.jpg) Sitoci in October 2024 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1985-05-17)May 17, 1985 (age 40) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Emil Sitoci Das Nihilist Luchadore Sitoci Little Rider Klaus Kessler |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1] |
| Billed weight | 207 lb (94 kg) |
| Trained by | Bas Van Kunder Chris Hero Dave Finlay Ian Rotten Mike Quackenbush Salvatore Bellomo Jorge Rivera |
| Debut | 2001 |
Emil Sitoci (born May 17, 1985) is a Dutchprofessional wrestler andtelevision personality, He is best known for his work in German professional wrestling promotionWestside Xtreme Wrestling.
Sitoci started his career in 2001, wrestling under a mask, in mainland European wrestling promotions. In 2003 he travelled to America as an exchange student, which enabled him to stay for a full year and train underChris Hero. By 2004 Sitoci had dropped the mask and was given the nickname "Tremendous". During this time, he competed in companies such asIWA Mid-South,CZW andChikara. In 2005 he returned to CZW to challengeMike Quackenbush for theCZW World Junior Heavyweight Championship in theECW Arena.[2]
Upon returning toEurope, Sitoci achieved success in Germany inWestside Xtreme Wrestling by capturing the wXw World Lightweight Championship fromJonny Storm.[3] Sitoci went on to defend against the likes ofMatt Sydal,El Generico andPAC before losing the title in 2006. In 2008 he recaptured the title for a second time by defeatingZack Sabre Jr. in the finals of an 8-man tournament inOberhausen,Germany.[4]
Throughout 2009 and 2010, Sitoci stayed active on the European wrestling scene, regularly inAustria,Belgium,Engeland,France,Ireland,Italy,Netherlands,Norway andSwitzerland. In November 2010 Sitoci madeSteve Corino tap out to theFujiwara Armbar to become the German Stampede Wrestling Heavyweight Champion. In the same month he was also seen in a short appearanceWWE Smackdown, where he was attacked byKane. in April 2011, Sitoci was part of an AmericanwXw tour, where he came up victorious in a 4-way match againstBrandon Gatson,Chuck Taylor andJohnny Gargano oniPPV.[4]
Sitoci returned to America in October 2011 as part ofJeff Katz'sWrestling Revolution Project inHollywood, where he was cast to portray a Germannihilist.[5]
On November 6, 2012, Sitoci became the third Dutchman, afterHans Mortier andWim Ruska, to compete in aWWE ring. He lost toJack Swagger in a dark match prior toWWE SmackDown tapings inBirmingham.[6]
On January 25, 2013, Sitoci made his debut forJapanese promotionWrestling New Classic inTokyo, defeatingYusuke Kodama in a singles match.[7] Two days later, he picked up another win overKoji Doi.[8] Afterwards, Sitoci joined WNC's topheelstable Synapse.[9] However, in Sitoci's first match as a member of Synapse on February 28, he turned on the stable's leader,Akira, costing him andSyuri their six-person tag team match againstMakoto,Tajiri and Zeus, and afterwards challenged him to a match for theWNC Championship.[10] Sitoci received his title shot on March 31, but was defeated by Akira.[11]
Sitoci is a graduate of theUtrecht University. He earned hisMaster's Degree inMedia Studies in 2010, specializing infilm andtelevision sciences.[1] He has been featured on a large variety of television shows in TheNetherlands. In 2008 he starred in a Dutch variation ofBBC'sLast Man Standing, called Hollandse Krijgers. The show was centered around 5 athletes who had to live with nativeAfrican tribes for 8 straight weeks, and compete in local sports such aswrestling andstick fighting. Sitoci ended up tying akickboxer for the win in the series finale.[12]
In 2012 Emil was the central figure in an episode of The World of Beau, In which he was described as "the best wrestler in the Netherlands." In this episode he trains presenter Beau van Erven Dorens on his debut in the ring. Sitoci has a Master Training Film and Television Studies degree from the University of Utrecht.
In early 2013 he has done behind the scenes working as an editor for the BNN program "Proefkonijnen".
Currently Emil is working on a new reality show byJohn de Mol (creator ofBig Brother andThe Voice) called Utopia. It’s about building up a new society from scratch, with no laws and no rules.[13]