Salvatore Bellomo

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Salvatore Bellomo
Bellomo in 2006.
Birth nameSalvatore Martino[1]
Born(1951-06-18)June 18, 1951
Brussels, Belgium[2]
DiedFebruary 9, 2019(2019-02-09) (aged 67)[3][4][5]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Adonis Romano[2][6]
Centurion Marsella[2][7]
Salvatore (Sal) Bellomo[2][7]
Salvatore (Sal) Martino[2][7][8]
Super Destroyer #3[9][10]
Tino Bellomo[2]
Tino Salvadore[11][12]
Billed height6 ft 2 in (188 cm)[13]
Billed weight290 lb (132 kg)[13]
Billed fromSicily, Italy[3]
Trained byNino[3]
Debut1973[14]
Retired2018

Salvatore Martino (June 18, 1951 – February 9, 2019) was a Belgian

Eastern Championship Wrestling in the 1990s under the ring name
Salvatore Bellomo.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1973–1977)

Martino was trained to wrestle by Nino. He debuted in his native Belgium in the early-1970s, wrestling at

six-man tag team matches.[6][15] In August 1975, he returned to Europe. He spent the next two years wrestling in Austria and Germany before relocating to Canada in late-1977.[6][16][17]

Stampede Wrestling; NWA All-Star Wrestling (1977–1980)

In December 1977, Bellomo began wrestling in Canada, debuting in the

Igor Volkoff and The Mongol. That same month, Bellomo defeated Gene Kiniski to win the vacant NWA Pacific Coast Heavyweight Championship. His reign lasted until May 1979, when he lost to Jean Louie. Bellomo continued to appear with NWA All-Star Wrestling until August 1980.[3][8][19][20][21][22][23]

International Wrestling Enterprise (1978)

In mid-1978, Bellomo toured Japan with the

steel cage match against Rusher Kimura, and several matches against Animal Hamaguchi.[24]

Pacific Northwest Wrestling (1979–1980)

In June 1979, Bellomo began appearing with the Portland, Oregon, United States-based promotion Pacific Northwest Wrestling as "Sal Martino". He appeared with the promotion until August 1980.[25]

NWA Hollywood Wrestling (1981)

In January 1981, Bellomo began wrestling for the

Víctor Rivera. In May 1981, Bellomo and Rivera defeated the Davidson Brothers for the NWA Americas Tag Team Championship. They lost the titles back to the Davidson Brothers later that year. Bellomo continued to wrestle for NWA Hollywood Wrestling until August 1981, after which he resumed wrestling in Germany.[26][27][28]

World Wrestling Federation (1982–1987)

In 1982, Bellomo was signed by the United States-based

Mr. Saito, establishing him as an "undercard hero".[3][29][30]

In mid-1983, Bellomo and a series of

Tuesday Night Titans in June 1984, Bellomo defeated Ron Shaw, then later gave a demonstration on boat building. In August 1984, he lost to former WWF Champion Bob Backlund in the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in what was Backlund's final match before leaving the WWF. In November 1984, he lost to manager Bobby "The Brain" Heenan in Madison Square Garden.[3][29][31]

On December 10, 1984,

Piper's Pit. After Bellomo came to the ring instead of Junkyard Dog, Piper mocked him, quipping "I didn't order a pizza." Piper, Paul Orndorff, and Bob Orton then attacked Bellomo until Junkyard Dog came to his rescue.[3][13][32]

By 1985, Bellomo was being used as a

Italian cooking.[33] In September 1985, he took a leave of absence from the WWF, returning in August 1986. On the January 19, 1987, episode of WWF Prime Time Wrestling, he was interviewed by Jake "The Snake" Roberts on his talk show, The Snake Pit.[34] He made his final appearance with the WWF in March 1987, losing to Brad Rheingans in the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.[3][29]

Catch Wrestling Association (1988–1992)

In December 1988, Bellomo began making appearances for the Catch Wrestling Association in Austria and Germany. He was billed as "Tino Bellomo" for his first match, reverting to his real name thereafter. In 1989, 1990, 1991, and 1992, he took part in the World Catch Cup tag team tournaments. In late-1992, he took part in the International Catch Cup. He made his final appearance with the CWA in December 1992.[3][35]

Eastern Championship Wrestling (1992–1994, 1996)

In April 1992, Bellomo began appearing with the

loser leaves town match in August 1992.[3][31][36][37]

Bellomo returned in November 1992. In January 1993, he wrestled

At The Night the Line Was Crossed in February 1994, Bellomo lost to Mr. Hughes. Bellomo continued to appear on ECW Hardcore TV until leaving ECW in May 1994.[3][36]

Bellomo returned to Eastern Championship Wrestling - since renamed

When Worlds Collide II, Bellomo, J.T. Smith, and Little Guido unsuccessfully challenged the Gangstas for the ECW World Tag Team Championship. Bellomo left ECW once more later that year.[36][40][41][42]

Late career (1994–2018)

After leaving ECW, Bellomo wrestled on the independent circuit until 2018. He continued to be active in the business up to his death, working as a trainer for the Belgian Wrestling School located in Terhagen and Flémalle (Belgium). He often tried to send his kids home with his trademarked expression of saying "Cha Cha!". Bellomo also ran the Belgian Catch Wrestling Federation.[3][43] In April 2015, Bellomo sent several of his students to audition for Belgium's Got Talent; the students passed the auditions and wrestled live on Belgian television.[44]

Professional wrestling style and persona

Although he was born in Belgium, Bellomo was of Italian descent, and his professional wrestling persona reflected this. In the

World Wrestling Federation, his character was that of an Italian immigrant who spoke broken English.[32]

Bellomo originally wrestled in a technical style, with his signature moves including a "back

Death

Bellomo died from cancer on February 9, 2019, at the age of 67.[4][5]

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. ^ Saalbach, Axel. "Salvatore Bellomo". WrestlingData.com. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Sal Bellomo". Cagematch.net. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Johnson, Mike (February 10, 2019). "Former WWF & ECW star Salvatore Bellomo passes away". PWInsider.com. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  4. ^
    Yahoo Sports
    . Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  5. ^
    PWTorch.com
    . Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c "Match statistics for Salvatore Bellomo - 1975". WrestlingData.com. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
  7. ^ .
  8. ^ .
  9. ^ a b "Hardcore History episode 9: June 1st, 1993 ECW review". CrazyMax.org. February 3, 2020. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  10. ^ a b Sampson, Bort (December 5, 2016). "Extreme Retrospective: ECW Hardcore TV #8 - new ECW tag champs, Snuka defends TV Title". WWENetworkNews.com. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  11. ^ a b c "Wrestling leads the way: Europe v Great Britain". WrestlingHeritage.com. January 2, 1973. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  12. ^ a b c "Wrestling Heritage A-Z". WrestlingHeritage.com. October 24, 2019. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  13. ^ .
  14. ^ "Salvatore Bellomo". Cagematch.de. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
  15. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Sal Bellomo - matches - Consejo Mundial De Lucha Libre". Cagematch.net. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  16. ^ "Match statistics for Salvatore Bellomo - 1976". WrestlingData.com. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
  17. ^ "Match statistics for Salvatore Bellomo - 1977". WrestlingData.com. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
  18. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Sal Bellomo - matches - Stampede Wrestling". Cagematch.net. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  19. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Sal Bellomo - matches - Vancouver All-Star Wrestling". Cagematch.net. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  20. .
  21. ^ a b "NWA Canadian Tag Team Title [British Columbia]". Wrestling-Titles.com. October 30, 2014. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  22. ^ a b "NWA Pacific Coast Heavyweight Title [British Columbia]". Wrestling-Titles.com. January 22, 2017. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  23. F4WOnline.com
    . Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  24. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Sal Bellomo - matches - International Wrestling Enterprise". Cagematch.net. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  25. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Sal Bellomo - matches - Pacific Northwest Wrestling". Cagematch.net. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  26. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Sal Bellomo - matches - National Wrestling Alliance [1981]". Cagematch.net. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  27. ^ a b "NWA Americas Tag Team Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. February 1, 2019. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  28. ^ "Match statistics for Salvatore Bellomo - 1981". WrestlingData.com. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
  29. ^ a b c d Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Sal Bellomo - matches - World Wrestling Federation". Cagematch.net. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  30. ^ "Match statistics for Salvatore Bellomo - 1982". WrestlingData.com. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
  31. ^ a b WWE.com staff (February 10, 2019). "Salvatore Bellomo passes away". WWE.com. WWE. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  32. ^
    Medium.com
    . Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  33. ^
    F4WOnline.com
    . Retrieved September 13, 2021.
  34. ^ Keith, Scott (February 3, 2016). "The SmarK Rant for Prime Time Wrestling – 01.19.87". InsidePulse.com. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  35. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Sal Bellomo - matches - Catch Wrestling Association". Cagematch.net. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  36. ^ a b c d Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Sal Bellomo - matches - Extreme Championship Wrestling". Cagematch.net. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  37. F4WOnline.com
    . Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  38. .
  39. .
  40. ^ Heels Inc (September 26, 2014). "The "Oh My God!" Review: ECW @ Agricultural Hall in Allentown 9/27/96 & ECW TV 9/24/96". CrazyMax.org. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  41. ^ "When Worlds Collide II". ProWrestlingHistory.com. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  42. ^ Woodward, Buck (September 14, 2010). "This day in history: Vince McMahon becomes World Champion, Ric Flair returns to WCW and more". PWInsider.com. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  43. ^ "Belgian Catch Wrestling Federation (BCWF)". Cagematch.net. Retrieved 2020-09-06.
  44. F4WOnline.com
    . Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  45. Solie.org
    . Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  46. Solie.org
    . Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  47. ^ "Superstars". WXWWrestling.com. World Xtreme Wrestling. Retrieved November 3, 2020.

External links