Jack O'Brien (wrestler)
| Jack O'Brien | |
|---|---|
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|
| Birth name | Marcelo Andreani |
| Born |
February 8, 1910 Fossola, Carrara, Italia |
| Died | September 24, 1982 (aged 72) Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Jack O'Brien Dr. O'Brian |
| Billed height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) |
| Billed weight | 92 kg (203 lb) |
| Debut | 1934 |
| Retired | 1956 |
Marcelo Andreani (February 18, 1910 – September 24, 1982) was an Italian-born Mexican professional wrestler best known under the ring name "Roughouse" Jack O'Brien and worked mainly in Mexico for Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL) where he held the Mexican National Lightweight Championship, Mexican National Welterweight Championship and NWA World Welterweight Championship twice during his career that spanned from 1934 until 1956. O'Brien is credited with inventing the Abdominal Stretch, or Tirabuzón (Spanish for "Corkscrew").
Marcelo Andreani was born on February 18, 1910 in Fossola, Carrara, born into an Italian family. Andreani moved to Mexico with is family to study dental surgery and played baseball in his free time. Andreani was also a talented pole vaulter and swimmer.
By 1934 Andreani had obtained Mexican citizenship and made his professional wrestling debut in 1934, taking the ring name "Jack O'Brien". O'Brien's athletic background and charisma quickly made him a very popular and successful wrestler, so successful that he became the first ever Mexican National Lightweight Champion by defeating Dientes Hernández in the final of a tournament. O'Brien used a move called Tirabuzón, the Mexican version of the "Abdominal Stretch" which O'Brien is credited with introducing to Lucha libre. O'Brien held the Lightweight title from 1934 until June 28, 1937 when Dientes Hernández defeated him to win the championship. The following May O'Brian regained the Lightweight title and held it for two years before Bobby Bonales defeated him for the championship on May 5, 1940. After losing the lightweight championship O'Brien moved into the Welterweight division, probably the most prestigious weight class in Mexico at the time. On November 23, 1941 Jack O'Brien defeated Lobo Negro to win the Mexican National Welterweight Championship. O'Brien held the title for just over four months before losing it to Ciclón Veloz. After the loss of the Welterweight title O'Brien began a long running, very successful storyline feud with El Santo and Gory Guerrero, the team known as La Pareja Atómica ("The Atomic Pair"). On February 18, 1944, O'Brien defeated El Santo to win the Mexican National Welterweight Championship, a rare loss for El Santo at the time. El Santo gained a measure of revenge that same year when he defeated O'Brien in a Luchas de Apuesta, hair vs. mask match on April 8, forcing O'Brien to have his head shaved bald per Lucha Libre traditions. On April 20, 1945, Santo's partner Guerrero defeated O'Brien to win the Mexican Welterweight Championship. O'Brien participated in the tournament to crown the first ever World Welterweight Championship (a title that was later renamed the "NWA World Welterweight Championship" when EMLL joined the National Wrestling Alliance). O'Brien lost to El Santo in the final, but managed to win the title from El Santo on February 14, 1947. O'Brien held the World Welterweight title for over two years until losing it to Gory Guerrero on April 29, 1949.
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