Steven Nicolas Romero (June 21, 1955 – September 2, 1985) was an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

better known by his

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name 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, or projectin ...

Jay Youngblood. He wrestled in the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA began as a governing body for a ...

Jim Crockett Promotions Jim Crockett Promotions Inc. is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, restarted by Jim Crockett's son and Jim Crockett Jr's brother, David Crockett. Founded in 1931, the promo ...

in a tag team with

Ricky Steamboat Richard Henry Blood Sr. (born February 28, 1953), better known by his ring name Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, is an American retired professional wrestling, professional wrestler best known for his work with the American Wrestling Association (A ...

. In addition, he wrestled with

Championship Wrestling from Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to a ...

Pacific Northwest Wrestling Pacific Northwest Wrestling (PNW) (also known as Big Time Wrestling and Portland Wrestling) is the common name used to refer to several different professional wrestling companies, both past and present, based in Portland, Oregon, United States. T ...

NWA All-Star Wrestling NWA All Star Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Vancouver) is a Canadian professional wrestling promotion, based in Vancouver, British Columbia. All-Star Wrestling folded in 1989 but returned in 2007 no longer affiliated with the National Wr ...

and the

American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The territory was originally part o ...

Professional wrestling career

Romero started wrestling in 1975 in Amarillo under a mask and calling himself "Silver Streak". He then moved on to

, under the name of Jay Youngblood (a Native American

gimmick A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand ou ...

). During his time in the Pacific Northwest he held the tag team titles with Joe Lightfoot, they were known as "The Indians". He wrestled in the

(JCP) in a regular tag team with

. Also in JCP, he was known as "The Renegade". In 1982, Steamboat and Youngblood were

feuding A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one part ...

with

Boris Zhukov James Kirk Harrell (born December 13, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the American Wrestling Association (AWA) and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring name Boris Zhu ...

Don Kernodle Charles Donald Kernodle Jr. (May 2, 1950 – May 17, 2021) was an American professional wrestler with the National Wrestling Alliance's Jim Crockett Promotions. Professional wrestling career In college, Kernodle lettered four times in amate ...

, and their manager

Sgt. Slaughter Robert Rudolph Remus (born August 27, 1948), best known by his ring name Sgt. Slaughter, is a voice actor and retired American professional wrestler who is currently signed to WWE in the ambassador program. From the late 1970s to the early 19 ...

. Zhukov, then known as Private Jim Nelson, later betrayed his team in favour of Youngblood and Steamboat. The rivalry culminated in a steel cage match on March 12, 1983 in Greensboro, North Carolina that was attended by 15,000 people, where Slaughter and Kernodle lost their

NWA World Tag Team Championship The NWA World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship created by the National Wrestling Alliance. From 1948 to 1982, the NWA allowed member promotions to create their own territorial version of the "NWA Worl ...

to Steamboat and Youngblood. In June 1982 in

Maple Leaf Wrestling Maple Leaf Wrestling was the unofficial name in the 1970s and 1980s of the professional wrestling promotion run by Frank Tunney in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. History Queensbury Athletic Club The promotion, initially known as the Queensbury Athl ...

, Youngblood defeated The Destroyer to win the NWA Canadian Television Championship. He was later defeated by Private Jim Nelson for the title. Steamboat and Youngblood also feuded with

Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

and

Jerry Brisco Floyd Gerald "Jerry" Brisco (born September 19, 1946) is an American retired professional wrestler. Brisco is best known for his time in the wrestling promotion WWE, where he was a backstage producer, and, during the 1990s, an on-screen characte ...

. He went to

in September 1984 where he and Mark Youngblood captured the Florida version of the NWA United States Tag Championship. Also in 1984, Youngblood wrestled in Puerto Rico for the

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

(WWC). In 1985 Jay also wrestled in Memphis, Mexico and for

Pro Wrestling USA Pro Wrestling USA was a professional wrestling promotion in the United States of America in the mid-1980s. It was an attempt to unify various federations, including the American Wrestling Association (AWA), Jim Crockett Promotions and other membe ...

Personal life

Romero was the son of wrestler

Ricky Romero Ricardo Romero Jr. (born November 6, 1984) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays. Prep career After spending three years at Garfield High School, Romero graduate ...

. He was the brother of wrestlers

Chris Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, Christine, and Christos. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common. People with the given name * Chris Abani (born 1966), N ...

and

Mark Youngblood Mark Romero (born July 21, 1963) is a retired American second generation professional wrestler better known by his ring name Mark Youngblood. Professional wrestling career Mark Romero is the son of Ricky Romero. He started wrestling as Mark Youn ...

. He was married at the time of his death and left behind a daughter, Ricca. Youngblood has a son, Daniel, who served in the US Army.

Death

During a wrestling tour of the South Pacific, Youngblood was experiencing abdominal pain and went to the hospital where he was diagnosed with hemorrhagic

pancreatitis Pancreatitis is a condition characterized by inflammation of the pancreas. The pancreas is a large organ behind the stomach that produces digestive enzymes and a number of hormones. There are two main types: acute pancreatitis, and chronic p ...

. He started to develop abdominal

sepsis Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is foll ...

and

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

before suffering a series of heart attacks. He was in a coma for two weeks before dying on September 2, 1985, in

Parkville, Victoria Parkville is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, north of Melbourne's Melbourne City Centre, Central Business District, located within the Cities of City of Melbourne, Melbourne and City of Merri-bek, M ...

, Australia. He is buried at Llano Cemetery by Cox Funeral Home at Amarillo, Texas, beside his parents Ricky and Stella Marrujo Romero.

Memorials

In April 2006 at local

Amarillo Amarillo ( ; Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall Count ...

indy-wrestling promotion West Texas Wrestling Legends, Jay's nephew "Radical" Ricky Romero III and Mike DiBiase teamed up as "Team 3G" (Team Third Generation Wrestlers) and went on to become the first-ever WTWL Jay Youngblood Memorial Tag Team Cup Tournament winners at "The Legacy of Legends" show. On April 27 and 28, 2007 Amarillo's Professional Wrestling Federation (formerly known as West Texas Wrestling Legends) held the second annual two night 2007 Jay Youngblood Memorial Tag Team Cup Tournament event that was won by "The Ruthless One" WidowMaker and Mosh Pit Mike of "Pain Inc." after they defeated Jay's nephew "Radical" Ricky Romero III and "The Hooligan" Austin Riley in the final round of the tournament. As winners of the Jay Youngblood Memorial Cup, WidowMaker and Mosh Pit Mike were also crowned the first-ever PWF Tag Team Champions.

Championships and accomplishments

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Bab ...

** World's Strongest Tag Determination League New Wave Award (1982) – with

Cauliflower Alley Club The Cauliflower Alley Club is a non-profit fraternal organization, which includes a newsletter and website, comprising both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America. Established in 1965 by Mike Mazurki and Art Abra ...

**Family Wrestling Award (2015) – with

, and

Chris Youngblood Christopher Romero (February 10, 1966 – July 7, 2021) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Chris Youngblood. A second generation wrestler, he was the son of Ricky Romero and the brother of Mark and Jay Youngblo ...

** NWA United States Tag Team Championship ''(Florida version)'' (

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outsid ...

) – with

** NWA Canadian Television Championship ( 1 time) *

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling Jim Crockett Promotions Inc. is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, restarted by Jim Crockett's son and Jim Crockett Jr's brother, David Crockett. Founded in 1931, the promo ...

NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship The NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship was a tag team title defended in the National Wrestling Alliance's NWA Mid-Atlantic territory. The championship was originally created in the summer of 1968 and was originally named the NWA Atlantic Coa ...

( 3 times) – with

Porkchop Cash Bobby Cash (born October 22, 1947) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He competed primarily in promotions operated by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), like the Continental Wrestling Association and Georgia Championship Wrest ...

(1), Johnny Weaver (1) and

(1) ** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-Atlantic version)'' ( 5 times) - with Ricky Steamboat *

** NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (''Vancouver version'') ( 1 time) – with Joe Ventura ** NWA Pacific Coast Heavyweight Championship ''(Vancouver version)'' ( 1 time) (last) *

NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship The NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance and defended in its member promotion Pacific Northwest Wrestling, which promoted shows in the U.S. states of ...

(

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 ...

) **

NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship The NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance and defended in its member promotion Pacific Northwest Wrestling, which promoted shows in the U.S. states of ...

( 1 time) – with Joe Lightfoot **Salem City Tournament (1981) *''

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

'' **Ranked No. 308 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the " PWI Years" in 2003 **Ranked No. 19 of the 100 best tag teams of the "PWI Years" with Ricky Steamboat in 2003 *

Western States Sports Western States Sports (also known as the Amarillo Territory) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Amarillo, Texas in the United States. Founded by Dory Detton in 1946, the promotion enjoyed its greatest success in the 1960s and ...

NWA Western States Tag Team Championship The NWA International Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling title, originally created as the NWA Western States Tag Team Championship in the National Wrestling Alliance's Amarillo, Texas territory, Western States Sports. The title w ...

( 1 time) - with

*''

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four W ...

'' ** Tag Team of the Year (1983) with Ricky Steamboat

References