Black Man

Profile

Black Man

Name	Black Man
Real name	Álvaro Meléndez Tibanez
Nicknames	none
Name history	La Gacela (debut - 77), Spiderman (66), Black Man (77 - ), Celestial (04/91 - 93)
Family	none
Maestro(s)	Diablo Velazco
Birth date, location	Feburary 19, 1949 - Guadalajara, Jalisco
Obituary date
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)

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. Debuted in 1965 as La Gacela. Also worked as Spider Man, 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 sucess. 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 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 that 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
77/04/07	mask	Black Man	Demonio Azul	unknown
78/01/29	hair	Black Man & El Matemático	El Signo & Lobo Rubio	El Toreo - Naucalpan, Mexico State
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/??/??	hair	Negro Casas	Black Man	Arena Neza - Nezahualcoyotl, Mexico State
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