Homicide

Homicide in July 2023

###

Brooklyn, New York, United States

**Nelson Rodriguez Erazo** (born March 20, 1977) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, **Homicide**.

He is best known for his time in Impact Wrestling, where he is a one-time X Division Champion and three-time World Tag Team Champion, having won the NWA World Tag Team Championship twice and the TNA World Tag Team Championship once with tag team partner Hernandez. He is also known from his time in Ring of Honor, as well as Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG).

## Professional wrestling career

### Early career (1993–1997)

A native of Brooklyn, Erazo was a wrestling fan from the age of five and decided that he wanted to become a wrestler at the age of fifteen. After amassing a series of athletic qualifications including football and amateur wrestling, he was offered a scholarship to the University of Miami, which he rejected, preferring to pursue "fast money". Erazo trained himself as a wrestler in a bodega, debuting on March 5, 1993. After wrestling for three years without any formal training, Erazo attended a professional wrestling school in New Jersey operated by Manny Fernandez.

Erazo worked on the independent circuit throughout the 1990s. In 1997, Erazo was part of faction called The Wrecking Crew in Bobby Lombardi's Long Island Wrestling Federation (LIWF). Then while on a year-long hiatus from wrestling, he operated a training school in Cypress Hills New York known as LIWF's "The Doghouse" along with Laithon and Lowlife Louie. The Doghouse/LIWF produced approximately 22 graduates, including a number of ROH wrestlers, such as Low Ki. Erazo also formed a tag team called The Natural Born Sinners with Boogalou (which saw Boogalou wear a Leatherface mask and Homicide wear a Michael Myers mask).

### New Japan Pro Wrestling (2011; 2021-Present)

On May 13, Homicide made his debut for New Japan Pro Wrestling, during the Invasion Tour 2011, the promotion's first tour of the United States, teaming with Low Ki in a tag team match, where they defeated Jushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask. At the following day's event, Homicide teamed with Davey Richards and Rhino in a six-man tag team match, where they defeated Kazuchika Okada, Ryusuke Taguchi and Togi Makabe. On the third and final day of the tour in Philadelphia, Homicide and Low Ki, known collectively as the Strong Style Thugz, unsuccessfully challenged Apollo 55 (Prince Devitt and Ryusuke Taguchi) for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.

Homicide made his NJoA debut, on the May 15 episode of NJPW Strong, losing to Will Ospreay at United Empire: Rising. In October 2022, Homicide would start a feud with Tom Lawlor, which ended at Battle in the Valley, in a Filthy Rules Fight, which Homicide lost after refusing to tap out to Lawlor.

### Dragon Gate USA (2010–2011)

On October 29 at the Bushido: Code of the Warrior pay-per-view, Homicide made his debut for Dragon Gate USA, in a match, where he, representing the World–1 stable, defeated Rich Swann. Afterwards, Homicide was attacked backstage by Jon Moxley, a member of the rival Kamikaze USA stable. At the following day's tapings of Freedom Fight 2010, Homicide and his World–1 stable mate BxB Hulk defeated Kamikaze USA's Jon Moxley and Akira Tozawa in a tag team match. After the match both Homicide and Hulk were laid out by Kamikaze USA. On January 30, 2011, at *United: Finale* Homicide faced Moxley in a No Rules match. Homicide dominated the match, before suddenly allowing Moxley to pin himself for the win. After the match Homicide explained that he did not care about winning or losing and continued to attack Moxley, before he was saved by Akira Tozawa.

## Personal life

Erazo is a member of the large Puerto Rican community in New York, colloquially known as "Nuyoricans". He initially wrestled as The Latin Terror, a reference to his Latin American ethnicity. However, Erazo grew bored with the gimmick in 1995 and decided to create a new character based on his own past. He had been a gang member as a youth, and he incorporated this into the Homicide character, taking his ring name from an episode of *America's Most Wanted* where a man was arrested for the crime of homicide. Erazo has subsequently stated that he represents both "New York and Puerto Rico", frequently implementing the flag of Puerto Rico into his wrestling apparel and often carrying it unmodified to the ring. Outside of professional wrestling, Erazo was married in 1994 and is the father of two children, a son and a daughter.

## In wrestling

* **Finishing moves**
	+ *Ace Crusher* (Cutter, sometimes from the top rope)
	+ *Cop Killa* (Back to back double underhook piledriver)
	+ Frog splash
	+ Kimura Armlock
	+ STF – 2002–2004; used as a signature move thereafter
	+ *West Brooklyn Lariat* (Lariat)
* **Signature moves**
	+ *Bronx Bomber 27* (Sitout scoop slam piledriver)
	+ Diving double foot stomp
	+ Double leg slam
	+ Facewash
	+ Multiple suplex variations
		- Exploder
		- High-angle belly-to-back
		- Overhead double underhook, sometimes from the top rope
		- Pumphandle
		- Sitout slam
		- Snap
		- Triple rolling verticals – adopted from Eddie Guerrero
	+ Neck snap
	+ Piledriver
	+ Shining wizard
	+ Sitout double underhook powerbomb
	+ Standing or a running arched big boot
	+ *Topé con Hilo* (Somersault topé through the second and top ropes)
* **Nicknames**
	+ **"The Notorious 187"**
	+ "The Strong Style Thug"
* **Entrance themes**
	+ **"187"** by Yonosuke Kitamura

## Championships and accomplishments

* **Big Japan Pro Wrestling**
	+ BJW Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
* **Pro Wrestling Illustrated**
	+ PWI ranked him #**54** of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2007
* **Wrestling Observer Newsletter**
	+ Best Gimmick (2006) with Hernandez as The Latin American Xchange
	+ Tag Team of the Year (2006) with Hernandez as The Latin American Xchange