The Headhunters were a professional wrestling tag team that consists of American twin brothers Manuel and Victor Santiago (born August 11, 1968, in New York, New York, USA), best known by the respective

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 ...

s, Headhunter A and Headhunter B, although they were announced as Mofat and Mahim (spellings uncertain) during their appearances in

ECW ECW may refer to: Professional wrestling * Extreme Championship Wrestling (originally Eastern Championship Wrestling), a professional wrestling promotion that operated from 1992 to 2001 * The Alliance (professional wrestling) (originally the WCW/E ...

History

Early career

The Santiago brothers trained under Johnny Rodz and both debuted in 1987. There were among the Puerto Rican wrestlers brought to Canada during the talent exchange between Lutte Internationale and the World Wrestling Council. On June 23, 1987, The Headhunters defeated Len Shelley and Louis Laurence at the

Verdun Auditorium The Verdun Auditorium is an arena located in the borough of Verdun, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The building was constructed in 1938 and holds 4,114 seats. The largest arena in the west end of Montreal, the complex is also home to Arena Denis Sa ...

in Montreal.

W*ING (1991–1994)

In 1991 The Headhunters travelled to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and began wrestling for W*ING. In August 1992, they were awarded the newly created W*ING International New Generation World Tag Team Championship. They held the titles until November 6, 1992, when they lost to Crash the Terminator and

Mr. Pogo was a Japanese professional wrestler best known for his work under the ring name . He helped popularize hardcore wrestling in the 1990s with "death matches" in promotions such as Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling, W*ING and Big Japan Pro Wrestlin ...

in Sapporo. The brothers regained the titles on May 19, 1993, defeating Miguelito Perez and Yukihiro Kanemura in Honjo, and held them until the promotion closed in March 1994.

Universal Wrestling Association (1991–1993)

The Headhunters went to Mexico working for the Universal Wrestling Association. They feuded with the

Los Villanos LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significanc ...

NWA Eastern Championship Wrestling (1993)

The Headhunters debuted in Eastern Championship Wrestling in August 1993, taking part in a tournament for the vacant ECW Tag Team Championship. The Headhunters were eliminated from the tournament after fighting their opponents, Ivan Koloff and Vladimir Koloff, to a double disqualification. At '' UltraClash'' on September 18, 1993, The Headhunters defeated Crash the Terminator and Miguelito Perez in a baseball bat match.

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (1992–1999)

The Headhunters began wrestling for

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as ''Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre'' (''EMLL'') (''Mexi ...

in the 1990s, and on June 30, 1995 in Mexico City they defeated El Texano and Silver King to win the CMLL World Tag Team Championship. They held the titles until November 3, 1995, when they were defeated by Atlantis and

Rayo de Jalisco, Jr. Rayo de Jalisco Jr. (Spanish for "Lightning Bolt from Jalisco Jr."; born January 1, 1960) is the ring name of a Mexican Luchador Enmascarado (masked professional wrestler) whose real name has not been revealed, per Lucha Libre traditions. Rayo de ...

Return to Japan

The Headhunters returned to Japan in the mid-1990s. They joined the International Wrestling Association of Japan soon after its inception, and became the first IWA World Tag Team Champions by defeating Dick Slater and

Nobutaka Araya Nobutaka (written: 信孝, 信教, 信隆, 延孝 or 伸貴) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese volleyball player *, Japanese neuroscientist and cell biologist *, Japanese politician *, Japanese s ...

on November 17, 1994, in Yokohama. They lost the titles to El Texano and Silver King on March 3, 1995, in

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...

, but regained them on August 20, 1995, in

Kawasaki, Kanagawa is a Cities of Japan, city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, one of the main cities of Greater Tokyo Area and Keihin Industrial Area. It is the second most populated city in Kanagawa Prefecture after Yokohama, and the List of cities in Japan, eight ...

. Their second reign ended when they lost to Cactus Jack and Tracy Smothers on September 29, 1995, in Yokohama. The brothers also wrestled for Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling, and on March 30, 1996, they defeated

Super Leather Michael James Penzel (September 7, 1957 – December 22, 2021) was an American professional wrestler and United States Army paratrooper. He was best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation under the ring name Corporal Kirchn ...

and Jason the Terrible in Tokyo to win the FMW Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship. They held the titles for over a year, finally losing to Hido and Kanemura on April 25, 1997, in Osaka. The Headhunters also held the FMW World Street Fight Six Man Tag Team Championship on two occasions in 1996, teaming with

and Hisakatsu Oya respectively.

World Wrestling Federation (1996–1997)

The Headhunters debuted in the World Wrestling Federation on January 21, 1996, at the

WWF Royal Rumble The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after the Royal Rumble match, a modified battle royal ...

, renamed "The Squat Team". Identified as "Squat Teamer #1" and "Squat Teamer #2" respectively, the Headhunters took part in the Royal Rumble match, but were both eliminated, with Yokozuna eliminating Teamer #2 after 24 seconds and Vader eliminating Teamer #1 after 71 seconds. The night after Royal Rumble they lost to Avatar and Aldo Montoya in a dark match. The Headhunters briefly appeared on WWF television as "The Arabian Butchers" on the June 30, 1997, episode of ''

Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...

'', a tag team managed by Jim Cornette.

Extreme Championship Wrestling (1996)

The Headhunters returned to Eastern Championship Wrestling, since renamed Extreme Championship Wrestling, in January 1996. On February 17, 1996, at ECW CyberSlam 1996, losing to The Bruise Brothers. In March 1996 at Big Ass Extreme Bash, losing to the Dudleys (

Buh Buh Ray Dudley Mark LoMonaco (born July 14, 1971) is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and Impact Wrestling under the ring name Bully Ray. He was previously known as one-half of The Dudley Boyz tag tea ...

and Dances with Dudley) in a tag team bout and losing to The Gangstas and the team of

2 Cold Scorpio Charles Bernard Scaggs (born October 25, 1965) is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name 2 Cold Scorpio (sometimes spelled Too Cold Scorpio). He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling, Extrem ...

and

The Sandman The Sandman is a mythical character in European folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes. Representation in traditional folklore The Sandman is a traditional charact ...

in a three-way tag team match. They made their final appearance with the promotion in April 1996 at Massacre on Queens Boulevard, again losing to The Gangstas and 2 Cold Scorpio and The Sandman in a three-way tag team match.

Mexican independent circuit

In the 2000s, The Headhunters began wrestling on the

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

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 ...

. In November 2006, The Headhunters began working dates for Asistencia Asesoría y Administración. Headhunter A would become a regular in the spring, officially joining heel stable Legión Extranjera. He quit the promotion in September 2008, choosing to return to the independent circuit. Both Headhunters have since worked regularly for

IWRG International Wrestling Revolution Group (Grupo Internacional Revolución in Spanish; the Spanish name is used for the promotion while the English initials are used for the title governing body) is a Lucha Libre promotion based in Naucalpan, Sta ...

and

NWA Mexico 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 subgen ...

. In December 2008, the two wrestled on the debut '' Perros del Mal Producciones'' show promoted by

Perro Aguayo Jr. Pedro Aguayo Ramírez (July 23, 1979 – March 21, 2015) was a Mexican ''luchador'' or professional wrestler and promoter who achieved fame in lucha libre as Perro Aguayo Jr. or El Hijo del Perro Aguayo ("The Son of Perro Aguayo"). He was the rea ...

Independent circuit

On July 15, 2006 they wrestled for Juggalo Championship Wrestling losing to Kevin Sullivan and Rude Boy. They participated in Game Changer Wrestling's Jersey J-Cup Tag Team Tournament defeating in the first round

Danny Demanto Danny is a masculine given name. It is related to the male name Daniel. It may refer to: People *Danny Altmann, British immunologist * Danny Antonucci, Canadian animator, director, producer, and writer * Danny Baker (born 1957), English journal ...

and Tommy Dreamer. Later that night they got eliminated from the tournament in the semi final to The Beast Squad, Kyle the Beast and

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 the ...

In popular culture

*The Headhunters were featured in the

Insane Clown Posse Insane Clown Posse, often abbreviated as ICP, is an American hip hop duo. Formed in Detroit in 1989 as a gangsta rap group, ICP's best known lineup consists of rappers Violent J (Joseph Bruce) and Shaggy 2 Dope (originally 2 Dope; Joseph Utsler ...

's wrestling DVDs ''Strangle Mania'' (1995) and ''Strangle Mania 2'' (1999) under the name "The Mushroom Boys".

Championships and accomplishments

** CMLL World Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) ** International Gran Prix (

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

) (Headhunter A) * Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling ** FMW Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) ** FMW/WEW 6-Man Tag Team Championship / FMW World Street Fight Six Man Tag Team 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 ...

) – with

(1) and Hisakatsu Oya (1) * International Wrestling Association of Japan ** IWA World Tag Team Championship (''IWA Japan version'') (

) * International Wrestling Association ** IWA World Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with Andy Anderson (Headhunter B) * International Wrestling Revolution Group ** IWRG Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) (Headhunter A) ** IWRG Intercontinental Trios Championship ( 1 time) – Headhunter A with Damián 666 and X-Fly *

Wrestling International New Generations Wrestling International New Generations (W*ING) was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion specialized in deathmatches. History After leaving Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling in the summer of 1991, Kazuyoshi Osako and Kiyoshi "Mickey" Ibarag ...

W*ING World Tag Team Championship The W*ING World Tag Team Championship was a tag team championship contested in both Wrestling International New Generations Wrestling International New Generations (W*ING) was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion specialized in death ...

(

) * World Wrestling Council ** NWA North American Tag Team Championship ( 1 time)

References

External links

Headhunter A at Accelerator3359.comSolie's title histories
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Headhunters, The 1968 births Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide teams and stables Extreme Championship Wrestling teams and stables Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling teams and stables Japanese promotions teams and stables Living people Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre teams and stables American twins Twin sportspeople WWE teams and stables CMLL World Tag Team Champions Professional wrestlers from New York City FMW Brass Knuckles Tag Team Champions FMW World Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team Champions