The Headhunters were a

professional wrestling 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 ...

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 ...

that consists of American

twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops ( gestates) inside a woman's uterus (womb). A multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with t ...

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 projectin ...

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

History

Early career

The Santiago brothers trained under

Johnny Rodz John Rodriguez (born May 16, 1941) is an American former professional wrestler. He has previously worked as a professional wrestler under the ring name Johnny Rodz. Professional wrestling career World Wide Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling ...

and both debuted in 1987. There were among the Puerto Rican wrestlers brought to Canada during the talent exchange between

Lutte Internationale Lutte Internationale (; "International Wrestling") was a professional wrestling promotion based in Montreal from 1980 until 1987. The promotion was founded by Frank Valois, André the Giant and Gino Brito as Promotions Varoussac (VAlois, ROUSSim ...

and 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 ...

. On June 23, 1987, The Headhunters defeated Len Shelley and Louis Laurence at the Verdun Auditorium in Montreal.

W*ING (1991–1994)

In 1991 The Headhunters travelled to Japan and began wrestling for

W*ING 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" Ibara ...

. 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 in

Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous ci ...

. 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 The Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) was a Mexican ''Lucha Libre'' or professional wrestling promotion based in Naucalpan, Mexico State that operated from 1975 until 1995. The name of the actual promotion was Lucha Libre Internacional (LLI) ...

. They feuded with the Los Villanos.

NWA Eastern Championship Wrestling (1993)

The Headhunters debuted in

Eastern Championship Wrestling HHG Corporation, doing business as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and media company that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as National Wres ...

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 Oreal Donald Perras (August 25, 1942 – February 18, 2017) was a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by the ring name "The Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff. He was the third wrestler to hold the WWWF Championship. Early life Perras was bo ...

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 Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of ...

they defeated El Texano and Silver King to win the

CMLL World Tag Team Championship The CMLL World Tag Team Championship (''CMLL Campeonato Mundial de Parejas'' in Spanish) is a professional wrestling World Tag Team Championship promoted by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL; Spanish for "World Wrestling Council") in Mexico ...

. They held the titles until November 3, 1995, when they were defeated by

Atlantis Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works ''Timaeus'' and ''Critias'', wherein it represents the antagonist naval power that bes ...

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 The International Wrestling Association of Japan, more commonly known as IWA Japan, was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion operating from 1994 to 2004 and again from 2010 to 2014. It was formed by Víctor Quiñones as a successor to the ...

soon after its inception, and became the first IWA World Tag Team Champions by defeating

Dick Slater Richard Van Slater (May 19, 1951 – October 18, 2018) better known by his ring name "Dirty" Dick Slater, was an American professional wrestler who wrestled in the 1970s, 1980s, and mid-1990s for various promotions including Mid-Atlantic Champi ...

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 is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of ...

. They lost the titles to El Texano and Silver King on March 3, 1995, in Hiroshima, but regained them on August 20, 1995, in

Kawasaki, Kanagawa is a 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 eighth most populated city in Japan (including ...

. Their second reign ended when they lost to

Cactus Jack Cactus Jack may refer to: People with the nickname * Mick Foley (born 1965), American actor, writer, professional wrestler, and color commentator * John Nance Garner (1868–1967), American politician * Jack Wells (sportscaster) (1911–1999), Ca ...

and

Tracy Smothers Tracy Stanton Smothers (September 2, 1962 – October 28, 2020) was an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling, Smoky Mountain Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation, and Extreme Champ ...

on September 29, 1995, in Yokohama. The brothers also wrestled for

Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded on July 28, 1989, by Atsushi Onita as (FMW). The promotion specializes in hardcore wrestling involving weapons such as barbed wire and fire. They held thei ...

, 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 Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

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 is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

. 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 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 va ...

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 The Royal Rumble match is a professional wrestling match based on the classic Battle Royal match in which a number of wrestlers (traditionally 30) aim at eliminating their competitors by tossing them over the top rope, with both feet touching the ...

, but were both eliminated, with

Yokozuna , or , is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers (''rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments. This is the on ...

eliminating Teamer #2 after 24 seconds and Vader eliminating Teamer #1 after 71 seconds. The night after Royal Rumble they lost to

Avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appeara ...

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'', a tag team managed by

Jim Cornette James Mark "Jim" Cornette (born September 17, 1961) is an American author and podcaster who has previously worked in the professional wrestling industry as an agent, booker, color commentator, manager, promoter, trainer, and occasional prof ...

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 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 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

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 Antonio Peña Promotions, S.A. de C.V. d/b/a Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide is a Mexican Lucha Libre (professional wrestling) promotion based in Mexico City, Mexico. Commonly referred to as simply AAA (pronounced "triple A"; an abbreviation of its ...

. 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 Perros del Mal Producciones ( Spanish for "Evil Dogs Productions"), often referred to as just 'Perros del Mal', was a Mexican professional wrestling promotion founded in October 2007 by Perro Aguayo, Jr. when he left Consejo Mundial de Lucha Lib ...

'' show promoted by Perro Aguayo Jr.

Independent circuit

On July 15, 2006 they wrestled for

Juggalo Championship Wrestling Juggalo Championship Wrestling (formerly Juggalo Championshit Wrestling) is an American independent professional wrestling promotion founded in 1999 by Violent J (Joseph Bruce) and Shaggy 2 Dope (Joseph Utsler), better known as the hip-hop duo In ...

losing to Kevin Sullivan and Rude Boy. They participated in

Game Changer Wrestling Game Changer Wrestling (GCW), formerly known as Jersey Championship Wrestling (JCW), is an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in New Jersey. The promotion was originally founded by Ricky Otazu in 1999, it was rebranded u ...

'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 Thomas James Laughlin (born February 13, 1971), is an American professional wrestler and promoter better known by the ring name Tommy Dreamer. He is signed to Impact Wrestling and is the owner and promoter of the House of Hardcore (HOH) pro ...

. 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 t ...

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 Utsl ...

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

Championships and accomplishments

( 1 time) ** International Gran Prix (

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

) (Headhunter A) *

** 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. Outsid ...

) – with

(1) and Hisakatsu Oya (1) *

** 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 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, Stat ...

** IWRG Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) (Headhunter A) ** IWRG Intercontinental Trios Championship ( 1 time) – Headhunter A with

Damián 666 Leonardo Carrera Gómez (born July 9, 1961) is a Mexican professional wrestler best known under the name Damián 666. He has worked for World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW), Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre ( ...

and

X-Fly Juan Francisco Domínguez (born September 8, 1977) is a Mexican '' luchador'' or professional wrestler, currently performing under the ring name X-Fly. He is also known as the original Mosco de la Merced ("Mosquito of the Mercy"), a name which has ...

* Wrestling International New Generations **

W*ING World Tag Team Championship The W*ING World Tag Team Championship was a tag team championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be refe ...

(

) *

** 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