The Ilio DiPaolo Memorial Show was an annual

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 or ...

event held between 1996 and 1999 as a tribute to wrestler

Ilio DiPaolo Ilio DiPaolo (November 7, 1926 – May 10, 1995), was an Italian professional wrestler and restaurateur who lived in the Buffalo, New York area. Professional wrestling career DiPaolo was born in Italy and lived there until he moved to Venezuela i ...

and featured talent from

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 Nati ...

as well as appearances from older wrestling stars of the "television era". Several of these wrestlers came out of retirement to face their former rivals on the first three shows. The show was organized by Dennis DiPaolo, along with family and friends of the late Ilio DiPaolo, and the proceeds were generally donated to charitable organizations. The second show, held at the

Marine Midland Arena KeyBank Center is a multipurpose indoor arena located in Buffalo, New York. Originally known as Marine Midland Arena, the venue has since been named HSBC Arena and First Niagara Center. Home to the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League ...

in 1997, was attended by over 16,000 people and raised $70,000 each for the Sick Children's Hospital and the Ilio DiPaulo Scholarship Fund.

Jim Kelly James Edward Kelly (born February 14, 1960) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons with the Buffalo Bills. He also spent two seasons with the Houston Gamblers of the United St ...

, a former

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ameri ...

for

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

, also received a plaque in recognition for his charity work and was one of several guest celebrities to appear on the show. Although many celebrities were paid for their appearances, wrestlers such as Johnny Barend did not accept payment to perform at the event.

Show results

First Annual Ilio DiPaolo Memorial Show

June 7, 1996 in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the list of cities in New York, second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head o ...

(

Buffalo Memorial Auditorium Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, colloquially known as The Aud, was a multipurpose indoor arena in downtown Buffalo, New York. Opened on October 14, 1940, it was home to the Canisius Golden Griffins (NCAA), the Buffalo Bisons ( AHL), the Buffalo Biso ...

) *Introduction:

Johnny Barend John R. Barend (March 27, 1929 – September 20, 2011), better known as "Handsome" Johnny Barend, was an American professional wrestler. Early life Born in 1929 in Rochester, New York, Barend started wrestling as an amateur at the age of eight. ...

Dominic DeNucci Domenico A. Nucciarone (January 23, 1932 – August 12, 2021) was an Italian-American professional wrestler and trainer better known under his ring name of Dominic DeNucci. He held over a dozen championships around the world in the 1960s and 197 ...

, The Destroyer, Mario Fratterali, Woody Johnson,

Gene Kiniski Eugene Nicholas Kiniski (November 23, 1928 – April 14, 2010) was a Canadian athlete who played football for the Edmonton Eskimos and then became a three-time professional wrestling world heavyweight champion. "Canada's Greatest Athlete", as he b ...

, Reginald Love,

Angelo Mosca Angelo Valentino Mosca (February 13, 1937 – November 6, 2021) was an American professional football player and professional wrestler. He was a defensive lineman in the Canadian Football League (CFL). As a wrestler, Mosca was known by the ni ...

, Tony Parisi,

Angelo Poffo Angelo John Poffo (April 10, 1925 – March 4, 2010) was an American professional wrestler and wrestling promoter. He ran International Championship Wrestling for a number of years, holding cards in Tennessee, Kentucky and Arkansas. He was ...

, Johnny Powers,

Bruno Sammartino Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino (October 6, 1935 – April 18, 2018) was an Italian-born American professional wrestler, best known for his work with the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF, now WWE). There, he held the WWWF World Heavyw ...

, Waldo Von Erich, and Kurt Von Hess.

Second Annual Ilio DiPaolo Memorial Show

June 6, 1997 in

(

)

Third Annual Ilio DiPaolo Memorial Show

June 11, 1998 in

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) *Introduction:

Dick Beyer Richard John Beyer (July 11, 1930 – March 7, 2019) was an American professional wrestler who is best known by his ring names, The Destroyer and Doctor X. Among other places, he worked extensively in Japan and in 2017 he was awarded one of t ...

Gino Brito Louis Gino Acocella (born May 18, 1941), better known by his ring name Gino Brito, is a retired Canadian professional wrestler and promoter. He was most popular in Montreal. As Louis Cerdan, he was a WWWF Tag Team Champion with fellow Italian-Ca ...

, Willie Farkas, Billy Red Lyons,

Tony Marino Tony Silipini (April 20, 1931 – May 28, 2021) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Tony Marino. Professional wrestling career Early career (1954-1963) Tony Silipini was born in 1931. He started wrestling i ...

, George Scott,

Lou Thesz Aloysius Martin "Lou" Thesz (April 24, 1916 – April 28, 2002) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He was a List of NWA World Heavyweight Champions, three-time NWA World Heavyweight Championship, NWA World Heavyweig ...

, Angelo Poffo, Waldo Von Erich and Kurt Von Hess.

Fourth Annual Ilio DiPaolo Memorial Show

June 11, 1999 in

(

)

References