Ramon Eduardo Rodriguez (April 7, 1932 – February 20, 2013), better known by the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...

Ciclón Negro (Black Cyclone), was a professional wrestler who was originally from

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. He toured the Australia, Canada, Japan, Puerto Rico and the United States. He achieved a good amount of popularity and recognition during the 1970s.

Background

Negro was born in

San Felipe, Venezuela San Felipe (Spanish: ''San Felipe'') () is the capital city of Yaracuy, Venezuela. The city is an important urban, industrial, commercial and transportation center of Venezuela. San Felipe is situated in a rich agricultural region of Western Ve ...

on April 7, 1932. In his early days he was a welder, an occupation he would return to in later years.Slam.canoe.com
Singing a song of Ciclon Negro By Greg Oliver
/ref> At the height of his popularity he was recognized as being one of the best wrestlers of the day. He was also something of a showman and broke boards and objects over his head to show how hard it was. He was successful in the 1970s with his matches against

Dory Funk Sr. Dorrance Wilhelm Funk (May 4, 1919 – June 3, 1973) was an American professional wrestler. He is the father of wrestlers Dory Funk Jr. and Terry Funk, and was a promoter of the Amarillo, Texas-based Western States Sports promotion. Early li ...

and

Terry Funk Terrence Funk (born June 30, 1944) is an American retired professional wrestler, rapper, disc jockey and actor. Funk is known for the longevity of his career – which spanned more than 50 years and included multiple short-lived retirements – a ...

Professional wrestling career

1950s to 1960s

Negro had a 28-year career that lasted until his retirement in the 1980s.''Legends of Pro Wrestling: 150 Years of Headlocks, Body Slams, and Piledrivers'', By Tim Hornbaker
Cyclone Negro
/ref> He was also responsible for helping the careers of two wrestlers,

Omar Atlas Omar Mijares (born April 22, 1938), is a retired Venezuelan professional wrestler, best known by his ring name Omar Atlas, who competed in North American and international promotions including the National Wrestling Alliance, Stampede Wrestling a ...

and

Mario Milano Mario Bulfone (15 May 1935 – 9 December 2016), better known by his ring name Mario Milano, was a professional wrestler. Milano got his start in wrestling in Venezuela and later competed in Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, South Africa, Mex ...

, the latter who he helped bring to the United States. He trained as a boxer in his early days. In 1951, he fought

Floyd Patterson Floyd Patterson (January 4, 1935 – May 11, 2006) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1952 to 1972, and twice reigned as the world heavyweight champion between 1956 and 1962. At the age of 21, he became the youngest boxer in his ...

in the Pan-American Games. Due to his physique and increase in size, he switched to wrestling, becoming a pro wrestler in 1956. He went under the name of Ciclon Venezuelano which in English meant the Venezuelan Cyclone. He had met Omar Atlas in a gym and they became friends. It was Negro who introduced Atlas to wrestling and thus kick started his career. Negro went to Europe in 1958 and over the next six years at various stages, he wrestled in Spain, France, Belgium, England, Germany and Italy.

1970s to 1980s

In 1974, Negro defeated

Brute Bernard James Prudhomme (June 6, 1921 – July 14, 1984), was a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by the ring names Brute Bernard or Jim 'Brute' Bernhard. He spent much of his career wrestling as part of a tag team with Skull Murphy. He compet ...

in New York for the World Brass Knuckles Championship. In 1978, he defeated

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 ...

and took the NWA Florida Heavyweight title. In 1982, he defeated El Monarca and took the NWA Americas Heavyweight title.Online World of Wrestling
Cyclone Negro
/ref> In 1984, he retired form wrestling.

Death

Negro died February 20, 2013 at age 80.

Championships and accomplishments

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Baba, ...

NWA International Tag Team Championship ''This was a regional NWA championship based in Japan. For the version of this title that was promoted in NWA All Star Wrestling in Canada, see NWA International Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version).'' The NWA International Tag Team Champio ...

( 1 time) – with

Killer Karl Kox Herbert Alan Gerwig (April 26, 1931 – November 10, 2011) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name of Killer Karl Kox, who competed in the National Wrestling Alliance as well as international promotions such as All ...

*American Wrestling Alliance **AWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with The Masked Terror * Big Time Wrestling ''(San Francisco)'' **NWA California State Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **

NWA World Tag Team Championship (San Francisco version) The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) member NWA San Francisco promoted a professional wrestling tag team championship under the name NWA World Tag Team Championship from 1950 until 1961 in and around their local territory until it closed. When S ...

( 1 time) – with The Mongolian Stomper * Capitol Sports Promotions **

WWC Caribbean Heavyweight Championship The WWC Caribbean Heavyweight Championship is a secondary title contested for in the Puerto Rican professional wrestling promotion, the World Wrestling Council (WWC). The title has been in use since 1975. Prior to being defended in the WWC, it wa ...

(

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 ...

) **

WWC North American Tag Team Championship The WWC North American Tag Team Championship was a major tag team championship that was used and defended in Capitol Sports Promotions. It is sometimes referred to as the WWC North American Tag Team Championship, though this isn't entirely accu ...

( 1 time) – with Huracán Castillo *

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 ...

NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship The NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship was a major title in Championship Wrestling from Florida, USA and is now the major title in NWA Florida Wrestling Alliance. It started in 1937 and was abandoned in 1949. It was picked back up in 1966 by C ...

(

) **

NWA Brass Knuckles Championship (Florida version) The Florida version of the NWA Brass Knuckles Championship was a secondary professional wrestling championship defended sporadically in the National Wrestling Alliance's Florida territory, Championship Wrestling from Florida. As its name suggests, ...

(

) **NWA Fort Myers Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **

NWA World Tag Team Championship (Florida version) The Florida version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship was the primary professional wrestling championship for tag teams in Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) that was used between 1961 and 1969. When the National Wrestling Alliance (NW ...

( 6 times) – with

Jack Brisco Freddie Joe "Jack" Brisco (September 21, 1941 – February 1, 2010) was an American amateur wrestling, amateur and Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. As an amateur for Oklahoma State, Brisco was two-time All-American and won the Natio ...

(2),

Sam Steamboat Samuel K. Mokuahi (May 4, 1934 – May 2, 2006) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Sammy Steamboat. Early life Mokuahi grew up in Honolulu, attending President Theodore Roosevelt High School, where he pla ...

, Omar Negro (2) and

Pak Song Pak Song Nam (April 11, 1943 or 1945 – 1980 or April 1982It is uncertain when Song was born or died. He was born either in 1943 or 1945. It was claimed that he wrestled his last match around October 20, 1980. Some believed he died in 1980 or 19 ...

International Wrestling Alliance The International Wrestling Alliance (IWA) was an independent professional wrestling promotion based in the province of Manitoba in Canada. It was initially founded as the West Four Wrestling Alliance (WFWA) in 1973 by Tony Condello , under whic ...

IWA World Tag Team Championship IWA World Tag Team Championship is a Tag Team Championship defended in Puerto Rico.The titles were first introduced in the first incarnation of the International Wrestling Association, where they are defended. They also made a brief appearance i ...

( 3 times) – with

Baron Mikel Scicluna Mikel Scicluna (July 29, 1929 – March 20, 2010) was a Maltese professional wrestler who gained his fame during the 1960s and 1970s. He reached the peak of his success in WWWF where he was 2-time tag-team champion, having held the United S ...

Japan Wrestling Association The was the first professional wrestling promotion to be based in Japan. It operated from 1953 to 1973. History JWA under Rikidōzan (1953–1963) Rikidōzan, a former ''rikishi'' (sumo wrestling practitioner) who had debuted as a Western-st ...

All Asia Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team title in Japanese promotion All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). It was created on November 16, 1955, in the Japan Wrestling Association (JWA) when King Kong Czaya and Tiger Joginder Singh defeated JWA founder ...

( 1 time) – with

Gene Kiniski Eugene Nicholas Kiniski (November 23, 1928 – April 14, 2010) was a Canadian athlete who played football for the Edmonton Eskimos and then became a three-time professional wrestling world heavyweight champion. "Canada's Greatest Athlete", as he b ...

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling 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 ...

NWA Brass Knuckles Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) The Mid-Atlantic version of the NWA Brass Knuckles Championship was a short-lived championship that was defended sporadically and periodically in Jim Crockett, Jr.'s Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling. Created in 1978, the title was used in spe ...

( 1 time) *

NWA Hollywood Wrestling NWA Hollywood Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Los Angeles) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Los Angeles, California in the United States that promoted professional wrestling matches throughout Southern California. It ...

NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship The NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship was the top singles championship in the National Wrestling Alliance's Los Angeles territory, known officially as NWA Hollywood Wrestling, from 1968 until the promotion closed in 1982. The title was first es ...

( 1 time) **NWA Brass Knuckles Championship (Los Angeles version) (2 times) *

NWA Southwest 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 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)* **

NWA World Tag Team Championship The NWA World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship created by the National Wrestling Alliance. From 1948 to 1982, the NWA allowed member promotions to create their own territorial version of the "NWA World ...

( 3 times) – with

Dory Dixon Dorrel "Dory" Dixon (born February 1, 1935) is a Jamaican retired professional wrestler who worked for the majority of his career in Mexico, where he eventually became a Mexican citizen. He is currently a pastor for the Seventh-day Adventist Churc ...

, Oscar Salazar and Ricki Starr **

NWA Texas Tag Team Championship The WCWA Texas Tag Team Championship was the secondary professional wrestling tag team championship promoted by the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex area-basedWorld Class Wrestling Association (WCWA). The championship was originally known as the NWA ...

( 4 times) – with Torbellino Blanco (3) and Dory Dixon *

NWA Tri-State 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 ...

NWA United States Tag Team Championship (Tri-State version) The NWA Tri-State Tag Team Championship was a tag team title created in 1962, and contested in the National Wrestling Alliance's Tri-State territory, which was promoted by Leroy McGuirk (Arkansas and Oklahoma) and Jack Curtis and Aurelian "Gri ...

( 1 time) – Dr. X *

NWA 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 Heavyweight Championship The NWA Western States Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling title in the National Wrestling Alliance's Amarillo, Texas territory, Western States Sports. The title was in use from 1969, when it replaced Amarillo's version of the ...

( 6 times) **

NWA Brass Knuckles Championship (Amarillo version) The Amarillo version of the NWA Brass Knuckles Championship was a secondary championship that was defended in Dory Funk, Sr.'s Western States Sports promotion based in Amarillo, Texas. Originally created in August 1964, the title was used briefly b ...

( 3 times) **NWA International Heavyweight Championship (Amarillo version) (2 times) **NWA Rocky Mountain Heavyweight Championship (2 times) **

( 1 time) – with Karl Von Steiger *

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nation ...

NWA Austra-Asian Heavyweight Championship The NWA Austra-Asian Heavyweight Championship was the top singles professional wrestling Championship (professional wrestling), title in the Professional wrestling in Australia, Australian World Championship Wrestling (Australia), World Champions ...

( 1 time) ** World Brass Knuckles Championship ( 1 time)

References

External links

Slam Sports: Singing a song of Ciclon NegroCiclón Negro at Cagematch.netCyclone Negro at Wrestlingdata.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Negro, Ciclón 1932 births 2013 deaths Venezuelan male professional wrestlers Masked wrestlers Venezuelan male boxers People from Yaracuy Stampede Wrestling alumni 20th-century professional wrestlers All Asia Tag Team Champions NWA Florida Heavyweight Champions NWA Florida Tag Team Champions NWA Brass Knuckles Champions (Florida version) NWA Americas Heavyweight Champions NWA Austra-Asian Heavyweight Champions IWA World Tag Team Champions (Australia) World Brass Knuckles Champions NWA International Tag Team Champions