1. El Solitario began training under the tutelage of Joe el Hermoso and made his wrestling debut in 1960 at the age of fourteen.
22 Facts About El Solitario
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El Solitario continued working local arenas until he began making a name for himself as he grew physically and refined his wrestling skills.
3.
El Solitario chose the name El Solitario, derived from the popular comic book character El Llanero Solitario.
4.
El Solitario adopted his trademark gold and black colored costume and golden mask with a fringe around the eyes representing the Lone Ranger's mask.
5.
On November 16,1965, El Solitario faced Panchito Ramirez in Arena Coliseo located in Guadalajara.
6.
El Solitario would make his debut in Arena Coliseo Mexico City on September 6,1966, when he defeated Tony Reyna.
7.
In 1966, El Solitario defeated and unmasked Aguila Tapatia, that was followed by a win over Mano Blanca.
8.
El Solitario won his first world title when he defeated Occident Welterweight champion Luis Gonzalez.
9.
El Solitario was now working for EMLL, Mexico's largest promotion company.
10.
El Solitario was catapulted into stardom within the lucha libre world when he defeated veteran Rey Mendoza in a mask vs hair match on December 13,1968.
11.
El Solitario formed a wrestling trio alongside Dr Wagner and Angel Blanco; the group was known as "La Ola Blanca".
12.
El Solitario was wrestling as a rudo at this time but when his partners Dr Wagner and Angel Blanco turned on him, he became one of the most popular tecnicos of his era.
13.
El Solitario continued wrestling as an individual during this time, and in 1969, won the NWA Middleweight world title by defeating El Rayo de Jalisco.
14.
In 1970, El Solitario won the NWA Light Heavyweight title by defeating Ray Mendoza.
15.
El Solitario was one of the first stars to leave EMLL to join the Universal Wrestling Association promotion, which was run by Francisco Flores and Ray Mendoza.
16.
El Solitario won the UWA's first Junior Heavyweight title in 1982.
17.
El Solitario toured Japan in 1972,1979, and 1981, where he would face and team up with premiere stars such as Tiger Mask and Tatsumi Fujinami, along with other Mexican wrestlers such as Chavo Guerrero and El Canek.
18.
El Solitario was unable to fully exhibit his wrestling skills during his tours, as the junior's division formula in Japan consisted of popular Japanese wrestlers facing off against foreign heels.
19.
El Solitario won the UWA Junior Light Heavyweight title in 1980 and 1981.
20.
El Solitario had suffered injuries during the latter part of his career, resulting in several infections and illnesses.
21.
El Solitario was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 1996.
22.
In 2002, El Solitario was ranked at 63 of the greatest professional wrestler of all time in the book The Top 100 Wrestlers of All Time by John Molinaro, edited by Dave Meltzer and Jeff Marek.