Below are a couple of top news stories of the day, involving Pete Sanchez, Ric Flair and RAW.
• 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.
• According to PWInsider, Cruz Del Toro has been seen in St. Paul, Minnesota (location of tonight’s RAW) ahead of tonight’s show. He has been sidelined due to an arm injury.
The last match the LWO member participated in was the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal during WrestleMania 40 weekend. It is still uncertain when he will return to television, but it could be as soon as tonight.
WWE has officially announced the following for tonight’s RAW:
– King of the Ring Gunther vs. World Tag Team Champion Finn Balor
– Sheamus vs. “Big” Bronson Reed
– Xavier Woods vs. Karrion Kross
– The Creed Brothers vs. Otis & Akira Tozawa
– Lyra Valkyria, Katana Chance & Kayden Carter vs. Sonya Deville, Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark
– Seth Rollins will reveal his “Referee Instructions” to CM Punk and Drew McIntyre for SummerSlam
