Dino Bravo

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with Nino Bravo.

Dino Bravo
Bravo, circa 1979
Birth nameAdolfo Bresciano
Born(1948-08-06)August 6, 1948
Campobasso, Molise, Italy[1]
DiedMarch 10, 1993(1993-03-10) (aged 44)[1]
Laval, Quebec, Canada
Cause of deathGunshot wounds
RelativesVincenzo Cotroni (uncle-in-law)
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Dino Bravo
Billed height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)[2]
Billed weight248 lb (112 kg)[2]
Billed fromMontreal, Quebec, Canada[2]
Trained byGino Brito[2]
Debut1970[2]
Retired1992[2]

Adolfo Bresciano (Italian:

promoter, better known by the ring name Dino Bravo (Italian: [ˈdiːno braːvo]).[1]

After training under

WWWF World Tag Team Championship. He was also the sole holder of the WWF Canadian Championship
before the title was abandoned in 1986.

After leaving professional wrestling, Bravo became involved in organized crime, allegedly working for the Cotroni crime family.[3] He was killed in his home by multiple gunshots in March 1993, and the crime remains unsolved.

Early life

Adolfo Bresciano was born in the commune of Campobasso in southern Italy to Mario and Ausilia Bresciano. The family emigrated to Canada when Bresciano was young, settling in the Centre-Sud neighbourhood of the Montreal borough of Ville-Marie. He started training in amateur wrestling from the age of 12.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1970–1985)

Bravo in June 1975 with trainer Gino Brito

Bresciano began wrestling in 1970, taking the name "Dino Bravo" from a wrestler from the early 1960s who had teamed with Dominic DeNucci as the Bravo Brothers, Dino and Dominic. He was trained by Gino Brito and often worked in a tag team with his mentor, billed as Brito's cousin. Bravo worked in a number of other tag teams, partnering with, among others, "Mr. Wrestling" Tim Woods and DeNucci.[2] Bravo held the Jim Crockett Promotions version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship with Woods, winning the title from Gene and Ole Anderson and eventually losing the title to the Andersons. Bravo also had a major program with Blackjack Mulligan, pinning Mulligan twice in a televised non-title match to set up a series of matches for Mulligan's United States title. Bravo did not win the U.S. title from Mulligan, but did receive several shots at NWA World Champion Harley Race during his tenure with Crockett.

By the late 1970s, Bravo had become a big enough draw to get a singles

King Tonga
(later known as Haku) formed a tag team for a brief while.

World Wrestling Federation (1986–1992)

Bravo returned to the WWF in late 1986 with a new look. He was now noticeably more muscular and almost immediately began bleaching his brown hair blonde and turned on the Rougeau Brothers to become a heel. He began working as part of

bearhug, while his finishing move changed from an airplane spin to a sidewalk slam. At the 1988 Royal Rumble, Bravo (who was legitimately strong and was said to be able to press more than 500 pounds) attempted to bench press what he claimed was 715 pounds, which would have been a world record at that time.[7] Commentator (and former bodybuilder) Jesse "The Body" Ventura helped lift the bar at one point, but Bravo played the lift as a success and began billing himself as the "World's Strongest Man."[8] In this gimmick, Bravo feuded with Don Muraco, Ken Patera, Ron Garvin, and Jim Duggan
.

Dino Bravo (only partially visible) in March 1989, being hugged by manager Frenchy Martin

He played up his

The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart).[13] At WrestleMania V Bravo defeated fellow Canadian "Rugged" Ronnie Garvin.[14]

After Frenchy Martin's departure, Bravo joined

Sheffield, England.[18] Bravo left the WWF and retired from wrestling following a European tour in April 1992. His last match was on May 17, 1992, when he defeated Richard Charland in Barre, Vermont for the New England Wrestling Federation.[19] After retiring, he helped train wrestlers in Montreal
.

Death

On March 10, 1993, Bresciano was found shot dead at the age of 44.

Vic Cotroni, and was believed by authorities to be involved in his organization for some time.[3] He is entombed at Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery
in Montreal.

His death was the subject of the sixth episode in the second season of the wrestling documentary series Dark Side of the Ring, airing on April 21, 2020.[24]

Championships and accomplishments

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Dino Bravo". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved February 28, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-0-7566-4190-0
    .
  3. ^ a b "Dino Bravo". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. March 22, 1993.
  4. ^
    World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived
    from the original on March 10, 2012. Retrieved February 28, 2009.
  5. ^ "Full WrestleMania III results". WWE. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  6. ^ a b Oliver, Greg (March 26, 2001). "A 10-bell salute for the late WrestleManiacs". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved February 28, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. ^ "Full Event Results". WWE. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  8. ^ Dino Bravo attempts a world bench press record: January 24, 1988, retrieved July 12, 2021
  9. ^ Greer, Jamie (April 21, 2020). "Before the Dark Side: The 22-Year Career of Dino Bravo". Last Word on Pro Wrestling. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  10. ISBN 1-59056-035-3
    .
  11. ^ "Full WrestleMania IV results". WWE. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  12. ^ Shields, Brian. Main Event: WWE in the Raging 80s, 176.
  13. World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived
    from the original on December 17, 2015. Retrieved June 12, 2008.
  14. ^ "Full WrestleMania V results". WWE. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  15. ^ "Full WrestleMania VI Results". WWE. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  16. ^ "Full WrestleMania VII Results". WWE. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  17. ^ "WWF @ Scranton, PA - CYC - January 3, 1991". The History of WWE. Archived from the original on October 16, 2007.
  18. ^ "Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database". wrestlingdata.com. Archived from the original on June 16, 2018. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
  19. ^ "Events Database - New England Wrestling Federation". Cage Match. Retrieved August 26, 2023. 17.5.1992
  20. ISBN 978-1-4381-1914-4
    .
  21. ^ "Dark Side Of The Ring: Dino Bravo". tsn.ca. April 21, 2020.
  22. ^ ""Brainroom: Past Deaths of Professional Wrestlers", from FOX News". Fox News. Archived from the original on March 26, 2015. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
  23. ISBN 978-0307355669
    .
  24. ^ "The Assassination of Dino Bravo". Viceland. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  25. ^ "Grand Prix Tag Team Title (Québéc)". Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  26. ^ Hoops, Brian (March 7, 2020). "Daily Pro Wrestling history (03/07): Bruno Sammartino vs. Giant Baba". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved March 8, 2020.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dino_Bravo&oldid=1217950231"