Sugi Sito
Encyclopedia
Francisco Javier Mar Hernández (December 4, 1926 – May 4, 2000) was a Mexican
professional wrestler known as Sugi Sito, nicknamed El Orgullo de Oriente ("The pride of the Orient"). He was born in León, Guanajuato
to a Mexican father and Chinese
mother. In the 1950s Sito left Mexico and gained a measure of great success wrestling in the United States, especially the Houston, Texas
area. In the early 1970s, Sugi Sito and Chin Lee
worked for Stu Hart
's Stampede Wrestling
as a tag team
. Sugi Sito later returned to Mexico where he became a wrestling promoter
.
"Sugi Sito" to play off his mother's oriental ancestry, making him an instand Rudo
during World War II. Sito's career highlights in Mexico came in the early part of the 1950s, as he was working for Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre
(EMLL). On September 21, 1950 Sito defeated Tarzán López to win the NWA World Middleweight Championship
, one of the most prestigious championships in Mexico at the time. Sito's first title reign lasted 368 days, ending when Enrique Llanes
won the belt from him on September 24, 1951. Sito regained the Middleweight title in 1953 when he once again defated López to win the title. This time he held it until January 1, 1954 when he was defeated by El Santo and lost the title. From 1954 and forward Sito travelled all over the United States and Canada to wrestle for various promotions. His first stop was in Texas
where he worked for Southwest Sports, Inc.
(the future World Class Championship Wrestling). Sito earned a reputation for having some of the hardest hand strikes in professional wrestling while working in Texas, a reputation that started when he accidentally fractured Danny McShain
's skull during a match. He teamed up with another Mexican native in Rito Romero
to win the NWA Texas Tag Team Championship
from Ivan Kalmikoff and Karol Krauser
. Due to sparse records from that time it is not known who defeated Sito and Romero for the titles. In the late 1960s Sito began working for Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling
(GCCW) based out of Alabama. In GCCW he began teaming with Mitsu Sito, a storyline brother, defeating Rocket Monroe and Flash Monroe for the NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Championship
on February 21, 1969. The team only held the title for 5 days before being defeated by Bob Kelly and Ramon Perez. Following his stint in the south eastern United States Sito travelled north to Calgary
, Alberta
, Canada
to work for Stu Hart
's Stampede Wrestling
. Over the course of the next two years Sito held the Calgary version of the NWA International Tag Team Championship three times, twice with Chin Lee and once with Tor Kamata
.
Mexican people
Mexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....
professional wrestler known as Sugi Sito, nicknamed El Orgullo de Oriente ("The pride of the Orient"). He was born in León, Guanajuato
León, Guanajuato
The city of León, formally León de los Aldama is the sixth most populous city in Mexico and the first in the state of Guanajuato. It is also the seat of the municipality of León...
to a Mexican father and Chinese
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
mother. In the 1950s Sito left Mexico and gained a measure of great success wrestling in the United States, especially the Houston, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
area. In the early 1970s, Sugi Sito and Chin Lee
Chin Lee
Chin Lee is a city councillor in Toronto, Canada from Scarborough for Ward 41 Scarborough-Rouge River.Lee is a Malaysian-Chinese Canadian who was elected to Toronto City Council in the November 2006 civic elections to Ward 41 - Scarborough-Rouge River. He replaces former councillor and current MPP...
worked for Stu Hart
Stu Hart
Stewart Edward "Stu" Hart, CM was a Canadian amateur wrestler, professional wrestler, promoter and trainer. Hart founded Stampede Wrestling, a promotion based in Calgary, Alberta, and was the father of famous wrestlers Bret and Owen Hart...
's Stampede Wrestling
Stampede Wrestling
Stampede Wrestling is a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta and was for nearly 50 years one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies...
as a tag team
Tag team
Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...
. Sugi Sito later returned to Mexico where he became a wrestling promoter
Promoter (entertainment)
An entertainment promoter i.e. music, wrestling, boxing etc is a person or company in the business of marketing and promoting live events such as concerts/gigs, boxing matches, sports entertainment , festivals, raves, and nightclubs.- Business model :Promoters are typically hired as independent...
.
Professional wrestling career
Francisco Mar was trained by Rolando Vera for his professional wrestling career and made his debut in 1943. He adopted the ring nameRing name
A ring name is a stage name used by a professional wrestler, martial artist, or boxer. While some ring names may have a fictitious first name and surname, others may simply be a nickname, such as The Undertaker.-Wrestling:...
"Sugi Sito" to play off his mother's oriental ancestry, making him an instand Rudo
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
during World War II. Sito's career highlights in Mexico came in the early part of the 1950s, as he was working for Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre is a Lucha Libre-style professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City while running cards in Guadalajara, Puebla and elsewhere in central and southern Mexico...
(EMLL). On September 21, 1950 Sito defeated Tarzán López to win the NWA World Middleweight Championship
NWA World Middleweight Championship
The NWA World Middleweight Championship is a currently inactive professional wrestling championship, promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance . For the majority of its existence it has been promoted by Mexican promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre , where it was known as the Campeonato...
, one of the most prestigious championships in Mexico at the time. Sito's first title reign lasted 368 days, ending when Enrique Llanes
Enrique Llanes
Enrique Juan Yañez González , best known under the ring name Enrique Llanes, was one of the premier Hispanic professional wrestlers in the early days of Lucha Libre when most wrestlers were imported from outside of Mexico...
won the belt from him on September 24, 1951. Sito regained the Middleweight title in 1953 when he once again defated López to win the title. This time he held it until January 1, 1954 when he was defeated by El Santo and lost the title. From 1954 and forward Sito travelled all over the United States and Canada to wrestle for various promotions. His first stop was in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
where he worked for Southwest Sports, Inc.
World Class Championship Wrestling
World Class Championship Wrestling ' was a regional professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed McLemore, by 1966 it was run by Southwest Sports, Inc., whose president, Jack Adkisson, was better known as wrestler Fritz Von Erich...
(the future World Class Championship Wrestling). Sito earned a reputation for having some of the hardest hand strikes in professional wrestling while working in Texas, a reputation that started when he accidentally fractured Danny McShain
Danny McShain
Danny McShain was an American professional wrestler who competed in the Southern United States from the 1930s to the 1960s.-Early life:...
's skull during a match. He teamed up with another Mexican native in Rito Romero
Rito Romero
Rito Romero Loza was a successful luchador who wrestled in Mexico and in the NWA territories of Texas and Los Angeles. He appeared in several films in his native country along with a number of other luchadors...
to win the NWA Texas Tag Team Championship
WCWA Texas Tag Team Championship
The WCWA Texas Tag Team Championship was the secondary tag team championship in World Class Championship Wrestling, originally known as the NWA Texas Tag-Team title until 1981 where they were abandoned. The titles were brought back in 1987 as the WCWA Texas Tag-Team titles but once the WCWA joined...
from Ivan Kalmikoff and Karol Krauser
The Kalmikoffs
The Kalmikoffs were a professional wrestling group of fictitious soviet brothers. It began as a tag team consisting of Ivan and Karol who were later joined by "brothers" Nikita and Stan ...
. Due to sparse records from that time it is not known who defeated Sito and Romero for the titles. In the late 1960s Sito began working for Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling
Continental Championship Wrestling
Continental Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion based out of Knoxville, Tennessee from 1974 until 1988 and Dothan, Alabama from 1978 to 1990, managed by Ron Fuller. When Fuller sold the promotion to David Woods, it changed name to the Continental Wrestling Federation...
(GCCW) based out of Alabama. In GCCW he began teaming with Mitsu Sito, a storyline brother, defeating Rocket Monroe and Flash Monroe for the NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Championship
NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Championship
The NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Championship was the main tag team championship in Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling or NWA Gulf Coast. The Gulf Coast tag team championship is the successor for GCCW's version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship that was promoted in the Tennessee, Alabama, Florida...
on February 21, 1969. The team only held the title for 5 days before being defeated by Bob Kelly and Ramon Perez. Following his stint in the south eastern United States Sito travelled north to Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
to work for Stu Hart
Stu Hart
Stewart Edward "Stu" Hart, CM was a Canadian amateur wrestler, professional wrestler, promoter and trainer. Hart founded Stampede Wrestling, a promotion based in Calgary, Alberta, and was the father of famous wrestlers Bret and Owen Hart...
's Stampede Wrestling
Stampede Wrestling
Stampede Wrestling is a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta and was for nearly 50 years one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies...
. Over the course of the next two years Sito held the Calgary version of the NWA International Tag Team Championship three times, twice with Chin Lee and once with Tor Kamata
Tor Kamata
McRonald Kamaka was an American/Canadian professional wrestler known by the ring name Tor Kamata. He won several Heavyweight and Tag Team championships, including one World Tag Team title. He was a classic "bad guy" wrestler...
.
Personal life
Francisco Mar Manuel was part of a large wrestling family. His three brothers (Huroki Sito, Panchito Robles and Manuel Robles) were all luchadores, as well as his son-in-law (El Mexicano), nephews (Black Cat, El Jabato and Pánico) and even his daughter who wrestles as La Briosa. Francisco Javier Mar died on May 4, 2000.In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Medio Cangrejo (Half Boston crab)
- Cruz Nipona
- Nicknames
- El Orgillo de Oriente ("The pride of the Orient")
Championships and accomplishments
- Empresa Mexicana de Lucha LibreConsejo Mundial de Lucha LibreConsejo Mundial de Lucha Libre is a Lucha Libre-style professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City while running cards in Guadalajara, Puebla and elsewhere in central and southern Mexico...
- NWA World Middleweight ChampionshipNWA World Middleweight ChampionshipThe NWA World Middleweight Championship is a currently inactive professional wrestling championship, promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance . For the majority of its existence it has been promoted by Mexican promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre , where it was known as the Campeonato...
(2 times)
- Gulf Coast Championship WrestlingContinental Championship WrestlingContinental Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion based out of Knoxville, Tennessee from 1974 until 1988 and Dothan, Alabama from 1978 to 1990, managed by Ron Fuller. When Fuller sold the promotion to David Woods, it changed name to the Continental Wrestling Federation...
- NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team ChampionshipNWA Gulf Coast Tag Team ChampionshipThe NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Championship was the main tag team championship in Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling or NWA Gulf Coast. The Gulf Coast tag team championship is the successor for GCCW's version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship that was promoted in the Tennessee, Alabama, Florida...
(1 time) – with Mitsu Sugi
- Southwest Sports, Inc.World Class Championship WrestlingWorld Class Championship Wrestling ' was a regional professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed McLemore, by 1966 it was run by Southwest Sports, Inc., whose president, Jack Adkisson, was better known as wrestler Fritz Von Erich...
- NWA Texas Tag Team ChampionshipWCWA Texas Tag Team ChampionshipThe WCWA Texas Tag Team Championship was the secondary tag team championship in World Class Championship Wrestling, originally known as the NWA Texas Tag-Team title until 1981 where they were abandoned. The titles were brought back in 1987 as the WCWA Texas Tag-Team titles but once the WCWA joined...
(1 time) - with Rito RomeroRito RomeroRito Romero Loza was a successful luchador who wrestled in Mexico and in the NWA territories of Texas and Los Angeles. He appeared in several films in his native country along with a number of other luchadors...
- Stampede WrestlingStampede WrestlingStampede Wrestling is a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta and was for nearly 50 years one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies...
- NWA International Tag Team Championship (Calgary version) (3 times) - with Chin Lee (2) and Tor KamataTor KamataMcRonald Kamaka was an American/Canadian professional wrestler known by the ring name Tor Kamata. He won several Heavyweight and Tag Team championships, including one World Tag Team title. He was a classic "bad guy" wrestler...
(1)
Lucha de Apuesta record
| Wager | Winner | Loser | Location | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hair | Dos Caras Dos Caras José Luis Rodríguez is a Mexican Luchador Enmascarado who wrestles under the ring name Dos Caras . Dos Caras' most active years were in the 1970s and 80s, and achieved his greatest success in Mexico's Universal Wrestling Alliance winning the UWA World Heavyweight Championship three times... |
Sugi Sito | Unknown | Unknown | |
| Hair | Torbellino Blanco | Sugi Sito | Mexico City Mexico City Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole... |