Carly Colón

Carly Colón
Statistics
Ring name(s)	Carlito Carlito Caribbean Cool Carly Colón Carlos Colón, Jr.
Billed height	5 ft. 10 in. (178 cm)[1]
Billed weight	220 lb. (100 kg)[1]
Born	February 21, 1979 (1979-02-21) (age 30)[2] San Juan, Puerto Rico[2]
Resides	Miami, Florida
Billed from	The Caribbean[1] San Juan, Puerto Rico
Trained by	Carlos Colón, Sr., Ohio Valley Wrestling
Debut	1999

Carlos Edwin "Carly" Colón, Jr.^[2] (born on February 21, 1979)^[2] is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler better known internationally by his ring name Carlito. In his native Puerto Rico, he is known as both Carly and Carlito. Although currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment's (WWE) SmackDown brand, Colón occasionally still performs in the World Wrestling Council (WWC) where he is a former eleven-time Universal Heavyweight Champion.^[3] Currently, he is one-half of the WWE Tag Team Champions with his brother Primo Colón on SmackDown.^[4]

After having success in the WWC, Colón signed a developmental contract with WWE in 2003. Colón is a former United States Champion, and Intercontinental Champion and has been part of both the Raw and SmackDown brands. He is the only wrestler to win titles on two separate debuts in WWE and the second Puerto Rican to become WWE Intercontinental Champion after Pedro Morales.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Career 2.1 World Wrestling Council (1999–2003) 2.2 Ohio Valley Wrestling (2003–2004) 2.3 World Wrestling Entertainment (2004–present) 2.4 SmackDown (2004-2005) 2.5 Raw (2005–2008) 2.6 Return to SmackDown (2008–present) 3 In wrestling 4 Championships and accomplishments 5 References 6 External links

Biography

Colón is son of former World Wrestling Federation wrestler Carlos Colón, Sr. and the oldest of four siblings, including Eddie Colón and Stacy Colón, both of whom have performed with Colón in the World Wrestling Council.^[5] His mother, Nancy, is Canadian.^[6] A second sister, Melissa did not enter the wrestling business.^[7] Other members of Colón's family have also been involved in the World Wrestling Council; his uncle José Colón and cousin Orlando Colón have been involved in several angles within the company.

Colón's decision to sign with World Wrestling Entertainment was a controversial one among the Puerto Rican wrestling community. He was criticized by the locals, labeled as someone who had "sold out" his Puerto Rican wrestling traditions over for the "flash and flair" of the American company. Colón spoke of this in an interview with the The Sun in which he stated "I did not care about what they thought. I've always dreamed of working for the WWE when I was young, and I took that chance when it came."^[8]

Career

World Wrestling Council (1999–2003)

In 1999, Colón began competing in the World Wrestling Council (WWC) in Puerto Rico as a face under the name "Carly". During his time with WWC, he feuded with Ray Gonzalez. The two competed in several matches involving the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship, with both of them defeating their adversary in title bouts on separate occasions.

When Colón signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment, he was assigned a heel character in Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). During this period, Colón was also booked as a heel for WWC and was involved in an angle where he had conflicts with members of his family. This angle culminated in the company's anniversary event, Anniversario 2004, where he competed in a match against his brother Eddie.^[9]

Ohio Valley Wrestling (2003–2004)

In 2003, Colón signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment. The company assigned him to their developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) on June 2, 2003. In OVW, Colón's character was managed by Kenny Bolin. His first performance on WWE's main roster was in a dark match that took place before the December 15, 2003 Raw tapings.^[10] While working in OVW, Colón continued to appear in various World Wrestling Council events. In April 2004, Colón was scheduled to wrestle under his Ohio Valley gimmick against Abyss in a special event for WWC, but WWE did not grant Colón permission to perform at the event as a result of Abyss' contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.^[11]

World Wrestling Entertainment (2004–present)

SmackDown (2004-2005)

On October 7, 2004, Colón made his debut on SmackDown! as Carlito Caribbean Cool (though later shortened to simply Carlito), whose gimmick was that he would "spit in the face" of people who were not cool.^[1] Carlito defeated John Cena for the WWE United States Championship in his first match on the main roster.^[1] Carlito was then involved in a storyline where his bodyguard Jesús kayfabe stabbed Cena in a nightclub.^[1] Carlito held the United States Championship for forty-two days, losing it back to Cena after suffering a legitimate injury. Carlito made his pay-per-view debut at the 2004 Survivor Series, where he represented Team Angle in an eight man tag team match against Team Guerrero, but did not actually participate in the event after being chased out of the building by Cena.

While Carlito was recovering from an injury, he was involved in a comical angle with SmackDown!’s general manager, Theodore Long. The storyline consisted of Carlito being forced to do demeaning chores around the arena, such as selling hot dogs, removing snow from parking lots with a shovel and mopping floors. As a result of these actions, Carlito created a petition in support of Long’s destitution, but was unsuccessful. On March 26, 2005, Colón performed for the first time in six months as Carlito, in a match against Eddie Colón during an event in Caguas, Puerto Rico. Carlito made his WrestleMania debut in a non-wrestling role at WrestleMania 21, in which he interrupted an edition of Rowdy Roddy Piper's Piper's Pit, with Stone Cold Steve Austin as the special guest. This event led to an angle in the World Wrestling Council, where Piper and Carlito were booked to wrestle a match on Friday Madness, a special event presented by the company, which Piper won. Following WrestleMania, Carlito created an interview segment entitled Carlito’s Cabana.^[1] Carlito then entered a feud with The Big Show after a spot where Show refused an offer to work in an enforcer role for Carlito. This feud involved Carlito tricking Show into eating a poisoned apple, and Matt Morgan becoming Carlito's enforcer. This feud ended with Carlito defeating Show at Judgment Day.^[12]

Raw (2005–2008)

Carlito was drafted to the Raw brand in the 2005 WWE Draft, where he defeated Shelton Benjamin for the WWE Intercontinental Championship in his debut match.^[13] He then lost the Intercontinental title to Ric Flair at Unforgiven.^[14] Towards the end of 2005, Carlito was involved in a brand rivalry which led to him discontinuing Carlito’s Cabana. The angle concluded with Carlito wrestling for Team Raw against Team SmackDown! in a ten man tag team match at the Survivor Series.^[15]

In late 2005, Carlito was added to angles involving the WWE Championship. After defeating Shelton Benjamin in a qualifying match, Carlito was added to the main event at New Year's Revolution in early 2006,^[16] the Elimination Chamber match. He was one of the final two wrestlers remaining, after eliminating Kane, Chris Masters and Shawn Michaels. He then lost the match to John Cena.^[17]

Carlito appeared in another World Wrestling Council show that took place on March 15, 2006 in Carolina, Puerto Rico. He defeated Tyson Tomko, and he hosted an edition of Carlito's Cabana with Victor Jovica and Carlos Colón. Following this segment, Carlito did a sudden face turn when he attacked a heel stable led by Rico Suave.

Following New Year’s Revolution, Carlito and Chris Masters joined forces as a tag team. Together they competed against Kane and Big Show for the World Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania 22. Carlito and Masters lost when Masters accidentally attacked Carlito.^[18] Following the match, Carlito confronted Masters, igniting a feud between them. This storyline came to a conclusion at Backlash, where Carlito defeated Masters via an illegal assist from the ropes.^[19]

At Vengeance, Carlito fought in a Triple Threat match against Shelton Benjamin and Johnny Nitro for Benjamin's Intercontinental title. Nitro won the match after pulling Carlito outside of the ring and pinning him.^[20] Following Vengeance, Carlito began an on-screen relationship with Trish Stratus. He also engaged in a short feud with Johnny Nitro and Melina, which ended after Carlito and Stratus defeated Nitro and Melina in a mixed tag team match at Saturday Night's Main Event.^[21] Carlito next feuded with Randy Orton, following a spot where Orton attempted to attack Stratus during a backstage segment. The two wrestlers were booked for a match at Unforgiven and a rematch on Raw; Orton won both matches. The feud concluded in a match at WWE’s annual Tribute to the Troops event, where Carlito won by pinfall.^[22] The angle involving Carlito's relationship with Trish Stratus lasted until Stratus' retirement from wrestling following Unforgiven.

In the final months of 2006, Carlito competed in several matches involving the Intercontinental Championship. His involvement in this angle ended at Cyber Sunday 2006, after being elected by the fans to face Jeff Hardy for the championship. Carlito, however, lost the match.^[23] During this time period Carlito's gimmick underwent a slight change and was sold as a "ladies man", eventually getting involved in another fictional relationship with Torrie Wilson. Carlito participated in the 2007 Royal Rumble, where he was eliminated by The Great Khali. Following the Royal Rumble, Carlito started a feud with Ric Flair, in which Flair insulted Carlito for leaving a show early by claiming that he had no heart, no passion and was undeserving of his spot on the roster.^[24] After Carlito challenged and lost to Flair in a match, they were booked as a tag team, with Flair serving as a mentor to Carlito.^[25] The team was involved in a Money in the Bank qualifying match which was declared a "no contest" after The Great Khali interfered. This led to a triple threat match the following week which included and was won by Randy Orton.^[26]

During this time, Carlito was present at "Lockout", a special event presented by the World Wrestling Council that took place on December 16, 2006. At this event, Carlito defeated Heidenreich to become Universal Heavyweight Champion, but was stripped of the championship minutes later. Prior to the WrestleMania 23, Colón expressed dissatisfaction with WWE management in an interview for not having plans to book him to appear at the pay-per-view and criticized their methods for selecting performers to push, making reference to backstage politics.^[27] Carlito, however, did participate in a dark match at WrestleMania, winning in a tag team match with Flair as his partner against the team of Chavo Guerrero and Gregory Helms. The team also lost a number one contender's match for the World Tag Team Championship against Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch. Carlito turned on Flair after the loss.^[28] Their feud ended with a match at Judgment Day, where Carlito lost to Flair by submission.^[29]

Colón appeared in the World Wrestling Council's Aniversario 2007 event where he faced Razor Ramon. As a way to promote the match, Ramon claimed that Colón's character was an imitation of him, dubbing Carlito Mini Razor.^[30] Carlito defeated Ramon with his Back Stabber finisher, in a match that included interference by the then-Universal Heavyweight Champion Apollo.^[31]

Following his feud with Flair he was involved in angles with The Sandman and Triple H. He then lost to Triple H at Unforgiven 2007 in a no disqualification match where the no disqualification rule only applied to Carlito.^[32] In late 2007, Colón requested his release from the WWE as he was unhappy with the direction of his character. Following a meeting with Vince McMahon, however, he was convinced to stay.^[33] On December 10, 2007, he was featured in a ladder match at the Raw 15th Anniversary against Jeff Hardy for the WWE Intercontinental Championship, which Hardy won.^[34]

Carlito then formed a tag team with Santino Marella. The team was placed in several matches involving the World Tag Team Championship, twice being named the number one contenders. However, they lost the relevant championship matches.

Return to SmackDown (2008–present)

As part of the 2008 WWE Supplemental Draft, Carlito was drafted to the SmackDown brand.^[35]

After the draft, he asked for a vacation, using this time to attend his father's official retirement ceremonies at Aniversario 2008, where he also wrestled against Ray Gonzalez.^[36][7] On September 12, he re-debuted on the brand as a face, forming a tag team with his brother Primo. They defeated WWE Tag Team Champions Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder in the match to gain their first victory as a team. Two weeks later, both teams competed in a title match, with The Colóns winning to become tag team champions. On the October 24th edition of Smackdown The Colóns would go on to defeat Bam Neely and Chavo Guerrero. Next week on Smackdown, The Colóns lost to The Miz and John Morrison, giving them there first loss as a team. The Colóns have recently started to feud against The Brian Kendrick and Ezekiel Jackson.

In wrestling

• Finishing and signature moves
  • Backcracker^[37] / Backstabber^[1] (Double knee backbreaker)
  • Figure four leglock – OVW; Used as a regular move in WWE^[38]
  • Outward rolling cutter – 2005; Used as regular move from 2008–present
  • Overdrive^[38] – 2004
  • Backflip over a standing opponent from off the top rope, sometimes leading into the Backcracker / Backstabber
  • Flowing DDT^[38]
  • Frankensteiner
  • Japenese arm drag
  • Lifting reverse STO
  • Running knee lift to the side of the head followed by a clothesline
  • Snap swinging neckbreaker
  • Springboard corkscrew senton followed by a springboard moonsault
  • Springboard or slingshot back elbow
  • Springboard or a standing moonsault
  • Standing spinebuster – 2004

• Nicknames
  • The Caribbean Bad Apple
  • The Caribbean Superstar

• Wrestlers managed
  • Matt Morgan

• Entrance themes
  • "Cool" by Jim Johnston

Championships and accomplishments

• Funking Conservatory
  • FC Television Championship (1 time)^[39]

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI ranked him # 27 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the year in the PWI 500 in 2006^[40]

• World Wrestling Council
  • WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship (11 times)^[3]
  • WWC World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Eddie Colón (1) and Konnan (1)^[41]

• World Wrestling Entertainment
  • WWE Intercontinental Championship (1 time)^[42]
  • WWE Tag Team Championship (1 time, current) – with Primo Colón^[43]
  • WWE United States Championship (1 time)^[44]

References

External links

• Carly Colón at MySpace

• Carly Colón (Carlito) at WWE.com
• Carly Colón (Carlito Cool) at Online World of Wrestling
• Carly Colón at the Internet Movie Database
• Carly Colón at TV.com

World Wrestling Entertainment employees Raw Batista • Beth Phoenix • Candice Michelle • Charlie Haas • Chris Jericho • CM Punk • Cody Rhodes • D-Lo Brown • Dolph Ziggler • Goldust • Hardcore Holly • Jamie Noble • JBL • Jerry Lawler • Jillian Hall • Jim Duggan • John Cena • JTG • Kane • Katie Lea Burchill • Kelly Kelly • Kofi Kingston • Layla • Lilian Garcia • Manu • Melina • Michael Cole • Mickie James • Mike Knox • Paul Burchill • Randy Orton • Rey Mysterio • Ron Simmons • Santino Marella • Shad • Shawn Michaels • Sim Snuka • Ted DiBiase • Val Venis • William Regal SmackDown Big Show • The Brian Kendrick • Brie Bella • Carlito • Curt Hawkins • D.H. Smith • Edge • Eve Torres • Ezekiel Jackson • Festus • The Great Khali • Hurricane Helms • Jeff Hardy • Jesse • Jim Ross • Jimmy Wang Yang • Justin Roberts • Kizarny • Kung Fu Naki • Maria • Maryse • Michelle McCool • Montel Vontavious Porter • Mr. Kennedy • Natalya • Nikki Bella • Primo • R-Truth • Ranjin Singh • Ryan Braddock • Scotty Goldman • Shelton Benjamin • Tazz • Triple H • Umaga • The Undertaker • Vickie Guerrero • Victoria • Vladimir Kozlov • Zack Ryder ECW Alicia Fox • Bam Neely • The Boogeyman • Chavo Guerrero • DJ Gabriel • Evan Bourne • Finlay • Gavin Spears • Hornswoggle • Jack Swagger • John Morrison • Mark Henry • Matt Hardy • Matt Striker • The Miz • Ricky Ortiz • Theodore Long • Tiffany • Todd Grisham • Tommy Dreamer • Tony Atlas • Tony Chimel

Persondata
NAME	Colón, Carlos (Carly), Jr.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Professional wrestler
DATE OF BIRTH	February 21, 1979
PLACE OF BIRTH	Santurce, Puerto Rico
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH