Ángel Acevedo (born January 27, 1945) is a Puerto Rican retired

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 ...

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 ...

The Cuban Assassin and for his appearances with

Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling Grand Prix Wrestling (GPW) is a professional wrestling promotion run and owned by Emile Duprée. Grand Prix Wrestling has recently finished the 2013 Rising Sun In The Maritimes Tour. Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling tours parts of New Brunswick, P ...

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 ...

and

Stampede Wrestling Stampede Wrestling was a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta. For nearly 50 years, it was one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies. Originally established by Stu Hart in 1948, the prom ...

. Ángel Acevedo is a permanent resident of Canada and resides in

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. Acevedo's son, Richie Acevedo, was also a wrestler for many years but retired in 2009. Acevedo allowed

Fidel Sierra David Canal (born July 27, 1960) is a Cuban professional wrestler better known by his ring name "The Cuban Assassin (El Sanguinario Cubano)" Fidel Sierra. He is notable for being a longtime veteran of the Puerto Rico-based World Wrestling Counci ...

to use the Cuban Assassin name as well, as long as he did not use it in Japan, which has led to some mistakenly crediting Acevedo and Sierra with championships they did not win.

Early life

Ángel Acevedo was born on January 27, 1945, in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

, son of a Puerto Rican mother and a Cuban father. They family moved to Cuba when Acevedo was seven months old. In school Acevedo competed in

Amateur wrestling Amateur wrestling is a variant of wrestling practiced in collegiate, school, or other amateur level competitions. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games: freestyle and Greco-Roman. Both styles are under the ...

and later on took up

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

, even turning pro after graduating high school. He would later move to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and began training for a professional wrestling.

Professional wrestling career

Acevedo made his debut for

Eddie Graham Edward F. Gossett (January 15, 1930 – January 21, 1985), better known as Eddie Graham, was an American professional wrestler. He was also the promoter and booker for Championship Wrestling from Florida and President of the NWA in the 1970s. ...

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 ...

in 1973 where he created the ring persona "The Cuban Assassin", playing off his heritage as well as his resemblance to

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...

due to his beard and hair. The following year Acevedo began working in Canada, initially in and around

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, working for

Stu Hart Stewart Edward Hart (May 3, 1915 – October 16, 2003) was a Canadian amateur and professional wrestler, wrestling booker, promoter, coach, trainer, football player and sailor. He is best known for founding and handling Stampede Wrestling, a ...

. In Stampede he was given a partner, a masked man known as the "Cuban Assassin #2", with whom he won the

Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Championship The Stampede International Tag Team Championship was the main tag team title in the Canadian professional wrestling promotion Stampede Wrestling. It was created in 1958 as the NWA International Tag Team Championship (Calgary version). When promote ...

in 1976. The duo won the championship from Ed and Jerry Morrow, Jerry Morrow would later go on to become a regular partner of Acevedo. The Cuban Assassins later lost the championship to

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 Stu Hart's son Keith Hart. In 1977 Acevedo was trusted enough by Stu Hart to be the opponent of his son

Bret Hart Bret Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a Canadian-American retired professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE under a legend's contract. A member of the Hart wrestling family and a second-generation wrestler, he has an amateur wrestling backgr ...

in Bret's debut match. Later on he began splitting his time in Canada between Stampede Wrestling and

Emile Dupree Emil or Emile may refer to: Literature *''Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau * ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life *''Emil and the Detective ...

(AGPW) that he often toured with over the summers. The Cuban Assassin and a masked wrestler known as "The Carpetbagger" (

Angelo Poffo Angelo John Poffo (April 10, 1925 – March 4, 2010) was an American professional wrestler and wrestling promoter. He ran International Championship Wrestling for a number of years, holding cards in Tennessee, Kentucky and Arkansas. He was th ...

) were the first recorded AGPW North American Tag Team Champions at some point in 1978. Later that same year Cuban Assassin teamed up with

Norman Frederick Charles III Norman Frederick Charles III (25 July 1941 22 August 2019) was an English professional wrestler who was known worldwide under the name Murphy the Surfie. Initially Charles competed both in North American and international promotions as part of ...

to win the Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Championship, defeating Jerry Morrow and George Wells, the run was short lived as Keith Hard and Huber Gallant won the titles before 1978 was over. Over the years the Cuban Assassin became a bit of a tag team specialist, winning the North American Tag Team titles with Goldie Rogers in 1976, then again with Bobby Bass in 1980. Later on Dupree decided to bill Acevedo as "Angel Castro", teaming him up with a wrestler billed as Raoul Castro to win the North American Tag Team titles. In late 1982 Acevedo returned to his native Puerto Rico, working for

(WWC), teaming up with Jerry Morrow as ''Los Mercenarios'' ("The Mercenaries"). On October 3, 1983, the due won the Puerto Rican version of the

NWA North American Tag Team Championship The NWA North American Tag Team Championship is an inactive professional wrestling tag team championship that was used and defended in various territories throughout the National Wrestling Alliance., prior to its being purchased in 2017 by Billy ...

in a tournament. Less than a month later the due defeated Gino de la Serra and

Pierre Martel Jean Gagné (July 19, 1947 – October 21, 2016) was a French–Canadian professional wrestler and manager, best known under the ring name Frenchy Martin. During his World Wrestling Federation heyday in the 1980s as the manager of Canadian wrest ...

to win the

WWC World Tag Team Championship The WWC World Tag Team Championship is the tag team title contested for in the Puerto Rican professional wrestling promotion, the World Wrestling Council. History Abroad (2017) On February 11, 2017, Thunder and Lightning defended the WWC World T ...

as well, making the double champions for two months before Gran Apolo and Pierre Martel won the world tag team championship. The following month ''Los Mercenarios'' lost the North American Tag Team Championship to Mr. Tempest and El Scorpio. After their tour of Puerto Rico they returned to Canada where the Cuban Assassin teamed up with Francisco Flores to defeat Mr. Hito and

Jim Neidhart James Henry Neidhart (February 8, 1955 – August 13, 2018) was an American professional wrestler known for his appearances in the 1980s and 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation as Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, where he was a two-time WWF Tag T ...

to win the Stampede International Tag Team Championship yet again. The following month the titles were shifted onto Bruce Hart and

Davey Boy Smith David Smith (27 November 1962 – 18 May 2002) was an English professional wrestler. Born in Golborne, Lancashire, Smith is best known for his appearances in the United States with the World Wrestling Federation under the ring names Davey Bo ...

. In 1985 Acevedo and

Sweet Daddy Siki Reginald Siki (born June 16, 1940) is an American-Canadian retired professional wrestler and singer, best known as Sweet Daddy Siki. He is believed to be the first African-American to challenge for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Professi ...

defeated "Bulldog" Bob Brown and the Great Pogo to win the AGPW North American Tag Team Championship, but lost them to Hans Herman and

Killer Karl Krupp George Momberg (May 13, 1934 – August 24, 1995), better known by the ring name Killer Karl Krupp, was a Dutch-born professional wrestler famous during the 1970s and early 1980s. Early life George Momberg was born in the Netherlands and was ...

before Acevedo's summer tour with AGPW ended. In 1986 The Cuban Assassin teamed up with

Wayne Ferris Roy Wayne Farris (born January 25, 1953), better known by the ring name The Honky Tonk Man, is an American retired professional wrestler. He previously wrestled for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) ...

to form a very successful and hated tag team. The two defeated Ben Bassarab and

Chris Benoit Christopher Michael Benoit (; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He worked for various pro-wrestling promotions during his 22-year career including most notably the WWE, World Wrestlin ...

to win the Stampede Tag team titles, which they later lost to Beniot and Keith Hart. In Stampede Avecedo and Gerry Morrow teamed up to become the Cuban Commandos, defeating Badd Company (

Brian Pillman Brian William Pillman (May 22, 1962 – October 5, 1997) was an American professional wrestler and professional football player best known for his appearances in Stampede Wrestling in the 1980s and World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Extreme Ch ...

and Bruce Hart) for what was Acevedo's sixth run with the titles, followed by a seventh in 1988 that was ended by

the British Bulldogs The British Bulldogs were a professional wrestling tag team consisting of cousins Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid. They competed throughout the 1980s in Britain, North America and Japan and have consistently ranked among the top tag teams in h ...

(Davey Boy Smith and the

Dynamite Kid Thomas Billington (5 December 1958 – 5 December 2018), best known by the ring name the Dynamite Kid, was a British professional wrestler. Trained by former wrestler "Dr Death" Ted Betley, he competed in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), ...

). Acevedo and Morrow returned to Puerto Rico in 1989 where they defeated Huracán Castillo Jr. and Miguel Pérez Jr. to with the

WWC Caribbean Tag Team Championship The WWC Caribbean Tag Team Championship was a third-string tag team championship that was defended in the World Wrestling Council The World Wrestling Council (WWC) (Spanish: "Consejo Mundial de Lucha"), is a Puerto-Rican professional wrestling ...

. In early 1990 Jerry Morrow left WWC, forcing the company to give half of the championship Ron Starr instead. The due later gave up the championship, but would defeat

Chris Youngblood Christopher Romero (February 10, 1966 – July 7, 2021) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Chris Youngblood. A second generation wrestler, he was the son of Ricky Romero and the brother of Mark and Jay Youngblood ...

and

Mark Youngblood Mark Romero (born July 21, 1963) is a retired American second generation professional wrestler better known by his ring name Mark Youngblood. Professional wrestling career Mark Romero is the son of Ricky Romero. He started wrestling as Mark Young ...

to win them one more time. Later on Super Médico I and Super Médico III won the titles from ''Los Mercenarios''. The team defeated

Invader I ''InVader'' is the fourth album by Finnish glam metal band Reckless Love, released on 4 March 2016 through Spinefarm Records. Track listing All songs written by Olli Herman, Pepe Reckless, and Ikka Wirtanen, unless otherwise noted. Reception Wr ...

and Invader IV on May 24, 1990, to win the WWC Caribbean Tag Team Championship one last time, ending in July 1990 when ''Los Mercenarios'' lost to Huracán Castillo Jr. and Miguel Pérez Jr. Acevedo went into semi-retirement in 1992 but kept getting offers to wrestle in Canada until 2004 when he finally retired from wrestling. In 2013 Acevedo appeared in the Victoria Pavilion, in Calgary, Alberta for the

Hart Legacy Wrestling Hart Legacy Wrestling (HLW) is a Canadian professional wrestling promotion operated by some members of the Hart wrestling family, it was founded mainly by Teddy Hart and his associates. Smith Hart was also involved with the promotion prior to hi ...

promotion. On April 29, 2017, Acevedo appeared alongside Leo Burke as special guests at Ultimate Championship Wrestling's 10th Anniversary event at the Halifax Forum. The pair would answer questions during a fan access event, reappearing later in the night during a six-man tag match where Acevedo would replace an injured Nick Strong.

Personal life

Acevedo's first marriage produced two sons, one of which followed his father into professional wrestling as Richie Acevedo worked for many years as Cuban Assassin #2, then later Cuban Assassin Jr. for AGPW and later dropped the "Jr." to just be "Cuban Assassin". Acevedo later remarried after moving to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and has two children with his second wife.

Championships and accomplishments

**AGPW North American Tag Team Championship (8 times) – with

Carpetbagger In the history of the United States, carpetbagger is a largely historical term used by Southerners to describe opportunistic Northerners who came to the Southern states after the American Civil War, who were perceived to be exploiting the lo ...

(1), Goldie Rogers (1), Bobby Bass (1), Raul Castro (1),

(1),

(2), Gerry Morrow (1) * Canadian Wrestling Hall of Fame **Class 2012 *

( 6 times) - with Cuban Assassin #2 (1),

(1), Francisco Flores (1),

(1), Jerry Morrow (2) *

( 1 time) – with Jerry Morow **

( 3 times) – with Jerry Morrow (2), Ron Starr (1) **

(

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 Jerry Morrow (1) and Ron Starr (1)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Acevedo, Ángel 1945 births Living people Puerto Rican emigrants to Canada Puerto Rican male professional wrestlers Sportspeople from San Juan, Puerto Rico Stampede Wrestling alumni Canadian people of Cuban descent 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Champions