[70] WWE also included him in a compendium titled "Top 50 Good Guys in Wrestling History", which featured wrestlers that performed as fan favorites during their careers. NJ - Monmouth College Center - January 7, 1983 . [33], This was followed with a rematch, this time teaming with Andr the Giant. Afterwards, Ron Mikolajczyk became a recurrent teammate, mostly in matches involving Butch Bronson and a chosen partner. [19] After winning two more matches along Lewin, their team ceased to exist, costing them the titles. He won his next match by defeating George Cannon, forming a brief partnership with Hahn Lee that only lasted for a month. [56] After two tag team victories along Santana, Morales defeated Hercules and Beefcake among others. This trend was broken with the arrival of August, when Morales bested other figures including Blackjack Lanza and Stan Stasiak. This was followed by a visit to Kansas, where Morales defeated Alex Perez and lost to Jesse Ventura. [24] Morales recovered by winning a match over Mac MacFarland and teaming with Bing Ki Lee to win the Hawaii Tag Team Championship from Barend and Ripper Collins. During this time frame, Morales picked singles wins over Frank Hickey, Chuck Martoni, Bobby Davis, Arnold Skaaland, Humberto Mercado, Matt Gilmore, Boris Malenko, Klondike Bill, Jose Quinteras, Magnificent Maurice, Bull Johnson and Luke Graham while losing in matches against Wild Red Berry and Freddie Blassie. [48] Two subsequent rematches ended in one win, three losses and a draw. In his singles debut, Morales defeated Joe Turco. Morales defeated both Tanaka and Mr. Fuji by countout and won the following two tag team matches. On October 25, 1971, Morales defeated Stasiak in a Texas Death match. At Shea, Morales was booked against The Living Legend Bruno Sammartino, for the belt. Richards and Sons for many years. WWWF champion Pedro Morales. [11] Morales once claimed that sixty five percent of Culebra's population had some bloodline connection to him. In his final matches for the WWA, Morales defeated The Raider and El Mongol twice. On November 2, 1973, he made an appearance in AWA, winning a three-fall contest over Ray Stevens. [74] From 2003 onwards, the World Wrestling Council approached Morales and offered holding an Aniversario event in his honor, but he declined the invitations for ten years. [36] Morales' title run lasted 1,027 days, remaining to this date the longest reign by any Latino and the fifth longest overall. There are tights, boots, and ring jackets still in the Woodbridge home that remind Johnson-Morales of her late husbands professional success. 1990 nc state basketball roster. Menu This was followed by a prolonged series with both members of the Moondogs, from which he emerged victorious. [39], After migrating to Championship Wrestling from Florida, he immediately emerged victorious from a rivalry with Pat Patterson. [11][12] However, due to living outside of Puerto Rico, he declined the opportunity. [38] Their main opponents during this timeframe were The Invaders, against whom they exchanged results, with Morales and Patterson winning the NWA San Francisco World Tag Team Championship on October 29, 1975. [17] During this run, he teamed with Arman Hussein, Lewin, Wilbur Snyder, Lonnie Mayne & Billy Two, among others, with the results being divided inequitable manner between wins, losses and draws. After wrestling Cyclon Negro in Trinidad and defeating Buddy Rose in a WWF event, Morales won a rematch against Siki, recovering the title. [40] Afterwards, Koloff joined Mr. Saito as his main partner in the ongoing team feud, but both of the combinations with Johnson and Muraco were able to best them. The title was renamed to WWWF Heavyweight Championship during this reign, since the promotion rejoined the NWA. Pedro Antonio Morales (October 22, 1942 - February 12, 2019) was a Puerto Rican professional wrestler.He is best known for his appearances in the United States with Worldwide Wrestling Associates (WWA) and the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF).. Debuting in 1959, Morales originally came to prominence with WWA in the 1960s, where he held the World Heavyweight Championship and World Tag . [41] In singles competition, Morales defeated Mr. X #1, Brute Bernard and Morowski. Next, along with my brother and his wife, I went to the matches at Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles.. Last edited on 22 February 2023, at 14:49, Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship, Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum, Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame, Liga de Bisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente, NWA North American Heavyweight Championship, NWA United States Heavyweight Championship, NWA San Francisco World Tag Team Championship, WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship, CSP North American Heavyweight Championship, NWA World Tag Team Championship (San Francisco version), NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (Florida version), NWA North American Heavyweight Championship (Hawaii version), WWC North American Heavyweight Championship, World Wide Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Federation, WWWF United States Heavyweight Championship, "Pro wrestler now grows tomatoes in Woodbridge", "Wrestlers Results Archive: Pedro Morales", "History of the WWWF United States Heavyweight title", "Freddie Blassie: classy to the very end - Phantom of the Ring - Obituary", "Intercontinental Championship title history", "Remembering Luis Magana, bilingual announcer extraordinario", "Morales emerges as highlight of reunion", "PR: Entrevista a Toms Marn "El Martillo", "Top Ten Intercontinental Champions of All Time", "The 411 Wrestling Top 5 08.24.11: Week 138 Top Intercontinental Champions", "WWE and NBC Universo honor Pedro Morales during Hispanic Heritage Month", "TNA Impact Report: Thumbstacks Match on TV", "WWC: ANIVERSARIO 40 DEDICADO A PEDRO MORALES", "WWE Champion Series Top 10 Intercontinental Champions of All Time", "Ranking the Greatest WWE Champions of All Time", "Power Ranking the 25 Greatest Champions in WWE History", "Slideshow: 20 of the most memorable Latino wrestlers in WWE history", "Los mejores 10 luchadores boricuas de la historia", "Dory Funk Jr. Talks His Wrestling School, Why He Left WWF, Training Kurt Angle, Wrestling Terry", "How the Long-Defunct AWA Is Stoking Wrestling Fans' Nostalgia", "A loving, championship chat with Pedro Morales Morales' widow", "Pedro Morales, 76, First to Win Three Major Wrestling Titles", "Pedro Morales, WWE Hall of Famer and former heavyweight champion, dies at age 76", "Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Class of 2015 announced", "Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Top 500 Wrestlers of the PWI Years", "Daily Pro Wrestling History (02/20): Masa Saito Wins AWA Gold at the Tokyo Dome", "December 4, 2017 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: AJ Styles, Minoru Suzuki and more enter the Hall of Fame", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pedro_Morales&oldid=1140938193, AWA San Francisco World Tag Team Championship (2 times) with, This page was last edited on 22 February 2023, at 14:49. [25] During his final months in the West Coast, he defeated Karl Heisinger and Billy Graham, also participating in several tag team matches along Rocca and Ray Mendoza. For the fans, Morales was an athlete to admire. [39] During this time-frame, Morales also faced Superstar Billy Graham and Lars Anderson on a regular basis. It was cancer that took Morales from us. In retirement, Johnson-Morales tells of her late husband experiencing heart problems, and his health declined further in 2017 while battling cancer. [9] During the following months, Morales served as a midcarder, losing to several of the high-card talents but gaining wins over jobbers such as Poncho Pico, Sputnik Monroe and winning a three-fall match over Gypsy Biviano. [51] Morales continued his feud with Buddy Rose, defeating him by disqualification. [62], Morales made few wrestling related appearances since his WCW days, with his last appearances being at autograph signings in fan conventions. [22] However, in his following appearance he recovered the Hawaii Tag Team titles with Francis. [59] At 44 years old, Morales was entering his final year as an active wrestler, now being moved back in the card. [34] He also teamed with Moonson, Bobo Brazil and Strongbow. [31] To continue this run, he defeated George Steele in New York. [18] He also reformed his tag team with Luis Hernandez, finding success in this division as well by winning the WWA World Tag Team Championship on June 24, 1966, being a dual champion for over a month. He opened 1987 with a win over Bret Hart, before teaming with Santana twice with mixed results. [4] He retired from professional wrestling in 1987. No question, he was beloved. Photo by John Arezzi. Back in Hawaii, Morales defeated Bad Boy Shields, Mr. Fujiwara, Les Roberts and Mac MacFarland, only losing a match to Kinji Shibuya, during the following couple of months. [57] On September 20, 1986, Morales defeated Jake Roberts. [27] Meanwhile, The Wolfman and Bulldog Brower became recurrent enhancement talents during this run. [52] He held the belt until September 15, 1984, dropping it to Randy Savage during the final stage of his CSP stay. The Spoiler remained Morales most common adversary during the following months, which resulted in wins over him and his partner, Buddy Wolfe. He then continued to team with Gomez and Romero, recording a successful run until they became part-time partners in July 1967, when he joined fellow Puerto Rican Jos Luis Rivera, immediately entering a long feud against Mike DiBiase, who teamed with a variety of wrestlers, but most frequently wrestled along Karl Gotch. In his next appearance, he joined Sam Steamboat and Hahn Lee in a win over Barend, Killer Karl Kox and Ripper Collins. [13], The tag team next entered a feud with Jerry Graham and Luke Graham, losing several times before earning a win on September 19, 1964. Margarita Cardenas. Meanwhile, Morales earned wins over Paul Christy, Roger Kirby, Lee, The Iron Sheik and Hercules, but began to lose more often against opponents such as Jake Roberts, King Kong Bundy and Savage. C1: He sure is good" as part of a discussion of dangerous adversaries that could be possible opponents for an aging wrestler. This was followed by a series of tag team matches along Santana and Danny Spivey, which ended with a 21 balance. [53], Morales made his following appearance in a WWF event held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he defeated The Spoiler. The feud with The Moondogs resumed afterwards, with mixed results in tag team competition but another win over Moondog Rex. Individually, he gained victories over several familiar performers including Lee, Barry O, Gibbs and The Spoiler, also winning a series against Alexi Smirnoff and losing a single time to Orton. The former WWWF champion was laid to rest at the Costello-Greiner Funeral Home in Woodbridge, predeceased by their son, Pedro Morales Jr., in 2014. In September, Morales won contests over Rocky Cole and Scicluna, but was counted out against Buddy Rose, which led to a draw in a rematch. Your email address will not be published. Start your FREE search now! [38] During the second half of the year, he bested Nikolai Volkoff and Strong Kobayashi, before exchanging results in a long-running feud against Killer Kowalski. [55] He won his first two contests of 1986 Moondog Spot and Lee, before losing to Terry Funk. Morales advanced further by besting Mike Rotundo in the quarterfinals and Nikolai Volkoff in the semifinals, but lost the final to Harley Race. [43] However, they had to forfeit the championship belts the following day, due to a rule stating that no heavyweight champion could hold a second title at the same time. [39] To open 1977, he continued to trend in matches including Tom DeMarco, Mike Soma, Mad Dog Vachon, Baron Von Raschke, Poisson, Bobby Duncum, Moose Morowski and Jim Brunzell, also winning a battle royale and drawing in a series against The Super Destroyer. Slaughter, Chris Adams, and special guest referee Jim Brunzell. > Sporting Connection
[73] This was part of an in-character celebratory speech following The Latin American Xchange's coronation as NWA World Tag Team Champions. [72], Outside of the WWE, he has received recognition as a Latin American and Hispanic pioneer in other promotions. [41] On November 11, 1978, Morales made a one night visit to California, teaming with Chavo Guerrero, Sr. in a win over Eddie Mansfield and The Grappler. [40] His team along Johnson opened the year by winning their first two matches, going on to defeat Koloff and Saito to win the NWA Florida Tag Team Championship on January 24, 1978. He was 40 years old. It was after the matches, Pedro sees me. [25], Morales made his first appearance for the World Wide Wrestling Federation, now known as WWE, on November 21, 1970, by teaming with Chief Jay Strongbow in a draw against The Mongols, Newton Tattrie and Josip Peruzovic, as part of a one-night appearance. The following year, he began making appearances in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. One week later, Morales faced Ric Flair in the first Aniversario event, winning the contest by disqualification. After scoring a win over The Spoiler, Morales joined Sammartino in a rematch against Tanaka and Mr. Fuji, this time emerging victorious in a three-fall contest. A popular champion, Morales had particular appeal to his native Puerto Ricans and the wider Latino audience. [28] However, in his final contest of the month he suffered a loss to Stan Stasiak. Sadly, for me and countless others who found joy in wrestling, beginning back in the early 1970s, we lost our hero on February 11, 2019. [19] He made his first appearance in Hawaiian territory along Gomez on April 26, 1967. Aside from occasional visits by Bob Gorilla Monsoon Marella, when accompanying her husband to matches in Philadelphia, Johnson-Morales stayed clear of her husbands work. As a 12-year-old, I saw first-hand just how special then the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) Heavyweight Champion was. | Funeral Home Website by Batesville Home | He (Pedro) battled back so many times (from cancer), said Johnson-Morales. While DiBiase and Gotch won in two consecutive events, the feud began to produce several draws. [41] On June 23, 1978, he made a tour to New Japan Pro-Wrestling, but only participated in tag matches. Eventually, Jay Youngblood became Moraless main partner, recording a winning streak while he also teamed with several other wrestlers including Cocoa Samoa, Tiger Jeet Singh and Bob Marcus with similar success. May 24, 2022. [50], During the summer of 1982, Morales feuded with Bob Orton, Jr., gaining the upper hand after being disqualified in the open bout. [44] Another figure who became a mainstay was Sgt. Despite gathering singles wins over the likes of El Mongol, Austin, Magnificent Maurice, Joe Flores and Frank Marconi, during the following months, Morales focused on the tag team division, earning eleven wins, seven draws and only one loss before dropping the titles to Hard Boiled Haggerty and El Shereef on October 28, 1966. [11] However, he remained a frequent visitor to The Club, a gym located in Woodbridge. [27] The move also vacated the United States Championship. [45] Morales also feuded with Sgt. Find Pedro L Martinez's address, phone number, email, photos, and social media accounts. Returning to his former singles pace, Morales went on to immediately enter an undefeated streak over Bobby Jones, Moose Morowski, Buddy Wolff, Frankie Hill, Baron Von Raschke, Vito Martino, Ray Stevens, Pierre Poisson, Blackjack Lanza, Puppy Dog Peloquin, Rodeo Jones, Roger Kirby, Ray Stevens, Joe Carlos and Frankie Hill to close the year. 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