Tito Santana

Tito Santana
Santana in 2011
Personal information
BornMerced Solís
(1953-05-10) May 10, 1953
Mission, Texas, U.S.
Spouse
Leah Solis
(m. 1976)
Children3
Professional wrestling career
Ring names
  • Dino Santana
  • El Matador
  • Merced Solis
  • Richard Blood
  • Tino Santana
  • Tito Santana
Billed height6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Billed weight235 lb (107 kg)
Billed from"Tocula, Mexico"
Trained by
Debut1977
Retired2022
Football career
No. 72
PositionTight end
Career information
CollegeWest Texas A&M
Career history
1975Kansas City Chiefs*
1976BC Lions
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career statistics
Receptions17
Rec. Yards329
Touchdowns1

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

Solis has stayed a babyface character his entire career and is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation between 1979 and 1993 (missing part of 1980 and returning in 1983) where he was a two-time WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion and a two-time WWF Tag Team Champion 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 and also worked as a schoolteacher until June 2023, when he retired from teaching.