By Juan Fourneau, Hola Iowa
In some ways Luis J. Fernandez Jr. is your typical senior at Theodore Roosevelt High school. He’s returning to classes this fall with an eye on wrestling in the winter and has a goal of reaching the state tournament in 2025. But the seventeen-year-old athlete is going to be starting the year with a different style of wrestling. He is officially going into the family business of professional wrestling when he makes his debut as “Javier Santiago” on September 28th in Des Moines at MVP DSM.
What makes his story even more interesting and rare is that he will be facing his father in his inaugural match.
His dad, Luis D. Fernandez Sr., age 40, began wrestling for 3XW in Des Moines on the independent scene as Cuco Santiago at the age of 27. He remembers his son finding his newfound passion exciting, enthralled as he watched from the front row. “He was always a huge fan of pro wrestling.” But as his son’s interest grew through the years, his dad was wary. “I was like no bud, let’s think about something else. I didn’t want him to put all his eggs in one basket, I wanted him to have something to fall back on. In the Indies you still have to have a 9-5. If you get hurt, you can’t work.”
But over the years his son’s deep passion for the sport convinced his father to reconsider his position. Fernandez Jr. began his training at The Forge Wrestling Academy in Marshalltown in April of 2024. The wrestling school is run by Austin Fouts, 27, who has wrestled on the Midwest independent circuit for years. The school has graduated over 50 students. Fouts had high praise for the young man. “Luis is somebody who gets it.”
One thing Fouts and Luis’ father have in common is a commitment to the youngster’s education. Fouts set the ground rules early. “I made a deal that he had to have passing grades to compete. If he were to let his grades slip, he’d be out of the program.”
The young Fernandez found some aspects of the training program tough. “For me it was the exercises. Doing 500 squats, 300 pushups.” However, as a second-generation talent, putting matches together and much of the training came easier for him than others.
A fan since he was three years old, the dedication Fernandez Jr. has for the sport is obvious when describing his dreams. “Short term my goal is to win the EWA Title, long term I hope to be a world champion. My main goal is to bring respect back to us Puerto Rican wrestlers because I personally feel we are not shown that much respect. With Damian Priest, he won the title, but he didn’t hold it that long.” He saw that as a lost opportunity as he drew inspiration from the WWE star who shares his Puerto Rican roots. “As a talent I think he’s great. As a wrestler he has done so much for our community in the little time he’s been in WWE. As a person I love him. When he won the world title at Mania, I normally don’t get emotional, but I’m not afraid to say I shed a couple tears when I saw him raise that title on the grandest stage.”
Most Latino pro wrestlers in the U.S. have Mexican roots, such as Rey Mysterio. But Puerto Rican culture has a long tradition of outstanding talent dating back to Pedro Morales being the WWWE (as it was known at the time) world heavyweight champion in 1971. Like the Roosevelt High senior, Morales made his professional debut at the tender age of 17. “Puerto Rico wrestling is a part of our culture. A big part of who we are,” explains Fernandez, Jr. “Anyone on the island knows of or loves pro wrestling.”
Fernandez Jr. counts Eddy Guerrrero as his favorite wrestler. When it comes to the wrestlers he studies to learn his craft, he leans towards Daniel Bryan, Buddy Murphy, “some older guys like Triple H, Shawn Micheals, Ric Flair, [for] a lot of the technical style.”
Fernandez Jr. understands how unique his circumstances are for a wrestler making their debut. To wrestle in your hometown is an exciting event, and to debut as a senior in high school against your father is truly an extraordinary moment. “It feels very surreal. I honestly didn’t think I would be here right now doing this. I fully thought I would make my debut at 20 or 22, so the fact I’m doing it at 17 is completely insane. My friends are super excited, they may be more excited than me, which is kind of hard to believe.”
Fernandez Jr. is very grateful for the help his father and Austin Fouts gave him as well as his head trainer Justin Fowler and his son Jace Fowler. “Jace was my training partner. Without him I don’t feel I would have graduated; I don’t think my graduation match would have been as good.”
Fernandez Jr. makes his debut against his dad as part of the Eminent Wrestling Alliance card, a series of matches the audience can expect at MVP DSM, located at 4600 Park Avenue Suite 4, in Des Moines on September 28. Doors open at 6pm with a bell time of 6:30. Tickets start at $10 and can be purchased online at, https://checkout.square.site/buy/GYW6UW2AMN5OFLYZ4W2PUQ7F
More information can be found on EWA’s Facebook Page. https://www.facebook.com/EWAiowa
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