Dr. Alfonso Morales
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| Wrestling Observer Hall Of Fame Member |
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Biography
Dr. Morales is a popular Mexican wrestling announcer. He usually favored tecnicos over rudos, and has worked in AAA, CMLL, EMLL and others as a broadcaster for Televisa. He's also hosted the the program "Las noches del Santo" (Santo's night). Morales is the current director of the Box y Lucha Magazine and also works as a commentator for boxing matches.
In an interview in the Special Edition of Somos Magazine "Todo Sobre la Lucha Libre: Mascaras Conocemos, Cabelleras No Sabemos" said he asked Paco Alonso to be trained in Lucha Libre. He received training from Rafael Salamanca for some time.
It is said that he predicted when Dr. Wagner Jr. would lose his mask. In the mask vs mask match between Mr. Niebla and Mr. Niebla GIR on August 20, 1999 at Arena México Dr. Wagner Jr. was Mr. Niebla GIR's second but he pushed the other Mr. Niebla in the very beginning of the match and the commissioners expelled him. Afterwards Dr. Morales said:
Wagner nos vemos para el 2017 (Wagner see you in 2017). [1]
Dr. Wagner Jr lost his mask 18 years later on August 26, 2017.
Was inducted into the AAA Hall of Fame in 2018.
Not Tinieblas
On the week Tinieblas debuted, lucha announcer Dr. Alfonso Morales was absent. Dr. Morales missing a show is a strange event, he's a tall man, and Tinieblas is a tall man, so some believed the announcer was actually under the mask.
This is not true. Morales is not Tinieblas, and has done commentary on his matches. Despite the evidence to the contrary, the urban legend of Morales being Tinieblas still surfaces from time to time.
Dr. Alfonso Morales (Gilberto Alberto Morales Villela, 71) passed away Thursday due to kidney failure. Morales was the voice of Mexican wrestling for a generation of the fans. Mexican wrestling has only been nationally televised since the early 90s (outside of a stretch in the 50s), and Morales was the authoritative announcer from that inception until the early 2010s. AAA & CMLL announcers were Televisa employees during that time, Morales worked for Televisa, both promotions wanted to use him, and so Morales was the primary voice for the biggest matches in Mexican wrestling during multiple booms. The two promotions are now on different networks and use in-house announcers whenever possible; even if lucha libre took off again, there’s no one who could approach Morales’ level of fame. He was the standard of Mexican wrestling announcing and will be remembered as such for years to come.
Like many Televisa announcers, Morales was at first a sports reporter who was assigned to wrestling, working hard to educate himself on the history of the sport through reading old magazines. Morales was more recognizable for his personality. He was the dignified tecnico announcer often appalled by the opinions of his rudo partners, most famously Arturo Rivera and Leobardo Magadan. The phrase “Que Barbaro, Magadan!” was all over Twitter last night, along with many other remembrances of his favorite sayings and phrases.
Morales was also a famed boxing announcer. It seemed to be his favorite of the two, and something he was still closely following even after he stepped away from lucha libre. SuperLuchas comprehensive obituary notes that boxing career too started somewhat accidentally; he did it because no one else at the station he was working at could do it. Morales also became a writer for magazines, including Box Y Lucha and SuperLuchas. Dr. Morales had a doctorate of psychiatry, though he only practiced for a few years before focusing on journalism.
A running joke over the years was that Dr. Morales was also luchador Tinieblas, based on their similar height, Morales missing a show where Tinieblas appeared and maybe Tinieblas’ gimmick of being the wise giant being similar to Morales. No one ever took it seriously, but everyone enjoyed referencing it. Tinieblas mentioned how he enjoyed that bit in a Twitter post marking Morales’ passing.
CMLL posted a video of an emotional Leobrado Magadan, talking about his fallen friend. It’s a tough watch.
