Gomez on the cover of Strength & Health magazine in 1948.
Birth name
José Serapio Palimino Gomez[1][2]
Born
(1927-04-21)April 21, 1927[2] Los Angeles, California, United States[3]
Died
May 6, 2004(2004-05-06) (aged 77)[3] San Francisco, California, United States
Cause of death
Gastritis[3][4]
Alma mater
Los Angeles City College[3]
Spouse(s)
Bonnie Gomez[3]
Children
5[3]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)
Pepper Gomez[3][2]
Billed height
5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Billed weight
220 lb (100 kg)[5]
Trained by
Black Guzmán
Debut
January 1953[3][6]
Retired
1982[3]
José "Joseph" Serapio Palimino Gomez (April 21, 1927 – May 6, 2004) was an American professional wrestler and bodybuilder, better known by his ring name, Pepper Gomez.[2][3][5][6] Known for his exceptional abdominal muscles, he would allow rivals to perform stunts such as jumping onto his stomach from the top of a ladder or driving a Volkswagen Beetle over his stomach, earning him the nickname "The Man with the Cast Iron Stomach".[1][7][8] He wrestled as a blue-collar Latino babyface.[9][10]
^ abJohn Grasso (6 March 2014). Historical Dictionary of Wrestling. Scarecrow Press. p. 347. ISBN 978-0-8108-7926-3.
^ abcdHarris M. Lentz III (1 January 2003). Biographical Dictionary of Professional Wrestling, 2d ed. McFarland. p. 128. ISBN 978-0-7864-1754-4.
^ abcdefghijRubenstein, Steve (May 8, 2004). "'Pepper' Gomez -- pro wrestler with famously tough stomach". SFGate. Hearst. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
^Cite error: The named reference Chapman was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ ab"Pepper Gomez". Cagematch.net. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
^ abOliver, Greg (May 6, 2004). "Pepper Gomez dies". Canoe.com. Postmedia Network. Archived from the original on April 22, 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
^"The 10 best wrestlers you've never heard of". WWE. May 6, 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
^John Lister (November 2005). Slamthology: Collected Wrestling Writings 1991-2004. Lulu.com. p. 244. ISBN 978-1-4116-5329-0.
^Nicholas Sammond (23 December 2004). Steel Chair to the Head: The Pleasure and Pain of Professional Wrestling. Duke University Press. p. 245. ISBN 0-8223-8682-8.
^David J. Leonard; Carmen R. Lugo-Lugo (17 March 2015). Latino History and Culture: An Encyclopedia. Routledge. p. 570. ISBN 978-1-317-46646-8.
Palimino Gomez (April 21, 1927 – May 6, 2004) was an American professional wrestler and bodybuilder, better known by his ring name, PepperGomez. Known...
Longson and Ike Eakins El Médico and PepperGomez The Fabulous Kangaroos (Al Costello and Roy Heffernan) PepperGomez and Rito Romero Duke Keomuka and Mr...
Curry broke the fan's jaw with a single punch. 1958: During a match with PepperGomez in Galveston, Texas, a fan struck Bull Curry with an iron pipe. Curry...
Ric Flair Greg Gagne Verne Gagne† John Paul Jimmy Garvin Ronnie Garvin PepperGomez† "Superstar" Billy Graham† Scott Hall† Stan Hansen Lawrence Heinemi a...
Mongolian Stomper PepperGomez and Pedro Morales Kinji Shibuya and Great Sasaki Kinji Shibuya and Masa Saito Peter Maivia and PepperGomez Ray Stevens and...
popular wrestlers in the Pacific Northwest. Their first title win was against Pepper Martin and James "Shag" Thomas. During his time in Oregon, Apache Bull Ramos...
1, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history (June 1): Rogers beats Gomez, Gordman & Goliath, Baba loses PWF Title, Flair Vs. KVE, Lawler Vs. Son...
Mongolian Stomper PepperGomez and Pedro Morales Kinji Shibuya and Great Sasaki Kinji Shibuya and Masa Saito Peter Maivia and PepperGomez Ray Stevens and...
Championship (San Francisco version) (4 times) – with Pat Patterson (3) and PepperGomez (1) NWA Polynesian Pro Wrestling NWA Polynesian Pacific Tag Team Championship...
of Shag Thomas, he also teamed with Bearcat Wright, Nick Bockwinkel, PepperGomez and was involved in feuds with "Iron" Mike DiBiase, Mad Dog Vachon, Beauregarde...
winning the same belts a further 5 times with different partners including PepperGomez. He would also co-hold the NWA World Tag Team Championship (Texas version)...
Team Championship (Texas version) (2 times) – with Verne Gagne (1) and PepperGomez (1) St. Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame Class of 2014 World Wrestling Association...
Longson and Ike Eakins El Médico and PepperGomez The Fabulous Kangaroos (Al Costello and Roy Heffernan) PepperGomez and Rito Romero Duke Keomuka and Mr...
Morales began 1967 by also teaming with Ricky Romero, Mr. Moto and PepperGomez, gathering victories along all of them. In singles, he remained in the...
Mongolian Stomper PepperGomez and Pedro Morales Kinji Shibuya and Great Sasaki Kinji Shibuya and Masa Saito Peter Maivia and PepperGomez Ray Stevens and...
tenure with WWA ended after they lost the tag titles to Wilbur Snyder and PepperGomez on 4 May. Jimmy and Johnny signed with Vincent J. McMahon's World Wide...
Rogers under the name of Rip Rogers. He lost a loser-leaves-town match to PepperGomez in May 1958 in Texas. In June 1958, he changed his ring name, adopting...
with Ray Stevens (2), Superstar Billy Graham (1), Pedro Morales (1), PepperGomez (1), Peter Maivia (1), Moondog Mayne (1), Rocky Johnson (3), and Tony...
many varieties and common names including paprika, chili pepper, jalapeño, cayenne, bell pepper, and many more with over 200 variations within the species...
Erich and Gene Kiniski Bob Stanlee and Steve Stanlee José Lothario and PepperGomez Eddie Graham and Sam Steamboat Dory Funk Jr. and Terry Funk Harley Race...
for the NWA Texas Brass Knuckles Championship — 2 Hogan Wharton and PepperGomez (c) defeated Jet Monroe and Sputnik Monroe Tag team match for the NWA...
Championship in 1961 defeating Waldo Von Erich. He also teamed with PepperGomez to win the NWA Texas Tag Team Championship twice, a title he would later...
professional wrestler for many years, including under the pseudonyms "PepperGomez" and the "Masked Marvel". He retired from wrestling around 1970 and also...
Vachon, Hard Boiled Haggerty, Rey Urbano, Johnny James, Gene Kiniski, PepperGomez, Penny Banner, Debbie Combs, Belle Starr, Donna Christantello and Diamond...
Defeat Bruiser and Sammartino in rematch. 35 Wilbur Snyder (10) and PepperGomez May 4, 1974 WWA show Indianapolis, Indiana 1 140 36 Legionnaires (Sgt...
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