A new report has challenged decades of accepted history surrounding the death of legendary luchador Espanto I, real name José Eusebio Vázquez Bernal.
In a feature for Infiltrado, journalist Antonio Nieto unravelled a long-held belief about the 1968 murder of Espanto I, who was shot and killed in Monterrey, Mexico, alongside fellow wrestler Misterio Negro II on May 30, 1968. For more than fifty years, the killings were widely attributed to the owner of the bar where the incident occurred.
Nieto now asserts that the supposed killer was not even present in the venue.
According to the report, Espanto I, Misterio Negro II and Cruz Diablo travelled to multiple bars following a show at the Coliseo de Monterrey. Diablo eventually left early and encouraged the others to return to their hotel, but the pair decided to continue their night.
At the second bar, the wrestlers were joined by bartender Mario Núñez, an unnamed colleague and three patrons. Nieto wrote that tensions rose over a dice game being played for “large amounts of money”. When Espanto I confronted Núñez, the bartender drew a revolver and instructed him to leave immediately.
Espanto I appeared to comply, but when he turned back, Núñez fired a single shot that struck him in the heart. Misterio Negro II stepped forward and was met with three more bullets.
Núñez fled the scene in a taxi alongside his colleague. The accomplice was arrested soon after, but Núñez himself was never captured.
Nieto noted that for decades, newspapers and fans repeated versions of the story blaming drunken behaviour, harassment of women or a refusal to leave when closing time approached. He concluded that available evidence instead points to Espanto I being killed after believing he had been cheated in the dice game, and intervening.
Espanto I’s Wrestling Legacy
Espanto I is best known for competing in Mexico during the 1950s and 60s as a “rudo” or what we would call a heel wrestler, teaming alongside his brothers as Los Espantos. He helped redefine the masked villain archetype across the country.
His feud with El Santo remains one of the era’s defining rivalries, culminating in their famous mask versus mask bout in 1963, a match still regarded as a milestone moment in lucha libre storytelling.
He would continue to wrestle unmasked until his death.
