Johnny Rodz
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John Rodriguez (born May 16, 1941) is an American former
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 ...
. He has previously worked as a professional wrestler under the
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 ...
Johnny Rodz.


Professional wrestling career


World Wide Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Federation (1965–1985)

He was part of the
World Wide Wrestling Federation 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 ...
(WWWF) from its early years, appearing on WWWF cards as far back as 1965. He wrestled
Bob Backlund Robert Louis Backlund (born August 14, 1949) is an American retired amateur and professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in the World Wide Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Federation from 1976 to 1984 and in the 1990s, wher ...
in
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 ...
while working for the WWWF at the time. Dubbed the "Fire Brand From the Bronx" and the "Unpredictable", he was a proficient worker and a solid heel. Johnny would often tag with Jose Estrada, and Frank "the Gypsy" Rodriguez. For much of the next two decades through mid-1985, Rodz was a mainstay of the federation, though largely used as
enhancement talent In professional wrestling slang, a job is a losing performance in a wrestling match. It is derived from the euphemism "doing one's job", which was employed to protect information related to kayfabe from being revealed. The term can be used a numbe ...
, for which he was praised by some of his peers. On August 9, 1980, at the
Showdown at Shea Showdown at Shea was the name given to three professional wrestling events presented by the WWE, World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), and then World Wrestling Federation (WWF), at Flushing, New York's Shea Stadium. The events were held in 1972, 1 ...
, he was defeated by "Polish Power"
Ivan Putski Józef Bednarski (born January 21, 1941) is a Polish former professional wrestler and bodybuilder, best known by the ring name Ivan Putski. He was given the nicknames "The Polish Hammer" and "Polish Power". Putski is a former WWF World Tag Team ...
. His last WWF match was a loss to
Gama Singh Gadowar Singh Sahota (Punjabi: ਗਦੋਵਰ ਸਿੰਘ ਸਹੋਤਾ); born December 8, 1954) is an Indo-Canadian semi-retired professional wrestler known as Gama Singh (Punjabi: ਗਾਮਾ ਸਿੰਘ) and Great Gama Sahota was a villa ...
on June 19, 1985.


NWA Hollywood (1970s)

For a time, he also worked with Mike and
Gene LeBell Ivan “Judo” Gene LeBell (October 9, 1932 – August 9, 2022) was an American martial artist, stunt performer, actor, and professional wrestler. Nicknamed "The Godfather of Grappling", he popularized grappling in professional fighting circ ...
's NWA Hollywood Wrestling in the 1970s. He won a greater share of matches wrestling as "Arabian Wildman" Java Ruuk and even won the promotion's
battle royal Battle royal (; also royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants that is fought until only one fighter remains standing, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules. In recent times, the term has been used in a ...
in 1976.


Post-retirement

In 1996, Rodz was inducted into the
WWF Hall of Fame The WWE Hall of Fame is a hall of fame which honors professional wrestlers and professional wrestling personalities maintained by WWE. Originally known as the "WWF Hall of Fame", it was created in 1993 when André the Giant was posthumously in ...
class of 1996 by Arnold Skaaland. On the March 1, 2007 episode of
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment. Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promot ...
's ''
Impact Impact may refer to: * Impact (mechanics), a high force or shock (mechanics) over a short time period * Impact, Texas, a town in Taylor County, Texas, US Science and technology * Impact crater, a meteor crater caused by an impact event * Impac ...
'' showed
the Latin American Xchange The Latin American Xchange (LAX) is a professional wrestling stable that has wrestled in various incarnations primarily for Total Nonstop Action / Impact Wrestling and currently in Major League Wrestling (MLW). The group achieved initial succe ...
(LAX) attacking Rodz as part of their feud with
Team 3D The Dudley Boyz (also known as Team 3D) are an American professional wrestling tag team that consisted of kayfabe half-brothers Bubba Ray Dudley (Mark LoMonaco) and D-Von Dudley (Devon Hughes). The team was also joined by various Dudley family me ...
. Ten days later at
Destination X Destination X is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event held by Impact Wrestling currently in the month of August. The event primarily revolves around the X-Division, the 2005, 2006, 2009, and 2010 events had Ultimate X matches. It w ...
, he accompanied Team 3D to the ring for their Ghettobrawl match with LAX at the pay-per-view.


Training

Johnny Rodz has been training students for over 30 years, out of
Gleason's Gym Gleason's is a boxing gym located on the Brooklyn waterfront. The gym was founded by Peter Gagliardi, a former bantamweight, who changed his name to Bobby Gleason. It moved to Manhattan and then to Brooklyn. Gleason's is now owned by Bruce Silve ...
in
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
. Rodz has trained many students that have gone on to have successful careers in and out of the ring for various wrestling promotions, serve as high-level executives at television networks, and some even went on to become high level government officials at agencies such as FDA and FDIC. Wrestlers trained by Rodz include:
Tazz Peter Senerchia (born October 11, 1967), better known by the ring name Taz (also spelled Tazz) is an American radio personality, color commentator, and retired professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a commentator and manage ...
,
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) promo ...
,
D-von Dudley Devon Hughes (born August 1, 1972) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he works backstage as a producer. Hughes wrestled for Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) from 1995 to 1999 and for the WWF/E f ...
,
Damien Demento Phillip Theis (born June 25, 1958) is an American former professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) between 1992 and 1993 under the ring name Damien Demento. As Damien Demento, Theis wrestl ...
,
Marti Belle Martibel Payano (born August 7, 1988) is an Dominican-American professional wrestler who is currently signed with National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and is a former NWA World Women's Tag Team Champion. She is best known for working for Total Nons ...
,
Wendy Choo Karen Yu (born January 18, 1992) is an American professional wrestler. She is currently signed to the promotion WWE, where she performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Wendy Choo. She is also known for her appearances with Ring of Honor and ...
,
Big Vito Vito Joseph LoGrasso (born June 18, 1964) is an American actor and professional wrestler, best known for his work in World Championship Wrestling as Big Vito and more recently World Wrestling Entertainment and working for their " developmental te ...
,
Masha Slamovich Ann Khozine (russian: Анна Хозина, ''Anna Khozina''; born 18 June 1998), known by her ring name Masha Slamovich, is a Russian-American professional wrestler currently signed to Impact Wrestling. Early life Ann Khozine was born in M ...
, William Morrissey,
Vince Russo Vincent James Russo (born January 24, 1961) is an American professional wrestling booker, writer, and pundit. He is notable for his tenures with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Total Nonstop ...
, PJ Savage, Cowboy Bad Billy Walker, The Honchos and many more. A few of Rodz' students have gone on to train other future superstars at their own wrestling academies. Rodz founded the independent wrestling promotion known a
World of Unpredictable Wrestling


Wrestlers trained

*
Vito LoGrasso Vito Joseph LoGrasso (born June 18, 1964) is an American actor and professional wrestler, best known for his work in World Championship Wrestling as Big Vito and more recently World Wrestling Entertainment and working for their " developmental te ...
*
Damien Demento Phillip Theis (born June 25, 1958) is an American former professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) between 1992 and 1993 under the ring name Damien Demento. As Damien Demento, Theis wrestl ...
*
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) promo ...
*
Big Dick Dudley Alexander Rizzo (January 12, 1968 – May 16, 2002) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Big Dick Dudley. Rizzo was best known for his appearances with the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based professional wrestling pr ...
*
Bubba Ray Dudley Mark LoMonaco (born July 14, 1971) is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and Impact Wrestling under the ring name Bully Ray. He was previously known as one-half of The Dudley Boyz tag t ...
*
D-Von Dudley Devon Hughes (born August 1, 1972) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he works backstage as a producer. Hughes wrestled for Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) from 1995 to 1999 and for the WWF/E f ...
*
Bill DeMott William Charles DeMott II (born November 10, 1966) is an American retired professional wrestler and road agent and trainer. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as Hugh Morrus and World Wrestling Federatio ...
* Elektra * Jason Knight *
The Batiri The Batiri is a professional wrestling Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Stable, alliance in the Chikara (professional wrestling), Chikara Professional wrestling promotion, promotion. The team includes Kodama and Obariyon, who work under Bo ...
*
Vince Russo Vincent James Russo (born January 24, 1961) is an American professional wrestling booker, writer, and pundit. He is notable for his tenures with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Total Nonstop ...
*
Matt Striker Matthew Kaye (born June 26, 1974) is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling commentator, actor and former high school teacher, using the ring name Matt Striker. During his career he has worked for WWE, Impact Wrestling, Luch ...
*
Prince Nana Nana Osei Bandoh is an American professional wrestler and manager of Ghanaian extraction, better known by his ring name, Prince Nana. He has stated that he is an Ashanti prince. Early life Although Nana was born in the United States, he clai ...
*
W. Morrissey William Morrissey (born August 16, 1986) is an American professional wrestler. He currently performs in All Elite Wrestling, where he is a member of The Firm, under the ring name Big Bill. He is also known for his tenures with WWE (where he per ...
* Angel Medina *
Tazz Peter Senerchia (born October 11, 1967), better known by the ring name Taz (also spelled Tazz) is an American radio personality, color commentator, and retired professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a commentator and manage ...
*
Ricky Vega Ephraim Vega (born December 2, 1976) is a Puerto Rican American professional wrestler and is best known for his work in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, under the ring name Machete, and Internationally under the name Ricky Vega. Vega was a standout ...
*
S. D. Jones Conrad Efraim (March 30, 1945 – October 26, 2008) was an Antiguan professional wrestler best known by his ring name, Special Delivery Jones or S. D. Jones (sometimes referred to as S. D. "Special Delivery" Jones) from his time (1974–1990) in ...
*
Marti Belle Martibel Payano (born August 7, 1988) is an Dominican-American professional wrestler who is currently signed with National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and is a former NWA World Women's Tag Team Champion. She is best known for working for Total Nons ...
* Kevin Matthews


Championships and accomplishments

*
Cauliflower Alley Club The Cauliflower Alley Club is a non-profit fraternal organization, which includes a newsletter and website, comprising both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America. Established in 1965 by Mike Mazurki and Art Abram ...
**Other honoree (
1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
) *
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, ROUSSimof ...
**
Canadian International Heavyweight Championship The Canadian International Heavyweight Championship was the top singles title in the Montreal-based wrestling promotion Lutte Internationale Lutte Internationale (; "International Wrestling") was a professional wrestling promotion based in Mon ...
( 1 time) *Northeast Championship Wrestling **NCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time, last) *Northeast Championship Wrestling (Tom Janette) **NCW Heavyweight Championship (2 times) *
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 ...
**
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 ...
(
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 Super Medico I **
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 ...
(
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 Super Médico I **
WWC Caribbean Heavyweight Championship The WWC Caribbean Heavyweight Championship is a secondary title contested for in the Puerto Rican professional wrestling promotion, the World Wrestling Council (WWC). The title has been in use since 1975. Prior to being defended in the WWC, it wa ...
( 1 time) **
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 ...
( 3 times) - with Super Médico I *
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 vario ...
**
WWF Hall of Fame The WWE Hall of Fame is a hall of fame which honors professional wrestlers and professional wrestling personalities maintained by WWE. Originally known as the "WWF Hall of Fame", it was created in 1993 when André the Giant was posthumously in ...
( Class of 1996)


References


External links


WWE Hall of Fame Profile of Johnny RodzWorld of Unpredictable Wrestling
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodz, Johnny 1938 births American male professional wrestlers 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people African-American male professional wrestlers Living people Professional wrestlers from New York (state) Professional wrestling promoters Professional wrestling trainers WWE Hall of Fame inductees 20th-century professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from New York City