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141-582: WWC North American Heavyweight Championship Details Promotion World Wrestling Council South Atlantic Pro Wrestling Date established April 5, 1974 Date retired November 15, 1991 Other name(s) NWA North American Heavyweight Championship (1974–1989) SAPW Heavyweight Championship (1991) Statistics First champion(s) Gil Hayes Final champion(s) Manny Fernandez Most reigns Carlos Colón ( 8 reigns ) Longest reign Abdullah

282-464: A Brawl for All contest between Bart Gunn and Butterbean at WrestleMania XV . Because of his frail appearance and rapidly declining health, the camera only focused on Monsoon during his introduction as a judge, for which he received a standing ovation. His final occasion on television with WWF would be as a guest commentator on the August 29, 1999 international version of Superstars . Marella

423-473: 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

564-544: A Texas Death rematch to the same team. A year later, after defeating teams such as Al Costello & Dr. Bill Miller and Bobo Brazil and Earl Maynard , they went on to lose a main event to Sammartino and Victor Rivera. Monsoon had semi main event matches with Spiros Arion as well as Bobo Brazil in his key heel years. Also in 1968 he won the IWA World Heavyweight Championship (Australia) defeating Mario Milano on February 2 and dropped

705-478: 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

846-455: 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

987-582: 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

1128-537: 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

1269-468: 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

1410-516: 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

1551-608: 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

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1692-478: 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

1833-470: 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

1974-615: 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

2115-495: 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

2256-496: 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,

2397-500: A loss to Abdullah Tamba in San Juan , Puerto Rico (also in 1983). The next phase of his career began, as the voice and backstage manager of WWF. In the early 1980s, Vincent J. McMahon's son, Vincent K. McMahon , began assuming the reins of the promotion from his father. The elder McMahon asked his son to take care of long-time employees who had been loyal to him. The younger McMahon agreed, and in 1982, Vince bought Marella's shares in

2538-725: A match between Carlos Colón and Ernie Ladd in Caguas, Puerto Rico Carlos Colón 2 December 7, 1974 Caguas, Puerto Rico Defeated Ladd in a rematch to win the held up title. Pierre Martel 1 March 1, 1975 Bayamón, Puerto Rico Carlos Colón 3 March 22, 1975 Bayamón, Puerto Rico Spoiler I 1 August 25, 1975 San Juan, Puerto Rico Carlos Colón 4 September 20, 1975 Caguas, Puerto Rico “Cowboy” Bob Ellis 1 February 21, 1976 Bayamón, Puerto Rico Carlos Colón 5 April 17, 1976 Caguas, Puerto Rico Eric

2679-526: A match between Killer Karl Krupp and Carlos Colón in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Carlos Colón 8 May 9, 1981 Bayamón, Puerto Rico Defeat Killer Karl Krupp in a rematch to win the held up title. Abdullah the Butcher 1 August 11, 1981 Trinidad and Tobago Stripped on November 21, 1981 after Abdullah attack Carlos Colón brother José Orlando Colón who not

2820-401: 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

2961-488: 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

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3102-473: 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

3243-698: A new national powerhouse. At the time, the WWWF was the dominant wrestling promotion in the Northeast U.S.. Marella formed a friendship with McMahon, and became a one-sixth shareholder in the WWWF, controlling bookings in several WWWF territories. He also became one of the promotion's top heels, feuding with popular babyface champion Bruno Sammartino in sellout arenas across the country. Despite his huge size, then in excess of 400 pounds, Monsoon had great agility and stamina, often wrestling Sammartino to one-hour time-limit draws. Monsoon first wrestled Bruno Sammartino for

3384-466: 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

3525-446: 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

3666-717: 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

3807-498: 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

3948-423: 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

4089-484: 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

4230-493: 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.

4371-425: 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,

WWC North American Heavyweight Championship - Misplaced Pages Continue

4512-670: A short time in 1977 and feuded with André the Giant , and the two engaged in a special boxing match in Puerto Rico (where Monsoon owned stock in the territory), with André winning the match. As a face, he had major wins in Madison Square Garden, including over Killer Kowalski as well as "Big Cat" Ernie Ladd . On June 1, 1976, a famous incident occurred in Philadelphia involving boxing great Muhammad Ali during

4653-574: 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

4794-412: 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

4935-531: 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

5076-543: 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

5217-520: A taping for the syndicated WWWF TV show. Ali, preparing for his upcoming crossover bout with Antonio Inoki in Japan later that month, jumped into the ring as Monsoon (who rarely appeared as a wrestler on their TV shows) was concluding a short match against Baron Mikel Scicluna . Ali removed his shirt and started dancing around Monsoon while gesturing and throwing jabs at him, to which Monsoon responded by grabbing Ali in his Airplane Spin and slamming him to

5358-416: 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,

5499-565: A tribute that aired on October 7, 1999, on an episode of WWF SmackDown! , McMahon described Marella as "one of the greatest men I have ever known." McMahon was reported to have broken down and cried after recording Marella's tribute. WCW commentator Tony Schiavone acknowledged Marella's death on the October 11, 1999, episode of WCW Monday Nitro . Bobby Heenan insisted on doing a tribute to Marella, even though Marella never worked for WCW. Heenan said on-air: "Gorilla will be sadly missed. Now he

5640-487: A very nice career". Martin reported that fellow wrestlers "generally speak pretty highly" of Monsoon, with particular praise for his movement and portrayal of his character. WE described him as "one of the most feared competitors" in professional wrestling, adding, "Whether in the ring, at the mic or behind the scenes, Robert 'Gorilla Monsoon' Marella will always be remembered as one of the greatest of all-time." He has been inducted into various wrestling halls of fame, including

5781-609: 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

WWC North American Heavyweight Championship - Misplaced Pages Continue

5922-438: 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

6063-599: 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

6204-946: The Puerto Rican promotion , the World Wrestling Council . Created in 1974, it was the primary singles championship of the promotion until the creation of the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship in 1982. It was then relegated to secondary status until it was abandoned sometime in late 1991. Title history [ edit ] Wrestler: Times: Date: Location: Notes: Gil Hayes 1 April 5, 1974 San German, Puerto Rico Billed as champion in arrival. Carlos Colón 1 June 22, 1974 Caguas, Puerto Rico Ernie Ladd 1 October 21, 1974 San Juan, Puerto Rico Held up on November 23, 1974 after

6345-603: 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

6486-634: The WWF Hall of Fame in 1994 . Monsoon's announcing has garnered both praise and derision. In the Wrestling Observer Newsletter ' s annual awards poll, readers voted Monsoon Worst Television Announcer a record six times between 1985 and 1995. Appraising his commentary in 1988, journalist Stately Wayne Manor remarked, "Monsoon is aptly named after a counterproductive wind storm that nobody welcomes." Writer Dave Meltzer referred to conversations with "irate wrestlers in

6627-2664: The Wayback Machine : WWC: Invader #1 & Dory Funk Contract Signing (1983) . YouTube . ^ Hoops, Brian (March 5, 2017). "Daily Pro Wrestling History (03/05): The Hardy Boyz win WWF tag team gold" . Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online . Retrieved March 5, 2017 . ^ Hoops, Brian (September 15, 2015). "Pro wrestling history (9/15): nWo wins War Games, Hennig wins WCW US title" . Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Retrieved January 25, 2020 . ^ Hoops, Brian (March 7, 2020). "Daily Pro Wrestling history (03/07): Bruno Sammartino vs. Giant Baba" . Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Retrieved March 8, 2020 . External links [ edit ] Wrestling-Titles.com v t e World Wrestling Council Championships Main WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship Secondary WWC Caribbean Heavyweight Championship WWC Puerto Rico Championship WWC Television Championship WWC World Junior Heavyweight Championship Tag Team WWC World Tag Team Championship Former WWC North American Championship WWC North American Tag Team Championship WWC Women's Championship Partnerships Former National Wrestling Alliance New Japan Pro-Wrestling WWE Related articles Carlos Colón Bruiser Brody Memorial Cup WWC Aniversario WWC Euphoria [REDACTED] Category Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=WWC_North_American_Heavyweight_Championship&oldid=1240764051 " Categories : Heavyweight wrestling championships World Wrestling Council championships North American professional wrestling championships Hidden category: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list World Wrestling Council Capitol Sports Promotions, with Carlos Colón , Victor Jovica and Gorilla Monsoon as promoters/co-owners of

6768-459: The 1980s boom period in WWF, especially his work with Bobby Heenan ". Eck acknowledged the criticism of Monsoon among sections of the audience, but defended his use of absurdity and cliché as "entertaining", and argued that "he sold the angles well and got the characters over ". PWInsider ' s Dave Scherer said of Monsoon, "I did love him as an announcer". Rolling Stone ' s Joseph Hudak reported that Heenan and Monsoon "are regarded as

6909-579: The 80s who hated Monsoon killing their psychology ". Todd Martin of the Pro Wrestling Torch noted that some regard Monsoon as "one of the all-time great announcers", while others feel he was "self-indulgent" and "dismissive of certain wrestlers", and had a tendency to "undermine the drama" by questioning the effectiveness of particular maneuvers. Baltimore Sun journalist Kevin Eck wrote that "a lot of people have fond memories of [Monsoon] from

7050-404: The Butcher ( 441 days) Shortest reign Invader I (1 day) Oldest champion Abdullah the Butcher (52 years, 30 days) Youngest champion Buddy Landell (20 years, 200 days) Heaviest champion Abdullah the Butcher (430 lb (200 kg; 31 st)) The WWC North American Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship defended in

7191-499: The Dark ). The Ventura/Monsoon duo of heel and babyface were the original broadcast duo, setting the standard which all who followed would attempt to emulate, especially Ventura's charismatic pro-heel character which was a first of its kind as previous wrestling commentators had almost always been in favor of the fan favorites. The pair commentated on all the WWF pay-per-views together with

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7332-574: 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

7473-491: 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

7614-1372: The Red 1 October 16, 1976 Bayamón, Puerto Rico Held up After a match between Eric The Red and Carlos Colón on November 13, 1976 in Bayamon, Puerto Rico Carlos Colón 6 November 27, 1976 Caguas, Puerto Rico Defeated Eric the Red in a rematch to win the held up title. Hartford Love 1 April 25, 1977 San Juan, Puerto Rico Gorilla Monsoon 1 July 30, 1977 San Juan, Puerto Rico Bruno Sammartino 1 May 5, 1978 San Juan, Puerto Rico Gorilla Monsoon 2 July 22, 1978 San Juan, Puerto Rico Carlos Colón 7 March 3, 1979 Bayamón, Puerto Rico Don Kent 1 August 3, 1979 Ponce, Puerto Rico Invader I 1 August 30, 1979 Ponce, Puerto Rico Roger Kirby 1 October 29, 1979 San Juan, Puerto Rico Invader I 2 November 17, 1979 Bayamón, Puerto Rico Mr. Fuji 1 January 26, 1980 Bayamón, Puerto Rico Pierre Martel 2 July 19, 1980 Caguas, Puerto Rico Killer Karl Krupp 1 March 14, 1981 Bayamón, Puerto Rico Held up on May 2, 1981 after

7755-2983: The WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Championship. Bob Heffernan 1 December 21, 1986 San Juan, Puerto Rico Awarded. Miguel Pérez, Jr. 1 February 21, 1987 Cataño, Puerto Rico TNT 1 May 2, 1987 Caguas, Puerto Rico Abdullah the Butcher 2 January 30, 1988 San Juan, Puerto Rico Invader I 4 April 15, 1989 San Juan, Puerto Rico Inactive on April 15, 1989 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Manny Fernandez 1 August 31, 1991 Pembroke, North Carolina Reigning SAPW Heavyweight champion, recognized as North American champion in WWC. Inactive on November 15, 1991 when Fernandez left from SAPW. Combined Reigns [ edit ] Rank Wrestler No. of reigns Combined days 1 Carlos Colon 8 1,093 2 Abdullah The Butcher 2 639 3 Gorilla Monsoon 2 503 4 Invader I 4 381 5 Pedro Morales 2 371 6 Pierre Martel 3 315 7 Hercules Ayala 1 310 8 TNT 1 273 9 Mr. Fuji 1 175 10 Randy Savage 1 168 11 Buddy Landell 1 112 12 Hartford Love 1 96 13 Bruno Sammartino 1 78 Al Perez 1 78 Gil Hayes 1 78 14 Sweet Daddy Siki 1 77 15 Manny Fernandez 1 76 16 Miguel Perez, Jr. 1 70 17 Bob Heffernan 1 62 18 Jos Leduc 1 60 19 Mad Dog Lafaib 1 57 20 Killer Karl Krupp 1 49 21 Ernie Ladd 1 33 22 Bobby Jaggers 1 30 23 Eric The Red 1 28 24 Don Kent 1 27 25 Spoiler I 1 26 26 Roger Kirby 1 19 See also [ edit ] World Wrestling Council References [ edit ] ^ Hoops, Brian (September 20, 2015). "On this date in pro wrestling history (9/20): Flair defeats McDaniel, Gagne beats Von Raschke" . Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online . Retrieved February 19, 2017 . ^ Hoops, Brian (April 17, 2020). "Daily pro wrestling (04/17): WCW Spring Stampede 1994" . Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Retrieved April 17, 2020 . ^ F4W Staff (May 5, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history (May 5): Bruno Vs. Gorilla in Puerto Rico, 2nd annual Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions" . Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online . Retrieved February 10, 2017 . {{ cite web }} : CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list ( link ) ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and

7896-496: 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

8037-400: The WWF weeknight show, Prime Time Wrestling . Monsoon also served as co-host of Georgia Championship Wrestling on WTBS during McMahon's short-lived ownership of the promotion. Marella stepped down as the WWF's lead commentator at WrestleMania IX (where he was Master of Ceremonies) to make way for WCW recruit Jim Ross . He was phased out of Wrestling Challenge with Bobby Heenan and

8178-593: The WWWF World Championship on October 4, 1963, at Roosevelt Stadium, in Jersey City, New Jersey Monsoon qualified by winning a partially televised Ring Wrestling Magazine tournament, where he pinned Killer Buddy Austin in about a minute. Monsoon's disqualification win over Sammartino in NJ triggered a series of rematches at Madison Square Garden , and they would renew the feud again there in 1967. At

8319-480: The air. He would work in Toronto, Calgary, St. Louis and Japan. Marella garnered moderate popularity but soon realized that fans paid more attention to outlandish monster heel gimmicks , and they, therefore, made more money. Marella totally revamped his image, growing a long beard and billing himself as Gorilla Monsoon, a terrifying giant from Manchuria . Supposedly born on an isolated farm, "Monsoon" traveled across

8460-428: 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

8601-422: 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

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8742-477: 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

8883-410: The belt to Spiros Arion. In 1969, Monsoon became a babyface, befriending his former arch-rival when Sammartino rescued him from an attack by "Crazy" Luke Graham , a former tag team partner of Monsoon. The stage was set for Monsoon to become a fan favorite of the 1970s and feud with top heels of the decade, including champion Superstar Billy Graham ; he then began to speak English. He turned heel for

9024-575: 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

9165-540: The broadcast booth included Lord Alfred Hayes, Luscious Johnny Valiant , Johnny Polo , "Superstar" Billy Graham , Hillbilly Jim , Tony Schiavone , Jim Neidhart , Randy Savage and Jim Ross . Monsoon called the first eight WrestleManias from 1985 to 1992. Monsoon was the lead commentator on the syndicated show, WWF All Star Wrestling , its successor WWF Wrestling Challenge , and the USA Network weekend show, WWF All American Wrestling , as well as hosting

9306-433: 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

9447-566: 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

9588-677: 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,

9729-513: The company in exchange for a guarantee of lifetime employment. As he had been to his father, Marella became a close confidant of the younger McMahon, and assumed a prominent backstage role within the then WWF. Marella would then become an announcer for the WWF starting in 1982. In addition, McMahon needed a new commentary team to head up his television programming, and installed Marella with the recently retired Jesse "The Body" Ventura in 1985. Marella and Ventura had great chemistry, with Ventura as

9870-479: The countryside with a gypsy caravan wrestling bears, spoke no English, ate raw meat, and drank his victims' blood. The story given on WWWF television was a bit different: his first manager, Bobby Davis, claimed to have discovered Monsoon in Manchuria wading nude in a mountain stream. The Monsoon character was far more successful, and fans were genuinely afraid of him, sparking a huge financial windfall for Marella. In

10011-462: 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

10152-485: 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

10293-583: 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

10434-484: The end of his career, he was up around 375 pounds, although he had weighed as much as 440 pounds at points. Marella debuted in 1958, originally billing himself as Gino Marella, a proud Italian American babyface who would sing in Italian prior to his matches. Even after changing his ring name , "Gino" stuck as Marella's nickname among friends and colleagues, including Jesse Ventura , who would call Marella "Gino" on

10575-663: The end of the Jersey City match, as Monsoon was sitting on the mat, a fan (not part of the show) jumped into the ring and broke the back of a wooden chair over Monsoon's head. Monsoon teamed up with Killer Kowalski with success. In November 1963, they defeated Skull Murphy and Brute Bernard to win the U.S. Tag Team Championship . The following month, the duo lost the belts to the Tolos Brothers (Chris and John) in Teaneck, New Jersey . Monsoon and Kowalski reunited in

10716-458: The entrance curtain at an event, a position which Marella established and where he could often be found during WWF shows late in his career, is named the "Gorilla Position" in his honor. Marella attended Jefferson High School in Rochester, New York , becoming a standout athlete in football , amateur wrestling , and track and field . At the time, he weighed over 300 pounds (136 kg) and

10857-482: 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

10998-678: 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

11139-602: The exception of the first two SummerSlams and the 1990 Royal Rumble (at SummerSlam 1988 Ventura was the guest referee for the main event so Monsoon commentated with "Superstar" Billy Graham, while Ventura was paired with Tony Schiavone at both SummerSlam 1989 and the Royal Rumble). When Ventura left the WWF in mid-1990, he was replaced in commentary by Monsoon's Prime Time Wrestling co-host, heel manager Bobby "The Brain" Heenan , another duo that subsequent wrestling commentary teams have often tried to emulate. Though

11280-436: The greatest color-commentary team in pro-wrestling history", and "had a Martin-and-Lewis like chemistry behind the mic". Heenan consistently named Monsoon as his favorite announcing partner. In contemplating his " Mount Rushmore of wrestling announcers", veteran commentator Jim Ross stated, " Gordon Solie , Bob Caudle , Lance Russell , Gorilla Monsoon would be four off the top of my head that I would put on there." In

11421-407: 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

11562-718: 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

11703-525: 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

11844-551: 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

11985-432: The late 1960s to defeat champion Bruno Sammartino and Victor Rivera 2 falls to 1 in Madison Square Garden in a main event, marking the first, and possibly only, time that Sammartino & Rivera lost as a tag team. Monsoon also teamed with Professor Toru Tanaka in 1967, and they had a number of tag matches in Madison Square Garden. They won a main event on disqualification over Sammartino and Spiros Arion and later lost

12126-694: 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

12267-513: 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,

12408-499: The line in a match against Ken Patera . Monsoon lost and only wrestled a few more matches, retiring several weeks later. Following this he fought only four times: wrestling a six-man tag team match at Madison Square Garden in 1981, a match in 1982 as a substitute for André the Giant where he defeated Swede Hanson , taking part in Big John Studd 's "Body Slam Challenge" in 1983, and wrestling at WWC 's tenth anniversary show in

12549-462: The mat. Marella would never reveal whether the incident was preplanned. In an interview, he commented, "I never saw him before and haven't seen him since." A kind of torch bearer of the Vincent J. McMahon-era WWWF, Gorilla Monsoon was rabidly supported by New York audiences. On June 16, 1980, a young and up-and-coming Hulk Hogan was booked to face him at Madison Square Garden . At the time, Hogan

12690-436: 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

12831-399: 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

12972-547: The most famous athlete-entertainers ever to don tights". Longtime industry journalist Bill Apter remarked, "He was one of the best heels – what wrestlers call a bad guy – in the business... the Gorilla Monsoon image was genuinely frightening." Todd Martin of the Pro Wrestling Torch commended Monsoon's physical agility, and noted that he became "a significant star in a lot of different places and had

13113-477: 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

13254-413: 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

13395-401: 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

13536-763: 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

13677-448: The pair were frequently at odds on screen — with Monsoon regularly yelling, "Will you stop?" in response to Heenan's denigration of fan-favorite wrestlers — in real life they formed a close friendship that Heenan often recalled fondly. In his WWE Hall of Fame induction speech at the 2004 ceremony , Heenan finished by saying that only one thing was missing – that he wished Monsoon was there. Other people who were often paired with Monsoon in

13818-465: 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

13959-419: 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

14100-546: The pro-heel color commentator and Marella as the pro-face "voice of reason". Marella and Ventura called five of the first six WrestleManias together (the notable exception was WrestleMania 2 , where Marella commentated on the Chicago portion of the event with Gene Okerlund , Cathy Lee Crosby and Ernie "The Cat" Ladd while Ventura commentated on the Los Angeles portion with Lord Alfred Hayes and Elvira, Mistress of

14241-627: 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

14382-399: 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

14523-441: 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

14664-516: 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

14805-438: 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

14946-451: 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

15087-634: The ring, Monsoon dominated opponents with vicious chops, the dreaded Manchurian Splash, and his signature move, the Airplane Spin. In 1963, Vincent J. McMahon reformed the Capitol Wrestling Corporation into the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) (currently known as World Wrestling Entertainment ), breaking his territory away from the National Wrestling Alliance in an attempt to create

15228-724: 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

15369-646: 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

15510-406: 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

15651-508: 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

15792-458: The storyline WWF President in the summer of 1995 (replacing Jack Tunney ). The WWF President's role was to arbitrate disputes between wrestlers and make matches, similar to later WWE "general managers". In January 1996, Monsoon was attacked and ( kayfabe ) severely injured by Vader : Roddy Piper became interim WWF President until WrestleMania XII , when Marella assumed the position again. Health concerns forced him to relinquish this role during

15933-493: The summer of 1997. Instead of naming a replacement, the WWF decided to retire the role of "President" and introduced Sgt. Slaughter as the new WWF Commissioner in August 1997. Marella's health deteriorated from there. In late 1998, Marella returned briefly to call the international version of WWF Superstars . In 1999, Marella appeared in a WWF Attitude commercial featuring Freddie Blassie , Ernie Ladd , Pat Patterson and Killer Kowalski . He appeared as one of three judges for

16074-571: The summers he was at Ithaca College, he was a construction worker in Rochester. One of the buildings he helped construct was the Rochester War Memorial Arena . Marella's size and athletic ability attracted the attention of New York promoter Pedro Martinez, and he went to wrestle for Martinez after graduating from Ithaca in 1959. Gorilla was 6'5" and weighed around 330 pounds when he first started wrestling professionally. By

16215-566: 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.

16356-479: 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

16497-686: 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

16638-419: 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

16779-447: 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,

16920-443: Was a widely followed heel character, while Monsoon was still a babyface. However, in order to push the new talent, McMahon told Hulk Hogan to beat Monsoon in under a minute. Upon that outcome, the crowd became livid and chased Hogan when he was leaving the arena, turning over his car. Policemen on horses had to be summoned to quiet the mob. As the 1980s began, Marella's in-ring career wound down. On August 23, Monsoon put his career on

17061-1240: Was a wrestler. Bobby Jaggers 1 February 25, 1982 Jaggers was awarded the vacant title. Invader I 3 March 27, 1982 Bayamón, Puerto Rico Defeat Dory Funk, Jr. in a texas death match for the WWC North American and Puerto Rico Heavyweight titles on October 16, 1982 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Mad Dog Lafaib 1 December 3, 1982 Ponce, Puerto Rico Pierre Martel 3 January 29, 1983 San Juan, Puerto Rico Buddy Landel 1 March 5, 1983 Bayamón, Puerto Rico Pedro Morales 1 June 25, 1983 Guaynabo, Puerto Rico Sweet Daddy Siki 1 January 6, 1984 Bayamón, Puerto Rico Pedro Morales 2 March 23, 1984 Bayamón, Puerto Rico Randy Savage 1 September 15, 1984 San Juan, Puerto Rico Hercules Ayala 1 March 2, 1985 Ponce, Puerto Rico Jos LeDuc 1 January 6, 1986 San Juan, Puerto Rico Al Perez 1 March 7, 1986 Fajardo, Puerto Rico Vacant on October 22, 1986 when Perez won

17202-452: Was affectionately called "Tiny" by his teammates. Marella was also a standout athlete after high school at Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York . He continued to wrestle, now weighing over 350 pounds, and took second in the 1959 NCAA Wrestling Championships . He also held several school athletic records, including an 18-second wrestling pin, and several track-and-field distinctions. During

17343-551: 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

17484-424: Was an American professional wrestler , play-by-play commentator , and booker . Monsoon is famous for his run as a villainous super-heavyweight main eventer, and later as the voice of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), as commentator and backstage manager during the 1980s and 1990s. He also portrayed the on-screen role of WWF President from 1995 to 1997. In professional wrestling, the staging area just behind

17625-558: Was billed on-camera as Bob Marella rather than as Gorilla Monsoon. Marella died on October 6, 1999, of heart failure brought on by complications of diabetes , at his home in Willingboro Township, New Jersey . He was 62 years old. His body was buried next to his son, Joey Marella, at Lakeview Memorial Park in Cinnaminson, New Jersey . Nick Ravo of The New York Times described Monsoon as "legendary" and "one of

17766-551: 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. Gorilla Monsoon Robert James " Gino " Marella (June 4, 1937 – October 6, 1999), better known by his ring name of Gorilla Monsoon ,

17907-492: 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

18048-459: 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

18189-419: 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

18330-439: 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

18471-610: Was married to his wife, Maureen, for more than 40 years and had three children: Sharon (born 1960), Joey (1963–1994), and Valerie (born 1966). Víctor Quiñones (1959–2006) was listed in Gorilla's obituary as his son as well. On July 4, 1994, his son, Joey Marella, fell asleep at the wheel and died in a car accident on the New Jersey Turnpike , while returning from refereeing a WWF event in Ocean City, Maryland . He

18612-513: Was moved to All-American Wrestling with Lord Alfred Hayes on April 11, 1993. He commentated with Jim Ross on WWF Radio for the broadcasts of SummerSlam 1993 , Survivor Series 1993 and Royal Rumble 1994 . He returned to the television broadcast team to call the King of the Ring 1994 with Randy Savage as well as covering a few episodes of Monday Night RAW in 1993 and 1994 whenever Vince McMahon

18753-500: Was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash. Fellow WWF employee Mike Chioda later commented that Marella was "heartbroken" about his son's death. In early 1994, Marella co-hosted the short-lived morning variety/game show Bingo Break on WBFF in Baltimore, Maryland, which also featured fellow WWF on-air personality Sean Mooney as the bingo caller. The program did not acknowledge Marella's wrestling career, and as such he

18894-557: Was one big tough man. He was a decent honest man. And we're all gonna miss him very much. And you know the pearly gates in heaven? It's now gonna be called 'the Gorilla position.' Goodbye, my friend." He was inducted into the Ithaca College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1973. When Heenan was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2004 , he ended his acceptance speech with, "Only one thing's missing: I wish Monsoon

19035-499: 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,

19176-416: 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

19317-495: 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

19458-444: 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

19599-560: 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

19740-456: 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

19881-404: Was unavailable. He was also called upon sporadically to return to Challenge from 1993 to 1995, calling action with Stan Lane , Ted DiBiase , and Ross again. Monsoon also did various work for Coliseum Video . Marella's last pay-per-view commentary was for the 1994 Survivor Series , with Vince McMahon on play-by-play. Marella remained in his backstage role and appeared on-air frequently, becoming

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