Carlito

Carlito is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler best known for and currently signed to WWE where he performs on SmackDown. His real name is Carlos Edwin Colón Coates Jr. and and is the son of Carles Colon.

Early Life

Carlito was born in the state of San Juan in Puerto Rico on February 21, 1979. He was born to the wrestling icon Carles Colon and his wife Nancy. He is the oldest of the four siblings - two boys and two girls. Two of the three younger siblings entered the world of pro wrestling during their youth.

Colon graduated from Colegio San Ignacio de Loyola in 1997. He was quite interested in building a good physique for a very long time and went to the gym way before thinking of making a career in pro wrestling.

Also Read: What Ethnicity is Carlito?

Carltio Pro-Wrestling Career

World Wrestling Council (1999-2003)

World Wrestling Council is a Puerto Rican professional wrestling promotion founded and owned by Carles Colon Sr., Carlito’s father. Thus, it was natural from him to join the promotion once he entered the world of pro wrestling. It was in 1999 when Carlito first worked for WWC. He started working as a Cameraman in July that year before being gradually introduced in the programming.

He became a part of a rivalry between Ray Gonzalez and Colon Sr. The next year, he defeated Gonzalez to become the youngest WWC Universal Heavyweight Champion. Most of his first stint in WWC pitted Carlito against Gonzalez, whether in singles action or in tag team drama alongside his brother Eddie Colon.

In June 2003, Carlito signed a developmental contract with WWE and was assigned to Ohio Valley Wrestling, the development territory which had given the likes of Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Randy Orton and Batista to WWE in 2002. He competed his last match at WWC against Mike Awesome before bidding farewell to the fans.

WWE (2003-2010)

Carlito performed under the ring name Carly for about a year during his time at OVW. During his time on the developmental brand, he fought alongside the likes of John Morrison, Damien Sandow, Joey Mercury, Matt Morgan, Shad Gaspard, Chris Masters, Abdullah The Butcher, Paul London, Hardcore Holly and more.

Before finalising the name Carlito, he was given names like Carly and Carlitos Colon, which he used in dark matches. He made his SmackDown debut on October 7, 2004 as Carlito Carribean Cool. In what is considered to be one of the greatest debuts of all time, Carlito defeated John Cena in his first-ever match to become the WWE United States Champion. He infamously used a steel chain to knock Cena out.

He entered a undefeated streak of 14 matches, defeated the likes of Rey Mysterio, Rob Van Dam and Hardcore Holly to retain his title. He lost the title back to Cena at Survivor Series after a reign of 42 days. He suffered a legitimate injury that night and was out of in-ring action for a few months, while continuing to make on-screen appearances, where he created a talk show named Carlito’s Cabana.

He joined Monday Night RAW in 2005. Recreating his epic debut from SmackDown, Carlito defeated Shelton Benjamin on his RAW debut to win the Intercontinental Championship, which he lost to Ric Flair. At New Year’s Revolution, Carlito entered the Elimination Chamber match for WWE Championship and eliminated Kane, Chris Masters and Shawn Michaels. He finished second in the match, losing to the champion John Cena.

Following a few failed attempt at Intercontinental title, Carlito began an on-screen romance with Trish Stratus, whom he also teamed up in a few Mixed tag team matches. He had a feud with Randy Orton during this time, where he lost two matches but won the last match at Tribute to the Troops. After Stratus’ retirement from wrestling, Carlito had a love angle with Torrie Wilson as well. Up until 2008, Carlito was featured in multiple mid-card title matches, world championship matches, ladder matches and the tag titles alongside Santino Marella, but failed to win any gold.

Carlito was drafted to SmackDown in 2008 and formed a tag team with his brother Edwin Colon. In September that year, the two defeated Curt Hawkings and Zack Ryder to become the WWE Tag Team Champions. At WrestleMania 25, they defeated World Tag Team Champions Miz and Morrison and became the first-ever tag team to hold both the titles and unified the titles.

They were defeated by Edge and Chris Jericho at The Bash 2009 for the Unified titles. Following their loss, Carlito turned on Primo and both started fighting each other. He feuded against the likes of Kofi Kingston and John Cena for the rest of the year. In 2010, he became one of the eight Pros to the NXT rookies and was assigned Michael Tarver. On May 21 that year, he was released by WWE on the grounds of violation of the wellness policy.

Second stint with WWC & Indies (2010-2023)

At WWC’s Aniversario 2010, Booker T competed in The Three Faces of Fear match where he had to face three surprise superstars. It was in this match he made his return to the promotion owned by his father. In November, he defeated Shelton Benjamin to become the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship. During his time with WWC, Carlito has won and lost the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship quite a number of times. Throughout his WWC career, Carlito has won the title 17 times. Only Ray Gonzalez (22 times) and his father Carles Colon Sr. (26 times) have won more.

Moreover, throughout his WWC career, Carlito has held the title for 1318 days. Only Ray Gonzalez (1963 days) and Carles Colon Sr. (3945) have held the gold for more days. Besides the Universal Heavyweight, he has also won the WWC World Tag Team Championship twice, WWC Television Championship, WWC Carribean Heavyweight Championship and WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Championship once. His second stint with WWC came to an end in 2020.

After his release from WWE in 2010, Carlito not only worked with the WWC, but also performed quite a bit on the independent circuit. He performed on promotions such as Big Time Wrestling, Family Wrestling Entertainment, Magnum Pro Wrestling, Qatar Pro Wrestling, and Wrestling Alliance Revolution.

Return to WWE (2023-Present)

Carlito first made an appearance on WWE in 2014 where he, alongside his siblings, inducted his father into the WWE Hall of Fame. In January 2021, he made a surprise appearance on Royal Rumble from ThunderDome, entering number eight, but was eliminated by Elias. He teamed up with Jeff Hardy on next RAW, which was his first match in WWE after more than a decade.

At May 6, 2023, Bad Bunny faced Damian Priest at Backlash 2023 in Puerto Rico. The Judgment Day interfered to held Priest while Latino World Order sided with Bunny. Towards the end, Carlito made a surprise return to WWE to help Bunny pick up the victory and officially became a member of the new Latino World Order. At Fastlane in October, Carlito returned and teamed with Rey Mysterio and Santos Escobar to defeat Bobby Lashley and Street Profits in a Six Man Tag Team match.

Carlito Family

Carlos Colon Sr. (Father)

Born on July 18, 1948, Carlos Colon Sr. is the patriarch of the Colon wrestling family. A WWE Hall of Famer, he also founded and owned the promotion World Wrestling Council (WWC) wher he is also the record 26-times WWC Universal Heavyweight Champion.

Also Read: Who was Carlito's father, Carles Colon Sr?

Nancy Colon (Mother)

Nancy Colon was born and raised in Canada and married the Puerto Rican wrestler Carlos Colon. Not much is known of her past and age, as the Colon family has always kept its personal matters private.

Primo / Eddie Colon (Brother)

Eddie Colon signed with WWE in 2007 and was involved with the promotion for about 13 yeas before being released by the company during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, he has returned to WWC. He was born on December 21, 1982, and is the younger brother of Carltio.

Stacy Colon (Sister)

Stacy Colon is the younger sister of Carlito. She worked as a valet and wrestler in WWC in the 2000s. She also competed in a handful of matches during her time there.

Orlando Colon / Epico (Cousin)

Born on March 24, 1982, Orlando Colon is the nephew of Carlos Colon Sr. and cousin of Carlito. He worked with WWC from 2006 to 2010 before signing with WWE that year. For the next ten years or so, he teamed up alongside his cousin Primo in a tag team named Primo and Epico. He was released in April 2020 and made his return to WWC then.

Carlito Wife

As per numerous sources, Carlito is currently not married to anyone in 2023.

Carlito Net Worth

As per various sources, Carlito has a net worth of approximately $5-6 Millions in 2023.

Championships & Accomplishments

Carlito's Height, Age, Finisher and more