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| A young Ray González with the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship |
Through
the years, the Puerto Rican wrestling scene, has given a lot of high caliber
performers. From Pedro
Morales, Carlos Colón and José Miguel Pérez Sr; to Mike Mendoza, Angel Fashion
and Mecha Wolf 450. A lot of them have been in WWF/E: Savio Vega,
Huracán Castillo Jr, Miguel Pérez, José Estrada Jr, Carlito, Primo, Epico and Eric
Escobar, among others. Yet, there’s a wrestler that has been vital to Puerto
Rican wrestling, one that, maybe, not a lot of current wrestling fans know; I’m
talking about “Mr. Raytings” Ray González.
I
could work a biography here, but for that we have online pages as Wikipedia or
many others. My intention here is to give you my opinion as to why Ray González
is the best wrestler from Puerto Rico, tha you probably don’t know. Many would
argue that Ray González is X or Y as a person; many hate him as a wrestlers,
many love him as a wrestler. Me, I’ll try to be as objective as I can in the
next few paragraphs in order to accomplish that.
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| Ray González with the WWC Univesal Heavyweight Championship |
Through
his career, González, has managed to capture the Puerto Rican fans’ attention.
His demeanor and charisma catapulted him to the highest spheres of the local
wrestling scene; and to me that’s not surprising. González has always carried
himself as a star, a superstar indeed. Whenever his music hit the sound
systems, fans got out of their chairs and paid attention. When the rumors of
his departure from WWC to IWA started circulating, that was arguably the one
thing fans talked about. That’s how big Ray González was at the time, that
whatever he did was enough to make people talk about it. In fact, González is
one of the few wrestlers to keep his main event status in both WWC and IWA at
the time; which puts him in a select group of wrestlers, and it’s a fact that
just mentioning his name was enough to secure a good gate.
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| Ray González as the IWA Heavyweight Champion |
We
could describe Ray González as the total package, what every wrestling promoter
would want from a performer. His character wasn’t that far off from what Ric
Flair and Rick Rude were at their time; his demeanor, his flow, the way he
dressed… yet, he managed to own those aspects and transform them to his favor.
Inside the ring, for little old me, he was a master of his craft. The way he
utilized ring psychology in order to lure the fans into everything he did, in
order to elicit a reaction, was something few local wrestlers have been able to
master. That ability to manipulate a reaction, was what catapulted a young
Carly Colón (Carlito) towards stardom; arguably, without González, there would
be no Carlito.
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| Ray González and Vampiro |
Sadly,
for whatever reason, González wouldn’t have a long run in any international
promotion; he did have bookings in Mexico and Japan. Wikipedia cites the store
his father had in his hometown as the reason; González himself, in an interview
for Contralona, cites a bit of fear and personal reasons for never stepping
foot in a promotion outside of Puerto Rico for a long run. Which is the reason
I see for many fans outside of the Island not knowing about his in ring and
microphone prowess. Without a doubt, a prime Ray González would’ve been a big
star outside of the Island, as, once again, he was the total package.
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| Ray González and his son Ray González Jr |
González
is still active in WWC, yet for many fans he’s not the same man he once was.
Obviously, age is not a wrestler’s biggest fan and few are able to keep
themselves at a peak level of athleticism past certain age. Many fans in the Island
would argue that it’s time for González to hang up his boots and let his son be
the one to carry the legacy; but I feel there’s still a place for a guy like
González in wrestling, someone with that much charisma and that much knowledge
shouldn’t just retire and go off into the sunset. His mic work could benefit
many up and coming wrestlers here and that alone merits him a place as an
active performer. Yet, even if he retires today, there’s no denying the place “Mr.
Raytings” Ray González had, has and will have in Puerto Rican wrestling.
The following are a couple of his
matches, interviews (Contralona), and what not. Most are in Spanish, so, watch
it, if not for anything else… just for the visuals.
An In Character interview about González's career so far. (in Spanish)
González talks about his career in Puerto Rico and why he didn't go out of the Island.
*Check that pop when he does unmask*
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