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 Maff in April 2024 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Daniel Lopez (1973-10-28)October 28, 1973 (age 52) Newark, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Dan Maff Danny Maff Mafia Mafia Mack |
| Billed height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) |
| Billed weight | 305 lb (138 kg) |
| Billed from | Bed Stuy Do-or-Die, Brooklyn,New York,Bayonne, New Jersey |
| Trained by | Homicide Magic |
| Debut | 1999 |
Daniel Lopez (born October 28, 1973), better known by his ring nameDan Maff, is an Americanprofessional wrestler, he is currently performing independent circuit. he is best known for his time withRing of Honor (ROH),Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW),Northeast Wrestling andBeyond Wrestling.
Lopez attendedJersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW) shows as a fan and enrolled in the JAPWtraining school when it opened in the late 1990s. After training for several months, Lopez began attendingHomicide's training school, The Doghouse, inNew York City. When his training was completed in 1999, Lopez adopted the name "Mafia" and formed atag team with another Doghouse graduate who he resembled,Monsta Mack.
Mafia and Mack, collectively known as Da Hit Squad, began wrestling on thenortheasternindependent circuit. They won theJAPW Tag Team Championship in 1999 and inJersey Championship Wrestling's Tag Team Championship in 2000. In 2001, the duo won titles inWorld Xtreme Wrestling andUSA Pro Wrestling. At one stage they held a total of six titles between them. After Mack injured his leg, he was unable to defend his half of the JAPW Tag Team Championship in a scheduled match on January 25, 2003, against the Dirty Rotten Scoundrelz. Lopez unsuccessfully defended the title in ahandicap match.
Lopez won theJAPW Heavyweight Championship on February 22, 2003, inWoodbridge, New Jersey, defeating his trainer, Homicide. Inspired by his victory, Lopez left the partnership with Mack, who he defeated in a match for USA Pro Wrestling on March 8. Following a successful title defense againstSlyk Wagner Brown, Lopez announced he was renaming himself "Dan Maff" and formed astable with the Dirty Rotten Scoundrelz known as "La Familia". Lopez's title reign came to an end on August 1, 2003, when he was defeated byAl Snow, aWWE employee brought into JAPW as an outside challenger. He won the title for a second time on December 13, 2003, defeatingJerry Lawler inSecaucus, New Jersey.
On February 28, 2004, Lopez defended the JAPW Heavyweight Championship against his former partner, Monsta Mack. Lopez retained the title and embraced Mack after the match in a show of respect and camaraderie. The Dirty Rotten Scoundrelz were disgusted by the show of sportsmanship and attacked Lopez as he tried to leave the ring. Mack returned to the ring, but, instead of helping his former partner, assisted the Soundrelz with their assault on Lopez. Mack then formed a new version of La Familia with the Soundrelz and enlisted a number of heels to try to take the title away from Lopez. Lopez fought off a number of challengers, includingECW alumnusMike Awesome. He also engaged in a lengthy feud for the JAPW Heavyweight Championship with the number one contender,Jay Lethal.
Lopez (as "Mafia") and Mack appeared onThe Era of Honor Begins, the inauguralRing of Honor (ROH) event, on February 23, 2002, attacking theChristopher Street Connection (CSC). Theyfeuded with the CSC for several weeks before beginning a series ofhardcore matches withThe Carnage Crew,H.C. Loc andDeVito. In 2003, Da Hit Squad formed a loose alliance with Homicide. Lopez betrayed Mack on April 12, 2003, atEpic Encounter. Later that evening, Lopez went to the ring immediately after a match between Homicide andChristopher Daniels and indicated that he had joined forces with Daniels and his stable, "The Prophecy". Lopez was renamed "Dan Maff" and designated "theassassin of The Prophecy".
Lopez's singles career in ROH began on May 31 atDo Or Die, where he defeatedB. J. Whitmer with the assistance ofAllison Danger, thevalet of The Prophecy. Following his victory, Lopez was confronted by two of Homicide's former students,Julius Smokes andLow Ki, who accused him of "forgetting his roots".
On June 14 atNight of the Grudges, The Prophecy (Lopez, Daniels andDonovan Morgan) defeated rival faction The Group, with Lopez pinningROH World ChampionSamoa Joe. This led to a title match atWrestleRave '03 on June 28, where Joe defeated Lopez to retain. Lopez and the rest of The Prophecy continued to feud with Homicide and his supporters, leading to a match between Lopez and Low-Ki atBitter Friends, Stiffer Enemies on August 16. The match was halted when Lopez was legitimately knockedunconscious following a poorly timed,stiff kick from Low-Ki.
In late 2003, Lopez competed in the annual Field of Honor event, but was eliminated by B. J. Whitmer. Whitmer joined The Prophecy on December 22 atFinal Battle 2003, and confessed that he had been behind a career-ending attack onLucy, the valet ofCM Punk, earlier that year. This infuriated Lopez, who had been disgusted by the brutal attack and had sworn on his father's grave to Punk that The Prophecy had nothing to do with the attack. Lopez called Whitmer a "scumbag" but was admonished by Daniels, who claimed that the attack was part of his plan to destroy ROH. Lopez and Whitmer began teaming together in 2004 after Daniels left ROH, and, along with Allison Danger, continued their feud with CM Punk and theSecond City Saints. They defeated the Saints in a match for theROH Tag Team Championships on May 15, 2004, inLexington, MA atRound Robin Challenge III, but lost the title to theBriscoe Brothers that same evening.[1] On June 12, 2004, atWorld Title Classic, Lopez and Whitmer defeated three other teams in a 35-minute-long Ultimate Endurance Match. After the match, Lopez convinced Whitmer to discard both the Prophecy name and the managerial services of Allison Danger, claiming that they no longer needed a leader or a manager and could now win matches on their own merits. Danger was furious and placed abounty on the heads of Lopez and Whitmer. They spent several months feuding with teams sent after them by Danger, includingSlash Venom andChicano and The Carnage Crew. On December 26 atFinal Battle 2004 they defeated the Carnage Crew in a "Fight Without Honor" and shook hands with their opponents after the match. Whitmer and Lopez captured the ROH Tag Team Championship for a second time at the third ROH anniversary show on February 19, 2005, inElizabeth, New Jersey, defeating theHavana Pitbulls.
In March 2005, Homicide issued a number of statements accusing Lopez of "betraying" him and announcing that he would not work for any company which hired Lopez in the future.[2] As a result, Lopez retired from professional wrestling. The titles, which he held at the time, were vacated although he kept both of the physical belts themselves. JAPW openly acknowledged the situation between Lopez and Homicide.
Lopez broke his retirement on October 8, 2005, unsuccessfully challengingEl Chicano for the IWA Puerto Rico Heavyweight Championship inLevittown.
In February 2009, Lopez arrived at American Championship Entertainment (ACE) in Union City, New Jersey after multiple cryptic videos and comments on the ACE message board, in the ring, face to face, Lopez was challenging the current champion for the belt during the next show "Destined For Greatness". On March 21, 2009, Lopez defeated Hollywood Joe Hardway for the Heavyweight Championship.
Lopez was a surprise guest at Jersey All Pro Wrestling's June 28 event in Jersey City, New Jersey. Maff made his return after the World Heavyweight Title bout between Heavyweight ChampionKenny Omega and New Jersey State Champion, The Grim Reefer. Lopez and Homicide did appear at the same show at theElks Lodge in Queens on July 12, 2010. On June 27, 2009, Lopez defeatedJay Lethal to win the JAPW Heavyweight Title for the third time.
Lopez also worked for other independent promotions. On March 19, 2010, Lopez defeated Rob Fury, El Shoes andXavier at the ICW return show "Reborn" at the Elks Lodge in Queens, New York. He also wrestled for Pro Wrestling Syndicate (PWS).
On May 13, 2011,New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), with help from JAPW, held their first ever shows in the United States as part of theInvasion Tour 2011. During the event, held inRahway, New Jersey, Maff made his debut for the Japanese promotion, losing toToru Yano via low blow in the first round of a tournament to determine the firstIWGP Intercontinental Champion.[3][4] At the following day's event in New York City, Maff teamed withJushin Thunder Liger andTiger Mask in a six-man tag team match, where they defeatedCHAOS (Shinsuke Nakamura,Gedo andJado).[5] On the final day of the tour inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, Maff teamed withSatoshi Kojima in a match, where they were defeated by theIWGP Tag Team Champions,Bad Intentions (Giant Bernard andKarl Anderson).[6]
On August 19, 2011, Maff became Impact Championship Wrestling's Heavyweight Champion after winning one-day tournament. He defeated Azrieal in the first round, Devon Moore in semifinal and Danny Demanto in final.[7]
On August 15, 2014, Maff made a surprise appearance for House of Glory Wrestling in Queens, New York. He was a last minute replacement for Jay Lethal and took the loss againstAnthony Gangone. In June 2015, Maff became Pro Wrestling Syndicate Champion by defeatingMario Bokara andFallah Bahh in a Tri Force Match.
Since 2016, Maff has been a mainstay atPat Buck's WrestlePro. On November 18, 2016, Maff became WrestlePro's first Silver Champion.
In November 2019, Maff made his return to Ring of Honor, facingPCO in a match. After his good performance, ROH offered him a contract, which he signed. However, in October 2020, his profile was removed from ROH website.[8]
