Villano IV

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Díaz and the second or maternal family name is Mendoza.
Villano IV
Birth name Thomas Díaz Mendoza
Born (1965-04-09) April 9, 1965
Tijuana, Mexico[1]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Leopardo Negro III[2]
Ray Mendoza, Jr.[3]
Super Maquina, Jr.[2]
Villano IV
Villano Cuatro
Billed height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Billed weight 100 kg (220 lb)[1]
Trained by Ray Mendoza[1]
Villano III[1]
Debut December 1982[1]

Tomas Díaz Mendoza (born April 9, 1965) is a Mexican professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Villano IV. Within the stable Los Villanos, he has wrestled for Universal Wrestling Association (UWA), Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA), and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). While popular and successful in Mexico, he frequently performed as a jobber in WCW. The other sons of Ray Mendoza who have used the name "Villano" include Villano I, Villano II, Villano III (Arturo Díaz Mendoza), and Villano V (Raymundo Diaz Mendoza).

Professional wrestling career

Tomas Mendoza began wrestling in 1982 after being taught by his father and his older brother Arturo. He was not given the Villano name on his debut, both his father and his older brothers wanted him to get a college degree and also earn some in ring experience before he would be allowed to use the Villano name.[2][4] He spent the first couple of years in wrestling working as various enmascarado characters such as Leopardo Negro III and Super Maquina, Jr.[2]

Villano IV

In 1983 Tomas Mendoza was finally given the mask and the name of his brothers and became Villano IV.[2] He immediately began teaming with his brothers, especially Villano I and Villano V, and engaged in a heated and very popular feud with the trios team of Los Brazos (Brazo de Plata, Brazo de Oro. and El Brazo). On October 21, 1988, Villano I, IV, and V defeated Los Brazos in a Lucha de Apuesta, Mask Vs Mask match and thus unmasked Los Brazos.[5] Over the years Villano IV and his brothers have worked for Universal Wrestling Association (UWA), Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) and Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) and with shorter runs with International Wrestling Revolution Group (IWRG) and World Wrestling Association holding tag team and Trios titles in all federations.[6]

World Championship Wrestling (1996–2000)

Villano IV and V began working for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as part of the influx of luchadors in 1996. Villano IV made his debut at the 1996 World War 3 event as part of the Three Ring, 60 man battle royal.[7] Subsequently Los Villanos worked mainly the weekend shows such as WCW World Wide and WCW Saturday Night.[8] The brothers played the role of a heel and would occasionally cheat by switching places while the referee was distracted (all Villanos wore identical attire, aside from their Roman numeral distinctions). Los Villanos made a couple of appearances on WCW's main shows and PPVs such as Villano IV teaming with Konnan and La Parka to defeat Juventud Guerrera, Ciclope, and Super Calo at SuperBrawl VII.[9] They also worked an eight-man tag match at the final Clash of the Champions, Clash of the Champions XXXV, alongside Psychosis and Silver King against Juventud Guerrera, Super Calo, Héctor Garza and Lizmark Jr.[10] Villano IV also wrestled in WCW under the ring name "Ray Mendoza, Jr."[3] (in honor of his father), many years before his brother Villano V began using the name in Mexico.

On the September 21, 1998 edition of WCW Monday Nitro, Villano IV suffered a serious neck injury during a tag team match against Raven and Kanyon, as a result of a botched powerbomb/neckbreaker combination after Raven, who was holding onto Villano's neck, dropped down to the mat too early.[11] Referee Nick Patrick immediately stopped the match so Villano IV could receive medical attention, and he was able to walk away from the ring with help.[11] The injury threatened to force Villano IV into retirement but he was able to recover and was back teaming with Villano V in WCW in 2000.[12]

Mexico (2000–present)

Following their stint in WCW Los Villanos returned full time to Mexico where they began working for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). Villano IV and V assisted their brother in the build-up of a storyline between Villano III and Atlantis, a storyline that reached back to 1999, while Villano IV and V were still working for WCW. The two brothers were in the corner of Villano III as he put his mask on the line against Atlantis in a Lucha de Apuesta at the 2000 Jucio Final final show. On the night Atlantis defeated and unmasked Villano III, the first Villano to be unmasked in the ring.[13] Over the following years Los Villanos worked both for CMLL and made appearances on the Mexican Independent circuit. In 2008 Villano IV acted as the cornerman for his older brother Villano V as he began a feud with CMLL luchador Blue Panther. Villano IV was the cornerman for V's biggest Apuesta win as he defeated and unmasked Blue Panther as part of the CMLL 75th Anniversary Show.[14] He was also heavily involved in V's storyline with Último Guerrero in the early 2009, and watched as Villano V was unmasked by Guerrero after an Apuesta match at the 2009 Homenaje a Dos Leyendas.[15] This left Villano IV as the only masked Villano alive. While Villano V works regularly for CMLL both Villano III and Villano IV take more independent bookings. On March 12, 2013, AAA announced that Villano IV would be returning to the promotion five days later at Rey de Reyes. This would mark his first appearance for AAA since 1996.[16] On March 16, 2013, he teamed up with older brother Ray Mendoza, Jr. to compete in a Ruleta de la Muerte, losers advance tag team tournament to commemorate the retirement of Ray Mendoza, Jr. The duo lost to Mil Máscaras and El Mesias in the first round and lost to El Texano, Jr. and Super Nova in the second round, qualifying them for the finals where the losing team would be forced to either unmask (Villano IV) or have their hair shaved off (Mendoza, Jr.). The team faced, and defeated, the team of Hijo de Pirata Morgan and Cassandro which meant Hijo de Pirata Morgan had to unmask and reveal his birthname, Antheus Ortiz Chávez, while Cassandro had all his hair shaved off as is traditional with Luchas de Apuestas losses.[17] The following day, Villano IV returned to AAA to take part in the 2013 Rey de Reyes tournament. He was the last man eliminated by L.A. Park in his six-way semifinal match, which also included Chessman, Drago, Jack Evans, and Psicosis.[18]

Personal life

Thomas Mendoza is the fifth son and eighth and last child overall of José Díaz Velazquez and Lupita Mendoza. His brothers, like himself all became luchadors: José de Jesús (Villano I), José Alfredo (Villano II), Arturo (Villano III), Raymundo, Jr. (Villano V) and Thomas.[2] Lupita Mendoza died in 1986, his second oldest brother José Alfredo died in 1989, his oldest brother José de Jesús died in 2002, and his father José Diaz died on April 16, 2003.[2] Díaz was adamant that his sons get a good education instead of becoming wrestlers, wishing that they become lawyers or doctors as he wanted to spare them the physical suffering he experienced himself. Once he realized that his two oldest sons had begun wrestling under masks he agreed to train them and help their wrestling careers. He was also instrumental in training his youngest two sons, although he insisted they both get college degrees before they were allowed to begin wrestling. Since Thomas finished his education first he became known as "Villano IV", while Raymundo, the second youngest son, became Villano V".[2]

In wrestling

Championships and accomplishments

Luchas de Apuestas record

Winner (wager) Loser (wager) Location Event Date Notes
Leopardo Negro II (mask) Leopardo Negro I (mask) unknown Live event 1980s  
Leopardo Negro II (mask) Luis Mariscal (hair) Puebla, Puebla Live event April 16, 1983  
Villano IV (mask) Enfermero II (hair) Nezahualcoyotl, Mexico State Live event August 21, 1983  
Villano IV (mask) Emilio Charles, Jr. (hair) Jalapa, Veracruz Live event September 29, 1983  
Villano IV (mask) Loco Zandokan (mask) Naucalpan, Mexico State Live event January 31, 1988  
Los Villanos (masks)
(Villano I, IV and V) 		Los Brazos (masks)
(Brazo de Oro, Brazo de Plata, and El Brazo) 		Monterrey, Nuevo Leon Live event October 21, 1988 [5]
Villano IV (mask) El Engendro (mask) Naucalpan, Mexico State Live event February 3, 1991  
Los Villanos (masks)
(Villano I, IV and V) 		Los Mercenarios Americanos (masks)
(Tim Patterson, Bill Anderson and Louie Spicolli) 		Tijuana, Baja California Live event July 19, 1991  
Villano IV (mask) Tigre Canadiense (mask) Naucalpan, Mexico State Live event October 20, 1991  
Villano IV (mask) Brazo de Oro (hair) Acapulco, Guerrero Live event November 20, 2004 [Note 1]
Villano IV (mask) Hombre Bala (hair) Mexico City, Mexico Live event July 1, 2009 [32]
Villano IV (mask) and Ray Mendoza, Jr. (hair) Hijo de Pirata Morgan (mask) and Cassandro (hair) Naucalpan, Mexico State Rey Mendoza, Jr. retirement show March 16, 2006 [Note 2][17]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Los Brazos vs. Los Villanos steel cage match.
  2. ↑ Finals of a Ruleta de la Muerte tournament.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Pro Wrestling Illustrated 500 – 2001 :155. Villano V". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, United States: Sports and Entertainment publications LLC. August 2001. p. 68. October 2001.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Madigan, Dan (2007). "Dorada de lucha libre: Las Leyendas, las peleas, los fósforos del resentimiento (the golden age of lucha libre: the legends, the feuds, the grudge matches): Ray Mendoza and Los Villanos". Mondo Lucha a Go-Go: the bizarre and honorable world of wild Mexican wrestling. HarperColins Publisher. pp. 193–197. ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3.
  3. 1 2 Cawthon, Graham (2015). the History of Professional Wrestling Vol 5: World Championship Wrestling 1995-2001. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 1499656343.
  4. ↑ "Luchas 2000". Villano III: El Ultimo Rey (in Spanish). Juárez, Mexico: Publicaciones citem, S.A. de C.V. pp. 1–35. Especial 37.
  5. 1 2 "Enciclopedia de las Mascaras". Brazo, Brazo de Oro, Brazo de Plata (in Spanish). Mexico. July 2007. pp. 39–41. Tomo I.
  6. ↑ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  7. ↑ "World War 3 1996". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
  8. ↑ Cawthon, Graham. "Ring Results: WCW 1997". thehistoryofwwe.com. Retrieved April 12, 2009. Rey Mysterio Jr. would face Villano IV the following weekend on WCW Saturday Night
  9. ↑ "SuperBrawl VII". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved April 12, 2009.
  10. ↑ "Clash of Champions XXXV". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved April 12, 2009.
  11. 1 2 "WCW Monday Nitro – 9/21/98". DDT Digest. September 21, 1998. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  12. ↑ Cawthon, Graham. "Ring Results: WCW 2000–2001". thehistoryofwwe.com. Retrieved April 12, 2009. WCW Saturday Night taping: 2/12/00: Ron & Don Harris defeated Villano IV & V
  13. ↑ "Luchas 2000". Atlantis y sus Victimas (in Spanish). Juárez, Mexico: Publicaciones citem, S.A. de C.V. pp. 32–36. Especial 30.
  14. ↑ "And the loser of tonight's big mask match was". Wrestling Observer / Figure Four Weekly. Retrieved January 13, 2009.
  15. ↑ "Adiós Villano V; hola Ray Mendoza Jr.". Ovaciones (in Spanish). Mexico, D.F.: Editorial Ovaciones, S. A. de C.V. March 30, 2009. p. 22. Número 21542 Año LXII. Retrieved March 30, 2009.
  16. ↑ "Villano IV Estará en Rey de Reyes" (in Spanish). Asistencia Asesoría y Administración. March 12, 2013. Retrieved March 12, 2013.
  17. 1 2 Valdés, Apolo (March 17, 2013). "Ray Mendoza Jr. dijo adiós a la Lucha Libre". Medio Tiempo (in Spanish). Retrieved March 17, 2013.
  18. ↑ "El Mesías Rey de Reyes 2013" (in Spanish). Asistencia Asesoría y Administración. March 18, 2013. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
  19. ↑ Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: AAA American Trios Titles". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 399. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  20. ↑ Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: National Atómicos Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 402. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  21. ↑ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: National Trios Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 393. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  22. ↑ Flores, Manuel (July 18, 2008). "Histórico de ganadores del torneo: La Gran Alternativa". SuperLuchas (in Spanish). Retrieved September 5, 2009.
  23. 1 2 "2000 Especial!". Box y Lucha Magazine (in Spanish). January 9, 2001. pp. 2–20. issue 2488.
  24. ↑ "Resultados "Rock y Lucha: Segunda Caída" – 29/09/2013" (in Spanish). SuperLuchas Magazine. September 30, 2013. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  25. ↑ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: UWA Tag Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 399. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  26. ↑ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: UWA Trios Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 399. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  27. ↑ Mexicool, Rey (July 4, 2011). "UWE "Tarde de Campeones" (Resultados 3 de julio): La Dinastía Imperial, nuevos Campeones de Parejas UWE". SuperLuchas (in Spanish). Retrieved July 4, 2011.
  28. ↑ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: WWA Junior Light Heavyweight Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 400. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  29. ↑ Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: WWA Tag Team Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 401. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  30. ↑ Royal Duncan and Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: WWA Trios Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 401. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  31. ↑ Meltzer, Dave (January 25, 2016). "January 25, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: 2015 Observer Awards Issue". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California: 42. ISSN 1083-9593.
  32. ↑ "Villano Rapo a Hombre Bala en el Jaula". SuperLuchas (in Spanish). July 10, 2009. p. 23. Issue 322.
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