LIST: 13 wrestlers with Pinoy heritage

As WrestleMania begins, let's take a look at these wrestlers of Pinoy descent
Apr 3, 2022
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WRESTLEMANIA season is upon us and there's no doubt that Filipino pro wrestling fans are on the edge of their seats anticipating what's next to come in that squared circle.

It's a fascination that the Pinoy crowd has had since time immemorial, from the Pinoy Wrestling (Joe Pogi, anyone?) of the late 1980s to new age promotions like Philippine Wrestling Revolution and Manila Wrestling Federation.

That's why it's really not much of a surprise to see the fans come in droves when the WWE stages live events in Manila — with the last being in 2019 at Smart Araneta Coliseum — or even independent promoters taking well-known talents to our shores.

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    It also not that big of a stretch to see professional wrestlers of Filipino descent making their imprints inside the ring. As the wrestling world prepares for the most stupendous WrestleMania in Dallas, Spin.ph takes the chance to put some spotlight on these international superstars.

    Batista

    Long before he became Drax The Destroyer in Guardians of the Galaxy, he was "The Animal" Batista, the powerhouse of Evolution who won the 2005 Royal Rumble en route to the first of his four World Heavyweight Championship reigns.

    Born to a father who is the son of Filipino immigrants and a mother of Greek heritage, the Washington DC native was also a two-time WWE Champion and briefly dabbled in mixed martial arts before returning in 2018. He had his final match against Triple H at WrestleMania 35.

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    TJ Perkins

    Proudly representing the Philippines, TJP was the winner of the Cruiserweight Classic in 2016 and was the inaugural titleholder of the second iteration of the WWE Cruiserweight Championship.

    The Fil-Am's body of work, however, goes beyond his brief WWE run. He is a two-time Impact X Division Champion, alternating between his personas of Manik and the masked Suicide, and also had stints in New Japan Pro Wrestling and Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre.

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    Shotzi

    She may have lost her surname Blackheart, but the Fil-Polish daredevil continues to welcome her foes to the ballpit at SmackDown.

    The Oakland native was a favorite in the California independent scene before she was signed by the WWE on 2019. She eventually won the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship with her partner Ember Moon (now Athena).

    Shotzi even had a pet chicked named after the Filipino word for vagina. The pet sadly passed away in 2021.

    Joaquin Wilde

    Presented as Mexican as a member of Legado del Fantasma, Wilde is actually a Fil-American from West Virginia.

    Before he signed with the WWE in 2019, he previously made a name for himself in Impact Wrestling under the name DJZ and Zema Ion, and even won the Impact X Division Championship twice.

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    Kayden Carter

    There's no denying that Carter is proud of her heritage, as she is announced as hailing from the Philippine Islands whenever she makes her entrance at NXT.

    Born to a Jamaican father and Filipino mother, the Team 3D Academy graduate was signed to the WWE in 2018, where she's currently teamed up with American Gladiator standout Kacy Catanzaro.

    She even hosted a Filipino dinner in her mom's home alongside Wilde and Shotzi as guests back in 2020, with the three wrestlers talking about their families and the culture.

    Scott Lost

    Lost (real name Scott Epperson) was one of the founders of Pro Wrestling Guerilla (PWG) together with the likes of AEW commentator Excalibur, as well as Joey Ryan and Super Dragon, to name a few, back in 2003. The promotion went on to dominate the independent scene in the US West Coast.

    He himself has made his mark inside the ring, winning the PWG World Tag Team Championship five times together with Ryan thrice and Chris Bosh twice, before retiring in 2010.

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    B-Boy

    Possibly one of the most influential wrestlers of Filipino descent, B-Boy (real name Benny Cuntapay) from San Diego is one of the craziest wrestlers out there, winning the Combat Zone Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship in 2010 from Drake Younger before losing it two weeks later to Jon Moxley.

    A veteran of the indie wrestling scene, B-Boy also made appearances at Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, Wrestling Society X, and Lucha Underground under the name Bael.

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    Jeff Cobb

    Cobb is billed from Hawaii, but he traces his roots from the Philippines with his mother Elaine born in Guam to Filipino immigrants.

    The heavyweight is a former PWG World Champion, winning the belt from WALTER (now Gunther) back in October 2018, and is the winner of Battle of Los Angeles tournament where he topped Trevor Lee (now Cameron Grimes) in the final back in 2018.

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    Syuri

    Syuri (real name Syuri Kondo), reigning World of Stardom Champion, is actually of Filipino descent. She was born born to a Filipino mother and a Japanese father in Ebina, Kanagawa.

    She beat Utami Hayashishita in November 2021 for the belt and is in a faction called Alto livello KABALIWAN, in homage to her partner Giulia's Italian heritage and her Filipino roots.

    Syuri also had a brief mixed martial arts career, signing for five fights with Pancrase and fighting four under the UFC umbrella.

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    Aaron Solo

    Solo gained notoriety as the fiance for WWE superstar Bayley before the couple called off their engagement in 2021. But he was already carving up a name in the indies teaming up with Kimo Kinaloa as The Pinoy Boyz.

    Since then, he has been a part of All Elite Wrestling as a member of The Factory together with QT Marshall, Nick Comoroto, and Anthony Ogogo.

    Kona Reeves

    Reeves' Filipino roots are a bit complicated. His mom identifies herself as a mix of Hawaiian, Chinese, Filipino, and Spanish. Adding to his melting pot of lineage is his father, who is of Dutch and Indonesian descent.

    He spent seven years with WWE's developmental brand NXT until his release in August 2021.

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    Kris Wolf

    Wolf (real name Kris Hernandez) joined the all-female Stardom promotion in Japan back in 2014 and won the High Speed Championship, beating Mayu Iwatani for the belt in 2017.

    A year later, the Fil-Am left the company and was a regular in independent shows in Europe before taking a break in April 2019 because of severe concussion issues.

    Fallah Bahh

    The Fil-Am super heavyweight from Bloomfield, New Jersey has been signed with Impact Wrestling since 2017 and was largely utilized as a tag team together with KM.

    Bahh is a former ROW Heavyweight Champion for the Houston-based Reality of Wrestling owned by Booker T.

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