Ray Mendoza


José Díaz Velázquez, better known by his ring name Ray Mendoza, was a Mexican luchador. After working for Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre, Mendoza had great success in the National Wrestling Alliance, where he was a five-time World Light Heavyweight Champion, as well as the first Mexican to hold the championship. In 1975, he helped establish Universal Wrestling Association, with Francisco Flores and Benjamín Mora Jr.
During his many title reigns, Mendoza faced many present or future stars, such as Gran Hamada, Killer Kowalski, John Tolos, El Solitario, Fishman, René Guajardo, Gory Guerrero, El Santo, and Cavernario Galindo. He also appeared in a number of luchador films. Mendoza was the father of Los Villanos, Villano I, Villano II, Villano III, Villano IV, and Villano V, and the grandfather of Villano III Jr., El Hijo del Villano III, Villano V Jr., and Rokambole Jr..

Biography

José Díaz Velazquez was born on July 6, 1929, and grew up in the Tepito district of Mexico City, a very poor and violent neighborhood. Díaz never finished any formal education as he had to start earning a living at a very early age to support himself and his wife Lupita Mendoza, whom he married when he was just 15 years old. While working in a bakery, Díaz also worked hard to keep in shape, participating in cycling, swimming and baseball.

Boxing career

Díaz decided to become a professional boxer and made his debut in 1950, keeping his day job in the bakery as well. Díaz boxed under name "Joe Díaz", a shortened version of his real name. At one point, he had a sparring session with a couple of luchadors, as he was told not to spar with any of the boxers at the gym. The luchadors wanted to teach the boxer a lesson and ended up injuring Díaz's back with a knee drop. The back injury later forced Díaz to retire, after only 20 matches. Following his retirement, he began working as a health inspector for the Mexico City county.

Professional wrestling career

Despite being forced to retire from professional boxing, Díaz kept in shape by lifting weights at a local gym. The gym owner was impressed with Díaz's physique and work ethics and recommended he become a luchador. Díaz was originally trained by Ray Carrasco and later also trained under Rogelio de la Paz, Genaro Contreas, Raul Rojas and Daniel García; the latter would later be famous under the name of "Huracán Ramírez". Díaz made his professional wrestling debut in 1954, using the ring name "El Pelón" Chato Díaz, then later on worked under names such as "Indio" Mendoza, El Rayo Rojo and El Hombre del Rayo Rojo. He also worked for a while as an enmascarado character called Gargantua between 1954 and 1955. In 1955, Díaz came up with the ring name "Ray Mendoza", after his mentor Ray Carrasco and his wife's maiden name Mendoza. As Mendoza, he quickly forged a very effective rudo character by using well developed physique and charisma to create a ring character that the fans loved to hate. In 1956, Mendoza began working for Salvador Lutteroth's Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre, the world's oldest and Mexico's largest wrestling promotion. He made his debut at EMLL's main arena Arena Coliseo in February 1956 in a battle royal that also included EMLL headliners Gory Guerrero, El Santo, Cavernario Galindo, Blue Demon and Black Shadow, a match that immediately established him as someone who Lutteroth saw potential in. In EMLL, Mendoza struck up a friendship with René Guajardo and Karloff Lagarde out of the ring and a "partnership in crime" in the ring as the three became one of the most hated trio in lucha libre at the time. The three drew full houses all over Mexico, setting box office record after box office record as they faced técnicos such as El Santo, Rayo de Jalisco or Blue Demon. They also had a very financially successful feud with Los Espantos in what at the time was a rare rudo vs. rudo feud. Outside the ring Mendoza, Guajardo and Lagarde often spoke out on behalf of the wrestlers, demanding higher pay and better conditions, and since they were able to generate a lot of ticket sales, EMLL officials listened to their demands.
In 1959, Mendoza won his first championship, defeating Dory Dixon to win the NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship. This marked the first time the NWA Light Heavyweight title was held by a Mexican and helped establish the title as the top title in Mexico from 1959 until the mid-1980s. Over the years, Mendoza would become synonymous with the NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship as he held it a record six times. During those title reigns, he worked a legendary feud against Gory Guerrero, a feud between two of the most influential, unmasked wrestlers of the golden age of lucha libre. In 1965, Mendoza's in-ring success helped make him very popular with the fans, so popular it was decided to turn him técnico. His first feud as a técnico was against his old partners Guajardo and Lagarde. First, Mendoza defeated Lagarde in a Lucha de Apuesta, hair vs. hair match. Matches between Mendoza, Guajardo and Lagarde drew full houses all over Mexico, including a record breaking show where Guajardo defeated Mendoza in a Lucha de Apuesta match, the show drew the largest gate of that year and one of the best gates in Mexico in the 1960s. Guajardo and Mendoza also feuded over the NWA World Middleweight Championship, although once Mendoza won it, he vacated it to focus on the Light Heavyweight division. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Mendoza would often work in the United States, working for the Southern California based NWA Hollywood. Here he held the NWA Americas Tag Team Championship on three occasions, teaming with Mil Máscaras, Raul Mata and Raul Reyes. In the late 1960s, Mendoza helped launch the career of Ringo Mendoza, who was not related to Mendoza, but was allowed to use the last name as he bore a resemblance to Mendoza. Years later, Mendoza was instrumental in the careers of his sons who wrestled as Villano I, Villano II, and Villano III.

Universal Wrestling Association

In 1974, Salvador Lutteroth Jr. began working for EMLL, being groomed to take over after his father. Mendoza was already unhappy with the lack of attention his sons were getting in EMLL as well as the very rigid and conservative way of running show; when Lutteroth Jr. was brought in Mendoza's loyalty to Lutteroth Sr. ended. Mendoza vacated the NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship and along with Guajardo and Lagarde resigned from EMLL. They joined up with promoter Francisco Flores and investor Benjamín Mora Jr. to form a rival promotion called Lucha Libre Internacional, later globally known as the Universal Wrestling Association. Headlined by Mendoza, Guajardo, and Largede as well as disgruntled former EMLL wrestlers, UWA held their first show on January 29, 1975, creating the first true rival for EMLL in decades. Since Mendoza had been synonymous with the Light Heavyweight division throughout the 1960s and 1970s, it was not a great surprise that he became the first UWA World Light Heavy Champion, although at this point in his career, he was used more to help wrestlers such as El Solitario and Gran Hamada gain credibility as they defeated Mendoza for the title. Mendoza also spent a lot of time guiding the careers of his three youngest sons Villano I, II, and III who were quickly gaining fame in the UWA. By the end of the 1970s, Mendoza was all but retired, with his last headliner match being a championship match against WWWF Junior Heavyweight Champion Tatsumi Fujinami, a match that was Mendoza's last true headliner match.

Retirement

Mendoza announced his retirement in late 1982 and following a retirement tour of Mexico and Panama, he retired from in-ring action in early 1983. He would later work as a referee for special UWA matches, adding to the "big event" feel by having Mendoza oversee the action. He also trained various wrestlers at the UWA school along with his son VIllano I, Lagarde and Felipe Ham Lee, training wrestlers up until the UWA closed in 1995. In 1988, he was made the head commissioner of the Mexico City Boxing and Wrestling commission, charged with relegating boxing and wrestling events in Mexico, licensing wrestlers and approving mask matches and the likes.

Personal life

Díaz married Lupita Mendoza when he was just 15 and the two remained married until she died in 1986. Together the couple had eight children, three daughters, Rita Marina, Leonor and Lupita and five sons who all became luchadors; José Alfredo, José de Jesús, Arturo, Raymundo and Tomás. After his unmasking in 2009, Raymundo was often billed as "Ray Mendoza Jr." after his father. Mendoza was originally adamant that his sons get a good education instead of becoming wrestlers, wishing that they become lawyers or doctors as he wanted to spare them the physical suffering he experienced himself. Once he realized that his two oldest sons had begun wrestling under masks, he agreed to train them and help their wrestling careers. He was also instrumental in training his youngest two sons, although he insisted they both get college degrees before they were allowed to begin wrestling. Since his youngest son Tomás finished his education first, he became known as "Villano IV", while the second youngest son became "Villano V". Díaz was a family man and never recovered emotionally after his wife died in 1986, followed by the premature death of José Alfredo in 1989 and the death of his second son José de Jesús in 2001.

Villanos family tree

Death and remembrance

On April 15, 2003, Díaz was taken to the Hospital General de Naucalpan suffering from kidney failure and later suffered an arrhythmia in his right lung. Díaz died the night between April 16 and April 17, the official date of death being listed as April 16. His funeral was held two days later and was attended by over 100 people, longtime friends and luchadors who grew up admiring Ray Mendoza's in-ring exploits paid their last respect. Other than his family, the funeral was attended by wrestlers such as La Infernal, El Canek, Super Astro, Mano Negrao, Fuerza Guerrera, Pierroth Jr., Olímpico, Shocker, Karloff Lagarde, and his nephew Karloff Lagarde Jr., as well as Ringo Mendoza. During the funeral, some gave Ringo Mendoza their condolences on the death of "his father", not realizing that there was no actual family relationship between the two. In 2010, CMLL honored Ray Mendoza's memory at their annual Homenaje a Dos Leyendas show on March 19, 2010. During the show, Mendoza's three surviving sons, Villano III, Ray Mendoza Jr. and Villano IV were present for a ceremony honoring Ray Mendoza.