 Saturn in 1998 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Perry Arthur Satullo (1966-10-25)October 25, 1966 (age 59)[4] |
Spouse | |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | The Gargoyle The Iron Horseman[1] Perry Saturn[2] Peter Motts Saturn[1] Dry Cleaner |
| Billed height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[3] |
| Billed weight | 241 lb (109 kg)[3] |
| Billed from | Boston,Massachusetts[3] |
| Trained by | Scott Pieroni[2] |
| Debut | October 27, 1990 |
| Retired | July 7, 2013 |
 United States | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| Unit | United States Army Rangers |
Perry Arthur Satullo (born October 25, 1966)[4] is an American retiredprofessional wrestler known by hisring name,Perry Saturn. Since debuting in 1990, Saturn wrestled forpromotions includingExtreme Championship Wrestling (ECW),World Championship Wrestling (WCW), theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) andTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). He is a formerECW World Tag Team Champion,WCW World Tag Team Champion,WCW World Television Champion,WWF European Champion andWWF Hardcore Champion.[3]
Satullo enlisted in theUnited States Army for four years at the age of seventeen, before eventually embarking on a career in professional wrestling.[5] Satullo finished abachelor's degree before he became a full-time wrestler.[6] Satullo is also a certified graduate of theU.S. Army Ranger School and has served in theUnited States Army Rangers.[7]
Satullo began training as a professional wrestler atKiller Kowalski's school inMalden, Massachusetts around 1988, taking thering name Saturn from theRoman god of the same name before later tweaking it to Perry Saturn. He debuted on October 27, 1990, inWaltham, Massachusetts.[citation needed] Satullo also wrestled in Kowalski'sInternational Wrestling Federation as "The Iron Horseman", acowboy[1] complete with black leatherstetson andchaps. Satullo eventually won the IWF Light Heavyweight Championship. Satullo began wrestling forindependentpromotions throughoutNew England, as well as touringJapan withNew Japan Pro-Wrestling in 1993. In June 1992 he worked as enhancement talent in WWF.
While working as the manager of a nightclub inBoston, Satullo metbouncerGeorge Caiazzo, who expressed an interest in becoming a wrestler. Satullo sent Caiazzo to Kowalski's school to train, and then offered to form atag team with him.[1] TheGreek equivalent of the god Saturn wasCronus, so Satullo chose the ring name "John Kronus" for Caiazzo. As Saturn and Cronus were their cultures' respective gods of the harvest, Satullo proposed that they be known as "The Harvesters of Sorrow". PromoterJerry Lawler advised Satullo that the significance of the name would not be evident to many fans, so they became known asThe Eliminators.
The Eliminators wrestled their first match together at aUnited States Wrestling Association (USWA)house show in 1993 in Tennessee. They were hired at a starting salary of$40 a week (they later successfully negotiated a 100% pay raise), and shared an apartment with four other wrestlers. The Eliminators won the World Tag Team Championship on May 2, 1994, from Satullo's mentor,Eddie Gilbert, andBrian Christopher. They held the titles until June 13 when they were defeated byPG-13. Satullo later traveled to Japan with Caiazzo to wrestle forWrestle Association "R". On March 22, 1994, Saturn wrestled a dark match at aWWF Superstars taping in Lowell, MA.[8]
The compactly-built and heavilytattooed Satullo and thehigh-flying Caiazzo caught the attention ofPaul Heyman'sExtreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) when they were brought in tojob to theSteiner Brothers (Rick andScott), and the Eliminators were hired by ECW in 1995.[9] Heyman quickly abandoned plans to give them asadism and masochismgimmick and insteadbooked them as an unstoppable force in the ECW tag division, giving them amanager,Jason. The Eliminators captured the ECW Tag Team Titles three times between 1996 and 1997, andfeuded with teams such asThe Gangstas andThe Pitbulls. AfterThe Pitbulls' managerFrancine cut Saturn's hair, he shaved his head in a homage to Mickey Knox, the character depicted byWoody Harrelson inNatural Born Killers (in reality, Satullo was beginning to go bald).
Satullo was a trainer in the ECW House of Hardcore, aprofessional wrestling school[1] at whichTaz andMikey Whipwreck also taught. Saturn was respected for his focus and drive on fundamentals and technical wrestling.
On May 31, 1997, inTrenton, New Jersey, Satullo tore hisACL when he landed on a crutch while executing a kick onBig Dick Dudley. After intense reconstructive surgery, he was given a recovery time of up to a year. He began rehabilitating after two months and returned to action in August. Impatient with what he regarded as Caiazzo's lack of motivation and dedication, he refused to reform the Eliminators.[1] Paul Heyman offered to release him from his contract if he could find alternative employment, and Satullo entered into negotiations withWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW).
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On August 28, 1997, Satullo was offered a job by WCWroad agentTerry Taylor, who had been impressed by abump that Satullo had taken in ascaffold match. He debuted in WCW on September 8, facingBilly Kidman, but was sidelined for a month afterward as his knee had not entirely healed. Later that year, he and Kidman joinedThe Flock, aheelstable of misfits andmisanthropists led by thenihilisticRaven. Saturn's childhood was referenced, with Raven bringing up the violence Saturn incurred at the hands of his stepfather. Theenforcer of The Flock, Saturn won gold on November 3, 1997, when he defeatedDisco Inferno to win theWorld Television Championship. He held the title for a month before losing it back to Inferno in a rematch.
Beginning in 1998, Saturn began feuding withGlacier after Saturn's usage of the Super Kick offended Glacier, who deemed it a plagiarism of his Cryonic Kick finisher. Later in the year, Saturn was defeated by fellow Flock memberVan Hammer in a "Loser Leaves The Flock" match. Raven threw Hammer out of the Flock instead. Problems arose between Raven and Saturn, and the latter eventually left The Flock,turningface by standing up to the domineering Raven. Raven held all the other Flock members in thrall, so Saturn challenged him to match for the September 13Fall Brawlpay-per-view. If Saturn won, The Flock would be freed, but if Raven won, Saturn would become his slave.
In the meantime, onNitro, Raven's lackeyLodi challenged him to a match, with the stipulation that Lodi would leave The Flock if Saturn won, and Saturn would become Lodi's servant until Fall Brawl if he lost. Saturn unexpectedly lost following copious interference from The Flock, and Lodi forced Saturn to carry his bags, made him hold up pro-Lodi signs at ringside, and ordered him to chant Lodi's name while Lodi wrestled. Lodi also used Saturn to defeat the enemies of The Flock.
Raven began questioning whether Saturn could "hurt those he wants to free so badly" and forced him to faceRiggs. Saturn won cleanly, but refused Raven's order to break Riggs' fingers. When Saturn refused, Raven broke his fingers (Saturn would not break his agreement with Lodi because of a personal honor code, and Lodi ordered him to allow Raven to harm him). Raven repeatedly tried to goad Saturn into breaking his word, but was unable to do so. Finally, on September 13 at Fall Brawl, Saturn defeated Raven with help fromKidman, disbanding The Flock forever.[10]
Saturn went on to feud withEddie Guerrero andErnest Miller before beginning a rivalry withChris Jericho. After Jericho cost Saturn a number of matches with the help of crooked referee Scott Dickinson, he mocked Saturn's complaints and accused him of crying "like a schoolgirl." This led to Jericho challenging Saturn to a "loser wears a dress for ninety days" match atSouled Out on January 17, 1999, which he won after some suspect officiating from Dickinson. Taking on a bizarre,gothtransvestitegimmick, Saturn began wearing a variety of dresses to the ring and using a variation ofMarilyn Manson's "The Beautiful People" as his entrance music. He appeared to begin enjoying wearing dresses and even worecosmetics to complement them. Saturn finally stopped wearing them after defeating Jericho in adog collar match atUncensored on March 14, 1999.[11][12]
Raven and Saturn reunited in March 1999, feuding withDean Malenko andChris Benoit, members of theFour Horsemen. AtSlamboree the former Flock members defeated Benoit and Malenko and championsRey Misterio, Jr. andBilly Kidman for theWorld Tag Team Championship. After Raven was injured, Saturn lost the titles toBam Bam Bigelow andDiamond Dallas Page whenChris Kanyon, who substituted for Raven, betrayed him. He then teamed with Benoit in order to regain the titles. They were successful, but lost the titles several days later to Page and Kanyon. Benoit and Saturn continued to team together, and eventually formed a stable withShane Douglas and Dean Malenko known asThe Revolution. After Benoit left the Revolution to align himself withBret Hart, the remainder of the stable began feuding with him. They then moved on to feuds withJim Duggan andThe Filthy Animals before disbanding.
BookerKevin Sullivan opined that Saturn was incapable of gettingover with fans, prompting the wrestler to negotiate with theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF). In January 2000, Saturn, along with Benoit, Malenko andEddie Guerrero, was granted a release from WCW and signed a three-year contract with the WWF.[9][12][13]
Benoit, Guerrero, Saturn, and Malenko, dubbedThe Radicalz, debuted in the WWF during theAttitude Era on January 31, 2000. They appeared in the front row of a live episode ofRaw and brawled with theNew Age Outlaws afterThe Road Dogg literally fell into their laps.Cactus Jack urged them to help him fight the heel McMahon-Helmsley Faction, but they quickly turned on Jack in order to gain employment fromTriple H, who was then controlling the WWF. Benoit left the group on amicable terms when he became sidetracked by his feud withChris Jericho, and the three remaining Radicalz began feuding withToo Cool andChyna. After Guerrero left to be with Chyna, Saturn and Malenko teamed together for a while before disbanding.[9][14]
Saturn moved into theHardcore division, pursuing then-championCrash Holly. After Malenko tried to win the Hardcore Championship for himself, the former partners turned on one another. Guerrero was drawn into their feud, leading to atriple threat match atJudgment Day with Guerrero'sEuropean Championship on the line. Guerrero was able to retain with the assistance of Chyna.
Saturn was later joined byTerri Runnels, who became his manager and onscreen girlfriend. After failing to proceed in theKing of the Ring tournament, Saturn went after the European Championship once more, finally beating Guerrero atFully Loaded on July 23. Terri's rivalry withThe Kat led to a feud between Saturn and Al Snow, and on the August 31 episode ofSmackDown! Snow defeated Saturn for the European Championship.[15]
The Radicalz reformed in late 2000, feuding with the revivedD-Generation X (DX) and defeating them atSurvivor Series. That same evening, the Radicalz attackedStone Cold Steve Austin during his match with Triple H, briefly reforging their alliance with Triple H.
Dean Malenko began trying to win the affections ofLita, thevalet of TheHardy Boyz. This led to a feud between the Radicalz and The Hardy Boyz, with the former defeating the latter atArmageddon. Saturn helped Guerrero defeatTest atWrestleMania X-Seven, but Guerrero later left the Radicalz once more, again reducing the faction to just Saturn and Malenko (Benoit had left in early 2001), with Terri still accompanying Saturn. The remaining Radicalz returned to the tag team division.
After a match on the May 17, 2001 episode ofJakked, in which helegitimately attackedjobberMike Bell, Saturn immediately underwent a significant gimmick change and, possibly as punishment for his actions, was involved in storylines about his becoming infatuated with a mop. After receiving head trauma in matches againstThe Acolytes Protection Agency (APA) and Raven, Saturn began acting eccentrically and speaking nonsensically, allegedly as the result of aconcussion. Saturn began uttering the phrase "you're welcome" at inopportune intervals, and then fell in love with Moppy, an inanimatemop which he believed was alive, similar toWilson the volleyball in the 2000 filmCast Away. This gimmick went over well with the fans, leading to a face turn. Terri Runnels told Saturn to choose between Moppy and her, and was infuriated when Saturn chose the mop. She left Saturn for Raven, who helped her enact vengeance on Saturn by stealing Moppy and feeding her into awoodchipper. Saturn in turn gained a measure of revenge when he defeated Raven atUnforgiven on September 23. After this, Saturn dropped the gimmick, but still remained a face, casually wrestling in tag matches atSunday Night Heat.
In March 2002 the WWF initiated itsbrand extension in whichRaw andSmackDown! had their own rosters of WWF wrestlers. During thedraft, Saturn was SmackDown!'s 29th pick, the 58th pick overall and the final pick of the entire draft. Saturn's last WWF match was a tag team match withHugh Morrus defeatingMr. Perfect andShawn Stasiak on March 28 at a house show. Then just a month later Saturn reinjured hisACL, sidelining him for seven months, before being released by the company in November 2002.
Saturn debuted in theNashville, Tennessee-based promotionNWA-TNA on March 26, 2003, teaming withThe Sandman andThe Disciples of the New Church (Brian Lee andSlash) to defeat theHarris Brothers andTriple X (Christopher Daniels andElix Skipper). Saturn and The Sandman formed a short-lived stable known as "Team Extreme" with fellow ECW alumniJustin Credible andNew Jack.[16] On April 16, 2003, Saturn faced the debutingMike Awesome, losing by disqualification after his stablemates interfered on his behalf. One week later, Saturn, New Jack and The Sandman defeated Awesome and The New Church in ahardcore match. Saturn wrestled his final match with NWA-TNA on June 18, 2003, defeatingKenzo Suzuki by disqualification.
Immediately after leaving the WWF, Saturn toured Europe with theWorld Wrestling All-Stars promotion in their European tour, mainly working againstSabu.Saturn worked forNew Japan Pro-Wrestling and on the American independent circuit before retiring from professional wrestling due to injuries in 2004. He would be homeless for years due to drug addiction and his whereabouts were unknown.
Saturn returned to wrestling in 2011, wrestling his first match in over seven years on October 15, 2011, at the AWE Night of the Legendspay-per-view show fromFishersville, Virginia facingCW Anderson.[17] Saturn won the match.Saturn won his first championship in over a decade as he defeatedArik Cannon & Sir Bradley Charles in a Triple Threat match for the 3XW Pure Wrestling championship on April 27 inDes Moines, Iowa. In March 2013, Saturn wrestled atJerry Lynn's retirement show for Heavy On Wrestling inMinneapolis, MN. He competed in the opening six-man tag match, where his team came out victorious.[18] Saturn entered theExtreme Rising World Championship tournament which was eventually won byStevie Richards, he was defeated in the first round byLuke Hawx.[19]
In October 2021, Saturn appeared at Awesome Wrestling Entertainment's Night of the Legends inFishersville, Virginia.[20]
Satullo claims to have been involved in an April 2004 altercation with two men when he came to the aid of a woman they were in the process of raping behind astrip club.[21] He reportedly fought the men and was shot with a .25 caliber handgun in the back of the neck and in the right shoulder, to which he originally thought he had received a punch, as a result of the scuffle.[22] After being shot, Satullo became addicted tomethamphetamine and washomeless for two and a half years.[23][24] Satullo disappeared from public view and was not seen for several years, with his family and friends unaware of his whereabouts.[7] Satullo re-emerged in 2010, having resolved his addiction.[24]
Satullo married Lisa Marie Kuhlemeier in June 2009. He had been married on three prior occasions. He has a teenage grandson that he looks after, in addition to an adult son and daughter.[21]
During an interview with Bill Apter in September 2016, Satullo revealed that he was dealing with a "traumatic brain injury" that limited his abilities.[22][25] In November 2016,The Boston Globe reported that Satullo had joined aclass action lawsuit against WWE, litigated by Konstantine Kyros, who has been involved in a number of other lawsuits against them, alleging that "he is suffering from multiple symptoms of repetitive traumatic brain injuries and is undergoing neurological care."[26] US District judgeVanessa Lynne Bryant dismissed the lawsuit in late 2018.[27]
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