Pedro Morales - Retirement and Legacy

Retirement and Legacy

Following his retirement from the squared circle, Morales became a commentator for WWF's Spanish-language programming, the first time that a Puerto Rican performed this duty for an international promotion. He returned to this role working for World Championship Wrestling during the 1990s, narrating Monday Night Nitro and pay per views along Miguel Alonzo. This accomplishment has since been mimicked by Jack Meléndez and Willie Urbina. Morales has made few wrestling related appearances since his WCW days, the most recent being autograph signings in fan conventions, the first instance was at Wrestling Reunion III held in 2005 and the second at Wrestling Reunion 5 held in 2007, where he was reunited with Sammartino. Despite living a low profile life following his retirement, he has been the inspiration for homages and mentions throughout the decades that followed. Morales was inducted into the WWF Hall of Fame as part the 1995 class. Professional wrestling critics and purists have discussed his contributions to the discipline in widespread publications. Fernwood Gold III and Thor Jensen of UGO Networks listed Morales as the 36th best face wrestler in history, noting how he appealed to the fanbase in New York. His run as the first Latin American Intercontinental Champions is universally lauded. Bill Barnwell of IGN Sports also included Morales in the site's list of Top Intercontinental Champions, placing him in the sixth slot. Jeremy Thomas of 411.com ranked him fifth as part of a debate among the website's staff. In a similar discussion held at Slam! Sports, writer Greg Oliver considered him the best wrestler to hold the belt, stating that when "he held the title, there was a sense of honour and pride with it." WWE itself ranks Morales in the ninth spot in the "Intercontinental Champions" entry of their Top 25 series. The promotion mentions being the first wrestler to win the title twice and holding it for a combined record of over 600 days, more than any other wrestler, as merits for this recognition. WWE also included him in a compendium titled "Top 50 Good Guys in Wrestling History", which featured wrestlers that performed as fan favorites during their careers.

Outside of the WWE, he has received recognition as a Latin American and Hispanic pioneer in other promotions. On August 31, 2006, as part of a Total Nonstop Action Wrestling taping, Morales was mentioned by Konnan along Carlos Colón, Mil Mascaras and the Guerrero family, being acknowledged as Latinos that paved the way within the wrestling industry as part of an in-character celebratory speech following The Latin American Xchange's coronation as NWA World Tag Team Champions. In reality, Konnan credits him with " a lot" about the politics of wrestling and "the things you need to do in the ring to be a success in this business" during his time in WCW. From 2003 onwards, the World Wrestling Council has approached Morales and offered holding an Aniversario event in his honor, but he has declined the invitations so far. He was the centerpiece of the International Pedro Morales Fan Club, an independent organization that ran during the 1970s and that recruited members through wrestling magazines. Modern fan reaction has also been positive in regards to the historical significance of his accomplishments. Nate Scaccia, collaborator of Bleacher Report, considers Morales the best Intercontinental champion of all time, ranking first in the title's entry at the website's WWE Champion Series. Michael Robinson and Will Baker, amateur writers for the same site, also consider him the 31st best WWE wrestler in history and 11th greatest WWE Champion respectively. He repeated at the ninth place in a subsequent interpretation. Besides the wrestling and sports media, the mun2 network also featured Morales in an article that listed their selection for the "20 of the most memorable Latino wrestlers in WWE history" which was published in 2012.