Steven Nicolas Romero (June 21, 1955 – September 2, 1985) was an

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 ...

better known by his

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 ...

Jay Youngblood. He wrestled in 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 ...

in a tag team with

Ricky Steamboat Richard Henry Blood Sr. (born February 28, 1953), better known by his ring name Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his work with the American Wrestling Association (AWA), Jim Crockett Promot ...

. In addition, he wrestled with

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 ...

Pacific Northwest Wrestling Pacific Northwest Wrestling (PNW) (also known as Big Time Wrestling and Portland Wrestling) is the common name used to refer to several different professional wrestling companies, both past and present, based in Portland, Oregon, United States. T ...

, NWA All-Star Wrestling and the

American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The territory was originally part o ...

Professional wrestling career

Romero started wrestling in 1975 in Amarillo under a mask and calling himself "Silver Streak". He then moved on to

, under the name of Jay Youngblood (a Native American

gimmick A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand ou ...

). During his time in the Pacific Northwest he held the tag team titles with Joe Lightfoot, they were known as "The Indians". He wrestled in the

(JCP) in a regular tag team with

. Also in JCP, he was known as "The Renegade". In 1982, Steamboat and Youngblood were feuding with Boris Zhukov, Don Kernodle, and their manager

Sgt. Slaughter Robert Rudolph Remus (born August 27, 1948), best known by his ring name Sgt. Slaughter, is a voice actor and retired American professional wrestler who is currently signed to WWE in the ambassador program. From the late 1970s to the early 198 ...

. Zhukov, then known as Private Jim Nelson, later betrayed his team in favour of Youngblood and Steamboat. The rivalry culminated in a steel cage match on March 12, 1983 in Greensboro, North Carolina that was attended by 15,000 people, where Slaughter and Kernodle lost their NWA World Tag Team Championship to Steamboat and Youngblood. In June 1982 in Maple Leaf Wrestling, Youngblood defeated The Destroyer to win the

NWA Canadian Television Championship The NWA Canadian Television Championship was a secondary singles title in Toronto-based NWA affiliate Maple Leaf Wrestling from 1982 to 1984, when the title was abandoned after the promotion left the NWA to join the World Wrestling Federation ...

. He was later defeated by Private Jim Nelson for the title. Steamboat and Youngblood also feuded with Jack and

Jerry Brisco Floyd Gerald "Jerry" Brisco (born September 19, 1946) is an American retired professional wrestler. Brisco is best known for his time in the wrestling promotion WWE, where he was a backstage producer, and, during the 1990s, an on-screen character, ...

. He went to

in September 1984 where he and Mark Youngblood captured the Florida version of the NWA United States Tag Championship. Also in 1984, Youngblood wrestled in Puerto Rico for the World Wrestling Council (WWC). In 1985 Jay also wrestled in Memphis, Mexico and for

Pro Wrestling USA Pro Wrestling USA was a professional wrestling promotion in the United States of America in the mid-1980s. It was an attempt to unify various federations, including the American Wrestling Association (AWA), Jim Crockett Promotions and other membe ...

Personal life

Romero was the son of wrestler

Ricky Romero Ricardo Romero Jr. (born November 6, 1984) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays. Prep career After spending three years at Garfield High School, Romero graduate ...

. He was the brother of wrestlers Chris and Mark Youngblood. He was married at the time of his death and left behind a daughter, Ricca. Youngblood has a son, Daniel, who served in the US Army.

Death

During a wrestling tour of the South Pacific, Youngblood was experiencing abdominal pain and went to the hospital where he was diagnosed with hemorrhagic

pancreatitis Pancreatitis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the pancreas. The pancreas is a large organ behind the stomach that produces digestive enzymes and a number of hormones. There are two main types: acute pancreatitis, and chronic pancr ...

. He started to develop abdominal

sepsis Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...

and

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

before suffering a series of heart attacks. He was in a coma for two weeks before dying on September 2, 1985, in Parkville, Victoria, Australia. He is buried at Llano Cemetery by Cox Funeral Home at Amarillo, Texas, beside his parents Ricky and Stella Marrujo Romero.

Memorials

In April 2006 at local Amarillo indy-wrestling promotion West Texas Wrestling Legends, Jay's nephew "Radical" Ricky Romero III and Mike DiBiase teamed up as "Team 3G" (Team Third Generation Wrestlers) and went on to become the first-ever WTWL Jay Youngblood Memorial Tag Team Cup Tournament winners at "The Legacy of Legends" show. On April 27 and 28, 2007 Amarillo's Professional Wrestling Federation (formerly known as West Texas Wrestling Legends) held the second annual two night 2007 Jay Youngblood Memorial Tag Team Cup Tournament event that was won by "The Ruthless One" WidowMaker and Mosh Pit Mike of "Pain Inc." after they defeated Jay's nephew "Radical" Ricky Romero III and "The Hooligan" Austin Riley in the final round of the tournament. As winners of the Jay Youngblood Memorial Cup, WidowMaker and Mosh Pit Mike were also crowned the first-ever PWF Tag Team Champions.

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, ...

** World's Strongest Tag Determination League New Wave Award (1982) – with

* Cauliflower Alley Club **Family Wrestling Award (2015) – with

, Mark Youngblood, and Chris Youngblood *

** NWA United States Tag Team Championship ''(Florida version)'' (

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 Mark Youngblood * Maple Leaf Wrestling **

( 1 time) * Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling **

NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship The NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship was a tag team title defended in the National Wrestling Alliance's NWA Mid-Atlantic territory. The championship was originally created in the summer of 1968 and was originally named the NWA Atlantic Coas ...

( 3 times) – with Porkchop Cash (1), Johnny Weaver (1) and

(1) ** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-Atlantic version)'' ( 5 times) - with Ricky Steamboat * NWA All-Star Wrestling ** NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (''Vancouver version'') ( 1 time) – with Joe Ventura ** NWA Pacific Coast Heavyweight Championship ''(Vancouver version)'' ( 1 time) (last) *

NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship The NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance and defended in its member promotion Pacific Northwest Wrestling, which promoted shows in the U.S. states of ...

( 4 times) ** NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with Joe Lightfoot **Salem City Tournament (1981) *'' Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' **Ranked No. 308 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the "

PWI Years ''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 Publishi ...

" in 2003 **Ranked No. 19 of the 100 best tag teams of the "PWI Years" with Ricky Steamboat in 2003 * Western States Sports ** NWA Western States Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with

*''

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four We ...

'' ** Tag Team of the Year (1983) with Ricky Steamboat

References