Fidel Sierra
 |
| Fidel Sierra | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 27, 1960 Cuba[1] |
| 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 El Cubano Especialista II Fidel Barrio Fidel Sierra[2] Top Gun[2] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Billed weight | 265 lb (120 kg; 18.9 st) |
| Billed from | Parts Unknown (as Top Gun)[2] |
| Trained by | Hiro Matsuda[1] |
| Debut | 1978 |
David Canal[3] (born July 27, 1960), better known by his ring name "The Cuban Assassin (El Sanguinario Cubano)" Fidel Sierra, is a professional wrestler 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]
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 the Crockett family (Jim Crockett, Sr. and 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 André 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 La Parka.[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'. He is known for a Feud with Jim Duggan provoked by international tensions between democracy in the United States and communism in Cuba.[2] In WCW, Fidel Sierra regularly teamed with Ricky Santana. Originally billed as The Cuban Connection, 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.[5] 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.
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 2011, the pair have been married for 19 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]
In wrestling
Championships and accomplishments
- American Championship Wrestling
- ACW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Col. Payne[6]
- Championship Wrestling from Florida
- Championship Wrestling U.S.A.
- CWUSA International Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[6]
- Florida Underground Wrestling
- NWA FUW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- FUW Cuban Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
- Impact Pro Wrestling
- IPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- International Wrestling Association (Puerto Rico)
- IWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Miguel Perez, Jr., Huracan Castillo, Pain and Ricky Banderas
- Pacific Northwest Wrestling
- World Wrestling Council
- WWC Caribbean Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
- WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
- WWC World Tag Team Championship (4 times) - with The Mexican Angel (1), Ricky Santana (2) and Mohammad Hussein (1)
- WWC Television Championship (2 times)
- Other titles
- CWO Eastern States Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Beau James (1) and Cuban Militia (1)
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r 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.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Varsallone, Jim (September 19, 2011). "Storied career for Florida's Cuban Assassin Fidel Sierra". The Miami Herald. p. 1. Archived from the original on December 16, 2011. Retrieved December 16, 2011.
- ^ Mahling, Mallory (2003-03-08). "Last Call with Mallory: Girls Gone Wild, Wrestlers' Court, Rock". PWTorch. Retrieved 2012-08-23.
- ^ a b "SLAM! Wrestling Canadian Hall of Fame: Cuban Assassin". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. June 27, 2010. Retrieved December 16, 2011.
- ^ "Ricky Santana Interview Recap". f4wonline.com. Retrieved 2011-10-21.
- ^ a b Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.