From playing in the NBA to overseas, and then transitioning into pro wrestling, Peter John Ramos will never stop trying to become the best version of himself. That’s what keeps him working out late into the evening at age 41. 

 

Today, he’s Beast Mode, a professional wrestler living out his passion, and his stories could fill a book. His size at 7’ 3 and athleticism also gives him a rare advantage, and he once taunted two opponents in a one-on-two by getting on his knees and motioning them to come forward before taking them down.

 

He’s a showman and an imposing figure in the ring. To give further context on his size, he recently took pictures with the 7′ 1 Great Khali, dwarfing him at the River City Wrestling Con, the top professional wrestling convention in Florida at the World Golf Village in St. Augustine on June 6 and 7. The pictures caused quite the reaction on social media.

 

Away from the squared circle, he’s a disciplined, humble man who keeps the main thing the main thing. He originally wanted to be a veterinarian before picking up a basketball at age 15 because he is an animal lover. 

 

His start with basketball started off a chance encounter when he was shopping with his mother and siblings. They were approached by a gentleman who was curious if he had been on the court. That man was friends with an owner of a Puerto Rican basketball team.  

 

Ramos’ father abandoned him as a young boy before he moved to New York. On top of that, growing up was  a challenge because some children teased Ramos for being taller than they were. He told Five Reasons Sports Network over a Zoom interview that he was about 6’ 9 at age 14.

 

Playing for Criollas Caguas in 2001 was the first time he was in front of big crowds. “That’s where I learned everything,” Ramos said in his interview in Spanish on the Time-Out Podcast in 2019. The veterans on the team showed him the ropes, and he also added, “The first year, I didn’t play much, but when it passed, I got the experience and exploded.”

 

He was drafted by the Washington Wizards in the second round (32) in 2004, and got time in six games that season. Things didn’t work out at that level because he was sent down to the D League and it saddened him, but he made the most out of it, earning an All-Star selection with the Roanoke Dazzle. When his time in the NBA  and the D League ended, he went back to the BSN league in Puerto Rico, playing for Criollos de Caguas, and after that had time in suiting up in Spain, China, South Korea, Philippines, Dominican Republic and Taiwan.

 

One of the signature achievements of his career was being on Puerto Rico’s Olympic team in Greece (2004). He also played eight minutes in the game when his country beat Team USA on Aug. 15 (92-73) in the first round of Group B. Carlos Arroyo’s 24 points led them in scoring, and keep in mind that was the first loss the United States had in the Olympics while using NBA players, and some of theirs included Tim Duncan, Allen Iverson and Dwyane Wade.

 

Ramos’ style as a baller was a bruiser, which is somewhat similar to his wrestling identity. Before he finished on the hardwood, the best part of his basketball journey happened in the Philippines, where he says has been his favorite place to play. 

 

He had been resting, coming off an 11-month season in China when the call came from his agent about a gig in the Philippines. He accepted, then a week later arrived and they situated him in a hotel before his apartment was ready. On top of that, he had access to a driver, a chef and an assistant. “They treated me like a king,” he told FRSN. 

 

On his first day, he was picked up for dinner with his new team. “We pulled up to this big hotel that looked like a castle,” Ramos said. “When I tell you it looked like a castle, man, it was crazy. I’ve never seen anything like it. The best hotel in Philippines.

 

“So when they open the door, I see Manny [Pacquiao], I see the manager, I see the coaches, and I froze.” 

 

Pacquiao, the eight-division boxing champion, who last fought at age 46 to a majority decision draw against Mario Barrios on July 19, 2025, is Ramos’ idol. 

 

The manager then called him over, and he approached nervously. He then started chatting with Pacquiao, who told Ramos he was a fan. “I think it’s the best experience I’ve had in my 23-year career,” Ramos said. 

Ramos has done a lot in his career and is naturally a self-motivated man. Still, he keeps a small circle of people who never let him get too high, or too low.

 

“Right now, I’ just enjoying the journey,” he said. “You know, just keep on getting better and better, and just trying to make my dreams come true.”

The 53-year championship drought is over. It took five games in the Finals and the New York Knicks won their last three road games of the year. Their pressure suffocated the Spurs in the fourth quarter and had Victor Wembanyama unwilling to take the big shot in key moments.

 

The Knicks put Dylan Harper on the line when ahead by three points with 8.5 seconds left to deny a 3-point attempt. He missed and had to foul OG Anunoby, who made one-of-two but it was enough to put them over the top. One of the other momentous moments late was Josh Hart missing the second free throw with the Knicks up three about 17 seconds earlier, but Mitchell Robinson bailed them out by recovering one of the biggest offensive rebounds in history, and then Anunoby ended up at the line, going one-of-two.

 

It didn’t matter that Karl-Anthony fouled out. Jalen Brunson powered the New York Knicks to their third title and first since 1973, with 45 points on 51.9 percent shooting. He earned the Finals MVP, yet he got loads of help from Hart, Anunoby plus Towns combining for 29 rebounds, and the squad getting as close as it gets to going on the hunt on defense.

 

The Knicks’ defining characteristic was their resiliency as they recovered against the Atlanta Hawks after going down 2-1, they also had a 22-point fourth-quarter comeback in Game 1 versus the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals, had the greatest NBA Finals comeback in history (29 points) in Game 4 and another double-digit fourth-quarter comeback in Game 5.

 

Observations:

• The Knicks’ defense held the Spurs to 101.1 points per 100 possessions, good enough for the 12th percentile, per Cleaning the Glass. They had the faster help and defended well without fouling. The Knicks made the game ugliest for the Spurs in the second and fourth quarters.

 

• Dylan Harper came out, blasting off the bench, scoring from short and long range on the catch and dribble. He was the team‘s best player because the offense flowed best with him in charge, and his pressure was mostly effective, even forcing an eight-second violation on Jose Alvarado, picking him up full-court. His biggest mistake was committing one of the three 3-point shooting fouls against Brunson in the second half. Stephon Castle and Devin Vassell had the other ones.

• De’Aaron Fox, the former Clutch Player of the Year, was nothing close to an All-Star and the moment was too big for him. Somehow, coach Mitch Johnson played him five more minutes than Harper. One of Fox’s worst mistakes included a turnover in transition trying to find Keldon Johnson and getting called for a flagrant one for shoving Hart in the back on the break, which ended up being a three-point play. Fox shot 20 percent for the game, mostly misfiring treys. The only one who shot worse than him was Castle (10 percent), who didn’t score until late in the game on a putback.

 

 

• Wembanyama did not play like a big-time player. He shot 36.8 percent and a missed a huge free two with under two minutes left. His only imposing sequence was sin the third quarter, scoring thrice in the lane.

 

Josh Hart was so close to becoming public enemy number one in New York after blowing an open layup on the break to the horror of home fans, but De’Aaron Fox bailed him out with one of the sorriest plays in NBA Finals history: rushing for a layup when OG Anunoby, of all people, was on his back hip, and all he needed to do was hold onto the ball. Then Anunoby tipped-in the dagger on the next possession.

 

For goodness sake, the Spurs were up a point. The basketball gods recoiled in disgust.

 

It was easily so much worse than J.R. Smith forgetting time and score at the end of Game 1 of the 2018 Finals. The Cleveland Cavaliers still had overtime to play. The Spurs had a pistol in New York’s mouth and then fired on themselves with Fox pulling the trigger.

 

How will Fox sleep at night? He’s so lucky there’s a players’ union that ensures he’ll get on the jet. On top of that, coaches across the world will educate their players with that nightmarish tape in the film room. 

 

They had been up 29 points, and now the Knicks’ win surpasses the Boston Celtics’ epic comeback over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 4 of the 2008 Finals as the greatest in the NBA’s championship round.

 

The Spurs are going back to San Antonio down 3-1. The only team that’s come back from such depths in the Finals were the 2016 Cavaliers, but they had all-timer in LeBron James. Maybe Victor Wembanyama will finish with a special career, but he is not prime James, so good luck, San Antonio.

 

Wemby choked at the line worse than Manu Ginóbili and Kawhi Leonard in Game 6 at the Miami Heat’s house 13 years ago. He also shot 22.2 percent in the fourth quarter in the biggest game of his life, scoring eight of his team’s 30 second-half points.

 

Mitch Johnson got out-coached, and was unable to direct any solid instruction in the second half when his players were settling for jumpers. He stood there like the witnesses to Jesus’ whipping while the Spurs folded, and he subbed out Dylan Harper when he should have played all of the fourth quarter.

 

Four games have been decided by an average of four points. The reason they aren’t holding the 3-1 lead is because the Knicks are mentally stronger.

Three Finals games and three road wins. Each night has been decided by an average of five points and neither side has seen much success outside of the lane for long stretches. 

 

According to ESPN Press Room, Game 2 of the Finals averaged 16.43 million viewers, making it the most-watched Finals outing since Game 2 in 2018. The opener nearly had 20 million people watching, too. 

 

The Finals have been better than advertised, and the public might get an all-time great series if the Spurs match New York’s two road wins. Their triumph on Monday ended the Knicks’ 13-game winning streak, the second-longest in NBA history behind the 2017 Golden State Warriors, but another one would set up an epic Game 5 if they could get it done on Wednesday.

 

If the San Antonio Spurs were to win the title, they would be the first team in NBA history to do so after losing the first two home games. They’ll have a good chance if they can replicate all those inside actions from Game 3 for Victor Wembanyama. Eight of his 11 baskets were in the paint.

 

Another thing they’ll need is more production from De’Aaron Fox and Keldon Johnson. They didn’t have big stat lines on Monday, but played a crucial part of the fourth quarter together, helping the team keep their edge, and Fox hit the biggest shot of the game with 12.2 seconds left. 

 

A Knicks championship would make them the seventh third seed since 1983-84 to win. They’ll need Jalen Brunson to pick it up because he’s only making 37 percent of attempts after averaging 48.9 percent through the first three rounds. On top of that, he’s logged just as many turnovers as assists in the Finals. 

 

The Knicks can’t forget about Karl-Anthony Towns, either. The plan should be for him to make Wembanyama work as much as possible, so they’ll need to put him in motion and run a nice diet of screen-rolls for him, too. 

 

Notably, the Knicks and Spurs have allowed 17 and 17.7 wide-open 3-point attempts over the last three games, and are giving up 37.3 and 37.7 percent. That is slightly above average shooting. Both sides are trying to stop penetration at the expense of the arc and are getting lucky that opponents are missing with at least six feet of space.

 

Goodness willing this series extends to a seventh game, which would be the 21st in Finals history.