 Acevedo,c. 1982 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Ángel Acevedo (1941-01-27)January 27, 1941 (age 84) |
| Children | 4 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Angelo Castro The Cuban Assassin The Cuban Commando El Mercenario |
| Billed height | 5 ft 7 in (170 cm)[1] |
| Billed weight | 180 lb (82 kg) to 250 lb (110 kg)[1] |
| Billed from | Cuba |
| Debut | 1973 |
| Retired | 2004, April 29, 2017 (guest appearance) |
Ángel Acevedo (born January 27, 1941) is a Puerto Rican retiredprofessional wrestler known by hisring nameThe Cuban Assassin and for his appearances withAtlantic Grand Prix Wrestling,World Wrestling Council andStampede Wrestling. Ángel Acevedo is a permanent resident of Canada and resides inCalgary,Alberta. Acevedo's son, Richie Acevedo, was also a wrestler for many years but retired in 2009. Acevedo allowedFidel Sierra to use the Cuban Assassin name as well, as long as he did not use it in Japan, which has led to some mistakenly crediting Acevedo and Sierra with championships they did not win.
Ángel Acevedo was born on January 27, 1941, inPuerto Rico, son of a Puerto Rican mother and a Cuban father. The family moved to Cuba when Acevedo was seven months old.[1] In school Acevedo competed inAmateur wrestling and later on took upboxing, even turning pro after graduating high school.[1] He would later move toFlorida and began training for a professional wrestling.
Acevedo made his debut forEddie Graham'sChampionship Wrestling from Florida in 1973 where he created the ring persona "The Cuban Assassin", playing off his heritage as well as his resemblance toFidel Castro due to his beard and hair.[2] The following year Acevedo began working in Canada, initially in and aroundMontreal, working forStu Hart'sStampede Wrestling. In Stampede he was given a partner, a masked man known as the "Cuban Assassin #2", with whom he won theStampede Wrestling International Tag Team Championship in 1976. The duo won the championship from Ed and Jerry Morrow, Jerry Morrow would later go on to become a regular partner of Acevedo.[3] The Cuban Assassins later lost the championship toLeo Burke and Stu Hart's sonKeith Hart.[3] In 1977 Acevedo was trusted enough by Stu Hart to be the opponent of his sonBret Hart in Bret's debut match.[2] Later on he began splitting his time in Canada between Stampede Wrestling andEmile Dupree'sAtlantic Grand Prix Wrestling (AGPW) that he often toured with over the summers.[2] The Cuban Assassin and a masked wrestler known as "The Carpetbagger" (Angelo Poffo) were the first recordedAGPW North American Tag Team Champions at some point in 1978.[4] Later that same year Cuban Assassin teamed up withNorman Frederick Charles III to win the Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Championship, defeating Jerry Morrow andGeorge Wells, the run was short lived as Keith Hard and Huber Gallant won the titles before 1978 was over.[3] Over the years the Cuban Assassin became a bit of a tag team specialist, winning the North American Tag Team titles with Goldie Rogers in 1976, then again withBobby Bass in 1980. Later on Dupree decided to bill Acevedo as "Angel Castro", teaming him up with a wrestler billed as Raoul Castro to win the North American Tag Team titles.[4]
In late 1982 Acevedo returned to his native Puerto Rico, working forWorld Wrestling Council (WWC), teaming up with Jerry Morrow asLos Mercenarios ("The Mercenaries"). On October 3, 1983, the duo won the Puerto Rican version of theNWA North American Tag Team Championship in a tournament.[5] Less than a month later the duo defeated Gino de la Serra andPierre Martel to win theWWC World Tag Team Championship as well, making the double champions for two months before Gran Apolo and Pierre Martel won the world tag team championship.[6] The following monthLos Mercenarios lost the North American Tag Team Championship to Mr. Tempest and El Scorpio.[5] After their tour of Puerto Rico they returned to Canada where the Cuban Assassin teamed up withFrancisco Flores to defeat Mr. Hito andJim Neidhart to win the Stampede International Tag Team Championship yet again. The following month the titles were shifted ontoBruce Hart andDavey Boy Smith.[3] In 1985 Acevedo andSweet Daddy Siki defeated"Bulldog" Bob Brown and the Great Pogo to win the AGPW North American Tag Team Championship, but lost them toHans Herman andKiller Karl Krupp before Acevedo's summer tour with AGPW ended.[4]
In 1986 The Cuban Assassin teamed up withWayne Ferris to form a very successful and hated tag team. The two defeated Ben Bassarab andChris Benoit to win the Stampede Tag team titles, which they later lost to Beniot and Keith Hart.[3] In Stampede Avecedo and Gerry Morrow teamed up to become the Cuban Commandos, defeating Badd Company (Brian Pillman and Bruce Hart) for what was Acevedo's sixth run with the titles, followed by a seventh in 1988 that was ended bythe British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and theDynamite Kid).[3] Acevedo and Morrow returned to Puerto Rico in 1989 where they defeatedHuracán Castillo Jr. andMiguel Pérez Jr. to with theWWC Caribbean Tag Team Championship.[7]
In early 1990 Jerry Morrow left WWC, forcing the company to give half of the championship Ron Starr instead.[7] The duo later gave up the championship, but would defeatChris Youngblood andMark Youngblood to win them one more time. Later onSuper Médico I andSuper Médico III won the titles fromLos Mercenarios.[6] The team defeatedInvader I andInvader IV on May 24, 1990, to win the WWC Caribbean Tag Team Championship one last time, ending in July 1990 whenLos Mercenarios lost to Huracán Castillo Jr. and Miguel Pérez Jr.[7] Acevedo went into semi-retirement in 1992 but kept getting offers to wrestle in Canada until 2004 when he finally retired from wrestling.[2]
In 2013 Acevedo appeared in the Victoria Pavilion, in Calgary, Alberta for theHart Legacy Wrestling promotion.[8]
On April 29, 2017, Acevedo appeared alongside Leo Burke as special guests at Ultimate Championship Wrestling's 10th Anniversary event at the Halifax Forum in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.[9] The pair would answer questions during a fan access event, reappearing later in the night during a six-man tag match where Acevedo would replace an injured Nick Strong.[10]
Acevedo's first marriage produced a son and a daughter, one of which followed his father into professional wrestling as Richie Acevedo worked for many years as Cuban Assassin #2, then later Cuban Assassin Jr. for AGPW and later dropped the "Jr." to just be "Cuban Assassin".[11] Acevedo later remarried after moving toCalgary,Alberta,Canada and has two children with his second wife.[1]
