The Best Wrestler Ever From The Dominican Republic (Not Who You Think It Is)
I am an eternal lover of wrestling, as well as baseball, I already wrote a baseball topic on this website, now I want to try to do some justice to wrestling.
If you ask any Dominican who has been the best wrestler in the Dominican Republic the answer is automatic and definitive: Jack Veneno (RIP).
But guess what, Jack Veneno has NOT been the best wrestler from the Dominican Republic.
Here I explain the reasons and I’ll tell you who has been the best wrestler:
Contents
Fame does not equal being the best
I started watching wrestling as a fanatic in the late 80s when I was a kid, for me, the better wrestlers were the famous ones, Hulk Hogan from the United States, El Santo from Mexico, Jack Veneno from the Dominican Republic.
But over the years, as I gained more knowledge, I realized that they were NOT the best wrestlers, they were simply the most popular for various reasons.
El Santo, was a great wrestler, but he was also an icon of Mexican movies, but any good wrestling insider of the time will tell you that Blue Demon was the best of that time.
Hulk Hogan, put himself above everyone, however, Ric Flair was a better wrestler in the 80s, although less popular, the same with Bret Hart in the 90s.
And Jack Veneno was unbeatable in the Dominican Republic (because he put himself over), but he was not the best wrestler.
What does it take to be the best wrestler?
Being a good wrestler requires three essential aspects:
- Good physique
- Knowing how to really wrestle
- Having a “good microphone”
The physical aspect may be secondary, if you are a very skilled wrestler and you know how to talk you are very likely to succeed.
Of these three skills, I can’t really say that Jack Veneno stood out, his physique was not at all impressive, he knew how to talk on the microphone, but it was mostly his name and popularity that made people react.
And as for his wrestling ability, I won’t put it on trial, when I saw him wrestle in the late 80s he didn’t look very agile and his moves didn’t look very good.
But there is something that many people don’t know, and that is that Jack’s career could have ended much earlier than they thought, in an interview I saw, he confessed that he had a serious leg injury, and despite that, he continued with his career.
Usually, when that happens, the wrestler reduces his ability in the ring considerably to the point of being very limited to perform certain moves.
Enough talk, who is the best wrestler from the Dominican Republic?
In my opinion, the name of the best wrestler the Dominican Republic has ever produced is Ramon Alvarez (El Bronco #1).
That’s right, I said it…
The Broncos were three wrestlers who initially belonged to Jack Veneno’s company, Ramon Alvarez, was the first, he was the most “advanced” of the three, Bronco 2 passed away long ago, and Bronco 3 I got to know in person in my first job in one of the biggest stores in the city.
Why Bronco 1 is the best wrestler the Dominican Republic has ever produced?
Simple, he has all the qualities and more:
1-Physical
The 3 Bronco brothers were freaks of nature, Bronco 1 was the best looking, but I remember I met Bronco 3 in my first job in one of the biggest stores in the city, already retired from wrestling, his physique was impressive, he looked like he was made of polished stone.
Without a doubt, the Broncos were the wrestlers with the best physique at that time, comparable to some exceptions like Astroman 3 and Superstar.
2- Ability in the ring
The Broncos were not notable for being good wrestlers, they just came in with a wild style, threw punches and a couple of running knees, and in less time than you could imagine they finished the fight.
But…this changed for Bronco 1 when he left the country and went to Puerto Rico, in the Dominican Republic, Bronco 1 was a dominant fighter, with more physique than everyone, in Puerto Rico, he realized that he had to face competition from the United States that was much bigger and stronger than him and he had to adapt his fighting style, he became faster, technical and a better wrestler.
Besides, Ramon Alvarez before being a wrestler already had a background in Judo and Greco-Roman wrestling (I heard this in one of his interviews), he really knew how to wrestle.
3- Microphone
El Bronco 1 was a savage on the microphone, that is to say, he knew how to talk, his promos were incredible, all this he developed in Puerto Rico, in the Dominican Republic he never touched a microphone.
I could even go as far as to say that this was his best quality, he has the ability to ignite the public, in Puerto Rico, he was so good with the microphone that he earned the real hatred of the fans, one time in Puerto Rico they burned his car, and even attempted against his life several times.
Although in the Dominican Republic El Bronco was a technical wrestler, with that ability he had he could have become the greatest heel of all time, even above Relampago Hernandez (RIP).
Final Words
I know that many Dominicans might feel offended reading this because Jack Veneno is an icon in the Dominican culture, but I think I needed to do “a little justice“, the name of the Bronco 1 has not been given the recognition it deserves.
Although all of his major accomplishments were outside the country, he is still Dominican.
There are many other things to say about Bronco 1, he could have been in the WWE, also that while he was in Puerto Rico he served as a guide to develop wrestlers like Kane and other great wrestlers from the United States.
Not to belittle the memory and the name of Jack Veneno, but he just put himself over everyone, and I never saw him losing a fight, this precisely is why he never caught my attention, he did not give way to the young relief and that was what ended with his company sooner.
And about the Jack Veneno vs Ric Flair fight, that’s another big myth, a topic I don’t even want to touch, but in reality, Jack Veneno wasn’t supposed to win that fight, everything that happened was Ric’s own decision, to go into details with this topic you must have knowledge of wrestling terms, like what is the Broadway and kayfabe in wrestling, or you won’t understand anything.
If you want to know the truth of what happened in the Veneno vs Flair fight read this topic I wrote.
When the Broncos left Jack’s company, many other Broncos emerged, they tried to replicate them, there was a lot of confusion and that is another separate issue, the original Bronco 1 is called Ramon Alvarez, from the Dominican Republic, San Cristobal.
I must say that the neighborhood where I am from (Cristo Rey), is the neighborhood that has produced the most talented wrestlers for the country, Eclipse, Guerrero, Chico, Osiris Sosa, and all the others that I will not mention their names, I know them all, they deserve mention and recognition for their dedication and love for wrestling for so many years.
I would like to say more, but I know that this topic will be very little read, anyway, that’s all, end of the topic.