While most wrestling fans in North America mostly pay attention to what’s happening in brand name American promotions like WWE, AEW, and Impact, there are also wrestling scenes nearby that fly under the radar of Anglophone crowds, including the US territory of Puerto Rico. There, one of the biggest figures in the pro wrestling scene is Carlos Colon.
Colon spent the 1960s through the 2010s performing in the ring, but is also notable for being a promoter, founding his own promotion and bringing his children and other family members into the business. Let’s take a look at Carlos Colon’s life and career and what fans should know about him.
10 Started In New York City
Born in Puerto Rico in 1948, Carlos Colon moved to Brooklyn in New York City in the early 1960s, and became a fan of pro wrestlers Antonino Rocca and Miguel Perez. Entering the business by hanging out at the gym Rocca and Perez trained at, Colon trained to become a pro wrestler himself, debuting in 1966 against the legendary Bobo Brazil. From there, Colon continued to wrestle all over North America, including various NWA territories, the Pacific Northwest, and Stampede Wrestling.
9 Founded His Own Promotion
In the early 1970s, Carlos Colon returned to Puerto Rico and decided to found a promotion of his own. Working with fellow wrestlers Victor Jovica and Gorilla Monsoon, Colon co-founded Capitol Sports Promotions, which would later re-brand in the mid-1990s as World Wrestling Council. In the 1970s and 1980s, the promotion was part of the National Wrestling Alliance, and was able to bring in stars like Ernie Ladd, The Funk Brothers, and The Wild Samoans, and ran weekly television shows on the weekends.
8 26-Time WWC Universal Heavyweight Champion
As the founder and an active pro wrestler, Carlos Colon was a major figure in his own promotion, capturing myriad titles over the course of his run including the WWC Puerto Rico Championship, and countless runs with the various WWC tag team titles alongside partners like Invader 1 and Pedro Morales.
But the top title of WWC was the Universal Heavyweight Championship, which Colon held a record 26 times over the course of his career. As the top champion, he was able to take on various major stars including Harley Race, Stan Hansen, and Terry Funk.
7 Feuded With Abdullah the Butcher
Among all the big names he fought, one of Carlos Colon’s career-defining feuds would be with the violent legend Abdullah the Butcher. Over the course of 36 years and 80 matches — including a bout at Starrcade ‘83 — the two rivals engaged in notoriously bloody bouts in Stampede Wrestling, All Japan Pro Wrestling, and in World Wrestling Council. Their rivalry was a huge draw in Puerto Rico, with Colon being the hero of the people as he and Abdullah regularly fought over the Universal Heavyweight Title.
6 Feuded With Ric Flair
Because WWC was affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance until the late 1980s, the stars of the NWA — including the World Champions — were no strangers to the Puerto Rico territory. This included Ric Flair, who “lost” the NWA World Title to Colon in early 1983, although the title change was not acknowledged outside of the island. In late 1983, Flair returned to claim that he was the real NWA World Champion, leading to a steel cage match between the two to determine who was the true champion, which Colon also won, although the NWA World Title wasn’t on the line.
5 Retired Several Times
Like many other wrestlers over the course of history, Carlos Colon had several instances where he retired only to return to the ring shortly after. His first retirement would happen in the early 1990s to focus on training his sons (see below), but he soon returned to being a full-timer. In July of 2008, Colon had a full-on retirement ceremony, which would last about four years before he returned in 2012. Colon would finally retire for real in 2014.
4 Supported Bruiser Brody’s Murderer
In July of 1988, tragedy struck in a backstage incident in Colon’s promotion when an altercation between wrestlers Invader 1 — otherwise known as Jose Huertas-Gonzalez — and Bruiser Brody resulted in the latter stabbing Brody multiple times. The two were separated and Brody was rushed to the hospital, where he succumbed to his wounds.
Carlos Colon was present for the incident, though nobody saw the stabbing itself, and Invader 1 was acquitted of the murder charges. Colon not only testified in Invader’s defense, but also continued hiring him in the years that followed.
3 Colon’s Children & Nephew Entered The Family Business
As stated above, Carlos Colon worked to train his sons in pro wrestling as well, and both ended up signing to WWE down the line. First is his son Carlos Jr., better known as Carlito, who debuted in 1999, signed to WWE in 2003, and became a Intercontinental Champion, United States Champion, and tag team champion, and even feuded with his father’s old rival Ric Flair. Colon’s other son, Edwin, joined WWE as Primo and enjoyed several tag team title reigns alongside his brother as well as his cousin, who wrestled in the company as Epico. Colon’s daughter Stacy also entered pro wrestling, working as a valet and occasional wrestlers in WWC.
2 Appeared In WWE As Both Competitor & Legend
In the late 1960s, Carlos Colon wrestled for WWE — back when it was known as the World Wide Wrestling Federation — having matches with Captain Lou Albano, Johnny Rodz, Ernie Ladd, and even his future WWC co-founder Gorilla Monsoon. He’d return in 1993 to enter the Royal Rumble, but following appearances would be in relation to his son, including taking part in a live edition of Carlito’s Cabana at a WWE house show in Puerto Rico, where Carlito spit an apple into his father’s face.
1 WWE Hall of Famer
In the early 2010s, rumors began to circulate about Carlos Colon’s induction into WWE’s Hall of Fame, which got support from Colon and his sons, although the elder Colon believed that such an accolade would elude him. It finally happened in 2014, where he was inducted by Carlito, Primo, and Epico alongside fellow legends Jake “The Snake” Roberts and Paul Bearer. Following the Hall of Fame induction, Carlos Colon embarked on a farewell tour of Puerto Rico, wrestling his final match in September 2014.