Box y Lucha 251A-252A (January 1957)

These issues are part of Box y Lucha’s Coleccion Diamante. Their issues dip out after the mid January. There’s a real cliffhanger too.

Box y Lucha 251A (January 11th, 1957)

EMLL (FRI) 01/04/1957 Arena Coliseo [Box y Lucha 250A, Box y Lucha 251A]
1) Jaibo García b Taro Hito
2) Memo Rubio DRAW Red Man
return of Red Man
3) Manuel Robles DRAW Sordomudo Rodríguez
return of Rodriguez
4) Karloff Lagarde b Orquídea
rated 7.
5) Rubén Juárez b Teizo Watanabe
25 minute match. Rated a 7.
6) Masahiko Kimura b Carlos Moreno
Rated a 7.5
7) Black Shadow & Blue Demon DQ Cavernario Galindo & Gladiador
Rated a 7.5.

The main event match has some controversy. Eddie Palau called the DQ for Galindo fouling Demon. Box y Lucha admits it happen but feels it was accidental and Palau was overzealous by calling a DQ.

Sunday show‘s show sees El Santo defeating Dorrel Dixon by knockout. Huroki Sito makes his return in the second match, going to a draw with Humberto Garza.

Dr. Castro is off for a “vacation” to his home on Nayarit. Box y Lucha uses the quote marks themselves, though I’m not sure what they’re meant for. Rene Guajardo gets mentioned as working in Monterrey; he was in Arena Mexico in 1955.

Box y Lucha 252A (January 18th, 1957)

EMLL (FRI) 01/11/1957 Arena Coliseo [Box y Lucha 251A, Box y Lucha 252A]
1) Rudy García b Tony Sugar
2) Chico Veloz b Fantomas
3) Memo Rubio TLDRAW Huroki Sito
20 minutes
4) Teizo Watanabe b Verdugo
5) Rubén Juárez b Frankenstein
6) Masahiko Kimura b Bobby Bonales
straight falls in a surprise
7) Black Shadow & Blue Demon b Cavernario Galindo & Gladiador [supre libre]
rated an 8.

Not really much of importance here or on the Sunday show. At least compared to the big news:

El Santo is out of EMLL. An early column says Santo quit, one later in the magazine says it was EMLL who cut ties. It’s the second story that seems to stick. El Santo had been part of EMLL since becoming El Santo 14.5 years ago. He showed up for payday on Monday and was told by the promotion he was done. Salvador Lutteroth Jr. said it was discipline issue and that no one was above the rules. Santo say what the issue was, and Box y Lucha has no idea what happened. Clinch 242’s year in review will say “neither side could agree to the conditions the other wanted”, though there’s no more details than that.

As it turns out, Santo already had tours scheduled to the US and Venezuela (where an Arturo Garcia was wrestling as a fake El Santo), so he’s in no shortage of work. Perhaps control or payment from the outside bookings are the issue?

El Santo is the Mexican Middleweight Championship. Box y Lucha says EMLL demanded the title back from him, then the commission demanded EMLL give it back to Santo. He had to lose in the ring, not by leaving the promotion. That didn’t seem to be the rule a few years prior, so this could be situation that set up rule wrestlers could leave promotions with the national titles.

El Santo is a famous wrestler at this point. He seems to be the top start in EMLL. He’s not the cultural hero El Santo. “Santo contra el Cerebro del Mal”, his first movie, is still a year away. There is no opposition promotion. Santo can find work outside of Mexico and indies (especially away from Mexico City where EMLL has less influence), but this is a big pivot point for his career. EMLL was betting Santo would come back humbled over time. Instead, Santo becomes that movie star and never really needs EMLL again. He’s not back for three years, as best I know.

El Santo is not the first EMLL top star to leave the promotion. They just went through a promotional war. There’s bits and pieces from the 30s and 40s which indicate main event wrestlers leaving at times. El Santo is the ultimate example of the Lutteroth’s belief in themselves and the machine they built: all wrestlers are replacable, even the greatest ones.

That’s it, painfully. I would love to see more reaction to Santo’s departure, but Box y Lucha’s archive dries up until April. Clinch 242’s Year end review adds a few results:

EMLL (FRI) 01/18/1957 Arena Coliseo [Box y Lucha 252A, Clinch 242]
1) Maravilla Enmascarada vs Eskimo Blancarte
2) Carnicero Grimaldo vs Centella Inca
3) El Espectro vs Cavernario Galindo, Rubén Juárez, Ray Mendoza, Tarzán López, El Caballero [battle royal]
Lagrade & Demon in the battle royal as well
4) Gori Guerrero b Masahiko Kimura
return of Guerero. Kimura is 7th grade judo player.
5) Karloff Lagarde b Blue Demon

EMLL (FRI) 01/25/1957 Arena Coliseo [Box y Lucha 942, Clinch 242]
1) Karloff Lagarde vs Bobby Bonales
2) Sugi Sito b Espectro
return of Sugi Sito (following Santo leaving a couple of weeks earlier)

[Previous December 1956. Next would be February 1957 but I have no issues). Full index]