Domenico A. Nucciarone (January 23, 1932 – August 12, 2021) was an Italian-American

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 o ...

and trainer better known under his ring name of Dominic DeNucci. He held over a dozen championships around the world in the 1960s and 1970s. His wrestling students included

Mick Foley Michael Francis Foley (born June 7, 1965) is an American actor, author, retired professional wrestler, and color commentator. He is currently signed to WWE under the company's Legends program, acting as a company ambassador. Foley worked for m ...

Shane Douglas Troy Allan Martin (born November 21, 1964) is an American professional wrestler and promoter, better known by his ring name Shane Douglas. He is best known for his tenures in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Championship Wrestling (W ...

and Brian Hildebrand.Foley, Mick. Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks (p.66-68, 80)

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1958–1964)

He made his pro wrestling debut in 1958 in Montreal, Quebec under a hood as the Masked Marvel and also wrestled in Ottawa, Ontario. In 1959, DeNucci started teaming with the original Dino Bravo as Dominic Bravo, a storyline/

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. ...

brother as the two worked as a

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

in Canada throughout

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 C ...

, Toronto, Ontario, and Winnipeg, Manitoba. They also worked in Cleveland and Buffalo. The team headed west for Calgary wrestling for

Stampede Wrestling Stampede Wrestling was a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta. For nearly 50 years, it was one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies. Originally established by Stu Hart in 1948, the pro ...

starting in 1962. DeNucci would keep the Bravo name until he left Stampede in 1963. He wrestled as Don DeNucci in the San Francisco territory in the latter half of 1963.

World Championship Wrestling (Australia) (1964–1966, 1968, 1970)

In 1964, DeNucci made his debut in Australia for

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nati ...

. He feuded with Killer Kowalski. On November 7, 1964, he defeated Kowalski for the IWA World Heavyweight Championship in Melbourne. He dropped the title to

Ray Stevens Harold Ray Ragsdale (born January 24, 1939), known professionally as Ray Stevens, is an American country and pop singer-songwriter and comedian, known for his Grammy-winning recordings " Everything Is Beautiful" and " Misty", as well as novel ...

on January 9, 1965. A month later he regained the title by defeating Stevens. On March 10 he dropped the title again to Stevens. He continued feuding with Kowalski. On February 12, 1966, he won the title for the third time defeating Kowalski. He held the title for 111 days until losing it to

Toru Tanaka Charles J. Kalani Jr. (January 6, 1930 – August 22, 2000) was an American professional wrestler, professional boxer, college football player, soldier, actor, and martial artist who, in fighting rings, was also known as Professor Toru Tanaka, ...

on June 3 in Sydney. Afterwards he teamed with Kowalski and his Italian friend

Bruno Sammartino Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino (October 6, 1935 – April 18, 2018) was an Italian-born American professional wrestler, best known for his work with the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF, now WWE). There, he held the WWWF World Heavy ...

feuding with Japanese heels

and Mitsu Arakawa. On July 1, 1966, he teamed with

Mark Lewin Mark Lewin (born March 16, 1937) is an American retired professional wrestler. Early life Lewin was born in Buffalo, New York. He had two elder brothers, Donn and Ted, both of whom also became professional wrestlers. He attended Lafayette Hi ...

as they defeated Larry Hennig and

Harley Race Harley Leland Race (April 11, 1943 – August 1, 2019) was an American professional wrestler, promoter, and trainer. Race wrestled in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the World Wrestling Federati ...

for the IWA World Tag Team Championship. They dropped the title to

Skull Murphy The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, th ...

and Brute Bernard on July 15. After that DeNucci returned to North America. In May 1968 he returned this time teaming with Antonio Pugliese as they defeated Skull Murphy and Killer Karl Kox for the IWA World Tag Team title. They dropped it to Killer Kowalski and Bill Miller. He found a new partner

Mario Milano Mario Bulfone (15 May 1935 – 9 December 2016), better known by his ring name Mario Milano, was a professional wrestler. Milano got his start in wrestling in Venezuela and later competed in Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, South Africa, Mexi ...

and they defeated Kowalski and Miller for the title. Then they dropped the title to Mikel Scicluna and Ciclón Negro. In 1970 he made another return this time feuding with

King Curtis Iaukea Curtis Piehau Iaukea III (September 15, 1937 – December 4, 2010) was an American professional wrestler better known as King Curtis Iaukea. Iaukea won championships in several of the major regional U.S. promotions, both as a single and in vario ...

. On January 16 he won his fourth and final IWA World Heavyweight Championship defeating Iaukea. On March 25 he dropped the title to Iaukea. Louis Cerdan - Dominic Denucci - Tony Parisi - WRESTLING NEWS WWWF Edition n

Louis Cerdan - Dominic Denucci - Tony Parisi - WRESTLING NEWS WWWF Edition n

Various promotions (1966–1978)

After he left Australia in 1966 he returned to North America wrestling in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for a year. He wrestled in many territories in Cleveland, Buffalo, St. Louis, Chicago, and Big Time Wrestling in Detroit. Also he was very popular in the Michigan/Ohio territory in the early 1970s as well as Toronto for Maple Leaf Wrestling from 1969-1978. In 1974 he wrestled for

Championship Wrestling from 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 ...

where he won the NWA Florida Tag Team Championship with Tony Parisi defeating

Dick Slater Richard Van Slater (May 19, 1951 – October 18, 2018) better known by his ring name "Dirty" Dick Slater, was an American professional wrestler who wrestled in the 1970s, 1980s, and mid-1990s for various promotions including Mid-Atlantic Champio ...

and

. They dropped the titles in 1975 to Slater and J. J. Dillon.

Japan (1971, 1972, 1979–1981)

In 1971, he went to Japan for the first time to work for Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance. In 1972 he worked for

Giant Baba , best known by his ring name , was a Japanese professional wrestler, promoter, and professional baseball player. He is best known as a co-founder of All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), a promotion he founded in 1972 along with Mitsuo Momota ...

's brand new

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Baba ...

as Don Denucci. He lost a few matches to Baba. In 1979, he returned and feuded with Dick Beyer,

Jumbo Tsuruta , better known by his ring name , was a Japanese professional wrestler who wrestled for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) for most of his career, and is well known for being the first ever Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, having won the PWF Heav ...

Kim Duk or Kim Duk ( ko, 김 덕/金徳) (born February 7, 1948) is a retired Zainichi-Korean professional wrestler, better known under his ring name . He was also known by the name Tiger Chung Lee in the World Wrestling Federation. Early life Masano ...

and Great Kojika. He left the promotion in 1981.

World Wide Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Federation (1967–1982)

Domenic DeNucci - WRESTLING NEWS WWWF Edition n

He debuted in New York City in 1967. On June 18, 1971, DeNucci won his first World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) title, the WWWF International Tag Team Championship, with

by defeating The Mongols ( Bepo and Geto Mongol). They lost the title to The Mongols three days later. On May 13, 1975, DeNucci and Victor Rivera won the WWWF World Tag Team Championship from

Jimmy Jimmy may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Jimmy'' (2008 film), a 2008 Hindi thriller directed by Raj N. Sippy * ''Jimmy'' (1979 film), a 1979 Indian Malayalam film directed by Melattoor Ravi Varma * ''Jimmy'' (2013 f ...

and Johnny Valiant. In June, however, Rivera left the WWF, and Pat Barrett became DeNucci's replacement partner. They lost the title approximately three months later to

The Blackjacks The Blackjacks were a professional wrestling tag team. The team consisted of Blackjack Mulligan and Blackjack Lanza. After forming in the 1970s, they wrestled in a variety of professional wrestling promotions, including the American Wrestling Ass ...

on August 26. DeNucci became a two-time WWWF World Tag Team Champion when he and his partner, the second Dino Bravo, defeated Professor Tanaka and

Mr. Fuji Harry Masayoshi Fujiwara (May 4, 1934 – August 28, 2016) was an American professional wrestler and manager, known professionally by his ring name Mr. Fuji (or Master Fuji to his protégés). He was famous for often throwing salt in the ey ...

on March 14, 1978. They held the title until June 26 when they dropped it to

The Yukon Lumberjacks The Yukon Lumberjacks was the name of a professional wrestling tag team who worked in the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) in 1978, consisting of Eric and Pierre. The team was managed by "Captain" Lou Albano and worked as heels (wrestling t ...

. DeNucci also unsuccessfully challenged inaugural

WWF Intercontinental Champion The WWE Intercontinental Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, currently defended on the SmackDown brand division. It is one of two secondary championships for WWE's main roster ...

Pat Patterson on a number of occasions for the IC belt in 1979 and 1980. He also worked with a young

Hulk Hogan Terry Eugene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is widely regarded as the most recognized wrestling star worldwide and the most popular wrestler of the 19 ...

in 1981. He eventually transitioned into becoming a jobber, and left the company in 1982 after 15 years.

Later career (1982–1987)

After leaving the WWF, DeNucci returned to Toronto and wrestled there for a year. From 1984 to 1985 he wrestled for

Lutte Internationale Lutte Internationale (; "International Wrestling") was a professional wrestling promotion based in Montreal from 1980 until 1987. The promotion was founded by Frank Valois, André the Giant and Gino Brito as Promotions Varoussac (VAlois, ROUSSim ...

in Montreal and

American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The territory was originally part ...

in Minnesota. He also worked in Saudi Arabia and in the Philippines. On November 16, 1987, he returned to 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 var ...

for a one night appearance at a house show in East Rutherford, New Jersey participating in a Legends Battle Royal won by Lou Thesz. After that he retired from wrestling at 55 years old. Sammartino and De Nucci

Sporadic appearances (1990s)

During the 1990s, DeNucci wrestled five times. The first was a loss to Johnny Valiant by disqualification on November 9, 1990, at an event in Chesterland, Ohio. Then he defeated Johnny Hotbody on April 4, 1993, at Maccabiah Mania in Livingston, New Jersey. On May 13, 1994, he defeated Lord Zoltan at an IWA event in Warren, Ohio. On June 7, 1996, DeNucci reunited with Tony Parisi as they defeated

Bruiser Bedlam Ion William Croitoru (December 7, 1963 – February 21, 2017) was a Canadian professional wrestler. He was born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. To wrestling fans, he is better known by his ring names, Johnny K-9, Taras Bulba, and Bruiser ...

and Danny Johnson at the Ilio DiPaolo Memorial Show in Buffalo, New York. Then on July 30, 1999, he defeated Lord Zoltan at Curtis Comes Home event in Rostraver, Pennsylvania. The show paid tribute to DeNucci's student Mark Curtis who died from cancer.

Return to wrestling on independent circuit (2005–2012)

In 2005, DeNucci came out of retirement at age 73. On August 27, 2005, he lost to

Ivan Koloff Oreal Donald Perras (August 25, 1942 – February 18, 2017) was a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by the ring name "The Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff. He was the third wrestler to hold the WWWF Championship. Early life Perras was ...

in a Russian Chain match at WrestleReunion 2 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He wrestled in the

independent circuit In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indie circuit is the collective noun, collective name of independent professional wrestling promotions which are smaller than major televised promotions. It is roughly analogous to a minor lea ...

in Pennsylvania for the rest of his career. Also he made appearances as a referee and manager. On March 24, 2007, he defeated

Larry Zbyszko Lawrence Whistler (born December 5, 1951), better known by the ring name Larry Zbyszko, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his feud with his mentor, Bruno Sammartino, during the early 1980s as well as his w ...

at International Wrestling Cartel's Night of Legends 3 in Franklin, Pennsylvania. He had

in his corner as a manager. On May 3, 2009, he teamed up with students

and Cody Michaels as they defeated J. J. Dillon, Lou Marconi and Frank Stalletto at Deaf Wrestlefest in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He wrestled his last singles match on May 29, 2009, defeating Samuel Elias by count out at Far North Wrestling in New Castle, Pennsylvania. He wrestled his final match on April 14, 2012, in Toronto, teaming with his protege

to defeat Lord Zoltan and Shawn Blanchard at Pro Wrestling Superstars. Dominic DeNucci 2012

Professional wrestling trainer

After ending his career as an active professional wrestler, he trained Moondog Spot,

, Preston Steele and Brian Hildebrand among others. DeNucci is featured in ''Mick Foley: "Madman Unmasked"'', where he is seen training Mick Foley and reminiscing about Foley in the days of his training. He is also featured prominently in the opening chapters of Mick Foley's autobiography, '' Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks''. DeNucci was profiled on the fourth episode of the podcast, Titans of Wrestling. In 2012 he was inducted in the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame. PWHOFamers 2012

Personal life and death

DeNucci was Catholic and spoke at least four languages: English, French, Spanish, and Italian. His son, Tony DeNucci, is also a professional wrestler. In June 2020, Dominic experienced heart issues and was hospitalized. DeNucci died on August 12, 2021, at UPMC Passavant Hospital in McCandless Township, Pennsylvania, at the age of 89.

Championships and accomplishments

* American Wrestling Alliance ** AWA United States Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) * Big Time Wrestling **BTW East Coast Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *

** NWA Florida Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with Tony Parisi *

Canadian International Tag Team Championship The Canadian International Tag Team Championship was the tag team title in the Montreal-based wrestling promotion Lutte Internationale Lutte Internationale (; "International Wrestling") was a professional wrestling promotion based in Montreal ...

( 1 time) - with Nick DeCarlo * NWA All-Star Wrestling ** NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (''Vancouver version'') ( 1 time) - with Don Leo Jonathan ** NWA World Tag Team Championship (''Vancouver version)'' ( 1 time) - with

Don Leo Jonathan Don Heaton (April 29, 1931 – October 13, 2018), also known as Don Leo Jonathan, was an American-Canadian professional wrestler. Professional wrestling career Jonathan, nicknamed "The Mormon Giant" was a second generation star (his father was f ...

NWA Detroit Big Time Wrestling (also known as NWA Detroit) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Detroit, Michigan in the United States. History Professional wrestling debuted in Detroit in the 1920s when Nick Londos began promoting events ...

** NWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Chris Markoff * National Wrestling Federation **

NWF Heavyweight Championship The NWF Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling World championship used as part of the National Wrestling Federation and later New Japan Pro-Wrestling. History The NWF ( National Wrestling Federation) Heavyweight Championship wa ...

( 1 time) **

NWF North American Heavyweight Championship The NWF North American Heavyweight Championship was a secondary singles title in the American professional wrestling promotion, the National Wrestling Federation. The title started in 1968 as a National Wrestling Alliance title, named the NWA ...

(

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...

) **

NWF World Tag Team Championship The NWF World Tag Team Championship was the top tag team championship in the National Wrestling Federation The original National Wrestling Federation (NWF) was a professional wrestling promotion based in Buffalo, New York and owned by promoter ...

(

) - with Tony Parisi *New Independent Wrestling Association **NIWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Mr. Hati * Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame ** Class of 2012 *

** Stampede International Tag Team Championship ( 3 times) - with Ron Etchinson * World Championship Wrestling (Australia) ** IWA World Heavyweight Championship ( 3 times) ** IWA World Tag Team Championship ( 3 times) - with

(1), Antonio Pugliese (1) and

(1) *

World Wrestling Association (Indianapolis) The World Wrestling Association was an Indianapolis-based professional wrestling promotion which was operated by Dick the Bruiser and his business partner Wilbur Snyder. It was affiliated with the larger American Wrestling Association and recogni ...

WWA World Tag Team Championship The WWA World Tag Team Championship was the primary tag team title in the Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. A ...

( 1 time) - with Wilbur Snyder * World Wide Wrestling Federation ** WWWF International Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with

** WWWF World Tag Team Championship (

) - with Victor Rivera and replacement partner Pat Barrett (1), and Dino Bravo (1) *Other titles **West Virginia Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Apache Lou

Notes

References

External links

Dominic DeNucci at Online World of WrestlingTitans of Wrestling
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Denucci, Dominic 1932 births 2021 deaths American male professional wrestlers American professional wrestlers of Italian descent Italian emigrants to the United States Italian male professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Pennsylvania Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum Professional wrestling trainers Sportspeople from Venice Stampede Wrestling alumni 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers NWF Heavyweight Champions NWF North American Heavyweight Champions NWF World Tag Team Champions NWA Florida Tag Team Champions Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Champions IWA World Heavyweight Champions (Australia) IWA World Tag Team Champions (Australia)