Julio Domingo Estrada Caceres (July 4, 1970 – March 20, 2025), better known as Rico Suave, was a Puerto Rican

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 ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

. He was best known for his 18-year run in 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 ...

promotion.

Career

Estrada started training to become a wrestler at age 14 and made his debut in 1984 wrestling under various names mostly at independent shows in east of Puerto Rico. Teamed with Solid Gold #1 which was his father

José Estrada Sr. José Estrada Sr. (born 1946) is a Puerto Rico, Puerto Rican retired professional wrestler who was a longtime mainstay of the World Wrestling Council as well as having stints in North American promotions, most notably two separate periods of tim ...

former WWF, WWE wrestler in 1991 in the Americas Wrestling Federation in Puerto Rico. He left the company to enter WWC in 1992, where he worked with his brother

Jose Estrada Jr. Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. Given name Mishnaic and Talmudic periods *Jose ben Abin *Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galilean *Jose ben Halafta *Jo ...

and later became the top manager in the company that year when Joe Don Smith left to play for the then-expansion team

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

so Estrada took his spot and managed various wrestlers like

Greg Valentine Jonathan Anthony Wisniski (born September 20, 1951) is a retired American professional wrestler, better known as Greg "the Hammer" Valentine. He is the son of wrestler Johnny Valentine. Over five decades, Valentine held more than 40 championsh ...

Dick Murdoch Hoyt Richard Murdoch (August 16, 1946 – June 15, 1996) was an American professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known by his ring names "Dirty" Dick Murdoch and "Captain Redneck". He was best known for his time in the NWA, WWE, Wo ...

, Eddie Gilbert,

Kane Kane or KANE may refer to: Art, entertainment and media Fictional entities *Kane (comics), the main character of the eponymous comic book series by Paul Grist * Kane (''Command & Conquer''), Tiberium universe character in the ''Command & Conquer'' ...

Buddy Landell William Fritz Ensor (August 14, 1961 – June 22, 2015) was an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name "Nature Boy" Buddy Landel. He was best known for his work in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) territories. Early li ...

Mabel Mabel is an English female name derived from the Latin ''amabilis'', "lovable, dear".Reclams Namensbuch, 1987, History Amabilis of Riom (died 475) was a French male saint who logically would have assumed the name Amabilis upon entering the prie ...

Val Venis Sean Allen Morley (born March 6, 1971), better known by his ring name Val Venis, is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment (WWF/WWE) from 1998 to 20 ...

Glamour Boy Shane Shane Sewell (born September 5, 1972) is a Canadian professional wrestler and referee. He has worked for the World Wrestling Council, the International Wrestling Association and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as both a referee and wrestler. Shan ...

Abdullah the Butcher Lawrence Robert Shreve (born January 11, 1941), better known by the ring name Abdullah the Butcher, is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He has a reputation for being involved in some of the most violent and bloody hardcore wrestling mat ...

Ray Gonzalez Ray or RAY may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), the bony or horny spine on ray-finned fish Science and mathematics * Half-line (geometry) or ray, half of a line split at an ...

, El Nene, Rex King, El Diamante, La Tigresa, Victor The Bodyguard, Jesus Castillo, "Jungle" Jim Steele,

Chicky Starr José Anibal Laureano Colón (born June 24, 1958) is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler and manager. He is better known by his ring name, Chicky Starr. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Council (WWC) and International Wrest ...

and others. Feuded with

Carlos Colon Carlos may refer to: Places ;Canada * Carlos, Alberta, a locality ;United States * Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County * Carlos, Minnesota, a small city * Carlos, West Virginia ;Elsewhe ...

on and off for many years. He had a memorable feud with Antonio Pantojas (not to be confused with the actor of the same name) known as El Profe that lasted a long time during the 90s. In 1998, he also was the leader of Invasion Azteca, which was a Mexican group that came to invade WWC combined by Pierroth, Jr.,

Jerry Estrada Jerry Estrada (full name, Gerardo Hernández Estrada; born January 10, 1958, Monclova, Coahuila) is a semi-retired Mexican ''luchador'' (professional wrestler). For most of his career, he has portrayed a ''rudo'' (heel, those that portray the ...

Villano III Arturo Díaz Mendoza (March 23, 1952 – August 21, 2018), best known by his ring name Villano III (Spanish: "Villano Tercero"; English: "Villain the third"), was a Mexican '' luchador'' (or professional wrestler). A second-generation wrestler ...

and the late

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 ...

. Estrada spoke with a Mexican accent and used a

Serape The serape, sarape or jorongo is a long blanket-like shawl or cloak, often brightly colored and fringed at the ends, worn in Mexico, especially by men. The spelling of the word sarape (or zarape) is the accepted form in Mexico and other Sp ...

during that angle. Estrada toured Japan in 2000 where he competed at

Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established in 1995. It is most famous for its deathmatch style contests. History Big Japan Pro Wrestling was founded in March 1995 by former AJPW wrestlers Shinya Kojika and Kendo Nagas ...

known as Crazy Sheik. By 2003, Estrada became a

good guy "Good Guy" is a song by American rapper Eminem from his tenth studio album ''Kamikaze'', released on August 31, 2018, via Shady Records. Recording sessions took place at Effigy Studios in Detroit. Produced by Illadaproducer with additional produ ...

after twelve years working in WWC as a

Heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exerted ...

when Estrada was attacked by longtime allied El Bronco I after Estrada allegedly ripped an El Bronco picture. El Bronco I and La Revolición Dominicana (The Dominican Revolution) lead El Bronco I attacked Estrada. Estrada was the leader of El Poder Supremo (The Supreme Power) Heel stable in the WWC. On November 23, 2006, he managed Hannibal and Black Pain to win the WWC Tag Team titles from Jesus Castillo and Chris Joel in Carolina, Puerto Rico. Began using the nickname "Mr. Hardcore" when he adopted the

Hardcore wrestling Hardcore wrestling is a form of professional wrestling where disqualifications, count-outs, and all other different rules do not apply. Taking place in usual or unusual environments, hardcore wrestling matches allow the use of numerous items, inc ...

style and formed a tag team with Huracan Castillo Jr. and formed "La Evolucion Hardcore" or The Hardcore Evolution due to the hardcore wrestling style that this two superstars have. Being both the most dangerous second-generation tag-team wrestlers to dominate Puerto Rico. Estrada then moved on to work in Japan where he tagged with Abdullah The Butcher, went to Mexico and various independent companies in the United States. Quit WWC in June 2009 after a dispute with the office and moved to Florida. Several years later he got in good terms again with WWC.

Personal life and death

In July 2024, Rico Suave was involved in a car collision in Florida where he suffered a fracture on his leg. Due to his diabetes condition, he underwent surgery that resulted in the

amputation Amputation is the removal of a Limb (anatomy), limb or other body part by Physical trauma, trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as cancer, malign ...

of part of his right leg. Suave died from heart failure in

Vero Beach, Florida Vero Beach is a city in and the county seat of Indian River County, Florida, United States. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,354. Nicknamed "The Hibiscus City", Vero is situated about south ...

, on March 20, 2025, at the age of 54. He had been scheduled to have open heart surgery at the end of March. WWC made the decision to dedicate him the 2025 WWC Aniversario show before his passing.

Championships and accomplishments

*Independent Wrestling Association Florida **IWA Florida Tag Team Championship (1 time, inaugural) - with

Ricky Ortiz Richard Young (born May 12, 1975) is an American former professional wrestler and football player. He is best known for his work with WWE performing under the ring name Ricky Ortiz. Young spent time in the XFL, Canadian Football League (CFL), ...

*''

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 #255 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the

PWI 500 ''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 ...

in 2003 *South Carolina Championship Wrestling ** SCCW Tag Team Championship - with Joe Don Smith (1 time) *

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 ...

(

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 ...

) **

WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Championship The WWC Puerto Rico Championship is the secondary professional wrestling championship that is defended by the World Wrestling Council based in Puerto Rico. The title was created in January 1974 and, as its name suggests, is defended exclusively wi ...

( 3 times) **

WWC Television Championship The WWC Television Championship is a tertiary championship that is currently defended in the World Wrestling Council. The title was initially created in 1986 and used until 2003, then from February 3, 2007 until July 11, 2008. The title was brought ...

(

4 times "4 Times" (stylized as "4 TIMES") is the 50th single by pop/ R&B singer Koda Kumi. It was released on August 17, 2011 and debuted at No. 6, remaining on the Oricon charts for nine consecutive weeks. In commemoration of it being the fiftieth singl ...

) ** WWC Tag Team Championship ( 10 times) - with Eddie Watts (1),

Ricky Santana Ricardo Santana Ortiz (born November 21, 1958), better known as Ricky Santana, is an American retired professional wrestler of Cuban descent who has worked for World Championship Wrestling, World Wrestling Federation, World Wrestling Council and t ...

(1), Agente Bruno (1), Diabolico (2), Eric Alexander (1),

Tim Arson Timothy R. Calkins Jr. (December 27, 1976 – January 7, 2015) was an American professional wrestler, known by his ring name Tim Arson, who worked in the Puerto Rican-based New Wrestling Stars and World Wrestling Council, as well as American indep ...

(2), El Bronco #1 (1) and Huracán Castillo (1)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suave, Rico 1970 births 2025 deaths 20th-century male professional wrestlers 21st-century male professional wrestlers American amputees Masked wrestlers People from Humacao, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican male professional wrestlers Professional wrestling trainers Professional wrestling managers and valets WWC Puerto Rico Champions WWC Television Champions WWC World Tag Team Champions WWC Caribbean Heavyweight Champions

Career

Personal life and death

Championships and accomplishments

See also

References