Fidel Sierra

Last updated

Fidel Sierra
Birth nameDavid Canal
Born (1960-07-27) July 27, 1960 (age 64)
Cuba [1]
Spouse(s)
Crystal McLaughlin
​
​
(m. 1978;div. 1980)​
Trisa Samowski
​
​
(m. 1982;div. 1985)​
Mary Harrison
​
​
(m. 1987;div. 1990)​
Fantasy
​
(m. 1992)​
Children3
Family Bill Alfonso (cousin)
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) El Hombre De La Habana, Cuba
El Sanguinario Cubano
El Cubanísimo
El Cubano
The Assassin
The Boricua [1]
The Cuban Assassin
David Patterson [1]
David Sierra
The Destroyer
Especialista II
Fidel Barrio
Fidel Sierra [2]
Top Gun [2]
Billed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Billed weight265 lb (120 kg; 18.9 st)
Billed fromParts Unknown (as Top Gun) [2]
Trained by Hiro Matsuda [1]
Debut1978

David Canal [3] (born July 27, 1960) is a Cuban professional wrestler better known by his ring name "The Cuban Assassin (El Sanguinario Cubano)" Fidel Sierra. He is notable for being a longtime veteran of the Puerto Rico-based World Wrestling Council as well as for his appearances in World Championship Wrestling and Pacific Northwest Wrestling during the 1980s and 1990s. He wrestled under the name The Cuban Assassin towards the end of his career. [4]

Contents

Early life

Sierra was born in Cuba, but moved to the United States with his family when he was a year old. [1] His mother was Cuban and his father was Spanish. [1]

Professional wrestling career

Sierra was trained by Hiro Matsuda in Tampa, Florida. [1]

Sierra has worked for Puerto Rico's World Wrestling Council (WWC) since 1985, as both a wrestler and a backstage worker. [1] He also wrestled all over the United States, including in Dallas, Texas for the Von Erich family, in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling for Jim Crockett, Jr., in Florida and Georgia, and for Don Owen in Portland, Oregon. [1] He has also competed in Stampede Wrestling in Canada, in the Dominican Republic, and in Japan, via his association with the National Wrestling Alliance. [1] In Japan, he competed against the likes of Andre the Giant, Antonio Inoki, and Tatsumi Fujinami. [1] He also competed under a mask in Mexico as The Boricua until he lost a Mask vs. Mask match to Pierroth Jr. [1]

While wrestling under the ring name 'Top Gun', Sierra faced Ric Flair in a match that ended in a 60-minute time limit draw. [2]

Sierra also wrestled in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as 'Fidel Sierra', making appearances between 1989 and 2000. He is known for a feud with Jim Duggan provoked by international tensions between the United States and Cuba. [2] In WCW, Fidel Sierra regularly teamed with Ricky Santana. Originally billed as The Cuban Connection (a name they first used in Bill Watts' UWF where they feuded with the Sheepherders) [5] the duo were renamed The Barrio Brothers (Ricky Barrio and Fidel Barrio) in the mid-1990s in an effort to appear more up-to-date. [6] Sierra and Santana also performed in WCW wearing masks and full-body suits as Los Especialistas (Especialista I and Especialista II). Their identities were revealed on-air on the live Main Event pre-show of Clash of the Champions XXXI, when they were unmasked by The Nasty Boys following a match.

In between his WCW appearances, Sierra also wrestled several matches for the World Wrestling Federation in 1994 and 1995. Under the name 'Fidel Sierra', he made his first appearance on the February 5, 1994 episode of WWF Superstars , teaming with Barry Horowitz in a loss to The 1-2-3 Kid and Marty Jannetty. He then teamed with Ricky Santana in two tryout matches at WWF TV tapings that June, though the pair was not signed. Sierra would make two more appearances on WWF television in 1995 as 'David Sierra', losing to Aldo Montoya on the January 30 episode of Monday Night Raw and once again teaming with Barry Horowitz to lose to Men on a Mission on the February 9 edition of WWF Wrestling Challenge . [7] [8] In 2000, as Fidel Sierra, he feuded over (although never winning) the WCW TV title with Jim Duggan on WCW Saturday Night.

While wrestling in Canada as "Crazy" David Patterson, Sierra asked permission from the original Cuban Assassin, Ángel Acevedo, to use the 'Cuban Assassin' character, to which Acevedo agreed, on the condition that Sierra did not use the name or gimmick in Japan. [1] [4]

Personal life

Sierra is married to Fantasy, his long-time manager. [2] She is his fourth wife, and as of 2022, the pair have been married for 30 years. [2] Sierra has two daughters and a son. [2] Sierra and his wife own a sports bar, Crazy Dave's Sports Bar, in Largo, Florida. [1]

Championships and accomplishments

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greg Valentine</span> American professional wrestler (born 1951)

Jonathan Anthony Wisniski is a retired American professional wrestler, better known as Greg "the Hammer" Valentine. He is the son of wrestler Johnny Valentine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ricky Steamboat</span> American professional wrestler

Richard Henry Blood Sr., better known by his ring name Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat, is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his work with the American Wrestling Association (AWA), Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and the World Wrestling Federation. Steamboat is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential professional wrestlers of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dick Slater</span> American professional wrestler (1951–2018)

Richard Van Slater better known by his ring name "Dirty" Dick Slater, was an American professional wrestler who wrestled in the 1970s, 1980s, and mid-1990s for various promotions including Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling (WCW).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rick Martel</span> Canadian professional wrestler

Richard Vigneault is a Canadian retired professional wrestler, trainer, and television presenter, better known by his ring name, Rick "The Model" Martel. He is best known for his appearances with the American Wrestling Association, the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling. Championships held by Martel over the course of his career include the AWA World Heavyweight Championship, WCW World Television Championship, and WWF World Tag Team Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terry Taylor</span> American professional wrestler

Paul Worden Taylor III is an American retired professional wrestler better known by his ring name Terry Taylor and for his time as an in-ring performer in National Wrestling Alliance, World Championship Wrestling, and World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment. From 2003 until 2011, he worked as a road agent, trainer, interviewer and the director of talent relations in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. Since 2012, Taylor has worked as a trainer in WWE's developmental territory, NXT.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kendall Windham</span> American professional wrestler (born 1967)

Kendall Wayne Windham is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling. He is the son of Blackjack Mulligan and the brother of Barry Windham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Bart (wrestler)</span> American professional wrestler

Richard Harris, better known by his ring name Black Bart, is an American retired professional wrestler.

Bradley Anderson is an American professional wrestler. He is the son of fellow professional wrestler Gene Anderson.

Al Perez is an American retired professional wrestler. He held 16 titles during a 20-year career, including the WCWA World Heavyweight Championship.

Hoyt Richard Murdoch was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring names "Dirty" Dick Murdoch and "Captain Redneck". He was best known for his time in the NWA, World Wrestling Federation and New Japan Pro-Wrestling.

Curtis Thompson is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling from 1991 to 1992 under the ring name Firebreaker Chip.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Youngblood</span> American professional wrestler (1966–2021)

Christopher Romero was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Chris Youngblood. A second generation wrestler, he was the son of Ricky Romero and the brother of Mark and Jay Youngblood.

Barry Horowitz is an American professional wrestler, best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).

Ricardo Santana Ortiz, better known as Ricky Santana, is an American retired professional wrestler of Cuban descent who has worked for World Championship Wrestling, World Wrestling Federation, World Wrestling Council and the National Wrestling Alliance, All Japan, IWA Japan, Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, AAA.

Léonce Cormier was a Canadian professional wrestler. He was born in Dorchester, New Brunswick. He competed across Canada, in several American promotions, and wrestled internationally for Puerto Rico's World Wrestling Council (WWC) and the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) in New Zealand. In Canada, where he spent the majority of his career, he used the ring name Leo Burke. In the United States, he competed as Tommy Martin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timothy Well</span> American professional wrestler (1961 – 2017)

Timothy Alan Smith was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring names Rex King and Timothy Well. He wrestled in several promotions, including All Japan Pro Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling, and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Much of his career was spent wrestling as a tag team with Steve Doll throughout his career. While in WWF, they were known as Well Dunn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Les Thornton</span> British professional wrestler (1934–2019)

Les Thornton was a British professional wrestler who competed in Great Britain, Japan, European and North American regional promotions throughout the 1970s and 1980s including Joint Promotions, Stampede Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation and the National Wrestling Alliance.

Todd Dale Veasey is a retired American professional wrestler, better known by his ring names Dale Veasey and Lt. James Earl Wright, who competed in North American regional promotions including the Mid-South region and the National Wrestling Alliance, particularly the Georgia and Florida territories, as well as brief stints in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling, most notably as one half of the tag team State Patrol with Buddy Lee Parker during the 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rip Oliver</span> American professional wrestler (1952–2020)

Larry Richard Oliver was an American professional wrestler, known as "Crippler" Rip Oliver, who had success in Pacific Northwest Wrestling (PNW).

Rocky Iaukea is a retired American professional wrestler, known by his ringname Prince Iaukea, who competed in the Pacific Northwest and Southeastern United States with the National Wrestling Alliance during the 1980s, and in Japan during the early 1990s. From 1984 to 1990, he wrestled as Abudadein in Pacific Northwest Wrestling winning the NWA Pacific Northwest Television Championship twice and the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship three times with Mike Miller and The Grappler. A second-generation wrestler, he is the son of Curtis Iaukea and a cousin of Maunakea Mossman.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Varsallone, Jim (September 19, 2011). "Storied career for Florida's Cuban Assassin Fidel Sierra". The Miami Herald . p. 2. Archived from the original on December 16, 2011. Retrieved December 16, 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Varsallone, Jim (September 19, 2011). "Storied career for Florida's Cuban Assassin Fidel Sierra". The Miami Herald . p. 1. Archived from the original on October 26, 2011. Retrieved December 16, 2011.
  3. ↑ Mahling, Mallory (March 8, 2003). "Last Call with Mallory: Girls Gone Wild, Wrestlers' Court, Rock". PWTorch. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
  4. 1 2 "SLAM! Wrestling Canadian Hall of Fame: Cuban Assassin". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. June 27, 2010. Archived from the original on July 20, 2012. Retrieved December 16, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. ↑ Gold Belt Wrestling March 1988 - photo feature on barbed wire match The Sheepherders vs The Cuban Connection
  6. ↑ "Ricky Santana Interview Recap". f4wonline.com. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
  7. ↑ "1994 WWF results". History of WWE. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  8. ↑ "1995 WWF results". History of WWE. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  9. 1 2 Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN   0-9698161-5-4.
  10. ↑ "Cuban Assassin to Receive Men's Wrestling Honor | Cauliflower Alley Club". www.caulifloweralleyclub.org. Archived from the original on April 18, 2018.
  11. ↑ Hoops, Brian (January 17, 2019). "Pro wrestling history (01/17): Vader wins IWGP heavyweight title". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online . Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  12. ↑ Rodgers, Mike (2004). "Regional Territories: PNW #16 Page #2". KayfabeMemories.com.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.