Black Warrior

Life and career

Beginnings and first gimmicks (1984–1996) López made his professional wrestling debut In January 1984 in Gómez Palacio, Durango under the masked ring persona "Destroyer". In 1985 López began working for Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre (EMLL, later renamed Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, CMLL) where he worked as "Camorra", another masked persona. He worked for EMLL from 1985 until 1988 without achieving much success. In 1988 he left EMLL and joined the Universal Wrestling Association (UWA), EMLL's main Mexican competitor, where he worked as La Máscara (Spanish for "the Mask") for three years, still with limited success. In 1991 he returned to EMLL, now renamed CMLL, where he got his first big break; López was given the ring persona of Bronze (Bronce) and teamed up with the popular duo of Oro and Plata to form a trio called Los Metalicos (the Metals). Teaming with Oro and Plata, López won his first wrestling championship when they won the Distrito Federal Trios Championship early in 1992. The trio held the title for almost a year before being defeated by Los Guerreros del Futuro (Damain El Guerrero, Guerrero Del Futuro, and Guerrero Maya).

Poder Mexica (2008–2009)

After a draw between Sangre Azteca and Dragón Rojo Jr. the two began teaming together regularly and soon added Black Warrior as the third man to form a trio called Poder Mexica. The group saw mixed success around Mexico but remained undefeated in Arena Mexico, CMLL's main venue, earning the group a shot at the Mexican National Trios Championship held by Sagrado, La Sombra, and Volador Jr. Poder Mexicana won the title in their first attempt, defeating the champions on February 3, 2009. In mid-April 2009 Warrior returned to Arena Mexico to reunite Poder Mexico.

On July 10, 2009, Black Warrior teamed with No Limit (Naito and Yujiro) to defeat the team of Héctor Garza, Toscano, and Sagrado, After the match Black Warrior made a challenge on behalf of Yujiro for a "hair vs. hair" match with Garza. This led to all men being involved in a 15-man steel cage Luchas de Apuestas match at Infierno en el Ring that Naito won by pinning Toscano. After not teaming with the other members of Poder Mexica during mid-2009, Black Warrior left the group. Black Warrior's feud with No Limit continued through the fall, leading to a Luchas de Apuesta, hair vs. hair match between Black Warrior and Yujiro on October 16, 2009, a match which Black Warrior lost and subsequently had his hair shaved off after the match.

Later career (2010–2023) On June 20, 2012, Black Warrior turned rudo and formed the Los Depredadores del Aire ("The Flying Predators") stable with Mr. Águila and Volador Jr. Two days later, Los Depredadores del Aire defeated Los Reyes de la Atlantida (Atlantis, Delta, and Guerrero Maya Jr.) to win the Mexican National Trios Championship. They lost the title back to Los Reyes de la Atlantida on October 30, 2012.

On February 21, 2014, Black Warrior made a surprise return to AAA as the newest member of Los Perros del Mal. He then defeated Psicosis, Psycho Clown, and El Texano, Jr. to advance to the final of the 2014 Rey de Reyes tournament. On March 16 at Rey de Reyes, Black Warrior was defeated in the finals of the tournament by La Parka.

After leaving AAA, Black Warrior made his debut for Lucha Libre Elite on November 15, 2015.

In his last years, he won the Arena Mamá Lucha-S Cruiserweight Championship, which he successfully defended against Coyote Azteca in his last match held on January 1, 2023.

Personal life and death López was the nephew of wrestlers Blue Panther (real name Genaro Vásquez Nevares) and Héctor López. He was married to the daughter of Mano Negra (real name Jesús Reza Rosales), and had two sons who became wrestlers; Black Warrior Jr. and Hijo de Black Warrior. Warrior Jr. (real name Ramses de Jesús Toral) suffered a severe spinal injury whilst training for a CMLL debut in August 2021, and died March 17, 2022. His brother subsequently adopted the "Black Warrior Jr." name in homage to him.

López died on January 10, 2023, at the age of 54, three days following his birthday.

Championships and accomplishments Arena Mamá Lucha-S Arena Mama Lucha-S Cruiserweight Championship (1 time) Mexican National Trios Championship (2 times) – with Dragón Rojo, Jr. and Sangre Azteca (1), and Mr. Águila and Volador Jr. (1) NWA World Middleweight Championship (1 time) Leyenda de Plata: 2001 Copa de Arena Mexico: 2001 – with Shocker, and Apolo Dantés, 2002 with Lizmark, Jr., and Rayo de Jalisco, Jr. International Wrestling Revolution Group IWRG Intercontinental Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Warrior Jr. Other titles Distrito Federal Trios Championship (1 time) – with Oro and Plata

Luchas de Apuestas record

Winner (wager)Loser (wager)LocationEventDateNotesBlack Warrior (mask) Impala (hair) N/A Live event N/A Black Warrior (mask) Super Elektra (mask) Los Angeles, California Live event 1997 Black Warrior (mask) Brazo de Platino (mask) San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí Live event Místico (mask) Black Warrior (mask) Mexico City CMLL 73rd Anniversary Show Lizmark Jr. and Shocker (hair) Rey Bucanero and Black Warrior (hair) Mexico City Sin Piedad Yujiro (hair) Black Warrior (hair) Mexico City Live event

Footnotes