Nick Mondo
Nick Mondo | |
---|---|
Born | Matthew Timothy Burns March 28, 1980 Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.[1] |
Other names | Matthew T. Burns |
Occupations |
|
Ring name(s) | Nick Mondo[1] Pepperoni Tony[2] |
Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (1,85 m)[1] |
Billed weight | 202 lb (92 kg)[1] |
Trained by | Bodyslammers Gym[1] |
Debut | March 1999 |
Retired | July 26, 2003[1] |
Matthew Timothy Burns[1] (born March 28, 1980), better known by his ring name "Sick" Nick Mondo, is a retired American professional wrestler. Since his in-ring retirement in 2003, he has become a filmmaker, actor and stuntman and, at one point, worked with All Elite Wrestling as director.
Burns is best known for his appearances with
Professional wrestling career
Early career (1999-2000)
During his start out in 1999 in Pennsylvania Championship Wrestling, he would feud with the likes of Eddie Valentine.
Combat Zone Wrestling (2000–2003)
Teaming and feuding with Ric Blade (2000–2001)
His CZW debut was on May 6, 2000 against
The feud would still go on as at Crushing The Competition on February 10, 2001 in
Iron Man Champion (2001–2002)
Mondo's first title capture was the
He had numerous memorable bouts during this run to capture the CZW World Heavyweight Championship; the first battle with Messiah at This Time it's Personal in February 2002,[11] taking Justice Pain to his limit and coming within an eyelash of winning the World title at A Higher Level of Pain in April 2002,[12] and a 64-minute four way classic with Messiah, Flash and Pain at High Stakes, where he won the Iron Man Championship in a double pin.[13]
Final years and Tournament of Death winner (2002–2003)
Mondo fought Messiah in the first round and came up short against Wifebeater at CZW's first
Retirement (2003)
Burns retired in 2003 after suffering several injuries during his career, the last of which was a severely punctured back which he suffered during his match against John Zandig at Tournament of Death II (which Burns won), a match in which he was already wrestling with three broken bones in his right wrist. There was a rumour that Burns was to return at CZW's Cage Of Death XII, but it was false.[15] In addition to his ring work, Burns has been featured as a playable character in Backyard Wrestling 2: There Goes the Neighborhood along with Zandig.[19]
Post-retirement appearances (2013–2017)
Burns would make his return to CZW at their Cage of Death XV Internet pay-per-view, as he would run down to the ring to help Lucky 13 during his match against the Forgotten Ones. Afterwards, Rory "Little" Mondo came back out, having been eliminated earlier in the match, shocked to see his idol in the ring again. He then told Mondo that he returned to the promotion to prevent his successor from mutilating himself in his name, and that he had earned his respect. Upon hearing this, Mondo retired from professional wrestling.[20] Burns would make his in-ring return on July 21, 2017 for Brian Kendrick's Wrestling Pro Wrestling as Pepperoni Tony, where he would team with Chow Mein Charlie to defeat The Delivery Boys. He would wrestle again for Wrestling Pro Wrestling on August 25, teaming with General Tso Tso to wrestle Rubber Baby Leather Daddy to a no-contest.[2]
Jon Moxley and All Elite Wrestling (2019–2020)
In a May 2019 interview with Pro Wrestling Sheet's Ryan Satin, it was revealed that Burns had directed the video marking the return of Jon Moxley, following his departure from WWE. Burns confirmed that, contrary to popular opinion, the Viper Room's logo was not a reference to the All Elite Wrestling (AEW) Double or Nothing event (in which Moxley would indeed make a surprise appearance) but rather a tribute to Dusty Rhodes, Moxley's mentor at Florida Championship Wrestling. Burns also directed the hype video for Moxley's debut in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, which included the use of cowboy boots and a jacket with the flag of the United Kingdom on it, in order to mislead fans on who the wrestler actually was. Satin admitted he was guilty of this as well, since he was too busy looking for clues, and had not realised that his cousin was in the video, which led to the interview with Burns taking place.[21] Burns directed another hype video, which came out in late July, promoting Moxley's match against Josh Barnett at Game Changer Wrestling's Bloodsport 2;[22] a match that ultimately did not happen due to Moxley having surgery to remove a MRSA staph infection in his elbow. By the end of the year, Burns had begun working with AEW as a director.[23] However, he was released during the COVID-19 pandemic.[24]
Filmography
Films
Year | Film | Role | Credited as | Notes | Ref. | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Director | Producer | Writer | Editor | Actor | |||||
2004 | Unscarred: The Life of Nick Mondo | Himself | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
2006 | Fighting the Still Life | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Unreleased | [25] |
2008 | Incubus Drone | — | No | No | Yes | No | No | Short film | |
2014 | Match Perfect | — | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Short film | |
Pieces of 8 | — | No | No | No | No | No | Video short First assistant director, props |
||
2015 | Finding Beauty in the Rubble | — | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Documentary short Cinematographer |
|
2017 | The Trade | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
2019 | Fredo | — | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | ||
2021 | The Claw | — | No | Yes | No | No | No | Documentary Stunt coordinator / stunt performer |
|
TBA | 2 Criminals | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | [25] | |
The Searcher | The Frogman | No | No | No | No | Yes |
Television
Year | Show | Role | Credited as | Notes | Ref. | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2021 | Heels | — | No | No | No | No | No | 3 episodes Stunt coordinator / stunt performer |
|
Thicker | Basement Guard #4 | No | No | No | No | Yes | TV movie Originally titled Thicker Than Thieves |
Video games
Year | Game | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2004 | Backyard Wrestling 2: There Goes the Neighborhood | Himself | Stunts / stunt actor | |
2012 | Resident Evil 6 | — | Stunt actor | |
2016 | Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 | — | Stunts | |
2017 | Pro Evolution Soccer 2018 | — | Stunts | |
2020 | Gears Tactics | — | Stunt actor / performer |
Championships and accomplishments
- Combat Zone Wrestling
- CZW Iron Man Championship (3 times)[1]
- CZW World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ric Blade
- Tournament of Death (II)[1]
- CZW Hall of Fame (2004)
- Match of the Year (2002) vs. Wifebeater[1]
- Match of the Year (2003) vs. Justice Pain[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Nick Mondo". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2013-10-12.
- ^ a b ""Sick" Nick Mondo RETURNS to in-ring action in 2017...twice!". Pro Wrestling Rarities. 2017-10-09. Retrieved 2019-02-17.[dead YouTube link]
- ^ CZW Hall of Fame Archived 2010-12-22 at the Wayback Machine Combat Zone Wrestling
- ^ "CZW A Living Hell". Retrieved 2009-04-11.
- ^ "Combat Zone Wrestling - CZW Crushing the Competition". Retrieved 2009-09-04.
- ^ "Break on Thru". 2001-02-19. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
- ^ "Online World of Wrestling". onlineworldofwrestling.com.
- ^ "H8 Club: Dead". Retrieved 2009-09-04.
- ^ "CZW And Justice For All". Retrieved 2009-09-04.
- ^ "Cage of Death 3". Retrieved 2009-09-04.
- ^ "This Time it's Personal". Retrieved 2009-09-04.
- ^ "Higher Level of Pain". Retrieved 2009-09-04.
- ^ "High Stakes". Retrieved 2009-09-04.
- ^ "Tournament of Death". Retrieved 2009-09-04.
- ^ a b c Mark Rose (2003-11-20). "A Farewell to "Sick" Nick Mondo". Retrieved 2009-09-04.
- ^ "Ultraviolent Freedom of Expression". Retrieved 2009-09-04.
- ^ "Combat Zone Wrestling - Beyond the Barrier". Retrieved 2009-09-04.
- ^ "Combat Zone Wrestling December 13, 2002". Retrieved 2009-09-04.
- ^ Backyard Wrestling 2: There Goes the Neighborhood Review - GameSpot.com
- ^ CZW Cage of Death 12.14.13 iPPV Results Archived 2013-12-15 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Satin, Ryan (May 30, 2019). "Nick Mondo Discusses Directing Jon Moxley Vignettes, Says Viper Room Logo Was A Tribute To Dusty Rhodes". Pro Wrestling Sheet. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
- ^ Radican, Sean (July 24, 2019). "ETC News: Jon Moxley announced for GCW's Josh Barnett's Bloodsport 2, set to take on Barnett (w/Radican's Analysis)". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
- ^ Lambert, Jeremy (December 20, 2019). "Exclusive: Joey Janela Says More AEW Vignettes Are Going To Happen, Talks Working With Nick Mondo". fightful.com. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
- ^ "Nick Mondo Says Matt Cardona Has Won the Respect of GCW Fans".
- ^ a b "An Interview With Matthew Burns ("Sick" Nick Mondo)". August 20, 2015. Retrieved June 3, 2019.