John Ferraro (born November 28)
is an American
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 ...
and
strongman
In the 19th century, the term strongman referred to an exhibitor of strength or similar circus performers who performed feats of strength. More recently, strength athletics, also known as strongman competitions, have grown in popularity. Thes ...
, best known by his
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 ...
Gino Martino. He has wrestled for
Chaotic Wrestling
Chaotic Wrestling (CW) is an American independent wrestling promotion, which has been operating throughout New England since 2000; with its current home base in North Andover, Massachusetts.
Chaotic Wrestling is known for producing successful, ...
, the
Millennium Wrestling Federation,
New England Championship Wrestling
New England Championship Wrestling (NECW) is an independent professional wrestling promotion based in the Northeastern United States that has promoted events since 2000. Currently owned and operated by Sheldon Goldberg, is one of the top indepe ...
,
NWA New England
The Century Wrestling Alliance, formerly known as NWA Cold Front and NWA New England, is a New England-based American independent wrestling promotion located in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded by Tony Rumble in 1989, a retired wrestler an ...
,
Ultimate Ring Wars and
Paulie Gilmore
James E. Allen is an American professional wrestler and promoter, best known by his ringname "Big" Paulie Gilmore or Gilmorea, who wrestled on the New England independent circuit for the Century Wrestling Alliance, the National Wrestling Allian ...
's New World Wrestling. Although based in the Northeast, competing most often in the
New England region, Ferraro has wrestled in other parts of the US as well as in Canada and Europe.
Ferraro has held
championship titles
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
in numerous promotions in his career. He is a former
NWA New England Heavyweight Champion,
NWA New England Colonial Heavyweight Champion,
NWA New England Tag Team Champion (with Ali Mohammed), and winner of the
2004 Tony Rumble Memorial Rumble. He also
feuded with
"Big" Rick Fuller over the
Chaotic Wrestling Heavyweight Championship
The Chaotic Wrestling (CW) Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship in Chaotic Wrestling. The current champion is Davienne, who is in her second reign.
Title history
As of , , there have been 47 reigns between 30 champio ...
during 2001, winning the belt twice. Nine years later, he was inducted into the
promotion's hall of fame. He has been similarly honored by the
New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame
The New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame and Fan Fest is an American professional wrestling hall of fame. It was established in January 2008 to honor select wrestling personalities who have made significant contributions to professional wrestli ...
.
In addition to these championships Ferraro has won a number of
brass knuckles
Brass knuckles (variously referred to as knuckles, knucks, brass knucks, knucklebusters, knuckledusters, knuckle daggers, English punch, iron fist, paperweight, or a classic) are "fist-load weapons" used in hand-to-hand combat. Brass knuckles ...
and
similar hardcore-themed titles, most notably, the
AWA
Awa (or variants) may refer to:
People
* Awa (given name), notable people named Awa or Hawa
* Awá (Brazil), an indigenous people of Brazil
* Awa-Kwaiker, an indigenous people of Colombia and Ecuador
Languages
* Awa language (China) or Wa (Va) ...
and
NWA New England Brass Knuckles Championships; he is also only one of two men, along with
Don Fargo
Donald Vincent Kalt (October 3, 1930 – November 8, 2015), better known by his ring name Don Fargo, was a German-born American professional wrestler. During his career (which spanned from 1952 to 1986), he held over 55 championships including 14 ...
, to hold brass knuckles titles recognized by both the
American Wrestling Association
The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The territory was originally part o ...
and
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc.
Founded in 1948, the NWA ...
. He has been featured in ''New Wave Wrestling'', ''
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publish ...
'', ''
WOW Magazine
This is a list of professional wrestling magazines. They are published either in print or online and range from official magazines of professional wrestling promotions to "dirt sheets", which cover more insider information and sometimes rumors. So ...
'', and ''Wrestle America''; one magazine ranked Ferraro #39 of the top 50 brawlers in pro wrestling history.
He has won numerous tag team titles as one-half of The Millenium Killaz with Ali Mohammed.
He was also part of The Alliance of Violence with
The Vachon Brothers in
CWA Montreal, where he and Pierre Vachon became the promotion's first-ever tag team champions in 2006, and Demon Ortiz in Chaotic Wrestling several years later.
A legitimate strongman, Ferraro has performed feats of strength for numerous television and radio shows in New England, and at public events throughout the world. Often referred to as "Hammer Head" or "The Human Anvil", his specialty is breaking heavy objects such as
concrete cinderblocks over his head. An assistant is generally used to drop
bowling ball
A bowling ball is a hard spherical ball used to knock down bowling pins in the sport of bowling.
Balls used in ten-pin bowling and American nine-pin bowling traditionally have holes for two fingers and the thumb. Balls used in five-pin bowling, ...
s or operate a
jackhammer
A jackhammer (pneumatic drill or demolition hammer in British English) is a pneumatic or electro-mechanical tool that combines a hammer directly with a chisel. It was invented by William Mcreavy, who then sold the patent to Charles Brady Kin ...
or
sledge
A sled, skid, sledge, or sleigh is a land vehicle that slides across a surface, usually of ice or snow. It is built with either a smooth underside or a separate body supported by two or more smooth, relatively narrow, longitudinal runners s ...
.
["The PWI 500." '']Pro Wrestling Illustrated
''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publish ...
''. Fort Washington, Pennsylvania: London Publishing Company. (November 2003): pg. 74. He has also encouraged 300 pound wrestlers to stand on his chest while lying on a
bed of nails
A bed of nails is an oblong piece of wood, the size of a bed, with nails pointing upwards out of it. It appears to the spectator that anyone lying on this "bed" would be injured by the nails, but this is not so. Assuming the nails are numerous ...
.
["The PWI 500." '']Pro Wrestling Illustrated
''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publish ...
''. Fort Washington, Pennsylvania: London Publishing Company. (December 2001): pg. 74. In 2010, he was featured on ''
Stan Lee's Superhumans
''Stan Lee's Superhumans'' is a documentary television series that debuted from August 5, 2010 to September 17, 2014 on History. It is hosted by Marvel comic book superhero creator Stan Lee and follows contortionist Daniel Browning Smith, "th ...
''.
Less than a year later one of his demonstrations in
Milan, Italy
Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4  ...
, aired on ''Lo show dei record'', set the
Guinness World Record
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
for the most concrete blocks (45) broken on the head with a bowling ball.
Early life
John Ferraro was born in
Revere, Massachusetts
Revere is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States, located approximately from Downtown Crossing, downtown Boston. Founded as North Chelsea in 1846, it was renamed in 1871 after the American Revolutionary War Patriot (American Re ...
. He was a fan of pro wrestling growing up and followed the
World Wide Wrestling Federation
Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd. was an American sports promotion company. It was run by Vincent J. McMahon from 1953 to 1982. Operating as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC), the company was originally a professional wrestling and boxing ...
during the late 1970s and early 80s.
Superstar Billy Graham
Eldridge Wayne Coleman (born June 7, 1943), better known by his ring name "Superstar" Billy Graham, is an American former professional wrestler. He gained recognition for his tenure as the WWWF Heavyweight Champion in 1977–1978. He is a thre ...
,
The Samoans, and
managers
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities o ...
Freddie Blassie
Frederick Kenneth Blassman (February 8, 1918 – June 2, 2003) was an American professional wrestler and manager, known by the ring name "Classy" Freddie Blassie. Renowned as "The Hollywood Fashion Plate","Classy" Freddie Blassie with Keith Elliot ...
and
The Grand Wizard were among his favorites. He started
weightlifting
Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift Weight training#Equipment, weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various t ...
during his teenage years and eventually became a collegiate
Bench Press
The bench press, or chest press, is a weight training exercise in which the trainee presses a weight upwards while lying on a weight training bench. Although the bench press is a full-body exercise, the muscles primarily used are the pectorali ...
and
olympic-style weightlifting champion. As a powerlifter he benched 565 lbs.and lift 350 lbs. in the behind the neck press. He also had a background in martial arts,
namely
judo
is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...
, and was also a power breaking champion.
Ferraro was later employed as director of sales and marketing at Patriot Plastics in
Woburn, Massachusetts
Woburn ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,876 at the 2020 census. Woburn is located north of Boston. Woburn uses Massachusetts' mayor-council form of governme ...
, and remained with the company throughout his pro wrestling career.
Ferraro eventually became interested in a pro wrestling career. He considered attending
Killer Kowalski
Walter Kowalski (born Edward Władysław Spulnik; October 13, 1926 – August 30, 2008), known professionally as Killer Kowalski, was a Polish-Canadian professional wrestler.
Kowalski wrestled for numerous promotions during his career, includin ...
's wrestling school in
Malden, Massachusetts
Malden is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 66,263 people.
History
Malden, a hilly woodland area north of the Mystic River, was settled by Puritans in 1640 on la ...
but decided against it due to the high tuition fees. He was instead trained by Jeff "Bruiser" Costa, Rip Morrison, Dan Petiglio, and Paul Zine among others. Zine specifically helped develop his
in-ring persona and getting him
bookings in his early career.
He also received additional training from
Tony Rumble
Anthony David Magliaro (November 6, 1956 – November 13, 1999) was an American professional wrestler and manager, known by the ring name Boston Bad Boy Tony Rumble. He competed on the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic independent circuit during th ...
,
Ox Baker
Douglas Albert Baker Sr. (April 19, 1934 – October 20, 2014) was an American professional wrestler and actor, better known professionally as Ox Baker. He was famous for his distinctive eyebrows and finishing move, the Heart Punch, sometimes c ...
, and
The Iron Sheik
Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri ( fa, حسین خسرو علی وزیری, romanized: Hossein Xosrô 'Ali Vaziri; born March 15, 1942), better known by his ring name the Iron Sheik, is an Iranian retired professional wrestler, amateur wrestler and a ...
and adopted versions of their finishers as
homage
Homage (Old English) or Hommage (French) may refer to:
History
*Homage (feudal) /ˈhɒmɪdʒ/, the medieval oath of allegiance
*Commendation ceremony, medieval homage ceremony Arts
*Homage (arts) /oʊˈmɑʒ/, an allusion or imitation by one arti ...
s to the latter two.
Professional wrestling career
Early career in the New England independents (1996–1999)
Ferraro made his professional debut in November 1996 and wrestled for the first six months of his career as "The Golden Gorilla". He started his career in Jeff Costa's World Independent Wrestling promotion in
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
twice winning the promotion's heavyweight title from Sonny Goodspeed and Bart Hart respectively. On December 13, 1998, he took part in
Power League Wrestling's "Power-House Brawl", a benefit show for
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
"
Toys for Tots
Toys for Tots is a program run by the United States Marine Corps Reserve which distributes toys to children whose parents cannot afford to buy them gifts for Christmas. The program was founded in 1947 by reservist Major Bill Hendricks.
Th ...
" program, at
Johnson & Wales University
Johnson & Wales University (JWU) is a private university with its main campus in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded as a business school in 1914 by Gertrude I. Johnson and Mary T. Wales, JWU enrolled 7,357 students across its campuses in the fa ...
in
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...
. Ferraro was the 17th entrant in the 23-man event and eliminated three wrestlers before he, the last participant, was eliminated by Derik Destiny. Four months later, he defeated Universal Soldier for the PLW Heavyweight Championship at St. Anthony's Parish Center in
Pawtucket. Ferraro was subsequently stripped of the title after awarding it to his manager Scott Knight. That same year, he received an award for "Best Newcomer" (1998).
Over the next two years, he won titles in numerous promotions on the New England independent circuit.
In 1999, he became the first wrestler to simultaneously hold the heavyweight titles of the top three independent promotions in Rhode Island at the time (Unified Championship Wrestling, Independent Wrestling Alliance, and Power League Wrestling). He also won multiple tag team titles with Ali Mohammed as The Millenium Killaz.
In August 1999, the team won the UCW Tag Team Championship from Kyle Storm and Widowmaker in a Bed of Nails hardcore match. A year later, they also won the tag team titles in International Independent Wrestling and Primal Conflict Wrestling. Ferraro was also involved with Northeast Championship Wrestling in
West Warwick, Rhode Island
West Warwick is a town in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 31,012 at the 2020 census.
West Warwick was incorporated in 1913, making it the youngest town in the state. Prior to 1913, the town, situated on the wester ...
. Starting in 2000, he and Anthony "Troubleman" Rufo began training a select few of the NCW roster.
NWA New England (1999–2000)
It was during this period that Ferraro got his first big break wrestling for
Tony Rumble
Anthony David Magliaro (November 6, 1956 – November 13, 1999) was an American professional wrestler and manager, known by the ring name Boston Bad Boy Tony Rumble. He competed on the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic independent circuit during th ...
and the
NWA New England
The Century Wrestling Alliance, formerly known as NWA Cold Front and NWA New England, is a New England-based American independent wrestling promotion located in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded by Tony Rumble in 1989, a retired wrestler an ...
promotion in
Boston, Massachusetts. He appeared on its inaugural event held at the Good Times Emporium in
Somerville, Massachusetts
Somerville ( ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, and north of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a total population of 81, ...
where he teamed with Joel Davis and
Trooper Gilmore
James E. Allen is an American professional wrestler and promoter, best known by his ringname "Big" Paulie Gilmore or Gilmorea, who wrestled on the New England independent circuit for the Century Wrestling Alliance, the National Wrestling Alliance ...
in a 6-man tag team match against The NY Posse (Ron Zombie, Curtis Slamdawg, and Jay Kobain). He began competing regularly for the promotion the following year scoring victories over
"Brutal" Bob Evans and Alex Arion in the fall of 1999.
On July 20, 2000, he and Ali Mohammed won the
NWA New England Tag Team Championship from (Luis Ortiz,
Slyk Wagner Brown
Wagner Brown (born September 5, 1979) is a Jamaican born professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, SWB or Slyck Wagner Brown. Brown currently wrestles on the Independent circuit in the Northeastern United States. Additionally, SWB was ...
, and
Jason Rumble). They dropped the belts to Luis Ortiz and Jason Rumble a month later in Somerville; earlier in the show, Martino defeated Trooper Gilmore, Nemesis, Jaime Paine and Zach Mason in a five-way match to win the
NWA New England Brass Knuckles Championship. Prior to losing the tag team belts, he was the first wrestler to hold both the NWA New England Tag Team and Brass Knuckles titles at the same time. At one point, he was managed
The Pink Assassin
Robert "Bob" Shoup, better known by his ring name The Pink Assassin, is an American retired professional wrestler and manager. He was best known for his time in International Championship Wrestling where he feuded with "Jumping" Joe Savoldi and Ro ...
and was walked to the ring with a
dog collar
A dog collar is a piece of material put around the neck of a dog. A collar may be used for restraint, identification, fashion, or protection. Identification tags and medical information are often placed on dog collars. Collars are often used in ...
.
Also that summer, a
cage match between Ferraro and
John Kronus
George B. Caiazzo (January 13, 1969 – July 18, 2007) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, John Kronus, and later simply Kronus. Caiazzo worked for Extreme Championship Wrestling, the United States Wrestling Asso ...
ended in a no-contest. The two met again in September three months later for a UCW show at Johnson and Wales College. Their
hardcore match
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
went to a 20-min. draw before referees stopped the match. The infamous "Blood Bath Street Fight" became the "Most Requested Match of the Year" on Joe Bruins' Hardcore Wrestling show aired on
Cox Cable
Cox Communications, Inc. (also known as Cox Cable and formerly Cox Broadcasting Corporation, Dimension Cable Services and Times-Mirror Cable) is an American digital cable television provider, telecommunications and home automation services. It i ...
in Rhode Island. The Millennium Killaz also defended the PCW Tag Team Championship against one-time
ECW World Tag Team Champions
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, Eastern Championship Wrestlin ...
The Pitbulls
The Pitbulls (sometimes written as The Pit Bulls) were a professional wrestling tag team that consisted of "Pitbull #1" Gary Wolfe and "Pitbull #2" Anthony Durante. They were best known for their tenure in Extreme Championship Wrestling, where ...
(
Pitbull #1 and
Pitbull #2), a bout which ended in a double-disqualification. At the end of the month, Martino faced his tag team partner in a three-way thumbtack match with Jamie Paine for the NWA New England Brass Knuckles title on September 28, 2000. That same year he was one of several wrestlers featured in the 2000 pro wrestling documentary "Ringmasters: Pro Wrestling in New England", a special presentation by
New England Sports Network which later aired on
Spike TV
Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles.
The channel was o ...
.
Chaotic Wrestling (2000–2001)
Ferraro began wrestling for
Chaotic Wrestling
Chaotic Wrestling (CW) is an American independent wrestling promotion, which has been operating throughout New England since 2000; with its current home base in North Andover, Massachusetts.
Chaotic Wrestling is known for producing successful, ...
in late 2000. On October 20, 2000, he defeated Jay Jaillette for the
Chaotic Wrestling Heavyweight Championship
The Chaotic Wrestling (CW) Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship in Chaotic Wrestling. The current champion is Davienne, who is in her second reign.
Title history
As of , , there have been 47 reigns between 30 champio ...
in
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...
. In his seven-month championship reign, Ferraro successfully defended the title against some of the top wrestlers in the Northeast. On January 12, 2001, he defeated John Kronus in a "Revere Street Fight" involving a bed of nails. He also faced El Mascarado (February 9),
"Mr. USA" Tony Atlas (February 23), and
Ronnie D. Lishus
Ronald "Ron" DiMaria, also known by the ring name Ronnie D. Lishus, is an American retired professional wrestler. DiMaria began his career in Killer Kowalski's International Wrestling Federation, where he held the IWF Heavyweight Championship, a ...
(April 6), the latter match being officiated by
special guest referee
In professional wrestling, a referee is an authority figure present in or near the ring during matches. The referee's purpose is similar to that of referees in combat sports such as boxing or mixed martial arts, that is, as an arbiter of the rul ...
Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat
Richard Henry Blood Sr. (born February 28, 1953), better known by his ring name Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his work with the American Wrestling Association (AWA), Jim Crockett Promot ...
. Another notable opponent was his tag team partner, Ali Mohammed, who he defeated in a Razor Chain match. Ferraro finally lost the belt to
Rick Fuller
Richard Fuller (born February 18, 1967) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling from 1997 to 2000.
Early life
Born in Middleborough, Massachusetts, Fuller graduated fr ...
at the
Wonderland Greyhound Park
Wonderland may refer to:
Places
Municipalities
* Wonderland, California, a ghost town in Plumas County
* Wonderland, Ohio, a ghost town in Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
Roads, streets, and trails
* Wonderland Avenue, a roadway in Laurel Canyon, Los A ...
in
Revere on May 18.
A few weeks later, he entered the 2001 King of Chaos tournament and made it to the finals where Ferraro lost to Ali Mohammed in a four-way match with Jamie Paine and Nemesis. This was the first-ever "hardcore" match held in New England to use a no-rope barbed wire ring, light tubes, fire, a bed of nails, thumbtacks, and foreign objects. On June 23, he also teamed with
Short Sleeve Sampson
Daniel DiLucchio (born 1973) is an American Midget professional wrestler best known by his ring name Short Sleeve Sampson. Sampson works on the independent circuit, mainly for Micro Championship Wrestling, TNT Pro Wrestling, and Midget Wrestling ...
in a losing effort against The One Night Stand at the Knights of Columbus Hall in
Methuen, Massachusetts
Methuen () is a 23 square mile (60 km2) city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 53,059 at the 2020 census. Methuen lies along the northwestern edge of Essex County, just east of Middlesex County and just south of ...
.
Ferraro regained the heavyweight title from Fuller
in a
Lights Out match
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
on the July 13th edition of Friday Night Chaos. In August, the then reigning Chaotic Wrestling champion was interviewed by ''
Boston Magazine
''Boston'' is a monthly magazine concerning life in the Greater Boston area and has been in publication since 1805.
History and profile
''Boston'' magazine was started in 1805. Metrocorp, Inc. bought the magazine in 1970. The company also owns ...
'' in which he discussed the difficulties of being an independent wrestler.
His second reign lasted for a little over two months before he was dethroned by The One Night Stand's Ronnie D. Lishus in
Lawrence, Massachusetts
Lawrence is a city located in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, on the Merrimack River. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 89,143. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and Nort ...
on September 7, 2001;
he had defeated
Aaron Stevens in a match lasting 47 seconds earlier that same night. Two weeks later, Ferraro defeated Jimmy Cash in a
Tables match
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
. His last match was against Scarecrow on December 14, 2001, which ended in a disqualification.
Suffering a serious neck injury in his bout with Ronnie D. Lishus, he took three months off to recuperate and lost 30 pounds by the time he returned to action early the next year.
["The PWI 500." '']Pro Wrestling Illustrated
''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publish ...
''. Fort Washington, Pennsylvania: London Publishing Company. (December 2002): pg. 74.
Independent circuit (2002–2003)
Prior to the end of his first run with Chaotic Wrestling, Ferraro returned to Rhode Island where he and Ali Mohammed regained the PCW Tag Team Championship from The Mutilators on October 4, 2002. On January 18, 2003, in Ultimate Championship Wrestling, he also defeated Travis Funk in a
Strap match to win the UCW Heavyweight Championship.
A year later, The Millenium Killaz won the UCW Tag Team Championship as well. Ferraro also wrestled for Jaime Pain and Nemesis' Crimson Mask Wrestling, PWF Northeast, and Rocky Raymond's Empire Professional Wrestling, the latter running events at
Whalom Park
Whalom Park was an amusement park located on Lake Whalom in Lunenburg, Massachusetts, that operated from 1893 to 2000. The site was redeveloped into a 240-unit condominium complex.
Whalom Park was established in 1893 by the Fitchburg & Leominste ...
and
Thompson Speedway
Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park (TSMP), formerly Thompson Speedway and Thompson International Speedway, is a motorsports park in Thompson, Connecticut, featuring a asphalt oval racetrack and a road racing course. Once known as the "Indianapo ...
. Although primarily based in the
Northeast
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
and
New England region, Ferraro eventually wrestled in other parts the country, such as for Bill Behrens in Georgia and Bert Prentice in Tennessee, as well as in Canada and Europe.
Millennium Wrestling Federation (2003–2004)
In late 2003, Ferraro joined the
Millennium Wrestling Federation. He was originally brought in by MWF Commissioner Dr. Von Johnson to take out Ralph Lano but later turned against him.
At MWF's "Soul Survivor", he and
Slyk Wagner Brown
Wagner Brown (born September 5, 1979) is a Jamaican born professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, SWB or Slyck Wagner Brown. Brown currently wrestles on the Independent circuit in the Northeastern United States. Additionally, SWB was ...
attacked Todd Hanson following his victory over
D-Lo Brown, also cutting his hair and throwing it at Hanson's family members seated at ringside. Embarrassing Hanson in front of his hometown, their actions began a heated year-long feud between the two wrestlers. Later on in the show, in which Ferraro was scheduled to have a championship match, MWF Commissioner Dr. Von Johnson
"screwed" him by ordering a
gauntlet match
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
instead. Ferraro defeated three other wrestlers to get to Todd Hanson and battled to a double-countout. He was later recruited by
Ox Baker
Douglas Albert Baker Sr. (April 19, 1934 – October 20, 2014) was an American professional wrestler and actor, better known professionally as Ox Baker. He was famous for his distinctive eyebrows and finishing move, the Heart Punch, sometimes c ...
to join his stable, Ox Baker's Army. While managed by Baker,
he used a variation of Baker's infamous
heart punch, using a headbutt rather than a punch, called the "Baker Breaker". Soul Survivor 04' saw Ferraro team with
Kamala the Ugandan Giant
James Arthur Harris (May 28, 1950August 9, 2020), better known by his ring name Kamala, was an American professional wrestler. Nicknamed "The Ugandan Giant", Kamala portrayed a fearsome and simpleminded Ugandan. He wrestled barefoot, clad only i ...
and The Executioner in a 6-man tag team match against Todd Hanson, Beau Douglas, and
"Cowboy" Bob Orton.
When Hanson pinned the Executioner, Ferraro was blamed for the loss
["The PWI 500." '']Pro Wrestling Illustrated
''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publish ...
''. Fort Washington, Pennsylvania: London Publishing Company. (November 2005): pg. 74. since he was the team captain. He started trading blows with Kamala and his former stablemates turned against him. Eventually, Todd Hanson and his team returned to the ring on Ferraro's behalf. The show ended with Ferraro shaking hands with his long-time rival.
Return to NWA NE (2004–2005)
Ferraro returned to NWA New England in the summer of 2004. On June 4, he won a 12-man
taped fist 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 regain the
NWA New England Brass Knuckles Championship. He briefly lost the title to Osirus on August 4 but regained it six days later in a "Buxton Barroom Brawl" in
Buxton, Maine
Buxton is a town in York County, Maine, United States. It is part of the Portland metropolitan area. The population was 8,376 at the 2020 census. Buxton includes the villages of Salmon Falls/Tory Hill, Chicopee, Groveville, Bar Mills, West Buxton ...
. The bout was voted the best match of the year for New Wrestling Horizons by the Freaks of Wrestling website. Ferraro followed this up with successful title defenses against Johnny Curtis, Craig Stratton, Brian Black, and
Jason Rumble.
In addition to the NWA New England-New Wrestling Horizons interpromotional shows, Ferraro also wrestled solely for NWH shows where he feuded with Larry Huntley.
On September 28, Ferraro also pinned Jason Rumble in a match to decide the number one contender for the NWH Heavyweight Championship. He later teamed with Danny Dangerous to win the NWH Tag Team titles from The Elite (Larry Huntley and Sonny Roselli).
In October, Ferraro represented NWA New England at the 2-day
NWA 56th Anniversary Show in
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
; he and Larry Huntley lost to The Trailer Park Boyz (Matt Korn and Dave Drako) on the first night (October 15) while Ferraro defeated Dave Drako the second night (October 16).
He also defended the title in New Wrestling Horizons and NWA Green Mountain that same month. On November 4, 2004, Ferraro won the 2nd annual Tony Rumble Memorial "Rumble" Battle Royal, co-promoted by NWA New England and
Paulie Gilmore
James E. Allen is an American professional wrestler and promoter, best known by his ringname "Big" Paulie Gilmore or Gilmorea, who wrestled on the New England independent circuit for the Century Wrestling Alliance, the National Wrestling Allian ...
's New World Wrestling, and was awarded the
NWA New England Colonial Heavyweight Championship
The NWA New England Colonial Championship was a short-lived secondary singles wrestling title in the NWA New England. It was first won by Gino Martino, who was awarded the title after winning the annual ''Tony Rumble Memorial Battle Royal'' in ...
; also during the show he successfully defended the NWA Brass Knuckles title in a Broken Glass Death match against Dave Donavan winning via submission. Two weeks later, Ferraro defeated Beau Douglas at NWA New England's 2004 Tony Rumble Memorial Show. He spent the rest of the year making Brass Knuckle title defenses in NWA Green Mountain, NWA USA Pro Wrestling, and
NWA Wildside
NWA Wildside was an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Cornelia, Georgia, with an office in Atlanta, Georgia, operating between September 1999 and April 2005. It was originally formed when National Championship Wrestlin ...
.
On February 4, 2005, Ferraro beat The Outpatient and Apocalypse in a
Triple Threat match
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
to win the
NWA New England Heavyweight Championship
The CWA Heavyweight Championship is the primary professional wrestling singles title in the Century Wrestling Alliance. The title was first won by Tommy Dreamer who defeated "Mr. USA" Tony Atlas in a tournament final held in Wallingford, Connecti ...
. As a result of this victory, he became the only wrestler in NWA New England history to simultaneously hold the promotion's heavyweight, colonial, and bass knuckles championships.
One day after his victory, Ferraro defended the NWA New England Brass Knuckles title at New World Wrestling's "Extreme Revenge" against Pierre Vachon in a barbed-wire chain death match. On March 3, Ferraro won a hardcore battle royal in the All Star Wrestling Federation by pinning Jose Perez via a
fireball. Two weeks later in NWA New England, he and the 7'2" 550 lbs. Bull Moose Calhoun fought to a no-contest in a
Dog Collar match
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
.
On June 10, 2005, he defended the Brass Knuckles title against Pierre Vachon in a
Fans Bring the Weapons match
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick, gimmick matches" in the Glossary of professional wrestling terms, jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. So ...
. He re-wrestled Vachon, this time in a three-way broken bottle death match with Dave Donavan, and won the ASWF Hardcore Championship.
Return to MWF (2005)
After leaving Ox Baker's Army, Ferraro began training with
The Iron Sheik
Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri ( fa, حسین خسرو علی وزیری, romanized: Hossein Xosrô 'Ali Vaziri; born March 15, 1942), better known by his ring name the Iron Sheik, is an Iranian retired professional wrestler, amateur wrestler and a ...
who eventually became his manager. Like Ox Baker, he started using his own version of The Iron Sheik's
Camel clutch
Professional wrestling holds include a number of set moves and pins used by performers to immobilize their opponents or lead to a Submission wrestling, submission. This article covers the various pins, stretches and transition holds used in the ri ...
finisher called the "Iron Clutch". It was during this time that Ferraro started the so-called "Headbutt Challenge" offering $5,000 to anyone who could knock him out in a
headbutt
A headbutt is a targeted strike with the head, typically (when intentional) involving the use of robust parts of the headbutter's cranium as the area of impact. The most effective headbutts strike the most sensitive areas of an opponent, such as ...
ing contest. No one was successful in collecting the money.
This was initially done to promote himself as having "the hardest head in all pro wrestling",
however, this was later incorporated into his legitimate strongman performances.
On August 5, 2005, he wrestled both Vachon Brothers in a single night, defeating Damian in the first match and Pierre Vachon in an
Anything Goes match
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
later on. On September 24, 2005, he won a "King of the Jungle" Death match against Kamala at "Road to the Gold" to win the
AWA Brass Knuckles Championship.
He defended the belt against The Outpatient in a
Falls Count Anywhere match
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
on October 22. Another title defense at MWF's "Soul Survivor III", against
The Missing Link,
ended in a no-contest. He has called this the most favorite match of his career.
Ferraro continued feuding with Ox Baker's Army for the remainder of the year defeating The Outpatient in a Cape Cod Collision match on November 11 and Makua in Falls Count Anywhere match on December 4, 2005.
CWA Montreal (2006)
At the start of 2006, Ferraro traveled to Canada to join CWA Montreal, one of two Canadian affiliates for
AWA Superstars. On January 16, 2006, he retained the AWA Brass Knuckles Championship in a Bloodbath match against
Pierre "The Beast" Vachon, however, he soon allied with
The Vachon Brothers (Pierre and Damien Vachon) to form The Alliance of Violence. He and Pierre Vachon entered a Tag Team Turmoil championship tournament; they defeated Karnage and Abdul Hannish in the opening round (March 5), The Hellraisers (Pain and Mizery) in the semi-finals (March 19), and
Necro Butcher
Dylan Keith Summers (born July 13, 1973), better known by the ring name Necro Butcher, is an American professional wrestler. Throughout the years he has worked for various promotions, including Ring of Honor, Full Impact Pro, IWA Mid-South, Pro W ...
and
SeXXXy Eddy in the finals (April 8) to become the first-ever CWA Montreal Tag Team Championship.
Ferraro briefly returned to New England where he was awarded the NWW Undisputed Brass Knuckles title on May 6, 2006. He also entered a championship tournament for the NWW U.S. Heavyweight Championship. He defeated Dave Showtime in the opening round (May 6) but was eliminated in the semi-finals (May 7) by Eric Shred via disqualification. He also teamed with Ron Zombie to defeat
Justin Credible
Peter Joseph "PJ" Polaco (born October 16, 1973) is a retired American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring name Justin Credible. He ...
and
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 ...
in a Beds of Nails Death match for Powerhouse Wrestling a week later. On July 22, a tag team match against Karnage and Abdul Hannish ended in a no-contest when Ferraro turned against his partner Brick Crawford. Feuding with the heavyweight champion, he defeated Crawford
for the CWA Montreal Heavyweight title on August 19, 2006.
Return to the independent circuit (2006)
Back in New England, Ferraro continued wrestling for local promotions. On September 23, 2006, he wrestled
Greg "The Hammer" Valentine
Jonathan Anthony Wisniski (born September 20, 1951) is a retired American professional wrestler, better known as Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. He is the son of wrestler Johnny Valentine.
Over five decades, Valentine held more than 40 championships ...
in a Dog Collar match for Powerhouse Wrestling. He also defended the NWW Brass Knuckles Championship against Moondog Maximus, losing to Maximus in a non-title match on October 7, before dropping the belt to
Headshrinker Samu at an October 28 Ultimate Ring Wars show. Two months later, Ferraro wrestled
Doink the Clown
Doink the Clown is a professional wrestling persona originally and most popularly portrayed by Matt Osborne, who debuted the Doink persona in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1992. Doink is a clown (or evil clown) wearing traditional clo ...
for USWF Championship Wrestling at the Irish American Club in
Malden, Massachusetts
Malden is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 66,263 people.
History
Malden, a hilly woodland area north of the Mystic River, was settled by Puritans in 1640 on la ...
.
Ultimate Ring Wars (2006-2007)
During 2006 and 2007 Ferraro worked with and performed many strongman feats with URW in the New England area . He was a welcomed addition to URW with all of his experience and his showmanship. Wrestling several times in hardcore matches with Pierre the Beast Vachon, Ferraro always captivated the crowds with his in ring style and strength.
Big Time Wrestling (2006–2007)
At the end of 2006, Ferraro joined the then recently revived Big Time Wrestling under Terry Allen. On December 1, he defeated Mister T.A. at The Castle of Knights in
Chicopee, Massachusetts
Chicopee ( ) is a city located on the Connecticut River in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 55,560, making it the second-largest city in Western Massachusetts after Springfield. C ...
for the BTW United States Heavyweight Championship. Ferraro was the first wrestler to hold the belt in nearly three decades.
During the next few months under manager
Johnny Fabulous, he defended the title against Purty Kurty Adonis,
Doink the Clown
Doink the Clown is a professional wrestling persona originally and most popularly portrayed by Matt Osborne, who debuted the Doink persona in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1992. Doink is a clown (or evil clown) wearing traditional clo ...
,
Big Bear Matoush, and
Malice. He also lost to Mr. T.A. in two separate Dog Collar matches, but retained the U.S. title in both encounters. The latter match, which took place on September 1, 2007, was for Terry Allen's BTW Dog Collar title.
Powerhouse Wrestling (2007–2009)
Ferraro and Johnny Fabulous also appeared for Powerhouse Wrestling during this time. In the spring of 2007, he wrestled
"Superfly" Jimmy Snuka and
Jake "The Snake" Roberts
Aurelian Smith Jr. (born May 30, 1955), better known by the ring name Jake "The Snake" Roberts, is an American professional wrestler and actor currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he performs as manager to Lance Archer. He is be ...
,
losing both matches. That summer, Ferraro enjoyed a brief reunion with The Vachon Brothers in Ultimate Ring Wars Wrestling when he turned on his partner Crazy Chainsaw Bastard during a May 19 tag team match against The Vachons. He and Pierre Vachon faced each other in a special 4-man battle royal, with Paulie Gilmore and Kahuko, two months later in New World Wrestling. Ferraro eventually defeated CCB in a
Casket match
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
on September 15, 2007. Days later in Powerhouse Wrestling, a match between Ferraro and
Abdullah the Butcher
Lawrence Robert Shreve (born January 11, 1941), better known by the ring name Abdullah the Butcher, is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He has a reputation for being involved in some of the most violent and bloody hardcore wrestling matc ...
, involving broken bottles, a screw driver, a bed of nails, and Abdullah's infamous fork, ended in a no-contest.
During this period, Ferraro joined the Men of Business with Big Business, Jimmy "Jact" Cash, Rocky Badabino, and Paul E. Normus. On January 19, 2008, he and Big Business lost to Don and
Savio Vega
Juan Rivera (born August 10, 1964) is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler. He is known for his work in the World Wrestling Council, where he won the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship three times and the WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Champion ...
in a
Street Fight match. That fall, he defeated
Spike Dudley
Matthew Jonathan Hyson (born August 13, 1970) is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his tenure in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as Spike Dudley. Prior to WWE, Hyson began performing as Spike Dudley in the 1990s with E ...
in a
Chain match. On September 26, 2009, he wrestled both
New Jack
Jerome Young (January 3, 1963 – May 14, 2021) was an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name New Jack. He was best known for his time with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), where he became notorious for his willingnes ...
and Powerhouse Wrestling Heavyweight Champion "The Punisher" Don Vega in two
Steel Cage match
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
es in
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...
.
Return to BTW (2009)
On March 27, 2009, Ferraro wrestled "Sweet" Scott Ashworth in the opening bout for BTW's "Danbury Mania" held at the
Danbury Arena in
Danbury, Connecticut
Danbury is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located approximately northeast of New York City. Danbury's population as of 2022 was 87,642. It is the seventh largest city in Connecticut.
Danbury is nicknamed the "Hat City ...
; in the semi-main event, a 12-man
Royal Rumble
The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after the Royal Rumble match, a modified battle roya ...
-style "Danbury Dungeon of Doom Match", he and Team Fuller (Rick Fuller, Jack Maverick, Benny Jux, Roberto Rush, and Mister T.A.) were defeated by Team Incredible (
Justin Credible
Peter Joseph "PJ" Polaco (born October 16, 1973) is a retired American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring name Justin Credible. He ...
, Spike Dudley, Eddy DelFonzo, Tony DelFonzo, Malice, and Scott Ashworth). Ferraro also had a brief stint in
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...
's
NWA On Fire. He made his first appearance on the February 21st 2009 edition of "NWA On Fire TV" as a guest on "Tommy's Corner" with host Tom Savoldi. He wrestled two matches for NWA On Fire TV, against
"Boston Bad Boy" Jason Rumble and "Jivin" Jimmy Capone respectively, and remained undefeated during his time in the promotion.
On July 12, Ferraro was inducted into the
2009 New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame by his one-time tag team partner Anthony Rufo.
Ferraro formed a successful tag team with former rival "Mr. T.A." Terry Allen in late 2009. Together they defeated Bam Bam Delfonso and Scott Ashworth (October 14), Balls Mahoney
and Scott Ashworth in a hardcore match (November 14), and were joined by A.J. Mitrano in a 6-man tag team match against "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka, Spike Dudley, and Lone Star (November 20). The following night, the two were defeated by Snuka and Doink the Clown in
Palmer, Massachusetts
Palmer is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 12,448 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. Palmer adopted a home rule charter in 2004 with a counc ...
. On January 23, 2010, Ferraro teamed with Jimmy Cash and Kurt Von Schmidt in a six-man tag match and were defeated by
Hacksaw Jim Duggan,
Nikolai Volkoff
Josip Hrvoje Peruzović (October 14, 1947 – July 29, 2018), better known by his ring name Nikolai Volkoff, was a Yugoslav-American professional wrestler best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Although Volkoff often p ...
, and Jay Jaillette in
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...
. A year later, he and Tommy Mack also won the promotion's tag team titles from The Untouchables.
Return to CW (2010)
At Chaotic Wrestling's "Cold Fury 9: The Never-ending Chase" Ferraro was inducted into the
Chaotic Wrestling Hall of Fame.
The following month at "Cold Fury: Fallout" he had an in-ring confrontation with fellow CW Hall of Famer Demon Ortiz which ended with Ferraro knocking Ortiz to the mat with a headbutt to the
sternum
The sternum or breastbone is a long flat bone located in the central part of the chest. It connects to the ribs via cartilage and forms the front of the rib cage, thus helping to protect the heart, lungs, and major blood vessels from injury. Sh ...
. On April 30, he and Ortiz met in the opening rounds of Chaotic Wrestling's Tournament of Champions which saw Ferraro defeat Ortiz in a
No Holds Barred match
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
. He then defeated Elia Markopoulos in the second round (May 21) before being eliminated by Handsome Johnny in the semi-finals (June 18) at "Breaking Point". A week earlier he had also lost to "The Golden Greek" Alex Arion via disqualification. On July 16, he was scheduled to wrestle his old rival Rick Fuller at the Polish American Veterans Club in
Lowell, Massachusetts
Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, It is one of two traditional seats of Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in 2020, it was the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts as of ...
, however, this match never took place due to the interference of
Max Bauer
Colonel Max Hermann Bauer (31 January 1869 – 6 May 1929) was a German General Staff officer and artillery expert in the First World War. As a protege of Erich Ludendorff he was placed in charge of the German Army's munition supply by the la ...
.
At the end of the month, he defeated Elia Markopoulos in a rematch at the Elks Lodge in
Woburn.
Ferraro eventually joined Demon Ortiz to form a new version of The Alliance of Violence later that year.
On October 1, Ortiz confronted him during a match against Vortex. This was Ortiz' first appearance in the promotion since being injured by Ferraro back in April. As the two stared each other down, in preparation for a fight, Ortiz inexplicably attacked Ferraro's opponent causing a disqualification and left the ring together. The next night in
Lawrence
Lawrence may refer to:
Education Colleges and universities
* Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States
* Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States
Preparator ...
, he and Ortiz interfered in a tag team match between four young trainees from the Chaotic Training Center (Vortex & “Western Dragon” Wesley Thomas vs. Alec the Alien & Dudley DL Dawson) causing a no-contest when they attacked all four participants and the referee. At CW's "Lowell Street Fight", they wrestled Julian Starr and Chase Del Monte. On November 12, Ferraro was in Ortiz' corner in his match against Rick Fuller. They challenged Julian Starr and Matt Logan for the
Chaotic Wrestling Tag Team Championship
The Chaotic Wrestling (CW) Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling tag team championship in American independent promotion Chaotic Wrestling. It was first won by The Damned (Mad Dog and Draven), who defeated Derik Destiny and Kid Krazy ...
in
Hudson, Massachusetts
Hudson is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, with a total population of 20,092 as of the 2020 census. Before its incorporation as a town in 1866, Hudson was a neighborhood and unincorporated village of Marlborough, Massa ...
the next day, but were unable to win the belts. On December 3, 2010, The Alliance of Violence and Chase Del Monte & Rick Fuller battled to a double-countout at CW's "Fan Appreciation Night" in Lowell, Massachusetts.
At the end of the year he was interviewed by ''
The Eagle-Tribune
''The Eagle-Tribune'' (and ''Sunday Eagle-Tribune'') is a seven-day morning daily newspaper covering the Merrimack Valley and Essex County, Massachusetts, and southern New Hampshire. It is the largest-circulation daily newspaper owned by Commu ...
'' while performing at a benefit show Salem police and firefighters at Drew Estate Cigars.
He was also a guest on the Canadian
internet radio show ''Rope2Rope Radio'' where he discussed the independent scene in the Northeast, promoting Chaotic Wrestling and a few other New England promotions, as well as his own wrestling career.
Independent Wrestling Entertainment (2010)
Ferraro spent the winter of 2010 in Maine working for Independent Wrestling Entertainment where he formed Primer Inc. with Johnny Primer.
On September 24, Ferraro and Primer defeated Jim Capone and The Ninja for the IWE Tag Team Championship. A month later, they suffered a disqualification loss to Larry and Kyle Huntley (with Miss Jenna) in
Brewer, Maine
Brewer is a city in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. It is part of the Bangor, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is named after its first settler, Colonel John Brewer. The population was 9,672 at the 2020 census.
Brewer ...
, but retained the tag titles. On November 5, 2010, Ferraro joined Donny Rotten, Iron Eagle, and "Redneck" Randy Walker in an 8-man
Survivor Series match
The Survivor Series match is a professional wrestling tag team elimination match held in WWE. The match typically sees two teams pitted against each other and members of the teams are eliminated one-by-one until one entire team is eliminated. Membe ...
against The Huntleys and Public Works ("Roadblock" Mark Mahoney and John Bryar). Ferraro eliminated John Bryar and Kyle Huntley via pinfall before he himself was pinned by Larry Huntley. Although Huntly ended up being the lone survivor, Ferraro hit his opponent in the face with a fireball after the match.
The following night in
Brewer
Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with yeast. It may be done in a brewery by a commercial brewer, ...
, while gloating about burning Larry Huntly during an in-ring promo, IWE Executive Director Quentin Michaels came out and ordered Primer Inc. to defend the tag titles in a No Rules Texas Tornado match against Kyle Huntley and a partner of his choice (which was revealed to be John Bryar). Two weeks later, Ferraro (with Ox Baker) defeated Adam Hastey via disqualification for All Out Mayhem in
South Portland, Maine
South Portland is a city in Cumberland County, Maine, United States, and is the fourth-largest city in the state, incorporated in 1898. At the 2020 census, the city population was 26,498. Known for its working waterfront, South Portland is sit ...
. He was also scheduled to take part in the 2nd annual Al Biondi Memorial Tournament on December 11, 2010.
Second return to CW (2011–present)
On January 21, 2011, Ferraro defeated Psycho at "Rival's Choice" in Lowell, Massachusetts. A month later at "Cold Fury X", he was the first entrant in the
Royal Rumble
The Royal Rumble is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, produced annually since 1988 by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. It is named after the Royal Rumble match, a modified battle roya ...
-style "Classic Chaotic Countdown" and the first to be eliminated. This was done via outside interference from
color commentator
A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and t ...
Rick Fuller, who Ferraro had been taunting, by pulling down the top rope and allowing Elia Markopoulos, Kid USA and Donnie Rotten to throw him out of the ring. He and Ortiz also took on Chaotic Wrestling Tag Team Champions The Logan Brothers (Bryan and Matt Logan) at Cold Fury: Fallout on March 4. but lost the match.
Ferraro took a few months off for a knee injury before returning to action in the fall. On October 4, 2011, Ferraro was a guest on the AngryMarks.com
podcast
A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...
''Ring the Bell'' hosted by "Killa Kev" Fields, Mike Poulin, and Seth Drakin.
He promoted an upcoming interpromotional show for Independent Wrestling Entertainment and NWA on Fire during the show, where he was to face former tag team partner Johnny Primer, as well discussed his recent appearances on
Italian television
Television in Italy was introduced in 1939, when the first experimental broadcasts began. However, this lasted for a very short time: when fascist Italy entered World War II in 1940 all transmissions were interrupted, and were resumed in earnest ...
and
Stan Lee's Superhumans
''Stan Lee's Superhumans'' is a documentary television series that debuted from August 5, 2010 to September 17, 2014 on History. It is hosted by Marvel comic book superhero creator Stan Lee and follows contortionist Daniel Browning Smith, "th ...
on the
History Channel
History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...
. After a five-year absence, Ferraro was also ranked #500 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the
2011 PWI 500.
In early 2012, Ferraro also wrestled shows for Powerhouse Wrestling and UFO Wrestling. On April 20, 2012, Ferraro (with B.A. Tatum) defeated "The Sure Thing" Mark Shurman at the Elks Lodge in Woburn, Massachusetts.
The next night in Gray, Maine, he defeated
Larry Zbyszko
Lawrence Whistler (born December 5, 1951), better known by the ring name Larry Zbyszko, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his feud with his mentor, Bruno Sammartino, during the early 1980s as well as his ...
to win the All Out Mayhem Heavyweight Championship after interference from John Cena Sr.
Strongman career
Outside of professional wrestling, Ferraro is a real-life performing strongman. His demonstrations have included bending steel bars and breaking iron bars over his head, and headbutting and snapping a
Louisville slugger
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border.
...
in half with his skull. His specialty, however, is using his head to break various hard or heavy objects.
He has had cinder blocks jack-hammered off his head, concrete blocks set on fire and broken over the side of his head using a sledge hammer, and having 16lb bowling balls dropped on his head from heights up to 15 feet. Ferraro has also used his forehead to drive spikes through
2x4s wrapped in
sheet metal
Sheet metal is metal formed into thin, flat pieces, usually by an industrial process. Sheet metal is one of the fundamental forms used in metalworking, and it can be cut and bent into a variety of shapes.
Thicknesses can vary significantly; ex ...
.
Ferraro first discovered this ability as a teenager when, while chasing younger brother around the house during an argument, crashed head first into a large oak door.
Ferraro first gained notice in the New England area appearing on numerous cable-access sports and pro wrestling television programs in the region. He was also invited on
WROR
WROR-FM (105.7 FM) – branded as 105.7 WROR – is a commercial classic hits radio station licensed to Framingham, Massachusetts. Owned by the Beasley Broadcast Group, the station serves Greater Boston and much of surrounding New England, incl ...
's "Loren and Wally show" in
Burlington, Massachusetts
Burlington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 26,377 at the 2020 census.
History
It is believed that Burlington takes its name from the English town of Bridlington, Yorkshire, but this has never b ...
where he performed "Feats of Strength" for guests and listeners. This led to further work in commercials which aired in Massachusetts and Central New England and later
CMT's Country Fried Home Videos.
He was also part of the 1999 strongmen documentary "Beyond Pain" by James W Kent.
His strongman demonstrations have been covered by ''
The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' (New Hampshire edition), ''
The Daily Item'', ''
Revere Journal
The ''Revere Journal'' is the local newspaper for Revere, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded in 1881 with E. H. Pierce as editor
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or c ...
'', ''Silver City Bulletin'', and ''
The Sun Chronicle
''The Sun Chronicle'' (formerly ''The Attleboro Sun'' and the ''Evening Chronicle'') is a daily newspaper in Attleboro, Massachusetts, United States. Most of its readers are in Attleboro and North Attleborough, Massachusetts, but it also covers nea ...
''. Among his most notable performances include:
*1999: Performing in a strongman demo at the Attleboro Armory in
Attleboro, Massachusetts
Attleboro is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It was once known as "The Jewelry Capital of the World" for its many jewelry manufacturers. According to the 2020 census, Attleboro had a population of 46,461.
Attleboro is ...
(attn. 500+)
*1999: Performing an extreme strongman demonstration at The Hot Dog Safari (Suffolk Downs) in
Revere, Massachusetts
Revere is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States, located approximately from Downtown Crossing, downtown Boston. Founded as North Chelsea in 1846, it was renamed in 1871 after the American Revolutionary War Patriot (American Re ...
. (attn. 5,000)
*2000: Performing an extreme strongman exhibition at
WAAF WAAF may refer to:
* w3af, (short for web application attack and audit framework), an open-source web application security scanner
* Women's Auxiliary Air Force, a British military service in World War II
** Waaf, a member of the service
* WAAF (AM ...
's Locobazooka concert in
Green Hill Park
Green Hill Park is a large public park in Worcester, Massachusetts. The largest in the city, the park covers over . It is home to the Massachusetts Vietnam Veterans' Memorial, which honors veterans of the Vietnam War from Massachusetts. The Memori ...
. (attn. 4,000)
*2004: Performing his "Iron Head" demo at the
NWA 56th Anniversary Show in
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
.
*2005: Performing his "Iron Head" demo at an
NWA Tri-State
The Universal Wrestling Federation was a 1986 re-branding of wrestler-turned-owner Bill Watts' Mid-South Wrestling promotion. Watts' goal was to elevate his promotion from a relatively smaller, regional-level business, to a national-level rival ...
live event
A house show or live event is a professional wrestling event produced by a major promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in on the exposure that they and their wrestlers receive du ...
in
Glenville, Virginia. (attn. 1000+)
Ferraro was featured on the August 19th 2010 edition of
The History Channel
History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...
's ''
Stan Lee's Superhumans
''Stan Lee's Superhumans'' is a documentary television series that debuted from August 5, 2010 to September 17, 2014 on History. It is hosted by Marvel comic book superhero creator Stan Lee and follows contortionist Daniel Browning Smith, "th ...
''. The episode examined his hard skull as well as attempted to explain how he performed his pro wrestling and strongman stunts. Ferraro was studied by
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...
which determined through an
MRI
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to form pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes of the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and radio waves ...
that his skull measured 16mm thick, over 2.3 times more than the average human skull,
making it one of the thickest skulls ever
x-ray
An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...
ed. The show's host, legendary
Marvel
Marvel may refer to:
Business
* Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company
** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment
** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe
** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics
...
comic book writer
A script is a document describing the narrative and dialogue of a comic book in detail. It is the comic book equivalent of a Television, television program teleplay or a film screenplay.
In comics, a script may be preceded by a plot outline, and ...
Stan Lee
Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...
, nicknamed Ferraro the "Human Anvil"
which he has since adopted for his strongman performances. In addition, the episode's title ("Hammerhead") was named after him.
On April 14, 2011, Ferraro set a
Guinness World Record
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
for having 45 concrete slabs (15 stacks of 3 with an estimated combined weight of 1125 lbs.) broken over his head using 16 lbs. bowling balls that were dropped from a height of over ten feet. The bowling balls were dropped onto to head continuously for over three minutes. This performance took place in
Milan, Italy
Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4  ...
and later aired on
Canale 5
Canale 5 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel of Mediaset, owned by MFE - MediaForEurope. It was the first private television network to have a national coverage in Italy in 1980.
On 4 December 2012, Mediaset launched Canale 5 HD, a s ...
's Guinness World Records TV series ''Lo show dei record''.
He also won the Chinese Martian Arts Association Iron Skills title in
Long Island, New York
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18th ...
.
That same year, he added a new attraction to his strongman performance, the "$5,000 Headbutt Challenge" in which members of the public would be given the chance to trade
headbutt
A headbutt is a targeted strike with the head, typically (when intentional) involving the use of robust parts of the headbutter's cranium as the area of impact. The most effective headbutts strike the most sensitive areas of an opponent, such as ...
s with the strongman. If they were successful in knocking him out, Ferraro would pay the winner $5,000. This was borrowed from a similar concept used in his pro wrestling career. As of May 2011, Ferraro has knocked out 11 would-be challengers from around the world.
In an interview later that year he revealed he has been in negotiations to perform in Europe (France, Germany, and Poland) and Southeast Asia (Malaysia) and was also considering putting together an act for ''
America's Got Talent
''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is a televised American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distribut ...
'' and ''
The X-Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...
''.
Championships and accomplishments
*All Star Wrestling Federation
**ASWF Hardcore Championship (1 time)
*
AWA Superstars
**
AWA Brass Knuckles Championship (1 time)
*Big Time Wrestling
**BTW United States Championship (1 time)
*
Chaotic Wrestling
Chaotic Wrestling (CW) is an American independent wrestling promotion, which has been operating throughout New England since 2000; with its current home base in North Andover, Massachusetts.
Chaotic Wrestling is known for producing successful, ...
**
Chaotic Wrestling Heavyweight Championship
The Chaotic Wrestling (CW) Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship in Chaotic Wrestling. The current champion is Davienne, who is in her second reign.
Title history
As of , , there have been 47 reigns between 30 champio ...
(2 times)
**
Chaotic Wrestling Tag Team Championship
The Chaotic Wrestling (CW) Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling tag team championship in American independent promotion Chaotic Wrestling. It was first won by The Damned (Mad Dog and Draven), who defeated Derik Destiny and Kid Krazy ...
(1 time) - with Joe Poe
**
Chaotic Wrestling Hall of Fame (Class of 2010)
**Feud of the Year (2000)
**Match of the Year (2000)
**Wrestler of the Year (2001)
**Best Moment of the Year (2001)
**Match of the Year (2001)
**Best Theme Music (2001)
*
CWA Montreal
**CWA Montreal Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
**CWA Montreal Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with
Pierre Vachon
Pierre Vachon (3 June 1738 – 7 October 1803) was a French composer.
Vachon was born in Avignon, France. He wrote around thirty string quartets, various chamber works, operas, and orchestral pieces. He studied the violin with Carlo Chiab ...
*International Independent Wrestling
**IIW Street Fight Championship (1 time)
**IIW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ali Mohammed
**IIW Tag Team of the Year (2000) – with Ali Mohammed
*Independent Wrestling Alliance
**IWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
*Independent Wrestling Entertainment
**IWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Johnny Primer
**IWE Heavyweight Champion (1 time)***
*New England Informer
**Wrestler of the Month (November 2000)
*
New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame
The New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame and Fan Fest is an American professional wrestling hall of fame. It was established in January 2008 to honor select wrestling personalities who have made significant contributions to professional wrestli ...
**Class of 2009
*
NWA New England
The Century Wrestling Alliance, formerly known as NWA Cold Front and NWA New England, is a New England-based American independent wrestling promotion located in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded by Tony Rumble in 1989, a retired wrestler an ...
**
NWA New England Heavyweight Championship
The CWA Heavyweight Championship is the primary professional wrestling singles title in the Century Wrestling Alliance. The title was first won by Tommy Dreamer who defeated "Mr. USA" Tony Atlas in a tournament final held in Wallingford, Connecti ...
(1 time)
**
NWA New England Colonial Heavyweight Championship
The NWA New England Colonial Championship was a short-lived secondary singles wrestling title in the NWA New England. It was first won by Gino Martino, who was awarded the title after winning the annual ''Tony Rumble Memorial Battle Royal'' in ...
(1 time)
**
NWA New England Brass Knuckles Championship (3 times)
**
NWA New England Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ali Mohammed
**
Tony Rumble Memorial Rumble winner (2004) – co-winner with The Dungeon Master
*New World Wrestling
**NWW Undisputed Brass Knuckles Championship (1 time)
**NWW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ali Mohammed
*New Wrestling Horizons
**NWH Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Danny Dangerous
*Powerhouse Wrestling
**Powerhouse Wrestling Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Tommy Mack
*
Power League Wrestling
Power League Wrestling (PLW) was an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. It was founded in Swansea, Massachusetts by Bob Evans and Mark Amaral in 1991, and later taken over by Amaral, Carlos Ar ...
**PLW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
**PLW Award for Best Newcomer (1998)
*Primal Conflict Wrestling
**PCW Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Ali Mohammed
* ''
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publish ...
''
** Ranked No. 460 of the top 500 wrestlers in the
PWI 500
''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishi ...
in 2002
*Ultimate Championship Wrestling
**UCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
**UCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ali Mohammed
*Unified Championship Wrestling
**UCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
**UCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ali Mohammed
*World Independent Wrestling
**WIW Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
*Wrestling Attic
**Most Dangerous Wrestler In New England
*Other titles
**ASIATIC Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
**AWF Hardcore Championship (1 time)
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
*
*
Gino Martinoat
ChaoticWrestling.com
Gino Martino at NHCW.comGino Martino at WorldWrestlingAlliance.comGino Martino at Genickbruch.comGino Martino at IndyWrestlingNews.com*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martino, Gino
Living people
American male professional wrestlers
People from Revere, Massachusetts
Professional wrestlers from Massachusetts
Year of birth missing (living people)