The duo held the belts for little more than two weeks, but El Mongol recaptured a share of the title on April 18, 1966, with partner Buddy Austin, holding the championship for a further two months.

Under the tutelage of dapper manager Dandy Jack Crawford, El Mongol quickly became one of the promotion's top heels.

Molina completed the character's intimidating visual appearance with a Fu Manchu moustache, queue hairstyle and bare feet.

This reign lasted two months before he traded the belt with Mr. Wrestling and then Bobby Shane, making El Mongol a five-time champion in the space of one calendar year.

Upon going back to the GCW in January 1969 and resuming his feud with Crawford's stable, El Mongol was now billed as hailing from Lima, Peru.

El Mongol departed the GCW for the second time after losing in a six-man tag team match on July 18 that carried the stipulation that the wrestler who lost the fall would have to leave the promotion.

He quickly re-entered the title picture and defeated Nick Bockwinkel for the Television Championship on March 7 before losing it back two weeks later.

He moved on to Ann Gunkel's short-lived All South Wrestling Alliance (ASWA), where he co-held another Tag Team Championship with Ray Candy in 1973.

El Mongol proceeded to wrestle for another decade, briefly holding the AWA Southern Tag Team belts with Killer Karl Krupp during the summer of 1980 as a heel once again.

The Molinas expanded the operation to a larger site in downtown Atlanta six years later when business picked up due to his dad’s popularity and the great food served there.