Ted Arcidi

Arcidi in 2022
Personal information
Born	Theodore Arcidi (1958-06-16)June 16, 1958 (age 67) Buffalo, New York, U.S.
Alma mater	Arlington Catholic High School Norwich University Tufts University School of Dental Medicine
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Ted Arcidi, Strongest Man in the World
Billed height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)[1]
Billed weight	285 lb (129 kg)[1]
Billed from	Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.[1]
Trained by	Tony Altomare
Debut	December 1985
Retired	1990

Theodore (Ted) Arcidi^[2] (born June 16, 1958) is an American formerprofessional wrestler, actor, andpowerlifter. He is known to be the first man in history tobench press over 700 pounds in competition, establishing an officialworld record.^[3]

Arcidi was born inBuffalo, New York, and grew up inConcord, Massachusetts. The son of a nurse, Anne Arcidi and orthodontist, Doctor Joseph M. Arcidi. Ted was raised Roman Catholic and attended parochial schools with his 6 siblings, 3 brothers and 3 sisters. Throughout elementary and high school, Ted was active in all sports, particularlyIce hockey.^[4] Ted received a BS fromNorwich University and went on to Graduate School atTufts University School of Dental Medicine.^[5] While he was obtaining more science credits to get into dental school he taught junior high and high school biology. That was cut short when his power lifting talent was good enough to compete at a world class level.^[4]

Ted Arcidibench pressed 705.5 pounds (320 kg) on March 3, 1985 at Gus Rethwisch's Hawaii International Powerlifting Championships inHonolulu,Hawaii for an APF & USPF world record, to become the first man to bench 700pounds in an officially recognized powerlifting competition.^[1][2][6] Then, after being 5 1/2 years away from competition due to his wrestling career, he made a comeback. Weighing 291 pounds, Arcidi set anotherworld record with a 718.1 lbs bench press at the APF Bench Press Invitational on September 30, 1990, inKeene,New Hampshire.^[7] On September 14, 1991, at a Mr. Olympia contest, he squared off face to face with his greatest rivalAnthony Clark to determine who the greatest bench presser of the world was. Arcidi defeated the much bigger Clark (5'8", 375 lbs) by pressing 725 pounds off his chest to establish a new world record, but was disqualified when judges deemed he failed to lock out his elbows.^[8][9]

Arcidi's 705 pound all-timeworld record bench press was performed in one of the earliestbench shirts - an original pre-prototype supportive bench press shirt, which was 50% polyester and 50% cotton and only one layer thick.^[10][11] It was thus later categorized as "equipped", although it did not improve his bench by much, if anything.^[10] It was an equivalent to a modern day Under Armour shirt. In 1984 Arcidi had benched an official 666.9 pounds (302.5 kg) at 286.0 pounds bodyweight completely raw, without abench shirt, elbow or wrist wraps at the HawaiiInternational Powerlifting Championships as well.^[12] He is considered to be one of the strongest bench pressers of all time.^[8]

Done in official powerlifting full meets:

• RawBench press:
  • 666.9 lbs (302.5 kg) @308 lb class (286 lb bodyweight)^[13]raw without wrist wraps, elbow wraps or a bench shirt (1984 Honolulu, Hawaii)
  • 650.4 lbs (295.0 kg) @275 lb class (275 lb bodyweight)^[13]raw without wrist wraps, elbow wraps or a bench shirt (1983 Westminster, Maryland) (NSM)^[14]

→ current all time completely raw (unequipped using no wrist wraps, no elbow wraps or a bench shirt) benchpress world records in the 308lb and 275lb class^[15]

Done in official bench-only invitational meet:

• EquippedBench press – 718.1 lbs (325.7 kg) @308 lb class (291 lb bodyweight)in an early single-ply bench shirt (1990 Keene, New Hampshire)^[16]

→ former all-time bench press world record regardless of weight class and equipment

Arcidi lifted for several years and eventually was sought by and debuted inVince McMahon'sWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF) in late 1985.^[1] Arcidi faced other "strongmen" such asTony Atlas,Big John Studd, andHercules Hernandez during his stint and made a single appearance atWrestleMania 2 in theWWF/NFLBattle Royal.^[1][17] In 1986, he wrestled Big John Studd for the main event at theBoston Garden. He was the first WWF wrestler to hold the moniker of "The World’s Strongest Man".^[18] His final match was againstJake Roberts on February 14, 1987 in Calgary, Alberta.^[19]

Arcidi was immortalized as a wrestling doll when WWF brought out a line ofWrestling Superstars toys in 1987.^[20][9]

After his WWF run, he went toCalgary and briefly worked forStu Hart'sStampede Wrestling,^[18] where Arcidi turned heel. After that, Arcidi moved on the World Class Championship Wrestling inDallas, Texas, where he was known as "Mr. 705" (referring to his world record bench press). He was managed byPercival Pringle III and was part of a stable of wrestlers includingRick Rude, theDingo Warrior andCactus Jack Manson. Arcidi captured that organization'sTexas Heavyweight Championship on August 31, 1987 and held it until he lost toMatt Borne on November 10 that same year.^[21]

• World Class Wrestling Association

• WCWA Texas Heavyweight Championship (1 time)^[22][23]

After leaving Pro-Wrestling, Ted created a vitamin supplement company called Arcidi Strength Systems. Among these are his ownership of New England's largest women's gym inManchester, New Hampshire, and a gym equipment company calledWeightlifters Warehouse.^[4] Later, Arcidi bought the building with his father. Ted purchased Ryefield Farm, a 125-acre corn and hay farm located near Route 101A inMilford, NH.^[5]

Arcidi started focusing on his acting career in 1997, with parts in films and shows such asLaw & Order, a small part inThe Equalizer 2, and in several commercials. He participated in numerous acting classes and casting director workshops on a weekly basis, engaging with both the New York City and Boston markets. During this period, he also seized opportunities to act in various student films and low-budget projects, collaborating with institutions such asEmerson College,Boston University,Boston College, andNew York University.^[4]

The table below comes from IMDb.^[24]

• Progression of the bench press world record
• Anthony Clark
• Big James Henderson
• Jim Williams
• Shear'Ree

• Ted Arcidi atIMDb
• Ted Arcidi's channel onYouTube
• Ted Arcidi's profile atCagematch,Wrestlingdata,Internet Wrestling Database
• Ted Arcidi profile at Dave Hartnett's Power/Strength History websiteArchived 2011-01-29 at theWayback Machine

• American male professional wrestlers
• Living people
• Sportspeople from Nashua, New Hampshire
• American powerlifters
• American strength athletes
• Professional wrestlers from New York (state)
• Stampede Wrestling alumni
• 20th-century male professional wrestlers
• 20th-century American professional wrestlers
• 1958 births
• NWA Texas Heavyweight Champions

• Webarchive template wayback links
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from October 2024