It has been announced that La Sombra Vengadora, a luchador who competed for seven decades, has passed away. He was 87 years old. No cause of death has been announced as of yet.
⚫ DESCANSE EN PAZ LA SOMBRA VENGADORA ⚫
El CMLL se une a la pena que embarga a la familia luchistica por el sensible fallecimiento del Sr. Rogelio de la Paz, mejor conocido como "La Sombra Vengadora", quien tuvo una destacada trayectoria en la historia de este deporte. pic.twitter.com/6DEDVGacXf
— Lucha Libre CMLL (@CMLL_OFICIAL) June 14, 2020
Rogelio de la Paz began his lucha libre career in 1951, a student of former Mexican National Lightweight Champion Raúl Romero, wrestling under his real name at first. In 1958, he was given the mask of the character La Sombra Vengadora (The Avenging Shadow), who had appeared in several cult classic films in Mexico, La Sombra Vengadora (1954) and the sequel, La Sombra Vengadora vs. Le Mano Negra (1956).
As La Sombra Vengadora, he became a national star, and even competed against other top lucha stars who were movie stars as well, including El Santo. In 1960, Rogelio de la Paz had a falling out with the creators of the La Samobra Vengadora character and in September of 1960, lost his famous mask to El Enformero in a mask vs. mask match at Arena Coliseo with Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL).
La Sombra Vengadora would continue to wrestle for decades, sporadically returning with his mask at times, as well as competing under his real name. By the 1970s, he entered a state of semi-retirement, but he would continue to work indie promotions through Mexico until his full retirement in 2016. By then he was considered a legend in Mexico, having competed in seven different decades. His family would continue his legacy, with his three sons competing as El Hijo de Sombra Vengadora, Sombra Vengadora Jr., and La Sombra Vengandora II. His grandson also competed as Mini Sombra Vengadora.
LWOPW sends out our deepest condolences to the entire de la Paz family, as well as La Sombra Vengadora’s fans, friends, and colleagues. Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.
