Daniel Lopez (born October 28, 1973), better known by his ring name Dan Maff, is an American professional wrestler, known for his time with Ring of Honor (ROH).
Professional wrestling career
Da Hit Squad
Lopez attended Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW) shows as a fan and enrolled in the JAPW training school when it opened in the late 1990s. After training for several months, Lopez began attending Homicide's training school, The Doghouse, in New York City. When his training was completed in 1999, Lopez adopted the name "Mafia" and formed a tag team with another Doghouse graduate who he resembled, Monsta Mack.
Mafia and Mack, collectively known as Da Hit Squad, began wrestling on the northeastern independent circuit. They won the JAPW Tag Team Championship in 1999 and in Jersey Championship Wrestling's Tag Team Championship in 2000. In 2001, the duo won titles in World Xtreme Wrestling and USA Pro Wrestling. At one stage they held a total of six titles between them. After Mack injured his leg, he was unable to defend his half of the JAPW Tag Team Championship in a scheduled match on January 25, 2003, against the Dirty Rotten Scoundrelz. Lopez unsuccessfully defended the title in a handicap match.
Jersey All Pro Wrestling (1999–2005) Lopez won the JAPW Heavyweight Championship on February 22, 2003, in Woodbridge, New Jersey, defeating his trainer, Homicide. Inspired by his victory, Lopez left the partnership with Mack, who he defeated in a match for USA Pro Wrestling on March 8. Following a successful title defense against Slyk Wagner Brown, Lopez announced he was renaming himself "Dan Maff" and formed a stable with the Dirty Rotten Scoundrelz known as "La Familia". Lopez's title reign came to an end on August 1, 2003, when he was defeated by Al Snow, a WWE employee brought into JAPW as an outside challenger. He won the title for a second time on December 13, 2003, defeating Jerry Lawler in Secaucus, New Jersey.
On February 28, 2004, Lopez defended the JAPW Heavyweight Championship against his former partner, Monsta Mack. Lopez retained the title and embraced Mack after the match in a show of respect and camaraderie. The Dirty Rotten Scoundrelz were disgusted by the show of sportsmanship and attacked Lopez as he tried to leave the ring. Mack returned to the ring, but, instead of helping his former partner, assisted the Soundrelz with their assault on Lopez. Mack then formed a new version of La Familia with the Soundrelz and enlisted a number of heels to try to take the title away from Lopez. Lopez fought off a number of challengers, including ECW alumnus Mike Awesome. He also engaged in a lengthy feud for the JAPW Heavyweight Championship with the number one contender, Jay Lethal.
Ring of Honor (2002–2005) Lopez (as "Mafia") and Mack appeared on The Era of Honor Begins, the inaugural Ring of Honor (ROH) event, on February 23, 2002, attacking the Christopher Street Connection (CSC). They feuded with the CSC for several weeks before beginning a series of hardcore matches with The Carnage Crew, H.C. Loc and DeVito. In 2003, Da Hit Squad formed a loose alliance with Homicide. Lopez betrayed Mack on April 12, 2003, at Epic Encounter. Later that evening, Lopez went to the ring immediately after a match between Homicide and Christopher Daniels and indicated that he had joined forces with Daniels and his stable, "The Prophecy". Lopez was renamed "Dan Maff" and designated "the assassin of The Prophecy".
Lopez's singles career in ROH began on May 31 at Do Or Die, where he defeated B. J. Whitmer with the assistance of Allison Danger, the valet of The Prophecy. Following his victory, Lopez was confronted by two of Homicide's former students, Julius Smokes and Low Ki, who accused him of "forgetting his roots".
On June 14 at Night of the Grudges, The Prophecy (Lopez, Daniels and Donovan Morgan) defeated rival faction The Group, with Lopez pinning ROH World Champion Samoa Joe. This led to a title match at WrestleRave '03 on June 28, where Joe defeated Lopez to retain. Lopez and the rest of The Prophecy continued to feud with Homicide and his supporters, leading to a match between Lopez and Low-Ki at Bitter Friends, Stiffer Enemies on August 16. The match was halted when Lopez was legitimately knocked unconscious following a poorly timed, stiff kick from Low-Ki.