Pedro Morales
The following year, Morales began visiting several more states, often teaming up with different Latin luchadores, such as Pepper Gonzales and Gory Guerrero, while holding loose feuds with a wrestler simply known as “The Viking” and Mark Starr.While there, Morales defeated Tarzan Potvin, Tony Nero, Bud Rattal, Tommy O'Toole and Johnny Demchuk in a two-month period, before losing three challenges to Oliver Winrush.After emerging victorious in a feud over Nelson Royal, he relocated to Washington, D.C., and Bridgeport, Connecticut, where he wrestled Miguel Torres, Angelo Savoldi and Lou Albano, while entering into a rivalry with Tony Altomare.In 1963, Morales performed in several tag team matches against Johnny Barend and Magnificent Maurice, returning to New York and New Jersey in a program alongside Gordo Chihuahua, who worked as enhancement talent.During this time frame, Morales picked singles wins over Frank Hickey, Chuck Martoni, Bobby Davis, Arnold Skaaland, Humberto Mercado, Matt Gilmore, Boris Malenko, Klondike Bill, Jose Quinteras, Magnificent Maurice, Bull Johnson and Luke Graham, while losing in matches against Wild Red Berry and Freddie Blassie.[13] Morales also experienced success in matches outside storyline, besting Jesse Rose, Charlie Kalani, Ruffy Colden, Billy Red Lyons, Kenny Yates, Don Savage, Luke Graham, Hard Boiled Haggerty, some of them more than two consecutive times.[15] He continued earning singles victories over Horst Wessel, Kurt Von Stroheim, Al Marshall, Broadway Venus, Bill Cody and in a rematch against The Destroyer, while teaming along Hernandez to wrestle multiple combinations.[17] Morales continued this run by defeating Michiaki Yoshimura, Yoshino Sato, Mr. Moto, Mitsu Hirai, Umanosuke Ueda, tying against Kim Il in all of their encounters and losing only to Giant Baba by countout in singles.Both of Morales teams began having mixed results, which brought in another winning streak as a singles wrestler which included names such as Fritz Von Goering, Texas, Osborne, Lou Anthony, Rick Renaldo, Thunderbolt Patterson, Tony Romano, Rocky Montaro and The Masked Invader before being snapped by Blassie via disqualification.Back in Hawaii, Morales defeated Bad Boy Shields, Mr. Fujiwara, Les Roberts and Mac MacFarland, only losing a match to Kinji Shibuya, during the following couple of months.In another tour to California, Morales lost to Black Gordman by count out and defeated Don Serrano, also teaming with Rocky Johnson for the first time to wrestle the Great Kojika and John Tolos.Returning to California, Morales began by defeating El Lobo on several encounters, also scoring wins over The Texan and John Tolos before losing the final of a one-night tournament for the NWA Pacific Coast Heavyweight Championship to Tony Rocca.[31] This was followed by a series involving Steele, Fuji, Ernie Ladd, Chuck O'Connor, aka Big John Studd, and "The Spoiler" Don Jardine, none of whom were able to gain an upper hand against him.[34] Throughout April and May, he successfully faced a number of recycled adversaries, including Mayne, Wolfe and Tanaka, along with wins over new ones such as Don Leo Jonathan and Mike McCord, aka Austin Idol.[34] Throughout the summer, he performed mostly as a singles wrestler, gathering wins over Toru Tanaka, Paul Jones, Lonnie Mayne, Jonathan, McCord and George Steele facing them repeatedly in cyclical fashion.[37] Morales remained successful as a singles wrestler, gathering wins over Fuji, Eddie Sullivan, Otto Von Heller, Johnny Rodz and Black Gordman during the first half of 1974.[39] To open 1977, he continued to trend in matches including Tom DeMarco, Mike Soma, Mad Dog Vachon, Baron Von Raschke, Poisson, Bobby Duncum, Moose Morowski and Jim Brunzell, also winning a battle royale and drawing in a series against The Super Destroyer.In what marked the final stage of this AWA run, Morales continued defeating jobbers Mike York, Kenny Jay and The Strangler, but began losing more often to talent that he had bested earlier including Nick Bockwinkel and others such as Angelo Mosca.Morales then wrestled several singles matches, defeating Killer Karl Kox, Bobby Dumcum, Saito, Bob Roop, Jack Ruggers and Charlie Cook, dividing contests with Dick Slater and losing to Koloff.During the following months, Morales scored wins over Len Denton, Butch Cassidy, Rick Oliver and Sir Winston, but lost to Killer Karl Kox, Dick Slater and The Spoilers.Eventually, Jay Youngblood became Morales's main partner, recording a winning streak while he also teamed with several other wrestlers including Cocoa Samoa, Tiger Jeet Singh and Bob Marcus with similar success.[41] However, as a single performer he lost matches to Nick Bockwinkel, Len Denton and Killer Karl Kox, also failing to advance in a tournament for the NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship.To open the following year, Morales relocated to Canada, where he defeated David Patterson, Mr. X #1, The Scorpion, Doug Somers and Brute Bernard, but lost a series to Ox Baker in alternate dates at South and North Carolina.[42] On May 6, 1980, Morales returned to the renamed World Wrestling Federation, defeating Moose Monroe, Frank Savage, Mark Pole, Brute Bernard and Ben Alexander during the course of the following weeks.Morales began wrestling and defeating other adversaries, including George Steele, The Executioner and Larry Sharpe, besides the usual low card talents that he had consistently bested previously.He then entered a winning streak, during which he defeated The Black Demon twice, Jesse Ventura by countout, Adonis thrice, Fuji and Valentine four times, two of these being Brass Knuckles Matches and other a Street Fight.Meanwhile, Morales earned wins over Paul Christy, Roger Kirby, Lee, The Iron Sheik and Hercules, but began to lose more often against opponents such as Jake Roberts, King Kong Bundy and Savage.[59] Despite this, during this stage of his career Morales was unable to gain wins over the likes of King Kong Bundy and Bravo, unsuccessfully challenging the new Intercontinental Champion, The Honky Tonk Man, on several dates.In mid-1996, Morales appeared at an event of the short lived American Wrestling Federation, in the championship match between Bob Orton, Jr. and Tito Santana, along with other superstars and legends like Sgt.[11] Due to working during a time where the ring featured no methods of protection, Morales suffered several injuries that continued to linger after his career was over, limiting the amount of physical exercise that he was capable of doing.
Pedro Morales (disambiguation)WWWF Heavyweight ChampionCulebra, Puerto RicoPerth Amboy, New JerseyProfessional wrestling careerRing name(s)Puerto Ricanprofessional wrestlerWorldwide Wrestling AssociatesWorld Wide Wrestling FederationWorld Heavyweight ChampionshipWorld Tag Team ChampionshipUnited States ChampionshipIntercontinental Heavyweight ChampionshipTag Team ChampionshipGuntherWWF Hall of FameProfessional Wrestling Hall of Fame and MuseumWrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of FameCulebraBrooklyn, New YorkMiguel Pérez, Sr.Antonino RoccaLiga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto ClementeLeones de PonceNew York State Athletic CommissionNew York CityVirginiaNorth CarolinaPetersburg, VirginiaCharlotte, North CarolinaGypsy JoeSonny FargoSwede HansonluchadoresGory GuerreroBritish ColumbiaHard Boiled HaggertyjobbersWashington, D.C.Bridgeport, ConnecticutAngelo SavoldiLou AlbanoArgentina ApolloJohnny BarendBruno SammartinoBobo BrazilThe Fabulous KangaroosBuddy RogersJohn TolosJerry GrahamLuke GrahamFreddie BlassieNational Wrestling AllianceDick BeyerWWA World Heavyweight ChampionshipGorilla MonsoonKiller Karl KoxYoshino SatoMr. MotoUmanosuke UedaKim IlGiant BabaFritz Von GoeringBuddy AustinJosé Luis RiveraMike DiBiasePat PattersonMasa SaitoMil MáscarasGene KiniskiNWA World Heavyweight Championship50th State Big Time WrestlingHawaiiTank MorganCurtis IaukeaNWA Hawaii Heavyweight ChampionshipNWA North American Heavyweight ChampionshipNWA United States Heavyweight ChampionshipEd FarhatWoody FarmerBilly GrahamChief Jay StrongbowWWWF United States ChampionshipWWWF World Heavyweight ChampionshipBlackjack MulliganStan StasiakJimmy ValiantTexas Death matchMikel SciclunaSmasher SloanBlue DemonErnie LaddGeorge SteeleMr. FujiBig John StuddDon Jardine1972 Showdown at SheaAndré the GiantAustin IdolToru TanakaIb Solvang HansenvillainLarry HennigThe WrestlerRoberto Clemente ColiseumJohnny RodzNikolai VolkoffStrong KobayashiCaliforniaBig Time WrestlingSan FranciscoNWA San Francisco World Tag Team ChampionshipAmerican Wrestling AssociationMoose MorowskiPeter MaiviaChampionship Wrestling from FloridaDon MuracoHarley RaceDusty RhodesSuperbowl of WrestlingRon MikolajczykLen DentonButch CassidySir WinstonDick Slater