His in-ring capabilities were hampered by a limited command of English, and Albano was assigned to be his mouthpiece.

The result was a Madison Square Garden sellout when Verdu faced Sammartino in June 1970, the first for the company in five years and a then-record gate for a wrestling event in that arena.

After losing that match, Verdu cycled out of the WWWF rotation, but Albano remained as the top heel manager for the next 15 years.

In 1976, Verdu won the NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship[6] defeating Gory Guerrero in Los Angeles.

In 1983, Verdu returned to the FFCP in France, once more as the masked Der Henker, where he held the French Heavyweight Championship around October that year,[7] before he retired from professional wrestling in Germany where he resided.