Daniel Lopez (born October 28, 1973), better known by his ring name Dan Maff, is an American

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 ...

, known for his time with

Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011, when the promotion was s ...

(ROH).

Professional wrestling career

Da Hit Squad

Lopez attended

Jersey All Pro Wrestling Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW) was an independent wrestling promotion based in New Jersey, United States. History 1997 Jersey All Pro Wrestling was an independent wrestling promotion that was founded by "Fat" Frank Iadeavia and Angel Surita ...

(JAPW) shows as a fan and enrolled in the JAPW training school when it opened in the late 1990s. After training for several months, Lopez began attending Homicide's training school, The Doghouse, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. When his training was completed in 1999, Lopez adopted the name "Mafia" and formed a

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

with another Doghouse graduate who he resembled,

Monsta Mack Steven Carrasquillo (born May 3, 1979) is an American professional wrestler better known as Monsta Mack. He is perhaps best known for his stint in Ring of Honor with Dan "Mafia" Maff as the tag team Da Hit Squad. Mack currently performs on t ...

. Mafia and Mack, collectively known as Da Hit Squad, began wrestling on the northeastern

independent circuit In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indie circuit is the collective noun, collective name of independent professional wrestling promotions which are smaller than major televised promotions. It is roughly analogous to a minor lea ...

. They won the JAPW Tag Team Championship in 1999 and in Jersey Championship Wrestling's Tag Team Championship in 2000. In 2001, the duo won titles in World Xtreme Wrestling and USA Pro Wrestling. At one stage they held a total of six titles between them. After Mack injured his leg, he was unable to defend his half of the JAPW Tag Team Championship in a scheduled match on January 25, 2003, against the Dirty Rotten Scoundrelz. Lopez unsuccessfully defended the title in a handicap match.

Jersey All Pro Wrestling (1999–2005)

Lopez won the JAPW Heavyweight Championship on February 22, 2003, in Woodbridge, New Jersey, defeating his trainer, Homicide. Inspired by his victory, Lopez left the partnership with Mack, who he defeated in a match for USA Pro Wrestling on March 8. Following a successful title defense against Slyk Wagner Brown, Lopez announced he was renaming himself "Dan Maff" and formed a stable with the Dirty Rotten Scoundrelz known as "La Familia". Lopez's title reign came to an end on August 1, 2003, when he was defeated by

Al Snow Allen Ray Sarven (born July 18, 1963) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Al Snow. He is best known as a wrestler for Smoky Mountain Wrestling, Extreme Championship Wrestling, and World Wrestling Entertainment. ...

, a WWE employee brought into JAPW as an outside challenger. He won the title for a second time on December 13, 2003, defeating

Jerry Lawler Jerry O'Neil Lawler (born November 29, 1949), better known as Jerry "The King" Lawler, is an American color commentator and professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, although he has not performed as a full-time commentator since Ap ...

Secaucus, New Jersey Secaucus ( ) is a Town (New Jersey), town in Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the town's population was 16,264,ECW alumnus Mike Awesome. He also engaged in a lengthy feud for the JAPW Heavyweight Championship with the number one contender, Jay Lethal.

Ring of Honor (2002–2005)

Lopez (as "Mafia") and Mack appeared on ''The Era of Honor Begins'', the inaugural

(ROH) event, on February 23, 2002, attacking the Christopher Street Connection (CSC). They feuded with the CSC for several weeks before beginning a series of hardcore matches with The Carnage Crew, H.C. Loc and DeVito. In 2003, Da Hit Squad formed a loose alliance with Homicide. Lopez betrayed Mack on April 12, 2003, at ''Epic Encounter''. Later that evening, Lopez went to the ring immediately after a match between Homicide and

Christopher Daniels Daniel Christopher Covell (born March 24, 1970), better known by the ring name Christopher Daniels, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and is the Head of Talent Relations. He is best know ...

and indicated that he had joined forces with Daniels and his stable, "The Prophecy". Lopez was renamed "Dan Maff" and designated "the

assassin Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...

of The Prophecy". Lopez's singles career in ROH began on May 31 at ''Do Or Die'', where he defeated B. J. Whitmer with the assistance of

Allison Danger Cathy Allison Corino (born March 31, 1977) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler and professional wrestling manager, better known by her ring name, Allison Danger. Professional wrestling career Early career Corino's older brother Steve i ...

, the

valet A valet or varlet is a male servant who serves as personal attendant to his employer. In the Middle Ages and Ancien Régime, valet de chambre was a role for junior courtiers and specialists such as artists in a royal court, but the term "val ...

of The Prophecy. Following his victory, Lopez was confronted by two of Homicide's former students, Julius Smokes and Low Ki, who accused him of "forgetting his roots". On June 14 at ''Night of the Grudges'', The Prophecy (Lopez, Daniels and Donovan Morgan) defeated rival faction The Group, with Lopez pinning ROH World Champion

Samoa Joe Nuufolau Joel Seanoa (born March 17, 1979), is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Samoa Joe who is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Joe is currently a double champion - in his first reign both as AEW ...

. This led to a title match at ''WrestleRave '03'' on June 28, where Joe defeated Lopez to retain. Lopez and the rest of The Prophecy continued to feud with Homicide and his supporters, leading to a match between Lopez and Low-Ki at ''Bitter Friends, Stiffer Enemies'' on August 16. The match was halted when Lopez was legitimately knocked unconscious following a poorly timed, stiff kick from Low-Ki. In late 2003, Lopez competed in the annual Field of Honor event, but was eliminated by B. J. Whitmer. Whitmer joined The Prophecy on December 22 at ''Final Battle 2003'', and confessed that he had been behind a career-ending attack on Lucy, the valet of

CM Punk Phillip Jack Brooks (born October 26, 1978), better known by the ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler, sports commentator, actor, and retired mixed martial artist currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Best known ...

, earlier that year. This infuriated Lopez, who had been disgusted by the brutal attack and had sworn on his father's grave to Punk that The Prophecy had nothing to do with the attack. Lopez called Whitmer a "scumbag" but was admonished by Daniels, who claimed that the attack was part of his plan to destroy ROH. Lopez and Whitmer began teaming together in 2004 after Daniels left ROH, and, along with Allison Danger, continued their feud with CM Punk and the Second City Saints. They defeated the Saints in a match for the

ROH Tag Team Championship The ROH World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship contested for in the American professional wrestling promotion Ring of Honor. The championship is generally contested in professional wrestling matches, in ...

s on May 15, 2004, in Lexington, MA at ''Round Robin Challenge III'', but lost the title to the Briscoe Brothers that same evening. On June 12, 2004, at ''World Title Classic'', Lopez and Whitmer defeated three other teams in a 35-minute-long Ultimate Endurance Match. After the match, Lopez convinced Whitmer to discard both the Prophecy name and the managerial services of Allison Danger, claiming that they no longer needed a leader or a manager and could now win matches on their own merits. Danger was furious and placed a bounty on the heads of Lopez and Whitmer. They spent several months feuding with teams sent after them by Danger, including Slash Venom and

Chicano Chicano or Chicana is a chosen identity for many Mexican Americans in the United States. The label ''Chicano'' is sometimes used interchangeably with ''Mexican American'', although the terms have different meanings. While Mexican-American ident ...

and The Carnage Crew. On December 26 at ''Final Battle 2004'' they defeated the Carnage Crew in a " Fight Without Honor" and shook hands with their opponents after the match. Whitmer and Lopez captured the ROH Tag Team Championship for a second time at the third ROH anniversary show on February 19, 2005, in

Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a city and the county seat of Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New J ...

, defeating the

Havana Pitbulls The Havana Pitbulls was a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of Rocky Romero and Ricky Reyes, who worked for Ring of Honor as a member of The Rottweilers. They also worked for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, Empire Wrestling Federation, Ult ...

Retirement

In March 2005, Homicide issued a number of statements accusing Lopez of "betraying" him and announcing that he would not work for any company which hired Lopez in the future. As a result, Lopez retired from professional wrestling. The titles, which he held at the time, were vacated although he kept both of the physical belts themselves. JAPW openly acknowledged the situation between Lopez and Homicide.

Return to the independent circuit (2005–present)

Lopez broke his retirement on October 8, 2005, unsuccessfully challenging El Chicano for the IWA Puerto Rico Heavyweight Championship in Levittown. In February 2009, Lopez arrived at American Championship Entertainment (ACE) in Union City, New Jersey after multiple cryptic videos and comments on the ACE message board, in the ring, face to face, Lopez was challenging the current champion for the belt during the next show "Destined For Greatness". On March 21, 2009, Lopez defeated Hollywood Joe Hardway for the Heavyweight Championship. Lopez was a surprise guest at Jersey All Pro Wrestling's June 28 event in Jersey City, New Jersey. Maff made his return after the World Heavyweight Title bout between Heavyweight Champion

Kenny Omega Tyson Smith (born October 16, 1983), better known by the ring name Kenny Omega, is a Canadian-born professional wrestler. Omega is an executive vice president of All Elite Wrestling (AEW), in which he also performs. Omega is a former one-time ...

and New Jersey State Champion, The Grim Reefer. Lopez and Homicide did appear at the same show at the Elks Lodge in Queens on July 12, 2010. On June 27, 2009, Lopez defeated Jay Lethal to win the JAPW Heavyweight Title for the third time. Lopez also worked for other independent promotions. On March 19, 2010, Lopez defeated Rob Fury, El Shoes and Xavier at the ICW return show "Reborn" at the Elks Lodge in Queens, New York. he also wrestled for Pro Wrestling Syndicate (PWS). On May 13, 2011,

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority share ...

(NJPW), with help from JAPW, held their first ever shows in the United States as part of the Invasion Tour 2011. During the event, held in

Rahway, New Jersey Rahway () is a city in southern Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A bedroom community of New York City, it is centrally located in the Rahway Valley region, in the New York metropolitan area. The city is southwest of Manhattan ...

, Maff made his debut for the Japanese promotion, losing to Toru Yano via low blow in the first round of a tournament to determine the first IWGP Intercontinental Champion. At the following day's event in New York City, Maff teamed with

Jushin Thunder Liger , better known as and later , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is the longest-tenured member of the NJPW roster, having wrestled for the company since h ...

and

Tiger Mask is a Japanese manga series written by Ikki Kajiwara and illustrated by Naoki Tsuji. The series was first published in Kodansha's ''Bokura Magazine'' from 1968 to 1970 and was later published in ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from 1970 ...

in a six-man tag team match, where they defeated CHAOS (

Shinsuke Nakamura is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown WWE brand extension, brand. Nakamura is known for his time in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where ...

Gedo Gedo ( so, Gedo, Maay: ''Gethy'', ar, جيذو, it, Ghedo or ''Ghedu'') is an administrative region ('' gobol'') in Jubaland, southern Somalia. Its regional capital is Garbahaarreey. It was created in 1974 and is bordered by the Ogaden in ...

and

Jado (born September 28, 1968) is a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by the ring name . He is best known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as part of a tag team with his partner Gedo. Jado and Gedo's careers have largely par ...

). On the final day of the tour in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, Maff teamed with

Satoshi Kojima is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling, but makes appearances for Pro Wrestling Noah. Considered to be one of the greatest Japanese professional wrestlers of the 21st century and of all-time, he was the first wre ...

in a match, where they were defeated by the IWGP Tag Team Champions, Bad Intentions ( Giant Bernard and

Karl Anderson Chad Allegra (born January 20, 1980), better known by the ring name Karl Anderson, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler currently signed to WWE where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand. He ...

). On August 19, 2011, Maff became Impact Championship Wrestling's Heavyweight Champion after winning one-day tournament. He defeated Azrieal in the first round, Devon Moore in semifinal and Danny Demanto in final. On August 15, 2014, Maff made a surprise appearance for House of Glory Wrestling in Queens, New York. He was a last minute replacement for Jay Lethal and took the loss against Anthony Gangone. In June 2015, Maff became Pro Wrestling Syndicate Champion by defeating

Mario Bokara Mario Bokara (born December 2, 1980) is a Croatian-American professional wrestler. He is known for his time with Impact Wrestling. Professional wrestling career Independent circuit (2000–present) Bokara started wrestling in August 2000. Using t ...

and Fallah Bahh in a Tri Force Match. Since 2016, Maff has been a mainstay at Pat Buck's WrestlePro. On November 18, 2016, Maff became WrestlePro's first Silver Champion.

Return to Ring of Honor (2019–2020)

In November 2019, Maff made his return to Ring of Honor, facing PCO in a match. After his good performance, ROH offered him a contract, which he signed. However, in October 2020, his profile was removed from ROH website.

Championships and accomplishments

*American Championship Entertainment **ACE Heavyweight Championship (3 times) *Beyond Wrestling **Tournament For Tomorrow 4 Tag Team (2015) - with

Combat Zone Wrestling Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) is an American independent wrestling promotion. In 1998, John Zandig and five of his students, Ric Blade, T.C.K, Lobo (wrestler), Lobo, Nick Gage and Justice Pain, along with trainer Jon Dahmer, began to run professio ...

CZW World Tag Team Championship The CZW World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship owned and copyrighted by the Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) promotion; it is contested for in their tag team division. It was created and debuted on Februa ...

(1 time) - with Monsta Mack *Defiant Wrestling Alliance **DWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Impact Championship Wrestling **ICW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **ICW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with

** JAPW Heavyweight Championship (

4 times "4 Times" (stylized as "4 TIMES") is the 50th single by pop/ R&B singer Koda Kumi. It was released on August 17, 2011 and debuted at No. 6, remaining on the Oricon charts for nine consecutive weeks. In commemoration of it being the fiftieth singl ...

) ** JAPW Tag Team Championship ( 6 times) – with Monsta Mack **JAPW Hall of Fame (2016) * Jersey Championship Wrestling ** JCW Tag Team Championships (2 times) – with Low Ki (1) and Monsta Mack (1) *New Blood Wrestling **NBW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Northeast Wrestling **NEW Championship (1 time, current) *Pennsylvania Premiere Wrestling **PPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Havoc *Pro Wrestling Alliance **PWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Eddie Thomas *

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 Publi ...

**PWI ranked him #260 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the

PWI 500 ''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 Publis ...

in 2003 * Pro Wrestling Syndicate **PWS Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *

(

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. Outsid ...

) – with B. J. Whitmer *South Jersey Championship Wrestling **SJCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Dizzie *SuperKrazee Pro Wrestling **SKPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Shawn Donavan *USA Pro Wrestling **USA Pro Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Monsta Mack *Wrestling Has A Tomorrow **WHAT! Championship (1 time, inaugural) * World Xtreme Wrestling ** WXW Tag Team Championship (

) – with Monsta Mack *WrestlePro **WrestlePro Silver Championship (1 time) **WrestlePro Alaska Tag Team Championship (1 time, current)https://www.cagematch.net//?id=5&nr=5068

References

External links

Online World of Wrestling profileHomicide Speaks On The Dan Maff Situation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maff, Dan 1973 births American male professional wrestlers Living people Sportspeople from Newark, New Jersey Professional wrestlers from New Jersey 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers ROH World Tag Team Champions