Johnny Rodz
Johnny Rodz | |
---|---|
Birth name | John Rodriguez |
Born | New York City, New York, United States[1] | May 16, 1941
Residence | Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States[2] |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Java Ruuk Johnny Rodz[3] Super Medico II |
Billed height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[1] |
Billed weight | 239 lb (108 kg)[1] |
Billed from | Bronx, New York |
Debut | 1964 |
Retired | 1999 |
John Rodriguez[2] (born May 16, 1941) is an American retired professional wrestler. He has previously worked as a professional wrestler under the ring name Johnny Rodz.
Professional wrestling career[]
World Wide Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Federation (1965–1985)[]
He was part of the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) from its early years, appearing on WWWF cards as far back as 1965.[1] He wrestled Bob Backlund in Madison Square Garden while working for the WWWF at the time. Dubbed the "Fire Brand From the Bronx" and the "Unpredictable", he was a proficient worker and a solid heel. Johnny would often tag with Jose Estrada, and Frank "the Gypsy" Rodriguez.[4] For much of the next two decades through mid-1985, Rodz was a mainstay of the federation,[5] though largely used as enhancement talent,[6][7] for which he was praised by some of his peers.[8] On August 9, 1980, at the Showdown at Shea, he was defeated by "Polish Power" Ivan Putski.[9][10] His last WWF match was a loss to Gama Singh on June 19, 1985.
NWA Hollywood (1970s)[]
For a time, he also worked with Mike and Gene LeBell's NWA Hollywood Wrestling in the 1970s. He won a greater share of matches wrestling as "Arabian Wildman" Java Ruuk[11][12] and even won the promotion's battle royal in 1976.[1]
Post-retirement[]
In 1996, Rodz was inducted into the WWF Hall of Fame class of 1996[13] by Arnold Skaaland.[1]
On the March 1, 2007 episode of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's Impact showed the Latin American Xchange (LAX) attacking Rodz as part of their feud with Team 3D. Ten days later at Destination X, he accompanied Team 3D to the ring for their Ghettobrawl match with LAX at the pay-per-view.
Training[]
Johnny Rodz has been training students for over 24 years, out of Gleason's Gym in Brooklyn. Rodz has trained many students that have gone on to have successful careers in the ring and behind the scenes.[14][15] Some of Rodz' students have even gone on to train other future superstars.[16] Rodz founded the independent wrestling promotion known as World of Unpredictable Wrestling.[17][18]
Wrestlers trained[]
- Vito LoGrasso[3]
- Damien Demento
- Tommy Dreamer[3]
- Big Dick Dudley
- Bubba Ray Dudley
- D-Von Dudley[2][19]
- Bill DeMott[3]
- Elektra[20]
- Jason Knight
- The Batiri
- Vince Russo[21]
- Matt Striker[3]
- Prince Nana[3][22]
- W. Morrissey
- Angel Medina[3]
- Tazz[23][24]
- Ricky Vega
- S.D. Jones[25]
- Marti Belle
- Kevin Matthews
Championships and accomplishments[]
- Cauliflower Alley Club
- Other honoree (1995)
- Lutte Internationale
- Northeast Championship Wrestling
- NCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time, last)[26]
- Northeast Championship Wrestling (Tom Janette)
- NCW Heavyweight Championship (2 times)[26]
- World Wrestling Council
- WWC World Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Super Medico I
- WWC North American Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Super Médico I
- WWC Caribbean Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- World Wrestling Federation
- WWF Hall of Fame[2] (Class of 1996)[1]
References[]
- ^ a b c d e f g "Hall of Fame: Johnny Rodz". WWE.com.
- ^ a b c d Corey Kilgannon (October 8, 2000). "Dying to Drop-Kick And Body-Slam, And Make It Pay". NY Times. Retrieved 2008-03-20.
- ^ a b c d e f g Steve Urena (January 6, 2006). "Interview with Prince Nana". Wrestling Caricatures. Retrieved 2008-03-20.
- ^ Duggan, Hacksaw Jim; Williams, Scott E. (2012). Hacksaw: The Jim Duggan Story. Triumph Books. ISBN 978-1-60078-686-0.
- ^ Mazer, Sharon (2020-01-27). Professional Wrestling: Sport and Spectacle, Second Edition. Univ. Press of Mississippi. ISBN 978-1-4968-2660-2.
- ^ Backlund, Bob; Miller, Robert H. (2015-09-15). Backlund: From All-American Boy to Professional Wrestling's World Champion. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-61321-696-5.
- ^ Benes, Ross (April 13, 2016). "The Profane Teachings Of Johnny Rodz, The Wrestler Who Jobbed His Way Into The Hall Of Fame". Deadspin. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
- ^ Graham, Billy; Greenberg, Keith Elliot (2006). Superstar Billy Graham: Tangled Ropes. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4165-0753-6.
- ^ Zbyszko, Larry (2010-12-15). Adventures in Larryland!. ECW Press. ISBN 978-1-55490-322-1.
- ^ Shields, Brian (2010-06-15). Main Event: WWE in the Raging 80s. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4516-0467-2.
- ^ Piper, Roddy (2002). In the Pit with Piper. Penguin. ISBN 978-0-425-18721-0.
- ^ Toombs, Ariel Teal; Toombs, Colt Baird (2020-03-03). Rowdy: The Roddy Piper Story. Random House of Canada. ISBN 978-0-345-81621-4.
- ^ Dixon, James; Maughan, Lee; Richardson, Benjamin; Henry, Justin (2015-07-14). Titan Shattered. Lulu.com. ISBN 978-1-326-35581-4.
- ^ Sammond, Nicholas (2005-01-13). Steel Chair to the Head: The Pleasure and Pain of Professional Wrestling. Duke University Press. ISBN 978-0-8223-3438-5.
- ^ Kanyon, Chris; Clark, Ryan (2011). Wrestling Reality: The Life and Mind of Chris Kanyon Wrestling's Gay Superstar. ECW Press. ISBN 978-1-77041-028-2.
- ^ DK (2020-09-29). WWE Encyclopedia of Sports Entertainment New Edition. Penguin. ISBN 978-0-7440-3510-0.
- ^ "World of Unpredictable Wrestling". World of Unpredictable Wrestling. Retrieved 2018-11-05.
- ^ Chow, Broderick; Laine, Eero; Warden, Claire (2016-08-12). Performance and Professional Wrestling. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-317-38507-3.
- ^ Loverro, Thom (2007-05-22). The Rise & Fall of ECW: Extreme Championship Wrestling. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4165-6156-9.
- ^ "WrestlingClassics.com Message Board: Elektra Talks about the death of her ex husband Big Dick Dudley on Chairshots radio". wrestlingclassics.com. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
- ^ Russo, Vince (2005). Forgiven: One Man's Journey from Self-Glorification to Sanctification. ECW Press. ISBN 978-1-55022-704-8.
- ^ Greenberg, Keith Elliot (2020-09-01). Too Sweet: Inside the Indie Wrestling Revolution. ECW Press. ISBN 978-1-77305-576-3.
- ^ Chris Sokol (August 11, 2004). "Little Jeanne's destiny is old-school". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-03-20.
- ^ Picarello, Robert (2002). Monsters of the Mat. Penguin. ISBN 978-0-425-18594-0.
- ^ Shoemaker, David (2014-11-04). The Squared Circle: Life, Death, and Professional Wrestling. Penguin. ISBN 978-1-59240-881-8.
- ^ a b Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
External links[]
- 1938 births
- American male professional wrestlers
- American professional wrestlers of Mexican descent
- Living people
- Professional wrestlers from New York (state)
- Professional wrestling promoters
- Professional wrestling trainers
- WWE Hall of Fame inductees
- Professional wrestling jobbers