Peter John Ramos


Peter John Ramos Fuentes is a Puerto Rican professional basketball player and professional wrestler. He is the sixth athlete from Puerto Rico to play in the National Basketball Association and the third drafted, gathering success in the NBA Development League, where he was an All Star during the 2006–07 season. Ramos has also played in Baloncesto Superior Nacional, the Chinese Basketball Association and the Philippine Basketball Association. He was a member of the Puerto Rico national basketball team from 2004 to 2016, making his Olympic debut in the game where Puerto Rico defeated the United States at Athens.
As a professional wrestler, Ramos began his career in the World Wrestling Council in 2019.

Biography

Early life

Ramos' father abandoned their home when he was five years old. He would then travel to New York with his mother and siblings. Early in his life, Ramos' unusual height made him victim to verbal harassment. In 1999 when he was fourteen years old, already seven feet tall, Ramos was noticed by former basketball player Santiago Gotay in a clothing store. When Gotay learned that Ramos was born in Puerto Rico he contacted Felix Rivera, owner of the Criollos de Caguas in the National Superior Basketball.
Rivera decided to recruit Ramos and bring him to the BSN, and traveled to New York to offer him a contract, despite the fact he had not seen him play basketball. Ramos met members of his family when he came to Caguas and he began studies at the Colegio Bautista. Under the guidance of coach Leonel Arril, Ramos began learning the techniques of the basketball game. Ramos continued getting taller, and by 2004 he was already 7'3". He led his high school to two National Championships. In the Puerto Rican Basketball League, Ramos developed quickly and in 2002, he won the Most Improved Player Award. In 2003, he earned a spot in the Puerto Rico national basketball team and participated in the Pan American Games.

National Basketball Association

Ramos participated in the 2004 season of the BSN, finishing with averages of 20.4 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. In April Ramos announced he would enter the 2004 NBA Draft, hinting that he would withdraw if not a top 15 selection. On draft night, he was picked as the 32nd selection in the draft's second round, by the Washington Wizards. Frustrated with himself, Ramos abandoned the ceremony once the first round concluded.
During summer of 2004, Ramos participated with the Wizards during the NBA Summer Pro League, and was a member of the 2004 Puerto Rican National Basketball Team which defeated the United States in the 2004 Olympic Games.
During the 2004–05 NBA season Ramos played in six games scoring 11 points with 4 rebounds and 1 block. Ramos spent most of the year on the inactive/injured reserve list.
During the summer of 2005, Ramos participated with the Wizards during the NBA Summer Pro League for a second straight year.
At the start of the 2005–06 season Ramos was assigned to the Roanoke Dazzle of the NBA Development League. He was called up by the Wizards on January 19, 2006, and reassigned back to Roanoke on 21 January. Ramos finished the season in the NBA D-League second in blocks with 78.
In 2006 Ramos participated with the Wizards during the NBA Summer Pro League for a third straight year. And again represented Puerto Rico in the Basketball World Championship 2006. Ramos was waived by the Washington Wizards during 2006 Pre-Season Training Camp. On November 2, 2006, Ramos was drafted by the Idaho Stampede with the 9th pick of the first round of the 2006 NBA Development League draft. That season Ramos was selected as a participant for the NBDL All-Star Game, but did not participate in All Star game due to injury. On February 28, 2007, Ramos was waived by the Idaho Stampede due to injury. Ramos earned All-NBA Development League Honorable Mention for his 2006–07 performance.

Puerto Rico and Europe

In 2007 Ramos returned to the Criollos de Caguas of the National Superior Basketball after a two-year absence. He finished with an average of 17.5 points per game.
In 2007, Ramos represented Puerto Rico as a member of the Puerto Rican National Basketball Team during the 2007 Pan American Games, winning the silver medal.
Ramos signed with Alta Gestión Fuenlabrada to play in the 2007–08 season of the Spanish Liga ACB league. Ramos played the 2008 BSN season with averages of 17.5 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. He was selected as a starter in the 2008 BSN All-Star Game, where he was selected the game's most valuable player and scored twenty-two points and nine rebounds. While Caguas participated in the BSN "Super-6" round, Ramos claimed that he had matured since traveling to Spain, which helped him in his game. Ramos later played for the Piratas de Quebradillas, Capitanes de Arecibo and currently is playing with Los Brujos de Guayama in Puerto Rico.
In 2018, he returned to Puerto Rico,to play with the Leones de Ponce. He was selected as part the reserves of the All Star team for the league's all star game against the Puerto Rican National Team.

Asia

In 2011, Ramos signed with the Seoul Samsung Thunders in South Korea.
On November 7, 2011 he was released from Seoul Samsung Thunders after averaging 18.1 pts. and 9.9 reb. In December 2014, Ramos signed with the Kia Carnival at the Philippine Basketball Association and will play as an import for the team at the 2015 PBA Commissioner's Cup. Ramos was chosen by Kia head coach Manny Pacquiao for his shot blocking skills. Kia is banking on Ramos to turn its fortunes around after finishing its maiden PBA conference with a woeful 1–10 win-loss record.
In 2017, the 25th of February, Ramos signed with one of the best Clubs in Asia Club Sagesse from Lebanon.
In 2018, he joined Alab Pilipinas with fellow Puerto Rican, Renaldo Balkman. With Ramos and Balkman, the Philippine squad managed to dominate the league but fell short in two games against the Eastern Sports Club of Hong Kong in the playoffs.

Career stats

SeasonTeamLeague
2001Criollos de CaguasPuerto Rico BSN4?.000--.000.5.3??.0
2002Criollos de CaguasPuerto Rico BSN23?.410--.4002.6.3??2.4
2003Criollos de CaguasPuerto Rico BSN30?.530--.6008.61.0??12.3
2004Criollos de CaguasPuerto Rico BSN29?.510.000.5809.42.8??20.1
2005–06Roanoke DazzleD-League4429.3.594.000.6037.71.0.31.914.9
2006–07Idaho StampedeD-League3327.2.554--.6176.31.2.21.413.2
2007Criollos de CaguasPuerto Rico BSN30?.550.000.57011.21.7??16.2
2007–08Alta Gestión FuenlabradaLiga ACB2014.8.557.000.7394.2.1.41.16.3
2008Criollos de CaguasPuerto Rico BSN32?.570.333.7109.81.7??17.6
2008–09Alta Gestión FuenlabradaLiga ACB2615.0.612--.5604.0.2.2.56.0
2009Piratas de QuebradillasPuerto Rico BSN28?.660.250.53010.91.4??16.5
2009–10Zhejiang LionsChina CBA3830.7.682.000.67713.01.5.31.117.5
2010Piratas de QuebradillasPuerto Rico BSN16?.570.000.57011.61.7??18.8
2010–11Zhejiang LionsChina CBA3537.6.644.000.73813.91.9.71.224.8
2011Piratas de QuebradillasPuerto Rico BSN29?.550.220.70010.82.2??23.3
2011–12Seoul Samsung ThundersSouth Korea KBL1536.7.614.000.6119.83.2.41.221.5
2011–12Zhejiang LionsChina CBA3034.6.632.000.67013.31.8.3.921.9
2012Piratas de QuebradillasPuerto Rico BSN4030.4.599.250.6528.81.6.31.217.1
2012–13Zhejiang LionsChina CBA3534.0.655--.65211.01.5.4.922.7
2013Capitanes de AreciboPuerto Rico BSN3630.0.548.250.6478.81.4.1.514.6
2013–14Qingdao DoubleStarChina CBA3231.7.625.000.7559.51.5.3.720.5
2014Brujos de GuayamaPuerto Rico BSN4027.6.564.273.6217.81.4.21.013.0
2014Kia CarnivalPhilippines PBA1143.1.540.208.61821.23.0.01.235.9
2015Brujos de GuayamaPuerto Rico BSN3835.6.609.250.64011.81.6.1.922.7
2015Metros de SantiagoDominican LNB327.3.643--.72710.7.3.03.020.7
2014–15Jilin Northeast TigersChina CBA3427.4.584--.58410.0.9.3.619.1

Career accomplishments

World Wrestling Council (2019–present)

Ramos, whose brother-in-law is a professional wrestler and whose sister is a referee, first expressed interest in making a crossover into professional wrestling after his retirement in 2016, noting he had already declined invitations to do so. Two years later he reaffirmed this plan, believing that the retirement of several high-profile tall wrestlers created more opportunities to succeed. On September 18, 2019, Ramos made his first backstage appearance for the World Wrestling Council, becoming involved in a segment with Puerto Rico Heavyweight Champion Pedro Portillo III. This led to Ramos appearing as the guest referee of a retirement match between Ray González and Gilbert at Noche de Campeones. Prior to this, Carlos Colón Sr. noted that he was monitoring his progress.
Ramos was booked in a heel turn on González, afterward joining the villainous faction known as El Sindicato, which was disbanded at the end of the season. He is now part of a faction known as The Dynasty along with Eddie Colón and Gilbert. Ramos’ in ring debut took place on January 25, 2020, in a handicap match where he easily defeated two independent wrestlers. The following week he scored another swift win over Jax, a third party performer for the regional Borinquén Sport Promotion. An extreme rules match against fellow multi-sport athlete Carlos Cotto was scheduled for February 15, 2019, but later postponed when Ramos refused to perform in “a small town” by citing contractual clauses. This role actually helped his basketball career, since it allowed him to drop 30 pounds and begin the 2020 BSN season in shape.