John R. Rivera (born October 28, 1982) is a Puerto Rican-American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is currently signed non-exclusively to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), better known by his ring name Rocky Romero (ロッキー・ロメロ Rokkī Romero). Rivera is known for his tenure as the fourth incarnation of Black Tiger and for his accomplishments as a tag team wrestler. He was member of tag teams like The Havana Pitbulls/Los Cubanitos, No Remorse Corps, Forever Hooligans, and Roppongi Vice. Rivera made his in-ring debut on September 13, 1997 and over the years portrayed several different characters, including the masked characters Havana Brother I, Black Tiger and Grey Shadow and has wrestled extensively in Mexico (for both Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre and Lucha Libre AAA World Wide). In the United States he is most known for his work with Ring of Honor and was one of the featured wrestlers for Lucha Libre USA. As a singles wrestler, Romero won the CMLL World Super Lightweight Championship on three occasions, the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship (as Black Tiger) and the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. In the tag team division, he is a former three-time ROH World Tag Team Champion and a record eight-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion. Romero's wrestling style incorporates stiff shoot-style kicks and multiple armlock variations resembling mixed martial arts, competing in lucha libre style events in Mexico early in his career. Professional wrestling career Early career (1997–2009) Rivera made his wrestling debut in 1997, using the ring name Rocky Romero. He was trained by Antonio Inoki at the NJPW Dojo in Los Angeles. His career has taken him through promotions in the Southern California region to Mexico, where he competed successfully for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), the world's oldest wrestling promotion, and in Japan where he has worked most notably in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, (NJPW) where he was chosen to become the fourth incarnation of Black Tiger, the villainous gaijin opponent of Tiger Mask (in this case Tiger Mask IV). On October 8, 2005, Romero, as Black Tiger, defeated Tiger Mask for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. After a four-month reign, Tiger Mask regained the title from his nemesis. Romero made his debut in Pro Wrestling Noah on March 4, 2007, versus Mushiking Terry, casting into doubt the future of the Black Tiger persona. Romero, however, did compete as Black Tiger in August