Rocco Rock
Encyclopedia
Theodore James Petty was an American
professional wrestler
better known as "Flyboy" Rocco Rock, one half of The Public Enemy
.
with a degree in nutrition and a brief boxing
career.
Petty wrestled in the National Wrestling Alliance
in 1990, appearing at Starrcade
as Colonel DeKlerk. Along with Sergeant Krueger, he represented South Africa
in a tag team match, but the team lost to The Steiner Brothers
.
In 1993, he used the name Rocco Rock and formed a tag team
named The Public Enemy
with Johnny Grunge
, with a gimmick of inner city
criminals, or "hoodies
". The team first wrestled in the Universal Wrestling Federation
and Extreme Championship Wrestling
. In ECW, the team feuded with Terry Funk
and The Gangstas
and won the ECW Tag Team Championship
four times. Petty's success in 1995 earned him his highest placement in the annual PWI 500, in which he was ranked #90.
In 1996, The Public Enemy signed with World Championship Wrestling
, where they won the tag team titles and feuded with The Nasty Boys
. They continued to use some of the "extreme" tactics that had made them famous in ECW, including the frequent use of tables in match.
They were briefly in the World Wrestling Federation
in 1999 and competed in the short-lived Xtreme Wrestling Federation as the "South Philly Posse" with Jasmin St. Claire
as their manager.
Petty was competing as a singles wrestler in the independents
when he died of a heart attack
on September 21, 2002. He was 49 years old.
Every year the IWA-Mid South professional wrestling promotion
memorializes him by holding the Ted Petty Invitational
tournament. Previous winners include A.J. Styles
, Matt Sydal
, Low Ki, and Mike Quackenbush.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional wrestler
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
better known as "Flyboy" Rocco Rock, one half of The Public Enemy
The Public Enemy (professional wrestling)
The Public Enemy was a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Rocco Rock and Johnny Grunge. The duo competed in many promotions, including Extreme Championship Wrestling , World Championship Wrestling , National Wrestling Alliance , and the World Wrestling Federation...
.
Career
Ted Petty started wrestling in 1978 as The Cheetah Kid after graduating from Rutgers UniversityRutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
with a degree in nutrition and a brief boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
career.
Petty wrestled in the National Wrestling Alliance
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
in 1990, appearing at Starrcade
Starrcade (1990)
Starrcade '90 was the eighth annual Starrcade professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced under the National Wrestling Alliance banner. It was the third Starrcade event produced by World Championship Wrestling, and the last pay-per-view event held by the NWA. It took place on December 16,...
as Colonel DeKlerk. Along with Sergeant Krueger, he represented South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
in a tag team match, but the team lost to The Steiner Brothers
The Steiner Brothers
The Steiner Brothers are the professional wrestling tag team of American brothers Robert "Rick Steiner" Rechsteiner and Scott "Scott Steiner" Rechsteiner...
.
In 1993, he used the name Rocco Rock and formed a tag team
Tag team
Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...
named The Public Enemy
The Public Enemy (professional wrestling)
The Public Enemy was a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Rocco Rock and Johnny Grunge. The duo competed in many promotions, including Extreme Championship Wrestling , World Championship Wrestling , National Wrestling Alliance , and the World Wrestling Federation...
with Johnny Grunge
Johnny Grunge
Michael "Mike" Durham was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Johnny Grunge...
, with a gimmick of inner city
Inner city
The inner city is the central area of a major city or metropolis. In the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Ireland, the term is often applied to the lower-income residential districts in the city centre and nearby areas...
criminals, or "hoodies
Da Hood
Da Hood usually refers to an underclass big-city neighborhood, with high crime rates, low-income housing and a general mentality of despair and hopelessness...
". The team first wrestled in the Universal Wrestling Federation
Universal Wrestling Federation (Herb Abrams)
The Universal Wrestling Federation was an American wrestling promotion based out of Marina del Rey, California.-History:Herb Abrams founded the UWF in 1990 with hopes of returning professional wrestling back to its roots...
and Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1992 by Tod Gordon and closed when his successor, Paul Heyman, declared bankruptcy in April 2001...
. In ECW, the team feuded with Terry Funk
Terry Funk
Terrence "Terry" Funk is an American professional wrestler and actor known chiefly for the hardcore wrestling style he adopted in the latter part of his career that inspired many younger wrestlers, including Mick Foley...
and The Gangstas
The Gangstas
The Gangstas was a professional wrestling tag team and stable, most notably consisting of New Jack and Mustafa Saed in Extreme Championship Wrestling...
and won the ECW Tag Team Championship
ECW Tag Team Championship
The Extreme Championship Wrestling World Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in Extreme Championship Wrestling...
four times. Petty's success in 1995 earned him his highest placement in the annual PWI 500, in which he was ranked #90.
In 1996, The Public Enemy signed with World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
, where they won the tag team titles and feuded with The Nasty Boys
The Nasty Boys
The Nasty Boys are a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Brian Knobbs and Jerry Sags, active from the mid to late 1980s and throughout the 1990s. Their gimmick was that of anti-social punks who specialized in hardcore wrestling and brawling...
. They continued to use some of the "extreme" tactics that had made them famous in ECW, including the frequent use of tables in match.
They were briefly in the World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
in 1999 and competed in the short-lived Xtreme Wrestling Federation as the "South Philly Posse" with Jasmin St. Claire
Jasmin St. Claire
Jasmin St. Claire is a former pornographic actress who is best known for starring in "gang bang" pornographic movies, in which she has sex with large numbers of men continuously. She is also known for her work as a professional wrestling personality, most notably for ECW...
as their manager.
Petty was competing as a singles wrestler in the independents
Independent circuit
In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indy circuit refers to the many independent promotions which are much smaller than major televised promotions. They are roughly analagous to a minor league for pro wrestling, or community or regional theatre.Specific promotions on the...
when he died of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
on September 21, 2002. He was 49 years old.
Every year the IWA-Mid South professional wrestling promotion
Professional wrestling promotion
A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling. Promotion also describes a role which entails management, advertising and logistics of running a wrestling event...
memorializes him by holding the Ted Petty Invitational
Ted Petty Invitational
The Ted Petty Invitational tournament is an independent wrestling tournament in North America, run and promoted by Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South. Created as the Sweet Science Sixteen in 2000 by Ian Rotten, the tournament was originally supposed to showcase the top technical...
tournament. Previous winners include A.J. Styles
A.J. Styles
Allen Neal Jones , better known by his ring name A.J. Styles is an American professional wrestler currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
, Matt Sydal
Matt Sydal
Matthew Joseph Korklan is an American professional wrestler, also known as Matt Sydal and Evan Bourne. He is signed with WWE and wrestles on its Raw brand under the ring name Evan Bourne, where he is currently one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions with Kofi Kingston as Air Boom.Before signing...
, Low Ki, and Mike Quackenbush.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- PowerbombPowerbombA powerbomb is a professional wrestling throw in which an opponent is lifted up and then slammed back-first down to the mat. The standard powerbomb sees an opponent first placed in a standing headscissors position...
, usually through a tableTable (furniture)A table is a form of furniture with a flat and satisfactory horizontal upper surface used to support objects of interest, for storage, show, and/or manipulation...
- Powerbomb
- Signature moves
- Corner sitout powerbomb
- Diving elbow drop
- Diving leg drop
- Diving splash
- Front dropkick
- Hip toss
- Somersault senton, usually through a tableTable (furniture)A table is a form of furniture with a flat and satisfactory horizontal upper surface used to support objects of interest, for storage, show, and/or manipulation...
- Spinebuster
- Swinging neckbreaker
- MoonsaultMoonsaultA moonsault, moonsault press, or back flip splash is a professional wrestling aerial technique. Much of its popularity in American wrestling is attributed to The Great Muta, despite it being used in North America by "Leaping" Lanny Poffo years before Muta came from Japan.In a standard moonsault,...
, sometimes through 1 or 2 tables
- With Johnny GrungeJohnny GrungeMichael "Mike" Durham was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Johnny Grunge...
- Drive-By (Grunge throws Rock into an assisted somersault senton)
- ManagersManager (professional wrestling)In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
- Tod GordonTod GordonTod Gordon is the President of Carver W. Reed Co. Inc, a Philadelphia jewelry store and loan office that was established in 1860. He is also the founder of both defunct Professional wrestling promotions Eastern Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling...
- Jazzy/Jasmin St. Clair
- Kenny CasanovaKenny CasanovaKenny Casanova, born in May 1971, is a professional wrestler and professional wrestling manager with international success in semi retirement, and also a DJ...
- Tod Gordon
- NicknameNicknameA nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
s- "Flyboy"
Championships and accomplishments
- Cauliflower Alley ClubCauliflower Alley ClubThe Cauliflower Alley Club is a non-profit fraternal organization, which includes a newsletter and website, comprising both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America....
- Other honoree (1995)
- Eastern Championship Wrestling / Extreme Championship WrestlingExtreme Championship WrestlingExtreme Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1992 by Tod Gordon and closed when his successor, Paul Heyman, declared bankruptcy in April 2001...
- ECW World Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Johnny GrungeJohnny GrungeMichael "Mike" Durham was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Johnny Grunge...
- Hardcore Hall of Fame (2002)
- ECW World Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Johnny Grunge
- i-Generation Superstars of WrestlingI-Generation Superstars of Wrestlingi-Generation Wrestling Superstars of Wrestling was a small series of professional wrestling shows in 2000.The roster consisted of wrestlers who had previously achieved fame in other promotions. The tour promoted a World Championship, an International Championship and a Tag Team...
- i-Generation Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Johnny Grunge
- Independent Wrestling Association Mid-SouthIndependent Wrestling Association Mid-SouthIndependent Wrestling Association Mid-South is an independent professional wrestling promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky.- History :...
- IWA Mid-South Heavyweight ChampionshipIWA Mid-South Heavyweight ChampionshipThe IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Championship was the major title in the Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South based in Louisville, Kentucky...
(1 time)
- IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Championship
- Main Event Championship Wrestling
- MECW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Johnny Grunge
- National Wrestling AllianceNational Wrestling AllianceThe National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
- World
- NWA World Tag Team ChampionshipNWA World Tag Team ChampionshipThe National Wrestling Alliance World Tag Team Championship is the professional wrestling world tag team championship within the NWA framework.-History:...
(1 time) – with Johnny Grunge
- NWA World Tag Team Championship
- National
- NWA United States Tag Team ChampionshipNWA United States Tag Team ChampionshipThe NWA United States Tag Team Championship is a name used by several championships that were or currently are under the National Wrestling Alliance 's supervision:...
(1 time) - with Johnny Grunge
- NWA United States Tag Team Championship
- Pro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...
- PWI ranked him #457 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003
- Superstars of Wrestling
- SOW Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Johnny Grunge
- Turnbuckle Championship WrestlingTurnbuckle Championship WrestlingTurnbuckle Championship Wrestling was a Southeastern independent professional wrestling promotion based in Marietta, Georgia. It was founded by retired wrestler and former NWA World Heavyweight Champion Dusty Rhodes in 2000 and, during its three years in operation, held events throughout the...
- TCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Johnny Grunge
- Tri-State Wrestling Alliance
- TWA Brass Knuckles Championship (1 time)
- Universal Wrestling Alliance
- UWA Heavyweight Championship (2 times, first)
- UWA Tag Team Championship (1 time, first) - with Johnny GrungeJohnny GrungeMichael "Mike" Durham was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Johnny Grunge...
- Universal Wrestling Association
- UWA Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- World Championship WrestlingWorld Championship WrestlingWorld Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
- WCW World Tag Team ChampionshipWCW World Tag Team ChampionshipThe World Championship Wrestling Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in World Championship Wrestling...
(1 time) – with Johnny Grunge
- WCW World Tag Team Championship
- Other titles
- NWCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Johnny Grunge
- WCCA Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- WWWC Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)