Pedro Morales

Pedro Morales (October 22, 1942 – February 12, 2019) was a Puerto Rican retired professional wrestler. He competed in many different National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) affiliates, Worldwide Wrestling Associates (WWA), and the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF).

Pedro Morales
Morales during his reign as the WWWF Champion in the early 1970's
Born(1942-10-22)October 22, 1942
Culebra, Puerto Rico
DiedFebruary 12, 2019(2019-02-12) (aged 76)
Perth Amboy, New Jersey, U.S.
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Pedro Morales
Johnny Como
Johnny Ricco
John Kilonis
Billed height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Billed weight235 lb (107 kg) – 240 lb (110 kg)
Trained byBarba Roja
Debut1959
Retired1987

While he was in the WWWF, Morales was the first male wrestler in wrestling history to win all three of the major men's titles in the company. He won the WWWF Championship, the Intercontinental Championship, and the WWF World Tag Team Championship.[1] When he won the WWWF United States Championship, Morales became the first wrestler to hold four different titles within the promotion, a distinction which would later became known as a Grand Slam Championship.

Death

Morales died of complications from Parkinson's disease at his Perth Amboy, New Jersey home on February 12, 2019, aged 76.[2]

Championships
  • American Wrestling Alliance
    • AWA San Francisco World Tag Team Championship (2 times) (with Pepper Gomez)[3]
  • Cauliflower Alley Club
    • Other honoree (1994)[4]
  • Championship Wrestling from Florida
    • NWA Florida Tag Team Championship (1 time) (with Rocky Johnson)[5]
    • NWA Florida Television Championship (1 time)[6]
    • NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (Florida version) (1 time)[7]
  • NWA Mid-Pacific Promotions
    • NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[8]
    • NWA Hawaii Tag Team Championship (3 times) (with Bing Ki Lee (1) and Ed Francis (2))[9]
    • NWA North American Heavyweight Championship (Hawaii version) (3 times)[10]
  • NWA San Francisco
    • NWA World Tag Team Championship (San Francisco version) (1 time) (with Pat Patterson)
  • Pro Wrestling Illustrated
    • PWI Wrestler of the Year (1972)
    • He was ranked #111 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the PWI Years in 2003.
  • Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame
  • Worldwide Wrestling Associates
    • WWA World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)[12]
    • WWA World Tag Team Championship (4 times) (with Luis Hernandez (1), Mark Lewin (1), Ricky Romero (1), and Victor Rivera (1))[13]
  • World Wrestling Council
    • WWC North American Heavyweight Championship (2 times)[14]
    • WWC World Tag Team Championship (1 time) (with Carlos Colón, Sr.)[15]
  • World Wide Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Federation/WWE
  • Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
    • Most Overrated (1981, 1982)

References
  1. "WWE Championship - Pedro Morales (February 08, 1971 - December 01, 1973)". WWE. Archived from the original on March 1, 2015. Retrieved 2015-02-25.
  2. WWE Hall Of Famer Pedro Morales has passed away
  3. "NWA World Tag Team Title (San Francisco 1960s - 1970s) history". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved 2015-02-26.
  4. "List of CAC Award Winners". Cauliflower Alley Club. Archived from the original on 2016-03-24. Retrieved 2015-02-26.
  5. "Florida Tag Team Title history". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved 2015-02-26.
  6. "NWA Florida Television Title history". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved 2015-02-26.
  7. "NWA Southern Heavyweight Title (Florida) history". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved 2015-02-26.
  8. "Hawaii Heavyweight Title history". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved 2015-02-26.
  9. "Hawaii Tag Team Title history". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved 2015-02-26.
  10. "NWA North American Heavyweight Title (Hawaii) history". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved 2015-02-26.
  11. "Pedro Morales". Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 2015-03-31. Retrieved 2015-02-26.
  12. "WWA World Heavyweight Title (California) history". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved 2015-02-26.
  13. "WWA World Tag Team Title (California) history". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved 2015-02-26.
  14. "WWC North American Heavyweight Title (Puerto Rico) history". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved 2015-02-26.
  15. "WWC World Tag Team Title (Puerto Rico) history". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved 2015-02-26.
  16. "Intercontinental Championship - Pedro Morales (December 08, 1980 - June 20, 1981)". WWE. Archived from the original on February 20, 2015. Retrieved 2015-02-26.
  17. "Intercontinental Championship - Pedro Morales (November 23, 1981 - January 22, 1983)". WWE. Archived from the original on March 21, 2015. Retrieved 2015-02-26.
  18. "World Tag Team Championships - Bob Backlund & Pedro Morales (August 09, 1980 - August 10, 1980)". WWE. Archived from the original on May 26, 2015. Retrieved 2015-02-26.
  19. "WWWF United States Heavyweight Title history". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved 2015-02-26.

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