Black Man

Profile

Black Man

Name Black Man Real name Álvaro Meléndez Tibanez Nicknames none Name history La Gacela (debut - 73), Spiderman (1973-74), Black Man (77 - ), Celestial (04/91 - 96) Family none Maestro(s) Diablo Velazco Birth date, location February 19, 1949 - Guadalajara, Jalisco Obituary date February 28, 2022 (aged 73) Debut, location 1965 Lost mask to Blue Panther - February 16, 1986- El Toreo; Super Delfin - March 13, 1993 - Tokyo Korakuen Hall Height 5'6"/168 cms Weight 189 lbs/86 kg Signature moves Tope con Giro, Corner Headstand into a Corbata, Flying Armdrag, Salto Mortal Titles: UWA World Lightweight Title, UWA World Trios Championship (w/ Kung Fu & Kato Kung Lee), UWA World Welterweight Title (2), Occidente Lightweight Championship, 1984 UWA World Trios Tournament (with Kato Kung Lee and Kung Fu)

Biography

The best worker (by a mile) from the legendary trio Los Fantásticos, but also the lesser star. Trained in his native Guadalajara with Diablo Velazco and was an lucha olimpica champion at 57 kg before switching to pro. Debuted in 1965 as La Gacela; magazines showcased him as doing pro-springboard moves and he had a small feud with lightweight champion Tauro. Also worked as Spider Man (sometimes shortened to Spider), and lost his mask to Dr. O'Borman in 1966 in Tijuana. He was a very good lightweight, but way too small to be a star.

Luckily for him, a decade later, Francisco Flores pushed talented lightweights to the moon. In 1977, he became Black Man and got a push on the Northern division and El Toreo later, winning the UWA Lightweight title on 09/10/78, defeating El Matemático in a rare 'técnico vs. técnico' tournament final that got rave reviews. He had the belt during three years and defended it 69 times. Formed a tag team with White Man (Alberto Muñoz), but later feuded with him and unmasked him.

After the initial 83-86 run of Los Fantásticos, Black Man stayed at El Toreo and tried to reform the team with Kendo and Avispón Negro (El Monarca) without success. He had an excellent feud with Blue Panther, who he defeated on 02/09/86 for the UWA Welterweight title, but lost his mask against him just a week later. After that, every Fantásticos reunion failed because only one of them had his mask.

On 04/91 he got himself a new mask and outfit as El Celestial. He was chubbier than before, but still could all his spots, including his trademark headstand on the corner. Well, until he realized people would notice who he is if he kept doing it. He won a few luchas de apuestas and the UWA Welterweight title with that name on 06/92, and lost it to Super Delfin (who he probably sold it to) on 05/93 in Japan. Also lost his Black Man mask to Super Delfin in Tokyo's Korakuen Hall on 03/13/93. After a guest stint as Celestial in IWRG on its first days in 1996 -he mentored a Blackmancito and a Whitemancito in the minis division of Naucalpan's promotion- he retired and moved to Monterrey where he owned a lucha gym and a restaurant. As a fun fact, he once was El Santo's high risk move double in a movie!

Luchas de apuestas record

Date	Apuesta	Winner(s)	Loser(s)	Arena and/or Place
66/??/??	mask	Dr. O'Borman	Spiderman	Tijuana, Baja California
77/03/13	hair	Flama Roja	La Gacela	Ciudad Juárez
77/04/07	mask	Black Man	Demonio Azul	Monterrey, Nuevo León
78/01/29	hair	Black Man & El Matemático	El Signo & Lobo Rubio	El Toreo - Naucalpan, Mexico State
1980/02/24	hair	Black Man	Escorpión I	Arena Naucalpan
83/10/02	hair	Black Man	Pantera Negra	Arena Afición - Pachuca, Hidalgo
84/11/20	masks	Blue Panther & Black Man	Las Sombras de Plata	El Toreo - Naucalpan, Mexico State
86/02/16	mask	Blue Panther	Black Man	El Toreo - Naucalpan, Mexico State
90/02/07	hair	El Brazo	Black Man	Arena Naucalpan - Naucalpan, Mexico State
90/10/30	hair	Black Man	Black Terry	Arena Querétaro - Querétaro, Querétaro
91/02/05	hair	Negro Casas	Black Man	Arena Neza - Nezahualcoyotl, Mexico State
91/07/13	hair	Black Man	Bestia Negra I (1991)	Arena Xochimilco
92/06/04	hair	Celestial	Demonio Arrieta	Pista Arena Revolución - Mexico City
92/08/11	mask	Celestial	Pólvora (not current)	Arena Querétaro - Querétaro, Querétaro
93/03/13	mask (1)	Super Delfin	Black Man	Korakuen Hall - Tokyo, Japan
(1) He remasked to lose it in Japan again

Gallery

1984

1989

Los Nuevos Fantasticos

Los Fantásticos

as UWA World Light Champ

Headstand

Salto Mortal

Flying Armdrag

Tope con Giro

as UWA Welter Champ

as Celestial

Los Fantasticos

As La Gacela

December 1977

December 1977 Part 2