Ilio DiPaolo (November 7, 1926 – May 10, 1995), was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

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 restaurateur who lived in the

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

area.

Professional wrestling career

DiPaolo was born in Italy and lived there until he moved to Venezuela in 1949. There, he met promoter

Toots Mondt Joseph Raymond "Toots" Mondt (January 18, 1894 – June 11, 1976) was an American professional wrestler and promoter who revolutionized the wrestling industry in the early to mid-1920s and co-promoted the World Wide Wrestling Federation. Some of ...

, who taught him to wrestle. While waiting to get the proper paperwork to move to the United States, he relocated to the Dominican Republic to wrestle in the meantime. After the paperwork was completed, he moved to

in 1951. He then began to work for

Frank Tunney Francis Martin Tunney (November 12, 1912 - May 10, 1983) was a Canadian professional boxing and wrestling promoter, based in Toronto. Biography Early life He was educated in Markham, Ontario, and went to a business college after high school. Hi ...

out of the Toronto area. Around this time he teamed with

Whipper Billy Watson William John Potts, (June 25, 1915 to February 4, 1990) was a Canadian professional wrestler best known by his ring name "Whipper" Billy Watson. He was a two-time world champion, having held both the National Wrestling Association title and the ...

to win the

NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Championship The NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Championship was the top tag team professional wrestling championship in the Canadian promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any ty ...

. Also in Toronto, he wrestled Pat O'Connor for the NWA World title in 1959, but the match went to a one-hour time limit draw. His last match was against

Lou Thesz Aloysius Martin "Lou" Thesz (April 24, 1916 – April 28, 2002) was an American professional wrestler. He was a three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion and held the title for a combined total of 10 years, three months and nine days (3,749 ...

for the same title; a match that also went to a one-hour time limit draw.

Personal life

DiPaolo met his wife Ethel, stepdaughter of promoter Pedro Martinez, in 1952. The couple had four children. He opened his first restaurant, a pizzeria, when he was in his 40s, but it was destroyed by a fire. DiPaolo retired from wrestling full-time in 1965 and opened his second restaurant, an eponymous Italian restaurant now known as "Ilio DiPaolo's" in Blasdell, New York. He died in 1995 after being struck by a car during a torrential downpour while trying to enter a restaurant with his wife. After his death, DiPaolo's oldest son Dennis began to run the restaurant. His other children also worked in the restaurant.

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nation ...

held the

Ilio DiPaolo Memorial Show The Ilio DiPaolo Memorial Show was an annual professional wrestling event held between 1996 and 1999 as a tribute to wrestler Ilio DiPaolo and featured talent from World Championship Wrestling as well as appearances from older wrestling stars of t ...

for DiPaolo from 1996 through 1999. To this point over $750,000 has been raised for the Ilio DiPaolo Scholarship Fund and for other Buffalo charities like Children's Hospital and People Inc. DiPaolo was selected as a New York State Award recipient by the

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (PWHF) and Museum is an American professional wrestling hall of fame and museum located in Wichita Falls, Texas currently closed to water leaks. The museum was founded by Tony Vellano in 1999, and was previo ...

in 2003. The DiPaolo family has also been inducted into the New York Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame for the creation of the Ilio DiPaolo Scholarship fund and continual contribution to high school wrestling.

Championships and accomplishments

* Big Time Wrestling **BTW World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Buddy Lee *

Cauliflower Alley Club The Cauliflower Alley Club is a non-profit fraternal organization, which includes a newsletter and website, comprising both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America. Established in 1965 by Mike Mazurki and Art Abram ...

**Other honoree (

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

) *Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame **1996 inductee *

Maple Leaf Wrestling Maple Leaf Wrestling was the unofficial name in the 1970s and 1980s of the professional wrestling promotion run by Frank Tunney in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. History Queensbury Athletic Club The promotion, initially known as the Queensbury Athle ...

( 5 times) - with

(4) and

Billy Red Lyons Willem Snip (17 May 1932 – 22 June 2009) was a Canadian professional wrestler, who wrestled under the ring name Billy Red Lyons. He was an active wrestler between 1956 and 1985, and won numerous championships throughout his career. He worked for ...

(1) *Midwest Wrestling Association **MWA Ohio Heavyweight Championship (3 times) **MWA Ohio Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Athol Layton *

**New York State Award (2003) *

Worldwide Wrestling Associates NWA Hollywood Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Los Angeles) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Los Angeles, California in the United States that promoted professional wrestling matches throughout Southern California. It ...

WWA International Television Tag Team Championship The WWA International Television Tag Team Championship was the tag team title in the Los Angeles-based Worldwide Wrestling Associates from the title's formation in 1954 (as the NWA International Television Tag Team Championship, renamed as a Nort ...

( 1 time) - with

Tex McKenzie Tex may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tex (nickname), a list of people and fictional characters with the nickname * Joe Tex (1933–1982), stage name of American soul singer Joseph Arrington Jr. Entertainment * ''Tex'', the Italian ...

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 ...

** NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship ''(Calgary version)'' ( 1 time) - with

Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame 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 pro ...

(Class of 1995)

References

External links

Canadian Wrestling Hall of Fame - ProfileIlio DiPaolo's Restaurant and Ringside Lounge
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dipaolo, Ilio 1926 births 1995 deaths 20th-century professional wrestlers Italian male professional wrestlers American professional wrestlers of Italian descent Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum Stampede Wrestling alumni NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Champions NWA Canadian Tag Team Champions (Calgary version)