Antonio Pugliese
Encyclopedia
Antonio Pugliese born in Cosenza
, Italy
, was a professional wrestler. He is better known by his ring name
Tony Parisi. Pugliese was primarily a tag team
wrestler, and he won tag team titles in several organizations
, including the National Wrestling Alliance
(NWA), World Wide Wrestling Federation
(WWWF), and Championship Wrestling from Florida. He held the WWWF World Tag Team Championship from 1975 to 1976. As a singles wrestler, he also won the WWF International Heavyweight Championship
. After retiring from wrestling, Pugliese continued to work in the industry and also operated a hotel and restaurant. He died in 2000 after suffering a heart attack.
in 1961. He soon began competing in Canada, where he was a popular babyface
(fan favorite) wrestler. In one of his first matches, he faced Gino Brito
, who later became his long-time tag team
partner. Pugliese and Brito moved to Nashville, Tennessee
in 1962 to wrestle in a promotion
operated by Nick Gulas
; they won the promotion's tag team title within two weeks of their arrival. Throughout his career, Pugliese formed many tag teams in various promotions with other wrestlers of Italian descent, including Dominic DeNucci
, Tony Marino
, and David Sammartino
(who competed as Bruno Sammartino, Jr.).
Although Pugliese often wrestled in Ontario throughout his career, he also competed as far away as Australia
and Japan
. In 1973, he participated in the first annual Champion's Carnival
tournament promoted by All Japan Pro Wrestling
. He lost in the first round to Hiro Matsuda
.
Pugliese also wrestled as a heel
(villain) at times. He competed as "Tenor" Parisi; in this gimmick, he wore a white tuxedo and sang opera to anger the crowd.
(WWWF), where he was billed as the cousin of Bruno Sammartino
. In this role, he was targeted by several heel wrestlers, who wanted to start feuds with the Sammartino family. On February 21, 1966, Pugliese teamed with Johnny Valentine
to win the WWWF United States Tag Team Championship
from Dan Miller and Dr. Bill Miller
. They held the title belts for nine months before dropping them to the team of Baron Mikel Scicluna
and Smasher Sloan on September 22. In this match, Valentine turned on Pugliese by awarding the championship to their opponents when Pugliese was injured.
Pugliese teamed with Miguel Pérez
to challenge Scicluna and Sloan for the title on December 8, but Pérez sustained an injury during the match and was replaced by Spiros Arion
. Pugliese and Arion won the match and the title; they held the belts for six months until June 1967. The team split up when Pugliese left the country briefly and Arnold Skaaland
was named as co-holder of the championship in his place.
in the California-based World Wrestling Association (WWA). They won the WWA World Tag Team Championship by defeating Buddy Austin and Freddie Blassie. While defending the title, Pugliese also returned to the WWWF and began competing for the International Wrestling Alliance (IWA) in Australia. He teamed with Mario Milano
to win the IWA World Tag Team Championship in April 1968. The team lost the belts to Skull Murphy and Killer Karl Kox
in May, but Pugliese joined up with Dominic DeNucci
to regain the title later that month. Although they dropped the title to Killer Kowalski
and Bill Miller in June, Pugliese found a new partner in Don Leo Jonathan
to regain the title on February 21, 1969. Two weeks later, The Spoiler
and Pugliese's former partner Mario Milano won the belts, but Pugliese and Jonathan regained them in a rematch later that month. Returning to the United States, Pugliese formed another tag team in Big Time Wrestling
, a Texas-based division of the National Wrestling Alliance
(NWA). He teamed with Wahoo McDaniel
to win the NWA Texas Tag Team Championship
. Records from the time period in this promotion are unclear about the dates and title lineage, but there is a record of Pugliese and McDaniel holding the belts in 1969. The following year, Pugliese held the IWA World Tag Team Championship for the final time, as he teamed with Mark Lewin
to win the belts from Rip Hawk and Swede Hanson on May 15, 1970. They defended the title for just over a month before losing it to Kurt and Karl Von Steiger
.
Pugliese then joined the Buffalo, New York
-based National Wrestling Federation
(NWF). Once again, he found success teaming with Dominic DeNucci. The pair competed in a tournament for the vacant NWF World Tag Team Championship in January 1972; they made it to the final round but lost to the team of Mitsu Arakawa and Yoshino Sato. Pugliese and DeNucci continued to challenge for the title, and they defeated Arakawa and Sato in March to win the belts. They dropped the belts to Don and Johnny Fargo
in May but regained them in a rematch the same month. Later that month, however, the Fargos regained the belts. Pugliese and DeNucci were unable to regain them, but Pugliese teamed up with Luis Martinez to win the title in December. Records are unclear as to who they won the belts from and how they lost them.
Pugliese and DeNucci next traveled to Florida, where they competed for Championship Wrestling from Florida, an NWA territory. They defeated Toru Tanaka and Dick Slater
to win the NWA Florida Tag Team Championship
in January 1975. Slater teamed with Johnny Weaver
to win the belts back from Pugliese and DeNucci, however.
, who was wrestling as Louis Cerdan, to win the WWWF World Tag Team Championship on November 18, 1975. They defeated The Blackjacks
(Blackjack Mulligan
and Blackjack Lanza
) to win the belts and held them for over six months. They eventually dropped the title in a match against The Executioners
(a team composed of Killer Kowalski
and Big John Studd
, who wore masks to hide their identities) on May 11, 1976. When the promotion (which had since been renamed the World Wrestling Federation) decided to reactivate the WWF International Heavyweight Championship
in 1982, Parisi became the new champion. He lost the belt to his former partner, Gino Brito, that August.
-based Lutte Internationale (also known as International Wrestling). He traveled throughout the province, competing primarily as a tag team wrestler. In 1982, he teamed with Gino Brito to win the Canadian International Tag Team Championship
from Gilles Poisson and Sailor White
. Although they dropped the title to Pierre Lefebvre and Michel Dubois, they were able to regain the belts the following January from Lefebvre and Pat Patterson. Lefebvre teamed with Billy Robinson
to win the title back, but Parisi and Brito won the title for the third time on December 12, 1983 from then-champions Lefebvre and Patterson. Once again, Lefebvre took on a new partner, this time Frenchy Martin
, to win the belts from Parisi and Brito the following month. Parisi's final reign with the title began on February 20, 1984, when he joined up with Dino Bravo
to regain the belts. Their title reign lasted for several months before Lefebvre and Martin defeated Parisi and Bravo to win back the championship.
in Toronto.
In 1997, Pugliese returned to the ring to compete at the second Ilio DiPaolo
tribute show promoted by World Championship Wrestling
show. He reunited with partner Gino Brito in a tag team match, and the pair defeated Greg Valentine
and Terry Funk
by disqualification.
Pugliese is credited as the inspiration behind George "The Animal" Steele's
gimmick of eating turnbuckle
padding in the ring. A wrestler, who Steele believes was Pugliese, jokingly suggested the idea to Steele, who became well-known for his fondness for turnbuckles.
, Ontario
when he was nine years old, but soon moved to Niagara Falls, Ontario
. He joined the YMCA
in Niagara Falls and began amateur wrestling at the age of 16. He enjoyed listening to opera music and once referred to his LP album
s as his "prize possessions".
Pugliese met Chiara Vaccaro in Niagara Falls, and the couple married in 1968. They had a daughter named Ida in 1976. He operated the Niagara Family Inn and Big Anthony's Restaurant in Niagara Falls with his family until he died from a heart attack on August 19, 2000.
He was related to Joseph Dorgan
, who has wrestled under his relative's name as Johnny Parisi and is better known as Johnny Swinger.
Cosenza
Cosenza is a city in southern Italy, located at the confluence of two historic rivers: the Busento and the Crathis. The municipal population is of around 70,000; the urban area, however, counts over 260,000 inhabitants...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, was a professional wrestler. He is better known by his ring name
Ring name
A ring name is a stage name used by a professional wrestler, martial artist, or boxer. While some ring names may have a fictitious first name and surname, others may simply be a nickname, such as The Undertaker.-Wrestling:...
Tony Parisi. Pugliese was primarily a tag team
Tag team
Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...
wrestler, and he won tag team titles in several organizations
Professional wrestling promotion
A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling. Promotion also describes a role which entails management, advertising and logistics of running a wrestling event...
, including the National Wrestling Alliance
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
(NWA), World Wide Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
(WWWF), and Championship Wrestling from Florida. He held the WWWF World Tag Team Championship from 1975 to 1976. As a singles wrestler, he also won the WWF International Heavyweight Championship
WWF International Heavyweight Championship
The WWF International Heavyweight Championship is a former championship recognized by NWA Northeast, the World Wrestling Federation, New Japan Pro Wrestling and the Japanese UWF.The title existed from 1959 through 1963 and again from 1982 through 1985....
. After retiring from wrestling, Pugliese continued to work in the industry and also operated a hotel and restaurant. He died in 2000 after suffering a heart attack.
Career
Pugliese made his professional wrestling debut in Detroit, MichiganDetroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
in 1961. He soon began competing in Canada, where he was a popular babyface
Face (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a babyface or face or in simple words, a fan favorite is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains...
(fan favorite) wrestler. In one of his first matches, he faced Gino Brito
Gino Brito
Louis Gino Acocella , better known by his ring name Gino Brito is a Canadian professional wrestler. He was a popular wrestler in Montreal, and was one of the promoters in the city in the 1980s...
, who later became his long-time tag team
Tag team
Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...
partner. Pugliese and Brito moved to Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
in 1962 to wrestle in a promotion
Professional wrestling promotion
A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling. Promotion also describes a role which entails management, advertising and logistics of running a wrestling event...
operated by Nick Gulas
Nick Gulas
Nick Gulas was an American professional wrestling promoter in the Southern United States. Also known as The King of Managers and King B, Gulas helped start the careers of such wrestling stars as Tojo Yamamoto, Jackie Fargo, and Jerry "The King" Lawler in the 1960s and '70s, the Bounty Hunters with...
; they won the promotion's tag team title within two weeks of their arrival. Throughout his career, Pugliese formed many tag teams in various promotions with other wrestlers of Italian descent, including Dominic DeNucci
Dominic DeNucci
Dominic DeNucci is an Italian-American professional wrestler. He is also an accomplished trainer, counting former World Heavyweight champions Mick Foley and Shane Douglas, as well as referee Brian Hildebrand, among his students.-Early career:...
, Tony Marino
Tony Marino
Tony Silipini is a former American born Italian professional wrestler who is best known as Tony Marino.-Early career:Tony Silipini was born in 1945. He started wrestling in the 1950s near his hometown of Rochester, NY. He wrestled under a number of names over the years in different areas of the...
, and David Sammartino
David Sammartino
David Lugogo Sammartino is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for being the son of former World Wide Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino.-Career:...
(who competed as Bruno Sammartino, Jr.).
Although Pugliese often wrestled in Ontario throughout his career, he also competed as far away as Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. In 1973, he participated in the first annual Champion's Carnival
Champion's Carnival
The Champion's Carnival is an annual professional wrestling tournament held by All Japan Pro Wrestling, established in 1973. Originally a single-elimination tournament, the Champion's Carnival is currently held as a round-robin, with a victory worth 2 points, a time limit draw worth 1 and a loss,...
tournament promoted by All Japan Pro Wrestling
All Japan Pro Wrestling
is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established in 1972. All Japan Pro Wrestling still remains one of the most popular puroresu promotions still in operation.-The Giant Baba Era :...
. He lost in the first round to Hiro Matsuda
Yasuhiro Kojima
was a professional wrestler and the trainer of Hulk Hogan, "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff, Lex Luger, Ron Simmons, Keiji Mutoh, and many other professional wrestlers. He was better known as Hiro Matsuda, an identity he adopted while competing in the southern U.S., inspired by earlier wrestlers...
.
Pugliese also wrestled as a heel
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
(villain) at times. He competed as "Tenor" Parisi; in this gimmick, he wore a white tuxedo and sang opera to anger the crowd.
World Wide Wrestling Federation
In 1966, Pugliese began wrestling for the World Wide Wrestling FederationWorld Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
(WWWF), where he was billed as the cousin of Bruno Sammartino
Bruno Sammartino
Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino is an Italian-American former professional wrestler, best known for being the longest-running champion of the World Wide Wrestling Federation , holding the title across two reigns for over 11 years in total, as well as the longest single WWE Championship reign...
. In this role, he was targeted by several heel wrestlers, who wanted to start feuds with the Sammartino family. On February 21, 1966, Pugliese teamed with Johnny Valentine
Johnny Valentine
Johnny Valentine was a professional wrestler with a career spanning almost three decades. He has been inducted into four halls of fame for his achievements in wrestling...
to win the WWWF United States Tag Team Championship
WWWF United States Tag Team Championship
The WWWF United States Tag Team Championship was a major tag team title in the World Wide Wrestling Federation from 1963 until 1967. Originally, the WWF was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance operating out of the Northeast and was called the Capitol Wrestling Corporation...
from Dan Miller and Dr. Bill Miller
Bill Miller (wrestler)
William M. Miller , better known as Dr. Bill Miller or Mr. M, was a former professional wrestler. He is a one time American Wrestling Association World champion and also wrestled in the National Wrestling Alliance, the World Wrestling Association in Indianapolis and the World Wide Wrestling...
. They held the title belts for nine months before dropping them to the team of Baron Mikel Scicluna
Mikel Scicluna
"Baron" Mikel Scicluna was a Maltese-born professional wrestler who gained his fame during the 1960s and 1970s.-Professional wrestling career:...
and Smasher Sloan on September 22. In this match, Valentine turned on Pugliese by awarding the championship to their opponents when Pugliese was injured.
Pugliese teamed with Miguel Pérez
Miguel Pérez (wrestler)
Miguel Jose Perez was an Puerto Rican professional wrestler who was best known for his tag team with Antonino Rocca.- Montreal Athletic Commission :...
to challenge Scicluna and Sloan for the title on December 8, but Pérez sustained an injury during the match and was replaced by Spiros Arion
Andres Labrakis
Andres Labrakis is a Greek retired professional wrestler who had extensive and successful careers in both Australia and the United States. Known as Spiros Arion and The Golden Greek, he debuted in 1961 and retired in 1978.- Europe :...
. Pugliese and Arion won the match and the title; they held the belts for six months until June 1967. The team split up when Pugliese left the country briefly and Arnold Skaaland
Arnold Skaaland
Arnold Skaaland was an American professional wrestler and professional wrestling manager.-Career:Skaaland served in the U.S. Marines during World War II. After a short-lived attempt to make a living through boxing, he became a professional wrestler and debuted in 1946 as "Arnold Skaaland"...
was named as co-holder of the championship in his place.
As a traveling wrestler
In December 1967, Pugliese teamed with Pedro MoralesPedro Morales
Pedro Morales is a retired Puerto Rican professional wrestler. He began his wrestling career as a teenager in 1959 and continued through to the late 1980s...
in the California-based World Wrestling Association (WWA). They won the WWA World Tag Team Championship by defeating Buddy Austin and Freddie Blassie. While defending the title, Pugliese also returned to the WWWF and began competing for the International Wrestling Alliance (IWA) in Australia. He teamed with Mario Milano
Mario Milano
Mario Bulfone, better known by his ring name Mario Milano is a former professional wrestler. Milano got his start in wrestling in Venezuela and later competed in the United States and Australia.-Early career:...
to win the IWA World Tag Team Championship in April 1968. The team lost the belts to Skull Murphy and Killer Karl Kox
Herb Gerwig
Herb Gerwig was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name of Killer Karl Kox, who competed in the National Wrestling Alliance as well as international promotions such as All Japan Pro Wrestling, the International Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling during the...
in May, but Pugliese joined up with Dominic DeNucci
Dominic DeNucci
Dominic DeNucci is an Italian-American professional wrestler. He is also an accomplished trainer, counting former World Heavyweight champions Mick Foley and Shane Douglas, as well as referee Brian Hildebrand, among his students.-Early career:...
to regain the title later that month. Although they dropped the title to Killer Kowalski
Killer Kowalski
Władek "Killer" Kowalski was a Canadian professional wrestler. Kowalski wrestled for numerous promotions during his career, including the NWA and WWF, and was a known heel wrestler...
and Bill Miller in June, Pugliese found a new partner in Don Leo Jonathan
Don Leo Jonathan
Don Heaton , also known as Don Leo Jonathan, is an American former professional wrestler.-Professional wrestling career:...
to regain the title on February 21, 1969. Two weeks later, The Spoiler
Don Jardine
Don Jardine was a Canadian professional wrestler best known for his masked gimmick as "The Spoiler".-Career:Jardine began wrestling in the mid-1950s,making his wrestling debut in 1955 at the age of 15...
and Pugliese's former partner Mario Milano won the belts, but Pugliese and Jonathan regained them in a rematch later that month. Returning to the United States, Pugliese formed another tag team in Big Time Wrestling
World Class Championship Wrestling
World Class Championship Wrestling ' was a regional professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed McLemore, by 1966 it was run by Southwest Sports, Inc., whose president, Jack Adkisson, was better known as wrestler Fritz Von Erich...
, a Texas-based division of the National Wrestling Alliance
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
(NWA). He teamed with Wahoo McDaniel
Wahoo McDaniel
Edward "Wahoo" McDaniel was a Choctaw-Chickasaw Native American who achieved fame as a professional American football player and later as a professional wrestler.-Early life:...
to win the NWA Texas Tag Team Championship
WCWA Texas Tag Team Championship
The WCWA Texas Tag Team Championship was the secondary tag team championship in World Class Championship Wrestling, originally known as the NWA Texas Tag-Team title until 1981 where they were abandoned. The titles were brought back in 1987 as the WCWA Texas Tag-Team titles but once the WCWA joined...
. Records from the time period in this promotion are unclear about the dates and title lineage, but there is a record of Pugliese and McDaniel holding the belts in 1969. The following year, Pugliese held the IWA World Tag Team Championship for the final time, as he teamed with Mark Lewin
Mark Lewin
-Career:Mark Lewin broke into wrestling in the early '50s and had great early success in a matinee-idol babyface tag team with Don Curtis, headlining in major territories like New York and Chicago. The team's brief heel turn was a shock to its many fans...
to win the belts from Rip Hawk and Swede Hanson on May 15, 1970. They defended the title for just over a month before losing it to Kurt and Karl Von Steiger
Kurt and Karl Von Steiger
Kurt and Karl Von Steiger was the ring name of professional wrestlers Lorne Corlett and Arnold Pastrick worked under for most of their careers. The Von Steiger gimmick was that of two German villains, called heels, despite both wrestlers hailing from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada...
.
Pugliese then joined the Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
-based National Wrestling Federation
National Wrestling Federation
The original National Wrestling Federation was a wrestling promotion based in Buffalo, New York and owned by promoter Pedro Martínez. It ran from 1970-1974. The promotion was then revived in 1986 by Robert Raskin...
(NWF). Once again, he found success teaming with Dominic DeNucci. The pair competed in a tournament for the vacant NWF World Tag Team Championship in January 1972; they made it to the final round but lost to the team of Mitsu Arakawa and Yoshino Sato. Pugliese and DeNucci continued to challenge for the title, and they defeated Arakawa and Sato in March to win the belts. They dropped the belts to Don and Johnny Fargo
Greg Valentine
John Wisniski, Jr. is an American professional wrestler, better known as Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. He is the son of wrestler Johnny Valentine.-Training:...
in May but regained them in a rematch the same month. Later that month, however, the Fargos regained the belts. Pugliese and DeNucci were unable to regain them, but Pugliese teamed up with Luis Martinez to win the title in December. Records are unclear as to who they won the belts from and how they lost them.
Pugliese and DeNucci next traveled to Florida, where they competed for Championship Wrestling from Florida, an NWA territory. They defeated Toru Tanaka and Dick Slater
Dick Slater
Richard Van Slater , better known by his ring name "Dirty" Dick Slater, is a retired American professional wrestler who wrestled in the 1970s, 1980s, and mid 1990s for various promotions including Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling .Slater began wrestling with Mike...
to win the NWA Florida Tag Team Championship
NWA Florida Tag Team Championship
The NWA Florida Tag Team Championship is the primary tag team title in Pro Wrestling Fusion. It started out in 1968 as the main tag team title in Championship Wrestling from Florida and lasted until 1990 when it was abandoned. It was picked back up in 1997 by NWA Florida, where it was the primary...
in January 1975. Slater teamed with Johnny Weaver
Johnny Weaver
Kenneth Eugene Weaver was a professional wrestler and wrestling commentator in the National Wrestling Alliance, better known by his ring name, Johnny Weaver...
to win the belts back from Pugliese and DeNucci, however.
Return to the World Wide Wrestling Federation
Pugliese's next major success came in the WWWF, where he had been wrestling sporadically since 1970 under the ring name Tony Parisi. He teamed with Gino BritoGino Brito
Louis Gino Acocella , better known by his ring name Gino Brito is a Canadian professional wrestler. He was a popular wrestler in Montreal, and was one of the promoters in the city in the 1980s...
, who was wrestling as Louis Cerdan, to win the WWWF World Tag Team Championship on November 18, 1975. They defeated The Blackjacks
The Blackjacks
The Blackjacks were a heel professional wrestling tag team. The team consisted of Blackjack Mulligan and Blackjack Lanza. After forming in the 1970s, they wrestled in a variety of professional wrestling promotions, including the American Wrestling Association and World Wide Wrestling Federation...
(Blackjack Mulligan
Blackjack Mulligan
Robert Jack Windham , better known by his ring name Blackjack Mulligan is a former professional wrestler and a former American football player...
and Blackjack Lanza
Jack Lanza
John "Jack" Lanza is a retired professional wrestler. He was one half of The Blackjacks with Blackjack Mulligan in the American Wrestling Association and World Wide Wrestling Federation . He is currently a producer in WWE. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006.-Career:Lanza started...
) to win the belts and held them for over six months. They eventually dropped the title in a match against The Executioners
The Executioners (professional wrestling)
The Executioners is the name of several tag teams of masked wrestlers who wrestled in the World Wrestling Federation.- The Executioners :...
(a team composed of Killer Kowalski
Killer Kowalski
Władek "Killer" Kowalski was a Canadian professional wrestler. Kowalski wrestled for numerous promotions during his career, including the NWA and WWF, and was a known heel wrestler...
and Big John Studd
Big John Studd
John William Minton was an American professional wrestler and actor who was born and raised in Butler, Pennsylvania, better known by his ring name, Big John Studd.-Career:...
, who wore masks to hide their identities) on May 11, 1976. When the promotion (which had since been renamed the World Wrestling Federation) decided to reactivate the WWF International Heavyweight Championship
WWF International Heavyweight Championship
The WWF International Heavyweight Championship is a former championship recognized by NWA Northeast, the World Wrestling Federation, New Japan Pro Wrestling and the Japanese UWF.The title existed from 1959 through 1963 and again from 1982 through 1985....
in 1982, Parisi became the new champion. He lost the belt to his former partner, Gino Brito, that August.
Montreal's Lutte Internationale
Much of Pugliese's later career was spent wrestling as Tony Parisi in the MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
-based Lutte Internationale (also known as International Wrestling). He traveled throughout the province, competing primarily as a tag team wrestler. In 1982, he teamed with Gino Brito to win the Canadian International Tag Team Championship
Canadian International Tag Team Championship
The Canadian International Tag Team Championship was the tag team title in the Montreal-based wrestling promotion Lutte Internationale . The title lasted from 1976 until Lutte Internationale closed in 1987.-Title history:...
from Gilles Poisson and Sailor White
Ed White (wrestler)
Edward J. "Ed" White was a Canadian professional wrestler, best known as Moondog King of the Moondogs when he joined the World Wrestling Federation in the early 1980s. White won 48 championships in Canada and around the globe...
. Although they dropped the title to Pierre Lefebvre and Michel Dubois, they were able to regain the belts the following January from Lefebvre and Pat Patterson. Lefebvre teamed with Billy Robinson
Billy Robinson
Billy Robinson is a British professional wrestler and catch wrestling instructor. Robinson was well known in Japan where he has trained mixed martial arts fighters in catch wrestling...
to win the title back, but Parisi and Brito won the title for the third time on December 12, 1983 from then-champions Lefebvre and Patterson. Once again, Lefebvre took on a new partner, this time Frenchy Martin
Jean Gagné
Jean Gagné is a Québécois retired professional wrestler and manager, best known under the ring name Frenchy Martin. During his World Wrestling Federation heyday in the 1980s as the manager of Canadian wrestler Dino Bravo, he was known for his trademark sign that read "USA is not OK"...
, to win the belts from Parisi and Brito the following month. Parisi's final reign with the title began on February 20, 1984, when he joined up with Dino Bravo
Dino Bravo
Adolfo Bresciano was an Italian-born Canadian professional wrestler, best known for his work as Dino Bravo, self-proclaimed as "Canada's Strongest Man".-Territories:...
to regain the belts. Their title reign lasted for several months before Lefebvre and Martin defeated Parisi and Bravo to win back the championship.
Legacy
Pugliese promoted wrestling shows in Niagara Falls after retiring from the sport. He also ran an annual wrestling show at the CHIN PicnicCHIN Radio/TV International
CHIN Radio/TV International is a Canadian radio and television broadcasting company, which owns and operates three radio stations and a television program production unit, all targeting multilingual communities...
in Toronto.
In 1997, Pugliese returned to the ring to compete at the second Ilio DiPaolo
Ilio DiPaolo
Ilio DiPaolo , was an Italian professional wrestler and restaurateur who lived in the Buffalo, New York area.-Professional wrestling career:...
tribute show promoted by World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
show. He reunited with partner Gino Brito in a tag team match, and the pair defeated Greg Valentine
Greg Valentine
John Wisniski, Jr. is an American professional wrestler, better known as Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. He is the son of wrestler Johnny Valentine.-Training:...
and Terry Funk
Terry Funk
Terrence "Terry" Funk is an American professional wrestler and actor known chiefly for the hardcore wrestling style he adopted in the latter part of his career that inspired many younger wrestlers, including Mick Foley...
by disqualification.
Pugliese is credited as the inspiration behind George "The Animal" Steele's
George Steele
William James Myers , better known by his ring name George "The Animal" Steele is a former American professional wrestler and actor...
gimmick of eating turnbuckle
Turnbuckle
A turnbuckle, stretching screw or bottlescrew is a device for adjusting the tension or length of ropes, cables, tie rods, and other tensioning systems. It normally consists of two threaded eyelets, one screwed into each end of a small metal frame, one with a left-hand thread and the other with a...
padding in the ring. A wrestler, who Steele believes was Pugliese, jokingly suggested the idea to Steele, who became well-known for his fondness for turnbuckles.
Personal life
Born in Italy, Pugliese moved to Thunder BayThunder Bay
-In Canada:Thunder Bay is the name of three places in the province of Ontario, Canada along Lake Superior:*Thunder Bay District, Ontario, a district in Northwestern Ontario*Thunder Bay, a city in Thunder Bay District*Thunder Bay, Unorganized, Ontario...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
when he was nine years old, but soon moved to Niagara Falls, Ontario
Niagara Falls, Ontario
Niagara Falls is a Canadian city on the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario. The municipality was incorporated on June 12, 1903...
. He joined the YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
in Niagara Falls and began amateur wrestling at the age of 16. He enjoyed listening to opera music and once referred to his LP album
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
s as his "prize possessions".
Pugliese met Chiara Vaccaro in Niagara Falls, and the couple married in 1968. They had a daughter named Ida in 1976. He operated the Niagara Family Inn and Big Anthony's Restaurant in Niagara Falls with his family until he died from a heart attack on August 19, 2000.
He was related to Joseph Dorgan
Joseph Dorgan
Joseph Robert "Joe" Dorgan is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as Johnny Swinger and with World Wrestling Entertainment as Johnny Parisi....
, who has wrestled under his relative's name as Johnny Parisi and is better known as Johnny Swinger.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Italian Cannonball (Senton)
- ManagersManager (professional wrestling)In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
- Arnold SkaalandArnold SkaalandArnold Skaaland was an American professional wrestler and professional wrestling manager.-Career:Skaaland served in the U.S. Marines during World War II. After a short-lived attempt to make a living through boxing, he became a professional wrestler and debuted in 1946 as "Arnold Skaaland"...
- Arnold Skaaland
Championships and accomplishments
- Big Time WrestlingWorld Class Championship WrestlingWorld Class Championship Wrestling ' was a regional professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed McLemore, by 1966 it was run by Southwest Sports, Inc., whose president, Jack Adkisson, was better known as wrestler Fritz Von Erich...
- NWA Texas Tag Team ChampionshipWCWA Texas Tag Team ChampionshipThe WCWA Texas Tag Team Championship was the secondary tag team championship in World Class Championship Wrestling, originally known as the NWA Texas Tag-Team title until 1981 where they were abandoned. The titles were brought back in 1987 as the WCWA Texas Tag-Team titles but once the WCWA joined...
(1 time) - with Wahoo McDanielWahoo McDanielEdward "Wahoo" McDaniel was a Choctaw-Chickasaw Native American who achieved fame as a professional American football player and later as a professional wrestler.-Early life:... - Championship Wrestling from Florida
- NWA Florida Tag Team ChampionshipNWA Florida Tag Team ChampionshipThe NWA Florida Tag Team Championship is the primary tag team title in Pro Wrestling Fusion. It started out in 1968 as the main tag team title in Championship Wrestling from Florida and lasted until 1990 when it was abandoned. It was picked back up in 1997 by NWA Florida, where it was the primary...
(1 time) - with Dominic DeNucciDominic DeNucciDominic DeNucci is an Italian-American professional wrestler. He is also an accomplished trainer, counting former World Heavyweight champions Mick Foley and Shane Douglas, as well as referee Brian Hildebrand, among his students.-Early career:... - Lutte Internationale (Montreal)
- Canadian International Tag Team ChampionshipCanadian International Tag Team ChampionshipThe Canadian International Tag Team Championship was the tag team title in the Montreal-based wrestling promotion Lutte Internationale . The title lasted from 1976 until Lutte Internationale closed in 1987.-Title history:...
(4 times) - with Gino BritoGino BritoLouis Gino Acocella , better known by his ring name Gino Brito is a Canadian professional wrestler. He was a popular wrestler in Montreal, and was one of the promoters in the city in the 1980s...
(3) and Dino BravoDino BravoAdolfo Bresciano was an Italian-born Canadian professional wrestler, best known for his work as Dino Bravo, self-proclaimed as "Canada's Strongest Man".-Territories:...
(1) - National Wrestling FederationNational Wrestling FederationThe original National Wrestling Federation was a wrestling promotion based in Buffalo, New York and owned by promoter Pedro Martínez. It ran from 1970-1974. The promotion was then revived in 1986 by Robert Raskin...
- NWF World Tag Team ChampionshipNWF World Tag Team ChampionshipThe NWF World Tag Team Championship was the top tag team championship in the National Wrestling Federation from 1970 to 1974, the entire life of the promotion.-Title history:...
(3 times) - with Dominic DeNucciDominic DeNucciDominic DeNucci is an Italian-American professional wrestler. He is also an accomplished trainer, counting former World Heavyweight champions Mick Foley and Shane Douglas, as well as referee Brian Hildebrand, among his students.-Early career:...
(2) and Luis Martinez (1) - World Championship Wrestling (Australia)
- IWA World Tag Team ChampionshipIWA World Tag Team Championship (WCW Australia)The IWA World Tag Team Championship was the top tag team professional wrestling title in the Australian World Championship Wrestling promotion from 1966 through 1971....
(5 times) - with Mario MilanoMario MilanoMario Bulfone, better known by his ring name Mario Milano is a former professional wrestler. Milano got his start in wrestling in Venezuela and later competed in the United States and Australia.-Early career:...
(1), Dominic DeNucciDominic DeNucciDominic DeNucci is an Italian-American professional wrestler. He is also an accomplished trainer, counting former World Heavyweight champions Mick Foley and Shane Douglas, as well as referee Brian Hildebrand, among his students.-Early career:...
(1), Don Leo JonathanDon Leo JonathanDon Heaton , also known as Don Leo Jonathan, is an American former professional wrestler.-Professional wrestling career:...
(2), and Mark LewinMark Lewin-Career:Mark Lewin broke into wrestling in the early '50s and had great early success in a matinee-idol babyface tag team with Don Curtis, headlining in major territories like New York and Chicago. The team's brief heel turn was a shock to its many fans...
(1) - World Wrestling Association (Los Angeles)
- WWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Pedro MoralesPedro MoralesPedro Morales is a retired Puerto Rican professional wrestler. He began his wrestling career as a teenager in 1959 and continued through to the late 1980s...
- WWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Pedro Morales
- World Wide Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling FederationWorld Wrestling EntertainmentWorld Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
- WWF International Heavyweight ChampionshipWWF International Heavyweight ChampionshipThe WWF International Heavyweight Championship is a former championship recognized by NWA Northeast, the World Wrestling Federation, New Japan Pro Wrestling and the Japanese UWF.The title existed from 1959 through 1963 and again from 1982 through 1985....
(1 time) - WWWF United States Tag Team ChampionshipWWWF United States Tag Team ChampionshipThe WWWF United States Tag Team Championship was a major tag team title in the World Wide Wrestling Federation from 1963 until 1967. Originally, the WWF was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance operating out of the Northeast and was called the Capitol Wrestling Corporation...
(2 times) - with Johnny ValentineJohnny ValentineJohnny Valentine was a professional wrestler with a career spanning almost three decades. He has been inducted into four halls of fame for his achievements in wrestling...
(1) and Spiros Arion (1) - WWWF World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Louis CerdanGino BritoLouis Gino Acocella , better known by his ring name Gino Brito is a Canadian professional wrestler. He was a popular wrestler in Montreal, and was one of the promoters in the city in the 1980s...