Dan Maff

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Dan Maff
Bed Stuy Do-or-Die, Brooklyn, New York, Bayonne, New Jersey
Trained byHomicide
Magic
Debut1999

Daniel Lopez (born October 28, 1973), better known by his ring name Dan Maff, is an American professional wrestler, known for his time with Ring of Honor (ROH).

Professional wrestling career

Da Hit Squad

Lopez attended Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW) shows as a fan and enrolled in the JAPW training school when it opened in the late 1990s. After training for several months, Lopez began attending Homicide's training school, The Doghouse, in New York City. When his training was completed in 1999, Lopez adopted the name "Mafia" and formed a tag team with another Doghouse graduate who he resembled, Monsta Mack.

Mafia and Mack, collectively known as Da Hit Squad, began wrestling on the

Jersey Championship Wrestling's Tag Team Championship in 2000. In 2001, the duo won titles in World Xtreme Wrestling and USA Pro Wrestling. At one stage they held a total of six titles between them. After Mack injured his leg, he was unable to defend his half of the JAPW Tag Team Championship in a scheduled match on January 25, 2003, against the Dirty Rotten Scoundrelz. Lopez unsuccessfully defended the title in a handicap match
.

Jersey All Pro Wrestling (1999–2005)

Lopez won the

WWE employee brought into JAPW as an outside challenger. He won the title for a second time on December 13, 2003, defeating Jerry Lawler in Secaucus, New Jersey
.

On February 28, 2004, Lopez defended the JAPW Heavyweight Championship against his former partner, Monsta Mack. Lopez retained the title and embraced Mack after the match in a show of respect and camaraderie. The Dirty Rotten Scoundrelz were disgusted by the show of sportsmanship and attacked Lopez as he tried to leave the ring. Mack returned to the ring, but, instead of helping his former partner, assisted the Soundrelz with their assault on Lopez. Mack then formed a new version of La Familia with the Soundrelz and enlisted a number of heels to try to take the title away from Lopez. Lopez fought off a number of challengers, including

Jay Lethal
.

Ring of Honor (2002–2005)

Lopez (as "Mafia") and Mack appeared on The Era of Honor Begins, the inaugural

H.C. Loc and DeVito. In 2003, Da Hit Squad formed a loose alliance with Homicide. Lopez betrayed Mack on April 12, 2003, at Epic Encounter. Later that evening, Lopez went to the ring immediately after a match between Homicide and Christopher Daniels and indicated that he had joined forces with Daniels and his stable, "The Prophecy". Lopez was renamed "Dan Maff" and designated "the assassin
of The Prophecy".

Lopez's singles career in ROH began on May 31 at Do Or Die, where he defeated

Julius Smokes and Low Ki
, who accused him of "forgetting his roots".

On June 14 at Night of the Grudges, The Prophecy (Lopez, Daniels and

stiff
kick from Low-Ki.

In late 2003, Lopez competed in the annual Field of Honor event, but was eliminated by B. J. Whitmer. Whitmer joined The Prophecy on December 22 at Final Battle 2003, and confessed that he had been behind a career-ending attack on

Fight Without Honor" and shook hands with their opponents after the match. Whitmer and Lopez captured the ROH Tag Team Championship for a second time at the third ROH anniversary show on February 19, 2005, in Elizabeth, New Jersey, defeating the Havana Pitbulls
.

Retirement

In March 2005, Homicide issued a number of statements accusing Lopez of "betraying" him and announcing that he would not work for any company which hired Lopez in the future.[2] As a result, Lopez retired from professional wrestling. The titles, which he held at the time, were vacated although he kept both of the physical belts themselves. JAPW openly acknowledged the situation between Lopez and Homicide.

Return to the independent circuit (2005–present)

Lopez broke his retirement on October 8, 2005, unsuccessfully challenging El Chicano for the IWA Puerto Rico Heavyweight Championship in Levittown.

In February 2009, Lopez arrived at American Championship Entertainment (ACE) in Union City, New Jersey after multiple cryptic videos and comments on the ACE message board, in the ring, face to face, Lopez was challenging the current champion for the belt during the next show "Destined For Greatness". On March 21, 2009, Lopez defeated Hollywood Joe Hardway for the Heavyweight Championship.

Lopez was a surprise guest at Jersey All Pro Wrestling's June 28 event in Jersey City, New Jersey. Maff made his return after the World Heavyweight Title bout between Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega and New Jersey State Champion, The Grim Reefer. Lopez and Homicide did appear at the same show at the Elks Lodge in Queens on July 12, 2010. On June 27, 2009, Lopez defeated Jay Lethal to win the JAPW Heavyweight Title for the third time.

Lopez also worked for other independent promotions. On March 19, 2010, Lopez defeated Rob Fury, El Shoes and

Xavier
at the ICW return show "Reborn" at the Elks Lodge in Queens, New York. he also wrestled for Pro Wrestling Syndicate (PWS).

On May 13, 2011,

Jushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask in a six-man tag team match, where they defeated CHAOS (Shinsuke Nakamura, Gedo and Jado).[5] On the final day of the tour in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Maff teamed with Satoshi Kojima in a match, where they were defeated by the IWGP Tag Team Champions, Bad Intentions (Giant Bernard and Karl Anderson).[6]

On August 19, 2011, Maff became Impact Championship Wrestling's Heavyweight Champion after winning one-day tournament. He defeated Azrieal in the first round, Devon Moore in semifinal and Danny Demanto in final.[7]

On August 15, 2014, Maff made a surprise appearance for House of Glory Wrestling in Queens, New York. He was a last minute replacement for Jay Lethal and took the loss against Anthony Gangone. In June 2015, Maff became Pro Wrestling Syndicate Champion by defeating Mario Bokara and Fallah Bahh in a Tri Force Match.

Since 2016, Maff has been a mainstay at Pat Buck's WrestlePro. On November 18, 2016, Maff became WrestlePro's first Silver Champion.

Return to Ring of Honor (2019–2020)

In November 2019, Maff made his return to Ring of Honor, facing

PCO in a match. After his good performance, ROH offered him a contract, which he signed. However, in October 2020, his profile was removed from ROH website.[8]

Championships and accomplishments

Maff after beating Low Ki for the JAPW Heavyweight Championship in 2012

References

  1. ^ a b "Ring Of Honor Tag Team Championship". Ring of Honor. Archived from the original on 2010-04-12. Retrieved 2010-04-05.
  2. ^ "FHWrestling.com - Wrestling News, Rumors, Spoilers, Results » Homicide Speaks on the Dan Maff Situation". Archived from the original on 2007-01-27. Retrieved 2007-02-03.
  3. ^ 初日から大熱狂も、真壁がライノに敗戦! 新設ベルト争奪戦は？ 5.13ニュージャージー大会詳細アップ!!. New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). 2011-05-14. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
  4. ^ Martin, Adam (2011-05-14). "5/13 New Japan Pro-Wrestling Results: Rahway, NJ". WrestleView. Archived from the original on 2012-10-01. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
  5. ^ Martin, Adam (2011-05-15). "5/14 New Japan Pro-Wrestling Results: New York". WrestleView. Archived from the original on 2011-05-22. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
  6. ^ "(Results) New Japan, 5/15/11 (USA)". Strong Style Spirit. 2011-05-15. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
  7. ^ a b "ICW: August 19, 2011 - "Crowning A Champion" results". Impact Championship Wrestling. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved 2011-08-21.
  8. ^ "Two Names Removed From Ring Of Honor Website Roster And More Roh Notes". PWInsider.com. 2020-10-25. Retrieved 2022-05-13.
  9. ^ "Beyond Tournament For Tomorrow 4 - Tag 2 « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". Archived from the original on 2015-12-07.
  10. ^ "Independent Wrestling Results - December 2003". onlineworldofwrestling.com. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
  11. ^ "JAPW Hall of Fame, Class of 2016 Inductees Announced!". Archived from the original on 2016-10-22. Retrieved 2016-10-21.
  12. ^ "NEW Tag Team Championship". CageMatch. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  13. ^ "PPW Tag Team Championship « Titles Database « CAGEMATCH - the Internet Wrestling Database". Archived from the original on 2016-03-06. Retrieved 2016-02-28.
  14. ^ "PWS Heavyweight Championship « Titles Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". Archived from the original on 2014-02-28.
  15. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "WrestlePro Silver Championship". CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database. Archived from the original on October 15, 2022. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  16. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (April 10, 2022). "WrestlePro Alaska 3rd Anniversary Results (4/9): Killer Kross, Bear Country, Scarlett In Action". Fightful. Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved February 25, 2023.

External links

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