Merced Gómez
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Bio
Billed as the first Mexican rudo. Son of a famous bullfighter of the early 20th century. Mercerd Gomez had a background in boxing in the early 1930s. He fought in some important arenas of that time such as Arena Libertad, La Nacional, Peralvillo among others. He had regular success in this sport, but he got an eye infection in a fight in Puebla caused by a punch. He disregarded that infection ignoring the damage.
He went from boxing to lucha libre the same way Octavio Gaona, Gorilita Flores, Gabino Camino, Firpo Segura and others did. He had a short lived but notable career of three years in the ring. His early days in this sport were hard. His debut match mas on October 24, 1937 losing against Raul Romero. After that he had an important success, he was considered one of the best and wildest rudos ever seen in Mexican arenas. He went against foreign wrestlers brought by the EMLL, he defeated Roy Yodder, Buck Wilson, and Cowboy Wather. All of them with undeniable wrestling quality. He had notable feuds with Jack O’Brien and Bobby Bonales whom he defeated more than twice in singles match and superlibre. In 1939 he had probably his most memorable victory against the German Louis Kodrick nicknamed "El Fenómeno" (The Phenomenon). That German wrestler previously sent three wrestlers to the hospital. One of them was El Lobo Negro. Gómez defeated Kodrick in a two out of three falls.
He had a longtime and bloody rivalry with Murcielago Velazquez. They wrestled several times in different parts of Mexico and multiple bloody matches which increased their mutual hate and grudge. They feud was such that Murcielago Velazquez stated that he was superior and if he was defeated by Gomez, he would take his mask off. On February 26, 1939 Merced defeated Velazquez in one of the most intense wrestling matches ever seen in Arena Mexico, people was eager of having the opportunity to see the face of Murcielago Velazquez. Gomez, ripped the mask but Velazquez had an adhesive cloth beneath his mask making impossible to see his face. This was not count as a lucha de apuestas, because Gomez did not wagered his hair and El Murciélago Enmascarado only gave his word. On June 23, 1940 they protagonized a mask vs hair match in which occurred the loss of Merced's eye.
El Murcielago Velazquez in his notebook Notas de Mi Vida (Notes of My Life) owned by the Velazquez Family narrates that on July 14, 1940 the following:
“Merced cayó casi noqueado, pero al quererse levantar tenía que hacer algo para protegerme, ¡y solté la patada que se estrelló en la cara!; fue cuando vi que el ojo botaba y se le quedaba colgando, la sangre tiñó su rostro; todo mundo gritaba pero yo estaba ciego de rabia. ¡El otro ojo de Merced brillaba con luces de asesinato! Y el asesinado iba a ser yo, si él se levantaba”.
Merced fell almost knocked out, but when he tried to get up I had to do something to protect myself, I kicked him on the face!; It was when I saw that the eye popped out and it was hanging, the blood dyed his face; all people were screaming but I was blinded by rage. Merced's other eye was glowing with lights of murder! The murdered would be me, if he got up".
It is said Merced Gomez lost one eye after receiving a La Filomena. His vision was alrealdy damaged from that boxing match. It was unclear if he lost his damaged eye or the good one. Family members, friends, fellow wrestlers adviced him to retire from wrestling. On July 5, 1940 Gomez retirement was announced after three years of career. Unfornately, he went eventually blind. It was speculated that Gomez health worsen even and he spent his last days at La Castañeda, a psychiatric hospital until his death. Other versions says that he died at his home. His last days and actual causes of his death were never known.
Legacy
- There is a Colonia in Mexico City named after his father and him.
- The Luis R. Alarcón Elementary School has a mural at the main wall of the entrance, his father (The matador) and Merced Gómez were inmortalized in grafitti. Merced Gómez was painted with his rival “Murciélago Velázquez”.
Luchas de apuestas record
| Date | Apuesta | Winner(s) | Loser(s) | Arena and/or Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40/06/23 | hair | El Murciélago Enmascarado | Merced Gómez | Arena México - Mexico City |
Gallery
Sources
- Los Toros Dan y Quitan Tragedias This webpage is focused on bullfighters. Nevertheless Merced Gómez is included because of his father who was a matador.
- Merced Gómez, El Villano de Mixcoac This article from the CMLL Gaceta narrates a versión of his short lived career.
- Merced Gómez: Dos Historias, Un Mismo Nombre by Citlali N. Castillo. A narrative about the likes of both the father and son.
