Thomas Cairo (born February 19, 1958) is an American retired

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 ...

. He is best known for his appearances with

Eastern Championship Wrestling HHG Corporation, doing business as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and media company that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as National Wrest ...

from 1992 to 1994, in particular his

feud A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one part ...

with

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 ...

. He is the former co-owner of the

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

-based Force One Pro Wrestling

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

and

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...

Early life

Cairo was a

bodybuilder Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's muscles (muscle building) by muscle hypertrophy for aesthetic purposes. It is distinct from similar activities such as powerlifting because it focuses o ...

before training as a professional wrestler. As a bodybuilder he placed 9th place in the

AAU Mr. America The Mr. America contest is a bodybuilding competition started by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). It was first held on July 4, 1939, and the winner was named "America's Best Built Man". In 1940 this was changed to what is now known as the Mr. A ...

1985 Medium group.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1988–1992)

Cairo debuted in 1988. In 1993, Cairo wrestled several matches with the

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese

UWF International Union of Professional Wrestling Force International, better known as UWF International, U-Inter, or simply UWFi, was a shoot style professional wrestling promotion in Japan from 1991 to 1996. The UWF international was the successor to the ''Newbo ...

Eastern/Extreme Championship Wrestling (1992–1994)

Pennsylvania Champion

In 1992, Cairo joined

, where he used the

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

We Will Rock You "We Will Rock You" is a song written by Brian May and recorded by British rock band Queen for their 1977 album ''News of the World''. ''Rolling Stone'' ranked it number 330 of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2004, and it placed at numbe ...

" by

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

as his

entrance music Entrance music (also known as an entry theme or walk-on music) is a musical piece or song that is played for athletes or entertainers when they first appear in front of the spectators before beginning a performance. Popular music acts may have rec ...

. On May 14, 1993 in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, Cairo won a

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 become the inaugural NWA Pennsylvania Heavyweight Champion. He held the title until August 7, 1993, when he was defeated by

Tony Stetson Anthony Matteo (born March 21, 1959) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Hitman" Tony Stetson. He is best known for his time in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) during the 1990s. Stetson was one of ECW's ini ...

Feuding with The Sandman

Cairo was originally an ally of

, assisting him in his

with

Jason Knight Jason Knight may refer to: *Jason Knight (fighter) (born 1992), American featherweight mixed martial artist and bare-knuckle boxer *Jason Knight (footballer) (born 2001), Irish footballer *Jason Knight (wrestler) (born 1963), American professional ...

. The alliance crumbled in February 1994 after The Sandman was temporarily blinded following a match and inadvertently struck his wife,

Peaches The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-fuz ...

. When The Sandman regained his sight and saw Cairo assisting Peaches to her feet, he attacked Cairo. The Sandman subsequently became estranged from his wife (claiming "life's a bitch, and then you marry one"), and Peaches became the

valet A valet or varlet is a male servant who serves as personal attendant to his employer. In the Middle Ages and Ancien Régime, valet de chambre was a role for junior courtiers and specialists such as artists in a royal court, but the term "vale ...

of Cairo. After Cairo insinuated that he was sleeping with Peaches, The Sandman stated that Cairo owed him "$25 a romp" and began demanding that Cairo "pay your bills". Following the highly publicised

caning Caning is a form of corporal punishment consisting of a number of hits (known as "strokes" or "cuts") with a single Stick-fighting, cane usually made of rattan, generally applied to the offender's bare or clothed buttocks (see spanking) or ha ...

Michael P. Fay Michael Peter Fay (born May 30, 1975) is an American who was sentenced to six strokes of the cane in Singapore in 1994 for theft of road signs and vandalizing 18 cars over a ten-day period in September 1993, which caused a temporary strain in ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

on May 5, 1994, Cairo and Peaches faced The Sandman and his new manager,

Woman A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

, in an intergender "Singapore Caning" match on May 14, 1994 at

When Worlds Collide ''When Worlds Collide'' is a 1933 science fiction novel co-written by Edwin Balmer and Philip Wylie; they also co-authored the sequel ''After Worlds Collide'' (1934). It was first published as a six-part monthly serial (September 1932 through Fe ...

. After Cairo and Peaches defeated their opponents, Peaches caned The Sandman's

crotch In humans, the crotch is the bottom of the pelvis (the region of the body where the legs join the torso) and is often considered to include the groin and genitals. Etymology ''Crotch'' is derived from ''crutch''; it "was first used in 1539 to ...

until Woman threw

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...

in her eyes, enabling The Sandman to regroup and use his cane on both Cairo and Peaches. The feud led to a "Cane on a Pole" match on June 24, 1994 at

Hostile City Showdown Hostile City Showdown was a professional wrestling supercard event produced by Extreme Championship Wrestling HHG Corporation, doing business as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and media company ...

that was ruled a No Contest after the cane fell off the pole and The Sandman retrieved a second cane from beneath the ring, and a "Dueling Canes" match on July 16, 1994 at Heat Wave 1994 that was won by The Sandman. In late 1994, The Sandman was once again "blinded" after a lit

cigarette A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the opp ...

was pushed into his eye during an "I Quit" match with

Tommy Dreamer Thomas James Laughlin (born February 13, 1971), is an American professional wrestler and promoter better known by the ring name Tommy Dreamer. He is signed to Impact Wrestling and is the owner and promoter of the House of Hardcore (HOH) promo ...

. The Sandman subsequently claimed that he would have to retire as a result, with Dreamer responding by dedicating the remainder of his career to The Sandman. Cairo began mocking The Sandman, which led to Dreamer heavily beating him in a match on November 5, 1994 at November to Remember 1994. During The Sandman's retirement ceremony, The Sandman reconciled with Peaches (Woman had abandoned him upon his blinding) before revealing that he was not in fact blinded and attacking Dreamer. The Sandman later revealed that his "blinding" had been an elaborate ruse concocted to trick Dreamer into hurting Cairo on his behalf.

Independent circuit (1994–2013)

Cairo left ECW in the mid-1990s. On June 24, 1995 in

Williamstown, New Jersey Williamstown is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located in Monroe Township in Gloucester County, New Jersey.Devon Storm Christopher Ford (born March 4, 1974) is an American professional wrestler, best known for his tenure in World Championship Wrestling under the ring name Crowbar, where he was a one time Hardcore Champion, a one time World Tag Team Champion wi ...

in the finals of a tournament for the vacant

NWA North American Heavyweight Championship The NWA North American Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship created by the National Wrestling Alliance in 1994 after World Championship Wrestling withdrew from the NWA. There were various regional versions of the Nort ...

. He was stripped of the title in 1996 after no-showing a defense, due to the birth of his first child. Between 1996 and 1997 Cairo held the Ultimate Championship Wrestling North American Heavyweight Championship, he wrestled in various matches with the likes of Chris Chavis aka " Tatanka", Bruce Hart,

Jim Neidhart James Henry Neidhart (February 8, 1955 – August 13, 2018) was an American professional wrestler known for his appearances in the 1980s and 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation as Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, where he was a two-time WWF Tag T ...

, Falcon Coperis. Between 1998 and 2000, Cairo operated the Outlaws of Wrestling promotion in

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

. In the same time period, he appeared with USA Pro Wrestling, winning both the Heavyweight and North American championships. In September 2001, Cairo retired from professional wrestling and began working as an

electrician An electrician is a tradesperson specializing in electrical wiring of buildings, transmission lines, stationary machines, and related equipment. Electricians may be employed in the installation of new electrical components or the maintenance ...

. In 2007, Cairo returned to wrestling when he, former wrestling radio host Phil Varlese, and wrestlers The White Lotus (Pat Di Giacomo), and Diego DeMarco (James Pilman) opened a

professional wrestling school Professional wrestling has accrued a considerable amount of jargon throughout its existence. Much of it stems from the industry's origins in the days of carnivals and circuses. In the past, professional wrestlers used such terms in the presence o ...

and promotion in the

Northeastern United States The Northeastern United States, also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast, is a geographic region of the United States. It is located on the Atlantic coast of North America, with Canada to its north, the Southe ...

known as Force One Pro Wrestling. Force One Pro Wrestling held its inaugural event, "Pledge of Allegiance", on May 19, 2007, in

Egg Harbor City, New Jersey Egg Harbor City is a City (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was 4,396, an increase of 153 from the 2010 Census.

, with Cairo, (in his capacity as commissioner) crowning Heavyweight Champion Breaker Morant and Junior Heavyweight Champion White Lotus. In late 2009, Cairo resigned from Force One Pro Wrestling as well, turning the promotion over to Diego DeMarco (James Pilman) & former student turned wrestler Johnny Calzone (John Short), who took the promotion in a different direction, renaming the promotion Force 1 Pro, who ran shows in the same venues as the old Force One. Cairo returned to the business in 2011 with Coastal Pro Wrestling (again with former partner Phil Varlese, and with former NWA official Fred "Richards" Rubenstein). Coastal signed on as a National Wrestling Alliance affiliate, and eventually a licensee, but broke away a year later due to differences with the ownership of the NWA. Cairo eventually split from Coastal after a 2-year run, and ran several shows under the Global 1 Pro Wrestling banner, before leaving the wrestling business again in 2013.

Personal life

Cairo is married to his wife Alba and has two children, Skye and Christian.

Championships and accomplishments

ECW Pennsylvania Championship The ECW Pennsylvania State Championship was a short-lived title in ECW when it was called Eastern Championship Wrestling. It was also known as the NWA Pennsylvania Heavyweight Championship and existed in 1993. Reigns References {{DEFAULT ...

( 1 time) *Eastern States Wrestling / Eastern Shores Wrestling **ESW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *

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 ...

**NWA New York Television Championship (1 time) **

( 1 time) *Outlaws of Wrestling **OoW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Richmond Championship Wrestling **RCW North American Championship (1 time) **RCW Television Championship (1 time) *Ultimate Championship Wrestling **UCW North American Heavyweight Championship (1 time) * USA Pro Wrestling ** USA Pro Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Ultimate Wrestling Federation **GWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) *Unified Championship Wrestling **UCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *USA Pro Wrestling **UPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **UPW North American Championship (1 time)

References

External links

ForceOneProWrestling.com
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cairo, Tommy 1958 births American male professional wrestlers Living people Sportspeople from Philadelphia People from Tuckerton, New Jersey Professional wrestlers from Pennsylvania NWA North American Heavyweight Champions