Miguel José Pérez (April 7, 1937 – July 16, 2005) was a Puerto Rican

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 ...

who was best known for his tag team with

Antonino Rocca Antonino Rocca (born Antonino Biasetton; 13 April 1921 – 15 March 1977) was an Italian Argentine professional wrestler. He tag teamed with partner Miguel Pérez. He was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a member of the class ...

Career

Montreal Athletic Commission (1954–1957)

Pérez started his professional wrestling career in 1954 at the age of 17. He debuted on October 15, 1954 and wrestled for Montreal Athletic Commission in his early days. He was the MAC World Heavyweight Champion. He left the company in 1957.

Madison Square Garden (1957–1968)

In 1957, Pérez formed a tag team with popular wrestling star

. They both wrestled in the famed

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

on a regular basis. Pérez and Rocca captured the

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 ...

and were the first recognized champions in the ancestry of

Capitol Wrestling Corporation Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd. was an American sports promotion company. It was run by Vincent J. McMahon from 1953 to 1982. Operating as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC), the company was originally a professional wrestling and boxing ...

, now known as

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

. While Rocca left the company in 1963, and Pérez appeared in other areas, he was a regular on the undercard at Madison Square Garden through March 1968, when he pinned Crazy Luke Graham in less than 25 seconds in his final appearance. Some of his matches include 1964 wins over Lou Bastein, Lou Albano, and Bull Johnson; draws with Tony Marino, and then Red Bastein; with

Pedro Morales Pedro Antonio Morales (October 22, 1942 – February 12, 2019) was a Puerto Rican professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in the United States with Worldwide Wrestling Associates (WWA) and the World Wide Wrestling Federatio ...

teamed to lose to U.S. tagteam champs Dr. Jerry and Crazy Luke Graham, but came back to defeat Magnificent Maurice and

Klondike Bill William Soloweyko (December 1, 1931 – October 3, 2000), better known by his ring name Klondike Bill, was a Canadian professional wrestler. Trained by Stu Hart in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he wrestled in various National Wrestling Alliance territo ...

. Pérez won on disqualification over manager Bobby Davis, then teamed with Haystacks Calhoun to defeat Davis and Gorilla Monsoon. In February 1968, he pinned Crazy Luke Graham in 18 seconds in the new Garden.

World Wrestling Council (1974–1981)

In 1974, Pérez joined 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 on January 6, 1974 as José Miguel Pérez. He was billed as the first WWC Puerto Rico Champion and it was the first show of WWC. He lost the title to Dr. Klodied on March 8, 1975. He defeated Klodied just two weeks later to get his second Puerto Rico title. The title was held up on August 30 when Pérez had a match with Spoiler II. He won a tournament on September 20 and got his third Puerto Rico Heavyweight title. He lost the title to

Tosh Togo , better known as Harold Sakata, was an American Olympic weightlifter, professional wrestler, and film actor of Japanese descent. He won a silver medal for the United States at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London in weightlifting, and later b ...

on October 4. He would return teaming with former partner in CWC, Antonino Rocca. They both together captured the

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 ...

on September 11, 1976 by defeating Los Infernos. They lost the titles to Higo Hamaguchi and Gordon Nelson on October 16. He was still the partner of Rocca and they both wrestled as a tag team until March 15, 1977 when Rocca died. Pérez started to compete on singles. On May 7, 1977, Pérez captured his fourth and final Puerto Rico Heavyweight title by defeating Hurricane Castillo in a tournament final. Just one week later, he lost the title to Castillo on May 14 in a rematch. Pérez still wrestled for WWC. He was injured on February 27, 1979 in a match against José Rivera. He was forced to retire from professional wrestling on March 6 because he was not able to wrestle. Though four months later on July 28, at Bayamon, he teamed up with Jack Veneno to take on the team of Hiro Sasaki and

Kengo Kimura is a Japanese retired professional wrestler, best known under the ring name and for his many years working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in Japan. Professional wrestling career Japan Wrestling Association (1972–1973) Kimura made his pr ...

only for Veneno and Pérez to lose the match. After this, he retired for four years as a professional wrestler until he returned at WWC Anniversary on September 17, 1983, at the

Hiram Bithorn Stadium Hiram Bithorn Stadium (Spanish: Estadio Hiram Bithorn) is a baseball park in San Juan, Puerto Rico, built in 1962 and designed by Puerto Rican architect Pedro Miranda. It is operated by the municipal government of the city of San Juan. Its name ho ...

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the jur ...

to take on Barrabas and defeated him. The next year at WWC Anniversary on September 14, at the same venue, saw Pérez's final match against

Leo Burke Léonce Cormier (born June 29, 1948) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He was born in Dorchester, New Brunswick. He competed across Canada, in several American promotions, and wrestled internationally for both Puerto Rico's World Wr ...

and Burke defeated him. After this match, he retired as a professional wrestler for good.

Later years

Miguel Pérez, Sr. returned in 1985 for an angle, where he appeared as a photographer at ring side taking pictures and scouting opponents before Miguel Pérez Jr. debut match. Pérez Sr. showed up during a match between

Eric Embry Douglas Eric Embry (born July 10, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with Championship Wrestling from Florida, World Class Championship Wrestling, and the United States Wrestling Association. H ...

and a

jobber Jobber may refer to: Athletics * Job (professional wrestling) - A professional wrestler who routinely loses a match. * Wichita Jobbers, a minor league baseball team in the Western Association from 1905 to 1911 Commerce * A person or corporation ...

. Embry went to ring side and attacked Miguel Pérez, Sr with camera in hand and Miguel Pérez, Jr came to his father's rescue. This eventually lead to Pérez Jr debut match. Managed

Mighty Igor Richard Joseph "Dick" Garza (July 16, 1931 – January 7, 2002), better known as Mighty Igor Vodik, or simply Mighty Igor, was an American professional wrestler. He is a one time American Wrestling Association World champion. As Mighty Igor, he wa ...

in WWC. He came back in February 1992 and got involved in a feud with El Profe. In his last match, he beat El Profe in a hair vs. mask match. For the next several of years he made more appearances in WWC and the International Wrestling Association. On July 16, 2005, Pérez died of a massive

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

Championships and accomplishments

* Montreal Athletic Commission :* MAC World Heavyweight Champion (1 time) *

:* NWA World Tag Team Championship (Northeast version) (1 time) - with

:* NWA United States Tag Team Championship (Northeast version) ( 1 time) - with Antonino Rocca *

:* WWC Puerto Rico Championship ( 4 times) :*

( 3 times) - with

Carlos Colón Carlos Edwin Colón González Sr. (born July 18, 1948) is a Puerto Rican wrestling promoter and former professional wrestler, better known as Carlitos Colón or simply Carlos Colón. He is, along with Victor Jovica, an owner of the Puerto Rican ...

(2) and Antonino Rocca (1)

External links

Miguel Perez Profile at OWW
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perez, Miguel 1937 births 2005 deaths Puerto Rican male professional wrestlers People from Santurce, Puerto Rico Professional wrestling managers and valets Stampede Wrestling alumni 20th-century professional wrestlers WWC Puerto Rico Champions