Villaño I

José de Jesús Díaz Mendoza (June 28, 1950 – January 4, 2001), best known by his ring name Villano I (Spanish: "Villano Primero"; English: "Villain the first"), was a Mexican professional wrestler. He was the son of professional wrestler Ray Mendoza, and the first of the five Díaz brothers to become a professional wrestler, although not the oldest. His elder brother Alfredo wrestled as Villano II until his death in 1989, while his younger brothers wrestled under the names Villano III (Arturo), Villano V (Raymundo) and Villano IV (Tomás).

Professional wrestling career José de Jesús Díaz Mendoza was the second son of professional wrestler Ray Mendoza and grew up watching his father compete as a very successful light heavyweight wrestler. When he and his elder brother Alfredo were old enough they began training to be wrestlers themselves, Mendoza insisted that both brothers should get a college education to fall back on in case wrestling failed. As Mendoza was still very much in demand all over Mexico and thus travelled a lot, Bobby Bonales was responsible for most of the Díaz's training. Both José de Jesús and Alfredo made their professional wrestling debut in 1969, reportedly without their father knowing about it initially, and began working as a tag team known as Los Bestia Negras ("The Black Beasts"), with José de Jesús working as "Bestia Negra I" and Alfredo as "Bestia Negra II", even though Alfredo was older. Later on the team worked as Los Búfalo Salvaje ("The Wild Buffalos") again with José de Jesús as "I" and Alfredo as "II". In 1970, José de Jesús worked as "El Villano", soon renamed "Villano I" as the brothers became Los Villanos ("The Villains"); the name, along with a very distinctive "X" designed mask, stuck with them for the rest of their careers. Villano I and II held the Distrito Federal Tag Team Championship at one point, although records are unclear on who they defeated for the championship. The brothers began working for Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL), the same promotion for which their father worked. Soon they were joined by their younger brother Arturo, who became Villano III. Villano I and II won the Arena Coliseo Tag Team Championship in the early 1970s, but did not achieve much else while working for EMLL. Los Villanos regained the UWA Trios Championship in 1990, but lost the title to Los Brazos a few months later. Mexican National Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Villano II Distrito Federal Heavyweight Championship (1 time) Universal Wrestling Association Toreo de Cuatro Caminos Trios Championship (1 time) – Unknown partners UWA World Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time) UWA World Trios Championship (3 times) – with Villano IV and Villano V Mexican local promotions Plaza de Toros La Aurora Middleweight Championship (1 time) Wrestling Observer Newsletter Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2022)

Luchas de Apuestas record

Winner (wager)Loser (wager)LocationEventDateNotesVillano I (mask) Toño De La Cruz (hair) Aurora, Mexico Live event N/A Villano I (mask) Babe Sharon (hair) N/A Live event N/A Villano I (mask) Johnny Lezcano (hair) Veracruz, Veracruz Live event Villano I (mask) Zorro Plateado (mask) Mexico City Live event Villano I (mask) El Cachorro (mask) Tehuacán, Puebla Live event Villano I (mask) Azteca de Oro (mask) Naucalpan, State of Mexico Live event Villano I (mask) Gorila Infernal (hair) Xalapa, Veracruz Live event Villano I (mask) El Broncas (mask) Naucalpan, State of Mexico Live event Los Villanos (masks)(Villano I, Villano IV and Villano V) Los Brazos (masks)(Brazo de Oro, Brazo de Plata and El Brazo) Monterrey, Nuevo León Live event Villano I (mask) El Brazo (hair) Naucalpan, State of Mexico Live event Los Villanos (masks)(Villano I, Villano IV and Villano V) Los Mercenarios Americanos (masks)(Mercenario I , Mercenario II and Mercenario III) Tijuana, Baja California Live event

Footnotes