Rocco Rock
| Rocco Rock | |
|---|---|
Rocco Rock in March 2002
|
|
| Birth name | Theodore James Petty |
| Born | September 1, 1953[1] Woodbridge Township, New Jersey, United States[1] |
| Died | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist.[2] Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | The Cheetah Kid[1][3] Colonel DeKlerk[1] The Leopard Mask[3] Rocco Rock[1] Flyboy Rocco The Rock The Executioner |
| Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[3] |
| Billed weight | 250 lb (110 kg)[3] |
| Billed from | Compton, California |
| Trained by | Afa Anoa'i[1] |
| Debut | 1978[1] |
Theodore James "Ted" Petty (September 1, 1953 – September 21, 2002) was an American professional wrestler better known as "Flyboy" Rocco Rock, one half of The Public Enemy.[2]
Contents
Early life
Petty graduated from Rutgers University with a degree in nutrition.[2]
Professional wrestling career
Following a brief boxing career, Petty started wrestling in 1978 as "The Cheetah Kid".[2]
Petty wrestled in the National Wrestling Alliance in 1990, appearing at Starrcade as Colonel DeKlerk. Along with Sergeant Krueger, he represented South Africa in a tag team match, but the team lost to The Steiner Brothers.[4]
In 1993, under the name Rocco Rock and formed a tag team named The Public Enemy with Johnny Grunge, with a gimmick of inner city criminals. The team first wrestled in the Universal Wrestling Federation and Extreme Championship Wrestling.[1][2] In ECW, the team feuded with Terry Funk and The Gangstas and won the ECW Tag Team Championship four times.[5] The teams's success in 1995 earned him his highest placement in the annual PWI 500, in which he was ranked #90.[6]
In 1996, The Public Enemy signed with World Championship Wrestling, where they won the tag team title and feuded with The Nasty Boys.[2] They continued to use some of the hardcore tactics that had made them famous in ECW, including the frequent use of tables in matches.[1]
They were briefly in the World Wrestling Federation in 1999 and competed in the short-lived Xtreme Wrestling Federation as the "South Philly Posse" with Jasmin St. Claire as their manager.[2] Petty then competed as a singles wrestler on the independent circuit.
Death
Petty died of a heart attack on September 21, 2002, at the age of 49, while en route to a Pro-Pain Pro Wrestling show where he was scheduled to wrestle against Gary Wolfe in a match for the promotion's heavyweight title.[2]
Legacy
Every year the IWA-Mid South professional wrestling promotion memorializes him by holding the Ted Petty Invitational tournament. Previous winners include A. J. Styles, Matt Sydal, Low Ki, and Mike Quackenbush.
In wrestling
Championships and accomplishments
- Cauliflower Alley Club
- Other honoree (1995)
- Eastern Championship Wrestling / Extreme Championship Wrestling
- ECW World Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Johnny Grunge
- Hardcore Hall of Fame (2002)
- i-Generation Superstars of Wrestling
- i-Generation Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Johnny Grunge
- Main Event Championship Wrestling
- MECW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Johnny Grunge
- National Wrestling Alliance
- NWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Johnny Grunge
- NWA New Jersey
- NWA United States Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Johnny Grunge
- New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame
- Class of 2010
- New-Wave Championship Wrestling
- NWCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Johnny Grunge
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI ranked him #457 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003[7]
- Superstars of Wrestling
- SOW Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Johnny Grunge
- Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling
- TCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Johnny Grunge
- Tri-State Wrestling Alliance
- TWA Brass Knuckles Championship (1 time)[8]
- Universal Wrestling Alliance
- UWA Heavyweight Championship (2 times)[8]
- UWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Johnny Grunge[8]
- Universal Wrestling Association
- UWA Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[8]
- World Championship Wrestling
- WCW World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Johnny Grunge
- Other titles
- IPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Johnny Grunge
- MCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Johnny Grunge
- WCCA Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- WWWC Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
