.jpg) DeNucci,c. 1976 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Domenico A. Nucciarone (1932-01-23)January 23, 1932 Frosolone, Molise, Italy |
| Died | August 12, 2021(2021-08-12) (aged 89) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Dominic DeNucci Dominic Bravo[1] The Masked Marvel |
| Billed height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) |
| Billed weight | 245 lb (111 kg) |
| Billed from | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Trained by | Tony Lanza |
| Debut | 1958 |
| Retired | April 14, 2012 |
Domenico A. Nucciarone[2] (January 23, 1932 – August 12, 2021) was an Italian-Americanprofessional wrestler and trainer better known by thering nameDominic DeNucci.[3] He held over a dozen championships around the world in the 1960s and 1970s. His wrestling students includedMick Foley,Shane Douglas,Brian Hildebrand, andCody Michaels.[4]
He made his pro wrestling debut in 1958 in Montreal, Quebec under a hood as the Masked Marvel and also wrestled in Ottawa, Ontario.[2] In 1959, DeNucci started teaming with the original Dino Bravo as Dominic Bravo, a storyline/kayfabe brother as the two worked as atag team in Canada throughoutThe Maritimes, Toronto, Ontario, and Winnipeg, Manitoba.[2] They also worked in Cleveland and Buffalo. The team headed west for Calgary wrestling forStampede Wrestling starting in 1962. DeNucci would keep the Bravo name until he left Stampede in 1963. He wrestled as Don DeNucci in the San Francisco territory in the latter half of 1963.
In 1964, DeNucci made his debut in Australia forWorld Championship Wrestling.[2] He feuded withKiller Kowalski. On November 7, 1964, he defeated Kowalski for theIWA World Heavyweight Championship in Melbourne. He dropped the title toRay Stevens on January 9, 1965. A month later he regained the title by defeating Stevens. On March 10 he dropped the title again to Stevens. He continued feuding with Kowalski. On February 12, 1966, he won the title for the third time defeating Kowalski. He held the title for 111 days until losing it toToru Tanaka on June 3 in Sydney. Afterwards, he teamed with Kowalski and his Italian friendBruno Sammartino feuding with Japanese heelsToru Tanaka andMitsu Arakawa.
On July 1, 1966, he teamed withMark Lewin as they defeatedLarry Hennig andHarley Race for theIWA World Tag Team Championship. They dropped the title toSkull Murphy andBrute Bernard on July 15. After that DeNucci returned to North America. In May 1968 he returned this time teaming withAntonio Pugliese as they defeated Skull Murphy andKiller Karl Kox for the IWA World Tag Team title. They dropped it toKiller Kowalski andBill Miller. He found a new partnerMario Milano and they defeated Kowalski and Miller for the title. Then they dropped the title toMikel Scicluna andCiclón Negro. In 1970 he made another return this time feuding withKing Curtis Iaukea. On January 16 he won his fourth and finalIWA World Heavyweight Championship defeating Iaukea. On March 25 he dropped the title to Iaukea.
After he left Australia in 1966 he returned to North America wrestling in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for a year. He wrestled in many territories in Cleveland, Buffalo, St. Louis, Chicago, andBig Time Wrestling in Detroit. Also, he was very popular in the Michigan/Ohio territory in the early 1970s as well as Toronto forMaple Leaf Wrestling from 1969 to 1978. In 1974 he wrestled forChampionship Wrestling from Florida where he won theNWA Florida Tag Team Championship withTony Parisi defeatingDick Slater andToru Tanaka. They dropped the titles in 1975 to Slater andJ. J. Dillon.
In 1971, he went to Japan for the first time to work forJapan Pro Wrestling Alliance. In 1972 he worked forGiant Baba's brand newAll Japan Pro Wrestling as Don Denucci. He lost a few matches to Baba. In 1979, he returned and feuded withDick Beyer,Jumbo Tsuruta,Kim Duk andGreat Kojika. He left the promotion in 1981.
DeNucci debuted in New York City in 1967. On June 18, 1971, DeNucci won his firstWorld Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) title, theWWWF International Tag Team Championship, withBruno Sammartino by defeating The Mongols (Bepo andGeto Mongol).[5] They lost the title to The Mongols three days later.[5] On May 13, 1975, DeNucci andVictor Rivera won theWWWF World Tag Team Championship fromJimmy andJohnny Valiant.[6][7] In June, however, Rivera left the WWF, andPat Barrett became DeNucci's replacement partner.[6][7] They lost the title approximately three months later toThe Blackjacks on August 26.[6] DeNucci became a two-time WWWF World Tag Team Champion when he and his partner,the second Dino Bravo, defeatedProfessor Tanaka andMr. Fuji on March 14, 1978.[6][8] They held the title until June 26 when theydropped it toThe Yukon Lumberjacks.[6] DeNucci also unsuccessfully challenged inauguralWWF Intercontinental ChampionPat Patterson on a number of occasions for the IC belt in 1979 and 1980. He also worked with a youngHulk Hogan in 1981.[2] He eventually transitioned into becoming ajobber, and left the company in 1982 after 15 years.[2]
After leaving the WWF, DeNucci returned to Toronto and wrestled there for a year. From 1984 to 1985 he wrestled forLutte Internationale in Montreal andAmerican Wrestling Association in Minnesota. He also worked in Saudi Arabia and the Philippines.[2] On November 16, 1987, he returned to theWorld Wrestling Federation for a one night appearance at a house show in East Rutherford, New Jersey participating in a Legends Battle Royal won byLou Thesz. After that he retired from wrestling at 55 years old.[2]
During the 1990s, DeNucci wrestled five times. The first was a loss toJohnny Valiant by disqualification on November 9, 1990, at an event in Chesterland, Ohio. Then he defeatedJohnny Hotbody on April 4, 1993, at Maccabiah Mania in Livingston, New Jersey. On May 13, 1994, he defeatedLord Zoltan at an IWA event in Warren, Ohio. On June 7, 1996, DeNucci reunited withTony Parisi as they defeatedBruiser Bedlam and Danny Johnson at theIlio DiPaolo Memorial Show in Buffalo, New York. Then on July 30, 1999, he defeatedLord Zoltan atCurtis Comes Home event in Rostraver, Pennsylvania. The show paid tribute to DeNucci's studentMark Curtis who died from cancer.
In 2005, DeNucci came out of retirement at age 73. On August 27, 2005, he lost toIvan Koloff in a Russian Chain match atWrestleReunion 2 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He wrestled in theindependent circuit in Pennsylvania for the rest of his career. Also he made appearances as a referee and manager. On March 24, 2007, he defeatedLarry Zbyszko at International Wrestling Cartel's Night of Legends 3 in Franklin, Pennsylvania. He hadBruno Sammartino in his corner as a manager. On May 3, 2009, he teamed up with studentsShane Douglas andCody Michaels as they defeatedJ. J. Dillon,Lou Marconi andFrank Stalletto at Deaf Wrestlefest in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He wrestled his last singles match on May 29, 2009, defeating Samuel Elias by count out at Far North Wrestling in New Castle, Pennsylvania.He wrestled his final match on April 14, 2012, in Toronto, teaming with his protegeShane Douglas to defeatLord Zoltan and Shawn Blanchard at Pro Wrestling Superstars.[9]
After ending his career as an active professional wrestler, he trainedMoondog Spot,Mick Foley,Shane Douglas,Preston Steele andBrian Hildebrand among others.[4][10][11] DeNucci is featured inMick Foley: "Madman Unmasked", where he is seen training Mick Foley and reminiscing about Foley in the days of his training. He is also featured prominently in the opening chapters of Mick Foley's autobiography,Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks. DeNucci was profiled on the fourth episode of the podcast,Titans of Wrestling. In 2012 he was inducted into theProfessional Wrestling Hall of Fame.[2]
DeNucci was Catholic[11] and spoke at least four languages: English, French, Spanish, and Italian.[12] In June 2020, Dominic experienced heart issues and was hospitalized.[13]
DeNucci died on August 12, 2021, at UPMC Passavant Hospital in McCandless Township, Pennsylvania,[11] at the age of 89.[2]
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