Carlos Colón Sr. | |
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Colón at the WWE Hall of Fame in 2014
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Birth name | Carlos Edwin Colón Gonzalez |
Born |
Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico |
July 18, 1948
Residence | Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico |
Children |
Carlos Edwin Colón Jr. Edwin Carlos Colón Stacy Colón Melissa Colón |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Carlos Belafonte Carlitos Colón Carlos Colón Prince Kukuya |
Billed height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) |
Billed weight | 246 lb (112 kg) |
Billed from | Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico |
Debut | February 16, 1966 |
Retired | July 19, 2008 |
Carlos Edwin Colón González Sr. (born July 18, 1948) is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler and wrestling promoter, better known as Carlitos Colón or simply Carlos Colón. He is, along with Victor Jovica, an owner of the Puerto Rican wrestling promotion World Wrestling Council (WWC), where he has held the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship a record 26 times. He is the patriarch of the Colón wrestling family, composed by his sons Carly and Eddie, daughter Stacy and nephew Orlando. In 2014, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame and the following year into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame.
Due to his admiration for wrestlers Antonino Rocca and Miguel Pérez, Colón became a member at the gym they trained at in New York, 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 Hobo Brazil. Colon was paid US$15.00 for his participation in his first match. He eventually became an itinerant wrestler in the eastern states of the United States and in Canada, including 1 match in the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) in December 1967, and several in 1968. 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 Miguel Pérez, Sr. shared the spotlight with international wrestlers such as Argentine-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. The nemesis of Colón's character 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."