Donna Adamo
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Donna Adamo (born November 12, 1970) is an American retired
professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...
valet A valet or varlet is a male servant who serves as personal attendant to his employer. In the Middle Ages and Ancien Régime, valet de chambre was a role for junior courtiers and specialists such as artists in a royal court, but the term "vale ...
and
professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...
, better known by her
ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...
, Elektra. She is best known for her appearances with the
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
-based
promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...
Extreme Championship Wrestling HHG Corporation, doing business as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and media company that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as National Wrest ...
from October 1999 until its closure in April 2001. She is also known for her appearances in ''
The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based American Mafia, Italian-American mobster, portraying h ...
'' as a " Bada Bing Girl".


Early life

Adamo grew up in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, where she worked as a child and adult
model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the Plan_(drawing), plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a mea ...
for
Ford Models Ford Models, originally the Ford Modeling Agency, is an American international modeling agency based in New York City. It was established in 1946 by Eileen Ford and her husband Gerard W. Ford. Company Ford Models was started in 1946 by Eileen ...
. Before deciding to become a professional wrestler, Adamo held a series of other jobs, including tending bar, working as a donut stuffer for Country Donuts, working as a booker for a
modeling agency A modeling agency is a company that represents fashion models, to work for the fashion industry. These agencies earn their income via commission, usually from the deal they make with the model and/or the head agency. The top agencies work with bi ...
, working as a
fitting model A fit model (sometimes fitting model) is a person who is used by a fashion designer or clothing manufacturer to check the fit, drape and visual appearance of a design on a 'real' human being, effectively acting as a live mannequin. A person is se ...
, performing as an oil wrestler at the
strip club A strip club is a venue where strippers provide adult entertainment, predominantly in the form of striptease or other Erotic dancing, erotic or exotic dances. Strip clubs typically adopt a nightclub or Bar (establishment), bar style, and can also ...
s Billy Dean's and Goldfingers, and working as a booker for go go bars.


Professional wrestling career


Early career (1999)

In the late 1990s, Adamo decided to become a professional wrestler. She was trained as a professional wrestler by
The Fabulous Moolah Mary Lillian Ellison (July 22, 1923 – November 2, 2007) was an American professional wrestler better known by her ring name The Fabulous Moolah. She began her career working with promoter Billy Wolfe and his wife, wrestler and trainer Mildr ...
in
South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...
and by
Johnny Rodz John Rodriguez (born May 16, 1941) is an American former professional wrestler. He has previously worked as a professional wrestler under the ring name Johnny Rodz. Professional wrestling career World Wide Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. She debuted in 1999 under the
ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...
"Elektra". Elektra appeared on the April 5, 1999 edition of '' WWF Raw is War'', playing one of The Godfather's "hos" during his match with
WWF Intercontinental Champion The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, currently defended on the SmackDown brand division. It is one of two secondary championships for WWE's main roster ...
Goldust Dustin Patrick Runnels (born April 11, 1969) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Dustin Rhodes. He is best known for his multiple tenures with WWE f ...
.


Extreme Championship Wrestling (1999–2001)

Elektra debuted in
Extreme Championship Wrestling HHG Corporation, doing business as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and media company that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as National Wrest ...
(ECW) in October 1999 at
Re-enter the Sandman Re-enter the Sandman was a professional wrestling live event produced by Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) on October 23, 1999. The event was held in the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. Excerpts from Re-enter the ...
, with Cyrus the Virus presenting her to
Danny Doring Daniel Morrison (born February 19, 1974) is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Danny Doring. He is best known for his appearances with the professional wrestling promotion Extreme Championship Wrestling from 1997 to ...
as a replacement for
Miss Congeniality Miss Congeniality may refer to: * ''Miss Congeniality'' (film), 2000 film, directed by Donald Petrie, starring Sandra Bullock and Benjamin Bratt **'' Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous'', a 2005 sequel *A special award, the "Miss Congeniality A ...
. She went on to act as a
valet A valet or varlet is a male servant who serves as personal attendant to his employer. In the Middle Ages and Ancien Régime, valet de chambre was a role for junior courtiers and specialists such as artists in a royal court, but the term "vale ...
for Doring and his
tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...
partner,
Roadkill Roadkill is an animal or animals that have been struck and killed by drivers of motor vehicles on highways. Wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVC) have increasingly been the topic of academic research to understand the causes, and how it can be mi ...
, interfering in their matches and fighting with opposing valets such as
Francine :''This is a disambiguation page for the common name Francine.'' Francine is a female given name. The name is of French origin. The name Francine was most popular in France itself during the 1940s (Besnard & Desplanques 2003), and was well used i ...
. Elektra became known for her ability to
flex Flex or FLEX may refer to: Computing * Flex (language), developed by Alan Kay * FLEX (operating system), a single-tasking operating system for the Motorola 6800 * FlexOS, an operating system developed by Digital Research * FLEX (protocol), a comm ...
her
pectoralis major muscle The pectoralis major () is a thick, fan-shaped or triangular convergent muscle, situated at the chest of the human body. It makes up the bulk of the chest muscles and lies under the breast. Beneath the pectoralis major is the pectoralis minor, a ...
s, which she would often do while delivering promos. At
Living Dangerously In professional wrestling, Living Dangerously was a pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by Extreme Championship Wrestling HHG Corporation, doing business as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and me ...
on March 12, 2000, Elektra turned on Doring and Roadkill, costing them a match against Lou E. Dangerously's New Dangerous Alliance ( C. W. Anderson and
Bill Wiles William Wiles (born 1971) is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring names Billy Wiles and Bilvis Wesley. He is best known for his appearances in Extreme Championship Wrestling in the late 1990s and early 2000s, where he was pa ...
) by unbalancing Roadkill while he stood on the top rope. Later that night, Elektra delivered a promo in which she revealed that she had joined the New Dangerous Alliance. Elektra was subsequently nicknamed the "Director of Covert Operations" of the New Dangerous Alliance. At Hardcore Heaven 2000 on May 14, the New Dangerous Alliance came to the ring with Elektra wearing a
Mike Awesome Michael Lee Alfonso (January 24, 1965 – February 17, 2007) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his appearances with the American professional wrestling promotions Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Championship Wrestl ...
T-shirt (Awesome had abruptly left ECW for
World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nation ...
the prior month and was an unpopular figure with ECW fans as a result). After Lou E. Dangerously described Elektra as "the toughest woman in wrestling today",
Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
attacked the New Dangerous Alliance and tore off Elektra's T-shirt, leaving her in a swimsuit. After the New Dangerous Alliance disbanded, Elektra aligned herself with
E. Z. Money Jason Broyles (born April 27, 1973) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) under the ring name E. Z. Money. He also briefly wrestled for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in ...
,
Julio Dinero Brian Wohl (born April 14, 1972) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known for his ring name Julio Dinero. His real name is sometimes mistakenly given as Brian Wall. Professional wrestling career Wohl debuted in 1994 after tra ...
and
Chris Hamrick Christopher Hamrick (born October 21, 1966) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his stint in ECW, though he is also known for his appearances in WWE, TNA and throughout the independent circuit. Professional wrestling car ...
(collectively known as Hot Commodity). At
Anarchy Rulz 2000 Anarchy Rulz (2000) was the second and final Anarchy Rulz professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). It took place on October 1, 2000 from the Roy Wilkins Auditorium in Saint Paul, Minnesota. ...
on October 1, Elektra accompanied
E. Z. Money Jason Broyles (born April 27, 1973) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) under the ring name E. Z. Money. He also briefly wrestled for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in ...
to the ring for his match with
Kid Kash David Tyler Cash (born July 31, 1969) better known by his ring name Kid Kash, is an American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler, best known for his tenures with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (T ...
. Following the match,
The Sandman The Sandman is a mythical character in European folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes. Representation in traditional folklore The Sandman is a traditional charact ...
caned the members of Hot Commodity before spitting beer over Elektra. At
Massacre on 34th Street Massacre on 34th Street was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). It took place on December 3, 2000, from the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, and was the second to last pay-pe ...
on December 3, Elektra received a Kryptonite Krunch from
Nova A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...
prior to his bout with
Julio Dinero Brian Wohl (born April 14, 1972) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known for his ring name Julio Dinero. His real name is sometimes mistakenly given as Brian Wall. Professional wrestling career Wohl debuted in 1994 after tra ...
. At the final ECW pay-per-view,
Guilty as Charged 2001 Guilty as Charged (2001) was the third and final ECW Guilty as Charged professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). It took place on January 7, 2001, from the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York, ...
on January 7, 2001, Elektra accompanied E. Z. Money and Julio Dinero as they unsuccessfully challenged Doring and Roadkill for the
ECW World Tag Team Championship The ECW World Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). It was introduced in National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) affiliate and ECW precursor, Extreme Championship Wrestlin ...
. ECW staged its final show six days later and filed for bankruptcy on April 4, 2001. Four years after the closure of ECW, Elektra (alongside C. W. Anderson and
Chris Chetti Christopher Chetti (born July 16, 1974) is an American retired professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) between 1996 and 2001. Professional wrestling career Extreme Championship Wrestling ...
) appeared in the front row of the audience of the
World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...
ECW One Night Stand on June 12, 2005, with The Sandman and
Tommy Dreamer Thomas James Laughlin (born February 13, 1971), is an American professional wrestler and promoter better known by the ring name Tommy Dreamer. He is signed to Impact Wrestling and is the owner and promoter of the House of Hardcore (HOH) promo ...
pouring beer on her chest and licking it off during their entrance. Elektra appeared as a
playable character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...
in the
videogame Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedb ...
''
ECW Anarchy Rulz Anarchy Rulz was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by Extreme Championship Wrestling HHG Corporation, doing business as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and media compan ...
'', released for the
PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
and the
Dreamcast The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, N ...
in August 2000.


NWA Total Nonstop Action (2002)

Elektra appeared on the inaugural
NWA Total Nonstop Action Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment. Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promoti ...
pay-per-view on 19 June 2002, with
Ed Ferrera Edward Ferrara (born November 22, 1966) is an American retired professional wrestler, writer and agent for the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling, often co-working alongside Vince Russo. He is most known for, in WCW, po ...
and Don West announcing that she would take part in a "
lingerie Lingerie (, , ) is a category of primarily women's clothing including undergarments (mainly brassieres), sleepwear, and lightweight robes. The choice of the word is often motivated by an intention to imply that the garments are alluring, fashio ...
battle royal Battle royal (; also royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants that is fought until only one fighter remains standing, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules. In recent times, the term has been used in a ...
" to crown the first "Miss TNA" the following week. On the second weekly TNA pay-per-view, which aired on June 26, 2002, Elektra faced
Alexis Laree Mickie Laree James (born August 31, 1979) Additional January 6, 2017. is an American professional wrestler and country singer. She is currently signed to Impact Wrestling. She has also had tenures in WWE and the National Wrestling Alliance (NW ...
, Erin Bray,
Francine :''This is a disambiguation page for the common name Francine.'' Francine is a female given name. The name is of French origin. The name Francine was most popular in France itself during the 1940s (Besnard & Desplanques 2003), and was well used i ...
, Miss Joni, Miss Sasha, Shannon and Taylor Vaughn in the lingerie battle royal. The final two women left in the match were Elektra and Vaughn, with Vaughn eliminating Elektra to be crowned "Miss TNA". This was Elektra's final appearance in TNA.


Satin Dolls and ''The Sopranos''

Since retiring from professional wrestling in 2002, Elektra has worked as a booker for the Satin Dolls
strip club A strip club is a venue where strippers provide adult entertainment, predominantly in the form of striptease or other Erotic dancing, erotic or exotic dances. Strip clubs typically adopt a nightclub or Bar (establishment), bar style, and can also ...
in
Lodi, New Jersey Lodi (; ) is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 24,136, During the 2000s, Elektra made uncredited appearances as an
extra Extra or Xtra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * ''Extra'' (newspaper), a Brazilian newspaper * ''Extra!'', an American me ...
in multiple episodes of the television series ''
The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based American Mafia, Italian-American mobster, portraying h ...
'' as a stripper in the "
Bada Bing Bada Bing! is a fictional strip club from the HBO drama television series ''The Sopranos.'' It was a key location for events in the series, named for the catchphrase "bada bing", a phrase popularized by James Caan's character Sonny Corleone in ''T ...
" strip club, scenes for which were filmed in Satin Dolls. Elektra and fellow "Bada Bing" strippers Justine Noelle, Kelly Madison Kole, Luiza Liccini, Marie Athanasiou, Nadine Marcelletti, Rosie Ciavolino and Sonia Ortega appeared in a photo spread in the August 2001 issue of ''
Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...
'' magazine. Elektra intentionally lost muscle mass for the photoshoot. In June 2013, Elektra was interviewed by
RTL Nieuws RTL Nieuws is a Dutch television news service produced by RTL Nederland. The national and international news service produces 17 bulletins each weekday and six weekend bulletins for RTL4 and RTL Z, reaching a total audience of about 1.5 million pe ...
, expressing sadness at the sudden death of
James Gandolfini James Joseph Gandolfini Jr. (; September 18, 1961 – June 19, 2013) was an American actor. For his role as Tony Soprano, the Italian-American Mafia crime boss in HBO's television series ''The Sopranos'', he won three Emmy Awards, five Scree ...
, the actor who starred in ''The Sopranos''.


Personal life

Adamo was married to fellow wrestler Alex Rizzo, who she met while training under
Johnny Rodz John Rodriguez (born May 16, 1941) is an American former professional wrestler. He has previously worked as a professional wrestler under the ring name Johnny Rodz. Professional wrestling career World Wide Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling ...
. The couple divorced prior to Rizzo's death in May 2002. They also have a daughter together. Adamo is
Italian American Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, ...
. Adamo studied
gemology Gemology or gemmology is the science dealing with natural and artificial gemstone materials. It is a geoscience and a branch of mineralogy. Some jewelers (and many non-jewelers) are academically trained gemologists and are qualified to identify a ...
at the
Gemological Institute of America The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) is a nonprofit institute based in Carlsbad, California. It is dedicated to research and education in the field of gemology and the jewelry arts. Founded in 1931, GIA's mission is to protect buyers and ...
.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Elektra 1970 births 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American women 21st-century professional wrestlers American child models American female professional wrestlers American professional wrestlers of Italian descent Female models from New York (state) Living people People from Brooklyn Professional wrestlers from New York (state) Professional wrestlers from New York City Professional wrestling managers and valets