Villaño III

Universal Wrestling Association (1973–1994) Villano III wearing the distinctive Villano mask that all the Villano brothers wore at some point in their career.

In 1973, Arturo's father and older brothers finally deemed him experienced enough to use the Villano name, taking the name Villano III ("Villano Tercero"). In 1975, Arturo's father joined with wrestling promoter Francisco Flores and investor Benjamín Mora Jr. to form a new wrestling promotion called Universal Wrestling Association (UWA), which was in direct competition with the company Ray Mendoza and Flores had worked for up until that point, Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL). One of the reasons behind the split was that Mendoza felt that EMLL was not giving his sons enough opportunities in the ring. Afterwards, Villano III, Aníbal and El Solitario formed a trio called Los Tres Caballeros ("The Three Gentlemen"), who would go on to main event a series of sold-out UWA shows. His first major opponent after the turn was Perro Aguayo, starting a long-running, intense feud over the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship, which the UWA promoted at the time. On March 20, 1983, Villano III defeated Aguayo to win the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship, beginning the first of seven reigns for Villano III, tied with Aguayo for most reigns with that title.

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (1999–2002) In late 1998, Villano III began working almost exclusively for CMLL. On December 25, 1999, Villano III and Super Astro teamed up to wrestle against Lizmark and Fishman in a Relevos Suicidas. When Villano III and Super Astro lost, they were forced to wrestle against each other in a Lucha de Apuestas, in which Villano III was victorious and forced Super Astro to unmask.

On November 22, 1999, Villano III defeated Atlantis to win the CMLL World Light Heavyweight Championship. In 2010, Súper Luchas Magazine suggested that this may have been the professional wrestling match of the decade for the 2000s.

Post-unmasking (2000–2017) A few months later, Villano III, IV and V defeated Escuadron de la Muerte ("The Death Squadron"; Cyborg Cop, Maniac Cop and Vader Cop) to win the IWRG Intercontinental Trios Championship. Los Villanos still worked for CMLL, but they had a talent sharing arrangement with International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG) that allowed Los Villanos to work for IWRG as well. On July 30, 2005, Villano III teamed up with rookie wrestler Gallo Tapado Jr. for IWRG's La Copa Black Shadow tournament. The duo defeated the teams of El Matemático and Black Man Jr., Rambo and Bobby Lee Jr. and Brazo de Plata Jr. and Brazo de Oro to win the tournament. and in 2014, he only competed in seven.

In May 2015, Arturo Díaz announced that he would retire from active competition due to several knee injuries and diminishing eyesight, leaving him unable to compete competitively. However, Díaz agreed to another match on August 9, teaming with his younger brothers to take on Los Psycho Circus (Psycho Clown, Monster Clown and Murder Clown) at Triplemanía XXIII, AAA's biggest show of the year, promoting it as Villano III's retirement match after a 45-year career. While Los Villanos won the match, the age of the Villanos and deteriorating health of Villano III and V led to many mistakes in a heavily criticized match, which was voted the "worst match of 2015" by the readers of the Wrestling Observer.

Personal life Arturo Díaz Mendoza was the third son and third child overall of José Díaz Velazquez and Guadalupe "Lupita" Mendoza. His brothers, like himself, all became wrestlers: Alfredo (Villano II), who was a professional wrestler for many years, working under the name "La Infernal". Together, they have at least two children, two sons who wrestle under the names Villano III Jr. and El Hijo del Villano III. On March 17, 2017, CMLL honored Villano III as part of their annual Homenaje a Dos Leyendas ("Homage to Two Legends") show, their version of the Hall of Fame.

Arturo Díaz died of a cerebral infarction on August 21, 2018, after dealing with health issues, including complications from a stroke earlier in the year.

Professional wrestling persona and style Villano V, wearing the ring gear that earned them the "Pink Panther" nickname. In the 1970s and 1980s, Villano III was one of the top box office draws for the UWA, and has been referred to as one of the biggest stars in the history of lucha libre. A testament to his in-ring talent was the fact that he was often selected as the opponent for various top light heavyweight wrestlers from around the world. Over the years, he often used a DDT, where he would drive the opponent's head into the mat, and then swiftly transition into locking his "Media Cerrajera" submission hold (a standing figure-four leglock, chickenwing submission) to win matches. The Wrestling Observer stated that he had 58 successful Apuestas matches prior to his mask loss. Mexican National Atómicos Championship (1 time) – with Villano IV, Villano V and Pierroth Jr. AAA Hall of Fame (Class of 2018) Arena Naucalpan Arena Naucalpan Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time) Mexican National Trios Championship (1 time) – with Dos Caras and Villano IV Homenaje a Dos Leyendas honoree (2017) International Wrestling Revolution Group IWRG Intercontinental Trios Championship (1 time) – with Villano IV and Villano V La Copa Black Shadow – with Gallo Tapado Jr. Pro Wrestling Illustrated PWI ranked him #64 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 2001 PWI ranked him #215 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003 Universal Wrestling Association UWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time) UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time) UWA World Light Heavyweight Championship (2 times) UWA World Welterweight Championship (1 time) WWF Light Heavyweight Championship (7 times) World Wrestling Council WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Championship (2 time) World Wrestling Association WWA World Trios Championship (1 time) – with Villano IV and Villano V Wrestling Observer Newsletter Match of the Year (2000) Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2019) Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2022) – As a member of Los Villanos with Villano I, Villano II, Villano IV, and Villano V)

Luchas de Apuestas record

Winner (wager)Loser (wager)LocationEventDateNotesVillano III (mask) Oso Polar (mask) Unknown Live event Unknown Villano III (mask) Mr. Niebla (mask) Unknown Live event Unknown Villano III (mask) Flama Roja (mask) Juárez, Chihuahua Live event May 1987 Villano III (mask) Pegasus Kid (mask) Naucalpan, Mexico State Live event Villano III (mask) Rambo (hair) Mexico City, Mexico Live event Villano III (hair) Máscara Año 2000 (hair) Mexico City, Mexico Live event Villano III (hair) Rambo (hair) Naucalpan, Mexico State Live event Villano III (hair) El Signo (hair) Mexico City, Mexico Live event Villano III (hair) Super Brazo (hair) Cuernavaca, Morelos Live event Villano III (hair) Brazo de Oro (hair) Naucalpan, Mexico State Live event Villano III (hair) Brazo de Plata (hair) Nezahualcoyotl, Mexico State Live event Villano III (hair) Kraken (hair) Mexico City, Mexico Live event Villano III (hair) Pirata Morgan (hair) Reynosa, Tamaulipas Live event Villano III (hair) El Cobarde II (hair) Juárez, Chihuahua Live event Villano III (hair) Brazo de Oro (hair) Unknown Live event Villano III (hair) El Signo (hair) Querétaro, Querétaro Live event Villano III (hair) Veneno (hair) Naucalpan, Mexico State Live event Villano III (hair) El Signo (hair) Naucalpan, Mexico State] Live event Villano III (hair) Super Brazo (hair) Tampico, Tamaulipas Live event Villano III (hair) Rambo (hair) Acapulco, Guerrero Live event Villano III (hair) Scorpio Jr. (hair) Xalapa Live event Villano III (hair) Brazo de Oro (hair) Querétaro Live event Villano III (hair) Brazo de Platino (hair) Cuautitlan Live event Villano III (hair) El Cobarde II (hair) Pico Rivera, California Live event L.A. Park (mask) Villano III (hair) Mexico City, Mexico Live event Draw Villano III (mask)/Mano Negra (mask) Mexico City, Mexico Live event Villano III (hair) Scorpio Jr. (hair) Nezahualcoyotl, Mexico State Live event

Footnotes