Pedro Morales is one of the more unheralded stars of the early days of WWE. Despite holding the title for over two years, he gets lost among the other greats to hold the heavyweight championship. A cultural hero to the Hispanic fans in New York, Morales carried the title with honor as he defended against the likes of Stan Stasiak, Captain Lou Albano and Jimmy Valiant. A strong bet to sell out Madison Square Garden during his time on top, Morales was the face of a promotion that had built a strong tag team division to help support its singles star. Morales' feuds with the likes of Professor Toru Tanaka and Stan Stasiak spanned several matches and years, drawing big crowds to the Garden for every one of them. He wrestled some very heated, sometimes bloody matches with the likes of Albano and was tasked with defending his title against Moondog Mayne and fellow Hall of Famer George Steele on a number of occasions. Morales, like Diesel after him, sometimes suffered from a lack of real big name competition. Unlike Diesel, however, Morales still did unbelievable business for the Vincent J. McMahon's promotion in the early 1970s. The most famous title defense of Morales' reign came in front of 22,508 fans at historic Shea Stadium in Flushing, New York as he squared off against the one man more popular than himself, Bruno Sammartino. The two beloved babyfaces clashed for 65-minutes in a match that ended in a curfew draw. It was very much that era's equivalent to a dream match and a huge audience was able to see their favorite stars wrestle for the most prestigious prize in the industry. Morales' reign came to an end in Philadelphia on December 1, 1973. The man to beat him? Stan "the Man" Stasiak, who would lose it shortly thereafter to the next man on our list.
Erik Beaston is a freelance pro wrestling writer who likes long walks in the park, dandelions and has not quite figured out that this introduction is not for Match.com. He resides in Parts Unknown, where he hosts weekly cookouts with Kane, The Ultimate Warrior, Papa Shango and The Boogeyman. Be jealous.
