Espanto I

José Eusebio Vázquez Bernal (1930 – May 30, 1968), was a Mexican ''luchador'', or professional wrestler from the mid-1950s until his death in 1968, best known under the ring name Espanto I (Spanish for "Terror I"), part of '' Los Espantos'' alongside his lifelong friend Fernando Cisneros Carrillo (Espanto II) and his younger brother Miguel Vázquez Bernal ( Espanto III). As ''Los Espantos'' the three became one of the first "Identical teams" in Mexico.

During his professional wrestling career Vázquez held the Mexican National Tag Team Championship once and the Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship on three occasions. He lost his mask to El Santo in 1963 as a result of a long-running storyline feud between the two. In 2010 he was inducted into the Ciudad Juárez ''Lucha Libre'' Hall of Fame along with the other two ''Espantos''. The team of Espanto I and Espanto II are considered among the best ''rudo'' (those that portray the bad guys) teams in the history of ''lucha libre''.

Vázquez, along with another wrestler, was killed during a bar fight in a Cantina in Monterrey, Nuevo León. Following Vázquez' death, both his brother and his best friend went into semi-retirement due to the loss. In the 1980s other wrestlers began using the ''Espanto'' name, such as his nephews who became Espanto IV and Espanto V and non-family members who were allowed to use the name such as ''Los Hijos del Espanto'' ("The Sons of Espanto"), Espanto Jr., Espantito and later on a second Espanto Jr.

Early life

José Eusebio Vázquez Bernal was born in 1933 (exact date is unknown) in the town of Torreón, Coahuila, Mexico. His younger brother Miguel was born in 1940. While in school Vázquez met and befriended Fernando Cisneros Carrillo. The friendship between the two was so strong that they considered each other brothers, and Cisneros' parents considered Vázquez as one of their own children. After leaving school they both went their separate ways, not seeing each other for two years, before they both ended up training at the same boxing gym.

Professional wrestling career

Records are unclear on exactly when Vázquez began to work as a ''luchador'' or professional wrestler, but it is known he started out in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua working for local ''lucha libre'' promoter Carlos "Gorila" Ramos under the name "El Torbellino Vázquez" ("Whirlwind Vázquez"). In the late 1950s Ramos decided to give Vázquez a new ring character, creating the '' enmascarado'', or masked wrestler, character ''El Espanto'' ("the Terror" or "The Horror"). As El Espanto he would wear an all black and white ring gear, including a black mask with a broad, white cross on the front of the mask. A few months later Cisnero was given the character "Espanto II" (with Vázquez becoming "Espanto I") and thus the team of ''Los Hermano Espantos'' ("The Terror brothers") or '' Los Espantos'' was created. Ramos recommended Espanto I to the Mexico City promoters of Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre ("Mexican Wrestling Enterprise"; EMLL) where he made his EMLL debut on December 16, 1959 in EMLL's Arena Coliseo. While Espanto I worked in Mexico City, Espanto II was gaining more experience locally before being called up to Mexico City as well.

''Los Hermanos Espanto'' made their debut as a team on January 24, 1961, winning a tag team tournament in their debut by defeating Tony López and Kiko Córcega in the finals. As a team they would remain undefeated for 34 weeks in a row on EMLL's regular Tuesday night show. Due to their success and fan reaction ''Los Espantos'' soon started working regularly on EMLL's Friday night ''Super Viernes'' show, EMLL's main show. During their run as a team they wrestled against Lou Thez, the visiting NWA World Heavyweight Champion, with Thez teaming up with Blue Demon on one occasion and Huracán Ramírez on another. In early 1962 Espanto I won his first ever ''Lucha de Apuestas'', or bet match when he defeated Mr. Atlas, forcing him to unmask. The ''Lucha de Apuestas'' match is the most prestigious match type in ''lucha libre'', especially when winning the mask of an opponent. On February 9, 1962 Espanto I defeated Cavernario Galindo in a ''Lucha de Apuestas'', forcing his maskless opponent to have his hair shaved off as a result. While Galindo's career was waning at the time the victory was still considered a major accomplishment in Espanto I's young career. The following month Espanto I also unmasked Pantera Blanca ("The White Panther").

In November 1962 Espanto I and II were joined by Espanto III, Euseibo's younger brother Miguel, forming a regular trio. Outside of teaming with Espanto III, Espanto I and II also regularly teamed up with El Santo, often headlining shows across Mexico. Teaming with El Santo was part of a storyline where Espanto I and II would attack El Santo after a match, turning Santo to the ''tecnico'' side (those that portray the "good guys") in the process. On Jun 22, 1963, Espanto I, II and El Santo lost a match to Rito Romero, Rayo de Jalisco, and Henry Pilusso. Being disappointed with the loss Espanto II attacked El Santo, but ended up with his own mask torn up and his face covered in blood when El Santo fought back. At the first EMLL 30th Anniversary show Espanto II lost a ''Lucha de Apustas'' to Rubén Juárez and as a result was forced to unmask, being the first Espanto to lose his mask. Three weeks later, on September 27, 1963 at the second EMLL 30th Anniversary show, Epanto I defeated Rubén Juárez in a ''Lucha de Apuesta'' and forced Juárez to have his hair shaved off. The ''Apuesta'' victor was part of the build towards a mask versus mask match with El Santo. The two headlined a sold out show in Arena México where El Santo defeated Espanto I forcing him to unmask. After his unmasking he gave his name as "José Eusebio Vázquez Cisnero" just line Epsnato II had stated that his birth name was "Fernando Vázquez Cisnero", keeping the storyline relationship between the two intact. When Espanto III lost his mask he likewise stated that his last name was "Vázquez Cisnero". The ''Los Espantos'' trio got their biggest win ever when they defeated the "dream team" of Mexican ''tecnicos'' El Santo, Blue Demon and Mil Máscaras/

During that time period ''Los Espantos'' also formed a team with El Gladiador, often facing El Santo and various partners. One particularly heated match saw ''Los Espantos'' and El Gladiador fight their opponents, Ray Mendoza, René Guajardo, and Karloff Lagarde all the way back to the locker rooms in an era where such a thing was unheard of in Mexico. On September 14, 1963 Espanto I defeated Rubén Juárez to win the Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship, one of the oldest championships in existence. In November 1963, he lost the championship to Ray Mendoza as part of a long-running ''rudo'' vs. ''rudo'' storyline between ''Los Espantos'' and ''Los Rebeldes'' (Mendoza, Guajardo and Lagarde). On October 30, 1964 Espanto I defeated American Roger Kirby in a ''Lucha de Apuestas'', forcing Kirby to have his bleach blonde hair shaved off. In 1965 he became the Mexican National Light Heavyweight Champion once more, defeating Alfonso Dantés. Later that year he would successfully defend the title against Mil Máscaras on the EMLL 32nd Anniversary Show, EMLL's biggest show of the year. on October 14, 1966 his second reign as the Mexican National Light Heavyweight Champion comes to an end when he lost to El Santo. In 1966 Espanto I and II won the Mexican National Tag Team Championship from El Santo and Mil Máscaras, but would later lose the belts to El Santo and Mil Máscaras in a rematch. Espanto I became a three-time Mexican National Light Heavyweight Champion in March, 1967, holding it for three months before Mil Máscaras won the championship.

Death and legacy

On May 30, 1968, after a wrestling show in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Vázquez, and fellow wrestler Popeye Franco, were killed by a cantina owner during a fight. Records are unclear if Eusebio Vázquez had any children, but it is clear that the wrestler who later worked as Espanto Jr. and claimed to be the son of Eusebio Vázquez was not related at all. That Espanto Jr., Jesús Andrade Salas, was allowed to use the name by Espanto II. Later on other Espantos would follow in the footsteps of the character that Eusebio Vázquez created, including his nephews Espanto IV and V, Los Hijos del Espanto, Espantito, and a new Espanto Jr., son of the original Espanto.

After the storyline with El Santo ''Los Espantos'' became one of the most reviled ''rudo'' trios in ''Lucha libre'' at the time. In 1999, the Mexican newspaper ''El Siglo de Torreón'' stated that the team of Espanto I and Espanto II was considered one of the best ''rudo'' teams in the history of ''lucha libre''. The statement was echoed by ''SuperLuchas'' Magazine in 2010 when they wrote an obituary after Espanto II died.

Championships and accomplishments

*Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre
:*Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship ( 3 times)
:*Mexican National Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with Espanto II
* Chihuahua State wrestling
:*Ciudad Juárez ''Lucha Libre'' Hall of Fame (2010)

''Luchas de Apuestas'' record

See also

* List of premature professional wrestling deaths

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Espanto 1
1930 births
1968 deaths
Mexican male professional wrestlers
Masked wrestlers
Professional wrestlers from Coahuila
People from Torreón
20th-century professional wrestlers
Mexican National Tag Team Champions
Mexican National Light Heavyweight Champions