Rocky Romero

Romero in July 2023

###

Havana, Cuba

**John R. Rivera** (born October 28, 1982) is a Cuban professional wrestler better known by his ring name **Rocky Romero** and as the fourth incarnation of **Black Tiger**.

Romero is a well known tag team wrestler. He was member of tag teams like The Havana Pitbulls/Los Cubanitos, No Remorse Corps, Forever Hooligans, and Roppongi Vice and as the manager of Roppongi 3K, an idea pitched by Romero.

As a singles wrestler, Romero won three times the CMLL World Super Lightweight Championship, one time the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship and one time the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. Also, he is a former three-time ROH World Tag Team Champion and a record eight-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion. Romero's wrestling style incorporates stiff shoot-style kicks and multiple armlock variations.

## Career

Romero debuted in 1997. He was trained at NJPW Dojo in Los Angeles. His career has taken him through promotions in the Southern California region to Mexico, where he competed successfully for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (the country's longest-running promotion) and in Japan where he has worked most notably in New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he was chosen to become the fourth incarnation of Black Tiger, the villainous gaijin opponent of Tiger Mask (in this case Tiger Mask IV). On October 8, 2005, Romero, as Black Tiger, defeated Tiger Mask for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. After a four month reign, Tiger Mask regained the title from his nemesis.

### Japan (2007–present)

Romero made his debut in Pro Wrestling Noah on March 4, 2007, versus Mushiking Terry, casting into doubt the future of the Black Tiger persona, although his participation in the debut show of the Inoki Genome Federation could have been more of an issue. Romero, however, did compete as Black Tiger in August 2007 in Chikara to compete for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship against champion Mike Quackenbush. At NJPW's Resolution '09 on April 5, Romero lost in a mask vs. title match against Tiger Mask, thus ending his role as Black Tiger. On October 12, 2010, New Japan Pro Wrestling announced that Romero would return to the promotion in November, teaming with Davey Richards in the Super J Tag League, as a member of the promotion's top heel stable, Shinsuke Nakamura's CHAOS. The five-day-long tournament ended on November 13, with Romero and Richards winning their block and advancing to the finals, where they were defeated by their CHAOS team mates Jado and Gedo. On May 3, 2011, Romero and Richards unsuccessfully challenged Prince Devitt and Ryusuke Taguchi for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. On May 21, Romero won Mach-1 Pro Wrestling's *the Hall of Fame Cup*, defeating Ryan Taylor, Famous B and Karl Anderson. On October 10, 2011, at Destruction '11, Romero and Richards defeated Devitt and Taguchi in a rematch to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship for the first time. Romero and Richards made their first successful title defense on November 12 at Power Struggle, defeating the team of Kushida and Tiger Mask. On December 23, Romero unsuccessfully challenged Prince Devitt for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. On January 4, 2012, at Wrestle Kingdom VI in Tokyo Dome, Romero and Richards lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship back to Devitt and Taguchi. No Remorse Corps regained the title from Apollo 55 on February 12 at The New Beginning. On May 2, Romero and Richards were stripped of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, after travel issues forced Richards to miss the following day's Wrestling Dontaku 2012 event, where the two were scheduled to defend the title against Jushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask.

Romero soon reunited with his former AAA partner Alex Koslov. On July 22, the team, dubbed "Forever Hooligans", defeated Liger and Tiger Mask to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. Romero and Koslov made their first successful title defense on August 26 at a Sacramento Wrestling Federation (SWF) event in Gridley, California, defeating the team of A.J. Kirsch and Alex Shelley. Forever Hooligans made their second successful title defense on October 8 at King of Pro-Wrestling, defeating the Time Splitters (Alex Shelley and Kushida). On October 21, Forever Hooligans entered the 2012 Super Jr. Tag Tournament, defeating Jushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask in their first round match. On November 2, Romero and Koslov were eliminated from the tournament in the semifinals by Apollo 55. On November 11 at Power Struggle, Forever Hooligans lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship to the winners of the Super Jr. Tag Tournament, the Time Splitters, ending their reign at 112 days. On May 3, 2013, at Wrestling Dontaku 2013, Romero and Koslov regained the title from the Time Splitters. They lost the title to Suzuki-gun (Taichi and Taka Michinoku) on October 14 at King of Pro-Wrestling. For the first half of 2014, Forever Hooligans received several new shots at the title, now held by The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson), but were defeated each time, including in a three-way match, also involving the Time Splitters, on May 10 at Global Wars, a special event co-produced by NJPW and ROH in Toronto. Forever Hooligans broke up in January 2015, when Koslov announced he was taking an indefinite break from professional wrestling. On March 1, Romero revealed he and Baretta were forming a new tag team named Roppongi Vice. On April 5 at Invasion Attack 2015, the team captured the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship from The Young Bucks. They lost the title back to The Young Bucks on May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku 2015.

In early 2016, it was reported that WWE was interested in signing Romero as both a trainer and a wrestler. However, on January 9, Romero announced he had instead signed a new two-year deal with NJPW. On April 10 at Invasion Attack 2016, Roppongi Vice defeated Matt Sydal and Ricochet to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship for the second time. They lost the title back to Sydal and Ricochet on May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku 2016. On November 5 at Power Struggle, Roppongi Vice defeated ACH and Taiji Ishimori in the finals to win the 2016 Super Jr. Tag Tournament. On January 4, 2017, at Wrestle Kingdom 11 in Tokyo Dome, Roppongi Vice defeated The Young Bucks to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship for their third time together. Individually, Romero set a new record by winning the title for the seventh time. They lost the title to Suzuki-gun (Taichi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru) at NJPW's 45th anniversary show on March 6, before regaining it on April 27. They lost the title to The Young Bucks on June 11 at Dominion 6.11 in Osaka-jo Hall. On July 2 at G1 Special in USA, Roppongi Vice unsuccessfully challenged The Young Bucks for the title in a rematch. Afterwards, Romero brought up a five-year plan he and Beretta had made three years earlier, which included them winning the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship and the Super Jr. Tag Tournament, both of which they had already done, as well as Beretta's eventual transition into the heavyweight division. Having failed to regain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, Romero gave Beretta his blessing to move to the heavyweight division, effectively disbanding Roppongi Vice. Roppongi Vice's farewell match took place on September 16 at Destruction in Hiroshima, where they defeated Bullet Club's Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi. Later that same day, Romero announced he was transitioning into the role of a manager and bringing in a new tag team named "Roppongi 3K" to take on the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Ricochet and Ryusuke Taguchi. On October 9 at King of Pro-Wrestling, Romero revealed his new team as Sho and Yoh, who defeated Ricochet and Taguchi to become the new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, as well as Sho and Yoh winning the 2018 Super Junior Tag Tournament. Romero also teamed up with Roppongi 3K for various multi-man matches while representing CHAOS, for tours such as the CMLL/NJPW Fantastica Mania 2018 tour. From October 16 until November 1, 2019, Romero and Ryusuke Taguchi took part in the 2019 Super Jr. Tag League, finishing the tournament with a record of four wins and three losses, failing to advance to the finals of the tournament.

## Personal life

On January 21, 2021, Rivera tested positive for COVID-19 amid its pandemic in the United States.

## In wrestling

* **Finishing moves**
	+ **As Rocky Romero**
		- Ankle lock
		- *Diablo Armbar* (Flying armbar)
		- *Foreign Devil* / *Gargoyle* (Diving double knee drop)
		- High speed roundhouse kick to the head of a seated or kneeling opponent
		- *Kurayaminoten* / *Kurayami Piledriver* (Cradle kneeling reverse piledriver)
		- *Nomisugi Knee* (Running knee strike)
	+ **As Black Tiger**
		- *Black Tiger Bomb* (Sitout crucifix powerbomb)
		- Kneeling reverse piledriver
		- Tiger suplex
* **Signature moves**
	+ Bow and arrow hold
	+ Cradle suplex
	+ Cross armbreaker
	+ Double underhook DDT
	+ Exploder suplex
	+ Fireman's carry double knee gutbuster
	+ *Forever Clotheslines* (Multiple corner clotheslines)
	+ Fujiwara armbar
	+ Guillotine choke
	+ High knee, sometimes from the top rope
	+ Johnny Saint special
	+ Octopus stretch
	+ Running standing shiranui
	+ Sitout double underhook powerbomb
	+ Springboard dropkick to an opponent draped on the top rope
	+ Springboard tornado DDT
	+ Surfboard
	+ Tilt-a-whirl headscissors takedown
* **With Alex Koslov / Davey Richards**
	+ *Contract Killer* (Inverted Death Valley driver (Koslov/Richards) / Springboard diving knee drop (Romero) combination) (NJPW)
* **With Beretta**
	+ *Strong Zero* (Cradle back-to-belly piledriver (Beretta) / Diving double foot stomp (Romero) combination)
* **With Ricky Reyes**
	+ *Cuban Missile Crisis* (Backbreaker (Reyes) / Diving knee drop (Romero) combination)
* **Wrestlers managed**
	+ **Sho**
	+ **Yoh**
* **Nicknames**
	+ **"Azucar"**
	+ **"Mr. Forever"**
* **Entrance themes**
	+ "Tribal Conflict" by Yonosuke Kitamura
	+ "Forever" by Yonosuke Kitamura
	+ "Hooligans, Never Say Die" by Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov
	+ **"RPG Vice Theme"** by [Q]Brick

## Championships and accomplishments

* **Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre**
	+ NWA Historic Welterweight Championship (1 time) – Romero
* **New Japan Pro Wrestling**
	+ IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
	+ IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (8 times) – with Davey Richards (2) Alex Koslov (2), and Beretta (4)
	+ Super Jr. Tag Tournament (2016) – with Beretta
* **Pro Wrestling Illustrated**
	+ PWI ranked him #**11** of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2002
	+ PWI ranked him #**103** of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2016
	+ PWI ranked him #**84** of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2017
* **Ring of Honor**
	+ ROH World Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Ricky Reyes (1) and Davey Richards (1) Alex Koslov (1)
	+ Trios Tournament (2005) – with Ricky Reyes and Homicide
* **SoCal Uncensored**
	+ Tag Team of the Year (2001) with Ricky Reyes

## Media

* *Let the Gates of Hell Open: The Best of The Rottweilers* – ROH DVD

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 *ja:ロッキー・ロメロ* (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2012-10-16.
2. ↑ http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/r/rocky-romero.html
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 (Results) New Japan, 4/5/09 . *Strong Style Spirit* (2009-04-05). Retrieved on 2011-01-23.
4. ↑ SUPER J TAG LEAGUE teams and lineups revealed! . *Strong Style Spirit* (2010-10-12). Retrieved on 2010-10-12.
5. ↑ (Results) New Japan, 11/13/10 . *Strong Style Spirit* (2010-11-13). Retrieved on 2010-11-13.
6. ↑ *ja:レスリングどんたく 2011* (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2011-05-03.
7. ↑ M1W The Hall Of Fame Cup results . *Cagematch.de*. Retrieved on 2011-05-23.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Destruction '11  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2011-10-10.
9. ↑ Power Struggle  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2011-11-12.
10. ↑ Road to Kingdom 1st  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2011-12-23.
11. ↑ NJPW 40th anniversary Tour. レッスルキングダムⅥ in 東京ドーム  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2012-01-04.
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 The New Beginning  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2012-02-12.
13. ↑ *ja:デイビー・リチャーズ選手が交通事故により来日中止【5・3福岡大会カード変更のお知らせ】* (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2012-05-02). Retrieved on 2012-05-02.
14. ↑ Dominion 6.16  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2012-06-16.
15. ↑ 「ライガーとタイガーのブサイクな顔を公開してやる！」/IWGP Jr.タッグ王座次期挑戦者・ロメロ＆コズロフスペシャルインタビュー  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2012-07-17). Retrieved on 2012-07-22.
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 NJPW 40th anniversary Tour Kizuna Road  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2012-07-22.
17. ↑ Gee Schoon Tong, Chris 2012-08-27. 8/26 SWF results Northern California: Alex Shelley & A.J. Kirsch challenge for IWGP Jr. Tag Titles, New Japan's IC Title defended, more . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2012-08-27.
18. ↑ 【アメリカ遠征速報!!】中邑がIC王座初防衛!! 新ベルトも披露!! Ａ・シェリーをKushidaが救出!!  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2012-08-28). Retrieved on 2012-08-28.
19. ↑ NJPW 40ｔｈ anniversary King of Pro-Wrestling  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2012-10-08.
20. ↑ NJPW 40ｔｈ anniversary Tour Road to Power Struggle  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2012-10-21.
21. ↑ NJPW 40ｔｈ anniversary Tour Road to Power Struggle  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2012-11-02.
22. ↑ NJPW 40th anniversary Power Struggle  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2012-11-11.
23. ↑ Meltzer, Dave 2012-11-11. Sun. update: Turning Point preview, PPV title change, Mania tickets, Big Show, Cena, Linda McMahon campaign, New WWE announcer debuts, Major wrestling historical anniversary . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2012-11-11.
24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 *ja:レスリングどんたく 2013* (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2013-05-03.
25. ↑ King of Pro-Wrestling  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2013-10-14.
26. ↑ Caldwell, James 2014-01-04. Caldwell's NJPW Tokyo Dome results 1/4: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of New Japan's biggest show of the year - four title changes, former WWE/TNA stars featured, more . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2014-05-11.
27. ↑ Show results - 5/3 New Japan "Wrestling Dontaku" PPV: A.J. Styles captures IWGP World Title, plus NWA & more title matches . *Pro Wrestling Torch* (2014-05-03). Retrieved on 2014-05-11.
28. ↑ Caldwell, James 2014-05-10. Caldwell's ROH vs. New Japan iPPV report 5/10: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of iPPV from Toronto - ROH Title match, IWGP Jr. Tag Titles, Styles, Tanahashi, Okada, top NJPW stars . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2014-05-11.
29. ↑ Caldwell, James 2015-01-09. NJPW news: "Forever Hooligan" announces semi-retirement . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2015-01-09.
30. ↑ Meltzer, Dave 2015-03-01. ROH live coverage from Las Vegas - four way for ROH title, Alberto vs. Lethal, Bucks vs. Fish & O'Reilly . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2015-03-01.
31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 Invasion Attack 2015  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2015-04-05.
32. ↑ Show results - 4/5 NJPW "Invasion Attack" in Tokyo, Japan: A.J. Styles defends IWGP World Title in main event, ROH tag teams win both Tag Titles, Bullet Club in action, more . *Pro Wrestling Torch* (2015-04-05). Retrieved on 2015-04-05.
33. ↑ レスリングどんたく 2015  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2015-05-03.
34. ↑ Meltzer, Dave 2016-01-09. Rocky Romero signs 2 year deal with New Japan . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2016-01-09.
35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 Meltzer, Dave 2016-04-09. NJPW Invasion Attack live results: Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Championship . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2016-04-10.
36. ↑ *ja:レスリングどんたく 2016* (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2016-05-03.
37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 Rose, Bryan 2016-11-04. NJPW Power Struggle live results: Tetsuya Naito vs. Jay Lethal . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2016-11-05.
38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 11 live results: Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter* (2017-01-03). Retrieved on 2017-01-04.
39. ↑ *ja:Road to レスリングどんたく 2017 ～安芸の国 戦国絵巻～* (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2017-04-27.
40. ↑ Rose, Bryan 2017-06-10. NJPW Dominion live results: Kazuchika Okada vs. Kenny Omega . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2017-06-11.
41. ↑ Trionfo, Richard 2017-07-03. Complete G1 Special in the USA night two report: a United States Champion is crowned, Young Bucks versus Roppongi Vice, Los Ingobernables de Japon, The Bullet Club, and more . *Pro Wrestling Insider*. Retrieved on 2017-07-03.
42. ↑ 42.0 42.1 Destruction in Hiroshima  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro-Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2017-09-16.
43. ↑ NJPW 40th anniversary Tour Best of the Super Jr. XIX ～The door to the glory～  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2012-06-16.
44. ↑ NJPW 40th anniversary Tour Best of the Super Jr. XIX ～The door to the glory～  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2012-06-16.
45. ↑ Best of the Super Jr.XXI  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2014-06-08.
46. ↑ Best of the Super Jr.XXII  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2015-05-29.
47. ↑ Best of the Super Jr.XXIII  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2016-05-21.
48. ↑ Best of the Super Jr.XXIII  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2016-06-06.
49. ↑ G1 Climax Special 2011  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2011-10-10.
50. ↑ Road to Invasion Attack 2015  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2015-03-22.
51. ↑ http://www.myspace.com/romeroism
52. ↑ Kitamura, Yonosuke. Prowrestle theme music list  (in Japanese). *RMLabel*. Retrieved on 2015-07-07.
53. ↑ ja:新日本・携帯サイトの “着うた”で、アンダーソンの新入場曲! ベンジャミンの入場曲を8月3日（金）配信!!　真壁独占インタビューも掲載!! (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2012-07-31). Archived from the original on 2012-08-02. Retrieved on 2012-07-31.
54. ↑ RPG Vice Theme by [QBrick ]. *Soundcloud*. Retrieved on 2015-04-19.
55. ↑ 55.0 55.1 Rocky Romero . Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved on 2009-08-04.
56. ↑ Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2002 . *The Internet Wrestling Database*. Retrieved on 2015-10-07.
57. ↑ Ring Of Honor Tag Team Championship . Ring of Honor. Retrieved on 2010-04-05.
58. ↑ Caldwell, James 2013-07-28. ROH News: New ROH tag champions, Results from Night 1 of ROH Title tournament . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2013-07-28.
59. ↑ SoCal Uncensored Awards 2001 . *SoCal Uncensored*. Archived from the original on 2005-02-13. Retrieved on 2010-10-26.