Stephen Cepello (born June 29, 1949) is an American artist and former

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 ...

. As a wrestler, he was 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 ...

, "The California Terminator" Steve Strong. After retiring from wrestling to focus on his art career, he was selected to paint the official Governor's Mansion and

Minnesota State Capitol The Minnesota State Capitol is the seat of government for the U.S. state of Minnesota, in its capital city of Saint Paul. It houses the Minnesota Senate, Minnesota House of Representatives, the office of the Attorney General and the office o ...

portraits of former wrestler and

Governor of Minnesota The governor of Minnesota is the head of government of the U.S. state of Minnesota, leading the state's executive branch. Forty people have been governor of Minnesota, though historically there were also three governors of Minnesota Territory. ...

Jesse Ventura Jesse Ventura (born James George Janos; July 15, 1951) is an American politician, actor, and retired professional wrestler. After achieving fame in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), he served as the 38th governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2 ...

Early life

Cepello was raised in Arizona, where he began painting at age seven. He attended the Kachina School of Art in Phoenix. He attended college in Phoenix and played on the basketball team, earning an induction to the school's athletic hall of fame.

Professional wrestling career

Strong began wrestling in 1973, competing for

Stu Hart Stewart Edward Hart (May 3, 1915 – October 16, 2003) was a Canadian amateur and professional wrestler, wrestling booker, promoter, coach, trainer, football player and sailor. He is best known for founding and handling Stampede Wrestling, a ...

Stampede Wrestling Stampede Wrestling was a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta. For nearly 50 years, it was one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies. Originally established by Stu Hart in 1948, the prom ...

promotion. Much of his career was spent in Hawaii. He competed for

NWA Hawaii 50th State Big Time Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Hawaii or Mid-Pacific Promotions) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii in the United States that promoted professional wrestling matches throughout Ha ...

as both a singles wrestler and as a member of several

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 ...

s. Several championships had been inactive due to the promotion itself being inactive from July 1974 until June 1977, and the promotion held tournaments to determine the new champions when the titles were revived in July 1977. Strong competed for the

NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Championship The NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance and is defended in the US state of Hawaii. The title, which is still currently defended, began in 1935. From February ...

and advanced to the final round of the tournament before losing to Bill Francis. He also made it to the final round of a tournament for the

NWA Hawaii Tag Team Championship The NWA Hawaii Tag Team Championship was the primary tag team title of 50th State Big Time Wrestling and was defended between 1952 and 1979 when it was phased out. The title was later revived by the current incarnation of NWA Hawaii in 2000. It is ...

along with partner Steve Lawler but ultimately lost to

Sam Steamboat Samuel K. Mokuahi (May 4, 1934 – May 2, 2006) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Sammy Steamboat. Early life Mokuahi grew up in Honolulu, attending President Theodore Roosevelt High School, where he pla ...

and

Billy White Wolf Adnan bin Abdul Kareem Ahmed Alkaissy El Farthie ( ar, عدنان بن عبدالكريم أحمد القيسي ألفرث; born c. 1 March 1936 or 1939), better known professionally as Adnan Al-Kaissie, is an Iraqi former professional wrestler a ...

. Strong was then paired with

, as the promoter thought that their similar heights and muscular physiques made them a good match. On July 28, Strong teamed with Ventura to win the tag team championship. They held the belts until November, when they dropped them to

John Tolos John Tolos, nicknamed "The Golden Greek", (September 18, 1930 – May 28, 2009) was a Canadian professional wrestler, and professional wrestling manager. Professional wrestling career Tolos was born on September 18, 1930, in Hamilton, Ontario ...

and Bill Francis. In January 1978, Strong gained momentum in his rivalry with Francis, defeating him for the NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Championship and, with partner Chris Markoff, for the NWA Hawaii Tag Team Championship as well. Strong lost the heavyweight title to Tolos the following month but held the tag team belts until Bill and

Russ Francis Russell Ross Francis (born April 3, 1953) is a former American football player who was a tight end for thirteen seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers. Francis finished his ...

won the championship on April 26 that year. On June 14, Strong teamed with former rival Tolos to win the belts for the final time. They defeated

Big John Studd John William Minton (February 19, 1948 – March 20, 1995) was an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name, Big John Studd. Studd is best known for his appearances with the World Wide Wrestling Federation/World Wr ...

and

Buddy Rose Paul Robert Perschmann (November 27, 1952 – April 28, 2009) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Playboy Buddy Rose. He wrestled primarily for the AWA, WWF, and for promoter Don Owen in Pacific Northwest ...

and held the title for two months before dropping it to

Mr. Fuji Harry Masayoshi Fujiwara (May 4, 1934 – August 28, 2016) was an American professional wrestler and manager, known professionally by his ring name Mr. Fuji (or Master Fuji to his protégés). He was famous for often throwing salt in the ey ...

and Karl Von Steiger on August 16.

Art career

Cepello appeared in the

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for

Michael Nesmith Robert Michael Nesmith or Mike Nesmith, (December 30, 1942 – December 10, 2021) was an American musician, songwriter, and actor. He was best known as a member of the pop rock band the Monkees and co-star of the TV series ''The Monkees'' (1966� ...

's "Cruisin'", which was included in the 1981 collection titled ''

Elephant Parts ''Elephant Parts'' is a collection of comedy sketches and music videos made in 1981 by Michael Nesmith, formerly of the Monkees. Nesmith produced the video through his company Pacific Arts. ''Elephant Parts'' is one hour long with parody commercial ...

''. Nesmith mistakenly stated in 1989 that

Hulk Hogan Terry Eugene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is widely regarded as the most recognized wrestling star worldwide and the most popular wrestler of the 19 ...

played the role, but he corrected his statement in 2003. He has also appeared in several movies. In 1981, he played Ivory King in ''Tarzan, The Ape Man''. That year, he also had a role in ''Looker'', which was directed by

Michael Crichton John Michael Crichton (; October 23, 1942 – November 4, 2008) was an American author and filmmaker. His books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and over a dozen have been adapted into films. His literary works heavily feature tech ...

. In 1985, Strong appeared in ''Grunt! The Wrestling Movie'', portraying a character known as The Mask. Cepello has painted two portraits of former tag team partner and Governor of Minnesota Jesse Ventura. One, which was painted for the Governor's Mansion, shows Ventura riding a horse while holding an American flag. The other, a portrait of Ventura resting his hand on

Musée Rodin The Musée Rodin ( en, Rodin Museum) in Paris, France, is a museum that was opened in 1919, primarily dedicated to the works of the French sculptor Auguste Rodin. It has two sites: the Hôtel Biron and surrounding grounds in central Paris, as ...

's ''

The Thinker ''The Thinker'' (french: Le Penseur) is a bronze sculpture by Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled tradi ...

'', is displayed in the

. The latter picture has been the subject of scrutiny, as Cepello stated before the unveiling that it would contain a reference to Ventura's wrestling career. Some viewers have stated that they see the letters WWF, a reference to the

World Wrestling Federation 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 ...

, hidden in the folds of Ventura's sleeve, while others believe that Ventura's tie contains a hidden face. He has also done commercial artwork, which has including the logo for

Dave Draper David Draper (April 16, 1942 – November 30, 2021) was an American bodybuilder, actor and author. Early life Draper was born in Secaucus, New Jersey on April 16, 1942. His weight training began at the age of ten and was a well-formed habit by ...

's Bomber Blend whey protein. While living in Hawaii, he also painted and sold

seascape A seascape is a photograph, painting, or other work of art which depicts the sea, in other words an example of marine art. The word originated as a formation from landscape, which was first used of images of land in art. By a similar devel ...

paintings. Cepello, whose work has included many portraits of animals, is also active in working to preserve marine wildlife.

Championships and accomplishments

50th State Big Time Wrestling 50th State Big Time Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Hawaii or Mid-Pacific Promotions) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii in the United States that promoted professional wrestling matches throughout Ha ...

( 1 time) **

( 3 times) – with

(1 time),

Chris Markoff Chris Markoff is a Yugoslav-American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with professional wrestling promotions in the Midwestern United States in the 1960s. Early life Markoff was born in Yugoslavia and raised in ...

(1 time), and

(1 time)

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cepello, Stephen 1949 births 20th-century American male artists 20th-century American painters 21st-century American painters American male professional wrestlers American male painters Living people Painters from Arizona Professional wrestlers from Arizona