Manny Fernandez (wrestler)

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Manny Fernandez is a professional wrestler.

Contents 1 Before Wrestling 2 Career 3 The Invader III incident 4 Profile 5 Signature Moves 6 Championships/Accomplishments 6.1 Continental Wrestling Association 6.2 National Wrestling Alliance 6.3 Southwest Championship Wrestling 6.4 World Wrestling Council 6.5 Other Titles 6.6 Pro Wrestling Illustrated 7 External links

[edit] Before Wrestling

Emanuel Fernandez was born in El Paso, Texas, but moved to San Jose, California at an early age. He served in the United States Navy as a member of the Navy SEALs during the Vietnam War, before attending West Texas State University, where he played football.

[edit] Career

He had a three year stint in the National Football League with the Kansas City Chiefs. He is not the Manny Fernandez who played for the Miami Dolphins as a defensive lineman from 1968-1975. He graduated from Utah. "The Raging Bull" Manny Fernandez graduated from West Texas State. He began wrestling in 1978 in Florida Championship Wrestling. He wrestled in Texas and Kansas City before arriving in the NWA's Jim Crockett Promotions in 1984. .

He formed a tag team with Dusty Rhodes and they won the NWA World Tag Team Titles from Ivan Koloff and Don Kernodle. They feuded with them and Ivan's "nephew" Nikita Koloff until losing the titles to the Koloffs in early 1985.

Manny soon became involved in a feud with Arn Anderson after being attacked by Anderson and laid out. He teamed with Thunderbolt Patterson to feud with Arn and Ole Anderson.

In late 1985, he started helping Jimmy Valiant in his war against Paul Jones and his "Army". He formed a team with Valiant called the B and B Connection ("Boogie Woogie" & "Bull"). He had some matches against Abdullah the Butcher and The Barbarian. He also formed a tag team with Hector Guerrero in 1986 called The Latin Connection. In the summer of 1986, Manny accepted Jones' money and turned on Valiant starting a feud between the two. Later in the year, Jones also brought in Rick Rude and he paired them together and they won the NWA World Tag Team Titles from the Rock 'N Roll Express. They feuded with the Express until June 1987 when Rude left the promotion.

Manny teamed with Ivan Koloff for the rest of the summer and left for the Mid-Southern promotion in late 1987. He was soon in the American Wrestling Association feuding with Wahoo McDaniel after he attacked Wahoo and destroyed his headdress. After that feud ended in late 1988, Manny headed to Puerto Rico's WWC where he stayed through 1991 and then he headed to the independent circuit.

As of 2005, he wrestles primarily in the Texas independents.

In March 2005, Manny announced that he has cancer. He has refused chemotherapy for it.

[edit] The Invader III incident

In 1989, he was booked in a match against Invader III at the WWC in Puerto Rico (Invader III was the partner of Jose Gonzalez, the man accused of stabbing Bruiser Brody to death a year before). During the match, Fernandez would do a knee drop from the top rope, which deliberately hit Invader III's ribs, causing him to spit blood instantly. He did it again 2 more times, breaking Invader's ribs into his lungs, from which he never fully recovered. Fernandez did this to get a little payback from the assassination of Brody. This hasn't been confirmed. It has been noted that Invader drank vodka and ate pig intestines before the match to really look like he was juicing it up.

[edit] Profile

• Height: 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
• Weight: 240 lb (109 kg)
• Birthday: July 27, 1954
• Hometown: El Paso, Texas
• Trainer: -
• Managers: Paul Jones, El Profe, Natasha, Skandor Akbar

[edit] Signature Moves

"Flying Burritto" (flying horizontal body block)

[edit] Championships/Accomplishments

[edit] Continental Wrestling Association

• CWA/AWA International Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

[edit] National Wrestling Alliance

• World

• NWA World Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Dusty Rhodes (1) and Rick Rude (1)

• Regional

• NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• NWA Florida Television Championship (1 time)

[edit] Southwest Championship Wrestling

• SWCW Southwest Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• SWCW World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Chavo Guerrero
• SWCW Southwest Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Chavo Guerrero
• SWCW Southwest Brass Knuckles Championship (1 time)

[edit] World Wrestling Council

• WWC North American Championship (1 time)
• WWC Puerto Rican Championship (1 time)
• WWC Death Match Championship(2 times)

[edit] Other Titles

• SAPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• APW Universal Championship (1 time)
• ACW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• UCW North American Championship (1 time)
• NDW Brass Knuckles Championship (1 time)
• USA Pro New York Championship (1 time)
• UXWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

[edit] Pro Wrestling Illustrated

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) ranked him # 188 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003. He was also ranked twice in the best tag teams during the "PWI Years". He was ranked # 88 with Dusty Rhodes and # 95 with Rick Rude.

[edit] External links

• SLAM! Sports Wrestling - Manny Fernandez still a raging bull