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]
| Fidel Sierra | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | David Canal |
| Born | July 27, 1960 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) |
| Children | 3 |
| 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 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 |
Early life
editSierra 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
editSierra 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 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
editSierra 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
edit- American Championship Wrestling
- ACW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Col. Payne[9]
- Cauliflower Alley Club
- Men's Wrestling Award (2017)[10]
- Championship Wrestling from Florida
- Championship Wrestling U.S.A.
- CWUSA International Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[9]
- 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
- IWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Miguel Perez, Jr., Huracan Castillo, Pain and Ricky Banderas as Los Intocables
- Pacific Northwest Wrestling
- Ring Around The Northwest Newsletter
- Wrestler of the Year (1988)[12]
- World Wrestling Council
- Other titles
- CWO Eastern States Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Beau James (1) and Cuban Militia (1)
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q 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 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.
- ^ Mahling, Mallory (March 8, 2003). "Last Call with Mallory: Girls Gone Wild, Wrestlers' Court, Rock". PWTorch. Retrieved August 23, 2012.
- ^ a b "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) - ^ Gold Belt Wrestling March 1988 - photo feature on barbed wire match The Sheepherders vs The Cuban Connection
- ^ "Ricky Santana Interview Recap". f4wonline.com. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
- ^ "1994 WWF results". History of WWE. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
- ^ "1995 WWF results". History of WWE. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
- ^ a b Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- ^ "Cuban Assassin to Receive Men's Wrestling Honor | Cauliflower Alley Club". www.caulifloweralleyclub.org. Archived from the original on April 18, 2018.
- ^ Hoops, Brian (January 17, 2019). "Pro wrestling history (01/17): Vader wins IWGP heavyweight title". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
- ^ Rodgers, Mike (2004). "Regional Territories: PNW #16 Page #2". KayfabeMemories.com.
External links
edit- Official website
- Fidel Sierra's profile at Cagematch.net , Internet Wrestling Database