Pedro Morales, a WWE champion and Hall of Famer died on Tuesday at age 76. He reportedly had been battling Parkinson’s Disease.
Morales was a champion in the 1970s. He had a huge match at Shea Stadium in 1972 against Bruno Sammartino. More than 22,000 attended the battle that went 75 minutes before it was ruled a draw due to an 11 p.m. curfew.
Morales defeated Ivan Koloff for the WWE title in 1971, and kept it for 1,027 days before losing to Stan Stasiak. He also was a tag-team champion with Bob Backlund and captured the Intercontinental title to become the first Triple Crown champ in WWE history.
Morales wrestled until 1987 and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1995. A true gentleman and legend.
Wrestlers paid their respects through social media:
