Of the five Villanos, Arturo was considered the most successful in terms of championship and Lucha de Apuesta ("bet match") wins, as well as the most talented luchador in the family.

Arturo was trained both by his father and by Felipe Ham Lee, a family friend, while also getting a degree in physical education in case professional wrestling did not work out for him.

[4] After his initial match he began wrestling under various enmascarado (masked) characters such as Pulpo Blanco (Spanish for "White Octopus") and Mancha Roja ("Red Stain"), in part to not reveal that he was the son of Ray Mendoza.

[7] Over the next couple of years, Villano III defended the championship in several high-profile, main event matches, earning favorable reviews from both fans and reporters.

On March 1, 1981, he defeated Fishman to win the UWA World Light Heavyweight Championship, a title his father had won previously as well.

As Villano III became more and more popular with the fans and the UWA officials decided to make him a tecnico, using the hated Los Misioneros trio to that end.

[9] After his "tecnico" turn Villano III joined up with El Solitario and Aníbal to form a trio called Los Tres Caballeros ("The Three Gentlemen"), who would go on to main event a series of sold-out UWA shows.

His first major opponent after the turn was Perro Aguayo, starting a long-running, intense feud over the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship that the UWA promoted at the time.

Over the following years, Villano III traded the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship with Perro Aguayo, Rambo, and Sangre Chicana.

[10] In 1991, Villano III began working against a young Canadian known as Pegasus Kid, sent to Mexico by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) to train and gain experience.

[10] By late 1991, Pegasus Kid's learning excursion to Mexico came to an end, but not before Villano III defeated him in a Lucha de Apuesta match, forcing him to unmask and reveal his real name: Chris Benoit.

[11] Villano III's seventh and last reign with the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship began on July 18, 1994, when he defeated El Signo.

[12][13] After leaving AAA, Villano III toured Puerto Rico several times in 1997 and 1998, working for the World Wrestling Council (WWC).

[14] Villano III also worked on the independent circuit after leaving AAA, as well as making sporadic appearances for both Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) and Promo Azteca at the time.

Following the title loss, Los Villanos worked more infrequently for CMLL, taking bookings both in IWRG and on the Mexican independent circuit as well.

[20] On July 30, 2005, Villano III teamed up with rookie wrestler Gallo Tapado Jr. for IWRG's La Copa Black Shadow tournament.

[5] Díaz was adamant that his sons get a good education instead of becoming wrestlers, wishing that they become lawyers or doctors as he wanted to spare them his own physical suffering.

[5] Díaz was married to Luz Lorena Velarde Murillo,[27] who was a professional wrestler for many years, working under the name "La Infernal".

[29] Arturo Díaz died of a cerebral infarction on August 21, 2018, after dealing with health issues, including complications from a stroke earlier in the year.

[31] In the 1970s and 1980s, Villano III was one of the top box office draws for the UWA, and has been referred to as one of the biggest stars in the history of lucha libre.

Originally on a black base with a red "X" across the face and golden outlines around the eye holes, similar to "bandit mask" worn by criminals in cartoons.

[6] Over the years, Los Villanos have changed their color schemes, such as red, blue, purple and most noticeably pink versions of the mask and tights.