February 18, 2019 Observer Newsletter: Death of Pedro Morales
Pedro Morales, best known for his three-year run as WWWF champion from 1971-73, passed away on 2/12 at Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy, NJ, where he had been hospitalized for two weeks.
He was 78 and had been battling Parkinson’s Disease for several years.
With all due respect to Rey Mysterio and Eddy Guerrero, Morales was the biggest Hispanic star in company history. During his title reign, he sold out Madison Square Garden 21 times in 30 title matches, the highest sellout percentage of any major star in the history of the arena except Superstar Billy Graham.
Morales was also the first wrestler to hold the WWWF, IC and WWF tag team titles, even if the latter was only for one night. He was also the WWF United States champion, although that is forgotten in history. He also held the WWA world title twice when it was one of the big three recognized world titles in the 60s, and had a legendary 1960s tag team with Pepper Gomez.
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Dave Meltzer is the founder and lead writer on the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the weekly constant when it comes to news and reviews in pro wrestling and mixed martial arts for more than 40 years. Dave also co-hosts Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and had had bylines for The National, Yahoo Sports, MMA Fighting and others.