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 Gorilla Monsoon . By the mid-1990s, the promotion had changed its name to the World Wrestling Council. It was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance until 1988. WWC is among the oldest professional wrestling promotions in the world and one of only eight in the entire world to reach its 50th anniversary in continuous operation.
180-822: Savio Vega is a ring name of Juan Rivera (born August 10, 1964), a Puerto Rican professional wrestler. He is known for his work in the World Wrestling Council , where he won the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship three times and the WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Championship three times. During the 1990s, he worked for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), initially under the masked, villainous and venom-spewing Kwang gimmick. He later portrayed Savio Vega,
360-535: A Caribbean Strap Match . According to the stipulations, Austin's manager, Ted DiBiase , had to leave the WWF. This was DiBiase's last appearance on WWF television until 2005. Vega then feuded with Justin Bradshaw , winning their first match on July 8. On July 21, he lost a rematch at In Your House 9: International Incident . On August 12, 1996, Vega lost his first match by submission to Crush . At SummerSlam , he lost
540-504: A gaijin . He wrestled major star Tatsumi Fujinami and rising stars Shinya Hashimoto and Keiji Mutoh in various singles matches. While he lost most of his singles matches, TNT would receive a few wins over Kengo Kimura and Black Cat . TNT's final match in NJPW took place on July 23, 1993, where he teamed with Masa Saito against Brad Armstrong and Hercules Hernandez in a losing effort. Having gained much wrestling experience, Rivera
720-411: A masks versus masks two out of three falls match to Los Brazos ( Brazo de Plata and El Brazo ). Corsario would then wrestle for UWA two more times in two out of three falls matches, losing both matches. After a few exploits in various promotions, Rivera went to Miami, Florida , where he tried out for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). He was accepted and sent back to Puerto Rico to wrestle for
900-431: A "loser leaves the company" match, losing a final contest against Huertas González before leaving. This was the second time that Rivera's role as general manager was overthrown and it was followed by a storyline which was run where Pérez had fired him and vignettes were aired where he was seen as a homeless man. Orlando Toledo, a nephew of the now-defunct Quiñones was introduced as the new general manager. A fictional election
1080-473: A 30,000 venue at Bayamón during 13 consecutive shows. High-profile wrestlers were winning in the range of $ 3,000–5,000 per weekend. In 1983, Rickin Sánchez had taken over as Capitol's main promoter, as well as becoming one of the organization's broadcasters on the television shows. He was joined by the already retired Savinovich. Some time later, Sánchez (and his production company R & F Television) left
1260-497: A Boricua Rumble match, before winning their following appearance. As a sidetrack, Rivera ran a mock campaign to become Governor of Puerto Rico for the fictional Partido Luchador Puertorriqueño (PLP) prior to the 2008 general elections. The closure to the Loteria del Terror came when the other members turned on Rivera and Pérez, citing that "they themselves were part of Capitol once", igniting a sibling rivalry against Dennis Rivera who
1440-548: A Tuxedo match against Wippleman, who then abandoned his role as Kwang's manager. After an appearance in the 1995 Royal Rumble , where he would eliminate Doink the Clown , Kwang gradually faded from WWF programming, losing his final match to Hakushi on the April 29, 1995, episode of Superstars . On May 14, 1995, Rivera appeared in street clothes and grew a goatee during the WWF's first In Your House pay-per-view. When Razor Ramon
1620-478: A WWC card held on February 21, 2004, bringing a group of potential investors with him. On March 23, 2004, WWC contracted Dutch Mantell as its new head booker. He was also stated to be involved in the ongoing conversations between Panda Energy and WWC. Soon afterwards it was reported that Eddie Colón had been chosen as Puerto Rico's representative in NWA-TNA's Americas X Cup tournament. However, his participation
1800-455: A bloody knife about to finish Brody off. Atlas and Colón rushed to keep them apart along with several angry wrestlers. After Brody's death, and the negative publicity that followed, WWC went through some difficult years. Mr. Jose Huertas-Gonzalez was acquitted by a jury after he testified in his own defense, and claimed self-defense. The witnesses who were supposed to testify about the murder claimed that they did not get their summons until after
1980-582: A card due to weather conditions. The collaboration was cancelled when both promotions failed to reach an economic agreement. A tropical storm led to another cancelled card. WWC gave its side of the cancellation in its programming. Despite the failure of the collaboration, Los Dueños de la Malicia appeared in Superestrellas and challenged Los Fujitivos for the WWC World Tag Team Championship. At Septiembre Negro they won
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#17327908732572160-537: A card in February. WWC once again relied on Primo and Epico, exWWE talent for Aniversario and brought Banderas and ROH World Heavyweight Champion Davey Richards. In April, the promotion cancelled another card citing weather conditions. The pattern continued in May, when it cancelled a card due to low turnout. One of its referees died. As IWA-PR entered a prolonged hiatus, WWC brought Andy Levine and Wes Brisco to spend
2340-468: A card when its truck failed. WWC supplemented the card with TNA knockout Sarita, longstanding TNA talent Abyss and exWWE Chavo Guerrero. One of the cards was moved due to a scheduling conflict with the BSN. Steve Corino was announced, but his appearance was cancelled. Days before the celebration of the event, WWC began teasing about an "explosive" storyline. Savio Vega initially denied the implication that he
2520-516: A ceremony for Abdullah the Butchers purported retirement from wrestling would take place. A plaque was presented and among the wrestlers present in the event was Smith Hart. For Euphoria, WWC made arrangements to bring several foreign talents, including Big Daddy V and Eugene, which were expected to join those that appeared at Lockout. After being contracted foe Euphoria, the promotion also extended Ricky Reyes's stay. In February, WWC announced
2700-464: A clear advantage early on. At SummerSlam , Los Boricuas defeated The Disciples of Apocalypse. In the first singles match between former Nation members, Vega fought Crush to a no contest. At Ground Zero: In Your House on September 7, he defeated Faarooq and Crush in triple threat match. At the UK-exclusive pay-per-view, One Night Only, Vega and Pérez unsuccessfully challenged The Headbangers for
2880-608: A commentator at WWC. To promote the event, the WWC arranged for González to be interviewed in Salsoul. It also participated in charity visits during the Dia del Fanatico. In May, WWC held a press conference and announced the card and notified that besides The Colóns, MVP and Umaga would be at Aniversario. After being released from TNA, Sewell confirmed his fulltime return to WWC. In June WWC announced several more promotional stunts, including
3060-652: A conflict arose between them, leading Vega to expel Laureano from the IWA. On March 2, 2002, Vega used his authority to award himself the IWA World Heavyweight Championship, eventually dropping it to Figueroa. Los Boricuas reunited later that year, when Pérez joined Vega to win the IWA World Tag Team Championship. In November 2002, Vega was injured by Banderas, and was absent for two weeks. When he returned, he pursued
3240-478: A confrontation with Savio Vega. He was backed by WWC wrestlers Díaz, Los Rabiosos, Los Fujitivos and Shane Sewell. The invading team was repelled by the IWA-PR roster, but accepted a challenge issued by Vega. WWC recorded the intervention. WWC aired footage of the intervention of its wrestlers at Summer Attitude. Colón answered the insults thrown at him by Savio Vega in Superestrellas de la Lucha Libre. WWC cancelled
3420-409: A contest for the belt between his brother and Danielson, which was won by the younger Rivera. Rivera then entered a feud with Álvarez, who had served as special referee at Summer Attitude 2010 and made his in-ring debut in the IWA, winning the contest between them. Rivera went on to win two more matches over midcard talent before entering a lengthy hiatus. Returning in winter, he confronted "The Academy",
3600-470: A copy of a letter that WWC sent to Telemundo in response for its use of the name "TNT" was made public. On June 1, 2003, it was revealed that the tournament for the titles announced weeks before was a plot device so that a new set of XWF World Tag Team Champions could be crowned in a phantom change. During the summer of 2003, the weekly edition of Superestrellas de la Lucha Libre suffered a modification, after Joe Don Smith left due to economic differences and
3780-615: A developmental territory in exchange for talent appearances, but WWE had no interest because its shows in Puerto Rico already sold well and it did not need further promotion, preferring to only keep Colón as its local promoter. Ultimately it was reported that WWC was under consideration, but that it was discarded due to the differences of in-ring style. Instead, the promotion announced Chris Masters, and international talents Ron Killings, ultimo dragon and former WCW talents Konnan and Scott Hall, despite being stripped at Lockout for no showing
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#17327908732573960-636: A dual champion, winning the World Tag Team Championship with Mr. Pogo by defeating The Youngbloods ( Chris and Mark ) and holding it for nineteen days, before losing it back to Youngbloods. TNT would then begin feuding with Pogo, defeating him in a match at Aniversario on September 20. On January 30, 1988, TNT lost the North American Heavyweight Championship to Abdullah the Butcher . After
4140-712: A fan favorite and solid wrestling skills. On February 9, 1990, he defeated Burke for the Universal Heavyweight Championship, marking the first world championship win of his professional wrestling career. As a result, TNT vacated the Television Championship. He held the Universal Heavyweight Championship for a month, before dropping it to Abdullah the Butcher. On April 25, 1990, TNT defeated rival Leo Burke to win his second Television Championship. A few months later, TNT turned heel and began feuding with Carlos Colón, who had won
4320-439: A feud with Toledo's Estrellas stable until early 2007, when the former left the company following an event where Rivera sided with Pérez when a conflict between him and Mario Savoldi. Upon retaking his role as general manager, he became the leader of a new heel stable known as "Los Auntenticos" along Pérez and Ricky Vega . This faction was quickly involved in an angle dealing with a power struggle against several other stables within
4500-446: A feud, which saw Huertas González defeating Rivera in a "death match", his retirement contest for the IWA. Rivera eventually make amends with Pérez and joined him along Babderas and Sewell in order to feud with González and Toledo's Estrellas. Following a tag team match that went no contest in February 2007, his team won six consecutive matches against the heel factions. Rivera himself defeated Estrellas' members Kafu , Mikael Judas and
4680-593: A former Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling wrestler, is the son of Miguel Pérez, Sr. , Jesús Castillo, Jr. is the son of Pedro "Huracán" Castillo, and Jose Estrada, Jr. is the son of José Estrada, Sr. Meanwhile, Faarooq had organized The Nation into a black-only group, while Crush had formed The Disciples of Apocalypse , a white biker stable, launching an angle which became known as "The Gang Wars", based on ethnic stereotypes and loosely mirroring some actual gang wars. The three four-member teams wrestled against one another, with none gaining
4860-514: A group that had entered the IWA two months earlier that was harassing Pérez. At Christmas in PR 2010, Rivera wrestled and lost to one of The Academy's members, the debuting Chris Angel for the vacant Intercontinental Championship. A rematch was scheduled for Histeria Boricua 2011, which was promoted with a throwback angle in which he emphasized how having defeated other undefeated wrestlers such as Austin and Johnson, claiming that his loss at Christmas in PR
5040-774: A heart attack, and he unsuccessfully attempted to regain control of the general manager by challenging González at Summer Attitude. On July 25, 2004, Rivera reformed La Compañia. In August 2004, González was involved in an angle in which he won 49% of IWA's stocks. He then entered a feud with the owner of the remaining 51%, Víctor Quiñones. On August 28, 2004, at Bad Blood, González announced that from that moment onwards, IWA would be known as "Capitol Sports Promotions", claiming that Quiñones had already received documentation confirming this. González then began recruiting Huertas González to join him, claiming that their origin in "Capitol joins them". In September 2004, somebody assaulted Huertas González backstage, leaving behind Rivera's trademark bat. It
5220-531: A heel stable called "La Compañia" (The Company), which included Apolo and Ricky Banderas , whom he called his "Dream Team". Vega was depicted as co-owner of the IWA, though he had no real share in the company. As general manager, he was more often a manager than a wrestler. Under this authoritarian gimmick, he introduced his catchphrase, A mi manera o pa' la calle , (roughly, "My way or the highway"), with which he threatened to fire wrestlers, and occasionally did so. He would "discipline" wrestlers by mugging them in
5400-495: A hiatus during which a series of WWE house shows were held in Puerto Rico, the promotion was forced to cancel an event and reorganize their schedule. Prior to Septiembre Negro, the promotion made moves in its roster to incorporate former IWA World Heavyweight Champion Bison Smith, but his debut was delayed due to a Japan tour. The relationship between WWC and Trinidad became strained prior to Halloween Wrestling Xtravaganza 2009, removing him from scheduled appearances. Plans made for
5580-496: A lawsuit against González led to the wrestler receiving a subpoena from a Marshall in an IWA show. On April 21, 2003, it was made public that El Nene left the promotion with the Puerto Rico Heavyweight Championship in his possession. In May 2003, Santarosa was involved in another angle with WWC, this time with Alvarez. WWC announced this month that as part of an agreement with Memphis Wrestling,
Savio Vega - Misplaced Pages Continue
5760-401: A match between WWE signee and TNA wrestler Christian Cage. In July 2007, WWC acquired Hector Melendez then-Asistencia Asesoria y Administracion's booker and a former IWA and TNA writer. Besides holding an open press conference, the promotion expanded their promotions to several stations beside WAPA-TV, including Univision and radio stations WKAQ AM and Salsoul. That same month, WWC announced
5940-488: A match between both. WWC continued trying to make crossovers by making moves to book Gino "The Punisher" Rochell, who was scheduled to an MMA event titled Tatami Tournament Championship 4 which was ultimately postponed and rescheduled to March 6, 2004. On September 6, 2003, the promotion brought Logrono as a special manager for an event, continuing its long-running collaboration with the WAPA-TV producer. In early 2004, it
6120-473: A match between the boxer and Orlando Colón were dropped when he decided not to wrestle. WWC opted to close the 2009 season early with a Crossfire PPV, for which they introduced new HD cameras. Despite this, a show called "WWC goes to St. Thomas" was scheduled to take place in the Virgin Islands during the offseason. After recovering Bryan, WWC began promoting the "unimaginable", later revealed to be
6300-619: A match for the vacant Television Championship. However, TNT defeated Original TNT in a non-title match on March 2, winning the rights to the TNT name, forcing his opponent to compete as "Action Jackson". The feud concluded later that month, when Rivera defeated Jackson to win his third Television Championship on March 30. On April 20, TNT lost the title to King Kong . On June 1, TNT defeated Kong to win his fourth Television Championship. At Aniversario , TNT teamed with The Giant Warrior to defeat Demolition ( Crush and Smash ). TNT would then embark on
6480-511: A match to Owen Hart, and was then assaulted by Bradshaw. At In Your House 10: Mind Games , he defeated Bradshaw in a Caribbean Strap Match, ending their feud. During the match ECW originals The Sandman , Paul Heyman and Tommy Dreamer were in attendance because the event was held in Philadelphia where ECW originated in and Sandman spat beer in Vega's face and the three were kicked out of
6660-426: A mob, while singing a traditional Puerto Rican bomba, Santa María . Later in 2001, he allied with the main heel stable in the promotion, The Starr Corporation, composed of Chicky Starr , Víctor Rodríguez and Ricky Banderas. At Christmas in PR 2001, Vega and The Starr Corporation turned on Banderas and Shane , who teamed as Los Hermanos en Dolor, and feuded with Banderas. The Starr Corporation remained on his side until
6840-466: A new section named La Opinión de Gilbert, which temporarily replaced El Wizard Analiza. José Herrera and Abel Durant were featured in recurrent roles along Montesinos and Rodil. Jerry Rodríguez also had a recurrent role as a narrator and occasional host of Lo Que Está Pasando. The promotion resumed its work with charity and held tryouts. Prior to Aniversario, WWC promoted in the mainstream media including NotiUNO. It was, however, forced to cancel
7020-446: A no contest in a match were two referees, representing WWC and IWA, counted at the same time. Afterwards, Savio Vega accompanied by a host of IWA wrestlers including Dennis Rivera, Noel Rodiguez, Spectro, Hiram Tua and Carlos Cotto attacked them. He insulted Shane Sewell, Mr. Big and Blitz due to their association with WWC at the moment and insulted Carlito. At IWA Summer Attitude, Gilbert interrupted an homage to Victor Quiñones, prompting
7200-412: A no contest, due to a large amount of bleeding from both. On November 15, 2003, Kindred and Vega attacked Banderas following a match, and he was rescued by Vampiro , starting a new feud for La Compañia. At Hardcore Weekend 2003, Rivera returned to his "El Hombre que ellos llaman TNT" persona, wrestling against Huertas González. To close the year, Rivera was fired by José Chaparro, who went on to take over
7380-407: A no contest. The stable eventually grew to include Rivera's younger brother Dennis Rivera and his tag team partner Noel Rodríguez. Los Auntenticos would then create a "terror list" where the names of former WWC employees were written. This list was used in a new angle were the stable would ambush and attack wrestlers that were randomly selected from the list. At Golpe de Estado, Los Autenticos lost in
Savio Vega - Misplaced Pages Continue
7560-717: A number of announcements including the firing of Bryan, that Trevor Murdoch would face Eddie Colón at Aniversario and that the winner of the tournament for the Universal Championship would receive a new belt. The promotion also aired specials about Carlito Colón and Ray González to promote their upcoming match. During this time, WWC also held negotiations with Steve Corino to join the promotion as an active talent and booker. He joined other talents such as Eugene for Aniversario, Chessman and Teddy Hart were announced but removed later. Following Aniversario, WWC arranged to bring Christopher Daniels to serve as challenger for
7740-513: A pair of brass knuckles. After the match, Vega issued his rematch clause. On August 31, 2013, Vega lost to BSP World Heavyweight Champion Menace and Dimes in a three-way dance match celebrated in el sector La Jurado in Caguas, PR. Rivera remained completely absent from any wrestling-related activity for several months as a consequence. He reappeared on the final edition of WWC's Superestrellas de la Lucha Libre show before Aniversario 2011, interrupting
7920-498: A partnership with All Japan Pro Wrestling that resulted in The Great Muta and Nosawa appearing in their cards. The entrance of Melendez resulted in several IWA wrestlers with ties to him appearing in WWC programming with their identities concealed. In September it was announced that Carlos Colón had held reunions with WWE to evaluate the possibility of WWC becoming a developmental territory and other business aspects. After it
8100-423: A pre-event party and the integration of former boxing world champion Félix Trinidad to serve as referee of the main event. The promotion also contracted former IWA commenter, Axel Cruz. Prior to Aniversario, WWC announced a recess, the involvement of several media personalities and the incorporation of more talent, including Stacy Brooks, ODB, Figueroa and Ken Anderson, to the event. WWC aired promos filmed at
8280-484: A real-life feud that led to a confrontation in the locker room that concluded with Brody receiving stab wounds to his chest and stomach. The only one to witness the series of events that ended in the death was WWC wrestler Tony Atlas . Atlas said he saw both men enter the shower area of the locker room (nobody actually heard or saw what went on in the shower). Atlas claims he looked over to Carlos Colón, and then heard sounds and saw Brody hunched over with González brandishing
8460-493: A season in the company. In October 2012, JBL claimed during a WWE show that Carlos Colón owed him money. In March 2013, WWC debuted new belts commissioned to Top Rope. The promotion cancelled a card at Mayagüez due to low attendance. Towards the end of the year, WWC experienced some instability in its roster, with three wrestlers leaving, Gilbert initially announcing that he was leaving and Ricky Banderas being replaced for Euphoria. On April 16, 2014, World Wrestling Council, Inc.
8640-425: A setback when WWE did not allow Carly Colón to wrestle Abyss, citing that it could be seen as an interpromotional match. During this timeframe, the promotion also held a card in the establishment of one of its long-time sponsors, Playa 79. The rivalry between promotions also resulted in occasional confrontations to ensure the availability of a venue. In May 2004, the schedule of a local AAA baseball league and rain,
8820-446: A singles match over González. He subsequently brought Miguel "Mr. Big" Maldonado to La Compañia to serve as his personal bodyguard. On November 11, 2005, Rivera defeated Carlos Cotto to win his second World Heavyweight Championship. Later that month he retained in a leather strap match. A third match between them that featured José Huertas González as referee was declared a no contest. However, on January 6, 2006, he lost to González in
9000-542: A six-man tag match. In February, he lost consecutive matches by disqualification to Marc Mero and Goldust. On March 17, 1997, Vega and Crush lost to The Legion of Doom by disqualification. At WrestleMania 13 , they teamed with Faarooq to lose a six-man street fight tag match against the Legion of Doom and Johnson. On the next Raw , Vega lost to Johnson by disqualification when The Nation interfered. Vega then feuded with Intercontinental Champion Rocky Maivia . Like Austin
9180-574: A skit where he appeared alongside Carlos Colón in a television show insulting Carlito. This angle was well received, receiving an approval of 64% among polled wrestling fans. IWA emphasized it in its programming, while WWC did not. Ultimately, the angle was abandoned before Aniversario. Afterwards, several matches were confirmed for the event. A documentary of WWC's history was announced by Wrestling Observer Shoots. In July 2010, WWC returned to Trinidad and Tobago in an event that featured Victor Jovica's retirement match. It also held conversations with
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#17327908732579360-412: A softball team, which participated in games in communities. In late October, Colón was involved in a legitimate confrontation with Huertas at Super Xclusivo, which WWC repurposed for promotion. In November the promotion participated in activities to celebrate Children's Day. That same month, WWC was involved in a dispute with independent promotion PRWA, which claimed that Colón, Sr. and Jovica prevented
9540-531: A special show broadcast live as part of the interpromotional angle between WWC and XWF. WWC Continued promoting its product in Televicentro's programming, this time as part of a multi-program collaboration that began with segments in a show named Zúmbate where a hidden camera prank was played on Laureano. The angle was continued at SuperXclusivo, where Colón and Santarosa reached a truce of sorts, but Laureano interrupted and argued with both. A wrestling special
9720-577: A stable known as "La Cruz del Diablo". Dennis Rivera eventually returned to his side citing that "blood is heavier than water". He won consecutive matches over Bravo at the Copa José Miguel Pérez and Summer Attitude. Rivera joined his brother in defeating The Bad Boys from Hell's Kitchen, also winning singles contests over Keith Walker and Sonny Roselli. In June 2010, Rivera was contacted by Hugo Savinovich in order to become involved in an angle with IWA's main rival, WWC. Savinovich serves as
9900-543: A strict protocol of expelling problematic fans, such as those that threw objects to the ring, mimicking rival IWA. The promotion also used strategies outside the ring to undermine its competition, including tipping the Treasury Department when other promotions held events. In 2001, WWC began a collaboration with the XWF , which saw Ray González and Carly Colón wrestle for the nascent promotion. Backstage footage of
10080-686: A tag team with his younger brother Chris Romero in 1986 following Jay's death. The Romeros achieved some success in the World Wrestling Council and later in the Global Wrestling Federation and the United States Wrestling Association as "The Tribal Nation". They also had a brief stint in World Championship Wrestling as " The Renegade Warriors ". Mark retired from wrestling in 1999. In early 2006, he wrestled at
10260-492: A tour of Japan for the upstart promotion Wrestling International New Generations (W*ING) in August, as part of a talent exchange partnership between CSP and W*ING. On August 7, TNT competed in the main event of W*ING's first show, by teaming with Mr. Pogo and Steve Collins in a loss to Akitoshi Saito , Koichiro Kimura and Mitsuteru Tokuda. W*ING specialized in deathmatch wrestling style and TNT competed in various matches under
10440-416: A tournament to crown the tag team champions of that promotion would be held in Puerto Rico, though no more details where unveiled. In May 2003, Juan Rivera and Eddie Colón encountered each other in a restaurant, entering into an argument about the practices and product of their respective promotions. The IWA turned this into an angle, where they belittled Colón as a "fan" of Armando Gorbea. On May 29, 2003,
10620-664: A wrestler over the third rope would result in a disqualification. In October, the promotion announced the incorporation of foreign talents Ramón Alvarez and Slash Venom. Prior to the 2008 general elections, the promotion accommodated a candidate for the PPR in its programming. The promotion also cancelled one of its cards in October. In November, the promotion announced that Sabu, the Dudley Boyz, Elijah Burke, Armando Alejandro Estrada and Balls Mahoney would appear at Lockout, where
10800-479: A year earlier, Maivia entered the feud as an undefeated prospect with a major push. On the April 14 RAW , Vega defeated Maivia by pinfall, while holding his tights. At In Your House 14: Revenge of the 'Taker , he once again defeated Maivia, this time by countout. After the match, he attacked Maivia's knee. On May 11, at In Your House 15: A Cold Day in Hell , Vega wrestled as part of a gauntlet match against Johnson and
10980-580: Is a retired American second generation professional wrestler better known by his ring name Mark Youngblood . Mark Romero is the son of Ricky Romero . He started wrestling as Mark Youngblood in 1980 and worked for the National Wrestling Alliance 's Jim Crockett Promotions as a tag team with Wahoo McDaniel . He wrestled in Florida Championship Wrestling in 1985 with his brother Jay and formed
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#173279087325711160-438: Is still aired on weekends (both Saturday and Sunday for two hours until March 2008 when it was reduced to one hour on both Saturdays and Sundays due to declining ratings). From 1973 to 1980 it aired on channel 11 (Telecadena Pérez Perry, then on Teleonce after the before mentioned went off the air), on channel 7 on Sunday evenings at 6pm and on Telemundo on Saturday mornings at 10am. Capitol Sports Promotions began touring all over
11340-608: The 1987 Real World Tag League , losing to Jumbo Tsuruta and Yoshiaki Yatsu in their AJPW debut. Abdullah and TNT scored twelve points in the Real World Tag League, and their participation in the tournament ended with a loss to Hiroshi Wajima and Giant Baba on December 11. Abdullah and TNT competed in several matches in AJPW in January 1988, including a title challenge against Ashura Hara and Genichiro Tenryu for
11520-492: The 1997 Royal Rumble , but was eliminated by eventual winner Stone Cold Steve Austin. On January 25, 1997, Vega turned heel and joined The Nation of Domination , a stable led by Faarooq , after turning on his partner, Ahmed Johnson . Johnson became the Nation's main rival in the following months. In his first match as a member, he defeated Flash Funk . At In Your House 13: Final Four , he teamed with Faarooq and Crush to win
11700-700: The Amarillo, Texas , based indy-wrestling company West Texas Wrestling Legends ran by his brother Chris. He made several appearances for the company before going back into retirement in July 2006. On January 13, 2007, he resurfaced in WTWL and defeated the WTWL Champion Thunder to win the championship. After the match, WTWL wrestlers "Hobo" Hank, Mike DiBiase , Dice Murdock, nephew "Radical" Ricky Romero III and Mark's brother Chris Romero came down to celebrate
11880-606: The Capitol Sports Promotions (CSP) as "TNT", adopting a fan favorite character based on his martial arts background and featuring several elements from stereotypical Hispanic gimmicks. He was managed by "El Profe" Ángel Pantoja Rivera. TNT made his CSP debut on May 2, 1987, by defeating Miguel Pérez to win the North American Heavyweight Championship , his first professional wrestling championship. On July 11, he became
12060-825: The Intercontinental Champion Jeff Jarrett by disqualification. Vega and Ramon would then feud with Men on a Mission (Mabel and Mo ), losing to them at In Your House 2 . On the July 31 episode of Raw , Vega and Ramon wrestled Owen Hart and Yokozuna for the WWF Tag Team Championship to a time limit draw, then lost a rematch for the titles the next week. For the rest of the year, he wrestled in tag matches with Razor and Bob Holly , as well as in singles matches against wrestlers including Waylon Mercy , Sid and Goldust . On January 1, 1996, episode of Raw , Vega teamed with Razor, unsuccessfully challenging The Smoking Gunns for
12240-550: The Jose Miguel Agrelot Coliseum . In June, the promotion was involved in negotiations with several wrestlers, including Ray González and the tag team Thunder and Lightning. These would include the negotiations surrounding an ongoing lawsuit that Jovica filed against González when he first left to the IWA. During this time, Carmen Calixto served a promoter for WWC. Besides securing the appearance of Scott Hall, WWC also negotiated with TNA talents, leading to
12420-510: The PWF World Tag Team Championship on January 9, 1988, in which the challengers came up short. They left AJPW after losing a match to Tsuruta and Yatsu on January 29. On September 30, 1990, TNT made his debut for New Japan Pro-Wrestling , by losing to Masahiro Chono at Antonio Inoki 's 30th Wrestling Anniversary event. TNT would make frequent tours to Japan to compete for NJPW between 1990 and 1993, competing as
12600-524: The Puerto Rico Department of State as president/agent and vice-president respectively. With the turn of the century came some changes that troubled the franchise. A promotion called International Wrestling Association (IWA-PR), promoted by Víctor Quiñones , became WWC's biggest competitor when it made an alliance with wrestling giant the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) which in turn brought American superstars to IWA-PR. WWC adopted
12780-532: The Tag Team Championship . Corsario finished his run with Mid-South on November 11 at a live event by teaming with Steve Williams in a loss to The Bruise Brothers. During that year he also wrestled for Houston Wrestling . In 1986, Rivera wrestled a few matches for the Mexican promotion Universal Wrestling Association as Corsario I and teamed with Corsario II. On August 8, Los Corsarios lost
12960-565: The Television Championship . TNT would then begin feuding with Chicky Starr , whom he defeated in a gimmick versus hair match at Aniversario . During the last half of 1989, TNT had a midcard feud with Leo Burke , which was interrupted midway through when Burke defeated Carlos Colón for the Universal Heavyweight Championship . TNT was originally expected to win the belt, given his status as
13140-652: The WWF World Tag Team Championship . At Badd Blood: In Your House , The Disciples defeated Los Boricuas. Between October and November, Vega also had singles matches, losing to Goldust, Mero and Ken Shamrock . On the October 27 RAW , Vega and Pérez unsuccessfully challenged The Legion of Doom for the Tag Team Championship. In their next match, they lost to The New Age Outlaws . In December 1997, Los Boricuas and The Disciples exchanged victories. His first singles contest of 1998
13320-488: The "Colossus" Michael Jarvis. He and Cotto formed a regular tag team to feud with Jarvis and Judas, earning a 2-1 advantage. Rivera went on to defeat Jarvis twice and get disqualified against Kafu leading to Summer Attitude 2007. Subsequently, Rivera joined Sewell to form a tag team, winning two matches against the Estrellas. He then entered a feud against Figueroa, with both of their matches going inconclusive. He remained in
13500-528: The August 17 episode of Mid-South TV . As a member of Akbar's Army, he frequently teamed with Akbar's other clients. He also received a few title shots in Mid-South. The first title shot occurred against Butch Reed for the promotion's Television Championship on the October 19 episode of Mid-South TV , but failed to win. On the October 26 episode of Power Pro Wrestling , Corsario and Dutch Mantell unsuccessfully challenged Al Perez and Wendell Cooley for
13680-681: The BSP director of operations Alexis Baez. On July 7, 2013, Vega retained the BSP World Heavyweight Championship by defeating number one contender Dimes at its Summer Splash event held in San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico. On July 20, 2013, Vega lost the BSP World Heavyweight Championship to Dimes at Summer Splash La Revancha , held in Gurabo, Puerto Rico, after the challenger threw white powder in his face and then hit Vega with
13860-673: The Bollywood Boys. His team performed as the unambiguous heels, gaining the victory by employing illegal tactics. Vega became BSP World Heavyweight Champion by defeating Emperador Maximus on January 26, 2013, in La Barra in Caguas, PR. On April 28, 2013, Vega retained the BSP World Title by defeating Lloyd Samoa in Cayey, PR despite the outside interference from the challenger's manager Octavio 5to (Victor Manuel Sierra Garcia) and
14040-662: The Brawl for All tournament, he was released in August 1998. Vega returned to WWF television in July 1999. He would make a number of appearances on WWF Super Astros , and would participate in WWF Shotgun and WWF Jakked/Metal dark matches (sometimes with other Boricua members). During this time, he provided commentary at the Spanish announce table at the Fully Loaded PPV and several episodes of Monday Night Raw. He
14220-574: The IWA World Heavyweight Champion, his former partner Lozada, to an unification match. After he made his initial appearance, WWC's merchandising executive Jose Roberto Rodriguez entered the building and demanded that the belt was returned, but IWA personnel had taken the belt elsewhere and Salovi confronted him. For the unification, Big carried the Revolution X-Treme wrestling belt that belonged to Rivera and lost
14400-491: The IWA for NWS despite remaining under contract, making an appearance in one of its cards. Victor Jovica decided not to air the segment in the NWS Report in order to avoid legal repercussions. The following week, NWS was forced to cancel a show due to a problem with WWC' s promoter, beginning an internal conflict between both promotions. On July 8, 2006, it was reported that NWS and WWC had finished their agreement, cancelling
14580-564: The IWA's 10th Anniversary show, he wrestled Bravo to a no contest, with the Undisputed Heavyweight Championship being held up. Rivera lost the rematch. In August 2009, he won a handicap match over Rondón and Rodríguez and teamed to defeat La Compañia. He went on to defeat Bravo and Edwin Vázquez Ortega in consecutive matches. Following this, Rivera once again turned heel, teaming with Gilbert , facing
14760-738: The IWA, Division One Pro Wrestling (D1PW) in Florida and Nu-Wrestling Evolution in Spain . Vega retained the RXW championship twice in June, against Ricky Vega and PJD. On March 21, 2009, Vega defended and lost the RXW World Heavyweight Title in a rematch against Panama Jack Daniels. Vega was released from his TNA contract on July 31, 2009. On October 2, 2009, Vega participated in a Wrestling Alliance Revolution card, defeating AP Dynamite for
14940-586: The IWA, he competed in Revolution X-treme Wrestling based in Panama , performing in a battle royal to determine the winner of the vacant RXW World Heavyweight Championship, where he won the event. In January 2008, he began an international tour. This tour began with a presentation in Boston for Power House Wrestling Of New England. And continued with a visit to Ecuador where he would defend
15120-483: The NWA World Champion, Dan Severn . The Gang Wars came to an end when the leaders of the three stables faced off in a triple threat match, which Vega won. After the angle, Los Boricuas splintered into two tag teams. On July 6, Vega defeated Brakkus in a Brawl for All tournament boxing match. On August 10, he lost a quarterfinal match to Darren Drozdov . As a result of a severe arm injury sustained from
15300-702: The TNA Knockouts. He also served as the unofficial trainer for the division during this tenure. On July 31, 2009, Rivera was released from his contract. In late 2011, Rivera was rehired by TNA, this time to work with Ring Ka King , a TNA affiliate promotion in India. Along with Jeff Jarrett and Dutch Mantell , he was responsible for training the Indian wrestlers at Ohio Valley Wrestling , TNA's developmental territory in Louisville, Kentucky. While wrestling in
15480-539: The TNT character. During the following weeks, Rivera continued this line by issuing two challenges in IWA events, as well as changing the name of his finisher to "La Painkiller". At Summer Attitude 2010, Rivera defeated World Wrestling Entertainment employee Bryan Danielson , then IWA Puerto Rico Heavyweight Champion and first contender to the WWE United States Championship , by pinfall following his finishing move. Later that night, he sanctioned
15660-512: The Tag Team Championship in a Raw Bowl match . In March 1996, Vega and Razor teamed one last time losing to Tatanka and Razor's former protege The 123 Kid and then afterwards Vega's alliance with Razor quietly ended. Vega was the twelfth entrant in the 1996 Royal Rumble , eliminating Dory Funk, Jr. before being eliminated by Vader . The following night on Raw , he lost to Vader. On the March 11 Raw , he wrestled Stone Cold Steve Austin for
15840-436: The Universal Heavyweight Championship from Abdullah the Butcher. This led to a match between the two for the title at Aniversario , where they wrestled to a sixty-minute draw. Later that year, TNT lost the Television Championship to Steve Strong on December 4. In early 1991, he feuded with a wrestler who had originally used the name "TNT", and began proclaiming himself "Original TNT". On January 26, TNT lost to Original TNT in
16020-622: The WAR World Heavyweight Championship. On November 1, 2009, Vega and Pérez participated in a Dominican Wrestling Entertainment card, being booked to win the DWE World Tag Team Championship. They dropped the title on DWE's final event of the year, Cierre de Temporada, held on December 20, 2009. On a Ring Ka King episode aired on February 11, 2012, Rivera returned to his T.N.T. character as part of his work as trainer for TNA. His opponent
16200-496: The WWE offices and TNA's Impact Zone. In July, WWC continued their widespread promotional tour, despite suffering the loss of MVP. In the process, the IWA booked OBD to a future date despite her scheduled appearance at WWC, airing a promo segment. The promotion also held a pre-event party. WWC filmed Aniversario 2009 with the intent of turning it into a DVD narrated by Savinovich and Carlos Cabrera, WWE's Spanish commentators. At
16380-586: The WWF, and The Caribbean Kid's sole appearance. On the April 15 episode of Raw , Vega challenged Goldust for the Intercontinental Championship. Vega won the match, but WWF President Gorilla Moonson reverted the decision and vacated the title. The following week on Raw , Vega and Goldust fought for the title, which was won by Goldust. Austin won a rematch at In Your House 7: Good Friends, Better Enemies on April 28. One month later, at In Your House 8: Beware of Dog , Vega defeated Austin in
16560-568: The World Tag Team Championship. However, he turned on Huertas González and joined Sewell, turning La Compañia heel. Following this, Rivera took a random Canadian heel character, replacing his traditional outfit featuring the Flag of Puerto Rico to one sporting the Flag of Canada. He feuded with González throughout 2005. Both formed different tag teams with members of their stable, exchanging victories. On June 18, 2005, Rivera won
16740-568: The Wrestling Alliance Revolution Tag Team Championship. The tour concluded in Panama where he defended the company's title against Ricky Banderas . In PHW he participated in a tag team match, where he teamed with a wrestler using the name Don Vega. They defeated a team that included the company's heavyweight champion. He would then compete in "WAR Conquest 2008", a special event organized by Wrestling Alliance Revolution. In this event he defended
16920-428: The airing of the NWS Report in Superestrellas de la Lucha Libre. On July 9, 2006, it was reported that the IWA-PR and WWC administrations had discussed the possibility of cooperating with each other, even discussing a potential inter-promotional angle. Universal champion Black Pain made several appearances for NWG while the independent promotion responded in kind by dedicating a cup to Carlos Colón. WWC also organized
17100-422: The arrival of Idol Stevens. After reports claimed that Laureano was leaving for PRWA, WWC clarified that this was inaccurate. The promotion also scheduled Sabu for a return. For La Hora de La Verdad, WWC held a promotion allusive to their association with WWE, awarding tickets for 12 Rounds along a limited number of ringside tickets. In March, WWC made several announcements including the delay of Rudy's return to
17280-477: The arrival of WWC wrestlers to Summer Attitude, mentioning Carlito. The angle was well received by the wrestling fans of Puerto Rico. Vega mentioned that both Miguel Pérez and Victor Jovica opposed to the idea, though he stated that Perez later warmed up to it. Four chairs were reserved for IWA the first night of Aniversario 2011, with Thunder and Lightning hinting that they were not alone. The main night of Aniversario, Los Fujitivos wrestled Thunder and Lightning to
17460-575: The booking of Abyss. Several talents decided to leave. The promotion responded by revamping its image, debuting a new logo on June 1, 2004. However, the assistance diminished and, combined with other unforeseen problems, this led to a series of cancelled cards. The promotion resumed operations and returned to Trinidad & Tobago, eventually recovering some ground by having a now-heel Carly wrestle his brother at Aniversario. The passing of tropical storm Jeanne over Puerto Rico in September 2004 affected
17640-482: The building. On the September 7 episode of Raw , Vega defeated Hunter Hearst Helmsley . This was followed with a victory over the fake Razor Ramon , who had appeared following the original Razor 's departure to World Championship Wrestling . On the December 22 episode of Superstars , he teamed with Jesse James to unsuccessfully challenge Owen Hart and Davey Boy Smith for the Tag Team Championship. Vega entered
17820-433: The cancellation of another card. Afterwards, they backtracked on removing Carlito from Aniversario, which was dedicated to Pedro Castillo. As Aniversario approached, more talent was added, and rumors swirled that IWA owner Savio Vega would appear in the event. Prior to the event, WWC brought Ricky Banderas as referee and switched Katie Lee Burchill for OBD due to visa issues. The approaches to Vega eventually concluded in
18000-566: The cards due to being "in no condition" to wrestle. That same month, WWC announced the release of another DVD, Anniversary 1985–1988. None of La Rabia members made their scheduled appearances for the first date of the Euphoria tour. Following the absences, it was reported that there had been conversations between the group and IWA during the offseason. On January 6, 2008, Big made a surprise appearance at Histeria Boricua while carrying WWC's Universal heavyweight Championship belt and challenged
18180-625: The company and began negotiations with the IWA. On July 25, 2002, it was reported that WWC responded to González leaving by bringing in wrestlers from abroad, in particular from Florida, and had completed the arrangements to begin the airing of the XWF tapings as a tandem to WWC at Televicentro. On October 13, 2002, both promotions announced a card to be held on the same date and venue in Cayey venue for October 18. Ultimately, IWA presented its event, while WWC did not hold one on that day. On October 20, 2002, Televicentro aired Invasion 2002: El Especial en Vivo,
18360-442: The company's tag team championship along Condor Ortíz, in a match that they lose after Ortíz accidentally kicked Vega. Following the match he turned on Ortíz, and subsequently challenged Kuervo, the company's heavyweight champion to a title match on the event. The encounter happened later in card, and Kuervo retained by disqualification after Vega spat green mist on his face. During the following summer Vega alternated his work between
18540-476: The company. In his first match following a forced hiatus, Los Autenticos got disqualified in a match against González and Figueroa. They went on to defeat "Los Rabiosos", composed by Freddie "Blitz" Lozada and Maldonado. Rivera entered a feud against Lozada, after the former teamed with Ricky Vega to defeat Los Autenticos. On June 14, 2008, he defeated Vega. Rivera went then entered a feud with Bison Smith , losing twice. On October 4, 2008, he wrestled The Sheik to
18720-462: The creative plans that WWC had with the wrestler, which included more defenses against international talents with arrangements with wrestlers such as Samoa Joe being made. This incident was combined with other complications, such as suspending a card. WWC took measures such as bringing in Corino for a longer run. On September 20, 2008, Jovica announced the adoption of new rules, including that throwing
18900-419: The crowd and issued another challenge to Colón who responded in a subsequent interview issuing a challenge of his own. The WWC responded by entering the IWA's next event, Summer Attitude and vandalizing Quiñones' Hall of Fame induction. Despite this, the negotiations between the promotions were stalled and no further actions were taken for the remainder of 2011. At Halloween Mayhem 2011, Rivera returned to IWA for
19080-485: The debut of Ricky Banderas for the promotion. The arrival marked the latest in a series of attempts to take the wrestler away from the IWA, and served to set a match against Carly Colón to open the 2010 season. It was later revealed that the negotiations had been carried out by Hugo Savinovich. AAA promoted the move in Mexico. In December the promotion made a series of moves, enrolling new editor Alberto Rodriguez and
19260-583: The division citing a lack of female talent. As Orlando Colón left for WWE, WWC incorporated Scott Steiner to its roster. In March, WWC cancelled a card without previous notification and reactivated the female division. Savinovich produced Aniversario 2010, while the previous event was released in DVD. In April 2010, WWC continued cancelling events. Though it brought several foreign stars such as Steiner and Shelton Benjamin for Aniversario, WWC lost Carlito following his release from WWE. Weather conditions also led to
19440-482: The event, Savinovich announced that he would produce the following two Aniversarios. However, the surprise appearance of Noriega upset Corino, who felt that months of pushing BJ had been damaged and left the promotion. During this time, the promotion also signed Ricky Steamboat Jr., who debuted on July 24, 2009. Following Aniversario 2009, the promotion reintroduced a revamped website. For Summer Madness, WWC brought Ricky Steamboat, Sr. to team with his son. Following
19620-678: The event, which was done in an edited fashion. In an NWA Report, the IWA announced that they would retire the old belt and introduce a new one to represent the Undisputed Championship. WWC responded by airing a segment where it boasted putting down La Rabia (which is translated as "The Rabies") and aired a segment where the commission and insisted that Big wasn't champion at Histeria Boricua. In February, one of WWC's talents, Joe Bravo, made an appearance in Club Sunshine. In March, WWC cancelled its cards and programming for
19800-616: The eventual leader of a Puerto Rican stable , Los Boricuas . After leaving the WWF, Rivera returned to Puerto Rico and joined Víctor Quiñones ' promotion, the International Wrestling Association , where he was a long-time general manager and won five titles, including the IWA Undisputed World Heavyweight Championship . In 2011, he was featured in the first interpromotional angle between IWA and WWC. Rivera
19980-587: The final matches and changing his wrestling persona to "El Hombre Dinamita" (a reference to his "TNT" gimmick, which the WWC had trademarked and did not allow him to use). On July 16, 2001, Vega defeated Jesus Castillo, his former Los Boricuas stablemate and now a member of a stable called "Los Intocables" with Miguel Pérez, for the IWA Hardcore Championship. He was forced to vacate the title after being unable to wrestle. Eventually, he turned on his former allies and became general manager, forming
20160-515: The first time since Histeria Boricua 2011, turning on a heel Pérez and seizing control by regaining the office of general manager and joining the still-undefeated Angel and Phillip Davian to form a stable known as "La Academia Gerencial". The group stayed away from action for the remainder of the year due to him working the RKK project for TNA in OVW and India and he named an interim general manager who performed
20340-424: The first time, resulting in a double countout. This led to a feud, and a series of matches. The first of these happened at WrestleMania XII , both men's WrestleMania debut, which Austin won. On the April 13 episode of Superstars , Rivera, wearing a mask featuring the flag of Puerto Rico and billed as "The Caribbean Kid", defeated Austin by pinfall, then unmasked himself. This was Austin's first singles defeat in
20520-448: The general manager office acting on behalf of the IWA's CEO, Thomas Wreckler. Víctor "The Bodyguard" Rodríguez emerged as the self-proclaimed leader of La Compañia during his absence. In June 2004, a storyline to bring Rivera back was run, in which the CEO, Thomas Wreckler, brought him in to stop La Familia and La Compañia. However, this storyline was interrupted by the death of Rodríguez due to
20700-399: The initial feud in a match at Golpe de Estado 2003, Fénix revealed his true identity, Ray González , and abandoned La Compañia. Now joined by a heel Figueroa and Slash Venom , Vega feuded with González and his stable, La Familia del Milenio. This new faction had several matches against Figueroa & Kindred and Pérez & Castillo. At Golpe de Estado 2003, Rivera wrestled Huertas González to
20880-407: The initiative was short-lived, as Rivera, Jr. was forced to leave Puerto Rico to attend personal matters. Soon afterwards, El Wizard Analiza with narrator Antonio Montesinos (better known by his ringname El Wizard), took prominence. The promotion made other changes to their programming, such as airing an hour long special dedicated to classic matches. The promotion's association with NWA-TNA suffered
21060-474: The injured Shawn Michaels in the eight-man tag main event, teaming with Triple H and the New Age Outlaws in a losing effort. On the March 9 Raw , he wrestled Triple H to a no contest. At WrestleMania 14 , Vega wrestled in a battle royal, won by Legion of Doom 2000. A week later, Los Boricuas lost to LOD 2000. The Gang Wars continued with matches against The Disciples in April. On May 4, Rivera lost to
21240-774: The intention of hosting more frequent, likely monthly, events in the region. For Aniversario, WWC brought Booker T. Afterwards, WWC lost Idol Stevens to WWE. A return to Trinidad and Tobago was announced for October. In August, WWC continued having issues with the cancellation of events. Hugo Savinovich continued with an on-screen role. WWC had issues being forced to move venues, while its show did not go to air due to weather conditions. In August 2010, WWC moved its headquarters from Santurce to Hato Rey, also in San Juan. With Carlos Colón promoting WWE, he held contests in conjunction with WWC. WWC brought in DWE president Rico Casanova, emphasizing
21420-525: The island, and with the golden era of boxing in Puerto Rico limited only to Ponce and the metropolitan area of Puerto Rico, Capitol Sports Promotions took their shows to many, inner country towns where people were not used to seeing live in-ring sports events. As a result, Capitol's shows usually filled the smaller town arenas. CSP also benefited from collaborations, including a talent exchange agreement with Mario Savoldi's International Championship Wrestling (ICW). During one specific stretch, CSP sold out
21600-551: The last several episodes produced prior to Maria. Almost five months after the hurricane, WWC confirmed its return with new episodes of the weekend shows (consisting of newly recorded commentary and interview segments mixed with repeats of high-profile matches) leading up to a new live event on March 3, 2018. For Aniversario, the promotion announced Jake Swagger, Del Rio and the Briscoes. Still relying on foreign talent, WWC announced Mark Henry for Septiembre Negro, but later retracted
21780-694: The latter to complete an unofficial run with the belt, retaining momentum afterwards and being ranked in Pro Wrestling Illustrated 's "Top 10" throughout 1984. On July 16, 1988, American star Bruiser Brody was stabbed at the locker room of the Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium in Bayamón , prior to a show. Brody died from the stab wounds later on that night. The man who stabbed him was fellow wrestler and booker José Huertas-González, known as Invader I. The two men had
21960-513: The latter was performing under the wrestling-related character of Vitin Alicea. On November 18, 2002, the reintroduction of the Puerto Rico Heavyweight Championship was announced. Entering into December, WWC led IWA in rating after the latter experienced a drop. Further expanding into the mainstream programming, Carly and Eddie Colón were also featured in a commercial for the ACE brand. In April 2003,
22140-436: The match to Lozada. In an interview with mainstream newspaper Primera Hora , Colón, Sr. denied that Big was still champion and warned that they would pursue a case for illegal appropriation if the belt wasn't immediately returned. The promoter also claimed that Melendez and La Rabia were aware that they would be fired and decided to do a preemptive strike. For its following program, IWA announced that they would air footage of
22320-399: The match, immediately leaving the venue afterwards. WWC used the commission as a plot device to declare the titles held up, reaffirming the posture later in Superestrellas de la Lucha Libre. Despite refusing to return the belts to WWC, when interviewed by mainstream media outlet NotiCel Los Dueños de la Malicia assured that they "had not stolen anything" and were the legitimate champions per
22500-477: The name as the card underwent several changes including the absence of an announced Eddie Colón. In November 2018, it was reported that WWC had finalized the sale of its video library to WWE. On July 23, 2018, longtime talent Ramón Álvarez (a.k.a. El Bronco No. 1) and Engel Landolfi unveiled a spinoff based in the Dominican Republic, WWC DR, receiving the support of Colón and Jovica (who loaned both
22680-413: The new Universal Champion, Noriega. The promotion began bringing former champions to challenge for the belt, integrating Shane Sewell and contacting Black Pain, who did not join. WWC also revamped its television show. In August 2008, both WWC and IWA lost talents to the re-branded EWO, in the case of the promotion these were of talents and included Universal Heavyweight Champion Noriega. This damaged
22860-401: The organization of cards during this month due to a week-long blackout. Another cancellation was forced by the low turnout of a card that was scheduled the night of the return to action of boxing world champion Felix Trinidad against Ricardo Mayorga. During the offseason, the promotion modified the horary of their shows to accommodate special programming in the channel. In January 2005, WWC
23040-683: The organization, was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) until late 1988, when Gorilla Monsoon left. The company then went bankrupt (as confirmed by Víctor Quiñones in an interview with prwrestling.com). Thomas Collado was the owner in 1976, before Carlos Colón and Victor Jovica. The promotion operated from its headquarters, located in Santurce, San Juan. Capitol Sports Promotions gained fame in Puerto Rican homes soon after their TV show, Super Estrellas de la Lucha Libre , went on-air every weekend on channel 4, WAPA-TV . The taped show
23220-465: The participation of Eddie Colón in one of its cards. On November 24, 2006, it was reported that WWC was expanding its programming to Supercanal 33 in the Dominican Republic, giving it more exposition in the United States since the channel retransmits there. In December 2006, the promotion negotiated the acquisition of several talents, including foreigners Scott Hall and Vampiro. This last return
23400-419: The press release, becoming involved in a public dispute with BJ. During the offseason, WWC loaned talents Diaz and Gorbea as well as referee Angel Fashion , to independent promotion NPW. During the offseason, the promotion loaned talent to be used in the season closer of independent promotions HWR and CWF. On January 9, 2010, it was reported that WWE had released Pain. WWC made moves to secure his return to
23580-410: The producer of Aniversario, the WWC's main annual event. While still in negotiation, Rivera appeared in a talk show along Carlos Colón. Promotion of the angle began here by staging a spot where he criticized Carly Colón 's supposed addiction to painkillers, prompting Colón to leave the stage. This marked the first time that both performed together in over a decade, following the lawsuit filled by WWC over
23760-627: The production of Superestrellas de la Lucha Libre due to some disagreements with the ownership of WWC. After these events, Savinovich became the main host of the programs. The World Wrestling Council was a member National Wrestling Alliance from 1979 until 1987. As the market remained a lucrative and " hot territory " within the organization, the presence of the NWA World Heavyweight Championship became ubiquitous in large events, predominantly represented by perennial headliner Ric Flair. On January 6, 1983, Colón defeated
23940-536: The programming by stepping into the camera while wearing an IWA shirt. At the actual event, he led a large group of IWA wrestlers, including incumbent Undisputed World Champion Hiram Tua , who promptly invaded the WWC ring, beating down the WWC Tag Team Champions, Wilfredo "Lynx" Rivera and Alejandro "Niche" Marrero. This event became known as "El Bombazo", referencing his original gimmick and the explosive nature of actual TNT . Rivera himself addressed
24120-399: The promotion decided to enter a brief hiatus until June. During this timeframe, there was speculation that the promotion could close, with contracted wrestlers reporting internal instability. These concerns were exacerbated when Mantell left his post as head booker and returned to work full time with NWA-TNA in anticipation of the first editions of TNA Impact! , only collaborating with WWC in
24300-441: The promotion, Black Pain had signed with WWE. That same month, WWC laid off several members of its mostly inactive female division. For Aniversario, WWC decided to bring foreign talent once again, this time Bobby Lashley. On June 12, 2008, an interview with Univision's Anda pal Cara show served to sell an angle where González interrupted an interview of Colón, Sr. and Carly Colón and revealed his identity. Entering July, WWC made
24480-516: The promotion, later announcing his return as well as Laureano's. To promote the arrival of Banderas, WWC once again recurred to promoting itself on Wapa, appearing in Logrono's show Sunshine Remix along González. The promotion contracted Eric Perez as soon as he was released from his WWE contract. In February 2010, WWC declared the Women's Championship vacant due to failure to defend and inactivated
24660-438: The remaining representatives of NWS held a reunion to attend the crisis and decided to continue operating under a new agreement with WWC, which allowed them to replace the lost show with a half-hour segment in Superestrellas de la Lucha Libre titled NWS Report. The promotion also allowed some of its talent to participate in a charity show organized by New Wrestling Generation (NWG). During the last week of June, German Figueroa left
24840-399: The ring and the creation of a new webpage. After IWA announced the return of Sewell to its roster, WWC made arrangements so that he would join them instead. Despite having to cancel a card in April, WWC announced the incorporation of female wrestlers. The promotion cut its ties with Sara Jay due to discipline issues. Aniversario 2009 was dedicated to Hugo Savinovich, who began his career as
25020-724: The role and launching an interpromotional angle. WWC promoted a match between Eddie Colón and Hideo Saito as an interpromotional, WWE vs. NJPW, encounter. As IWA claimed ownership of the character of "El Mesias" Ricky Banderas, WWC billed the wrestler as "El Hombre que ellos llaman El Mesías Ricky Banderas" and "El Mega Campeón". The public perception of WWC's product improved during this year. For Euphoria 2011, WWC continued relying on former WWE wrestlers and brought MVP. During this time frame Superestrellas de la Lucha Libre consisted of airing taped matches, Lo que Está Pasando hosted by Alejandro Rodil, El Wizard Analiza and Clásicos de la Lucha Libre. However, WWC made some changes and introduced
25200-477: The role at Histeria Boricua 2012. Prior to the WWC's Euphoria 2012 event, Rivera reappeared in Superestrellas de la Lucha Libre, supporting Ricky Banderas in his contest against Colón. He eventually costed Colón the match, playing a video stating that the "hunting had begun" that lasted for the remainder of the scheduled time. World Wrestling Council Capitol Sports Promotions, with Carlos Colón , Victor Jovica and Gorilla Monsoon as promoters/co-owners of
25380-646: The rules of professional wrestling. The report also noted that the actions that followed the event were not part of a storyline. WWC later changed the official result of the match through the commissioners, declaring it null and declared that Los Fujitivos remained champions. For Halloween Wrestling Xtravaganza, WWC brought Blue Demon Jr. In its programming, El Wizard Analiza returned to coexist along La Opinión de Gilbert. Alejandro Rodil returned to host Lo que esta pasando en WWC. Savio Vega reappeared in WWC, challenging Carlito both in Superestrellas de la Lucha Libre and Euphoria. Afterwards, Carlito answered. They cancelled
25560-406: The section that he hosted, Ringside con Joe Don Smith, was removed. A new section with Pantojas, titled Cara a cara con El Profe was soon introduced. On July 17, 2003, Thunder and Lightning appeared in Club Sunshine in order to promote Aniversario 2003. When Jose Huertas González joined the IWA, WWC retaliated by airing matches involving Bruiser Brody. The promotion escalated their attack by airing
25740-460: The signing of Mr. Kennedy for the Euphoria show to be held at the Coliseum of Puerto Rico. After WWC spoiled that Sewell had left to join to join the IWA and make a surprise appearance at Christmas in PR, they responded by filing a lawsuit prohibiting the use of the character of "Ricky Banderas" and forcing the use of "El Triple Mega Campeon" as replacement. WWC's own Gorbea refute the content of
25920-632: The stipulation. On August 17, TNT lost a lumberjack deathmatch to Akitoshi Saito. TNT would then return to CSP to successfully defend the Television Championship against Samu on August 31. TNT would then make a second tour to W*ING in September. On September 19, TNT teamed with Pogo to defeat Saito and The Iceman in a Caribbean Hurricane Cage Deathmatch . TNT's final match in W*ING took place on September 20, in which he defeated Yukihiro Kanemura . This would be TNT's final appearance for W*ING, as he exclusively returned to compete for CSP. TNT would then lose
26100-406: The stocks at Golpe de Estado with the winner taking full control of both halves of the promotion, which was accepted. On October 14, 2004, with the score tied between "Capitol" and IWA, he defeated González ending the name change angle. At Christmas in PR 2004, González dropped the title to Sewell in a match ordered by him. On the other hand, Rivera himself teamed with Huertas González to challenge for
26280-425: The support of Banderas, granting him a title match against Figueroa on January 6, 2003, in which he turned heel and joined La Compañia, who feuded with Figueroa, Vega bringing in foreign wrestlers to incapacitate him. Banderas led La Compañia for several months, until Rey Fénix joined, triggering a power struggle in which Vega supported Fénix. Vega and Fénix defeated Banderas and Rodríguez in tag matches. After winning
26460-566: The tapings Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida were intermingled with an angle involving Barrabás and La Familia del Milenio. The angle would have led to a match between González and Hulk Hogan , with interactions between both being aired on Superestrellas de la Lucha Libre. Carlos Colón negotiated this participation, but it ultimately failed to materialize, the XWF stagnated as it failed to sell television rights for its content. Hogan himself left and returned to WWE. On July 12, 2002, Colón, Sr.
26640-475: The title for another two months before dropping it to Jason the Terrible . On February 4, 1989, he defeated Sika to win the vacant Puerto Rico Heavyweight Championship , holding it for 21 days before losing it to Abbuda Dein . He defeated Jason the Terrible to win his third Caribbean Heavyweight Championship on March 4, and dropped it to Rip Rogers on May 14. On June 17, TNT defeated Carlos Colón to win
26820-649: The title loss, TNT participated in the La Copa Gillette tournament, in which he defeated Mr. Pogo in the first round, but fought Invader I to a time limit draw in the quarter-final. On June 18, he won the Caribbean Heavyweight Championship from Hercules Ayala. Two months later, he dropped it to Buddy Landel . After failing to regain the title from Landel in a rematch at Aniversario , TNT defeated Landel to win his second Caribbean Heavyweight Championship on September 17. TNT held
27000-473: The title to Fidel Sierra on October 19. TNT regained the title by defeating Sierra in a rematch on October 26, winning his fifth and final WWC Television Championship. TNT lost the title, a month later to Dick Murdoch on November 23. Shortly after, TNT left CSP. On November 22, 1987, TNT debuted in the Japanese promotion All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) by teaming with Abdullah the Butcher to participate in
27180-423: The tournament by defeating Irwin R. Schyster on the June 25 episode of Sunday Night Slam . Vega then defeated Yokozuna by countout in the first round, after interference from Yokozuna's tag partner, Owen Hart , backfired. He then defeated The Roadie with a rollup pinfall. He faced Mabel in the finals, losing after Mabel hit a splash off the ropes to win the tournament. The next night on Raw , Vega defeated
27360-479: The trade name and logo for use). Its first event was scheduled for October 28, 2018, featuring talent from both WWC (such as Carlito, Gilbert, Thunder and Lightning) and local competitor WWL ( Superstar Ash , Ángel Fashion and Vanilla Vargas ). In November 2018, WWE acquired the WWC video library. While still part of WWE's roster (yet inactive), Eddie and Orlando Colón returned to WWC, working in both administrative roles and as in-ring talent in 2019. Ray González
27540-686: The trial was over. By the mid-1990s, with the NWA territorial system largely dismantled, the organization changed its official name to World Wrestling Council in order to proclaim its regional titles as world titles. Women also began to have an ever-increasing presence in the organization during that decade. WWC also experienced other problems, issues with immigration concerning the visas of Mexican wrestlers Villano III , Pierroth Jr. , El Texano and Jerry Estrada while working an invasion angle with Asistencia Asesoría y Administración . On March 9, 1999, Jovica and Colón registered World Wrestling Council, Inc. at
27720-419: The weekend where primaries where political held. On March 22, 2008, it was reported that WAPA-TV had decided to cut two hours of programming to WWC's Superestrellas de la Lucha Libre block. These changes where not reflected in their Wapa America shows. On April 27, 2008, WWC changed the programming hour to accommodate political affairs. In May 2008, WWC announced that after participating in a tryout mediated by
27900-420: The weeks before his televised debut, which happened on January 22, 1994, when he, managed by Harvey Wippleman , was the fourth man to enter the 1994 Royal Rumble , marking Rivera's pay-per-view debut. During the match, he teamed with the fifth entrant, Owen Hart , battling the face wrestlers to a stalemate until Diesel entered seventh and eliminated all the previous entrants. Kwang's televised singles debut
28080-447: Was a collaborative effort and featured a series between wrestlers of both promotions that was tied until the last match, where Carlito was booked to take the win for WWC by defeating Shane Sewell. In March it was announced that more wrestlers from NWA-TNA would be arriving. In April, a fraction of NWS' directives split to form World Wrestling Stars (WWS). The promotion also lost its television spot to this new splinter. On April 19, 2006,
28260-583: Was a loss to Owen Hart . The next week, Vega and Pérez defeated Taka Michinoku and Scott Taylor . He was the 26th entrant in the 1998 Royal Rumble , and, like the year before, was eliminated by Steve Austin. In the Royal Rumble's main event, Vega and Los Boricuas attacked the Undertaker alongside the New Age Outlaws to aid Shawn Michaels in defeating him in a casket match. Vega headlined No Way Out of Texas: In Your House on February, when he replaced
28440-551: Was also involved in the promotion of a Monster Truck show where Jerry Lawler was involved. In March, WWC began working parallel angles in Dominican television to promote a series of shows to be held there. In March, Savoldi and WWC's administration were involved in a conflict and Billy Kidman and Psychosis, who had been announced to appear in cards during this month, jumped to IWA when the agent joined that promotion. In May, WWC announced that they would host their Aniversario event at
28620-487: Was an Indian wrestler called Jwala. None of the wrestlers were given a definitive heel or face role, but the local crowd supported his compatriot Jwala, who earned the pinfall by avoiding a maneuver by Rivera and applying his own finisher. He returned under the same guise on the March 24, 2012, RKK episode joining Nick Dinsmore in an eight-man tag team contest joining the Sheiks against the teams of Barood & Romeo Rapta and
28800-476: Was attacked by Jeff Jarrett and The Roadie , Rivera, portraying a fan in the audience, jumped the guardrail to rescue him. Later that night, Razor introduced him as his childhood friend, "Savio Vega". Vega made his wrestling debut on the May 28 episode of Action Zone , defeating Eli Blu . He then qualified for the 1995 King of the Ring tournament as a replacement for the injured Razor Ramon. He qualified for
28980-531: Was born and raised in Vega Alta, Puerto Rico . He was connected to the wrestling business while working as a security guard at World Wrestling Council live shows. After graduating from high school, he began his professional wrestling career in 1985. He made his professional wrestling debut on August 14, 1985, for Mid-South Wrestling as Skandor Akbar 's newest client, the masked villainous wrestler "El Corsario" by defeating Mark Ragin. His debut match aired on
29160-464: Was brought back in and placed in a creative role that was described onscreen as Director of Operations. As the new administration became more involved backstage, WWC introduced elements to its product, including a new logo. In February 2020, WWC and IWA-PR began a second inter-promotional angle, which featured Savio Vega and Ray González "crossing the line" and appearing in the other promotion. Mark Youngblood Mark Romero (born July 21, 1963)
29340-492: Was coordinated by Mario Savoldi. However, the first was preemptively removed from promotional material after suddenly cutting communications. In February 2007, WWC aired a special three hour edition of Superestrellas de la Lucha Libre. During this month, the promotion also lost one of its foreign wrestlers in Tim Arson, but evaluated Psychosis and Lita. For Honor vs. Traicion, the promotion brought back Dutch Mantell. Jovica
29520-701: Was eliminated, before Faarooq won it for The Nation. The next night on Raw , he challenged The Undertaker for the WWF Championship, but was disqualified. On June 9, The Nation lost a rematch from WrestleMania 13 against Johnson and The Legion of Doom. After this, The Nation began having internal problems and soon disbanded, when Faarooq expelled several members, including Vega and Crush. Following his departure from The Nation of Domination, Vega formed his own stable, Los Boricuas , composed of Puerto Rican wrestlers, brought in from Puerto Rican promotions, all members of notable wrestling families. Miguel Pérez, Jr. ,
29700-459: Was forced to replace Abyss in his cards after the wrestler requested a release from TNA. In June 2005, it was announced that WWC would be involved in the production of a CD and DVD. That same week, it was announced that WWC would pay homage to Bruiser Brody in an eponymous cup. On July 7, 2005, WWC announced that they had reached an exclusivity contract with WWE and would collaborate in the staging of their Raw Live presentations. In August 2005, it
29880-475: Was held between Pérez and him, which Rivera won but was nullified due to him lacking a contract, making way to a new villainous president in Toledo. Upon being "reinstated", Rivera went on to feud with González and Sewell, forming a loose cooperation with Toledo. He went on to form a tag team along Huertas González known as "Los Inhumanos", when the former turned heel. Their union eventually dissolved and evolved into
30060-419: Was involved in a discussion with Kobbo Santarrosa , host of Televicentro's SuperXclusivo show. Five days later, there were reports that the incident had been adapted into an angle. Parallel to this, the promotion faced issues with the regularity of payment of several wrestlers, who failed to attend a card held on July 17, 2002. After three weeks of no-showing his scheduled dates, maineventer Ray González left
30240-439: Was involved. Instead, as references were made to IWA in Superestrellas de la Lucha Libre, Thunder and Lightning appeared. Vega once again denied that the "invasion" was going on. Despite this, both sides continued in negotiations and ultimately reached an agreement late in the final week, with Vega appearing in Superestrellas de la Lucha Libre. Thunder and Lightning remained the storyline representatives of IWA in WWC. IWA hyped
30420-438: Was nothing but a fluke. Regardless of this, Angel won the rematch and eventually went on to become an undefeated world champion. Upon exiting the ring following the loss, Pérez confronted Rivera and told him not to return until he had "returned to his roots". In July 2008, Rivera began working as a road agent for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling . In January 2009, he became head agent for the promotion's women's division, known as
30600-497: Was on the January 30 episode of Wrestling Challenge , where he defeated Ray Hudson. On the April 18 episode of Monday Night Raw , Kwang suffered his first loss in the WWF, against the WWF Champion Bret Hart . On the May 9 episode of Raw , he lost a King of the Ring qualifying match to Razor Ramon . On September 12, he lost to The Undertaker . On January 9, 1995, he was at ringside when Howard Finkel won
30780-499: Was postponed. The agreement brought further advantages, such as the move of NWA-TNA wrestler Abyss from IWA to WWC, and the arrival of Ron Killings. The IWA responded by contacting NWA-TNA and prohibiting the use of contracted wrestler Apolo, while they had a working relationship with WWC. On April 1, 2004, the promotion debuted a new segment in its programming named El Sandungueo Club hosted by Jose Rivera, Jr., which included invitees from other fields such as urban artists. However,
30960-549: Was recalled to the United States . After losing two dark matches in the World Wrestling Federation as TNT in July 1993, Rivera debuted as Kwang on January 10, 1994. This gimmick incorporated clichéd elements previously used to portray mysterious "Asian" wrestlers and being billed from Japan, including a mask, a stereotypical martial arts moveset, and Asian mist . The WWF aired promotional vignettes in
31140-444: Was released again from his WWF contract in September 1999. On December 15, 1999, Rivera defeated Prince Albert at an International Wrestling Association house show in Puerto Rico. The IWA was a new promotion founded by Víctor Quiñones , which was one of WWF's developmental territories. Rivera joined the now independent IWA, upon returning to Puerto Rico. He wrestled as Savio Vega, though often ended feuds by wearing war paint in
31320-416: Was reported that WWC was interested in selling a fraction of its stocks to an investor, with Panda Energy and Jimmy Hart emerging as potential buyers. Despite the latter's involvement, any future plans to relaunch XWF and work another joint angle were placed on hold. The continuation of the working relationship was teased in a backstage segment aired weeks later. As part of these conversations, Hart attended
31500-495: Was reported that WWE had further plans for both IWA and WWC. During the final quarter of 2005, WWC entered into an alliance with emergent promotion New Wrestling Stars (NWS), which had just broken a working relationship with the IWA, and scheduled February 5, 2006 as tentative end of the alliance. Both promotions would collaborate in an angle where José Luis Rivera, José Chaparro and Cesar Vargas wanted to buy WWC, but were declined, beginning an inter-promotional war. Aniversario 2005
31680-444: Was revealed that Jovica was founding rebel group La Rabia, Superestrellas de la Lucha Libre was broadcast from a set lacking the WWC logo and using LRWA, with the stable hosting Lo que esta Pasando. Its cards were promoted as "WWC and LRWA presents" to sell the angle. In November WWC announced its return to Jose Miguel Agrelot Coliseum. In December, it was reported that Colón, Sr. had held reunions with John Lauraniatis about becoming
31860-560: Was revoked as the underlying corporation for the brand. An identically named entity being registered on March 3, 2015. Following the passing of Hurricane Maria over Puerto Rico, the WWC headquarters lost power for a prolonged time period due to infrastructure damage. In response, the promotion issued licenses to some of its wrestlers to participate in the local independent scene, barring some creative limitations that prevented them from being booked in clean defeats. As of December 2017, WWC's one-hour weekend shows on WAPA-TV continued to rerun
32040-604: Was subsequently revealed that the culprit was "Lighting" acting on González behalf, just when Huertas González was about to join the "Capitol" faction. On October 9, 2004, González announced that "Capitol" had formed an alliance with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling -NWA for Golpe de Estado and that this move would bring in NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett , Robert Roode , Konnan and Shawn Hernandez . Immediately after completing this announcement, Rivera proposed that they bet
32220-442: Was supported by Noel Rodríguez and Richard Rondón. The feud continued with matches between both, Los Autenticos lost two tag team matches against this team, known as "La Malicia". In matches between brothers, the result was a no contest and a win by Dennis Rivera. Concurrently, he entered a second feud against Joe Bravo and his own stable, "La Compañia Elite". Rivera and Pérez won a match against two lowcard members of La Compañia. At
32400-456: Was then aired in Zúmbate, where several members of the roster performed. In the same program, three masked wrestlers that were supposedly randomly recruited were revealed to be Santarrosa, Carly and Eddie Colón, which led to Laureano attacking all three. On November 14, 2002, Laureano participated in another Televicentro show, this time Club Sunshine where he confronted Sunshine Logrono while
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