Cobarde

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Delgado and the second or maternal family name is Reyes.

Miguel Ángel Delgado Reyes (August 28, 1947 – February 7, 1983) was a Mexican Luchador, or professional wrestler that wrestled under the ring name El Cobarde (Spanish for "The Coward"). Delgado was born and died in Ciudad Juarez.^[1]

Miguel Ángel Delgado
Miguel Ángel Delgado Reyes as he appeared while wrestling
Birth name	Miguel Ángel Delgado Reyes
Born	(1947-08-28)August 28, 1947 Ciudad Juárez, Mexico
Died	February 7, 1983(1983-02-07) (aged 35) Ciudad Juárez, Mexico
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	El Cobarde
Billed height	1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Billed weight	92 kg (203 lb)
Trained by	Doctor X[Note 1] Gorilla Ramos
Debut	November 1966

Personal life

Miguel Ángel Delgado was a second-generation wrestler, son of the original Dr. X and the brother of wrestlers "Impostor" (later known as El Cobarde II) and "Legendario" He was the uncle of wrestlers Hijo del Cobarde, El Cobarde, Jr. and Impostor, Jr.^[2]

Professional wrestling career

El Cobarde was one of the first luchadors to travel and perform in Japan where he would compete in a number of matches, including unsuccessfully challenging for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. He lost his mask in a Luchas de Apuestas ("Bet match") against his lifelong friend Fishman who he had originally trained at the start of Fishman's career.^[3] After the loss of his mask he remained with Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL), turning from rudo (people who portray the bad guy characters in wrestling) to a tecnico ("Good guy") and receiving standing ovations from crowds across Mexico, but especially in Ciudad Juarez, having become a "national idol".

Death and legacy

After losing his mask, Delgado struggled to stay in a prominent position, he eventually left the scene after learning he had Leukemia. He died on February 7, 1983, from the disease.

After his death his brother Francisco (who had wrestled as El Impostor up until this point) took over the El Cobarde ring persona and mask, becoming "El Cobarde II". The Cobarde II character spawned two different wrestlers working under the ring name "El Cobarde, Jr.", one the brother of El Cobarde (I and II) while the other was the son of El Cobarde II, another son wrestled under the names Hijo del Cobarde ("Son of El Cobarde").^[2]

Championships and accomplishments

• Universal Wrestling Association
  • UWA World Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• Northern Mexico Middleweight Championship (1 time)^[3]
• Northern Mexico Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Golden Boy^[3]

Luchas de Apuestas record

See also: Luchas de Apuestas

Winner (wager)	Loser (wager)	Location	Event	Date	Notes
El Cobarde (mask)	TNT (hair)	N/A	Live event	N/A	[3]
El Cobarde (mask)	César Sando, Jr. (hair)	N/A	Live event	N/A	[3]
El Cobarde (mask)	Carlos Plata (hair)	N/A	Live event	N/A	[3]
El Cobarde (mask)	Espectro II (hair)	N/A	Live event	N/A	[3]
El Cobarde (mask)	Tug Wilson (hair)	N/A	Live event	N/A	[3]
El Cobarde (mask)	Herodes (hair)	N/A	Live event	N/A	[3]
El Cobarde (mask)	El Nazi (hair)	N/A	Live event	N/A	[3]
El Cobarde (mask)	Oro Negro (mask)	Mexico City	Live event	September 2, 1975	[3]
Sangre Chicana (hair)	El Cobarde (hair)	Mexico City	Live event	September 23, 1977	[Note 2][3]
Fishman (mask)	El Cobarde (mask)	Mexico City	EMLL 44th Anniversary Show	September 30, 1977	[3][4]
TNT and El Cobarde (hair)	Herodes and Carlos Plata (hair)	Mexico City	Live event	June 8, 1978	[3]
Sangre Chicana (hair) and Adorable Rubí (hair)	El Cobarde (hair) and Dragon Rojo (mask)	Mexico City	EMLL 45th Anniversary Show	June 8, 1978	[3][4]
Sangre Chicana (hair) and Alfonso Dantés (hair)	El Cobarde (hair) and El Jalisco I (mask)	Mexico City	Live event	December 5, 1980	[3]

Notes

1. Not to be confused with Doctor X
2. The match also included Fishman.

References

1. "EL COBARDE..." Bajo Las Capuchas (in Spanish). November 25, 2009. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
2. Madigan, Dan (2007). "A family Affair". Mondo Lucha Libre: the bizarre& honorable world of wild Mexican wrestling. HarperCollins Publishers. pp. 224–228. ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3.
3. "Enciclopedia de las Mascaras". El Cobarde (I) (in Spanish). Mexico. June 2007. p. 34. Tomo I.
4. Ruiz Glez, Alex (September 7, 2010). "CMLL: 79 historias, 79 Aniversario, las 79 luchas estelares". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved October 20, 2012.