American professional wrestler
José Serapio "Joseph "Palimino Gomez (April 21, 1927 – May 6, 2004) was an Americanprofessional wrestler andbodybuilder , better known by hisring name ,Pepper Gomez .[ 2] [ 1] [ 3] [ 4] abdominal muscles , he would allow rivals to perform stunts such as jumping onto his stomach from the top of a ladder or driving aVolkswagen Beetle over his stomach, earning him the nickname "The Man with the Cast Iron Stomach".[ 5] [ 7] [ 8] blue-collar Latino babyface .[ 9] [ 10]
Gomez was born inLos Angeles ,California in 1927. While at high school, he competed atfootball ,gymnastics andtrack .[ 6] Los Angeles City College , where he played football as afullback .[ 1]
Bodybuilding career [ edit ] In 1947, Gomez began participating inbodybuilding .[ 6] Armand Tanny andJoe Gold .[ 11] Mr. Muscle Beach " contest inSanta Monica, California in 1950.[ 12] [ 6] AAU Mr. America contest. Gomez was featured in the November 1948 issue ofStrength & Health Muscle Power .[ 12]
Professional wrestling career [ edit ] Photo of Gomez from a 1960 wrestling program. Gomez was trained to wrestle byBlack Guzmán . He debuted in January 1953 inEl Paso, Texas .[ 4] British Columbia with theVancouver -basedBig Time Wrestling promotion, winning the Northwest Tag Team Championship three times in 1953.[ 2] [ 13]
In the mid-1950s, Gomez joined theDallas ,Texas -based promotionBig Time Wrestling , winning theNWA Texas Heavyweight Championship 15 times between 1955 and 1971. Gomez also held theNWA Texas Tag Team Championship on ten occasions between 1955 and 1961 and the Texas-version of theNWA World Tag Team Championship five times between 1958 and 1961.[ 2]
In the early-1960s, Gomez began competing for theSan Francisco ,California -based American Wrestling Alliance (later renamedBig Time Wrestling ). In 1962, Gomez embarked on a heatedfeud withRay Stevens . After Stevens convinced Gomez to allow him to jump off a ladder onto Gomez' stomach, Stevens instead delivered his signature "Bombs Away"diving knee drop to Gomez' throat, leaving him coughing up blood. Gomez and Stevens went on to wrestle in a series of matches that sold-out theCow Palace and theOakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena .[ 7] [ 8] [ 14] AWA United States Heavyweight Championship in July 1962, losing the championship to Stevens in February 1963.[ 2] NWA World Tag Team Championship on seven occasions between 1963 and 1977.
In the late-1960s, Gomez began competing for theMinneapolis ,Minnesota -basedAmerican Wrestling Association . He began a heated feud withKiller Kowalski after Kowalski delivered a knee drop to his throat in an echo of the Ray Stevens angle.[ 15] stomach claw to Gomez' muscular stomach.
In the mid-1970s, Gomez joined theIndianapolis ,Indiana -basedWorld Wrestling Association . In November 1975, he defeatedOx Baker for theWWA World Heavyweight Championship . He held the championship until May 1976, when he was defeated byThe Masked Strangler . Gomez also won theWWA World Tag Team Championship withWilbur Snyder in 1974 and 1978.[ 2]
Gomez retired in 1982. He went on to work as amaître d' Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco .[ 1]
Gomez was of Mexican descent.[ 16] [ 1] [ 1]
Gomez underwent surgery in April 2004 and was placed onlife support . He died ofgastritis on May 6, 2004.[ 1] [ 4]
A minor character in the 2008 video gameFallout 3 [ 17]
Championships and accomplishments [ edit ] Amateur Athletic Union "Junior Mr. America" (8th, 1952)[ 12] "Mr. America " (5th, 1951)[ 12] "Mr. California" (2nd (Tall), 1947; 5th, 1952)[ 12] "Mr. Los Angeles" (2nd, 1947; 3rd, 1949; 3rd, 1950; 2nd; 1951; 3rd, 1952)[ 12] "Mr. Pacific Coast" (4th; 1948)[ 12] "Mr. Western America" (3rd, 1947)[ 12] Miscellaneous "Mr. Muscle Beach" (winner, 1950)[ 2] [ 12] Professional wrestling [ edit ] Big Time Wrestling(Boston) BTW New England Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[ 18] American Wrestling Alliance / Big Time Wrestling(San Francisco) Big Time Wrestling(British Columbia) Northwest Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Johnny Demchuck (2 times) and Ivan Kameroff (1 time)[ 2] [ 13] Big Time Wrestling(Texas) NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship (15 times)[ 19] [ 20] [ 2] NWA Texas Tag Team Championship (10 times) – with Bill Melby (1 time),Cyclone Anaya (1 time),Dory Dixon (2 times), Hogan Wharton (1 time),Larry Chene (1 time), Luigi Macera (1 time), El Medico (2 times), andRito Romero (2 times)[ 2] [ 21] [ 22] NWA World Tag Team Championship(Texas version) (5 times) – with El Medico (1 time), Rito Romero (1 time), Ciclone Anaya (1 time), Torbellino Blanco/Wilbur Snyder (1 time), and Dory Dixon (1 time)[ 23] [ 24] Cauliflower Alley Club Championship Wrestling from Florida NWA Hollywood Wrestling Western States Sports Pacific Northwest Wrestling World Wrestling Association Other TitlesFort Myers Heavyweight Championship ( time ) ^a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Rubenstein, Steve (May 8, 2004)." .SFGate Hearst . RetrievedJune 11, 2016 . ^a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Harris M. Lentz III (January 1, 2003).Biographical Dictionary of Professional Wrestling, 2d ed ISBN 978-0-7864-1754-4 ^a b c d e f g h i j "Pepper Gomez" .Cagematch.net . RetrievedJune 11, 2016 .^a b c d Oliver, Greg (May 6, 2004)."Pepper Gomez dies" .Canoe.com Postmedia Network . Archived fromthe original on April 22, 2016. RetrievedJune 11, 2016 . ^a b John Grasso (March 6, 2014).Historical Dictionary of Wrestling ISBN 978-0-8108-7926-3 ^a b c d Chapman, David (November 1, 2004)."Gallery of Ironmen: Pepper Gomez" .Iron Man . RetrievedJune 12, 2016 . ^a b "The 10 best wrestlers you've never heard of" .WWE . May 6, 2014. RetrievedJune 12, 2016 .^a b John Lister (November 2005).Slamthology: Collected Wrestling Writings 1991-2004 ISBN 978-1-4116-5329-0 ^ Nicholas Sammond (December 23, 2004).Steel Chair to the Head: The Pleasure and Pain of Professional Wrestling ISBN 0-8223-8682-8 ^ David J. Leonard; Carmen R. Lugo-Lugo (March 17, 2015).Latino History and Culture: An Encyclopedia ISBN 978-1-317-46646-8 ^ Mozee, Gene (April 7, 2009)."Armand Tanny" .Iron Man . RetrievedJune 12, 2016 . ^a b c d e f g h i "Pepper Gomez" .MuscleMemory.com . RetrievedJune 12, 2016 .^a b "Northwest Tag Team Title [British Columbia]" .WrestlingTitles.com . January 19, 2011. RetrievedJune 12, 2016 .^ Larry Matysik (February 1, 2013).50 Greatest Professional Wrestlers of All Time: The Definitive Shoot ISBN 978-1-77090-305-0 ^ Ed Symkus; Vinnie Carolan (2004).Wrestle Radio U. S. A.: Grapplers Speak ISBN 978-1-55022-646-1 ^ "My Brilliant Career: Inside the wild outlaw world of pre-WWF pro wrestling in Chicago" . Archived fromthe original on April 16, 2017. RetrievedMarch 8, 2017 .^ GamerGuides.com (October 28, 2015).Fallout 3 - Strategy Guide ISBN 978-1-63102-069-8 ^ "New England Heavyweight Title" .Wrestling-Titles.com . Puroresu Dojo. 2003.Archived from the original on November 17, 2020.^ *Will, Gary; Duncan, Royal (2000). "Texas: NWA Texas Heavyweight Title [Von Erich]".Wrestling Title Histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present . Pennsylvania: Archeus Communications. pp. 268– 269.ISBN 0-9698161-5-4 ^ "NWA Texas Heavyweight Title" .Wrestling-Titles . RetrievedMarch 30, 2017 .^ Will, Gary; Duncan, Royal (2000). "Texas: NWA Texas Tag Team Title [Von Erich]".Wrestling Title Histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present . Pennsylvania: Archeus Communications. pp. 275– 276.ISBN 0-9698161-5-4 ^ "NWA Texas Tag Team Title [E. Texas]" .wrestling-titles.com . RetrievedDecember 27, 2019 .^ Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2000). "Texas: NWA World Tag Team Title [Siegel, Boesch and McLemore]".Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present . Pennsylvania: Archeus Communications.ISBN 0-9698161-5-4 ^ "National Wrestling Alliance World Tag Team Title [E. Texas]" .Wrestling-Titles . RetrievedFebruary 21, 2017 .^ "Honorees" .Cauliflower Alley Club the original on July 6, 2022. RetrievedSeptember 27, 2020 .^ "National Wrestling Alliance World Tag Team Titles [W. Texas]" .Wrestling-Titles . RetrievedFebruary 21, 2017 .
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