Al Perez (born July 23, 1957) is an American retired professional wrestler. He held 16 titles during a 20-year career, including the WCWA World Heavyweight Championship.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1982–1985)

Perez began wrestling as an amateur in high school and was one of the top athletes in his home state of Florida. He started professional wrestling in 1982. He wrestled in Southwest Championship Wrestling in Texas and formed a team in ICW with Joe Savoldi known as the "New York Rockers". He then worked for the

World Wrestling Council The World Wrestling Council (WWC; Spanish: "Consejo Mundial de Lucha") is a professional wrestling promotion based in Puerto Rico. It was originally established as Capitol Sports Promotions in 1973 by Carlos Colón, Victor Jovica, and Goril ...

in Puerto Rico where he teamed a lot with Joe Savoldi and later feuded with Invader l.

Mid-South Wrestling (1985–1986)

On August 31, 1985, while wrestling for

Bill Watts William F. Watts Jr. (born May 5, 1939), better known under the ring name Bill Watts, is a retired American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, promoter and former American football player. Watts garnered fame under his "Cowboy" Glos ...

Mid-South Wrestling The Universal Wrestling Federation was a 1986 re-branding of wrestler-turned-owner Bill Watts' Mid-South Wrestling promotion. Watts' goal was to elevate his promotion from a relatively smaller, regional-level business, to a national-level riv ...

, Perez teamed with "Wildcat" Wendell Cooley, and defeated the team of "Dr. Death" Steve Williams and Bruiser Bob Sweetan for the Mid-South Tag Team Championship. Sweetan was substituting for

Ted DiBiase Theodore Marvin DiBiase Sr. (; born January 18, 1954) is an American retired professional wrestler, manager, and color commentator. He is signed to WWE as of 2024, where he works in their Legends program. DiBiase achieved championship succ ...

while DiBiase was touring Asia.

World Class Championship Wrestling (1987–1988)

Perez went on to make a name for himself as "The Latin Heartthrob" in

World Class Championship Wrestling World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), later known as the World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA), was an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed McLemore, by ...

in 1987, where he was the top heel for several months. He was managed by Gary Hart and feuded with Kevin Von Erich,

Kerry Von Erich Kerry Gene Adkisson (February 3, 1960 – February 18, 1993), better known by his ring name Kerry Von Erich, was an American professional wrestler. He was part of the Von Erich family of professional wrestlers. He is best known for his time with ...

and Dingo Warrior. Perez won the World Class Texas Championship after supposedly defeating previous champion Warrior in a phantom match in Puerto Rico on 21 June 1987. He later defeated Kevin Von Erich for the WCWA World Heavyweight Championship by forfeit. On 25 December 1987 he successfully defended the title in a steel cage match against Kerry Von Erich, recently returned from a 1986 motorcycle accident. Hart and Von Erich's father

Fritz Fritz is a common German language, German male name. The name originated as a German diminutive of Friedrich (given name), Friedrich or Frederick (given name), Frederick (''Der Alte Fritz'', and ''Stary Fryc'' were common nicknames for King Fred ...

were supposed to be handcuffed together but after Fritz was attacked by several heels and afterwards (kayfabe) collapsed with a suspected heart attack, Hart alone was handdcuffed to the ropes. A distraught (kayfabe) Von Erich nonetheless went ahead with the title challenge. Perez managed to smash Von Erich's head into the handcuffs to score the pinfall win. Von Erich later defeated Perez for the title. Perez and Hart left for Jim Crockett Promotions.

Jim Crockett Promotions (1988–1989)

In 1988, Perez moved to the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and governing body owned by Billy Corgan and operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA be ...

Jim Crockett Promotions Jim Crockett Promotions, at times branded as Eastern States Championship Wrestling and Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, is a Family business, family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United Sta ...

with Hart and teamed with Larry Zbyszko feuding with

Nikita Koloff Nikita Koloff (born Nelson Scott Simpson, March 9, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with Jim Crockett Promotions and its successor, World Championship Wrestling between 1984 and 1992, wher ...

and

Dusty Rhodes Virgil Riley Runnels Jr. (October 11, 1945 – June 11, 2015), better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, booker, and trainer who worked for the National Wrestling Alliance ...

Professional Wrestling Federation (1989)

In 1989 he wrestled for Dusty Rhodes' Professional Wrestling Federation based in Florida. He won the PWF Florida Heavyweight Title, defeating Mike Graham for the title. He later lost the title to

Dustin Rhodes Dustin Patrick Runnels (born April 11, 1969) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Dustin Rhodes, with a nickname of "The Natural" and is a member of The Sons of ...

World Wrestling Federation (1989–1990)

Al Perez signed with the World Wrestling Federation and made his debut on October 2, 1989, with a win over George South in a dark match at a '' Superstars'' taping in Wheeling, West Virginia. Perez was undefeated the first month, wrestling primarily on C shows against

Barry Horowitz Barry Horowitz (born March 24, 1959) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, best known for his time in the WWE, World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Early life Horowitz attended Florida State University, where he studied spo ...

and The Brooklyn Brawler. His first loss would come against Boris Zukhov on November 13, 1989, in Roanoke, Virginia. Perez would then continue to wrestle primarily on the undercard, although in one '' Prime Time Wrestling'' show host

Gorilla Monsoon Robert James "Gino" Marella (June 4, 1937 – October 6, 1999), better known by his ring name of Gorilla Monsoon, was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, Sports commentator, play-by-play commentator, and Glossary of profess ...

made mention of a possible tag-team pairing of Perez and Santana. Perez was primarily seen on house shows and ''Prime Time Wrestling''. Despite sustaining losses to the likes of

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

and

Tito Santana Merced Solis (born May 10, 1953), better known by the ring name Tito Santana, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, Professional wrestling school, trainer, and retired school teacher. Solis has stayed a Face (profession ...

, Perez had many wins over wrestlers such as

Paul Roma Paul Centopani (born April 29, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler and boxer, better known by his ring name Paul Roma. He is best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling between 1984 ...

, Jim Powers, The Red Rooster, Koko B. Ware, "Bullet" Bob Bradley, Paul Diamond/Kato,

Jim Brunzell James Brunzell (born August 13, 1949), best known under the ring name "Jumping" Jim Brunzell, is an American retired professional wrestler known for his successful tag teams, Brunzell performed for various wrestling promotions during his 21-year ...

, and others. His last WWF match was a win over Jim Powers on July 23, 1990, in West Palm Beach, Florida.

World Championship Wrestling (1990)

On September 5, 1990, Perez competed as The Black Scorpion, wrestling Sting in a losing effort at ''Clash of Champions XII''. According to Ric Flair, Perez was always meant to be The Black Scorpion, but quit after finding out he was going to lose. Perez disputes this claiming he was booked to be the Black Scorpion only one time. Perez notes he lost to Sting in the match and stated he was not asked to continue long term as the character. Perez would wrestle one more match as The Scorpion at a house show in Chicago, Illinois on September 30.

Global Wrestling Federation (1991)

Perez reached the finals of a tournament to crown the first GWF North American Heavyweight Champion before losing to The Patriot at the promotion's debut show on 10 August 1991 in Dallas, Texas. However, because Perez's feet were under the ropes when he was pinned, the Patriot, as a matter of conscience (kayfabe) refused the victory and vacated the title, defeating Perez cleanly in a rematch on 23 August 1991. Perez was (kayfabe) so impressed with his opponent's integrity and sportsmanship that he changed his ways and became a babyface once again.

All Japan Wrestling (1991, 1993, 1994)

Perez traveled to All Japan Wrestling and teamed with

Dory Funk Jr Dorrance Earnest Funk (born February 3, 1941), known professionally as Dory Funk Jr., is an American professional wrestler and wrestling trainer. The son of Dory Funk (Dorrance Wilhelm Funk) and brother of Terry Funk, he was the promoter of the ...

against Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas on December 6, 1991. He would wrestle in tag-team matches for All Japan again in 1993 and 1994.

Late career (1991–2002)

During the 1990s, Perez competed in several independent promotions around the United States, including a return to Liberty All-Star Wrestling (LAW) in 2001, where he beat Jimmy Jannetty for the LAW Heavyweight title before retiring from the business in 2002.

Championships and accomplishments

Championship Wrestling from Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida professional wrestling promotion, wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it close ...

** FCW Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) ** PWF Florida Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) *Liberty All-Star Wrestling **LAW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *

** Mid-South Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with Wendell Cooley * NWA New Zealand ** NWA Australasian Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with

Mark Lewin Mark Lewin (born March 16, 1937) is an American retired professional wrestler. He worked for various promotions throughout his 35-year career, including Big Time Wrestling, Championship Wrestling from Florida, and the World Wide Wrestling Fede ...

** NWA New Zealand British Commonwealth Championship ( 2 times) *''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...

'' **PWI ranked him # 272 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003. * Southwest Championship Wrestling ** SCW Southwest Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with Manny Fernandez * Supreme Wrestling Federation **SWF Tag Team championship (1 time) - with

Paul Orndorff Paul Parlette Orndorff Jr. (October 29, 1949 – July 12, 2021), nicknamed "Mr. Wonderful", was an American professional wrestler and football player, best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Champions ...

*Texas Wrestling Federation **TWF Heavyweight Championship (2 times) * Western States Sports ** NWA Western States Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with Dennis Stamp * World Class Wrestling Association ** NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) ** WCWA World Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) *

** WWC North American Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) ** WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) ** WWC World Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with Joe Savoldi

References

External links

Al Perez
at Online World of Wrestling * {{DEFAULTSORT:Perez, Al 1957 births American male professional wrestlers Living people Professional wrestlers from Tampa, Florida 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century American professional wrestlers 21st-century male professional wrestlers 21st-century American professional wrestlers WWC Puerto Rico Champions NWA Florida Heavyweight Champions NWA Texas Heavyweight Champions WCWA World Heavyweight Champions WWC World Tag Team Champions