Career
Romero was trained as a luchador by Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame member Diablo Velasco, a man also responsible for the training of Mil Máscaras and Gory Guerrero. His early career was spent in Mexico, making his debut in Guadalajara at aged just 15, having been in training for the previous 3 years.
He began finding title success upon becoming a regular in NWA Texas (which would become World Class Championship Wrestling. With tag-team partner Black Guzmán (brother of El Santo) he would win the NWA Texas Tag Team titles 3 times, winning the same belts a further 5 times with different partners including Pepper Gomez. He would also co-hold the NWA World Tag Team Championship (Texas version) twice (the belts being recognised as World Championships by WCCW and Dory Funk's Amarillo territory). As a singles competitor he had the distinction of being the inaugural NWA Pacific Coast Heavyweight Champion of the Los Angeles territory in 1953 as well as being a two-time NWA Texas Jr. Heavyweight Title back in the region in which he remained a perennial star. He became NWA Texas Heavyweight Champion twice, on the second occasion winning the title from Verne Gagne on 27 October 1950. In between his first title reign in 1949 and his retirement there was only one year (1960) during which Rito Romero did not enjoy at least some time with a championship.
During his career he became friends with the legendary Lou Thesz (against whom he had his biggest match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at a time when he was NWA Texas Heavyweight Champion) and travelled Europe with him. Thesz esteemed Romero so highly as to rate him as a better performer than his contemporaries El Canek and Gory Guerrero.
Read more about this topic: Rito Romero
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