William Perry Blake III, better known by the ring name "Hard Rock" Ricky Blues, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and trainer who competed in the East Coast and Mid-Atlantic independent circuit during the 1990s and 2000s.
16 Facts About Ricky Blues
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Ricky Blues is regarded as a pioneering cruiserweight wrestler and dominated the Baltimore-area, especially in the Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation and Maryland Championship Wrestling, in the early to mid-1990s.
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Ricky Blues was the first MEWF Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight Champion.
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Ricky Blues was a 3-time MEWF Tag Team Champion with Nick Tarentino, Flexx Wheeler and The New Patriot.
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Ricky Blues was an instructor for the Baltimore Monster Factory, the MCW school Bone Breakers, and Gillberg's Academy of Pro Wrestling.
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Ricky Blues spent his first year in various East Coast and Mid-Atlantic independent promotions.
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In 1991 the Universal Independent Wrestling organization earned a television program on Maryland local channel 13 WJZTV, and Ricky Blues performed as a masked wrestler called Watsumi The Rising Sun, where he displayed his aerial wrestling style combined with martial arts to become a company and fan favorite.
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Later that year, Ricky Blues began teaming with Nick Tarentino as Sonic Express.
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Later, on November 14,1998, Ricky Blues lost to Adam Flash in Hampstead, Maryland in a match for the vacant MEWF Mid-Atlantic Championship.
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Ricky Blues took on MCW Heavyweight Champion The Bruiser two months later at a special MCW show near Ocean City, Maryland on June 10,2000.
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On July 19, Ricky Blues wrestled Balls Mahoney at the 2000 Shane Shamrock Memorial Cup in Glen Burnie.
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Ricky Blues accepted and was welcomed into the manager's "heel" stable, The Congregation, with The Holy Rollers.
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However, Ricky Blues did not remain with The Congregation for very long as he soon went into retirement by the end of the year.
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Ricky Blues made several appearances on MCW events in 2010 and 2011, teaming with his son, R K Ricky Blues JR in a series of matches against Agent Orange, and then later, old foe Rip Sawyer, of the Cream Team.
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In 2011 Ricky Blues was inducted into the Maryland Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame, at a special event in Dundalk, Maryland, alongside fellow inductees Tom Brandi, Pro Wrestling Illustrated luminary Bill Apter, the Holy Rollers tag team Earl the Pearl Hart and Ramblin' Rich Myers, and Dan McDevitt.
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In 2013 Ricky Blues founded the organization called PIN, or Pioneers of the Independent Networks.