{"id":5520,"date":"2017-06-16T11:37:23","date_gmt":"2017-06-16T15:37:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=5520"},"modified":"2021-12-28T10:35:15","modified_gmt":"2021-12-28T15:35:15","slug":"how-star-roger-is-getting-out-of-the-shadow-of-carlos-colon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2017\/06\/16\/how-star-roger-is-getting-out-of-the-shadow-of-carlos-colon\/","title":{"rendered":"Star Roger: Getting Out of the Shadow of Carlos Colon"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been said that every person that is born in Puerto Rico has a genetic code that made him\/her feel attracted to cheer for Puerto Rican Icon Carlos Colon<\/strong><\/a>. The small island has had his share of great wrestlers, from the old WWWF with Pedro Morales<\/strong> and Miguel Perez<\/strong>, to the WWE with Carlito<\/strong>. But for every good wrestler that the island has seen, nobody can touch the big admiration and love that Carlos Colon generated. The man alongside Victor Jovica<\/strong> (co-owner) and Capitol Sport Promotion<\/strong> (now the WWC<\/strong>), helped shape the wrestling landscape in Puerto Rico, starting in the late 70s to the tail end of the 80s. Carlos did it big, Baseball Stadiums packed, weekly tv doing big ratings and people buying like freaks to see their hero beat some old American heel that insulted the island. It was that frenetic era that made a little boy from a poor neighborhood fall in love with Pro Wrestling.<\/p>\n

Star Roger: Fast Rising Star<\/h2>\n
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Carlos Colon, Photo: WWC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Roger Diaz<\/strong> lived those moments, and while some people just wanted to be spectators, he in the other hand wanted to be in the action. Star Roger<\/strong> started his wrestling career as Carlitos<\/strong>,\u00a0as an\u00a0assistant for K.C. James<\/strong> in the International Wrestling Association (IWA PR<\/a>).<\/strong> It was basically a parody; the name was for IWA\u2019s competition WWC. The name Carlitos was as similar as the recent WWE United States Champion and son of Carlos Colon, Carlito. In this time, WWC and IWA fought for supremacy in Puerto Rico. This gimmick would usually see Roger being humiliated for being black or for basically looking like a Puerto Rican farmer. This in 2005 look a little outdated and stupid because of its purpose, but somehow Roger (Carlitos) made it work.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=HO1N4YyNMjM<\/p>\n

Star Roger started to compete in the Jr. division and he became quickly a fan favorite. It was so obvious that the gimmick wouldn\u2019t overshadow his natural ability. Sensacional started to rank up wins and titles, for 2008 he was one of the most over guys in a company that was hurting. Roger (Carlitos at the time) would made the jump to WWC, an irony considering that the only Carlos or Carlito that got over was the Colons and not him. But this didn\u2019t stop him, he would fight against the tides, with him getting great reactions, to a point that the historic Puerto Rican Championship had to be given to him. \u00a0He was the best worker, with no doubt, but something kept him for getting his push.<\/p>\n

Roger seemed always destine to be the main guy, but to Colon or Victor Jovica, he was never the guy, for a long time in WWC, the man was cursed to stay in the mid-card and be content with being regular guy that the fans liked. He had 2 choices, stay there and be happy for wrestling in the biggest promotion in Puerto Rico and alongside his Idol and Hero, Carlos Colon, or move to new waters.<\/p>\n

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Photo: WWC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the time, a new project came along. The World Wrestling League<\/strong> promised to be the alternative to WWC and take the place of the extinct IWA. The company was headed by a very wealthy guy and had the best names that money could get. WWL was responsible for bringing back an old WWC name that had created his own legacy in Chicago and Japan. That was John Yurnet aka. Mr.450<\/strong>. The man, like Roger, was disgruntled with WWC\u2019s management and went to the states to grow. He had already created a name in All Japan Pro Wrestling<\/strong>, so when he came to Puerto Rico, he was another wrestler. 450\u2019s name is here because of how both men had casually landed in the new project. Both would create magic and both would change the legacy of Puerto Rican Wrestling.<\/p>\n

Star Roger tore the house down with 450, with al kinds of matches being the obvious picks for Match of the Year. For 2 straight years, they had the hottest matches. He was obvious to be the guy, and so did 450. Even WWE looked at both guys and were impressed, but only 450 got the call. Not only did 450 got the call, but he became WWC Universal Championship (WWC\u2019s greatest accolade).<\/p>\n