Early years (1966–1973) Due to his admiration for wrestlers
Antonino Rocca and
Miguel Pérez, Colón became a member at the gym they trained at in New York, practicing wrestling moves and cleaning the place occasionally to pay his dues. His dedication and affability helped him gain the respect of his peers, as well as the occasional wrestling match. His first bout occurred in
Boston, Massachusetts, on February 16, 1966, when he wrestled Hobo Brazil. However, the outcome of this match was not made official or aired on NWA television. Flair received the belt back in a phantom title change that took place on January 23, 1983. Later that year, Colón required hospitalization due to injury following a match against Bruiser Brody. This loss was publicized and made the covers of
El Nuevo Día and
El Vocero, both of which are mainstream newspapers. Two weeks later, Colón defeated Brody in a rematch. In December 1983, Capitol Sports Promotions began a feud between Colón and Flair, which included a skit where the NWA champion criticized Capitol's title claiming that he was the only "real world champion", leading to a steel cage match to determine the "undisputed champion of the Universe". The encounter headlined an event held in Bayamón on December 18, 1983. Colón won cleanly, and the WWC World Heavyweight Championship was renamed to Universal Heavyweight Championship as a result. However, Colón left this retirement on September 8, 2012, defeating Félix "Barrabás" López in his return. After Carly Colón turned on him and gained control of the heel faction, Colón joined
Gilbert Cruz and Ray González in a three-on-three match against his son, López and
Germán Figueroa, but his team lost. On February 9, 2013, he lost to Savio Vega in a match for WWC's ownership. This evolved into a feud with the heel faction, while a secondary storyline involved a legal battle over the promotion. Colón defeated José Huertas González to recover ownership of WWC, but lost a rematch the following month. At Aniversario 2013 he teamed with Stacy Colón and defeated José Huertas González and "La Tigresa" Soldelina Vargas. Colón announced another short-lived retirement. He returned at Lockout 2013, resuming this feud by losing to Huertas González in an ambulance match, with both wrestling a no contest at Euphoria 2014. Colón's name began being rumored as a possible inductee to the
WWE Hall of Fame in late 2011. Despite expressing joy at the idea of accompanying
Pedro Morales, he dismissed this as a rumor and noted that WWE personnel had not formally contacted him. Ultimately, the 2012 Class did not include him. The following year, Eddie and Orlando Colón noted that they supported a potential induction. On March 11, 2014, Colón was officially announced as part of that year's class. He considered it the "realization of a dream" and admitted that at one point, he began to doubt that he was ever being inducted. WWC held a series of homages, the first of which was held by his immediate family. A more formal ceremony was held on March 30, 2014, and included the participation of long-time rival Chicky Starr, who participated in a skit where he expressed his respect and ended their animosity. The promotion went on to announce a Puerto Rico-wide tour, "La Despedida de Carlitos Colón", which would mark Colón's final retirement. ==Personal life==