10 Things Wrestling Fans Should Know About Pedro Morales

Before Hulk Hogan captured the WWE Championship and kicked off a whole new era of pro wrestling, there were nine title reigns before him, many of whom have gone forgotten as far as modern pro wrestling is concerned. Among these forgotten legends is Pedro Morales, the fourth-ever WWE Champion and arguably one of the first big Latino stars in a major promotion.

RELATED: First 10 WWE Champions, Ranked Worst To Best

A decorated champion and a WWE Hall of Famer, Pedro Morales is obviously a star worth knowing about, so let’s take a look at Morales’ life and career and what fans should know about such an underrated legend.

10 Baseball Background

Born in Puerto Rico in 1942, Pedro Morales moved to New York City so he could finish high school. An athletic teenager, Morales played baseball, and proved impressive enough that at one point was scouted by Puerto Rico’s main baseball league, which he ended up declining. As a teenager Morales also did amateur wrestling and became a fan of pro wrestling, so instead of baseball he opted to train as a pro wrestler, and eventually made his debut in 1959.

9 Traveling Territory Wrestler

After spending a few years wrestling for WWE, Pedro Morales traveled the country, working in the various territories. By 1965, he was performing in California’s Worldwide Wrestling Associates, clashing with major stars like “Classy” Freddie Blassie and scoring his first major successes in wrestling. In spring of 1965, he defeated The Destroyer (a.k.a. Dick Beyer) in a 2/3 falls match for the WWA World Heavyweight Title for a 133 day run, and won it back later that year for a 292-day run. He also wrestled in the NWA-affiliated Hawaii territory, capturing various singles and tag team championships.

8 WWWF United States Champion

November of 1970 marked Pedro Morales’ return to WWE — back then known as the World Wide Wrestling Federation — in a tag team match with Chief Jay Strongbo. Two months later, Morales would capture his first title in the company, the now-defunct WWWF United States Heavyweight Championship, when he beat Freddie Blassie in a tournament for the vacant belt.

RELATED: 10 Things Fans Should Know About Classy Freddie Blassie

Morales’ run with the US belt would only last 32 days, as he was required to vacate the belt with his next big title win.

7 The First Latino WWE Champion

That title win would be the biggest of Pedro Morales’ career, as he defeated the heel Ivan Koloff to capture the WWE Championship, making him not only the fourth-ever WWE Champion, but also the first Latino wrestler to hold the title. Over the course of a 1,027 reign, Morales would defend the belt against a variety of foes, including Freddie Blassie, Captain Lou Albano, Ernie Ladd, Larry Hennig, Mr. Fuji, and George “The Animal” Steele. In December of 1973, Morales' title run would come to an end as he dropped the championship to Stan Stasiak.

6 Feuded With Bruno Sammartino

Following the loss of his WWE Championship, Pedro Morales went on to team up the company’s top star, Bruno Sammartino, who had re-captured the WWE Championship. Together, they teamed up to take on Mr. Fuji and Prof. Toru Tanaka for the Tag Team Championship, but ended up at one another’s throats due to a miscommunication caused by Fuji throwing salt into the faces of both Morales and Sammartino. This led to a huge babyface vs. babyface match for Sammartino’s WWE Championship at Shea Stadium in late September of 1972. The bout would end in a no-contest after about 75 minutes thanks to New York City’s curfew rules.

5 Took A Break From WWE In 1975

After the feud with Sammartino, Pedro Morales stuck with WWE for a few more years before moving on to other territories in the spring of 1975. During this period, Morales would wrestle for San Francisco’s Big Time Wrestling, Minnesota’s American Wrestling Association, and Championship Wrestling from Florida. During this period, Morales got a lot of traction as a tag team specialist, capturing titles with Pat Patterson in San Francisco and Rocky Johnson in Florida. He also did tours of Puerto Rico, and Japan, and took on Harley Race for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.

4 Won The WWE Tag Team Championship With Bob Backlund

In 1980, Pedro Morales returned to WWE, where he continued to wrestle singles bouts, but also formed a tag team with a WWE Champion, Bob Backlund. Together Morales and Backlund challenged The Wild Samoans at the 1980 edition of Showdown At Shea, defeating Afa and Sika in a 2/3 falls match to win the WWE Tag Team Championship.

RELATED: 10 Things Fans Should Know About Bob Backlund

While it was an impressive win that made Bob Backlund WWE’s first-ever double champion, Backlund and Morales forfeit the championship the following day because WWE’s rules at the time stipulated that the world champion couldn’t simultaneously hold a secondary belt.

3 Became WWE’s First Triple Crown Champion With Intercontinental Title Win

Rather than stay in the tag team division following his title win, Pedro Morales resumed being a singles star, feuding with Ken Patera until he dethroned him to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship in late 1980. Thanks to his earlier wins of the WWE Title and the Tag Title, Morales became WWE’s first Triple Crown Champion, and the only one until Bret Hart in 1992. Over the course of his 194-day run, Morales defended the belt against Killer Khan, Sgt. Slaughter, and even Hulk Hogan at one point, before dropping the belt to “Magnificent” Don Muraco in the summer of 1981.

2 WWE’s First Two-Time Intercontinental Champion

Pedro Morales may have lost the Intercontinental Title to Don Muraco, but their rivalry wasn’t over, as Morales got several rematches, and finally won the belt back in November of 1981, beating Muraco in a Texas Death match — five months after initially losing it. Recapturing the Intercontinental Title win not only made Morales a two-time champion, but also the very first two-time IC Champion. From there, Morales moved on to a feud with Greg “The Hammer” Valentine, Superstar Billy Graham, and others before dropping the belt back to Don Muraco after 425 days.

1 Retired In 1987

Pedro Morales spent the rest of the 1980s performing on WWE’s midcard until he retired in 1987. However, Morales wasn’t done with the pro wrestling business, as he started working backstage as a road agent, moving on to doing Spanish-language commentary for WWE and later WCW. In 1995, Pedro Morales entered the WWE Hall of Fame, which was established two years prior, and was inducted by then-current Puerto Rican WWE star Savio Vega.