1. Konnan was involved in the creation of Lucha Underground, where he was supposed to serve as a writer and producer, but ended up in an on-camera role as manager to Prince Puma throughout the first season.
79 Facts About Konnan
1. 2.
Konnan is best known to United States audiences for his run in World Championship Wrestling as part of the nWo stable and as part of The Filthy Animals.
3.
Konnan formed the 3 Live Kru for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in the early 2000s and later the Latin American Xchange stable there.
4.
Konnan was born Carlos Santiago Espada Moises in Santiago, Cuba, of Puerto Rican and Cuban descent.
5.
Konnan learned how to drive at 12, learned to box, and was an "avid weightlifter".
6.
Konnan was given a choice of going to jail or entering the military.
7.
Konnan won the California state Middleweight Boxing Championship in 1983.
8.
Konnan set a goal to qualify for the Junior Olympics in boxing, but injured his shoulder in training and was deployed to the Middle East subsequent to the US Embassy bombing in Beirut on April 18,1983.
9.
Konnan's ship was in the Strait of Hormuz when the US Marine barracks were bombed on October 24,1983.
10.
Konnan wrestled in a six-man, two out of three falls, tag team match as Konnan El Barbaro with Lizmark and Yoshihiro Asai against As Charro, Indio Yori and Negro Casas on February 3,1989, for World Wrestling Association.
11.
Konnan joined Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre later that year.
12.
Konnan then won a televised match on WCW Power Hour against Chuck Coates on January 19,1991.
13.
Konnan recollected later that the costs associated with the costume led to problems between himself and the promotion right from the start.
14.
Konnan returned again on January 7,1992, at a WWF Superstars taping in Daytona Beach, FL.
15.
Konnan would wrestle twice more as The Latin Fury, the final time at a house show in Hyannis, Massachusetts on July 19,1992, when he defeated Pete Doherty.
16.
Konnan wrestled again as El Relampago the following night against Luis Mendieta.
17.
The Moon character, created by Konnan, was that of a cyborg from "The Future" or "Outer Space".
18.
Back in EMLL, Konnan lost his mask to Perro Aguayo in a Lucha de Apuesta mask versus hair match.
19.
Konnan then became the first-ever CMLL World Heavyweight Champion later that year by winning a tournament consisting of four matches at four events: an eight-man elimination match for the first round on May 24,1991; a four-man battle royal quarterfinal on May 31; a two-out-of-three falls semifinal match on June 7; and finally, a two-out-of-three falls match against Cien Caras at EMLL Super Viernes in Mexico City on June 9,1991.
20.
Shortening his ring name to simply "Konnan", he feuded with Cien Caras.
21.
Konnan did not comply with the stipulations of the match and returned to defeat Roberts in a hair versus hair match at Triplemania II on May 27,1994, in Tijuana.
22.
Later in 1994, Konnan began a storyline where he betrayed his tag team partner, Perro Aguayo, and formed a heel alliance known as Los Gringos Locos with Eddie Guerrero, Art Barr and Madonna's Boyfriend.
23.
Konnan's Mexican wrestling career was hampered in the late-1990s by his American wrestling commitments, and Promo Azteca closed in 1998.
24.
Konnan made a return to the Mexican wrestling circuit in the 2000s after a six-year absence, selling out arenas in Mexico City and Guadalajara.
25.
Konnan made his WWF debut on September 1,1992, in Hershey, Pennsylvania, during a Superstars taping under the name The Comet Kid when he pinned Barry Horowitz.
26.
Konnan was not showing up for WWF events due to his rising fame in Mexico, and his supposed "bad attitude" and heat from fellow WWF workers leading to a very strained relationship with McMahon, who had invested heavily in the Max Moon character, both financially and creatively, up until that point.
27.
Konnan was still working in Mexico while under contract to WWF, and was simultaneously appearing in a Mexican telenovela aimed at children called.
28.
Konnan appeared at ECW November to Remember on November 18,1995, squashing Jason Knight.
29.
Konnan returned to WCW on a full-time basis on the January 22,1996, edition of Nitro, where he announced that he would defend his "Mexican Heavyweight Championship" against Psicosis, the following night at Clash of the Champions, where Konnan retained the title.
30.
Konnan defeated One Man Gang for the United States Heavyweight Championship on January 29,1996.
31.
Several months after losing the United States Championship, Konnan became a villain and joined The Dungeon of Doom.
32.
Konnan brought the luchadors into WCW, so he had a real effect on professional wrestling.
33.
Konnan joined the New World Order on July 14,1997.
34.
Konnan's reign lasted until December 28,1998, when he lost to nWo Hollywood member Scott Steiner on Nitro following interference from Buff Bagwell.
35.
Konnan later criticized WCW for not respecting Mexican wrestling culture by writing storylines that saw several Mexican wrestlers unceremoniously unmasked.
36.
Konnan was kicked out of the NWO Wolfpac on January 11,1999.
37.
Konnan spent several months feuding with Disco Inferno, and then he began a rivalry with Stevie Ray.
38.
Konnan was inactive throughout early 2000, as he was suspended for three months by Bill Busch after requesting his release from WCW, unhappy with the way he was being used.
39.
Shortly after returning from suspension and reforming the Filthy Animals, Konnan was sidelined , this time with a legitimately torn triceps muscle, damaged when Van Hammer threw Juventud Guerrera at him during a match and Guerrera's elbow connected with Konnan's upper arm as he attempted to catch him.
40.
Konnan first went to Xtreme Pro Wrestling, where he took part in a tournament for the then-vacant XPW Television title on August 25,2001.
41.
Konnan defeated Johnny Webb and Vic Grimes in the first and second rounds, respectively, and then lost the final to Kaos.
42.
Konnan then wrestled a match with Damian Steele on October 13,2001.
43.
Konnan wrestled Steele again on November 24,2001, in a "Loser Leaves XPW" match at XPW Revolution at Grand Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles, California.
44.
Konnan wrestled in Australia, the UK, and Germany for World Wrestling All-Stars from October to December 2001.
45.
Konnan appeared on the inaugural Total Nonstop Action Wrestling pay-per-view on June 19,2002, in the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
46.
Konnan entered the Gauntlet for the Gold match for the vacant NWA World Heavyweight Championship, but he was chokeslammed and subsequently eliminated by Malice.
47.
Konnan then went to Maximum Xtreme Pro Wrestling, where he lost another heavyweight title match; this time against Simon Diamond for the MXPW Heavyweight Title on August 12,2002.
48.
Konnan lost yet another title match upon returning to World Wrestling Council, losing by disqualification to Carly Colon in a match for the Universal Heavyweight title at WWC 29th Aniversario on September 14,2002.
49.
Konnan finally won the title by defeating Colon on November 2,2002, only to lose the title back to Colon 21 days later.
50.
Konnan made two final appearances for World Wrestling All-Stars in May 2003, before the promotion folded.
51.
Konnan wrestled a tag match teamed with Norman Smiley for MXPW in September 2003.
52.
Konnan was teamed with Rikishi and lost to Cibernetico and La Parka by disqualification.
53.
At Lockdown on April 23,2006, Konnan was defeated by Armstrong in an arm wrestling contest held within the confines of a steel cage; following the bout, each member of the LAX received ten lashes from the James Gang.
54.
Konnan soon became the leader of the stable, which was active through 2009.
55.
On June 24,2006, Konnan participated in the first lucha libre event in San Diego.
56.
In early 2007, Konnan underwent hip replacement surgery, and his appearances in TNA from then on saw him frequently using a wheelchair.
57.
Konnan was teamed with Rikishi and lost to Cibernetico and La Parka by disqualification.
58.
Konnan soon became the leader of the stable, which was active through 2009.
59.
On June 24,2006, Konnan participated in the first lucha libre event in San Diego.
60.
Konnan returned to World Wrestling Council at WWC Euphoria Tour 2008 on January 6,2008, with Ron Killings of the 3 Live Kru, losing a tag team match against Eddy and Orlando Colon.
61.
In March 2008, Konnan sued TNA for racism and discrimination, alleging that while the company said that they would help pay for his hip replacement surgery, they did not.
62.
Konnan claimed that TNA helped pay for Scott Steiner's operation, but did not pay for Ron Killings's surgery from around the same time.
63.
On March 15,2009, Konnan lost a Hair vs Hair match against Vampiro Canadiense.
64.
Konnan continued to wrestle with La Legion until February 2010.
65.
Konnan then made a series of appearances for independent promotions again, beginning with his only appearance as a performer for El Hijo de Perro Aguayo's promotion Perros del Mal on November 6,2010.
66.
Konnan then took part in a Mixed Five-on-four Handicap Match on August 7,2011, where the team of Dr Wagner Jr.
67.
At Pro Wrestling Superstars' WrestleReunion VI held at The Westin Los Angeles Airport in Los Angeles, California, on January 28,2012, Konnan took part in a 20-man Battle Royal featuring Brutus Beefcake, Gangrel, Greg Valentine, and others.
68.
Konnan then defeated The Convict at High Impact Wrestling's HIW Summer Invasion 2012 at Treaty Grounds in La Loche, Saskatchewan, Canada on August 23,2012.
69.
Konnan wrestled what appears to be his final match to date on September 15,2013, in a six-man tag match.
70.
On March 20,2015, Konnan was ringside at a show organized by the independent promotion The Crash, in Tijuana, Mexico, when El Hijo del Perro Aguayo died in a freak accident during a match.
71.
Konnan was named Crash' Head of creative until December 2017, when he was released.
72.
In March 2017, Konnan returned to Impact Wrestling as the manager of The Latin American Xchange.
73.
On December 14,2018, Konnan challenged Low Ki in a no-disqualification match for his championship, in a losing effort.
74.
On November 17,2020, Konnan returned to TNT for the first time since 2001, when he appeared on an episode of AEW Dynamite.
75.
Konnan later appeared at AEW's marquee event Double or Nothing on May 30,2021.
76.
Konnan had a weekly podcast on MLW Radio which moved to The Jericho Network in July 2016.
77.
Konnan became the "first new voice" on the podcast network, which was started by Chris Jericho.
78.
The podcast, Keeping it 100 with Konnan is co-hosted by Glenn Gilberti.
79.
Konnan made an appearance at 2023 WWE Hall of Fame, inducting Rey Mysterio.