 Parenre, circa 1963 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Lorenzo Parente[3] (1935-03-16)March 16, 1935[5] |
| Died | March 15, 2014(2014-03-15) (aged 78)[4] Brentwood, Tennessee, U.S.[5] |
Spouse | Christine "Dina" Parente |
| Children | Tony, Rosie, Frazier and Michael[4] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Lorenzo Parente Pancho Parente Mephisto Spoiler #1 Blue Avenger Pancho Lopez Larry Lopez Tony Lorenzo |
| Billed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[1] |
| Billed weight | 229 lb (104 kg)[1] |
| Billed from | Naples, Italy[2] |
| Debut | 1958 |
| Retired | 1976 |
Lorenzo Parente "Martino" was an Italianprofessional wrestler who competed throughout theUnited States from 1958 to 1976. During his career he captured theNWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship on two occasions (both of which he won fromDanny Hodge). He was also known for his long standing tag team with Bobby Hart, with whom he captured numerous regional andworld NWA Tag Team Championships.
Parente competed for various promotions throughout his career, includingNWA Mid-America,NWA Western States,Championship Wrestling from Florida,Jim Barnett'sWorld Championship Wrestling,NWA Tri-State and theWWF.
Parente was born March 16, 1935, in the small village ofChieti, one of five sons born to parents Antonio and Rosaria Parente.[4] He moved to the United States in 1959 to pursue professional that same year, wrestling under his real name and as "Pancho López", primarily in the Amarillo, Texasterritory.[7] As Pancho López, he won theNWA North American Heavyweight Championship two times in 1960, defeatingGene LeBell andMike DiBiase respectively.[8] Soon thereafter he formed a tag team called "Continental Warriors" with Bobby Hart, under thering names "Mephisto and Dante". It was to be a pairing that would last on-and-off for most of his career. They had their first taste of success as a tag team in the early 1960s, winning theNWA Mid-America Tag Team Championship on numerous occasions, feuding with the likes of Lester Welch andJackie Fargo.[7] They would go to win the titles six times.[9]
Parente feuded withDanny Hodge inArkansas andOklahoma in the mid-1960s. He defeated Hodge on November 23, 1965, to win his firstNWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship.[10] He lost the title to Hodge on January 4, 1966, before winning it back on January 14 to become a two-time champion.[9] On December 3, 1968, Parente and Hodge won theNWA Tri-State Tag Team Championship in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
By 1966, Parente was travelling throughout the National Wrestling Alliance. He became a mainstay withChampionship Wrestling from Florida and on December 24, 1967, he captured theNWA World Tag Team Championship with Paul DeMarco, defeating Kurt and Skull Von Stroheim. They went on to capture the titles for the second time the following year on January 16, defeatingTerry andRon Garvin in Tampa, Florida.[11] That same year, he won theNWA Tri-State Tag Team Championship with former adversary Danny Hodge, on December 3.
Having held tag titles with him previously, Parente claimed tag team gold with Bobby Hart once again in 1969, this time capturing theNWA World Tag Team Championship inMid-America. The team found great success as aheel pairing, using underhand tactics to achieve victory, including the use of foreign objects.[8] They would go on to capture numerous regional and world tag team titles together as The Continental Warriors, holding the NWA World Tag Team Championship six times and winning regional tag titles throughout the United States including the tag titles ofNWA Mid-America,Championship Wrestling from Florida,NWA Western States and theNWA United States Tag Team Championship inNWA Mid-America and Tri-State. They also captured theNWA Tennessee Tag Team Championship, defeating Don & Ron Wright in May 1973.[8] Southern wrestling legendJerry Lawler remarked in his autobiography that Tennessee "had some of the best tag team goings at the time", with the top teams often in the feature matches. He describes Parente and Hart as "main event caliber guys who had been in the business a long time".[12]
Parente held several other championships during the remainder of his career, including two reigns asNWA United States Junior Heavyweight Champion, both times defeating Don Greene.[9] His last title victory was with a championship he had not previously held, when he won theNWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship with John Gray and Big Bad John defeating Dennis Hall, Jackie Fargo and George Gulas on January 16, 1975.[8]
Lorenzo Parente had retired from in-ring competition by the mid-1970s. He last wrestled in Lou Thesz's UWA promotion in 1976. He settled inBrentwood, Tennessee, with his wife Christine "Dina" Parente[4] where he opened a successful restaurant; Lorenzo's Italian Village in 1975.[6] He died on March 15, 2014, at the age of 78. and was survived by his wife of 49 years, his children and grandchildren.[4] He received a Catholic funeral and was laid to rest at Christ Church Memorial Gardens.[4]
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