Blue Demon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Alejandro Muoz Moreno

Mask of Blue Demon

Birth name

Alejandro Muoz Moreno

Blue Demon (Demonio Azul), El Manotas Ring name(s) (The Big Handed One), The Professor[1] Tosco Muoz

Born

April 24, 1922 Rinconada, Nuevo Len, Mexico

Died

December 16, 2000 (aged 78)

Trained by

Rolando Vera

Debut

March 12, 1948

Retired

1988

Alejandro Muoz Moreno (April 24, 1922 December 16, 2000), better known as Blue Demon (Demonio Azul in Spanish), was a Mexican luchador Enmascarado (Masked professional wrestler) who was widely considered to be one of the greatest Mexican wrestlers of his time. He was affectionately referred to as "Blue" and was known for his signature blue wrestling mask.

Contents

1 Biography o 1.1 Early life 2 Professional wrestling career o 2.1 Film career o 2.2 Retirement and death 3 In wrestling 4 Championships and accomplishments o 4.1 Lucha de Apuesta record 5 Filmography 6 Footnotes 7 References 8 External links

Biography
Early life
Alejandro Muoz Moreno was born April 24, 1922 in Rinconada, Nuevo Len Mexico.[2] He was the child of farmers and was the fifth of twelve children. At a young age, Alejandro dropped out of school and moved to Monterrey, where his uncle gave him a job working on the National Railroad. His co-workers there gave him the nickname 'Manotas', referring to his large, powerful hands.

Professional wrestling career

A chance meeting with the famous Mexican wrestler Rolando Vera piqued his interest in Lucha Libre, Vera even offering to tutor him and help him start a career. He began wrestling without a mask in Laredo, Texas. His first match was against Chema Lopez on March 12, 1948, which he won handily. Adopting the mask and persona of The Blue Demon, he headed back to Mexico to start a real career. His first appearance as The Blue Demon was in Mexico City in September 1948, where he fought Benny Arcilla. Blue began his career in the ring as a rudo (a bad guy). From there, he formed a famous tag-team with another well-known masked luchador named The Black Shadow, and the two became known as Los Hermanos Shadow (The Shadow Brothers). In 1952, the famous wrestler Santo beat and unmasked Black Shadow in the ring, which triggered Blue's decision to become a tcnico (a good guy) in the ring, and a legendary feud between The Blue Demon and Santo that culminated in Blue's beating el Santo in a well-publicized series of matches in 1952 and another in 1953. In 1953, Blue won the NWA World Welterweight Championship from Santo, and held it until 1958. Their rivalry never entirely abated in later years (although they co-starred over the years in a

number of Mexican horror films) since Santo always remembered his defeat at the Blue Demon's hands.[3] During the 1960s, one of Blue Demon's greatest rivals was el Rayo de Jalisco. In 1988, the year he retired, Blue Demon finally beat Jalisco in a mask vs. mask match, taking the mask of another of Mexico's wrestling legends.[4][5]

Film career
Blue Demon first appeared in cameos in a couple of luchador films made in 1961, "The Killers of Lucha Libre" and "Fury in the Ring", in which he was one of several wrestlers more or less in the background. But in 1964, Enrique Vergara, the producer of the thensuccessful Santo movies, decided to diversify by allowing the 42-year-old Blue Demon to star in a series of luchador films of his own. The plots of the Blue Demon films are thought to be extremely similar to those of Santo's films. Santo was asking for a salary increase at the time and Vergara wanted to cultivate a second movie star. From 1964 to 1977, Blue Demon starred in a total of 25 luchador films. Of those 25 films, Santo co-starred with him in nine of them, though the two were never good friends in real life. In three of his films, Blue Demon starred as the leader of a squadron of masked superheroes known as Los Campeones Justicieros (The Champions of Justice). Membership in the Champions included such legendary Mexican wrestling figures as Blue Demon, Mil Mscaras, Tinieblas, Rayo de Jalisco, El Medico Asesino, El Fantasma Blanco, El Avispon Escarlata and Superzan. (Santo never co-starred with Blue in any of the 3 Champions films, since he was so busy making his own movies at the time.)

Retirement and death

Blue Demon retired from the ring (at age 67) in 1989 at the Monterrey Arena, where he appeared in a final match, teaming up with his adoptive son, Blue Demon, Jr., who has had a successful career of his own. That same year, Blue Demon was the subject of a feature-length Mexican documentary entitled Blue Demon, the Champion (1989). Blue Demon died just before noon on Saturday, December 16, 2000 from natural causes. Apparently Blue Demon suffered a fatal heart attack on a park bench near a subway kiosk while on his way home from his regular morning training session at The Blue Demon Instituto Atletico, where he enjoyed teaching others his fighting skills. Although an attempt was made to get him to a hospital, he was unable to be revived. He was 78 years old. Blue Demon was buried wearing his trademark blue mask, the mask he never removed in public as he always kept his true identity a secret.

In wrestling

Finishing moves

Octopus hold

Championships and accomplishments

Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre

Mexican National Tag Team Championship (1 time) with Black Shadow Mexican National Welterweight Championship (3 times) NWA World Welterweight Championship (2 times)

Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)

Lucha de Apuesta record

See also: Luchas de Apuestas Wager Hair Mask Hair Hair Hair Beard Mask Mask Mask Mask Hair Winner Blue Demon Blue Demon Blue Demon Blue Demon Blue Demon Blue Demon Blue Demon Blue Demon Blue Demon Blue Demon Blue Demon Loser Jorge Allende Moloch Baby Olson Tony Borne Cavernario Galindo Conde Giuseppe Daidone Espectro II Mquina Salvaje Rayo de Jalisco Matemtico Matemtico Location Unknown Monterrey, Nuevo Len Unknown Unknown Unknown Mexico City, Mexico Tijuana, Baja California Mexico City, Mexico Monterrey, Nuevo Len Monterrey, Nuevo Len Mexico City, Mexico Date Unknown Unknown Unknown November 27, 1953 March 12, 1954 March 12, 1955 December 3, 1971 December 2, 1979 July 30, 1989 August 27, 1989 September 6, 1989 Notes

[5]

[6]

[Note 1]

Filmography
1961

Asesinos de la Lucha Libre (The Killers of Wrestling) featured Blue in a cameo in the ring, but he did not star in this film Furia en el Ring (Fury in the Ring) featured Blue in a cameo in the ring, but he did not star in this film

1964

Blue Demon (aka El Demonio Azul) Blue Demon contra el poder satnico (Blue Demon vs Satanic Power) Santo had a brief cameo appearance in this film

1966

Blue Demon en la sombra del murcilago (Blue Demon in "Shadow of The Bat") Blue Demon contra las aranas infernales (Blue Demon vs The Infernal Spiders) Demon's last B&W film Blue Demon contra cerebros infernales (Blue Demon vs The Infernal Brains) Demon's first Color film Blue Demon contra las diablicas (Blue Demon vs The Diabolical Women)

1967

Blue Demon destructor de espas (Blue Demon, Destroyer of Spies) Blue Demon en pasaporte la muerte (Blue Demon in "Passport To Death")

1968

Blue Demon contra las invasoras (Blue Demon vs. The Women Invaders) aka Blue Demon y las seductoras (Blue Demon and the Seductresses)

1969

Santo contra Blue Demon en la Atlntida (Santo vs Blue Demon in Atlantis) Santo y Blue Demon contra los monstruos (Santo and Blue Demon vs the Monsters) Santo y Blue Demon en "El Mundo de los Muertos" (Santo and Blue Demon in "World of the Dead")

1970

Las momias de Guanajuato (The Mummies of Guanajuato) co-stars Santo, Blue Demon and Mil Mscaras Los campeones justicieros (The Champions of Justice) co-stars Blue Demon, Mil Mascaras, Tinieblas, El Mdico Asesino, and La Sombra Vengadora

1971

Blue Demon y Zovek en "La invasin de los muertos" (Blue Demon and Zovek In "The Invasion of the Dead")

1972

Blue Demon en "La noche de la muerte" (Blue Demon in "Night of Death") Blue Demon en "La mafia amarilla" (Blue Demon in "The Yellow Mafia")

Vuelven los campeones justicieros (The Champions of Justice Return) co-stars Blue Demon, Mil Mascaras, El Fantasma Blanco, El Rayo de Jalisco, and El Avispn Escarlata Santo y Blue Demon contra Drcula y el Hombre Lobo (Santo and Blue Demon vs Dracula and the Wolfman) Santo y Blue Demon en "Las bestias del terror" (Santo and Blue Demon In "The Beasts of Terror")

1973

El triunfo de los campeones justicieros (Triumph of the Champions of Justice) co-stars Blue Demon, El Fantasma Blanco and Superzan Santo y Blue Demon contra el doctor Frankenstein (Santo and Blue Demon vs Dr. Frankenstein)

1974

Blue Demon en "El hijo de Alma Grande" (Blue Demon in "The Son of Alma Grande")

1975

La mansion de las siete momias (Mansion of the Seven Mummies) co-starring Blue Demon & Superzan

1977

Misterio en las Bermudas (Mystery In Bermuda) co-stars Santo, Blue Demon and Mil Mscaras

1989

Blue Demon, el campen (Blue Demon, The Champion) Documentary, video release only

Footnotes
1. Jump up ^ Triangle match that also included Rayo de Jalisco, Sr.

References
General sources - Championship Information

Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2000). "MEXICO". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. pp. 389402. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.

General sources - Career

Madigan, Dan (2007). "Los Enmascarados (the masked men): El Demonio Azul (the Blue Demon)". Mondo Lucha a Go Go: the bizarre& honorable world of wild Mexican wrestling. HarperColins Publisher. pp. 7990. ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3. Various (2005). "Furia Azul contra Capucha Dorada / the Blue Fury versus the golden hood". Lucha Libre: Masked Superstars of Mexican Wrestling. Distributed Art Publishers, Inc. pp. 3851. ISBN 968-6842-48-9. Various (2005). "El Demonio Azul / Blue Demon". Lucha Libre: Masked Superstars of Mexican Wrestling. Distributed Art Publishers, Inc. pp. 162186. ISBN 968-6842-48-9. L.L. Staff (2008). "Lucha Libre: Conoce la historia de las leyendas de cuadriltero". Blue Demon (1922 - 2000) (in Spanish) (Mexico). p. 11. Grandes Figuras de la Lucha Libre.

Specific
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Jump up ^ Deceased Superstars - The Blue Demon Jump up ^ Santoandfriends.com Jump up ^ Blue Demon's entry at InternationalHero.co.uk Jump up ^ John F. Molinaro, The Top 100 Pro Wrestlers of All Time, (Winding Stair Press: 2002), page 195. ^ Jump up to: a b Enciclopedia staff (October, 2007). "Enciclopedia de las Mascaras". Rayo de Jalisco (in Spanish) (Mexico). p. 6. Tomo IV. Jump up ^ Enciclopedia staff (October, 2007). "Enciclopedia de las Mascaras". Matemtico (in Spanish) (Mexico). p. 31. Tomo III.

External links

Online World of Wrestling profile

WorldCat VIAF: 11855722 LCCN: no00079859

Authority control

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blue_Demon&oldid=571381012" Categories:

1922 births 2000 deaths Masked wrestlers Mexican male professional wrestlers Mexican film actors People from Monterrey

Source Material: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Demon More Info: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3145975/

Movies: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064930/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064932/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064933/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0263475/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0264819/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067708/ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0258123/