On a humid night in June in western Pennsylvania, I sat alongside Mike “Doc” Daugherty on commentary for the indywrestling.us broadcast of the Renegade Wrestling Alliance, a blue collar league based in West Newton with a dedicated fan base, event that had a cage match at the top of the card.
Before the steel was set up against the ring apron, the night had a full line-up of matches on tap for the rabid West Newton gym. The building is aged, but has an atmosphere that can’t be duplicated anywhere else among the stellar Pittsburgh scene. Through the wooden doors of the venue, it’s almost as if you, Doc Brown, and Marty McFly hopped into the DeLorean to hit 88 MPH to travel back in time.
The packed gym has an environment of a throwback to the territory days of the sport. The fans rally behind the baby face, and in some cases, there’s absolute legitimate hatred for the villains. There’s a literal stage with a full entrance set up with a ramp way. It’s not uncommon for the way to shake when the paying customers stomp their feet and chant loudly in some of the more dramatic moments during events.
Back to that sweaty night in June, when Dios Salvador, a talented grappler based out of Ohio, made his way to the ring clad with a Mexican flag tied around his waist, a slight way to generate some old school anti-American heat, security actually had to hold back a fan that got into a near physical altercation with the sports entertainment heel.
In a true nod to the nature of show business, in direct contrast to his in-ring persona, the man behind the menacing character is actually a prime example of the American dream.
Dios is a first generation American on his father’s side, as his dad is a native of Villanueva Zacatecas. Mexico, while his mom is of Irish decent. Athletics ran in the family on her side, Dios’ grandfather declined a potential path in professional baseball to serve in the armed forces during the Korean war.
“I guess you can say regardless of it’s the Mexican or the Irish in me, fighting is in the blood. As Mexican, Irish, and American I know hard work. Pride and passion are put into everything I do, and I’m positive that comes from my heritage,” Dios explained.
His discovery of the sport was rather typical, he was initially hooked in the early-90s and became all-in on the spectacle of sports entertainment during the fierce competition of the Monday night wars that set ratings records. Of course, he identified with the dazzling luchadors on Nitro, seeing someone from a common background give him the first indication that he might be able to do what he became enthralled with on television.
As much as his discovery of the sport was typical, his introduction to the business was anything but ordinary.
When Dios was just 16, he started training under longtime stalwart of the Buckeye state, Lou Marconi, who also has a notable place among the Pittsburgh scene through his work in Steel City Wrestling, a group promoted by the godfather of the Pittsburgh independents, Norm Connors, in the 90s. Salvador continued training under the guidance of independent icon, Josh Prohibition, and later continued to polish his skills with the late, JT Lighenting under the Cleveland All Pro Wrestling banner.
“I really honed my early years, but I also was put into a position to help others. It was a great learning experience to help JT teach and train, helping a very young Johnny Gargano and others in their first steps in the business,” Salvador said of his time with Cleveland All Pro.
“Training under Josh Prohibition, I believe gave me a perfect blend of classic and new age training that I believe helped me stay believable and entertaining in my second chapter,” he added when he discussed his trainers.
At the age of just 17, Dios Salvador made his debut in professional wrestling, and by 2005, after he had a few years of experience under his belt, he was one of the early faces of the newly-launched Absolute Intense Wrestling, a group that has solidified itself as one of the top independent leagues in the country in the two decades since that time. AIW provided Dios with some valuable opportunities to have matches against Ray Rowe and Sterling James Keenan several years before either of them landed on WWE television. He had a similar experience in CAPW when he competed against top names like Matt Cross, Josh Prohibition, Chris Sabin, the previously mentioned Gargano, and others.
In his early-20s at that point, Dios was hitting his stride as a performer and keeping pace with his peers that would go on to reach some of the top organizations in the industry. However, enlightening news and then a devastating tragedy altered not only the trajectory of his wrestling career, but of his entire life.
In late-2007, Dios found out that he would be welcoming twins into the world as he was going to become a father. Complications led to an emergency C-section for the twins, Liana and Analis, were born at just six months to term. Tragically, Analis passed away just two weeks later. Liana survived the tramatic birth, which Dios considers a miracle. The tiny baby that was born after just six months to term is now a young lady that is getting ready to graduate high school this year. Still, the experience had such an impact on Salvador that he decided to devote himself fully to his family, leaving pro wrestling behind him.
“That event coupled with outside the ring stresses and stuff really forced me to walk away from wrestling with pretty much no notice,” he explained.
It wasn’t until after the pandemic shuttered the entire world that Dios even considered a comeback to the squared circle. After the global emergency, he thought that he’d rather give pro wrestling one more chance so that he didn’t look back with any regrets. He began traveling and training with a true staple of the Ohio circuit, J-Rocc, a longtime pro with almost 30 years of experience in the business.
Upon his return to the ring just a few years ago, Dios Salvador confirmed what many thought when he first stepped into a wrestling ring in his teenage years, he’s a natural in the squared circle.
“In my second run this time around, I know traveling and working with J-Rocc in ring and angles gave me a better understanding of story telling both inside and out the ring,” he remarked.
“I have no time to talk to people like you, but there’s a reason that Dios Salvador was hand picked to be my right hand man. He’s top shelf liquor in a swill of cheap drafts on tap!,” J-Rocc said via phone before he abruptly hung up.
Older and wise, Dios cites a more well-rounded viewpoint of the industry to bring the absolute best work of his career to the table in his comeback to the sport.
“Since returning after the pandemic, my biggest highlights have been my ability to do business. To go into a promotion or territory and create emotional connections with fans. heel or face and get them to invest in the show and building crowds, while still helping the younger talent,” he commented.
Dios has zigzagged all across his home state for a variety of promotions, but when it comes to the ability to get the crowd to emotional invest in the result of the storylines, Dios Salvador has been one of the shining performers of the RWA organization mentioned earlier.
“Man, talk about a promotion that kind of represents the old ECW arena crow with their passion and enthusiasm. It’s been a heck of a lot of work to get traction there with the established roster. When I first hopped in a car with J-Rocc and came there in 2022 to finally getting a look and platform to show my ability in 2025. it’s a testament of hard work, determination, and what being hungry, but still humble can do,” Dios said.
The biggest takeaway from the story of Dios Salvador is probably a lesson in perseverance, as when life circumstances took him away from the ring, he eventually found his way back to the squared circle to continue to showcase his skills. Of course, it’s an ironic contrast between the man behind the in-ring persona, but that’s a textbook example of show business, as Dios always looked to give the fans their money’s worth, even if he generated jeers from the paying audience.
For more information about Dios, you can go to https://www.facebook.com/dios.salvador.35
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Until next week
-Jim LaMotta
Email [email protected] | You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @jimlamotta89
