The Headhunters were a

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

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 establis ...

who consists of American

twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of Twin Last Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two ...

brothers Manuel and Victor Santiago (born August 11, 1968, in New York, New York), best known by the respective

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname 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 ...

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

History

Early career (1987–1991)

The Santiago brothers trained under

Johnny Rodz John Rodriguez (born May 16, 1938) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Johnny Rodz. Professional wrestling career World Wide Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Federation (1965–1985) He was part of ...

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 professional wrestling promotion based in Puerto Rico. It was originally established as Capitol Sports Promotions in 1973 by Carlos Colón, Victor Jovica, and Goril ...

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

Verdun Auditorium Verdun Auditorium (Canadian French, French: ''Auditorium de Verdun'') is an arena located in the borough of Verdun, Quebec, Verdun, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The building opened on November 28, 1939 and holds 4,114 seats. It is the largest a ...

in Montreal.

W*ING (1991–1994)

In 1991 The Headhunters travelled to

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

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 William Charles DeMott II (born November 10, 1966) is an American retired professional wrestler, road agent, and trainer. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as Hugh Morrus and World Wrestling Federatio ...

and Mr. Pogo in

Sapporo is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in Hokkaido, Japan. Located in the southwest of Hokkaido, it lies within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, a tributary of the Ishikari River. Sapporo is the capital ...

. The brothers regained the titles on May 19, 1993, defeating

Miguelito Perez Miguelito may refer to: *Miguelito (singer) (born 1999), Puerto Rican reggaeton singer *Miguelito (footballer, born 1981), Portuguese football wingback *Miguelito (footballer, born March 1990), Portuguese football midfielder *Miguelito (footballer, ...

and

Yukihiro Kanemura , better known by his ring name , is a Zainichi Korean retired professional wrestler. He also wrestled under the ring name (stylized as W*ING Kanemura). He is best known for his death matches in Apache Army, Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW), Extre ...

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 Promociones Mora y Asociados and ...

. They feuded with the

Los Villanos José de Jesús Díaz Mendoza (June 28, 1950 – January 4, 2001), best known by his ring name Villano I (Spanish: "Villano Primero"; English: "Villain the first"), was a Mexican ''luchador'' '' enmascarado'' (or masked professional wrestler). ...

NWA Eastern Championship Wrestling (1993)

The Headhunters debuted in

Eastern Championship Wrestling Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) was an American professional wrestling promotion that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and operated by its parent company HHG Corporation. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as Nationa ...

in August 1993, taking part in a tournament for the vacant

ECW Tag Team Championship The ECW World Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). It was introduced in National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) affiliate and ECW precursor, Eastern Championship Wrestli ...

. 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, where he was billed from Russia and, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, ...

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 Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as (EMLL) (''Mexican Wrestling Enterprise''). Founded in 1933, it is the oldest profe ...

in the 1990s, and on June 30, 1995 in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

they defeated

El Texano Juan Conrado Aguilar Jáuregui (November 26, 1958 – January 15, 2006), better known by his ring name El Texano, was a Mexican '' luchador'', or professional wrestler. From the early 1970s to the early 2000s, he wrestled under masked and unma ...

and Silver King to win the

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

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

Atlantis Atlantis () is a fictional island mentioned in Plato's works '' Timaeus'' and ''Critias'' as part of an allegory on the hubris of nations. In the story, Atlantis is described as a naval empire that ruled all Western parts of the known world ...

and

Rayo de Jalisco, Jr. Rayo de Jalisco Jr. (Spanish: "Lightning Bolt from Jalisco Jr."; born January 1, 1960) is an active Mexican ''luchador'' '' enmascarado'' (or masked professional wrestler). He is currently performing as a freelancer on the Mexican independent cir ...

Return to Japan (1994–1997)

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 2014. History Early years It was formed by Víctor Quiñones as a successor to the W*ING ...

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 Champ ...

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 List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

. They lost the titles to El Texano and Silver King on March 3, 1995, in

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui has b ...

, but regained them on August 20, 1995, in

Kawasaki, Kanagawa Kawasaki, officially Kawasaki City, is a Cities of Japan, city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, one of the main cities of the Greater Tokyo Area and Keihin Industrial Area. It is the second most populated city in Kanagawa Prefecture after Yokohama ...

. Their second reign ended when they lost to Cactus Jack and

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

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

Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling-Explosion (FMW-E) 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 fir ...

, and on March 30, 1996, they defeated Super Leather and Jason the Terrible in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

to win the

FMW Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship The FMW Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship was a tag team hardcore wrestling Championship (professional wrestling), championship contested in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling. Title history Names Reigns References

{{FMW Championships ...

. They held the titles for over a year, finally losing to Hido and Kanemura on April 25, 1997, in

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

. The Headhunters also held the FMW World Street Fight Six Man Tag Team Championship on two occasions in 1996, teaming with Super Leather and

Hisakatsu Oya is a semi-retired Japanese professional wrestler. Although he started out for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, he is well known for his stint in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling. Career New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1986–1989) Kenichi Oya trained at th ...

respectively.

World Wrestling Federation (1996–1997)

The Headhunters debuted in the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

on January 21, 1996, at the WWF Royal Rumble, renamed "The Squat Team". Identified as "Squat Team #1" and "Squat Team #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 o ...

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

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

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 Cornette (born September 17, 1961) is an American author, sports historian, and podcaster who previously worked in the professional wrestling industry as an agent, booker, color commentator, manager, photographer, promoter, tra ...

. They made an appearance for ''

Shotgun Saturday Night ''WWF Shotgun Saturday Night'' is a professional wrestling television program that was produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). It aired from January 4, 1997, through August 21, 1999, as a syndicated broadcast. ''Shotgun Saturday Nigh ...

'' on November 25, 1997 in a dark match losing to Los Boricuas (

Savio Vega Savio Vega (born August 10, 1964) is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler. He is known for his work in World Wrestling Federation, World Wrestling Council and International Wrestling Association. After leaving the WWF in 1999, Rivera returned ...

and Miguel Perez Jr.).

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 Big Ass Extreme Bash was a professional wrestling doubleheader live event produced by Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) on the weekend of March 8 and March 9, 1996. The March 8 card was held in the Lost Battalion Hall in the Queens neighborhood ...

, losing to the Dudleys ( Buh Buh Ray Dudley and

Dances with Dudley Adolfo Bermudez is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling in 1995 to 1996 as a member of the Dudley family under the ring name Dances with Dudley (sometimes abbreviated to D.W. D ...

) in a tag team bout and losing to

The Gangstas The Gangstas was a professional wrestling tag team and stable, consisting of New Jack and Mustafa Saed in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). The group originally started as a three-man group with D'Lo Brown in Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW), ...

and the team of

2 Cold Scorpio Charles Bernard Scaggs (born October 25, 1965) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name 2 Cold Scorpio. He gained fame for his performances in professional wrestling promotions such as World Championship Wrestling (WCW ...

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 Massacre on Queens Boulevard (sometimes written as Massacre on Queens Blvd) was a professional wrestling live event A house show (also commonly called a live event) is a professional wrestling event produced by a major Professional wrestling ...

, again losing to The Gangstas and 2 Cold Scorpio and The Sandman in a three-way tag team match.

Mexican independent circuit (1997–2006)

On September 11, 1997 the Headhunters teamed with

Jake Roberts Aurelian Smith Jr. (born May 30, 1955) better known by the ring name Jake "the Snake" Roberts, is an American actor, podcaster and retired professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs as the on-screen ma ...

losing to Hakushi,

Hayabusa was a robotic spacecraft developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to return a sample of material from a small near-Earth asteroid named 25143 Itokawa to Earth for further analysis. ''Hayabusa'', formerly known as MUSES-C ...

, and

Masato Tanaka is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) in Japan where he was a FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship#Title History, one-time FMW Brass Knuckle ...

at Terry Funk's WrestleFest in

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Potter County, Texas, Potter County, though most of the southern half of the city extends into Randall County, Texas, Randall County ...

. In the 2000s, The Headhunters began wrestling on the Mexican

independent circuit In professional wrestling, the independent circuit (often shortened to the indie circuit or the indies) is the collective name of independently owned promotions which are deemed to be smaller and more regionalized than major national promotions. ...

. In November 2006, The Headhunters began working dates for

Asistencia Asesoría y Administración Promociones Antonio Peña, S.A. de C.V. doing business as, d/b/a Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (commonly referred to as simply AAA, pronounced "Triple A" – an abbreviation of its original name Asistencia, Asesoría y Administración de Espectáculos ...

. 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 and NWA Mexico. In December 2008, the two wrestled on the debut '' Perros del Mal Producciones'' show promoted by Perro Aguayo Jr.

Independent circuit (2006–2018)

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 I ...

losing to Kevin Sullivan and Rude Boy. They also made return tours in Mexico and Japan. They participated in

Game Changer Wrestling Game Changer Wrestling (GCW), formerly known as Jersey Championship Wrestling (JCW), is an American Independent circuit, independent professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion based in New Jersey. The promotion was original ...

's Jersey J-Cup Tag Team Tournament defeating in the first round Danny Demanto and

Tommy Dreamer Thomas James Laughlin (born February 13, 1971) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and professional wrestling promotion, promoter better known by the ring name Tommy Dreamer. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestli ...

. Later that night they got eliminated from the tournament in the semi-final to The Beast Squad, Kyle the Beast and

Monsta Mack Stephen 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 th ...

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, ICP's best-known lineup consists of rappers Violent J (Joseph Bruce) and Shaggy 2 Dope (originally 2 Dope; Joseph Utsler). Insan ...

'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 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

) (Headhunter A) *

{{FMW Championships ...

( 1 time) ** FMW/WEW 6-Man Tag Team Championship / FMW World Street Fight Six Man Tag Team Championship (

2 times "2 Times" is the debut single of English singer Ann Lee. It was released in Italy in December 1998 by X-Energy as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999), and was issued worldwide the following year. The single peaked at number tw ...

) – with Super Leather (1) and Hisakatsu Oya (1) *

** IWA World Tag Team Championship (''IWA Japan version'') (

) * International Wrestling Association **

IWA World Tag Team Championship The IWA World Tag Team Championship is a Tag Team Championship defended in Puerto Rico.The titles were first introduced in the first incarnation of the International Wrestling Association, where they are defended. They also made a brief appearan ...

( 1 time) - with Andy Anderson (Headhunter B) *

International Wrestling Revolution Group International Wrestling Revolution Group (Grupo Internacional Revolución in Spanish language, Spanish; the Spanish name is used for the promotion while the English initials are used for the title governing body) is a Lucha Libre professional wres ...

** IWRG Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) (Headhunter A) **

IWRG Intercontinental Trios Championship The IWRG Intercontinental Trios Championship (''Campeon Intercontinental Trios de IWRG'' in Spanish) is a ''Trios'' (six-man) tag team Championship promoted by the Mexican Lucha libre professional wrestling promotion International Wrestling Revol ...

( 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 ha ...

* Wrestling International New Generations ** W*ING World Tag Team Championship (

) *

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 ...

( 1 time)

References

External links

Headhunter A at Accelerator3359.comSolie's title histories
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Headhunters, The (professional wrestling) 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 African-American professional wrestlers American male professional wrestlers 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