Bill Alfonso
Encyclopedia
William Matthew "Bill" Alfonso (born August 11, 1957 in Tampa, Florida
) is a former professional wrestling
referee
and manager
. He achieved his greatest success in Extreme Championship Wrestling
in the mid to late 1990s. He is well-known for the whistle
that was almost always hanging around his neck, which he blew constantly during his wrestlers' matches.
at the age of 21. He was the official in a chain match between The Sheik
and Terry Funk
. Shortly thereafter, he took on a regular role as a referee in Championship Wrestling from Florida. He is seen on footage from 1983 (featured recently on various WWE DVD releases) as an "NWA
official" sitting in the conference room as the main event of the first Starrcade
between Harley Race
and Ric Flair
is being announced by Bob Geigel
. He then worked in every major American promotion, including the World Wrestling Federation
and World Championship Wrestling
.
, he angered many ECW fans with strict enforcement of the rules and disqualifications of wrestlers for such ECW traditions as using steel chairs as weapons. In this role, he engaged in a feud
with ECW founder Tod Gordon
that resulted in several wrestling matches.
Alfonso took on the role of Taz
's manager and helped him on a winning streak that lasted over a year. In the midst of Taz's feud with Sabu, however, Alfonso turned on his charge and aligned with Sabu. In this role, he performed more than the usual duties, as he actually managed Sabu's finances. Rob Van Dam later took on Alfonso as a manager and formed a tag team
with Sabu. Alfonso also led Van Dam to the longest ECW World Television Championship reign in the history of ECW. In 1997 Alfonso fought Beulah Mcgillicutty with this match becoming infamous because Alfonso lost 1/3 of the blood in his body according to Paul Heyman.
as a referee. He has also worked in Elite Wrestling Entertainment as a referee and a manager, as well as managing wrestlers in Squared Circle Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Unplugged. In May 2007, he made his first appearance with Women's Extreme Wrestling
, where he serves as a manager and as commissioner.
's ECW reunion show, Hardcore Justice
, managing both Rob Van Dam and Sabu during their match against each other. On the following edition of TNA Impact!
, the ECW alumni, known collectively as Extreme, Version 2.0 (EV 2.0)
, were assaulted by A.J. Styles
, Kazarian
, Robert Roode, James Storm
, Douglas Williams
and Matt Morgan of Ric Flair
's Fourtune stable, who thought they didn't deserve to be in TNA.
and professional wrestler Bob Roop
and first cousin to David Sierra
.
In October 2002, fellow manager Missy Hyatt
sued Alfonso in a case televised on Judge Mathis
. She accused Alfonso of damaging her Porsche
and was awarded $500.
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
) is a former professional wrestling
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
referee
Referee (professional wrestling)
A professional wrestling referee is the official figure that makes sure that wrestling matches move smoothly in an attempt to maintain kayfabe. The referee also has the ultimate power in the ring...
and manager
Manager (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...
. He achieved his greatest success in Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1992 by Tod Gordon and closed when his successor, Paul Heyman, declared bankruptcy in April 2001...
in the mid to late 1990s. He is well-known for the whistle
Whistle
A whistle or call is a simple aerophone, an instrument which produces sound from a stream of forced air. It may be mouth-operated, or powered by air pressure, steam, or other means...
that was almost always hanging around his neck, which he blew constantly during his wrestlers' matches.
Starting out, WCW, and WWF
Alfonso refereed his first match in TexasTexas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
at the age of 21. He was the official in a chain match between The Sheik
Ed Farhat
Edward George Farhat was an American professional wrestler best known as by his ring name The Sheik...
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...
. Shortly thereafter, he took on a regular role as a referee in Championship Wrestling from Florida. He is seen on footage from 1983 (featured recently on various WWE DVD releases) as an "NWA
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...
official" sitting in the conference room as the main event of the first Starrcade
Starrcade (1983)
Starrcade '83: A Flair for the Gold was the first annual Starrcade professional wrestling event. It was produced under the National Wrestling Alliance banner by Jim Crockett Promotions . The event took place on November 24, 1983 at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina and was...
between Harley Race
Harley Race
Harley Leland Race is a retired American professional wrestler and current promoter and trainer. During his career as a wrestler, he held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship 7 times...
and Ric Flair
Ric Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....
is being announced by Bob Geigel
Bob Geigel
Robert "Bob" Geigel is a former American professional wrestling promoter and also a former professional wrestler. Geigel ran the NWA Central States promotion between 1963 and 1986, until it was bought out by Jim Crockett Promotions...
. He then worked in every major American promotion, including the World 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...
and 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...
.
ECW
In May 1995, he made his debut in Extreme Championship Wrestling as a "trouble-shooting referee". Introduced by Shane DouglasShane Douglas
Troy Alan Martin is an American professional wrestler and promoter, better known by his ring name "The Franchise" Shane Douglas. In the course of his career, which has spanned nearly three decades, Douglas has wrestled in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling and briefly...
, he angered many ECW fans with strict enforcement of the rules and disqualifications of wrestlers for such ECW traditions as using steel chairs as weapons. In this role, he engaged in a feud
Feud (professional wrestling)
A professional wrestling feud is a staged rivalry between multiple wrestlers or alliances of wrestlers. They are integrated into ongoing storylines, particularly in events which are televised...
with ECW founder Tod Gordon
Tod Gordon
Tod Gordon is the President of Carver W. Reed Co. Inc, a Philadelphia jewelry store and loan office that was established in 1860. He is also the founder of both defunct Professional wrestling promotions Eastern Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling...
that resulted in several wrestling matches.
Alfonso took on the role of Taz
Tazz
Peter Senerchia is a retired American professional wrestler and current color commentator best known by his ring name Tazz, originally Tazmaniac and later shortened to simply Taz...
's manager and helped him on a winning streak that lasted over a year. In the midst of Taz's feud with Sabu, however, Alfonso turned on his charge and aligned with Sabu. In this role, he performed more than the usual duties, as he actually managed Sabu's finances. Rob Van Dam later took on Alfonso as a manager and formed 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...
with Sabu. Alfonso also led Van Dam to the longest ECW World Television Championship reign in the history of ECW. In 1997 Alfonso fought Beulah Mcgillicutty with this match becoming infamous because Alfonso lost 1/3 of the blood in his body according to Paul Heyman.
Return to WWE
Alfonso was at the 2005 ECW One Night Stand managing Sabu and standing in the ring with RVD while RVD delivered a shoot style promo. Alfonso returned at ECW One Night Stand 2006 after Rob Van Dam won the WWE Title, as he celebrated with him and the rest of the then-ECW Roster.Independent promotions
Since the closing of ECW, Alfonso has appeared in several independent promotions. He worked one match in Xtreme Pro WrestlingXtreme Pro Wrestling
Xtreme Pro Wrestling is an independent professional wrestling promotion formerly owned by Extreme Associates CEO and director Rob Zicari, who appeared on shows under the name Rob Black. Zicari appeared on-camera as owner alongside his wife Lizzy Borden. The promotion focuses on hardcore wrestling,...
as a referee. He has also worked in Elite Wrestling Entertainment as a referee and a manager, as well as managing wrestlers in Squared Circle Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Unplugged. In May 2007, he made his first appearance with Women's Extreme Wrestling
Women's Extreme Wrestling
Women's Extreme Wrestling , also known as Women's Erotic Wrestling, is an all woman professional wrestling promotion based in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with offices in New York City, New York. They are notable because their storylines usually are filled with erotic and sexual themes...
, where he serves as a manager and as commissioner.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
On August 8, 2010, Alfonso took part in Total Nonstop Action WrestlingTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...
's ECW reunion show, Hardcore Justice
Hardcore Justice (2010)
Hardcore Justice was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , which took place on August 8, 2010 at the TNA Impact! Zone in Orlando, Florida...
, managing both Rob Van Dam and Sabu during their match against each other. On the following edition of TNA Impact!
TNA iMPACT!
Impact Wrestling is a professional wrestling television program for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling that currently airs in the United States and Canada on Spike...
, the ECW alumni, known collectively as Extreme, Version 2.0 (EV 2.0)
ECW Originals
The ECW Originals was a professional wrestling stable that made sporadic appearances in various wrestling promotions, including World Wrestling Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling....
, were assaulted by A.J. Styles
A.J. Styles
Allen Neal Jones , better known by his ring name A.J. Styles is an American professional wrestler currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
, Kazarian
Frankie Kazarian
Frank B. Gerdelman is an Armenian-American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Frankie Kazarian or simply Kazarian. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
, Robert Roode, James Storm
James Storm
James Allen Cox is an American professional wrestler who competes under the ring name "The Cowboy" James Storm. Since 2002, Storm has been employed by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he, along with A.J...
, Douglas Williams
Doug Williams (wrestler)
Douglas Clayton Durdle is an English professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Doug Williams. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Douglas Williams...
and Matt Morgan of Ric Flair
Ric Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....
's Fourtune stable, who thought they didn't deserve to be in TNA.
Personal life
Alfonso is the stepbrother of retired amateur, the brother of the late professional wrestler Mike AwesomeMike Awesome
Michael Lee Alfonso , better known by his ring name Mike Awesome, was an American professional wrestler best known in America for his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling, and in World Wrestling Federation and also in Japan for his work with Frontier Martial-Arts...
and professional wrestler Bob Roop
Bob Roop
Bob Roop is a retired amateur and professional wrestler whose career has spanned high school, college, Army, amateur and professional wrestling. He was an American Heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestler at the 1968 Summer Olympics.-Amateur career:...
and first cousin to David Sierra
David Sierra
Fidel Sierra David Cannell is a professional wrestler, better known as David Sierra, who is best known as a longtime veteran of the Puerto Rico-based World Wrestling Council as well as for his appearances in World Championship Wrestling and Pacific Northwest Wrestling during the 1980s and 90s...
.
In October 2002, fellow manager Missy Hyatt
Missy Hyatt
Melissa Ann Hiatt is an American professional wrestling valet, better known by her ring name, Missy Hyatt. She gained the majority of her fame while working for World Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling....
sued Alfonso in a case televised on Judge Mathis
Judge Mathis
Judge Mathis is a syndicated television legal reality show produced originally by Black Pearl Productions. In 2008, it entered its tenth season produced by AND Syndicated Productions and Telepictures. It is taped at NBC Tower in Chicago, but includes cases and litigants from other U.S....
. She accused Alfonso of damaging her Porsche
Porsche
Porsche Automobil Holding SE, usually shortened to Porsche SE a Societas Europaea or European Public Company, is a German based holding company with investments in the automotive industry....
and was awarded $500.
In wrestling
- Wrestlers managedManager (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...
by Alfonso- Taz
TazzPeter Senerchia is a retired American professional wrestler and current color commentator best known by his ring name Tazz, originally Tazmaniac and later shortened to simply Taz...- Sabu
- Rob Van Dam
Rob Van DamRobert Alexander "Rob" Szatkowski , better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam , is an American professional wrestler and actor who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....- Jason Axe
- Vito DeNucci
Vito DeNucciLarry Lenz Brannon is a semi-active American professional wrestler, better known as Vito DeNucci or 'Vivacious' Vito. He is half of a tag team called The New Heavenly Bodies with "Casanova" Chris Nelson. Together, they have held the NWA World Tag Team Championship three times.-Career:Dr...- Z-Barr
- Taz
- NicknameNicknameA nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
s- "Fonzie"
- "The Best Manager in the Business"
- "The Manager of Champions"
- "The Man Who Calls It Right Down the Middle"
- "The Vice President of Extreme Affairs"
- "Big Money"
- "The Most Admired Man in Pro Wrestling"
Championships and accomplishments
- Pro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...
- PWI Manager of the Year (1997)