Brian Woodworth (born October 21, 1963) is a retired American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

better known by his

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname 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 ...

Brian Costello best known working in the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

from 1986 to 1993.

Professional wrestling career

Costello began his professional wrestling debut in 1982. Early in his career he worked in Indianapolis and in Minnesota for

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 founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The promotion was born out of the Minneapolis ...

. He made his debut in the

as an enhancement talent on November 19, 1986, losing to Salvatore Bellomo in a dark match. Costello was now firmly established as an enhancement talent, losing to

Don Muraco Don Muraco (born September 10, 1949) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation from 1981 to 1988, where he held the WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship on ...

Jake Roberts Aurelian Smith Jr. (born May 30, 1955) better known by the ring name Jake "the Snake" Roberts, is an American actor, podcaster and retired professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs as the on-screen ma ...

The Ultimate Warrior Warrior (born James Brian Hellwig; June 16, 1959 – April 8, 2014) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, Bodybuilding, bodybuilder and Motivational speaker, motivational speaker. Best known by his ring name The Ultima ...

Dusty Rhodes Virgil Riley Runnels Jr. (October 11, 1945 – June 11, 2015), better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, booker, and trainer who worked for the National Wrestling Alliance ...

Shawn Michaels Shawn Michaels (born Michael Shawn Hickenbottom on July 22, 1965) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he is the Senior Vice President of Talent Development, Creative, and oversees the creative aspects of th ...

Owen Hart Owen James Hart (May 7, 1965 – May 23, 1999) was a Canadian-American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler who worked for several promotions including Stampede Wrestling, New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), World Championship Wrestling (W ...

and

Razor Ramon Scott Oliver Hall (October 20, 1958 – March 14, 2022) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his tenures with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under his real name and with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE ...

. Costello's most memorable match during his WWF run was against Andre the Giant, which took place during a March 1988 television taping for

WWF Superstars of Wrestling ''WWF Superstars of Wrestling'' (later shortened to ''WWF Superstars'' and to ''Sunday Morning Superstars''), also referred to as ''Maple Leaf Wrestling'' in Canada, was an American professional wrestling television program that was produced b ...

. The match – merely a setup to have

Hacksaw Jim Duggan James Edward Duggan Jr. (born January 14, 1954), better known by his ring name "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is best-known for his time in World Wrestling Federation (now WWE), where he won the first ...

come to the ring, confront Andre and begin their feud – lasted less than 30 seconds, and involved Andre grabbing Costello and headbutting him twice before throwing him from the ring. In the early-1990s, Costello began appearing for the Indiana-based International Association of Wrestling alongside a number of ex-AWA and WWF wrestlers. On July 24, 1993, Costello teamed with

The Iron Sheik Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri (; March 15, 1942 – June 7, 2023), better known by his ring name the Iron Sheik, was an Iranian-American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and actor. To date he is the only Iranian-born champion in WWE histor ...

to beat IAW Tag Team Champions

Paul Roma Paul Centopani (born April 29, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler and boxer, better known by his ring name Paul Roma. He is best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling between 1984 ...

and Repo Man for the belts in

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...

. On November 10, Costello also defeated Roma in

Laporte, Indiana La Porte () is a city in LaPorte County, Indiana, United States, of which it is the county seat. Its population was estimated to be 21,341 in 2022. It is one of the two principal cities of the Michigan City-La Porte, Indiana metropolitan stat ...

to win the IAW Heavyweight Championship. Ten days later, his last match for the WWF took place on November 20, 1993, losing to

The Brooklyn Brawler Steven Kenneth Lombardi (born April 18, 1961) is an American professional wrestler and road agent, better known by his ring name, the Brooklyn Brawler. He is currently signed to Major League Wrestling (MLW), where he performs as an on-screen per ...

at a

house show A house show (also commonly called a live event) is a professional wrestling event produced by a major Professional wrestling promotion, promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in o ...

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

. Costello's first title reign ended the following month when he lost to Greg "The Hammer" Valentine in

Lima, Ohio Lima ( ) is a city in Allen County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 35,579. It is located in northwest Ohio along Interstate 75 in Ohio, Interstate 75, appr ...

on December 6, 1993. Costello and The Iron Sheik also lost the IAW Tag Team Championship to

The Texas Hangmen The Texas Hangmen was the name of a professional wrestling tag team formed in the 1980s. The team competed in the American Wrestling Association in the late 1980s, where they received their highest amount of exposure, but had more success in the Wo ...

( Psycho and Killer) in

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 census ...

but regained the belts in

Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 73,598. It is the principal city of the Kalamazoo–Portage metropolitan are ...

on February 15, 1994. They lost the tag titles to Trevor Adonis and

Steve Regal Steve Regal (born August 25, 1951) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the American Wrestling Association. Professional wrestling career Born in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, Regal started wrest ...

in Laporte, Indiana on June 4, 1994. He won the IAW Heavyweight title a second time from The Barbarian in

Mishawaka, Indiana Mishawaka () is a city on the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States. The population was 51,063 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Its nickname is "the Princess City". Misha ...

on July 23, 1994, and held it for nearly two months before dropping the belt to

Nappanee, Indiana Nappanee is a city in Elkhart County, Indiana, Elkhart and Kosciusko County, Indiana, Kosciusko counties in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 6,648 as of the 2010 United States census, 2010 U.S. Census and had grown to 6,913 by the 20 ...

on September 16, 1994. That same year, he went to Japan working for

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on October 21, 1972, by Giant Baba after he left the Japanese Wrestling Association to create his own promotion. Ma ...

and later

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling (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 National W ...

. Back in the IAW, Costello teamed with The Iron Sheik to win the IAW Tag Team Championship for a third time. They defeated Paul Roma and Hercules for the belts in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...

on February 3, 1996, and lost them to The Texas Hangmen in Niles, Michigan on June 28, 1996. He also won the IAW Heavyweight title a third time by defeating

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pen ...

on August 24. While IAW Heavyweight Champion, Costello formed a tag team with Greg Valentine and entered a three-way feud with The Texas Hangmen and IAW Tag Team Champions Demolition Ax and

Typhoon A typhoon is a tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere and which produces sustained hurricane-force winds of at least . This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, accounting for a ...

. Costello's former partner, The Iron Sheik, later turned on Costello and attempted to capture his IAW title. He returned to the WWF for one match losing to The Stalker on October 22, 1996. On February 15, 1997, Costello lost the IAW Heavyweight Championship to Cousin Bubba in

Fairmount, Indiana Fairmount is a town in Fairmount Township, Grant County in the east central part of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 2,682 at the 2020 census. It is 55 miles (88 km) northeast of Indianapolis. Largely a bedroom community for ...

but regained it in

Niles, Michigan Niles is a city in Berrien County, Michigan, Berrien and Cass County, Michigan, Cass counties in the U.S. state of Michigan, near the Indiana state line city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. The population was 11,988 according to the 2020 Unit ...

on August 23, 1997. Costello's fourth title reign lasted for several years and included winning the IAW Tag Team Championship. Later in his career, he worked in the independents until retiring in 2019. In April 2017, Costello was hired as head of security for the

South Bend Cubs The South Bend Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in South Bend, Indiana, and play their home games at Four Winds Field at Coveleski Stadium. The team w ...

Championships and accomplishments

*Championship International Wrestling **CIW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **CIW Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Cousin Bubba (1) and Nick Lawless (1) *International Association of Wrestling **IAW Heavyweight Championship (5 times) **IAW Tag Team Championship (5 times) - with

(3), The Ripper (1) and Nasty Nick (1) *

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

**PWI ranked him # 488 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 1998 **PWI ranked him # 402 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 1999 **PWI ranked him # 449 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 2000 **PWI ranked him # 490 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 2005

References

General * Specific

External links

*
Brian Costello
s International Association of Wrestling profile
Brian Costello at OWW.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Costello, Brian American male professional wrestlers 1963 births 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century American professional wrestlers 21st-century male professional wrestlers 21st-century American professional wrestlers Living people Professional wrestlers from Indiana Sportspeople from South Bend, Indiana