Torbellino Blanco

One of the best Hispanic wrestlers to come through the Dallas territory in the mid-'60s was Torbellino Blanco. His mask, boots, and tights were a bright white and he was very quick. Blanco won and lost the Texas Heavy Title four times in 1960 and his finisher was the shoulder breaker.

What I remember most about Blanco was his "mask vs mask" angle with the Destroyer in Fort Worth. In their first meeting, the Destroyer's mask was pulled off and he lost on a countout going back to the dressing room to get another mask. There was a towel handy so the Destroyer was not identified. Blanco lost his mask in a return 2 out of 3 falls match two weeks later. The Destroyer won the main event rematch which ended the feud.

I saw Blanco defeat Alvero Velasco in a preliminary match the next week. His gimmick was killed by losing the mask because the mystique was gone. Gary Hart said in his book that the Spoiler had lost his mystique after his mask was removed. After Hart put the mask back on the Spoiler, he did not allow it to be removed again. The Destroyer said that he would not allow his mask to be removed and be identified in an internet interview. As much as I liked seeing someone unmasked, the gimmick would be ruined in the long run.

Blanco left about three weeks after losing his mask and did not come back. He was my favorite babyface masked wrestler.