Career
Gaona held both the Mexican National Middleweight Championship and the Mexican version of the World Middleweight Championship. Octavio Gaona made his professional wrestling debut in 1934, wrestling for various small promoters in Guanajuato and surrounding states. By 1937 Gaona wrestled full time for Salvador Lutteroth"s Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL).
Gaona"s second reign ended just over a month later on February 9, 1939.
On February 4, 1940, Gaona lost the Championships to Tarzán López. Shortly after the title loss Octavio Gaona took part in one of the most pivotal events in Lucha Libre as he took part of the very first Lucha de Apuesta match.
After a long buildup of a storyline between Gaona and Murciélago Velázquez, one of the top Rudos ("Bad guy" or Heel character) of the time, Gaona challenged Velázquez to face him in a match where the masked wrestler would "bet" his mask on the outcome of the match. Since Velázquez was so much lighter than Gaona he requested a further condition before he would sign the contract: Octavio Gaona would have to put his hair on the line as well, creating the first match in Mexico where a two wrestlers "bet" either their hair or their mask.
On July 14, 1940, Octavio Gaona defeated Murciélago Velázquez, forcing him to unmask after the match in what would become a Lucha Libre tradition.
Since then Apuesta matches have become headliners all over Mexico. Winning the mask of an opponent is seen as prestigious, and the more famous the masked man is, the bigger the victory. Octavio Gaona also adopted Francisco Ruiz Arreola, who would wrestle under the name "Tamba", nicknamed "the Flying Elephant".
Gaona came out of retirement in 1972, in his late sixties, defeating Tamba in a Lucha de Apuesta match to unmask him.
Octavio Gaona died in 1996. Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre
Mexican National Middleweight Championship (2 times)
NWA World Middleweight Championship (1 time)
National Wrestling Association.
