Gilberto Melendez

Infobox Wrestler
name=Gilberto Melendez


names=Gypsy Joe
Jan Madrid
Gene Madrid
Aztec Joe
Blue Inferno
El Grande Pistolero
Inferno I
height=height|feet=5|inches=10
weight=convert|225|lb|kg|abbr=on|lk=on
birth_date=birth date and age|mf=yes|1933|12|2
birth_place= Puerto Rico
resides= Tullahoma, Tennessee
billed= Villalba, Puerto Rico
trainer=Carlos Colon, Pedro Morales
debut= 1950s
retired=

Gilberto Melendez (born December 2, 1933) is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler better known under the ring name Gypsy Joe. Currently he wrestles for the Southern Wrestling Federation in Tullahoma, Tennessee.

Gypsy Joe is known for his longevity in the wrestling business. He was the first wrestler ever to jump successfully off a steelcage onto an opponent. He made his debut in the United States in 1963 after a lengthy career in Puerto Rico. He has continued to wrestle ever since and his career has gone well into the 2000s. [ [http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/g/gypsy-joe2.html Online World of Wrestling ] ] In April 2003 Joe was involved in a memorable hardcore match with New Jack in which, due to Joe no-selling throughout the match, New Jack legitimately attacked the sexagenarian with a chain, a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire and several other weapons. [Citation |last= |first= |title=New Jack attacks Gypsy Joe |url=http://www.wrestlinggonewrong.com/video/newjack_gypsyjoe.html |publisher=Wrestling Gone Wrong |date= |accessdate=2008-06-15]

In 2007, WWE Magazine named him the world's oldest wrestler at the age of 73. Joe continues to wrestle regularly in Tennessee and surrounding areas.

Championships and accomplishments

*Central States Wrestling:*NWA Central States Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Mr. Pogo:*NWA Central States Television Championship (1 time)

*International Championship Wrestling:*ICW United States Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Tojo Yamamoto

*Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling:*NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) (1 time) - with Louis Tillet

*NWA Iowa:*NWA World Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time) (First)

*NWA Mid-America | Continental Wrestling Association:*AWA Southern Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Skull Murphy :*NWA Mid-America Tag Team Championship (7 times) – with Leroy Rochester (1), Dutch Mantel (1), Buzz Tyler (1), Tojo Yamamoto (3), and Tom Renesto, Jr. (1):*NWA Six-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Tojo Yamamoto & The Beast:*NWA Southern Tag Team Championship "(Mid-America version)" (1 time) – with Frank Martinez:*NWA World Brass Knuckles Championship (1 time) (First):*NWA World Tag Team Championship "(Mid-America version)" (2 times) – with Frank Martinez

*Southern Wrestling Federation:*SWF Hardcore Championship (1 time)

*Stampede Wrestling:*NWA International Tag Team Championship "(Calgary version)" (1 time) - with Jim Wright

*United States Wrestling Association:*USWA Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

*Other Titles:*West Virginia Heavyweight Championship (3 times)

*Tennessee Wrestling Alliance:*TWA Hardcore Champion (2 times)

References

External links

* [http://www.wrestlingzone.ru/star/g/gypsyjoe Gypsy Joe profile at wrestlingzone.ru]