José Serapio " Joseph" Palimino Gomez (April 21, 1927 – May 6, 2004) was an American professional wrestler and bodybuilding, better known by his ring name, Pepper Gomez.
Early life
Gomez was born in
Los Angeles,
California in 1927. While at high school, he competed at football,
gymnastics and track.
He attended Los Angeles City College, where he played football as a fullback.
Bodybuilding career
In 1947, Gomez began participating in
bodybuilding.
His training partners included
Armand Tanny and
Joe Gold.
He took part in a series of bodybuilding competitions over the next five years, winning the "
Muscle Beach" contest in Santa Monica, California in 1950.
In 1951, he placed fifth in the AAU Mr. America contest. Gomez was featured in the November 1948 issue of
Strength & Health and the January 1952 issue of
Muscle Power.
Professional wrestling career
Gomez was trained to wrestle by Black Guzmán. He debuted in January 1953 in El Paso, Texas.
Early in his career, he toured
British Columbia with the
Vancouver-based Big Time Wrestling promotion, winning the Northwest Tag Team Championship three times in 1953.
In the mid-1950s, Gomez joined the Dallas, Texas-based promotion Big Time Wrestling, winning the NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship 15 times between 1955 and 1971. Gomez also held the NWA Texas Tag Team Championship on ten occasions between 1955 and 1961 and the Texas-version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship five times between 1958 and 1961.
In the early-1960s, Gomez began competing for the San Francisco, California-based American Wrestling Alliance (later renamed Big Time Wrestling). In 1962, Gomez embarked on a heated feud with Ray Stevens. After Stevens convinced Gomez to allow him to jump off a ladder onto Gomez' stomach, Stevens instead delivered his signature "Bombs Away" diving knee drop to Gomez' throat, leaving him coughing up blood. Gomez and Stevens went on to wrestle in a series of matches that sold-out the Cow Palace and the Oracle Arena.
In the late-1960s, Gomez began competing for the Minneapolis, Minnesota-based American Wrestling Association. He began a heated feud with Killer Kowalski after Kowalski delivered a knee drop to his throat in an echo of the Ray Stevens angle.
In the mid-1970s, Gomez joined the Indianapolis, Indiana-based World Wrestling Association. In November 1975, he defeated Ox Baker for the WWA World Heavyweight Championship. He held the championship until May 1976, when he was defeated by The Masked Strangler. Gomez also won the WWA World Tag Team Championship with Wilbur Snyder in 1974 and 1978.
Gomez retired in 1982. He went on to work as a maître d' in a restaurant in Fisherman's Wharf, San Francisco.
Personal life
Gomez was of Mexican descent.
He had five children.
At the time of his death, he was married to Bonnie.
Death
Gomez underwent surgery in April 2004 and was placed on
life support. He died of
gastritis on May 6, 2004.
In popular culture
A minor character in the 2008 video game
Fallout 3 is named after Gomez.
Championships and accomplishments
Bodybuilding
-
Amateur Athletic Union
-
"Junior Mr. America" (8th, 1952)
-
"Mr. America" (5th, 1951)
-
"Mr. California" (2nd (Tall), 1947; 5th, 1952)
-
"Mr. Los Angeles" (2nd, 1947; 3rd, 1949; 3rd, 1950; 2nd; 1951; 3rd, 1952)
-
"Mr. Pacific Coast" (4th; 1948)
-
"Mr. Western America" (3rd, 1947)
-
Miscellaneous
-
"Mr. Muscle Beach" (winner, 1950)
Professional wrestling
-
Big Time Wrestling (Boston)
-
BTW New England Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
-
American Wrestling Alliance / Big Time Wrestling (San Francisco)
-
AWA United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
-
AWA World Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with José Lothario (1 time) and Pedro Morales (2 times)
-
NWA World Tag Team Championship (San Francisco version) (7 times) – with Pedro Morales (2 times), Jose Lothario (1 time), Al Madril (1 time), Pat Patterson (1 time), Peter Maivia (1 time), and Rocky Johnson (1 time)
-
-
Northwest Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Johnny Demchuck (2 times) and Ivan Kameroff (1 time)
-
Big Time Wrestling (Texas)
-
NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship (15 times)
[*]
-
NWA Texas Tag Team Championship (10 times) – with Bill Melby (1 time), Cyclone Anaya (1 time), Dory Dixon (2 times), Hogan Wharton (1 time), Larry Chene (1 time), Luigi Macera (1 time), El Medico (2 times), and Rito Romero (2 times)
-
NWA World Tag Team Championship (Texas version) (5 times) – with El Medico (1 time), Rito Romero (1 time), Ciclone Anaya (1 time), Torbellino Blanco/Wilbur Snyder (1 time), and Dory Dixon (1 time)
-
Cauliflower Alley Club
-
Championship Wrestling from Florida
-
NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (Florida version) (1 time)
-
NWA Hollywood Wrestling
-
Western States Sports
-
NWA World Tag Team Championship (Amarillo version) (1 time) - with Jose Lothario
-
Pacific Northwest Wrestling
-
NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Herb Freeman
-
World Wrestling Association
-
WWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
-
WWA World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Wilbur Snyder
External links
