Henry Romero (May 24, 1931 – January 15, 2006) was an American
professional wrestler
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 wrest ...
, better known by his
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 ...
, "Rapid" Ricky Romero. Romero was best known for his appearances in
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
during the 1970s.
Professional wrestling career
He wrestled in every major market between 1955 into the 1980s. Ricky tagged with the likes of
Pedro Morales in the
World Wrestling Association
The World Wrestling Association (WWA) (Asociación Mundial de Lucha Libre in Spanish language, Spanish) is a lucha libre promotion based in the Tijuana-area of Mexico. It was founded in 1986 by Benjamin Mora Jr.. It featured some of Mexico's best ...
(WWA),
Terry Funk
Terrance Dee Funk (June 30, 1944 – August 23, 2023) was an American professional wrestler and actor. Widely considered one of the most influential
and greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Funk was known for the longevity of his car ...
and
Nick Bockwinkel in 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 ...
(NWA), and
Rito Romero in the
WWF. He got his huge break, when
Dory Funk Sr. brought him into the
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 ...
area during a time of
segregation between races. Ricky Romero was the first Hispanic wrestler in the area and gained a fan given nickname "SuperMex".
In 1972 he beat Terry Funk in a most popular wrestler contest in Amarillo, was a top draw for
Gory Guerrero
Salvador Guerrero Quesada (January 11, 1921 – April 18, 1990), better known as Gory Guerrero, was one of the premier Mexican-American professional wrestlers in the early days of Lucha Libre when most wrestlers were imported from outside Mexi ...
in
El Paso, Texas
El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...
as well as for
Fritz Von Erich
Jack Barton Adkisson Sr. (August 16, 1929 – September 10, 1997), better known by his ring name Fritz Von Erich, was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, wrestling promoter, and the patriarch of the Von Erich family. He was ...
in
Dallas, Texas
Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
, and
Paul Boesch in
Houston, Texas
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
. He was such a top draw in the Rocky Mountain area
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
,
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
and Texas, that Dory Sr. invented the
Rocky Mountain Title just for Ricky which he retired in the early 80s.
Ricky Romero as a singles wrestler, went up against the likes of
Lou Thesz
Aloysius Martin Thesz (April 24, 1916 – April 28, 2002), known by the ring name Lou Thesz, was an American professional wrestler and wrestling coach. Considered to be one of the last true shooters (legitimate wrestlers) in professional w ...
,
Gorgeous George
George Raymond Wagner (March 24, 1915 – December 26, 1963) was an American professional wrestler known by his ring name Gorgeous George. In the United States, during the First Golden Age of Professional Wrestling in the 1940s–1950s, Gorgeou ...
,
Wild Red Berry, and
Jack Brisco. Romero was also one of the first pioneers to work for
Giant Baba and
Antonio Inoki
(born ; 20 February 1943 – 1 October 2022) was a Japanese professional wrestler, Glossary of professional wrestling terms#school, professional wrestling trainer, martial arts, martial artist, politician, and Promoter (entertainment), promot ...
in
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 ...
, wearing a mask as ''Mexico Grand as a heel.
Ricky Romero retired as a professional wrestler in the early 1980s.
In 1981 Romero appeared in Portland wrestling as "Chief Youngblood" and was kayfabe injured by Buddy Rose in an angle involving Romero's son Jay Youngblood.
Personal life
Ricky Romero was married to Stella Marrujo on December 17, 1949. He was the father of wrestlers
Steven Romero,
Mark Romero and
Chris Romero and was also the brother of wrestler Al Romero, who wrestled in
NWA Hollywood Wrestling
NWA Hollywood Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Los Angeles) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Los Angeles, California in the United States that promoted professional wrestling matches throughout Southern California. It ...
under the ring name the Oregon Lumberjack.
Al Romero profile
at WrestlingData.com All three of Romero's sons wrestled using the gimmick last name "Youngblood". Ricky also served as manager to sons Mark and Chris throughout the late 1980s. Ricky's grandson is also a professional wrestler who used to wrestle under the name "Radical" Ricky Romero III until 2009 when he started using Ricky Youngblood Jr, following the tradition of the rest of his family.
On January 15, 2006 Ricky Romero died at the age of 74 after years of complications due to diabetes.
Championships and accomplishments
* Cauliflower Alley Club
** Family Wrestling Award (2015) – with Chris Youngblood, Jay Youngblood and Mark YoungbloodNWA World Tag Team Championship
The NWA World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling World Tag Team Championship, world tag team championship created by the National Wrestling Alliance. From 1948 to 1982, the NWA allowed List of National Wrestling Alliance territories ...
( 1 time) – with Nick BockwinkelTerry Funk
Terrance Dee Funk (June 30, 1944 – August 23, 2023) was an American professional wrestler and actor. Widely considered one of the most influential
and greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Funk was known for the longevity of his car ...
(2), Moose Morowski (2), Dory Funk, Jr. (2), Nick Kozak (2), Lord Alfred Hayes (1), Silver Streak (1) and Akihisa Takachiho (1)
** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Amarillo version)'' ( 3 times) - with Cyclone Anaya (1), Gory Guerrero
Salvador Guerrero Quesada (January 11, 1921 – April 18, 1990), better known as Gory Guerrero, was one of the premier Mexican-American professional wrestlers in the early days of Lucha Libre when most wrestlers were imported from outside Mexi ...
(1) and Nick Bockwinkel (1)[
* Worldwide Wrestling Associates
** WWA World Tag Team Championship ( 2 times) – with Pedro Morales]
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Romero, Ricky
1931 births
2006 deaths
American male professional wrestlers
American professional wrestlers of Mexican descent
Diabetes-related deaths
Professional wrestlers from California
Ricky Romero
Sportspeople from San Bernardino, California
NWA Americas Tag Team Champions
NWA World Tag Team Champions (Texas version)
20th-century male professional wrestlers
20th-century American professional wrestlers