El Santo

El Santo or in English The Saint (Spanish pronunciation: [ro.ˈðol.fo ɣus̬.ˈman ˈwɛɾ.ta]; born Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta; 23 September 1917 – 5 February 1984) was a Mexican Luchador enmascarado (Spanish for masked professional wrestler), actor and folk hero. El Santo is one of the most famous and iconic Mexican luchadores, and has been referred to as one of "the greatest legends in Mexican sports". His wrestling career spanned nearly five decades, during which he became a folk hero and a symbol of justice for the common man through his appearances in lucha films and comic books telling fictionalized stories of El Santo fighting for justice.[1][2] He starred or co-starred in at least 52 movies between 1958 and 1982. During his career, he mainly wrestled for Empresa Mundial de Lucha Libre in Mexico where he won the Mexican National Light Heavyweight Championship,[3] Mexican National Middleweight Championship,[4] Mexican National Tag Team Championship[5] with Rayo de Jalisco, Mexican National Welterweight Championship,[6] NWA World Middleweight Championship and the NWA World Welterweight Championship.[7] He is said to have popularized professional wrestling in Mexico just as Rikidōzan did in Japan[2] or like Hulk Hogan did in the United States. Guzmán's son followed him into wrestling as El Hijo del Santo, or the Son of Santo. In 2018, WWE inducted him into their Hall of Fame in the Legacy category.[8] Guzmán's brothers were also luchadors, with Black Guzmán being the first to make his debut and Pantera Negra and Jimmy Guzmán later joining as well. Early in his career Rodolfo Guzmán worked under the ring names Rudy Guzmán, Hombre Rojo, El Enmascarado, Murciélago Enmascarado II and El Demonio Negro but became "El Enmascarado de Plata" ("The man of the silver mask") in 1942. Only one of Rodolfo Guzmán's eleven children followed him into professional wrestling, El Hijo del Santo ("The Son of Santo") making his debut in 1982. El Hijo del Santo's son made his debut as "Santo Jr." in 2016. Another grandson (not a son of El Hijo del Santo) originally wrestled as "El Nieto del Santo" ("The Grandson of Santo"), but now works under the name Axxel. Rodolfo Guzmán was buried in his silver mask, in one of the biggest funerals in Mexico. Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre honors El Santo with the Leyenda de Plata ("The Silver Legend") tournament.