In the wrestling industry for over 40 years, veteran Jumbo Baretta is no more. Recently, the Cauliflower Alley Club shared the news that former wrestler Julio Barrera, a.k.a. Jumbo Baretta, has passed away.
“Rest in Peace, My Friend Jumbo Beretta. This one truly hurts. I am deeply saddened by the passing of Jumbo, a good friend whom I was honored and privileged to know for nearly 40 years. I send my sincerest condolences to his family and friends. Rest in peace old friend,” Cauliflower Alley Club wrote on social media.
Baretta's wrestling career began in 1986. He started his career by training under Boris Malenko, the father of Joe and Dean Malenko. Early in his career, he would work for various Florida promotions, including Championship Wrestling from Florida and the World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico. He also won the NWA Florida Tag Team Championship with Dennis Knight in 1989. The duo dropped the titles to Lou Perez and Mark Starr a month later.
Later on, from 1989 to 1990, Baretta worked for World Championship Wrestling [WCW], where he had matches against Sting, Tommy Rich, the Rock ‘n' Roll Express, and the Road Warriors. In 1989, he also wrestled for the Japanese promotion, Universal Wrestling Federation. Having worked a few matches for WCW, Baretta also wrestled a couple of matches in WWE (then known as WWF) in 1995, where he lost against Kama and The Blu Twins (Eli Blu & Jacob Blu). Later, in his career, he worked for various promotions and wrestled his last match in 2013.
The unfortunate news comes just days after the passing of AEW's PAC and another former AEW wrestler, “The Butcher” Andy Williams. As of now, the cause of Baretta's death is not known.
Rest in Peace, My Friend Jumbo Beretta.
This one truly hurts. I am deeply saddened by the passing of Jumbo, a good friend whom I was honored and privileged to know for nearly 40 years. I send my sincerest condolences to his family and friends. Rest in peace old friend. pic.twitter.com/3gJyxfZnyN
— Cauliflower Alley Club (@CACReunion) October 25, 2026