| Al Perez | |
|---|---|
 Perez, circa 1988 | |
| Born | July 23, 1960 Tampa, Florida, U.S. |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Al Perez Latin Heartthrob |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) [1] |
| Billed weight | 245 lb (108 kg) [1] |
| Trained by | Boris Malenko [1] Steve Keirn |
| Debut | 1982 [1] |
| Retired | 2002 [1] |
Al Perez (born July 23, 1960) is an American retired professional wrestler. He held 16 titles during a 20-year career, including the WCWA World Heavyweight Championship.
Perez began wrestling as an amateur in high school and was one of the top athletes in his home state of Florida. [1] He started professional wrestling in 1982. He wrestled in Southwest Championship Wrestling in Texas and formed a team in ICW with Joe Savoldi known as the "New York Rockers". He then worked for the World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico where he teamed a lot with Joe Savoldi and later feuded with Invader l.
On August 31, 1985, while wrestling for Bill Watts's Mid-South Wrestling, Perez teamed with "Wildcat" Wendell Cooley, and defeated the team of "Dr. Death" Steve Williams and Bruiser Bob Sweetan for the Mid-South Tag Team Championship. Sweetan was substituting for Ted DiBiase while DiBiase was touring Asia.
Perez went on to make a name for himself as "The Latin Heartthrob" in World Class Championship Wrestling [1] in 1987, where he was the top heel for several months. He was managed by Gary Hart and feuded with Kevin Von Erich, Kerry Von Erich and Dingo Warrior.
Perez won the World Class Texas Championship after supposedly defeating previous champion Warrior in a phantom match in Puerto Rico on 21 June 1987. He later defeated Kevin Von Erich for the WCWA World Heavyweight Championship by forfeit. On 25 December 1987 he successfully defended the title in a steel cage match against Kerry Von Erich, recently returned from a 1986 motorcycle accident. Hart and Von Erich's father Fritz were supposed to be handcuffed together but after Fritz was attacked by several heels and afterwards (kayfabe) collapsed with a suspected heart attack, Hart alone was handdcuffed to the ropes. A distraught (kayfabe) Von Erich nonetheless went ahead with the title challenge. Perez managed to smash Von Erich's head into the handcuffs to score the pinfall win.
Von Erich later defeated Perez for the title. Perez and Hart left for Jim Crockett Promotions.
In 1988, Perez moved to the National Wrestling Alliance's Jim Crockett Promotions with Hart and teamed with Larry Zbyszko along with feuding with Nikita Koloff and Dusty Rhodes. In 1989 he wrestled for Dusty Rhodes' Professional Wrestling Federation based in Florida. He won the PWF Florida Heavyweight Title, defeating Mike Graham for the title. He later lost the title to Dustin Rhodes. [2]
Al Perez signed with WWF and made his debut on October 2, 1989, with a win over George South in a dark match at a WWF Superstars taping in Wheeling, WV. Perez was undefeated the first month, wrestling primarily on C shows against Barry Horowitz and The Brooklyn Brawler. His first loss would come against Boris Zukhov on November 13, 1989, in Roanoke, VA. Perez would then continue to wrestle primarily on the undercard, although in one Prime Time Wrestling show host Gorilla Monsoon made mention of a possible tag-team pairing of Perez and Santana. Perez was primarily seen on house shows and Prime Time Wrestling. Despite sustaining losses to the likes of Hercules and Tito Santana, Perez had many wins over wrestlers such as Paul Roma, Jim Powers, The Red Rooster, Koko B. Ware, "Bullet" Bob Bradley, Paul Diamond/Kato, Jim Brunzell, and others. His last WWF match was a win over Jim Powers on July 23, 1990, in West Palm Beach, FL. [3]
On September 5, 1990, Perez competed as The Black Scorpion, wrestling Sting in a losing effort at Clash of Champions XII. According to Ric Flair, Perez was always meant to be The Black Scorpion, but quit after finding out he was going to lose. [4] Perez disputes this claiming he was booked to be the Black Scorpion only one time. Perez notes he lost to Sting in the match and stated he was not asked to continue long term as the character. Perez would wrestle one more match as The Scorpion at a house show in Chicago, IL on September 30. [5]
Perez reached the finals of a tournament to crown the first GWF North American Heavyweight Champion before losing to The Patriot at the promotion's debut show on 10 August 1991 in Dallas, Texas. However, because Perez's feet were under the ropes when he was pinned, the Patriot, as a matter of conscience (kayfabe) refused the victory and vacated the title, defeating Perez cleanly in a rematch on 23 August 1991. Perez was (kayfabe) so impressed with his opponent's integrity and sportsmanship that he changed his ways and became a babyface once again.
Perez traveled to All Japan Wrestling and teamed with Dory Funk Jr against Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas on December 6, 1991. [6] He would wrestle in tag-team matches for All Japan again in 1993 and 1994. During the 90s Perez also competed in several independent promotions around the United States, including a return to Liberty All-Star Wrestling (LAW) in 2001, where he beat Jimmy Jannetty for the LAW Heavyweight title before retiring from the business in 2002. [1]
Christopher Adams, best known as "Gentleman" Chris Adams, was an English professional wrestler, promoter, coach, and judoka.
Anthony White better known by his ring name Tony Atlas is an American bodybuilder, powerlifter, and professional wrestler who has held multiple titles and championships in each sport. He is also known by his bodybuilding title, "Mr. USA", the nom de guerre the "Black Superman", as well as an alter ego named Saba Simba. He returned as an on screen manager for WWE, appearing on its now-defunct ECW brand. He re-signed with WWE on a legends contract in mid-2012.
Kerry Gene Adkisson, better known by his ring name Kerry Von Erich, was an American professional wrestler. He was part of the Von Erich family of professional wrestlers. He is best known for his time with his father's promotion World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), where he spent eleven years of his career, and his time in World Wrestling Federation (WWF), under the ring name the Texas Tornado. Adkisson held forty championships in various promotions during his career. Among other accolades, he was a one-time NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion, four-time WCWA World Heavyweight Champion, making him an overall five-time world champion and one-time WWF Intercontinental Champion.
Michael Seitz is an American retired professional wrestler and former musician. Seitz is best known for leading The Fabulous Freebirds under the ring name Michael "P.S." Hayes and for his role as an announcer under the name "Handsome" Dok Hendrix in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). He is currently employed with WWE as Vice President, Creative Writing & Booking and is also a senior producer.
Kevin Ross Adkisson is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Kevin Von Erich. A member of the Von Erich family, Von Erich is best known for his appearances with his father's World Class Championship Wrestling promotion. He is a former world champion, having once held the WCWA World Heavyweight Championship.
Bruce Alan Woyan was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Buzz Sawyer.
Jack Barton Adkisson Sr., better known by his ring name Fritz Von Erich, was an American professional wrestler, wrestling promoter, and the patriarch of the Von Erich family. He was a 3-time world champion and a 6-time NWA United States Champion. He was the owner of World Class Championship Wrestling.
Alberto "Al" Madril is an American retired professional wrestler.
Samula Fred Anoaʻi is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Samu. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation, World Championship Wrestling, Extreme Championship Wrestling, and New Japan Pro-Wrestling in the 1980s and 1990s.
Barney William Irwin is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Wild" Bill Irwin. Irwin is also known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation as The Goon in 1996 to 1997. He is the brother of the late Scott Irwin.
King Bailey Parsons Jr. is a former professional wrestler better known by his ring name Iceman King Parsons.
Stephan Simpson is a South African former professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Steve Simpson.
Steven Lyle Doll was an American professional wrestler, best known for his tenure in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as Steven Dunn in the tag team Well Dunn.
Douglas Eric Embry is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with Championship Wrestling from Florida, World Class Championship Wrestling, and the United States Wrestling Association.
Ruben Cruz was a Puerto Rican professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Hercules Ayala. He competed in Canadian and international wrestling promotions including the eastern Canadian Grand Prix Wrestling, the Calgary-based Stampede Wrestling, New Japan Pro-Wrestling in Japan and World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico.
International World Class Championship Wrestling was an independent professional wrestling promotion based in Boston, Massachusetts. It was promoted by Angelo Savoldi and his sons Mario, Tom, and Joseph Savoldi.
Galton W. Young, better known as Skip Young and Sweet Brown Sugar was an American professional wrestler who competed on the Southeastern regional promotions during the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s in Florida Championship Wrestling, World Class Championship Wrestling and the National Wrestling Alliance.
Les Thornton was a British professional wrestler who competed in Great Britain, Japan, European and North American regional promotions throughout the 1970s and 1980s including Joint Promotions, Stampede Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation and the National Wrestling Alliance.
Timothy Paul Brooks, better known by his ring name "Killer" Tim Brooks, was an American professional wrestler. He competed in North American regional promotions, including the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), Pacific Northwest Wrestling (PNW), World Wrestling Council (WWC), World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) and Southwest Championship Wrestling (SWCW) during the 1970s and 1980s.
Robert Carson, better known by his ring name Bob Sweetan, was a Canadian professional wrestler. Sweetan was nicknamed "Bruiser" and "Mr. Piledriver", the latter in reference to his finishing maneuver.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)