HeadLocker — Jay Shannon
OWW’s Wrestlers of the Week — Los Colons: Carlito and Primo Colon
Our resident philosopher, Jay Shannon, bestows this week’s OWW Wrestler(s) of the Week award on the new WWE tag team champions, Carlito and Primo Colon.
The world of wrestling has been filled with brother teams. The Funks, Harts, Von Erichs, Windhams, Steiners and many other families have had siblings unite in the ring wars. The latest brother pair to work inside the squared circle together are Carlito (Carly) and Primo (Eddie) Colon. The brothers upended the WWE tag champions on Friday Night Smackdown to capture the gold. Carlito and Primo now share the tag titles. They also share this week’s OWW Wrestler(s) of the Week award.
Carlito
Carlos Edwin Colon, Jr. was born in Puerto Rico in 1979. He is one of four children of the legendary Carlos Colon. When Carlos, Jr. began to wrestle, he adopted his childhood nickname of Carly as his first name. Carly was trained by his father and numerous other WWC legends in the ways of the ring. Carly’s most significant feud in WWC was against Ray Gonzales. They fought several brutal matches over the WWC Heavyweight Championship. Carly came to the attention of the WWE, who had used Carly’s father, Carlos, many years earlier. The WWC fans was very upset at Carly’s decision to leave Puerto Rico and join Vince McMahon’s WWE. Many accused him of “Selling out”.
That negative sentiment continued during Carly’s stint in OVW. Carly, now known as Carlos Colon, was invited to battle Abyss in Puerto Rico. Carly agreed to the battle and set his schedule to be free to appear. The WWE stepped in and refused to allow him to perform. Some sources claim that Carly was banned from performing because Abyss was a member of the TNA roster. Carly/Carlos had a reasonably successful run as a heel in OVW. Within a few months, he was called up to the big leagues.
Carly, redubbed Carlito Caribbean Cool, arrived on Smackdown on October 7, 2004. In his very first match, Carlito upset John Cena for the US championship. Carlito would only hold the belt for 42 days, before dropping it back to Cena. Carlito suffered an injury during the match and was shifted into a non-wrestling angle with Smackdown GM, Teddy Long, while he recovered. Carlito was forced into menial tasks by Long. Carlito tried, unsuccessfully, to oust Long as GM. Carlito would also battle his own brother, Eddie (Primo), in an anniversary show in Puerto Rico. It was the first time that Carlito had wrestled in Puerto Rico. He didn’t get the warmest of welcomes, to say the least. Carlito also interrupted a special edition of Piper’s Pit at Wrestlemania 21. Carlito had a brief feud with The Big Show, before being drafted to Raw in the 2005 Draft.
History repeated itself for Carlito when he debuted on Raw. He won that brand’s secondary title, the Intercontinental Championship, from Shelton Benjamin. Carlito would later drop the I-C title to Ric Flair. Carlito’s career moved into a solid mid-card role following a failed attempt to win the WWE Championship. While his career in WWE faultered, his Puerto Rican career began to re-energize. He defeated Heidenreich to win the WWC’s Universal Heavyweight Championship. Carlito began to make a face turn, first in WWC and later in WWE.
Carlito found himself in two unusual situations around the time of Wrestlemania 23. Carlito make several public comments criticizing the WWE for not booking him on the main card of Wrestlemania. Carlito was punished by the WWE, who placed him in several nowhere feuds and comedy skits. Back home in Puerto Rico, Carlito ran afoul of Razor Ramon aka Scott Hall. Hall claimed that the Carlito character was a direct lift of his old Razor character. They ended up battling, basically for the rights to the character. Carlito won.
Carlito’s dissatisfaction with the WWE continued to grow. By late 2007, Carlito asked for his release. Vince McMahon personally met with Carlito and worked out a new program to push Carlito. He was teamed with Santino Marella to form a successful team. While they failed to capture the Raw tag team titles, they were featured in several high-profile matches. The team came to an end when Carlito was drafted to Smackdown during the 2008 Draft.
Carlito worked a few shows on the Blue Brand, before requesting a brief vacation. He wanted to pay tribute to his father, Carlos Colon, Sr., during his father’s official retirement. Carlito wrestled a few matches under the Anniversario 2008 program, before returning to the WWE. Upon his return, he was partnered with his younger brother, Eddie/Primo. The duo did a Carlito’s Cabana segment where they challenged Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins for the WWE tag titles. Carlito used his Back Stabber (Lung Blower) finisher to earn the belts for the brother team. Carlito’s career had just entered a new high. How long that high will last is anyone’s guess.
Primo (Eddie) Colon
Edwin Carlos Colon was the youngest of Carlos Colon’s four children. Yes, Primo’s first and middle names are switched from those of his older brother. Eddie began his career in the WWC. He held the Universal title on numerous occasions. He would spend his first eight years in wrestling working for the WWC. Many believed that Eddie wouldn’t leave Puerto Rico, especially after the negative reaction that his older brother, Carly (Carlito), had received. Eddie would also win the Junior title on several occasions. Carlito pushed for his brother to join him in the WWE but wanted to give his brother the freeddom to choose for himself.
On May 7, 2007, Eddie was given a closed door tryout in the WWE. There were no cameras or fans present. Eddie impressed the talent agents enough that he was given the chance to work a dark match against Shannon Moore at the May 8th television taping for Smackdown/ECW. The crowds reaction was mixed, as many were unaware of who Eddie was. Eddie returned to WWC to continue to learn. Eddie was also scouted by TNA agents when he battled Christian Cage at Anniversario 2007.
In January, 2008, Eddie signed a developmental deal with the WWE. He was assigned to Florida Championship Wrestling. Over the next 8 months, Eddie had great success as both a singles star and as one half of the Puerto Rican Nightmares (with Eric Perez). The Puerto Rican Nightmares were the very first FCW tag team champs. Colon and Perez would win the titles a total of three times before Eddie received his call up.
In August 2008, WWE raided FCW for the majority of their talent. Eddie was picked to head to Raw. As with most of the talent, Eddie had to undergo a name change. Eddie became Primo, which is Spanish for “first”. This name struck many as comical, since “Primo” was actually the last of Carlos Colon’s kids. Primo made his first appearance on Raw, only to be dissed by Mike Adamle. The following week, Adamle apologized to Primo and tried to compare him to Carlito. Primo stated flatly that he was nothing like his brother. Later that night, he faced his brother, sort of. Charlie Haas, in his first imitation character, showed up as Charlito. Primo destroyed the pretender in short order.
For unexplained reasons, Primo was shifted to Smackdown and partnered with his brother. The reunion of the Colon brothers took many by surprise. Most fans assumed that Eric Perez would be brought up from FCW to reform the Puerto Rican Nightmares. Los Colons have only had two matches, so far. Both matches were against Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins. The first was a non-title match. The second was the match where Los Colons captured the tag team belts.
In Conclusion:
Carlito started in the WWE just about the time his baby brother laced up his boots for the very first time. Carlito has been loved by the fans, even when he was a nasty heel. Eddie has the young girl screaming at his looks. The duo has a comic timing that reminds me of Eddie and Chavo Guerrero. These two will provide a symbiotic relationship where both will benefit from the other. With the way the WWE likes to relive history through it’s characters, Los Colons are likely going to get a monster push. The tag divisions, especially the Smackdown side, has struggled in recent years. The debut of Los Colons could help turn the corner. There is also a rumor that Eric Perez might be brought in as another “brother”. Even if Eric doesn’t become an honorary Colon, the two brothers from Puerto Rico are the hottest tag team in the WWE, right now. For winning the tag belts, as well as skyrocketing their individual worths in the company, I proudly award this week’s OWW Wrestler(s) of the Week award to Primo and Carlito, Los Colons.
–Jay Shannon
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(9/29/2008)