Matthew Lee Cappotelli (November 12, 1979 – June 29, 2018) was 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 ...

. After co-winning ''

Tough Enough III ''WWE Tough Enough'' was an American professional wrestling Reality competition#Reality competition or game shows, reality competition series that was produced by WWE, wherein participants undergo glossary of professional wrestling terms#S, profes ...

'' with John Hennigan, he worked in

Ohio Valley Wrestling Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former developmental promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky. The company is currently run by Al Snow and Matt Jones and Louisville mayor elect, Craig Greenberg. O ...

(OVW), the primary developmental territory for

WWE 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 ...

. He ended his career due to a

malignant Malignancy () is the tendency of a medical condition to become progressively worse. Malignancy is most familiar as a characterization of cancer. A ''malignant'' tumor contrasts with a non-cancerous ''benign'' tumor in that a malignancy is not s ...

brain tumor A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and seconda ...

Professional wrestling career

Cappotelli, along with John Hennigan, won a

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 ...

(WWE) contract by winning ''

''. During the show

Hardcore Holly Robert William Howard (born January 29, 1963) is an American professional wrestler, actor, and former auto racer and wrestling trainer/host, better known by the ring name Hardcore Holly or Bob Holly. He is best known for his 16-year career with ...

aggressively roughed up Matt while training, stiffly striking Cappotelli repeatedly, leaving him bleeding. After winning, he made sporadic appearances on WWE shows. At Vengeance Cappotelli competed in The APA Invitational Bar Room Brawl which Bradshaw won. Cappotelli was then sent to

(OVW). There, he formed a

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 ...

known as The Thrill Seekers with

Johnny Jeter John Jeter (born December 14, 1981) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 2006 as Johnny, a member of The Spirit Squad. Jeter was trained by Nick Dinsmore (also k ...

. On November 9 at an OVW television taping, Cappotelli captured the

OVW Heavyweight Championship The OVW Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling heavyweight championship owned by the Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) promotion. The original championship was designed and created in 1997 by Reggie Parks. The title was introduced on Augu ...

by defeating his former tag team partner, Johnny Jeter. On February 8, 2006, he announced that he had previously been diagnosed with a grade 2/3

astrocytoma Astrocytomas are a type of brain tumor. They originate in a particular kind of glial cells, star-shaped brain cells in the cerebrum called astrocytes. This type of tumor does not usually spread outside the brain and spinal cord and it does not usu ...

and surrendered the title to OVW owner Danny Davis at a television taping in

Louisville, Kentucky 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 ...

. Cappotelli announced to OVW wrestlers and fans on April 4, 2007 that he would undergo surgery for brain cancer in Boston on May 1. WWE's official website later reported that the surgery was a success, and that the majority of the brain tumor was removed. He was released from his contract in January 2009. Toward the end of 2013, Cappotelli became the trainer for OVW's Beginner Program.

Personal life and death

Cappotelli attended college at

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...

Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolit ...

, where he was also a member of the football team. Cappotelli was married to Lindsay. They resided in

, where he also worked as a personal trainer. He was close friends with professional wrestler and Western Michigan alumnus, Colt Cabana. '' Big Brother'' winner Lisa Donahue was his cousin. In July 2017, Cappotelli announced that he was diagnosed with grade IV

glioblastoma multiforme Glioblastoma, previously known as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), is one of the most aggressive types of cancer that begin within the brain. Initially, signs and symptoms of glioblastoma are nonspecific. They may include headaches, personality ch ...

. In May 2018, Cappotelli's wife announced that, after consultations with his

neuro-oncologist Neuro-oncology is the study of brain and spinal cord neoplasms, many of which are (at least eventually) very dangerous and life-threatening (astrocytoma, glioma, glioblastoma multiforme, ependymoma, pontine glioma, and brain stem tumors are amon ...

, Cappotelli was ceasing medical interventions for the tumor. He died on June 29, 2018, at the age of 38.

Championships and accomplishments

( 1 time) **

OVW Southern Tag Team Championship The OVW Tag Team Championship formerly known as the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship is the tag team titles of Ohio Valley Wrestling. Created in 1997, the first champions were Nick Dinsmore and Flash Flanagan. There have been 177 reigns shared b ...

( 1 time) – with

*''

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 ...

'' ** Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (2006) *

**''

'' with John Hennigan

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cappotelli, Matt 1979 births 2018 deaths American male professional wrestlers American professional wrestlers of Italian descent Deaths from brain cancer in the United States Deaths from glioblastoma Professional wrestlers from New York (state) People from Caledonia, New York Tough Enough winners Western Michigan Broncos football players 21st-century professional wrestlers OVW Heavyweight Champions

Professional wrestling career

Personal life and death

Championships and accomplishments

See also

References

External links