Jose Lothario

**Guadalupe Garcia Robledo** (December 12, 1933 – November 6, 2018) was a Mexican professional wrestler best known by the ring name of **José Lothario**. He performed for such promotions as the NWA and the WWF.

## Professional wrestling career

Lothario started his career in the early ’50s in Mexico where he was an accomplished boxer and wrestler. Having already earned success there as a luchador, Lothario was an established commodity when he moved to the United States in 1957, working in the Carolinas under the name Joe Garcia. He later made his way into the Gulf Coast territory as “El Gran” Lothario, a nickname that stuck throughout his career.

Playing off his strong background in boxing, Lothario would hold a number of brass knucks titles in various territories, with rugged taped fists bouts becoming one of his specialties. Dusty Rhodes, who began his career in Texas while Lothario was a headliner, called him the greatest Latin American wrestler and babyface in the world and one of his top five performers of all time.

Lothario competed in the National Wrestling Alliance for most of his career. He once had a winning streak of over 50 matches. On Christmas Day 1970, Lothario teamed up with Danny Miller to defeat The Infernos and win the NWA Florida Tag Team Championship. In storyline, the previous champions, Dusty Rhodes and Dick Murdoch, had been stripped of the title.

Lothario's biggest feuds were with Gino Hernandez, whom he defeated in a hair match in November 1978, and El Gran Marcus. Teaming with the legendary Mil Mascaras, Lothario drew massive crowds in Houston and San Antonio against the heel duo of Black Gordman and Great Goliath. He was also a mainstay in Florida and Texas.

In Florida Lothario shared the Southern tag-team title with Don Curtis, Dory Funk Jr. and Joe Scarpa (aka Chief Jay Strongbow) on three occasions. He held the Florida tag-team belts with Argentina Apollo and Danny Miller. He held the Florida version of the NWA world tag-team title four times — twice with Wahoo McDaniel and once with Eddie Graham and Sam Steamboat.

Lothario enjoyed greater success in Texas where he held several major tag titles. He shared the American tag-team belts on three occasions with El Halcon, and also had runs with Mil Mascaras, Tiger Conway Jr. and Ivan Putski. He held the Texas tag-team title six times, with Mil Mascaras, Rocky Johnson, Ivan Putski, Cien Caras and twice with Alberto Madril. Lothario also was a top singles performer in the Lone Star State, holding the Texas heavyweight crown on seven occasions, the Texas brass knucks crown five times, and the World Class Championship Wrestling TV title twice.

Lothario trained Shawn Michaels in the 1980s, with Lothario later becoming Michaels' manager in the WWF in 1996, managing Michaels to winning his first WWF World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XII. At the In Your House 10: Mind Games pay per view in September 1996, Lothario squashed Jim Cornette. He continued to manage Michaels until Royal Rumble in January 1997. He briefly returned to WWF in January 1999 as part of a storyline involving Michaels.

## Death

Lothario died on November 6, 2018, at the age of 84, from natural causes.