professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projectin ...

Tony Rumble Anthony David Magliaro (November 6, 1956 – November 13, 1999) was an American professional wrestler and manager, known by the ring name Boston Bad Boy Tony Rumble. He competed on the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic independent circuit during the ...

gimmick A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand ou ...

kayfabe In professional wrestling, kayfabe, as a noun, is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically the portrayal of competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants as being genuine and not staged. ...

Knuckles Nelson Brendan Higgins (born September 26, 1963),Pro Wrestling Illustrated. "Statistics for Professional Wrestlers." ''2001 Wrestling Almanac and Book of Facts''. 6th ed. Fort Washington, PA: London Publishing Company, 2001. (pg. 47) best known by his ri ...

Rick Fuller Richard Fuller (born February 18, 1967) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling from 1997 to 2000. Early life Born in Middleborough, Massachusetts, Fuller graduated fr ...

NWA New England Tag Team Championship The CWA Tag Team Championship is the primary wrestling tag team title in the Century Wrestling Alliance. Double Trouble (Tony and Val Puccio) were the first team to win the titles by defeating The Interns in Wakefield, Massachusetts on September ...

Slyck Wagner Brown Wagner Brown (born September 5, 1979) is a Jamaican born professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, SWB or Slyck Wagner Brown. Brown currently wrestles on the Independent circuit in the Northeastern United States. Additionally, SWB wa ...

light heavyweight Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruis ...

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA began as a governing body for a ...

NWA Anniversary Show The NWA Anniversary Show is a professional wrestling event held by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The first event was held in 1998 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1948 founding of the NWA. The event then continued to be held annual ...

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment. Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promot ...

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and va ...

New England Championship Wrestling New England Championship Wrestling (NECW) is an independent professional wrestling promotion based in the Northeastern United States that has promoted events since 2000. Currently owned and operated by Sheldon Goldberg, is one of the top indepen ...

Christopher Street Connection The Christopher Street Connection were a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Buff E and Mace Mendoza. They primarily compete in Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic independent promotions, most notably, World-1 South, Jersey All Pro Wrestling, ...

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and var ...

Billy and Chuck Billy and Chuck were a professional wrestling tag team of Billy Gunn and Chuck Palumbo who performed in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) from 2001 to 2002. They were two-time WWE World Tag Team Champions. The two men were depicted as a same-sex ...

Killer Kowalski Walter Kowalski (born Edward Władysław Spulnik; October 13, 1926 – August 30, 2008), known professionally as Killer Kowalski, was a Polish-Canadian professional wrestler. Kowalski wrestled for numerous promotions during his career, includin ...

Malden, Massachusetts Malden is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 66,263 people. History Malden, a hilly woodland area north of the Mystic River, was settled by Puritans in 1640 on l ...

little league Little League Baseball and Softball (officially, Little League Baseball Inc) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizationhigh school baseball,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

, and football throughout his childhood. After his graduation from

Malden High School Malden High School is a public high school in Malden, Massachusetts. Established in 1857, the school is part of the Malden Public Schools and is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). A 2013 study conducte ...

in 1992, DellaGatta initially worked for a local

moving company A moving company, removalist or van line is a company that helps people and businesses move their goods from one place to another. It offers all-inclusive services for relocations, like packing, loading, moving, unloading, unpacking, and a ...

while continuing to compete

amateur sports Amateur sports are sports in which participants engage largely or entirely without remuneration. The distinction is made between amateur sporting participants and professional sporting participants, who are paid for the time they spend competin ...

. He formed his own team to play in a Boston night league around 1994. Their performance in the league, consisting primarily of college football players, impressed a scout from a semi-professional football organization, the New England Football League. DellaGatta and several of his teammates were eventually recruited with DellaGatta playing for the New England Stars. He would go on to play five seasons with the league becoming a 2-time NEFL All-Pro, the equivalent of an All-Star player, and named "

Special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

player of the Year" in his final season. He also developed a close friendship with league owner Joe Monaco.

Professional wrestling career

Early career

It was while playing for the NEFL that, at age 25, he began working out at the famed Malden Square training facility run by Water "Killer" Kowalski. DellaGatta later admitted that he had regularly walked past the building while attending Malden High and, despite being a wrestling fan, was unaware that it was a wrestling school. He often attended

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and va ...

events at the old

Boston Garden The Boston Garden was an arena in Boston, Massachusetts. Designed by boxing promoter Tex Rickard, who also built the third iteration of New York's Madison Square Garden, it opened on November 17, 1928, as "Boston Madison Square Garden" (lat ...

during the 1980s and considered

"Superfly" Jimmy Snuka James Reiher Snuka (born James Wiley Smith; May 18, 1943 – January 15, 2017) was a Fijian American professional wrestler. He is better known by the ring name Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka. Snuka wrestled for several promotions from the 1970s to 2010 ...

a childhood hero. He often watched the Savoldi family's

International Championship Wrestling International Championship Wrestling was an independent professional wrestling promotion based in Lexington, Kentucky that operated from 1978 until 1984. It was run by Angelo Poffo, the father of Randy Savage and "The Genius" Lanny Poffo. Throu ...

and later became a fan of the

Century Wrestling Alliance The Century Wrestling Alliance, formerly known as NWA Cold Front and NWA New England, is a New England-based American independent wrestling promotion located in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded by Tony Rumble in 1989, a retired wrestler an ...

, the predecessor of NWA New England. He first gave serious thought to becoming a pro wrestler after attending his first-ever CWA live event in

Revere, Massachusetts Revere is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States, located approximately from downtown Boston. Founded as North Chelsea in 1846, it was renamed in 1871 after the American Revolutionary War patriot Paul Revere. In 1914, the T ...

. A gifted student, DellaGatta completed his training under Kowalski within four months and made his pro debut as "Jason Rage" on February 14, 1997. He continued working at Kowalski's "Institute of Professional Wrestling", as did many New England independent wrestlers, for years afterwards. In the five years he played semi-pro football, DellaGatta was offered tryouts with

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ...

,

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

, and the XFL. A broken collarbone suffered while playing football put a sudden stop to his wrestling career after four months, and kept him out of action for the next six months. Worried that future injuries might hurt his pro wrestling career, he decided to retire from the NEFL to wrestle full-time. A year after his debut Kowalski arranged for DellaGatta to wrestle his first major opponent, "Mr. USA" Tony Atlas. He also started traveling to Maine two to three times a month to wrestle for Eastern Wrestling Alliance and later on appeared in other states such as the Florida-based

Future of Wrestling Future of Wrestling was an American independent wrestling promotion based in southern Florida starting during the late 1990s. Founded by Bobby Rogers, the promotion was a predecessor of Full Impact Pro, Independent Pro Wrestling and NWA Florida ...

promotion.

NWA New England (1999-2000)

It was during this period that many of Kowalski's students were now competing in the local independent circuit and DellaGatta found it difficult to get booked after returning from his collarbone injury. A Malden basketball coach, who also trained at Kowalski's school as Tre the Smooth Operating Gangsta, recommended DellaGatta when

Tony Rumble Anthony David Magliaro (November 6, 1956 – November 13, 1999) was an American professional wrestler and manager, known by the ring name Boston Bad Boy Tony Rumble. He competed on the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic independent circuit during the ...

was looking for talent for the newly established NWA New England; DellaGatta has since credited his old coach whose introduction led to the close relationship he later enjoyed with Rumble and his family. DellaGatta began wrestling for the promotion in early 1999. He first teamed with

Slyk Wagner Brown Wagner Brown (born September 5, 1979) is a Jamaican born professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, SWB or Slyck Wagner Brown. Brown currently wrestles on the Independent circuit in the Northeastern United States. Additionally, SWB was ...

and received several title shots against then NWA New England Tag Team Champions The Ark Angels (Phoenix King and Damon D'Archangelo). He also worked to establish himself as singles competitor and, on August 22, he defeated Jeff Mangles for the NWA New England Junior Heavyweight Championship in

Somerville, Massachusetts Somerville ( ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, and north of Cambridge, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a total population of 81,045 people. With an area ...

. He followed this up with a successful title defense against Jay Jaillet and Luis Ortiz at a house show in

Thomaston, Connecticut Thomaston is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 7,442 at the 2020 census. The urban center of the town is the Thomaston census-designated place, with a population of 1,928 at the 2020 census. History The ...

, on October 2, 1999. He held on to the title for five months before dropping the belt back to Jeff Mangles in a

Triple Threat match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

also involving Slyk Wagner Brown early the next year; the title was declared vacant soon afterwards and he and Luis Ortiz wrestled in

Southbridge, Massachusetts Southbridge is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 17,740 at the 2020 census. Although Southbridge has a city form of government, it is legally known as the Town of Southbridge. History The area was in ...

, to decide a new champion, a match which DellaGatta lost. DellaGatta returned to the tag team division in mid-2000 and teamed with Slyk Wagner Brown and Luis Ortiz to win the vacant NWA New England Tag Team Championship in a Triangle match against Nemesis & Scarecrow and the Millennium Killaz (Muhammad the Butcher & Gino Martino) on June 22, 2000. Though beaten for the titles a month later by the Millennium Killaz, DellaGatta and Ortiz regained the belts on August 24 and remained champions until the tag titles were vacated at the end of the year. He frequently appeared on its weekly television show, "Mass Madness", with one of his later matches being a tag team match with Dukes Dalton against

The Bushwhackers The Bushwhackers are a professional wrestling tag team who competed first as the New Zealand Kiwis and then as The Sheepherders during their 36-year career as a tag team. They wrestled in the World Wrestling Federation, Jim Crockett Promotions ...

(

Butch Butch may refer to: People * Butch (nickname), a list of people * Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch, an Old West outlaw gang *Barbara Butch, French lesbian DJ and activist * Butch Miller (wrestler) (born 1944), ring name of New Zealand professional wr ...

and

Luke People *Luke (given name), a masculine given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) * Luke (surname) (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Luke the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of Luke. Also known a ...

).

Birth of the "Boston Bad Boy" (2000)

On November 13, 1999, Tony Rumble died of a massive heart attack near his Malden home. DellaGatta has claimed the day of Rumble's death was one of the saddest in his life and later had Rumble's name and the date of his passing tattooed on his left arm. The promotion was run by Jeff Katz and

Knuckles Nelson Brendan Higgins (born September 26, 1963),Pro Wrestling Illustrated. "Statistics for Professional Wrestlers." ''2001 Wrestling Almanac and Book of Facts''. 6th ed. Fort Washington, PA: London Publishing Company, 2001. (pg. 47) best known by his ri ...

for the first six months after Rumble's death. Due to steadily declining attendance Rumble's widow Ellen Magliaro turned control of the promotion over to DellaGatta. He had recently held a successful fundraiser for a friend and fellow pro wrestler, Jeff Mangles, who had broken both of his legs in a recent accident. In spite of having little prior experience as a promoter, his efforts to arrange the show was the deciding factor in Magliaro deciding on DellaGatta to run the day-to-day operations. She and the Rumble family also requested that DellaGatta continue the "Boston Bad Boy" in-ring persona by competing as "Boston Bad Boy" Jason Rumble, the

kayfabe In professional wrestling, kayfabe, as a noun, is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically the portrayal of competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants as being genuine and not staged. ...

son of Tony. The decision to make DellaGatta the "face" of the company so early in his career was a controversial one and created animosity in the already divided Boston independent scene. Many wrestlers, some of whom saw this as blatant

opportunism Opportunism is the practice of taking advantage of circumstances – with little regard for principles or with what the consequences are for others. Opportunist actions are expedient actions guided primarily by self-interested motives. The term ...

on the part of DellaGatta, were unaware that he had taken on the Rumble name at the request the Ellen Magliaro and his two step-daughters to keep Tony Rumble's memory alive. Sheldon Goldberg, unhappy with the situation, resigned his position with the company to start his own promotion,

New England Championship Wrestling New England Championship Wrestling (NECW) is an independent professional wrestling promotion based in the Northeastern United States that has promoted events since 2000. Currently owned and operated by Sheldon Goldberg, is one of the top indepen ...

; Goldberg later commented that, while crediting him as "a good athlete and a good talent", DellaGatta's long-term career as a performer was hurt because of it. DellaGatta was able to stabilize the promotion but struggled to keep the promotion during his tenure as booker. A number of factors, including the mismanagement of Katz and Nelson, DellaGatta's inexperience, and increasing competition from

Chaotic Wrestling Chaotic Wrestling (CW) is an American independent wrestling promotion, which has been operating throughout New England since 2000; with its current home base in North Andover, Massachusetts. Chaotic Wrestling is known for producing successful, ...

, the

Millennium Wrestling Federation The Millennium Wrestling Federation (MWF) is a New England independent professional wrestling promotion based in Melrose, Massachusetts. Founded in January 2001 by promoters Dan Mirade & Neil Manolian, the MWF is one of the top promotions in the ...

,

New England Championship Wrestling New England Championship Wrestling (NECW) is an independent professional wrestling promotion based in the Northeastern United States that has promoted events since 2000. Currently owned and operated by Sheldon Goldberg, is one of the top indepen ...

and other rival groups, prevented the promotion from reclaiming its former position as New England's top promotion. NWA New England began experiencing trouble booking events in 2002 and finally went on year-long hiatus following a fundraiser in

Riverside, Rhode Island Riverside is a neighborhood in the city of East Providence in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Despite not being an incorporated city, Riverside has its own zip code, 02915, and is an acceptable mailing address according to the United States Posta ...

, for victims of the

Station nightclub fire The Station nightclub fire occurred on the evening of February 20, 2003, in West Warwick, Rhode Island, United States, killing 100 people and injuring 230. The fire was caused by pyrotechnics set off by the tour manager of the evening's headlini ...

in April 2003.

NWA New England (2000-2001)

DellaGatta was introduced as Jason Rumble at the Jeff Mangles Tribute Show held in the summer of 2000. He won a

Ladder match A ladder match is a type of match in professional wrestling, most commonly one in which an item (usually a title belt) is hung above the ring, and the winner is the contestant who climbs a ladder and retrieves the item. The ladder itself becom ...

in the main event in which the wrestler who could successfully retrieve Tony Rumble's batting helmet would become the new "Boston Bad Boy". Representing his home promotion at the '' NWA 52nd Anniversary Show'' in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

, DellaGatta wrestled "Backhome" Beau Douglas in the main event and won the then vacant NWA New England Heavyweight Championship after forcing Douglas to submit to a

Boston crab The Boston crab is a professional wrestling hold that typically starts with one wrestler lying in a supine position on the mat, with the other wrestler standing and facing them. It is a type of spinal lock where the wrestler hooks each of the o ...

; their match was dedicated to the memory of Tony Rumble. He also formed a "second generation" of Tony Rumble's heel stable The Brotherhood consisting of himself,

Rick Fuller Richard Fuller (born February 18, 1967) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling from 1997 to 2000. Early life Born in Middleborough, Massachusetts, Fuller graduated fr ...

, and The DarkAngel. On January 15, 2001, DellaGatta received a tryout match with the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and va ...

, wrestling as "Jason Rage", when he and Steve Boz wrestled Lo Down (

Chaz Chaz (less frequently ''Chas'' or '' Chazz'') is an English masculine given name or nickname, originally derived from a short form of Charles (abbreviated ''Chas.''), although it is also used occasionally as a short form of other given names such a ...

and

D-Lo Brown Accie Julius Connor (born October 22, 1970), better known by his ring name D'Lo Brown (also formatted as D-Lo Brown), is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in Impact Wrestling and WWE. Brown is also known for his ...

) at the sold-out

Bradley Center The Bradley Center (also known as the BMO Harris Bradley Center under sponsorship agreements) was a multi-purpose arena located on the northwest corner of North Vel R. Phillips Ave. and West State Streets in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United ...

in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...

, the match later being aired on ''

WWE Jakked ''WWF Jakked'' and ''WWF Metal'' are professional wrestling television programs that were produced by the World Wrestling Federation (now known as WWE). Both programs aired syndicated weekly from August 28, 1999 until May 19, 2002 and replaced ...

''; he was brought back for the

Masterlock Challenge Christopher Todd Mordetzky (born January 8, 1983) is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) under the ring name Chris Adonis as a member of Strictly Business. He is a former two-time National Ch ...

a few years later. In May, DellaGatta briefly lost the NWA New England Heavyweight Championship to Steve King in

Melrose, Massachusetts Melrose is a city located in the Greater Boston metropolitan area in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Its population, per the 2020 United States Census, is 29,817. It is a suburb located approximately seven miles north of Boston. ...

but regained it two weeks later remained champion for the rest of the year.

National Wrestling Alliance (2001-2002)

DellaGatta's status in NWA New England soon brought him to the attention of the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA began as a governing body for a ...

. On August 21, 2001, he unexpectedly helped

NWA Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as ...

star Lex Lovett defeat Mike Thunder for the

NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship The NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world championship in the National Wrestling Alliance. Created in 1945, the title is competed for by junior heavyweight wrestlers. History The first NWA World Junior H ...

in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough C ...

. DellaGatta then turned on Lovett attacking him after the match and challenging Lovett to a match at the upcoming '' NWA 53rd Anniversary Show''. A month later, DellaGatta wrestled NWA Florida Junior Heavyweight Champion Jet Jaguar at

NWA Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as ...

's "Battle of the Belts", an interpromotional supercard featuring wrestlers from IPW Hardcore,

NWA Wildside NWA Wildside was an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Cornelia, Georgia, with an office in Atlanta, Georgia, operating between September 1999 and April 2005. It was originally formed when National Championship Wrestli ...

, and

Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling was a Southeastern independent professional wrestling promotion based in Marietta, Georgia. It was founded by retired wrestler and former NWA World Heavyweight Champion Dusty Rhodes in 2000 and, during its three y ...

, held at Tampa's Fort Homer Hesterly Armory. On October 13, he returned to Florida once again for the ''NWA 53rd Anniversary Show'' at The Wrestleplex in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

where he pinned Lex Lovett for the

NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship The NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world championship in the National Wrestling Alliance. Created in 1945, the title is competed for by junior heavyweight wrestlers. History The first NWA World Junior H ...

in a Fatal Five-Way match also involving

Jimmy Rave James Michael Guffey (December 8, 1982 – December 12, 2021), better known by the ring name Jimmy Rave, was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his time with Ring of Honor (ROH) and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). ...

, Brandon K, and BJ Turner. Shortly after winning the World Junior Heavyweight Championship, he lost NWA New England Heavyweight title to Beau Douglas on October 27, 2001, in

Woburn, Massachusetts Woburn ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,876 at the 2020 census. Woburn is located north of Boston. Woburn uses Massachusetts' mayor-council form of government, in which an elected mayor is ...

. DellaGatta continued to defend the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship for the next few months, most notably, successfully defending the title against JB Destiny at NWA East's "Clash of the Champions" in

McKeesport, Pennsylvania McKeesport is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is situated at the confluence of the Monongahela and Youghiogheny rivers and within the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The population was 17,727 as of the 2020 census. I ...

on December 15, 2001. He traded the title with Rocky Reynolds in early 2002, first losing the title at a

Pro Wrestling eXpress Pro Wrestling eXpress (PWX, also known as NWA East) is a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in North Versailles, Pennsylvania in 1994 by Jim Miller and Sean "Shocker" Evans. It is the longest-running promotion in the Pittsburgh met ...

event in

Titusville, Pennsylvania Titusville is a city in the far eastern corner of Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,601 at the 2010 census and an estimated 5,158 in 2019. Titusville is known as the birthplace of the American oil industry and f ...

, on February 2 and regaining it 14 days later in his hometown of Malden, Massachusetts. Reynolds defeated DellaGatta for a second and final time in

Parkersburg, West Virginia Parkersburg is a city in and the county seat of Wood County, West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Ohio and Little Kanawha rivers, it is the state's fourth-largest city and the largest city in the Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna metrop ...

, on April 6, 2002.

NWA New England (2002-2003)

DellaGatta subsequently returned to NWA New England where he defeated Kid Narcissistic for the NWA New England Junior Heavyweight Championship in

Woonsocket, Rhode Island Woonsocket ( ), is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 43,240 at the 2020 census, making it the sixth largest city in the state. Being Rhode Island's northernmost city, Woonsocket lies directly south of ...

two weeks later. He re-lost the title to Kid Narcissistic on June 1 and failed to regain the belt at NWA New England's "Summer Sizzler" two days later; the title was declared vacant soon afterwards. That same weekend, he took part in the third-annual

Jersey J-Cup The Jersey J Cup, also known as the Chris Candido Memorial J-Cup Tournament, is an annual professional wrestling tournament held by Funkdafied Wrestling Federation (FwF), typically between April and June. Modeled after the Super J-Cup by New Japan ...

but was eliminated in the opening rounds by

Scoot Andrews Andrew Warner (born June 1, 1967) is a retired American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name "The Black Nature Boy" Scoot Andrews. After debuting in 1994, Andrew competed for numerous independent promotions throughout his career. ...

. DellaGatta regained the vacant NWA New England Junior Heavyweight title during the summer but was stripped of the belt due to outside interference at a July 13 title defense. He once again regained the junior heavyweight title three months later, this time from Tommy Knoxville, to begin his fourth championship reign. On October 2, 2002, DellaGatta lost to Lex Lovett a three-way match also involving

Steve Madison Stephen Philip Favata (born April 9, 1983) is an American professional wrestler, known by his ringname "Modern Miracle" Steve Madison, who competes in Southeastern independent promotions including AWA World-1 South, Full Impact Pro, Future of W ...

for IPW Hardcore Wrestling at the Dallas Bull in Tampa. He also appeared at the October 26th '' NWA 54th Anniversary Show'' in Corpus Christi, Texas, where he avenged his World Junior Heavyweight title loss by pinning Rocky Reynolds; the match was to decide the number one contender for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship.

AJ Styles Allen Neal Jones (born June 2, 1977), better known by his ring name AJ Styles (also stylized as A.J. Styles), is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. Regarded as one of the best ...

and Mortimer Plumtree, on the pretense of scouting talent for TNA's " X-Division", unsuccessfully attempted to interfere on Reynolds' behalf and attacked DellaGatta after the match.

NWA World Tag Team Champions The NWA World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship created by the National Wrestling Alliance. From 1948 to 1982, the NWA allowed member promotions to create their own territorial version of the "NWA World ...

America's Most Wanted ''America's Most Wanted'' (often abbreviated as ''AMW'') is an American Television show, television program whose first run was produced by 20th Television, and second run is under the Fox Entertainment#Fox Alternative Entertainment, Fox Alter ...

( Chris Harris and

James Storm James Allen Cox (born June 1, 1977) is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name James Storm. He is best known for his time in Impact Wrestling. He started his career in 1997 and after working on several independent prom ...

) came out to stop the attack, however, a wild brawl ensued and ended up involving any wrestlers from the locker room to break it up. DellaGatta eventually lost the NWA New England Junior Heavyweight Championship during a tag team match with

Paulie Gilmore James E. Allen is an American professional wrestler and promoter, best known by his ringname "Big" Paulie Gilmore or Gilmorea, who wrestled on the New England independent circuit for the Century Wrestling Alliance, the National Wrestling Alliance ...

against Captain Charisma and

Spider Spiders (order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species d ...

in

Lowell, Massachusetts Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, It is one of two traditional county seat, seats of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,5 ...

, the following year; the victors were named co-champions and defended the title for several months before the title was abandoned at the end of 2003.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2003-2004)

In early 2003, DellaGatta started wrestling for

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment. Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promot ...

. He made his TNA debut at the February 5th edition of

TNA Xplosion ''Xplosion'' was a professional wrestling television program that was produced by the Impact Wrestling promotion. Launched in 2002, the show featured highlights from Impact's flagship television program, exclusive taped matches, and other cont ...

, a live pay-per-view event from the

TNA Asylum The Nashville Fairgrounds, also known as The Fairgrounds Nashville and the Tennessee State Fairgrounds, is an entertainment complex in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. The site is located southeast of Downtown Nashville on the Nolensville Pik ...

in Nashville, Tennessee. He teamed with longtime rival Rocky Reynolds to challenge America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris and James Storm) and lost when Storm pinned Reynolds. He came back to TNA a year later losing to James Storm in a singles match on March 24, 2004. One of his last appearances for the company was a tag team match with Sonny Roselli against 3Live Kru (

Konnan Charles Ashenoff (born Carlos Santiago Espada Moises; January 6, 1964),''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'', Dave Meltzer, ed., May 10, 2010, issue.Sims, Steve"Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame/Founded by Dave Meltzer - Konnan". Accessed August 1, 2016. O ...

and B.G. James) at Nashville's Fairgrounds Coliseum on August 8, 2004, which they lost when Roselli submitted to the '' Tequila Sunrise''.

NWA New England (2004-2006)

When NWA New England resumed operations in 2004, this time with new bookers Chad Merchant and Chad Peters, DellaGatta was one of the mainstays which returned to the promotion. During the time it was inactive, he wrestled for other Northeastern "indy" promotions including Madmar Entertainment, Ultimate Championship Wrestling, and

Assault Championship Wrestling Assault Championship Wrestling was an American independent wrestling promotion based in Connecticut and promoted by Jason Knight, a retired wrestler and manager, during the early 2000s. The first major independent promotion to operate in Connecti ...

. He participated in several cross-promotional shows with New Wrestling Horizons over the summer. DellaGatta won a 6-man

Gauntlet match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

against Larry Huntley, Hardware, Cameron Mathews, Osirus, and Sonny Roselli on May 25, a

handicap match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

against The Elite (Larry Huntley and Sonny Roselli) on August 13, and Huntley in a singles match on August 17. He did lose to NWA New England Brass Knuckles Champion Gino Martino in a number one contendership match for the NWH Heavyweight Championship on September 28, 2004, in

Buxton, Maine Buxton is a town in York County, Maine, United States. It is part of the Portland metropolitan area. The population was 8,376 at the 2020 census. Buxton includes the villages of Salmon Falls/Tory Hill, Chicopee, Groveville, Bar Mills, West Buxton, ...

.

Final run as World Junior Heavyweight Champion (2004-2005)

On October 17, 2004, DellaGatta regained the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship at the NWA 56th Anniversary Show in

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749 ...

by defeating Jerrelle Clark and Vance Desmond in an "elimination" match. On February 5, 2005, he defeated Clark in a rematch at New World Wrestling's "Extreme Revenge" in

Bellingham, Massachusetts Bellingham () is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 16,945 at the 2020 census. The town sits on the southwestern fringe of Metropolitan Boston, along the rapidly growing "outer belt" that is Route 495. It i ...

. He also traveled overseas to the United Kingdom to defend his title against

Phil Powers Philip Poll (born 27 September 1978) is an English professional wrestler, best known by his ringname "Flying" Phil Powers, who has worked on the United Kingdom's independent circuit for over 15 years. Career Phil Powers was trained by Johnny K ...

at a June 4 Revolution British Wrestling show at Ryan Hall in

Chingford Chingford is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The town is approximately north-east of Charing Cross, with Waltham Abbey to the north, Woodford Green and Buckhurst Hill to the east, Walthamstow ...

. DellaGatta third and final championship reign ended following his defeat by

Black Tiger A black tiger is a rare colour variant of the tiger, and is not a distinct species or geographic subspecies. Description There are reports and one painting (now lost) of pure black non-striped tigers (true melanistic tigers). Most black mamma ...

at

Columbia, Tennessee Columbia is a city in and the county seat of Maury County, Tennessee. The population was 41,690 as of the 2020 United States census. Columbia is included in the Nashville metropolitan area. The self-proclaimed "mule capital of the world," Colum ...

, on August 25, 2005.

Independent circuit (2005-2006)

Back in New England, DellaGatta continued competing for various promotions in the Massachusetts area. In September 2005, he took part in a Founder's Day benefit show for the Saugus public school system, organized by Everett-based wrestling academy Ringside Entertainment, appearing with

Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake Edward Harrison Leslie (born April 21, 1957) is an American retired professional wrestler, best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring name Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake. He later worked for World Championship W ...

, Ebony Blade,

Lollipop A lollipop is a type of sugar candy usually consisting of hard candy mounted on a stick and intended for sucking or licking. Different informal terms are used in different places, including lolly, sucker, sticky-pop, etc. Lollipops are av ...

, and

midget wrestler Midget wrestling is professional wrestling involving people of exceptionally short stature. Its heyday was in the 1950s and 1960s, when wrestlers such as Little Beaver, Lord Littlebrook, toured North America, and Sky Low Low was the first holder ...

Short Sleeve Sampson. On October 8, 2005, he returned to Nashville for the NWA 57th Anniversary Show where he pinned Mark Moment. He also appeared for the 6th annual Tony Rumble Memorial Show in Everett, Massachusetts, on November 25, 2005. DellaGatta then headed to the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

where he wrestled for New Generation Wrestling at an event in

Pickens, South Carolina Pickens, formerly called Pickens Courthouse, is a city in Pickens County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 3,126 at the 2010 census. Pickens changed its classification from a town to a city in 1998, but it was not reported to the ...

, on February 18, 2006, wrestling in a 6-man tag team match with John Thornhill and

Shane Matthews Michael Shane Matthews (born June 1, 1970) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for all or part of fourteen seasons during the 1990s and 2000s. He played college foot ...

against

Chris Hamrick Christopher Hamrick (born October 21, 1966) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his stint in ECW, though he is also known for his appearances in WWE, TNA and throughout the independent circuit. Professional wrestling care ...

,

Chase Stevens Chase Bradley Stevens (born January 17, 1979) is an American professional wrestler, best known under the ring name of "The Natural" Chase Stevens. He is known primarily for his work in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he was a memb ...

, and Dollar D. That summer, he was back in New England where he showed up in New World Wrestling and All Out Mayhem, wrestling

Palmer Canon Brian Mailhot (born August 12, 1975) is an American professional wrestler and mixed martial arts fighter, better known for his short stint in World Wrestling Entertainment's SmackDown! brand under the ring name of Palmer Canon. Early career Mailh ...

for the latter promotion in

South Portland, Maine South Portland is a city in Cumberland County, Maine, United States, and is the fourth-largest city in the state, incorporated in 1898. At the 2020 census, the city population was 26,498. Known for its working waterfront, South Portland is si ...

, on May 18, 2006.

Century Wrestling Alliance (2006-2007)

DellaGatta remained with the NWA New England during its last year of operation. On July 30, 2006, in

Sanford, Maine Sanford is a city in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 21,982 in the 2020 census, making it the seventh largest municipality in the state. Situated on the Mousam River, Sanford includes the village of Springvale. The city ...

, he was part of a 10-man elimination match teaming with Larry Huntley, Beau Douglas, Lotus, and Eric Atlas to defeat Osirus, Craig Trace, Loco, F.O., and Christian Sane. Two months later, he lost a three-way match against Matt Ledge and Beau Douglas for NWA New England X Division Championship at the Cardinal Shehen Center in Bridgeport, Connecticut. On November 25, 2006, at the 7th annual Tony Rumble Memorial Show in

Saugus, Massachusetts Saugus is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. The population was 28,619 at the 2020 census. Saugus is known as the site of the first integrated iron works in North America. History Native Americans ...

, DellaGatta made NWA New England history by winning the promotion's heavyweight, Cruiserweight, and X-Division titles in a single night. He first won a five-way match involving T.N.T., "Black Lotus" Matt Ledge, Paul Hudson, and Cameron Matthews to win both the Cruiserweight and X-Division titles. Later on in the show, he won the "Tony Rumble Memorial Battle Royal", with the assistance of manager Johnny Fabulous, and went on to defeat Luis Ortiz and Slyck Wagner Brown in a

Triple Threat match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

to win the heavyweight championship. Three months later, he also wrestled Larry Huntly in a losing bid to capture the vacant AWA North Atlantic Heavyweight Championship. On March 10, 2007, Beau Douglas defeated DellaGatta for the NWA New England Heavyweight title in Saugus, Massachusetts, ending his third reign as champion. Douglas had originally lost the title to Rumble six years earlier at the '' NWA 52nd Anniversary Show'' in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

. It was also announced at that event that the promotion would be withdrawing its membership with the National Wrestling Alliance and reverted to its original Century Wrestling Alliance name.

Touring Canada with the "Sea Side Slam Tour" (2007)

In May 2007, DellaGatta was one of several American independent stars which participated in MainStream Wrestling Entertainment's 6th annual "Sea Side Slam Tour" which visited 10 cities in

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

and

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native En ...

over a two-week period. One of the highlights of the tour was a Fatal Four Way match in Windsor between DellaGatta, Scott Savage, "The Bollywood Don" Harv Sihra, and "X-Ray" Kyle Kruze, which Kruze won; both Kruze's MSW Atlantic Canadian Championship and CWA Cruiserweight Championship was on the line.

Millennium Wrestling Federation (2007-2008)

After NWA New England ceased operations, DellaGatta was brought into the

Millennium Wrestling Federation The Millennium Wrestling Federation (MWF) is a New England independent professional wrestling promotion based in Melrose, Massachusetts. Founded in January 2001 by promoters Dan Mirade & Neil Manolian, the MWF is one of the top promotions in the ...

where he aligned himself with Johnny Fabulous and The Uprising (Joey Mercury and MWF Tag Team Champions The Canadian Superstars - Dave Cole & J-Busta). At MWF's August 4 supercard "Soul Survivor IV" DellaGatta lost to Tiger Mulligan at the Good Time Emporium in

Somerville, Massachusetts Somerville ( ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, and north of Cambridge, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a total population of 81,045 people. With an area ...

. He also was a regular on its weekly television show ''MWF Ultra''. Some highlights included matches against Slyck Wagner Brown (December 2007) and a tag team match pitting he and stablemate Jimmy Jact Ca$h against Beau Douglas and

Al Snow Allen Ray Sarven (born July 18, 1963) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Al Snow. He is best known as a wrestler for Smoky Mountain Wrestling, Extreme Championship Wrestling, and World Wrestling Entertainment. ...

(March 2008). In April 2008, he took on MWF original "Straight Edge" Brian Fury, who was making his return to the promotion after a four absence. At MWF's "Night of Champions" that summer, it was announced by MWF President Johnny Fabulous that the MWF Tag Team Championship would be defended by any two members of The Uprising since the Canadian Superstars had failed to appear to at the event. The team had consistently failed to appear for scheduled title defenses to avoid losing their belts. In a surprise move, J-Busta fired his tag team partner Dave Cole from The Uprising and chose DellaGatta as Cole's replacement. They ended up losing the tag titles to Beau Douglas and Jackson Blue later that night. DellaGatta wrestled for other promotions during this time. On June 9, he headlined a major show in Springvale, Maine, for NWA Pro Wrestling also featuring NWA Television Champion Judas Young, NWA Tag Team Champions The Playa's Club, Bobby Robinson,

Robbie Ellis Rob Elowitch (born April 8, 1943), better known by his ring name, Robbie Ellis, is an American professional wrestler who has competed in New England and Mid-Atlantic independent circuit as well as international promotions in Europe. The co-owner ...

, Mr. Hughes, and

reality tv Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

star Sammy Makua from ABC's from '' Fat March''. He also wrestled on a major interpromotional event hosted by Alliance Championship Wrestling, "Benefit for Brandon", in

Fall River, Massachusetts Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state. Located along the eastern shore of Mount ...

, along with performers from Big Time Wrestling, Eastern Pro Wrestling, Eastern Wrestling Alliance, Front Row Wrestling,

New England Championship Wrestling New England Championship Wrestling (NECW) is an independent professional wrestling promotion based in the Northeastern United States that has promoted events since 2000. Currently owned and operated by Sheldon Goldberg, is one of the top indepen ...

, No Limit Pro Wrestling, Northeast Championship Wrestling, Real Deal Wrestling, Showcase Pro Wrestling, and Power & Glory Wrestling. On the show, he lost to "Narcisstic" Nicholas Night in a match for the SPW Heavyweight Championship. A second appearance for NWA Pro saw DellaGatta lose to Larry Huntley in

Livermore, Maine Livermore is a town in Androscoggin County, Maine, United States. Formerly in Oxford County, Maine. The population was 2,127 at the 2020 United States Census. It is included in both the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area and ...

, on August 15. A few weeks later in the North Atlantic Wrestling Association, he also lost to North Atlantic Television Champion Sammy Makua on the weekend of September 5–6, 2008. Back in the MWF, he and The Uprising attacked newcomer Scott Reed on the September edition of ''MWF Ultra'', however, Reed gained his revenge by defeating DellaGatta at "Soul Survivor V" on November 12, 2008. He and Jimmy Jact Ca$h were both eventually released from The Uprising, and their MWF contracts, by

John Bradshaw Layfield John Charles Layfield (born November 29, 1966), better known by the ring name John "Bradshaw" Layfield (abbreviated to JBL), is an American retired professional wrestler and football player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on th ...

following a meeting with the MWF Board of Directors the following spring.

NWA On Fire (2008-2009)

DellaGatta joined Maine's NWA On Fire in late 2008. He made one of his first appearances on the October 18th edition of "NWA On Fire TV" as a guest on "Tommy's Corner" with Tommy Savoldi. In his first six months with the promotion, he appeared against many of the region's top stars on its weekly television series including

Rick Fuller Richard Fuller (born February 18, 1967) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling from 1997 to 2000. Early life Born in Middleborough, Massachusetts, Fuller graduated fr ...

, Gino Martino, Scotty Vegas, and "Mr 450" Jesus Perez; he also teamed with JT Hoodlum and Alexxus in a

mixed tag team match Much like the singles match, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace. Tag team ladder m ...

against Chase Delmonte and Naughty Adrianna. DellaGatta had one or two encounters with NWA On Fire Tag Team Champions The Latin Hit Squad (Chico and Nico) as well. On April 18, he joined Sonny Roselli and Gary Wentzell in a 6-man tag team match to defeat Larry Huntly and The Latin Hit Squad in Mexico, Maine. DellaGatta and Jesus Perez challenged The Latin Hit Squad (Chico and Nico) for the NWA On Fire Tag Team Championship. In singles competition, he faced

Lance Cade Lance Kurtis McNaught (March 2, 1981 – August 13, 2010) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) where he performed under the ring names Garrison Cade and Lance Cade. After be ...

and NWA On Fire Heavyweight Champion "Golden Boy" Bobby Robinson in August, and "The Maine Mauler" Cousin Larry in September.

New England Championship Wrestling (2008-2010)

Prior leaving the MWF, DellaGatta also began wrestling for

New England Championship Wrestling New England Championship Wrestling (NECW) is an independent professional wrestling promotion based in the Northeastern United States that has promoted events since 2000. Currently owned and operated by Sheldon Goldberg, is one of the top indepen ...

. It was there that he formed the "Crown Jewels" with Darling Damon, a "flamboyant" pair in the style of the

Christopher Street Connection The Christopher Street Connection were a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Buff E and Mace Mendoza. They primarily compete in Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic independent promotions, most notably, World-1 South, Jersey All Pro Wrestling, ...

or the

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and var ...

's

Billy and Chuck Billy and Chuck were a professional wrestling tag team of Billy Gunn and Chuck Palumbo who performed in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) from 2001 to 2002. They were two-time WWE World Tag Team Champions. The two men were depicted as a same-sex ...

. They were originally managed by Brian Cairo and later replaced with "Mr. Fabulous" Tony Ulysses. The team made their debut at "Red, White, & Bruised" in Quincy, Massachusetts, where they lost to Team Nightmare (Evan Siks and Nick Steel). The two next appeared at NECW's 8th anniversary show "Birthday Bash 8: Lager Than Life!" where they were part of a special 8-man survival match with Ryan Matthews and "The Talent" T.J. Richter against Team Nightmare (Evan Siks, Nick Steel, Lil' Nicky Amaral and Frankie Vain). Their team lost the match, however, DellaGatta and Damon began attacking Nick Steel afterwards. When Evan Siks returned to the ring to save his partner, Darling Damon sprayed Evan Siks in the eyes with perfume causing a

kayfabe In professional wrestling, kayfabe, as a noun, is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically the portrayal of competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants as being genuine and not staged. ...

injury. Their attack started a six-month feud between the two teams. On September 20, the two teams met in a

Triple Threat match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

with NECW Tag Team Champions PRIDE (Dan Freitas & Brian Nunes) at "Autumn Unleashed". On November 29, 2008, The Crown Jewels won via forfeit at "Double Intensity" when Chase Del Monte and Fred Curry, Jr. failed to appear at the referee's ten count; they subsequently faced Team Nightmare in a match which ended in a double-disqualification. DellaGatta then wrestled Evan Siks in a singles match at NECW's January 10 show "Snowbrawl" to decide the guest referee for their team's grudge match at the next supercard, a match won by "Bad Boy Jason". DellaGatta's original opponent was Nick Steel but was unable to appear at the show when someone slashed the tires of his car and Evan Siks took his place. The Crown Jewels-Team Nightmare feud came to an end at "GENESIS 8: Measure for Measure". Prior to their match, DellaGatta and Damon announced that they had offered each member of Team Nightmare $5000 to sell out their partner and leave NECW. Nick Steel accepted their offer and walked out on Evan Siks, leaving him alone in a

handicap match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

. In addition, The Crown Jewels introduced their new stylist and lifestyle consultant "Mr. Fabulous" Tony Ulysses, one of the most controversial stars of Killer Kowalski's All Star Wrestling during the 1980s. Due to DellaGatta's victory over Siks at the last show, they had the option of choosing Ulysses to referee the match. The match ended with DellaGatta pinning Siks following a "low blow" from Tony Ulysses before making the pinfall. When Siks recovered, he removed his wrestling boots and left the ring traditionally signifying that a wrestler had fought his last match. On March 21, 2009, The Crown Jewels defeated PRIDE (Dan Freitas and Brian Nunes) at "March Badness" for the NECW Tag Team Championship. They successfully defended the titles against Davey Loomis and Alex Payne at July 11's "Red, White & Bruised". A rematch at "Birthday Bash 9: Rage in a Cage" saw The Crown Jewels disqualified against Loomis and Payne, but remained champions. They also successfully defended the titles against Ryan Bisbal and Don Vega at NECW's "Tag Team Classic", who had won a one-night tag team tournament to face the tag team champions, on September 19. During the match, Darling distracted their opponents by attempting to abduct their valet Ivy and allowed DellaGata to score the winning pinfall over Vega. The 2-day "Autumn Unleashed" show on October 23–24 saw The Crown Jewels on the run from their rivals; on the first night in Somerset, they lost to Davey Loomis and Alex Payne via countout and, in a non-title match, to Don Vega and Ryan Bisbal in Quincy. The Crown Jewels attacked Vega and Bisbal after the match but were run off by a mysterious masked man who revealed himself as Jose Perez. They briefly lost the titles to Rican Havoc (Don Vega and Jose Perez) on November 28, 2009, but were returned to them due to a contractual dispute. The Crown Jewels managed to keep the titles from Rican Havoc for another five months, such as incurring a disqualification loss at February 27's "GENESIS 9" to retain the belts, but ended up losing the belts to them in Quincy on May 15, 2010. A year later, The Crown Jewels returned to NECW to perform for a benefit show at Carver High School. The event was to raise money for a 4-year-old boy suffering from a rare form of brain cancer.

NWA On Fire (2010)

At NWA On Fire's "Valentines Day Brawl", DellaGatta led Josef Von Scmidt and "Cold Hearted Playa" Danny Demanto against Nunzio, Justin Corino, and "Heart Attack" Tommy Mack in

South Windsor, Connecticut South Windsor is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 26,918 at the 2020 census. History In 1659, Thomas Burnham (1617–1688) purchased the tract of land now covered by the towns of South Windsor and East H ...

. A month later, he headlined Showcase Pro Wrestling's 4-year anniversary show in

South Attleboro, Massachusetts South Attleboro is a neighborhood of Attleboro, a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is perhaps best known for the South Attleboro station on the Attleboro/Stoughton Line of the MBTA Commuter Rail. U.S. 1 (the old Norfo ...

wrestling Nicholas Night for the promotion's heavyweight title. On April 18, 2010, he attended the 5th annual

New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame The New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame and Fan Fest is an American professional wrestling hall of fame. It was established in January 2008 to honor select wrestling personalities who have made significant contributions to professional wrestli ...

to formerly induct

Bull Montana Lewis Montagna (born Luigi Montagna; May 16, 1887 – January 24, 1950), better known as Bull Montana, was an Italian-American professional wrestler, boxer and actor. Biography Born in Voghera, Italy, into a poor country family — and at a tim ...

. On May 14, 2010, The Crown Jewels took part in an NWA On Fire benefit show for Lisbon High School where they defeated NWA On Fire Tag Team Champions The Samoan Warriors (Makua and Fallah) for the titles. Their first title successful title defense was on ''NWA On Fire TV'' against Makua and Chico, one half of the Samoan Warriors and Latin Hit Squad respectively. They eventually lost the tag titles to Matt Taven and Julian Starr in Springvale, Maine, on August 10, 2010.

Touring Canada with the "Sea Side Slam Tour" (2010)

In the summer of 2010, DellaGatta was among the wrestling stars from five countries invited to take part in MainStream Wrestling Entertainment's 10th Anniversary Tour of

the Maritimes The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% of Ca ...

visiting 13 cities in

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

and

Labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...

over a seven-week period.

Independent circuit (2011)

DellaGatta also spent time with Showcase Pro Wrestling based in

Woonsocket, Rhode Island Woonsocket ( ), is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 43,240 at the 2020 census, making it the sixth largest city in the state. Being Rhode Island's northernmost city, Woonsocket lies directly south of ...

. On August 15, he wrestled "The Prodigal Child with the Southern Smile" Cargill Vinton to a 15 min. time-limit draw at the SPW Arena. During its "Autumn Annihilation Tour", co-promoted by SPW and WVBF 1530, he wrestled "Mr. Nice" Mike Nice for the SPW Heavyweight Championship in

Taunton, Massachusetts Taunton is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the seat of Bristol County. Taunton is situated on the Taunton River which winds its way through the city on its way to Mount Hope Bay, to the south. At the 2020 censu ...

. He returned for an October 15 show at the SPW Arena to face Andy "Spicolli" Mackenzie. He was also booked to wrestle a benefit show for retired wrestler Maxx Lethal, whose wife suffers from liver problems, prior to its sudden cancellation by the board of selectmen of

Framingham, Massachusetts Framingham () is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Incorporated in 1700, it is located in Middlesex County and the MetroWest subregion of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The city proper covers with a popul ...

. That same year, DellaGatta became involved with Victory Championship Wrestling, which promotes wrestling events with DellaGatta's Bell Time Club. It is one of several smaller promotions in the

Greater Boston Area Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston (the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England) and its surrounding areas. The region forms the northern ar ...

which became part of the Century Wrestling Alliance when it was revived as a sort of governing body similar to the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA began as a governing body for a ...

. On November 19, 2011, DellaGatta headlined the 12th Annual Tony Rumble Memorial Show in Everett, under the VCW banner, challenging Steve Beck for the VCW Heavyweight Championship.

New England Championship Wrestling (2011-)

On December 16, 2011, DellaGatta made a surprise return to New England Championship Wrestling for its year-end supercard "The Fight Before Christmas" at the Millerville Men's Club in

Blackstone, Massachusetts Blackstone is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 9,208 at the 2020 census. It is a part of the Providence metropolitan area. History This region was first inhabited by the Nipmuc. Blackstone was se ...

. It was at the event that he was attacked by "The Statement" Elia Markopoulos, a third member of The Crown Jewels, while arguing with former manager Tony Ulysses during a backstage promo. Three days later, he and

Doink the Clown Doink the Clown is a professional wrestling persona originally and most popularly portrayed by Matt Osborne, who debuted the Doink persona in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1992. Doink is a clown (or evil clown) wearing traditional cl ...

headlined a wrestling event promoted by retired wrestler Cameron Mathews in Fairfield, Massachusetts. He is scheduled to face Markopoulos and a mystery partner, managed by "Mr. Fabulous" Tony Ulysses, in a tag team match with Tank The Tank in the main event for NECW's "Double Intensity" on May 18, 2012.

Bell Time Club

The Bell Time Club is professional wrestling training facility and social club in

Everett, Massachusetts Everett is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, directly north of Boston, bordering the neighborhood of Charlestown. The population was 49,075 at the time of the 2020 United States Census. Everett was the last city in the U ...

. Modeled after the

Cauliflower Alley Club The Cauliflower Alley Club is a non-profit fraternal organization, which includes a newsletter and website, comprising both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America. Established in 1965 by Mike Mazurki and Art Abra ...

, it is a private club which accepts members on an invitation-only basis. Club members, particularly wrestling fans, have access to its facilities depending on the level of membership. The idea was conceived by Jason DellaGatta and other Boston-area wrestlers as a local wrestling "hangout" for pro wrestlers and wrestling fans alike. It is the first such club opened to members of the general public. The club was officially established on February 8, 2010, and held a free exhibition show at the Everett Rec Center a few weeks later. It has since run live wrestling events with Victory Championship Wrestling, one of several smaller independent groups in the

Greater Boston Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston (the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England) and its surrounding areas. The region forms the northe ...

area associated with the

Century Wrestling Alliance The Century Wrestling Alliance, formerly known as NWA Cold Front and NWA New England, is a New England-based American independent wrestling promotion located in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded by Tony Rumble in 1989, a retired wrestler an ...

. The club was the subject of an article by the ''Malden Observer'' shortly after its opening. On April 10, 2010, DellaGatta was a guest on "On the Spot", a local talk show aired in his hometown of Malden, during which he talked about his athletic and pro wrestling career as well as promoting the Bell Time Club. He also discussed plans to host a bi-monthly talk show of his own, "The Rumble Seat", and speculated on developing an

undercover To go "undercover" (that is, to go on an undercover operation) is to avoid detection by the object of one's observation, and especially to disguise one's own identity (or use an assumed identity) for the purposes of gaining the trust of an ind ...

"whistleblowing" tv series to expose local political corruption. The Bell Time Club in Everett, MA would close its doors in late 2012. Jason Rumble and Victory Championship Wrestling subsequently moved the BTC training facility to 40 Broadway in

Wakefield, MA Wakefield is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, incorporated in 1812 and located about north-northwest of Downtown Boston. Wakefield's population was 27,090 at the 2020 census. Wakefield offer ...

. Today that is where they hold many of their shows.

Championships and accomplishments

Football

*New England Football League **NEFL All-Pro player (2 times) **

Special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

player of the Year (2000)

Professional wrestling

*

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA began as a governing body for a ...

**

NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship The NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world championship in the National Wrestling Alliance. Created in 1945, the title is competed for by junior heavyweight wrestlers. History The first NWA World Junior H ...

(3 times) * NWA New England ** NWA New England Heavyweight Championship (3 times) ** NWA New England Junior Heavyweight Championship (5 times) ** NWA New England X Division Championship (1 time) **

NWA New England Tag Team Championship The CWA Tag Team Championship is the primary wrestling tag team title in the Century Wrestling Alliance. Double Trouble (Tony and Val Puccio) were the first team to win the titles by defeating The Interns in Wakefield, Massachusetts on September ...

(2 times) – with

Slyck Wagner Brown Wagner Brown (born September 5, 1979) is a Jamaican born professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, SWB or Slyck Wagner Brown. Brown currently wrestles on the Independent circuit in the Northeastern United States. Additionally, SWB wa ...

and Luis Ortiz ** Tony Rumble Memorial Battle Royal winner (2005) * NWA On Fire **NWA On Fire Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Darling Damon *

New England Championship Wrestling New England Championship Wrestling (NECW) is an independent professional wrestling promotion based in the Northeastern United States that has promoted events since 2000. Currently owned and operated by Sheldon Goldberg, is one of the top indepen ...

** NECW Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Darling Damon *

New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame The New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame and Fan Fest is an American professional wrestling hall of fame. It was established in January 2008 to honor select wrestling personalities who have made significant contributions to professional wrestli ...

**Class of 2014 *New Wrestling Horizons **NWH Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Mark Moment *

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publi ...

** PWI ranked him #314 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the

PWI 500 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publis ...

in 2005 ** PWI ranked him #281 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the

PWI 500 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publis ...

in 2004 ** PWI ranked him #305 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the

PWI 500 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publis ...

in 2003 ** PWI ranked him #296 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the

PWI 500 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publis ...

in 2002 ** PWI ranked him #282 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the

PWI 500 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publis ...

in 2001 *UFO Wrestling **UFO United States Championship (1 time) *Victory Championship Wrestling **VCW Championship (1 time) **VCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Mark Anthony

References

External links

* * *
Jason Rumble at Cagematch.netJason Rumble at Genickbruch.comJason Rumble at Johnny O's Wrestling WebsiteJason Rumble at IndyWrestlingNews.com
* ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qk8nqoq4PAw Jason Rumble - Life of an Independent Wrestleron

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rumble, Jason 1971 births Living people American male professional wrestlers Sportspeople from Malden, Massachusetts Professional wrestlers from Massachusetts People from Wakefield, Massachusetts Sportspeople from Middlesex County, Massachusetts NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champions

Early life

Professional wrestling career

Early career

NWA New England (1999-2000)

Birth of the "Boston Bad Boy" (2000)

NWA New England (2000-2001)

National Wrestling Alliance (2001-2002)

NWA New England (2002-2003)

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2003-2004)

NWA New England (2004-2006)

Final run as World Junior Heavyweight Champion (2004-2005)

Independent circuit (2005-2006)

Century Wrestling Alliance (2006-2007)

Touring Canada with the "Sea Side Slam Tour" (2007)

Millennium Wrestling Federation (2007-2008)

NWA On Fire (2008-2009)

New England Championship Wrestling (2008-2010)

NWA On Fire (2010)

Touring Canada with the "Sea Side Slam Tour" (2010)

Independent circuit (2011)

New England Championship Wrestling (2011-)

Bell Time Club

Championships and accomplishments

Football

Professional wrestling

References

Further reading

External links