Carlitos Colón

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Carlos Edwin Colón (born Carlos Edwin Colón Gonzalez July 18, 1948 in Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico), better known in the Puerto Rican professional wrestling circles as Carlitos Colón, is considered by many to be the greatest wrestler ever from Puerto Rico. Being a prominent (and fierce) supporter of independence for Puerto Rico, his allegiances to fellow wrestlers, choice of opponents and methods of self promotion are almost always dictated by his loyalty to his home country. He is revered in Puerto Rico in a level only surpassed by major local sport stars such as Felix "Tito" Trinidad and Roberto Clemente. Like Trinidad and Clemente, Colón is of African-Puerto Rican descent. He is the father of wrestler Carly Colón.

Colón was born in the Jauca barrio of Santa Isabel, a poor agricultural community in southern Puerto Rico. One of seven children, he emigrated to Brooklyn, New York in 1961, along with the rest of his family. Given his admiration for wrestlers Antonino Rocca and Miguel Pérez, he became a member at the gym they trained at, practicing wrestling moves and cleaning the place occasionally to pay for his dues. His dedication and affability helped him gain the respect of his peers, as well as the occasional wrestling match. His first bout occurred in Boston, Massachusetts, on February 16, 1966, when he wrestled Bobo Brazil; he was paid USD$15.00 for his participation. He eventually became an itinerant wrestler in the eastern states of the United States and in Canada over the following three years, with Montreal as his place of residence.

Feeling homesick and noticing a void in the Puerto Rican wrestling scene, Colón returned to Puerto Rico in 1973. Colón and Croatian-born wrestler Victor Jovica founded a promotional company, Capitol Sports Promotions, which aired wrestling television shows each Saturday and Sunday on WAPA-TV. He wrestled during a time where local stars such as Barrabas, Black Georgie and Pérez shared the spotlight with international wrestlers such as Argentinean-born Rocca, Cuban-born Huracán Castillo and others. He set the stage for local stars such as Los Super Médicos, Los Invaders and Chicky Starr to develop. His wrestling company was also responsible for inviting major American wrestling stars such as Randy Savage, Ric Flair, Bruiser Brody, Stan Hansen and others to wrestle in Puerto Rico. His nemesis, however, was Abdullah The Butcher, with whom he staged a long-standing feud which lasted almost two decades; Colón is quoted as saying: "Eighty percent of the blood I've shed in the ring I've shed because of Abdullah."

He was the WWC World Heavyweight Champion in Puerto Rico several times, and in 1983, after losing a match to Bruiser Brody, he required hospitalization due to injury at Brody's hands. News of his hospitalization made the covers of El Vocero and El Nuevo Día newspaper. Two weeks later, he beat Brody in a rematch.

On January 6, 1983, he defeated NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair in a "unification" match to win the title and also create the WWC Universal Heavyweight Title, but the match never made it to NWA television. He lost the title back to Flair on January 23, 1983. The title change is not considered official and the NWA does not consider Colón a former NWA Champion.

In 1993, Colón briefly participated in the World Wrestling Federation. After this, he decided to temporarily retire from professional wrestling, and he now helps train his sons, Carly Colón, also known as Carlito, and Eddie Colón who have followed Colón into the sport. He also has a daughter, Stacy Colón.

He sports over 70 scars on his forehead, and has said publicly that he wears them as awards given to him because of all the brutal, bloody bouts he has fought in.

Carlos Colón appeared on the September 11, 2006 edition of WWE Raw from Madison Square Garden in the audience cheering his son Carlito. He also was negotiating a deal for his other son Eddie Colon to work for WWE.