Blue Demon

Alejandro Muñoz Moreno was born October 12, 1922, in García, Nuevo León, Mexico. He was the child of farmers and was the fifth of twelve children. At a young age, Alejandro dropped out of school and moved to Monterrey, where his uncle gave him a job working on the National Railroad. His co-workers gave him the nickname 'Manotas', referring to his large, powerful hands. ==Professional wrestling career==

A chance meeting with the famous Mexican wrestler Rolando Vera piqued his interest in Lucha Libre, Vera even offering to tutor him and help him start a career. He began wrestling without a mask in Laredo, Texas. His first match was against Chema Lopez on March 12, 1948. From there, he formed a tag team with another masked luchador named The Black Shadow, and the two became known as Los Hermanos Shadow (The Shadow Brothers). Blue Demon retired from the ring in 1989, aged 67, at the Monterrey Arena, where he appeared in a final match, teaming up with his adoptive son, Blue Demon Jr. ==Acting career==

Blue Demon first appeared in cameos in a couple of luchador films released in 1961–1962, "The Killers of Lucha Libre" and "Fury in the Ring", in which he was one of several wrestlers more or less in the background. But in 1964, Enrique Vergara, the producer of the then-successful Santo movies, decided to diversify by allowing the 42-year-old Blue Demon to star in a series of luchador films of his own. The plots of the Blue Demon films are thought to be extremely similar to those of Santo's films. Santo was asking for a salary increase at the time and Vergara wanted to cultivate a second movie star. From 1964 to 1979, Blue Demon starred in a total of 25 action/horror/science fiction films. Of those 25 films, Santo co-starred with him in nine of them. In three of his films, Blue Demon starred as the leader of a squadron of masked superheroes known as Los Campeones Justicieros (The Champions of Justice). Membership in the Champions included such legendary Mexican wrestling figures as Blue Demon, Mil Máscaras, Tinieblas, Rayo de Jalisco, El Médico Asesino, El Fantasma Blanco, El Avispon Escarlata and Superzan. In 1989, Blue Demon was the subject of a feature-length Mexican documentary entitled Blue Demon, the Champion (1989). ==Death==

Muñoz died just before noon on Saturday, December 16, 2000. He suffered a fatal heart attack on a park bench near a subway kiosk while on his way home from his regular morning training session at The Blue Demon Instituto Atletico, where he was teaching others his fighting skills. Although an attempt was made to get him to a hospital, he was unable to be revived. He was 78 years old. Blue Demon was buried wearing his trademark blue mask, which was never removed in public as he always kept his true identity a secret. ==Legacy==

Blue Demon is considered one of the biggest legends of lucha libre second only to El Santo in terms of popularity and influence both in and outside of Mexico. The winner of the tournament receives a championship belt that features Blue Demon as well as a plaque with a Blue Demon mask on it. In 2002, Blue Demon was ranked at 28 of the greatest professional wrestler of all time in the book The Top 100 Wrestlers of All Time by John Molinaro, edited by Dave Meltzer and Jeff Marek. Starting in November 2015 Televisa and Sony Pictures Television began airing the first season of the Blue Demon television series featuring a fictionalized version of the early days of his career in the ring and personal life. The third season of the series debuted on April 14, 2017, bringing the episode count to 65. The show debuted in the US in 2017 on UniMás. In 2018, Blue Demon Jr. announced that his son was training for a wrestling career and would be known as "Blue Demon III", hoping to have his son continue the legacy started by Blue Demon. ==Championships and accomplishments==

• Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre • Mexican National Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Black Shadow • Mexican National Welterweight Championship (3 times) • NWA World Welterweight Championship (2 times) • Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide • AAA Hall of Fame (2022) • Wrestling Observer Newsletter • Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996) ==Luchas de Apuestas record==