Ricky Blues

William Perry Blake III, better known by the ring name "Hard Rock" Ricky Blues, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and trainer who competed in the East Coast and Mid-Atlantic independent circuit during the 1990s and 2000s. He is regarded as a pioneering cruiserweight wrestler and dominated the Baltimore-area, especially in the Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation and Maryland Championship Wrestling, in the early to mid-1990s.

He also wrestled for Atlantic States Wrestling Association, David Leehy's Virginia Wrestling Association, Dick Caricofe's National Wrestling League, Universal Independent Wrestling, the Wrestling Independent Network, NWA New Jersey, Atlantic Wrestling Federation in Pennsylvania, Larry Sharpe's World Wrestling Association, and for Doug Flex and Brick Bronsky in International Pro Wrestling.

He was the first MEWF Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight Champion. He defeated Rich Myers in 1992 in Parkville, Maryland to win the UIW Light Heavyweight championship, and at one time held three light heavyweight/cruiser championship's for three separate promotions simultaneously. In 1995 he defeated Mark Shrader for his second reign as the MEWF Light Heavyweight Champion. He was also a 3-time MEWF Tag Team Champion with Nick Tarentino, Flexx Wheeler (1997) and The New Patriot (1999). He and Nick Tarentino, as Sonic Express, were a successful tag team during his early career and together won both the MEWF and WWA Tag Team titles in 1993.

Blues influenced a number of future high-flying cruiserweights and, as an instructor at the Brainbusters Wrestling School, helped train future Ring of Honor star Ruckus. He was an instructor for the Baltimore Monster Factory, the MCW school Bone Breakers, and Gillberg's Academy of Pro Wrestling. In 2011, he was inducted into the Maryland Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Career

Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation (1991–1999)

Trained at the Baltimore Monster Factory beginning in February 1990 by Barry Hardy, Duane Gill, Axl Rotten, Rip Sawyer and Dave Casanova, Ricky Blues made his professional debut on August 3, 1990 in promoter Jim Kettner's Delaware based East Coast Wrestling Association as part of the tag team The Chicago Hitmen with Steve Valentino. He spent his first year in various East Coast and Mid-Atlantic independent promotions. In 1991 the Universal Independent Wrestling organization earned a television program on Maryland local channel 13 WJZTV, and Blues performed as a masked wrestler called Watsumi The Rising Sun, where he displayed his aerial wrestling style combined with martial arts to become a company and fan favorite. His early feud, as Watsumi, against The Insatiable Adrian Hall was one of the defining feuds of that era. The following year, as UIW folded, he returned to the Ricky Blues character, and began wrestling for the Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation and, on October 11, 1991, appeared on its debut show in Pasadena, Maryland where he defeated Adrian Hall to become the first Light Heavyweight Champion. Though he was stripped of the title within a few months, he beat Agent Orange in Odenton on January 18, 1992, to be crowned the first MEWF Heavyweight Champion.

Later that year, Blues began teaming with Nick Tarentino as Sonic Express. On October 23, they unsuccessfully challenged Leather & Lace (Rich Carlisle and Adrian Hall) in Essex, Maryland for the then vacant MEWF Tag Team Championship, however, they won the titles a month later in Gaithersburg. They had faced Rich Carlisle and Ricki Lane who substituted for an injured Adrian Hall. After a near 4-month reign, they lost the titles to The Outrageous Ones (Ricki Lane and Quinn Nash) in Dundalk on March 6, 1993. Two months later in Larry Sharpe's World Wrestling Association, they defeated Chris Evans & Chris Candido in Williamstown, New Jersey

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