Big Dick Dudley
Alexander Rizzo | |
---|---|
Birth name | Alexander Rizzo |
Born | New Jersey , US | January 12, 1968
Died | May 16, 2002 Copiague, New York, US | (aged 34)
Cause of death | Kidney and Heart failure |
Spouse(s) | Elektra (divorced) |
Children | 2 |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Alexander The Great Big Dick Dudley The Tennessee Fist Machine |
Billed height | 6 ft 6 in (198 cm)[1] |
Billed weight | 320 lb (145 kg)[1] |
Billed from | "The Twisted Steel Section of Dudleyville" |
Trained by | Johnny Rodz Max Length |
Debut | 1986 |
Alexander Rizzo (January 12, 1968 – May 16, 2002) was an American
Professional wrestling career
Early career (1986–1994)
Rizzo began training with
NWA Eastern/Extreme Championship Wrestling (1994–1999)
Rizzo joined
With his partner,
Although Big Dick was the leader of the family, he rarely was given title shots, instead content to sit back and direct his brothers in their quests for gold. His aid to Buh Buh Ray and D-Von helped create the great tag team that was
Independent circuit (1999–2002)
After Big Dick left ECW he would spend time in many different organizations over the next couple of years including making his Puerto Rico return for
in the company but never capturing any titles possibly due to the fact that his tours tended to be reasonably frequent but brief. It was during his time in Puerto Rico that he worked in front of the biggest crowds of his career stating that some of his heel antics caused near riots during events.In 1999 helped found the semi-popular
Personal life
Rizzo was married to fellow wrestler Donna "Elektra" Adamo, who he met while training under Johnny Rodz.[6] The couple divorced prior to Rizzo's death in May 2002. Rizzo had a daughter Alexandria Rizzo (born in 1990 to Adamo) and a son Alexander Rizzo J.R (born in 1997 to a different spouse).
Death
On May 16, 2002, Rizzo was found dead in his apartment. He was 34 years old.[7] The cause of death was kidney failure brought on by years of painkiller abuse.[8] According to former wife Elektra on what happened the day of his death:
The day he did pass on, he woke up, he had stomach pains all week because of a change in prescription on Monday. And he woke up, he had stomach pains all week, he had woke up and tried to go to the bathroom and actually couldn't urinate. So he became a little concerned because he did have the sensation to go. I know it sounds really gross but this is the truth. So he called my sister-in-law and he asked her what to do. Should he go to the hospital because he really felt lousy. She told him to try a glass of cranberry juice, thinking it was likely a urinary tract infection or something to that effect. Then if he still couldn't go and didn't feel good maybe it was a good idea to go to the doctor but it didn't seem like any kind of a big deal. Which that, the woman he was with, I'd assume, I'm not sure if they were married or not, I don't think they were. I think it was a boyfriend/girlfriend type of thing, who was living with him, he sent her out to get some cranberry juice. So she came back and poured him a glass. He went into the living room to sit and drink his juice. He just didn't want to be bothered because he didn't feel very well. He got up to use the lavatory, and that's where he just fell face first and passed away.[9]
Championships and accomplishments
- Northeastern Wrestling
- NEW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[10]
- Northern States Wrestling Alliance
- NSWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[10]
- NWA Jersey
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- USA Xtreme Wrestling
- World Wrestling Alliance
- Xtreme Pro Wrestling
See also
- Big Dick Dudley Memorial Show
- The Dudley Brothers
- List of premature professional wrestling deaths
References
- ^ a b "Wrestlingdata.com – The World's Largest Wrestling Database". WrestlingData.
- ISBN 978-1-59670-021-5.
- ISBN 978-1-77090-557-3.
- ISBN 978-0-02-863961-1.
- ^ Big Dick Dudley and his son involved in a car accident! - IGN, 24 February 2000, retrieved 2021-08-02
- ^ Rod Siciliano (23 May 2002). "An interview with Elektra by Chairshots Radio". Chairshots Radio. Westerly, Rhode Island. WBLQ (88.1 FM). "(Elektra:) It's real funny actually on how we met. When I had come back from actually Moolah's camp in South Carolina. I really needed to learn to work like the American workers. Which would be off of the left because Moolah trains off to the right, more like to go to Japan or overseas, that's where there is more work for the women. So I started training at Johnny Rodz's school, which at the time was at the Galaxy Gym, it wasn't yet at Gleason's".
- ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
- ISBN 9781554902866.
- ^ "WrestlingClassics.com Message Board: Elektra Talks about the death of her ex husband Big Dick Dudley on Chairshots radio". wrestlingclassics.com. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
- ^ ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- ^ "Solie's Title Histories: NWA - CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING AMERICA (New Jersey)". Solie.org. 2000-08-24. Retrieved 2012-04-24.
- ^ "Solie's Title Histories: NWA - CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING AMERICA (New Jersey)". Solie.org. 2000-02-02. Retrieved 2012-04-24.
- ^ "CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". Archived from the original on 2011-07-23.
- ^ "USA Pro Heavyweight Championship History".
- ^ a b "CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". Archived from the original on 2011-07-23.
External links
- Alex Rizzo at IMDb