John R. Rivera (born October 28, 1982) is a Cuban professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and he is better known by his ring name Rocky Romero. Rivera is known for his tenure as the fourth incarnation of Black Tiger and for his accomplishments as a tag team wrestler. He was member of tag teams like The Havana Pitbulls/Los Cubanitos, No Remorse Corps, Forever Hooligans, and Roppongi Vice. Rivera made his in-ring debut on September 13, 1997 and over the years portrayed several different characters, including the masked characters Havana Brother I, Black Tiger and Grey Shadow and has wrestled extensively in Mexico (for both Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre and Lucha Libre AAA World Wide). In the United States he is most known for his work with Ring of Honor and was one of the featured wrestlers for Lucha Libre USA.
As a singles wrestler, Romero won the CMLL World Super Lightweight Championship on three occasions, the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship (as Black Tiger) and the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. In the tag team division, 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 resembling mixed martial arts, competing in lucha libre style events in Mexico early in his career.
|