We are proud to announce the 2017 inductees into the Southern California Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame. This year we induct three new members into the Hall of Fame; Joey “Kaos” Munoz, Man Mountain Dean, and Super Boy.
Joey “Kaos” Munoz – Joey Munoz started training to be a pro-wrestler in 1994 at the age of 14, and had his in-ring debut in 1995. Wrestling as Kid Kaos he quickly established himself as one of the top high flyers in the Southern California wrestling scene of the mid-1990s. He formed a tag-team with one of his trainers, Supreme, that they called Supreme Kaos and famously feuded with the Naybah Hoodz throughout the region. In 1999 he won SoCal-Wrestling.com’s award for most outstanding wrestler in Southern California. Also in 1999 he joined XPW where he would find fame on a more national level. He was XPW’s longest reigning television champion, holding the title for nearly two years. After XPW folded, Kaos was one of the most popular stars in the Southern California wrestling scene, working for promotions such as GSCW, AWS, Revolution Pro, Battle Ground, Inoki Dojo, etc. He also would wrestle in CZW and TNA at that time. In 2006 he was a regular on Mtv’s Wrestling Society X. In what is arguably Joey Munoz’ biggest contribution to wrestling in Southern California’s wrestling scene, he was one of the founders of the Santino Brothers Wrestling Academy in 2008. The Santino Brothers Wrestling Academy quickly became one of the top wrestling schools in Southern California, having produced more Southern California rookie of the year winners than any other local school as of this writing. The school has also run a regular wrestling promotion since 2008 as well. In 2014 Joey “Kaos” Munoz’ match with B-Boy at July’s Santino Bros. and AWS joint show was named the Southern California match of the year.
Man Mountain Dean – Born on June 30, 1891 Frank Leavitt was one of the biggest, literally, wrestling stars in Southern California of the 1930s. Leavitt enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1911 at the age of 19. It was in the Army where he first began his pro-wrestling career by wrestling on the side as Soldier Leavitt for a little extra cash in 1916. He wrestled throughout the East Coast after World War I, but didn’t find much in the way of success. In 1928 he became a traffic cop in Miami, but was fired in 1930 for visiting with the notorious gangster Al Capone, who he considered a friend. After being fired as a traffic cop, he returned to wrestling, but continued to find little success. After changing his name in the early 1930s and growing out his beard, and with his wife Dorris as his manager, he began to find some success wrestling in Boston. In July 1934 Man Mountain Dean made his debut under that name in Southern California and became the biggest thing going. In his first three matches at the Olympic Auditorium went six minutes and seventeen seconds combined. On October 10, 1934 Man Mountain Dean and Jim Londos drew 23,765 to their match at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles, an attendance number that wasn’t topped in Southern California until Lou Thesz and Baron Michele’s match in 1952. Dean’s first dozen appearances in Los Angeles drew promoter Lou Daro $130,000, twice would he would normally draw. Dean continued wrestling in Southern California throughout the 1930s, and was even suspended by the California State Athletic Commision in 1939 for using a banned move. When World War II broke out, Dean reenlisted in the Army. After the war he Dean returned to wrestling, drawing big crowds in the Midwest during a feud with Maurice “The French Angel” Tilluet. He finally retired from wrestling in 1946. In addition to his wrestling career, he became a regular in motion pictures, appearing in 38 films. Man Mountain Dean died of a heart attack on May 29, 1953 in Norcross, GA.
Super Boy – The son of El Moro, and a member of the Moro dynasty, Super Boy was one of the early innovators of the lucha/puroresu hybrid style that would lead to today’s modern style of wrestling. Training at the legendary Gil’s Garage in Los Angeles, Super Boy made his in ring debut in the late 1980s. He would wrestle throughout Southern California’s fledgling lucha scene and in Mexico. In August 1993 Super Boy along with another local luchador Piloto Suicida were selected to go on a tour in Japan with Michinoku Pro wrestling. It was there, teaming with the likes of Super Delfin and wrestling against wrestlers such as Great Sasuke, Terry Boy, and SATO that his style began to evolve into a more hybrid style that was unseen before. He also began wrestling regularly for AAA at the time as well. While Super Boy would remain a regular with Michinoku Pro throughout the 1990s, he also continued to wrestle regularly in Southern California as well, wowing fans and wrestlers throughout the region with his skill. Super Boy was one of the first lucha libre based wrestlers in Southern California to really cross over into non-lucha promotions such as Freddy Valentine’s All Star Championship Wrestling. He also became a semi-regular in Revolution Pro, where the style of wrestling was similar to what he was helping to create in Michinoku Pro. Knee injuries eventually ended his in-ring career, but Super Boy has managed to continue to make an impact in the Southern California wrestling scene as a trainer. Notable among the students that have been trained by him are the next generation of the Moro Dynasty in Super Boy Jr., Principe Indu Jr., and Legacy.
Voting results:
Super Boy 81%
Man Mountain Dean 75%
Joey Munoz (Kaos) 71%
Jeff Walton 67%
Bart Kapitzke 57%
Kevin Kleinrock 52%
Aileen Eaton 50%
Fabulous Kangaroos (Al Costello & Roy Heffernan) 50%
David Marquez 48%
B-Boy 43%
Count Billy Varga 42%
Edouard Carpentier 42%
Mildred Burke* 42%
Adam Pearce 38%
Jon Ian 38%
Vandal Drummond 38%
Ballard Brothers (Shannon & Shane Ballard) 33%
Bearcat Wright 33%
Cal Eaton 33%
Gus Sonnenberg 33%
Samoa Joe 29%
Joe Stecher 25%
Jules Strongbow 25%
Pedro Morales 25%
Ramon Torres 25%
Rikidozan 25%
Christopher Daniels 24%
Frankie Kazarian 24%
Joey Ryan* 24%
Ron Rivera 24%
Tech IX (Byron McKinney) 24%
Bobby Bradley 19%
Martin Marin 19%
Rick Bassman 19%
Rick Knox* 19%
Supreme 19%
Ernie Ladd 17%
Brian Danielson (American Dragon)* 14%
Cheerleader Melissa 14%
Dan Farren 14%
Rocky Romero 14%
Stephan DeLeon 14%
Aaron Aguilera 10%
Alex Knight 10%
Art Barr 10%
Lil’ Cholo* 10%
Los Chivos (Enigma de Oro & Kayam) 10%
TJ Perkins* 10%
Hulk Hogan 8%
Al Katrazz 5%
Bo Cooper 5%
John Cena 5%
Marty Elias* 5%
Brian Kendrick 2%
Frankie Dee 2%
Matt Sinister 2%
Primetime Peterson 2%
Sting 2%
Benjamin Mora 0%
Erica Porter (Jungle Grrrl)* 0%
Gary Key 0%
Lisa Marie Varon* 0%
Rey Misterio Jr. 0%
In order to be inducted a nominee must be listed on 70% of returned ballots. Anyone with 5% of the vote or less will not be eligible to be nominated in the next election.
The Southern California Pro-Wrestling Hall of Fame was created in 2001 by Cincinnati Red, Jason “Primetime” Peterson, and Steven Bryant, and was dedicated in the memory of Louie Spicoli. The Hall of Fame was created with the mission to preserve and promote the history of professional wrestling in Southern California. Since its inception there have been 35 inductees. The Hall of Fame is hosted by SoCalUNCENSORED.com. For a full list of inductees please visit the Hall of Fame at http://socaluncensored.com/history/hall-of-fame/.
