Below are a couple of top news stories of the day, involving Randy Orton and Pete Sanchez.
• Randy Orton has been on fire ever since his return to WWE.
Orton made his return to WWE programming at Survivor Series 2023, participating in the Men’s WarGames Match. This was his first match in 18 months following back fusion surgery. Since then, he has been involved in feuds with United States Champion Logan Paul and, more recently, The Bloodline.
He also competed in the King of the Ring tournament, but failed to win. In the tournament finals, Orton faced Gunther, who emerged victorious. The match ended controversially, as Orton’s shoulder was up during the pinfall. Triple H has mentioned that there will be a rematch between Gunther and Orton in the future.
Orton recently competed in his 2,400th WWE match during a house show in Mexico, where he teamed up with LA Knight and Andrade against The Bloodline. This is an incredible milestone for The Viper, who is WWE’s longest continuous full-time performer at 22 years and counting (surpassing The Undertaker’s continuous 20-year full time run in the company).
As of now, Orton does not have a scheduled match for this Saturday’s SummerSlam PLE.
• Bill Apter announced the death of “Pistol” Pete Sanchez, who was known for his work as an enhancement talent in the WWWF and WWF, and also performed under the ring name Gino Caruso in Stampede Wrestling.
Sanchez is perhaps best known in the WWWF for being Ric Flair’s first opponent in the company at Madison Square Garden on March 1, 1976 (a few months after Flair was in a plane crash).
He also teamed up with Manuel Soto as The Flying Tigers but was primarily known for his role in helping to elevate heels in the territory.
Sanchez worked with many top stars of his time, including Bret Hart, Jake Roberts, the Big Boss Man, and the Road Warriors. While he often didn’t come out on top, he did achieve victories, most notably against Johnny Rodz and Kevin Sullivan.
As Gino Caruso in Stampede Wrestling, he won the International Tag Team Championship with Carlos Belafonte, also known as WWE Hall of Famer Carlos Colon. This partnership paved the way for Colon’s WWC promotion in Puerto Rico. Sanchez also held the tag titles with Bill Cody.
Sanchez continued wrestling into the early 1990s. Our deepest sympathies go out to Pete Sanchez’s family, friends, and fans.
