Ismael Muñoz Lopez (January 15, 1943 – December 15, 2019) was 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 ...

'' or

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 ...

best known 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 projectin ...

Alberto Muñoz. Muñoz was active from 1964 until the 1980s. Muñoz worked for most of his career using his real name, but in the 1970s he also wrestled as the '' enmascarado'' (masked wrestler) White Man, teaming with Black Man to form a popular

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

. In his career Muñoz held several top championships promoted by

Empresa Mexicana de 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'') (''Mexi ...

(EMLL).

Professional wrestling career

Muñoz made his professional wrestling debut in 1964 and within a couple of years began working regularly for

(EMLL), the oldest wrestling promotion in the world. Initially he wrestled in the lightweight weightdivision, which in Mexico means between and . On August 7, 1965 Muñoz defeated Rodolfo Ruíz to win the

Mexican National Lightweight Championship The Mexican National Lightweight Championship (''Campeonato Nacional de Peso Ligero'' in Spanish) is a Mexican professional wrestling singles championship created and sanctioned by ''Comisión de Box y Lucha Libre Mexico D.F.'' ("the Mexico City B ...

. Over the following six months Muñoz defended the title against both the deposed champion and other lightweight contenders. On February 6, 1966 Muñoz moved up to the Welterweight division (between and ) when he defeated

Huracán Ramírez Daniel García Arteaga (April 9, 1926 – October 31, 2006), best known under the ring name Huracán Ramírez ( English: "Hurricane Ramírez"), was a Mexican '' luchador enmascarado'' (or masked professional wrestler) and actor. García was n ...

for the

Mexican National Welterweight Championship The Mexican National Welterweight Championship (''Campeonato Nacional Peso Welter'' in Spanish) is a Mexican professional wrestling championship created and sanctioned by Comisión de Box y Lucha Libre Mexico D.F. (the Mexico City Boxing and Wrest ...

. After winning the Welterweight title Muñoz vacated the Lightweight title to focus on the more prestigious Welterweight division. Muñoz held the Welterweight title from February 6, 1966, until October 20, 1968, for a total of days, the longest reign of any Mexican National Welterweight Champion to date. On March 9, 1968 Muñoz defeated Rene Guajardo to win the

Mexican National Middleweight Championship The Mexican National Middleweight Championship ''()'' is a professional wrestling championship controlled by the ' (Mexico City Boxing and Wrestling Commission). The official weight definition of the middleweight division in Mexico is from . The ...

. Muñoz wrestled in both the Welterweight and the middleweight division (between and ), holding and defending both titles for seven months. On October 20, 1968 Muñoz vacated the Welterweight title to focus on the Middleweight title. Muñoz would hold the Middleweight title until November 20, 1969, where Rene Guajado regained the title. Alberto Muñoz held a championship from August 7, 1965, until November 20, 1969, more than four years in total. On July 11, 1971 Muñoz defeated

Karloff Lagarde Carlos Delucio Lagarde (July 27, 1928 – August 31, 2007) is best known as Karloff Lagarde, a Mexican ''Luchador'', or professional wrestler, who was immensely popular during the 1960s and 1970s. Through his career had faced most of Mexico's top ...

to win the

NWA World Welterweight Championship The NWA World Welterweight Championship ( es, Campeonato Mundial Welter de NWA) is an inactive professional wrestling championship governed by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and most recently promoted by NWA Mexico. The championship was ori ...

, perhaps the most prestigious championship in Mexico at the time. During a

match on June 26, 1973 Muñoz (who was teaming with El Marqués) suffered a serious neck injury after a headscissors takedown move from his opponent El Nazi (who teamed with Hayashi) went badly and Muñoz's head was driven into the canvas. He became unresponsive after the accident and was taken to the local hospital where he was in a medically induced coma for several days. As a result of the injury Muñoz was forced to vacate the NWA World Welterweight Championship and temporarily retire from wrestling. When Muñoz returned to the ring almost a year later he adopted a new ring persona, an '' enmascarado'' (masked wrestler) called "White Man", teaming up with Black Man to form a very popular and successful

. The two teamed for a while but never won a tag team title, despite several chances at the

Arena Coliseo Tag Team Championship The CMLL Arena Coliseo Tag Team Championship (Spanish: ''Campeonato de Parejas de la Arena Coliseo del CMLL'') is a professional wrestling Tag team championship promoted by the Mexican Lucha Libre wrestling based promotion Consejo Mundial de Luc ...

. by 1978 Muñoz dropped the "White Man" character as he was forced to work a reduced schedule due to age and injuries. Muñoz' last notable wrestling appearance came in April, 1979 when he lost a '' Luchas de Apuesta'', hair vs. mask match, to

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 a ...

. ''Apuesta'' matches often pay a quite a lot to the person agreeing to lose his hair or mask, giving Muñoz one last big payday before retiring in the early 1980s.

Championships and accomplishments

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2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outsid ...

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( 1 time)

''Luchas de Apuestas'' record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Munoz, Alberto Living people Mexican male professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Jalisco 1943 births Mexican National Middleweight Champions Mexican National Welterweight Champions 20th-century professional wrestlers NWA World Welterweight Champions