Tito Santana

Tito Santana
Santana in 2011
Birth name	Merced Solís
Born	(1953-05-10) May 10, 1953 (age 71) Mission, Texas, U.S.[1]
Spouse(s)	Leah Solis ​ (m. 1976)​
Children	3
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Dino Santana El Matador[1] Merced Solis Richard Blood[1] Tino Santana Tito Santana[2]
Billed height	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)[3]
Billed weight	234 lb (106 kg)[3]
Billed from	"Tocula, Mexico"[2]
Trained by	Hiro Matsuda Bob Orton
Debut	1977
Retired	2022
Football career
No. 72
Career information
CFL status	American
Position(s)	TE
College	West Texas A&M
Career history
As player
1975*	Kansas City Chiefs
1976	BC Lions
Career stats
Receptions	17
Rec. Yards	329
Touchdowns	1

Merced Solis (born May 10, 1953), better known by the ring name Tito Santana, is an American professional wrestler, trainer, and retired school teacher.^[2][4]

Solis has stayed a babyface character his entire career^[5][6] and is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation between 1979 and 1993 (missing part of 1980 and returning in 1983)^[7] where he was a two-time WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion and a two-time WWF Tag Team Championship with Ivan Putski in his first individual reign, and most notably with Rick Martel in his second individual reign. He also won the 1989 King of the Ring tournament and wrestled and won the first WrestleMania match against The Executioner and competed in the first nine, as well as helping bridge the gap between the 1980s "Rock 'n Wrestling Connection" era to the 1990s "New Generation" era.

Solis was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2004 and the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame class of 2013. During his time in the WWF, Solis, despite being born and raised in Mission, Texas, was billed from "Tocula, Mexico", which may be a misspelled reference to the city of Toluca. To this day, he still appears on the independent circuit while working as a school teacher until June 2023, when he retired from teaching.^[8][9]