| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1968-09-24)September 24, 1968 (age 57)[1][2] Revere, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Erich Sbraccia[1] Eric Sbraccia[2] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)[1][2] |
| Billed weight | 277 lb (126 kg)[1][2] |
| Billed from | The Combat Zone Boston, Massachusetts |
| Debut | 1984[1][2] |
| Retired | 2002 |
Erich L. Sbraccia (born September 24, 1968),[1] also known asEric Sbraccia, is an American retiredprofessional wrestler. He began his career inInternational Championship Wrestling at age 14 as a "junior member" for manager"Boston Bad Boy" Tony Rumble and debuted as a wrestler two years later.[3][4] He emerged as one of the promotion's top heel performers during the late 1980s, while feuding with"Jumping" Joe Savoldi, and was part of The Dynamic Duo with"Fabulous" Phil Apollo. He is a formerICW Light Heavyweight Champion and two-timeICW Tag Team Champion with Apollo.[5]
He was among the many ICW mainstays who jumped to Tony Rumble'sCentury Wrestling Alliance in the early-1990s. When the promotion joined theNational Wrestling Alliance, Sbraccia became one ofNWA New England's biggest stars. As a member ofThe Brotherhood, he was both the inauguralNWA New England Heavyweight Champion andNWA New England Tag Team Champion withKnuckles Nelson. In 1998, The Brotherhood won theNWA World Tag Team Championship at theNWA's 50th Anniversary Show. Asworld champions, they defended the belts not only inNew England but throughout the U.S. and Japan. Sbraccia occasionally wrestled as apreliminary wrestler for theWorld Wrestling Federation during this period.[5][3][4]
Erich Sbraccia was born on September 24, 1968.[1][2] A native ofRevere, Massachusetts, he became involved in pro wrestling at an early age. In 1984, the 14-year-old Sbraccia became a "junior member" ofTony Rumble and his"heel"stable in theSavoldi family'sInternational Championship Wrestling.[3][4]
Sbraccia was formerly made a full member of Tony Rumble'sThe Brotherhood upon making his ICW debut as a wrestler in 1984.[3][4] He wrestled Brian Walsh inWaltham, Massachusetts, on his 16th birthday. He also faced such opponents asKevin Sullivan andMark Lewin during his early career.[5] A talentedjunior heavyweight, Sbraccia defeatedRobbie Ellis for theICW Light Heavyweight Championship inDover, New Hampshire, a year later. He dropped the title to Ellis inAugusta, Maine, on December 28, 1988.[6][7][8][9][10]
In early-1989, Sbraccia began teaming with"Fabulous" Phil Apollo as The Dynamic Duo.[11][12] The team's name was a tribute by Sbraccia and Apollo toWCCW Tag Team Champions'sGentleman Chris Adams andGino Hernandez. A veteranWorld Class Championship Wrestling himself, Apollo often emulated Adams' ring style including using hissuperkick finisher. On March 5, 1989, The Dynamic Duo defeatedVic Steamboat and"Jumping" Joe Savoldi in Augusta for theICW Tag Team Championship.[13][14] They held the belts for four months until Steamboat and Savoldi won them back inMarlboro, Massachusetts, on July 1.[15][16] Sbraccia and Apollo regained the tag team titles at the end of year by defeating The Undertakers (Henchman and Punisher), managed by Sbraccia's former mentor Tony Rumble, inPortland, Maine, on December 11, 1989.[8][9] Two days later in Augusta, however, Apollo and Vic Steamboat (substituting for Sbraccia) lost the tag belts toPaul E. Dangerously's The Lethal Weapons (Dennis Condrey andDoug Gilbert).[17][18]
Sbraccia and Apollo made one last attempt to regain the belts when the ICW Tag Team Championship was declared vacant in the spring of 1990. On March 31, they lost to The Undertakers inCharlton, Massachusetts, in a match to decide the new champions.[6][19] The Dynamic Duo broke up shortly afterwards and Sbraccia formed a tag team with GQ Madison in an attempt to regain the titles from The Undertakers. On September 6, 1990, Sbraccia and GQ Madison fought The Undertakers to a double-disqualification inNewport, Vermont. They were defeated by The Undertakers later that month at theState University of New York at Delhi.[20]
Sbraccia was among the ICW mainstays who followedTony Rumble when he startedCentury Wrestling Alliance.[21] On April 27, 1996, at a TV taping forCWA Mass Madness, he defeated Tito Gonzalez at the Champs Arena inSalisbury Beach, Massachusetts.[22][23] That same year, Sbraccia and Sonny C won theCWA Tag Team Championship.[24] On July 19, 1996, Sbraccia and Sonny C successfully defended the tag titles against Joel Davis and Rocky Davis in front of a sold-out 1,850 crowd atRevere High School.[25] On October 18, 1997, Sbraccia defeatedTrooper Gilmore at the sold-out South Lawrence East School inLawrence, Massachusetts.[26][27] That same night, he andKnuckles Nelson beat The Extremists (Ace Darling andDevon Storm) for the CWA Tag Team Championship.[24][28]
In January 1998, the Century Wrestling Alliance became the officialNational Wrestling Alliance affiliate for the entireNew England region. By this time, Sbraccia had aligned himself with Tony Rumble's "new" version of The Brotherhood which also included Knuckles Nelson, Tre, Tombstone, and manager Vinnie Capelli. On January 17, he became the firstNWA New England Heavyweight Champion after defeating Vic Steamboat in a tournament final inSouthbridge, Massachusetts.[29][30][31][32] He retained his title againstTom Brandi, via disqualification, at a house show inOgdensburg, New York, on April 25.[33] On May 9, at the "NWA New England Inaugural Event", Sbraccia wrestled Maverick Wild in a non-title match at the Good Times Emporium inSomerville, Massachusetts.[34]
In the next few weeks, Sbraccia defended the title against Mike and Ralph Lano,[35] Beau Douglas,[36] and Curtis Slamdawg.[37] One of his bouts with Mike Lano took place atEddie Andelman's "Hot Dog Safari".[38] He also occasionally wrestled as a preliminary wrestler for theWorld Wrestling Federation. On the July 25 edition ofWWF Shotgun Saturday Night, Sbraccia and Devon Storm wrestledThe New Midnight Express (Bombastic Bob andBodacious Bart) inBinghamton, New York. Two months later, Sbraccia lost toKurrgan (withThe Oddities) at theTsongas Arena inLowell, Massachusetts.[39] On September 19, 1998, Sbraccia defeated The Mercenary at Taste of the Boss inBoston, Massachusetts.[40] Later that night inEverett, he finally lost the NWA New England title toBarry Windham ending his 9-month championship reign.[4][41][42][43]
Despite losing the heavyweight title, The Brotherhood still held the NWA New England Tag Team Championship.[24] On the same night he lost the heavyweight title, Sbraccia and Nelson defeated bothSlyck Wagner Brown & Steve Morabito and The New York Posse (Curtis Slamdawg & Jay Kobain).[44] They also successfully defended their titles againstBob Evans & Rocky Shore and The New York Posse inMelrose, Massachusetts, on October 17, 1998.[45]
On October 24, the team represented the promotion at theNWA 50th Anniversary Show inCherry Hill, New Jersey. It was at this event that The Brotherhood defeated The Border Patrol (Agent Carson and Agent Gunn), Team Extreme (Kit Carson and Khris Germany), andTully Blanchard &Tom Prichard in aFour Corners match to win theNWA World Tag Team Championship.[46][47][48][49] Barry Windham, who had beaten Sbraccia for the NWA New England title the previous month, was originally booked to be Blanchard's partner[50] but was replaced by Prichard at the last moment.[51]
Their victory was considered a high point in the history of NWA England and brought national exposure to the company. The promotion also received attention from wrestling magazine publishersBill Apter and George Napolitano. The NWA had initially intended the tag title to be traded among its various NWA affiliates shortly after the 50th Anniversary Show, however, Rumble and Sheldon Goldberg took the initiative and began booking title defenses for The Brotherhood on their own. Goldberg was able to contact Wally Yamaguchi, though his brother Shun, and arranged for The Brotherhood to tour Japan as the NWA Tag Team Champions. It was the first time the NWA had toured the country in several years.[52] On January 30, 1999, at a live event for Worldwide Pro Wrestling, The Brotherhood took part in abattle royal at the Kitakyushu Municipal Ogura Northern Gym inFukuoka, Japan. Sbraccia and Nelson were the final participants along with fellow"gaijin" wrestler The Hater ofPro Wrestling America. Instead of turning on each other, The Brotherhood tossed The Hater out of the ring and were declared co-winners of the battle royal. On another tour six months later, The Brotherhood feuded with The Caffeine Connection (Cola Kid and Pepsi Boy) over the NWA World Tag Team Championship. The Brotherhood appeared to have lost the belts on the tour, during an impromptu match with The Caffeine Connection, which saw interference from both Kinjiro Oki and"Wild" Bill Irwin, however theofficials reversed the decision.[53]
On February 26, The Brotherhood were scheduled to defend the belts against Team Extreme at anNWA Southwest show inNorth Richland Hills, Texas, but were unable to appear due to heavy snow. In addition to the team missing a mandatory title defense, NWA officials were becoming displeased with the promotion holding on to the world tag title for so long. The title was declared held-up on March 3 and the NWA Board of Directors threatened to strip The Brotherhood of the championship if they failed to appear at the next NWA Southwest show at the Bronco Bowl Arena inDallas that summer. NWA New England would also be fined $5,000 if they did not comply. Sbraccia, especially coming off an international tour to Japan, was concerned that another extended trip to Texas might result in being released from his regular job.[52]
That spring, Sbraccia and Nelson continued to defend the world titles in matches againstDevon Storm &Julio Sanchez,[54]The Public Enemy (Rocco Rock andJohnny Grunge),[55][56] The New York Posse (Ron Zombie and Jay Kobain),[57] and Beau Douglas & Rex Lethal.[58] On April 22, The Brotherhood andDukes Dalton beat Punisher, Tony Montana, and Mike Johnson in a 6-man tag team match at Somerville's Good Times Emporium.[59] Sbraccia also appeared on the April 27 edition ofWWF Shotgun Saturday Night where he facedMideon at theNew Haven Coliseum.[60][61]
On June 10, 1999,Rick Fuller was brought in to replace Sbraccia at the Dallas show to battle Team Extreme for the vacant tag team championship. The Brotherhood managed to win back the belts via reverse decision.[62][63] Meanwhile, Sbraccia had undergone knee surgery and was subsequently replaced byDukes Dalton in The Brotherhood's NWA tag team title defenses.[4][64] Nelson and Dalton won the NWA briefly lost the belts to The Public Enemy inBolton, Massachusetts, but regained them inDorchester two days later. They eventually dropped the titles to Team Extreme at theNWA's 51st Anniversary Show inCharlotte, North Carolina, that fall.[6][62][64]
Sbraccia eventually returned to action and made a few appearances for Knuckles Nelson's Wrestling Star Wars promotion, most notably, wrestling Tiger Mulligan inSalisbury Beach, Massachusetts, on July 14, 2001.[65] Sbraccia briefly returned to NWA New England, along with fellow Brotherhood member Tre, in February 2002.[66] On February 16, 2002, at the "Broken Hearts & Broken Bones" benefit show, Sbraccia defeatedRick Fuller for theNWA New England Brass Knuckles Championship inMalden, Massachusetts. His comeback was cut short, however, when he left the promotion that summer[67][68] and subsequently retired. In 2015, Sbraccia was inducted into theNew England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame.[69]
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