Al Perez (born July 23, 1960) is a retired

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

. He held 16 titles during a 20-year career, including the

WCWA World Heavyweight Championship The WCWA World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship promoted by the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex area–based World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA). The championship was originally created in ...

Professional wrestling career

Early career

Perez began wrestling as an amateur in high school and was one of the top athletes in his home state of Florida. He started professional wrestling in 1982. He wrestled in

Southwest Championship Wrestling Southwest Championship Wrestling (SCW) was a professional wrestling promotion that was owned by Joe Blanchard and based in San Antonio, Texas, from 1978 to 1985, when it was purchased by Texas All-Star Wrestling and absorbed into that company. ...

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 The World Wrestling Council (WWC) (Spanish: "Consejo Mundial de Lucha"), is a Puerto-Rican professional wrestling promotion based in Puerto Rico. It was originally established as Capitol Sports Promotions in 1973 by Carlos Colón Sr., Victor J ...

in Puerto Rico where he teamed a lot with Joe Savoldi and later feuded with Invader l.

Mid South

In 1986 Perez wrestled for Bill Watt's Mid-South Wrestling, and teamed with "Wildcat" Wendell Cooley and defeated the team of Steve" Dr. Death" Williams and Bruiser Bob Sweetan for the Mid-South Tag Team Championship. Sweetan was substituting for Ted DiBiase while DiBiase was touring Asia.

World Class

Perez went on to make a name for himself as "The Latin Heartthrob" in

World Class Championship Wrestling World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), later known as the World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA) (1986–1991) was an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed ...

in 1987, where he was the top heel for several months. He was managed by Gary Hart and feuded with

Kevin Von Erich Kevin Ross Adkisson (born May 15, 1957) 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 Ch ...

Kerry Von Erich Kerry Gene Adkisson (February 3, 1960 – February 18, 1993), 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 ...

and

Dingo Warrior Warrior (born James Brian Hellwig; June 16, 1959 – April 8, 2014) was an American professional wrestler and bodybuilder. Best known by his ring name The Ultimate Warrior, he wrestled for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) from 19 ...

. 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

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 Fritz originated as a German nickname for Friedrich, or Frederick (''Der Alte Fritz'', and ''Stary Fryc'' were common nicknames for King Frederick II of Prussia and Frederick III, German Emperor) as well as for similar names including Fridolin a ...

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.

Jim Crockett Promotions (NWA) and PWF

In 1988, Perez moved to the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA ...

Jim Crockett Promotions Jim Crockett Promotions Inc. is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, restarted by Jim Crockett's son and Jim Crockett Jr's brother, David Crockett. Founded in 1931, the promot ...

with Hart and teamed with

Larry Zbyszko Lawrence Whistler (born December 5, 1951), better known by the ring name Larry Zbyszko, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his feud with his mentor, Bruno Sammartino, during the early 1980s as well as his w ...

along with feuding with

Nikita Koloff Nikita Koloff (born Nelson Scott Simpson on March 9, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with Jim Crockett Promotions and its successor, World Championship Wrestling between 1984 and 1992, where ...

and

Dusty Rhodes Virgil Riley Runnels Jr. (October 11, 1945 – June 11, 2015), better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, was an American professional wrestler, booker, and trainer who most notably worked for the National Wrestling Alliance, Jim Crocket ...

. 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 Dustin Patrick Runnels (born April 11, 1969) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Dustin Rhodes. He is best known for his multiple tenures with WWE ...

World Wrestling Federation

Al Perez signed with WWF and made his debut on October 2, 1989, with a win over

George South George South (born September 7, 1962) is an American professional wrestler. In the course of his career, South has wrestled for professional wrestling promotions such as Jim Crockett Promotions, World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrest ...

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 Barry Horowitz (born March 24, 1959) is an American professional wrestler, best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Early life Horowitz attended Florida State University, where he studied sports nutrition and wrestled ...

and

The Brooklyn Brawler Steven Kenneth Lombardi (born April 18, 1961) is an American professional wrestler and road agent, better known by his ring name, The Brooklyn Brawler. He worked for the professional wrestling promotion, WWE, as well as several independent promot ...

. 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 Robert James Marella (June 4, 1937 – October 6, 1999), better known by his ring name of Gorilla Monsoon, was an American professional wrestler, play-by-play commentator, and booker. Monsoon is famous for his run as a villainous super-heavyw ...

made mention of a possible tag-team pairing of Perez and Santana. Perez was primarily seen on house shows and

Prime Time Wrestling ''WWF Prime Time Wrestling'' is a professional wrestling television program that was produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). It aired on the USA Network from January 1, 1985, to January 4, 1993. A precursor to ''Monday Night Raw'', ''Pr ...

. Despite sustaining losses to the likes of

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

and

Tito Santana Merced Solis (born May 10, 1953), better known by the ring name Tito Santana, is a retired American professional wrestler and middle school teacher. Santana has stayed a babyface his entire career and he is best known for his appearances with ...

, Perez had many wins over wrestlers such as

Paul Roma Paul Centopani (born April 29, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Paul Roma. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling between 1984 an ...

Jim Powers James Manley (born January 4, 1958) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Jim Powers. He worked for the World Wrestling Federation from 1984 to 1994, then elsewhere until 2010. He was born in Washington Heig ...

The Red Rooster Paul Worden Taylor III (born August 12, 1955) is an American retired professional wrestler better known by his ring name Terry Taylor and for his time as an in-ring performer in National Wrestling Alliance, World Championship Wrestling, and Wo ...

Koko B. Ware James W. Ware, Jr. (born June 20, 1958), better known by his ring name Koko B. Ware is an American retired professional wrestler. He debuted in 1978 and became widely popular in 1986. He later went on to the World Wrestling Federation, where he ...

, "Bullet" Bob Bradley, Paul Diamond/Kato,

Jim Brunzell James Brunzell (born August 13, 1949) is an American retired professional wrestler. Best known for his successful tag teams, Brunzell performed for various wrestling promotions during his 21-year career. Early life The son of a navy pilot, Br ...

, and others. His last WWF match was a win over Jim Powers on July 23, 1990, in West Palm Beach, FL.

World Championship Wrestling

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. However Perez would wrestle one more match as The Scorpion at a house show in Chicago, IL on September 30.

Global Wrestling Federation

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.

Later career

Perez traveled to All Japan Wrestling and teamed with

Dory Funk Jr Dorrance Earnest Funk (born February 3, 1941), known professionally as Dory Funk Jr., is an American retired professional wrestler and wrestling trainer. The son of Dory Funk (Dorrance Wilhelm Funk) and brother of Terry Funk, he was the promote ...

against

Dan Kroffat Daniel Kroffat (born June 14, 1945) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with Stampede Wrestling in the 1960s and 1970s, where he invented the ladder match. Professional wrestling career Stampede ...

Doug Furnas Dwight Douglas Furnas (December 11, 1959 – March 2, 2012) was an American professional wrestler and powerlifter. He was an APF National and World Powerlifting Champion, who set multiple world records in the 275 pound weight class. As a wrestler, ...

on December 6, 1991. 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.

Championships and accomplishments

Championship Wrestling from Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as ...

** FCW Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) ** PWF Florida Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) *

Mid-South Wrestling The Universal Wrestling Federation was a 1986 re-branding of wrestler-turned-owner Bill Watts' Mid-South Wrestling promotion. Watts' goal was to elevate his promotion from a relatively smaller, regional-level business, to a national-level rival ...

** Mid-South Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with Wendell Cooley *

NWA NWA or Nwa most commonly refers to: * N.W.A ("Niggaz Wit Attitudes"), a hip hop group from Compton, California, US * National Wrestling Alliance, a professional wrestling organization NWA or Nwa may refer to: Music * New Weird America, a subgenr ...

New Zealand **

NWA Australasian Tag Team Championship The New Zealand version of the NWA Austra-Asian Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team championship defended in the National Wrestling Alliance-affiliated All Star Pro Wrestling from 1981 to 1984. The titles were awarded to S ...

(1 time) - with

Mark Lewin Mark Lewin (born March 16, 1937) is an American retired professional wrestler. Early life Lewin was born in Buffalo, New York. He had two elder brothers, Donn and Ted, both of whom also became professional wrestlers. He attended Lafayette High ...

** NWA New Zealand British Commonwealth Championship (

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...

) *''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publish ...

'' **PWI ranked him # 272 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003. *

** SCW Southwest Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with Manny Fernandez * Supreme Wrestling Federation **SWF Tag Team championship (1 time) - with

Paul Orndorff Paul Parlette Orndorff Jr. (October 29, 1949 – July 12, 2021), nicknamed "Mr. Wonderful", was an American professional wrestler and college football player, best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Cham ...

*Texas Wrestling Federation **TWF Heavyweight Championship (2 times) *

Western States Sports Western States Sports (also known as the Amarillo Territory) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Amarillo, Texas in the United States. Founded by Dory Detton in 1946, the promotion enjoyed its greatest success in the 1960s and ...

NWA Western States Tag Team Championship The NWA International Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling title, originally created as the NWA Western States Tag Team Championship in the National Wrestling Alliance's Amarillo, Texas territory, Western States Sports. The title wa ...

( 1 time) - with

Dennis Stamp Dennis Stamp (December 6, 1946 – March 13, 2017) was an American professional wrestler and referee. He was best known for wrestling extensively during the 1970s and 1980s for the American Wrestling Association, and for the National Wrestling Al ...

World Class Wrestling Association World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), later known as the World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA) (1986–1991) was an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed ...

NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship The NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling title that has existed since the 1930s. Though its exact date of creation isn't known, it is among the oldest championships used in professional wrestling today. The title has us ...

( 1 time) **

( 1 time) *

WWC North American Heavyweight Championship The WWC North American Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship defended in the Puerto Rican promotion, the World Wrestling Council. Created in 1974, it was the primary singles championship of the promotion until the crea ...

( 1 time) **

WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Championship The WWC Puerto Rico Championship is the secondary professional wrestling championship that is defended in the World Wrestling Council based in Puerto Rico. The title was created in January 1974 and, as its name suggests, is defended exclusively wi ...

( 1 time) **

WWC World Tag Team Championship The WWC World Tag Team Championship is the tag team title contested for in the Puerto Rican professional wrestling promotion, the World Wrestling Council. History Abroad (2017) On February 11, 2017, Thunder and Lightning defended the WWC World T ...

( 1 time) - with

Joe Savoldi Joseph Anthony Savoldi Jr., (born Giuseppe Antonio Savoldi; March 5, 1908 – January 25, 1974) more commonly known by his nickname "Jumping Joe" Savoldi, was an Italian-American professional wrestler, football player, and Special Ops agent fo ...

References

External links

Al Perez
at Online World of Wrestling {{DEFAULTSORT:Perez, Al 1960 births American male professional wrestlers Living people Professional wrestlers from Florida Sportspeople from Tampa, Florida 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers WWC Puerto Rico Champions NWA Florida Heavyweight Champions