Lou Perez is an American professional wrestler who has competed in North American promotions including 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 ...

and

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of National W ...

during the late 1980s and early 1990s as well as the Puerto Rican-based promotion IWA Puerto Rico. Although billed as the younger brother of Al Perez, Lou Perez is actually his cousin.

Career

Florida Championship Wrestling (1988)

Trained by

Boris Malenko Lawrence J. Simon (June 28, 1933 – September 1, 1994), better known by the ring name Boris Malenko ( rus, Бори́с Маленко́, p=bɐˈrʲis mɐˈlʲenkə), was an American professional wrestler and professional wrestling trainer. He i ...

, Perez began wrestling in

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 ...

in late 1988. His first match came in a losing effort as he teamed with Denny Brown against The Star Riders at an FCW TV taping in Tampa, FL or May 10, 1988. The rookie wrestler then gained his first victory in his very first singles match, defeating

Scotty the Body Scott Levy (born September 8, 1964) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name, Raven. He is best known for his appearances with professional wrestling promotions Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Championship W ...

one week later. After going undefeated throughout the summer, Perez would challenge unsuccessfully for the World Class World Light Heavyweight and lose to Eric Embry on July 30, 1988. He later teamed with Rex King and Austin in a 6-man tag team match against Scotty the Body, Bob Cook and Jim Backlund. Briefly appearing in the Professional Wrestling Federation the following year, Perez feuded with PWF Junior Heavyweight Champion Jim Backlund facing him on March 11, 1989.

World Championship Wrestling (1989 - 1991, 1994)

Lou Perez made his debut in

on a house show in Miami, Florida on September 8, 1989 and defeated "Powerhouse"

Tim Parker Timothy Parker may refer to: * Timothy Parker (puzzle designer) (born 1960) * Timothy Britten Parker (born 1962), American stage, film, and television actor * Gift of Gab (rapper) (1970–2021, Timothy Jerome Parker), American rapper * Tim Park ...

. He defeated Parker the following night in Fort Pierce, FL. Following this brief stint he returned to the Professional Wrestling Federation. Perez re-entered WCW competition the following year on July 21, defeating

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 ...

at a

house show A house show (also commonly called a live event) is a professional wrestling event produced by a major Professional wrestling promotion, promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in o ...

in St Petersburg, FL. He made his debut on WCW television on August 10, 1990 defeating Dutch Mantell and was announced to have earned a title shot against NWA World Television Champion

Arn Anderson Martin Anthony Lunde (born September 20, 1958), better known by his ring name Arn Anderson, is an American professional wrestling Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Agent, road agent, author, and retired professional wrestler. Although he ...

. A day later on NWA Worldwide he defeated Mike Thor On NWA Pro on August 11, 1990 Perez faced Anderson, but was defeated. He continued to compete in WCW that fall, facing

Doom Doom is another name for damnation. Doom may also refer to: People * Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed * Daniel Doom (1934–2020), Belgian cyclist * Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitche ...

, Dan Spivey, and

Sid Vicious Simon John Ritchie (10 May 1957 – 2 February 1979), better known by his stage name Sid Vicious, was an English musician, best known as the second bassist for the punk rock band Sex Pistols. After his death in 1979 at the age of 21, he remai ...

, as well as facing Mike Thor and Barry Horowitz in rematches. His final match that year came in a house show match with Buddy Landel in Sunrise, FL on September 30. The next year Lou Perez would make one appearance in World Championship Wrestling, wrestling

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 ...

at a house show on November 29, 1991. His final appearance came at a WCW Pro/Worldwide taping on November 10, 1994 when he was defeated by Jean Paul Levesque.

Professional Wrestling Federation (1989 - 1994)

Perez joined the nascent Professional Wrestling Federation in 1989, which was a reboot of Florida Championship Wrestling under the aegis of

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 ...

. He faced PWF Florida Champion Mike Graham in his first match on March 4, 1989 in Titusville, FL at the PWF The Homecoming event, losing via disqualification. Perez would also feud with PWF Junior Heavyweight Champion Jim Backlund facing him on March 11, 1989. He became a mainstay in the area within several years and later teamed with Mark Starr to defeat Jumbo Baretta & Dennis Knight for the NWA Florida Tag Team Championship in

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

, on November 12, 1989. Feuding with Steve Keirn over the NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship, he defeated Keirn for the title in

Winter Haven, Florida Winter Haven is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is located about east of Tampa, Florida, Tampa and about southwest of Orlando, Florida, Orlando, with neighboring Lakeland, Florida, Lakeland located to its west. The city's popul ...

, in July 1992. Trading the title with Kiern twice during the next two years, before being forced to surrender the title on November 6, 1995, after suffering a knee injury.

Independents (1991 - 1994)

He also competed in several other promotions during this time, feuding with the Cuban Assassin while in the World Wrestling Alliance and teamed with Rico Federico to defeat the Southern Posse to win the IPWA Tag Team titles while in the International Pro wrestling Association during early 1994. He also faced the Black Assassin and

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 ...

in various independent promotions later during the year. During an interpromotional event between the

and

Smoky Mountain Wrestling Smoky Mountain Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that held events in the Appalachian area of the United States from October 1991 to December 1995, when it was run by Jim Cornette. The promotion was based in Knoxville, Tennessee, wit ...

, he participated in the 1994 NWA World Heavyweight Championship Tournament fighting

Osamu Nishimura was a Japanese professional wrestler. Nishimura was best known for his time in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and MUGA World Pro Wrestling (MUGA). Outside of pro wrestling, he was also a politician, having served as a member of the Tokyo Bunk ...

to a time limit draw in the opening rounds in

Cherry Hill, New Jersey Cherry Hill is a Township (New Jersey), township within Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As a suburb of Philadelphia, the township is part of the South Jersey and Delaware Valley regions. Cherry Hill ...

, on November 19, 1994.

Championships and accomplishments

*International Pro Wrestling Alliance :*IPWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) with Rico Federico *

NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship The NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship was a major title in Championship Wrestling from Florida and is now the major title in NWA Florida Wrestling Alliance. It started in 1937 and was abandoned in 1949. It was picked back up in 1966 by CWF an ...

( 3 times) :*

NWA Florida Tag Team Championship The NWA Florida Tag Team Championship is the primary tag team title in NWA Florida Underground Wrestling. It started out in 1968 as the main tag team title in Championship Wrestling from Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was ...

( 6 times) - with Mark Starr *Pro Wrestling Federation :*PWF Light Heavyweight Championship (1 times) *Other titles :*FWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time) :*PCWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *

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 # 180 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 1991

References

External links

Profile at Online World of Wrestling
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Perez, Lou Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American male professional wrestlers 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century American professional wrestlers NWA Florida Heavyweight Champions NWA Florida Tag Team Champions 1988 professional wrestling debuts