El Faraón José Luis Barajas Fernández is a retired Mexican professional wrestler , or " Luchador " as they are called in Spanish . Barajas is best known under the ring name , El Faraón ( Spanish for " the Pharaoh " ) , a ring name and persona he used throughout his career from his debut in 1973 until retiring around the turn of the millennium . El Fareón was originally an " enmascarado " but lost a " Luchas de Apuestas " , or " bet match " to Fishman on April 23 , 1973 and was forced to unmask . Barajas ' career peak came in the 1980s where he won the NWA World Middleweight Championship , NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship and the Mexican National Middleweight Championship , in addition to a long - running , intense storyline feud against Sangre Chicana that saw the two face off in a series of very bloody matches . Professional wrestling career . José Luis Barajas Fernández made his professional wrestling debut in 1973 , adopting the ring name " El Faraón " , an Egyptian inspired ring character complete with a mask , cape and wrestling trunks that reflected the imagery of Egyptian Pharaohs . Barajas only worked as an " enmascarado " ( masked wrestler ) for just under three years as he was unmasked after losing a " Luchas de Apuestas " ( " Bet match " ) against Fishman on April 23 , 1976 . The unmasking did not hurt El Faraón ' s career , on the contrary he achieved more success after he was unmasked due to his good looks and charisma , he also earned the nickname " " El Rudo de los Ojos Esmeralda " " , Spanish for " The Bad Guy with the Emerald Eyes " . On October 22 , 1976 El Faraón defeated Perro Aguayo to win the NWA World Middleweight Championship . Faraón ' s first title defense lasted for 140 days before Perro Aguayo regained the title on March 11 , 1977 . In November , 1977 Faraón regained the NWA Middleweight title , defeating Joe Plardy . Faraón ' s second title reign lasted only 84 days before he lost the belt to Ringo Mendoza on February 17 , 1978 . By June 1978 El Faraón had moved up from the middleweight division ( a division with a weightlimit of 190 lbs ( 87 kg ) ) to the light heavyweight division ( which has a 210 lbs ( 97 kg ) maximum limit ) as he defeated Alfonso Dantés for the NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship . El Faraón held the title for 198 days before losing it to Pak Choo . On December 5 , 1980 El Faraón defeated Ringo Mendoza to win the Mexican National Middleweight Championship , holding it for over 100 days before vacating it in April , 1981 . The reason why El Faraón vacated the title is not known , the most likely reason is that he was injured . On November 29 , 1981 El Faraón defeated Ringo Mendoza to become a three time NWA World Middleweight Champion , a title he would hold for 124 days before being defeated by César Curiel on April 2 , 1982 . On November 16 , 1982 El Faraón defeated Máscara Año 2000 for his second NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship , a title that would be his last major wrestling title . Faraón held the title for 60 days before losing the belt to Ringo Mendoza on January 15 , 1983 . After 1983 El Faraón ' s career did not focus on winning championships , instead it centered around a long - running , intense storyline feud against Sangre Chicana that saw the two face off in a series of very bloody matches . The brutal brawls between the two wrestlers drew high attendance figures all over Mexico and continued on and off for several years . By the mid - 1990s Barajas retired from wrestling , both due to his age and the toll wrestling had taken on his body . In 2007 Barajas as El Faraón made an appearance for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre ( CMLL ) to present the mask to a wrestler billed as " El Hijo del Faraón " ( the Son of the Pharaoh ) ; the relationship was a storyline relationship as the two are not related . El Hijo del Faraón would later change his name to Horus and reveal that he was the godson of Barajas ' , not his son and was given the name with the blessing of Barajas himself .