214/filmoyear René 'Copetes' Guajardo - Filmography by year ] ]Championships and accomplishments
*
National Wrestling Alliance :*NWA World Middleweight Championship (6 times)
*Mexican National Championship:*Mexican National Middleweight Championship (2 times) :*Mexican National Tag Team Championship (1 time) - withKarloff Lagarde
*Universal Wrestling Association :*UWA World Middleweight Championship (2 times)*
Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
**Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)*European Middleweight TitleFavorite Moves: Various Lucha MovesThe BodyslamThe Body-block
References
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