Rolando Hernández Verástegui (February 1, 1915 – March 29, 2001) was a

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

and wrestling trainer, better known as Rolando Vera. One of the most popular ''

luchadores ''Lucha libre'' (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term for the style of professional wrestling originating in Mexico. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has develope ...

'' in Mexico in the 1950s, he was also an early star of

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 (EMLL) (''Mexican Wrestling Enterprise''). Founded in 1933, it is the oldest profe ...

. Vera wrestled throughout the world during his long career and held the

NWA World Middleweight Champion The NWA World Middleweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) between 1939 and 2010. For most of its existence, it was defended in the Mexican ''lucha libre'' promotion Consejo Mundial d ...

for over four years. He also trained numerous wrestlers during his life including father-and-son

Blue Demon Alejandro Muñoz Moreno (October 12, 1922 – December 16, 2000), better known by the ring name Blue Demon (''Demonio Azul'' in Spanish), was a Mexican film actor and ''luchador enmascarado'' (Spanish for masked professional wrestler). Blue D ...

and Blue Demon Jr.,

Sangre Chicana Andrés Durán Reyes (born November 30, 1951) is a retired Mexican professional wrestler best known by his ring name Sangre Chicana (Spanish for "Chicano Blood"). He rose to prominence in a feud with El Cobarde and Fishman that led to a Lucha ...

Angel Mortal An angel is a Spirit (supernatural entity), spiritual (without a physical body), heaven, heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with Bird wing, bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the Transce ...

René Guajardo Manuel Guajardo Mejorado (January 4, 1933 – May 11, 1992), better known as René Guajardo, was a Mexican professional wrestler. Professional wrestling career René Guajardo was born in Villa Mainero, Tamaulipas, Mexico. At the age of 16, Gu ...

and

Sugi Sito Francisco Javier Mar Hernández (December 4, 1926 – May 4, 2000) was a Mexican professional wrestler and Promoter (entertainment), promoter, known by the ring name "El Orgullo de Oriente" ("The pride of the Orient") Sugi Sito. He was born in Gua ...

Professional wrestling career

Vera was born on February 1, 1915, in

Monterrey, Nuevo León Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

. Vera was the first local star in Nuevo León. He got his training in wrestling in

Tampico, Tamaulipas Tampico is a city and port in the southeastern part of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. It is located on the north bank of the Pánuco River, about inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and directly north of the state of Veracruz. Tampico is the fifth ...

, while working in a petroleum plant. During his rookie year, he was a recognizable face among the other local wrestlers, as he had been an amateur wrestler before becoming a professional. Vera has a legendary reputation as a tough wrestler, but he was not always a master of submission. Also, Vera had a four-year reign as

at a time when that belt was the greatest prize worldwide in ''

lucha libre ''Lucha libre'' (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term for the style of professional wrestling originating in Mexico. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has develope ...

''. He won the belt from

El Santo Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta (23 September 1917 – 5 February 1984), best known by his ring name El Santo (English language, English: "The Saint"), was a Mexican ''Lucha libre, luchador Wrestling mask, enmascarado'' (or masked professional wrestlin ...

on October 19, 1956 in his home town of Monterrey, and lost it there on October 13, 1960 to his student

. He also wrestled in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

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and the United States. Nevertheless, many consider the most important part of his career to be the time he spent as a trainer. He left as his legacy many great wrestlers, such as

, René Guajardo, Mr. Lince, and Benny Morgan. He was a great '' técnico'', an innovative wrestler (he created moves such as the ''Reinera'' and the ''Regiomontana''). He died on March 29, 2001, at 11:30 pm after a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

while he slept in his home in ''Colonia Cumbres'' in Monterrey.

Championships and accomplishments

Empresa Mexicana 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 (EMLL) (''Mexican Wrestling Enterprise''). Founded in 1933, it is the oldest profe ...

NWA World Middleweight Championship The NWA World Middleweight Championship was a professional wrestling Championship (professional wrestling), championship in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) between 1939 and 2010. For most of its existence, it was defended in the Mexican ''lu ...

( 1 time)

''Luchas de Apuestas'' record

References

;General sources – Championship information * ;General sources – Career * ;Specific

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vera, Rolando 1915 births 2001 deaths Mexican male professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Nuevo León Sportspeople from Monterrey 20th-century male professional wrestlers NWA World Middleweight Champions