Bruno Sassi (born December 15, 1970) is an 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 or ...

best known for being a member of the

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 ...

Phi Delta Slam Phi Delta Slam (ΦΔS) is a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of Big Tilly and Bruno Sassi. They wrestle principally on the Floridian independent circuit. History When Sassi began wrestling on the Floridian independent circuit, he f ...

, as well as his appearances in

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 ...

. In early 2009 he returned to TNA under the ring name Sally Boy, or simply Sal, as one half of The Main Event Mafia's, and later

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 ...

's, personal security force.

Career

Sassi graduated from Miramar High School in 1988, and turned down academic scholarships in order to train as a wrestler, financing his training through a series of odd jobs, including waiting tables in Hollywood Florida at Napoli's Italian restaurant, formerly run by his father-in-law Paul. Sassi made his wrestling debut on September 30, 1988. In 1990, Sassi appeared with the

Nashville 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 ...

-based NWA Worldwide Wrestling. Sassi eventually began wrestling primarily on the Floridian

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 ...

, where he formed a

with "Brother" Dan Evans. Evans and Sassi used 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 ...

of a pair of boisterous,

prank A practical joke, or prank, is a mischievous trick played on someone, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort.Marsh, Moira. 2015. ''Practically Joking''. Logan: Utah State University Press. ...

playing

fraternity A fraternity (from Latin ''frater'': "brother"; whence, "brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternity in ...

members. After Evans retired due to injury, Sassi continued to use the gimmick with the third part of the team,

Big Tilly James Tilquist is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Big Tilly. He is best known for being a member of the tag team Phi Delta Slam as well as his appearances in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. In early 2009 he returne ...

. Sassi and Tilly were known collectively as

World Wrestling Federation

Sassi also had several matches with

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 ...

from 1994 to 2000. His final and most notable match for the WWF occurred on April 15, 2000 when he lost to

Stevie Richards Michael Stephen Manna (born October 9, 1971), better known by his ring name Stevie Richards, is an American professional wrestler. Over the course of his career, Richards has performed for major professional wrestling promotions including Easte ...

on an episode of '' Jakked''.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2005, 2007, 2009–2010)

Phi Delta Slam were introduced to

(TNA) after

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

told his two competing assistants,

Traci Brooks Tracy Brookshaw (born May 22, 1975) is a Canadians, Canadian retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, Manager (professional wrestling), professional wrestling valet and Referee (professional wrestling), professional wrestling referee ...

and

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the ...

, to each find a tag team. The tag teams would wrestle one another at

Destination X Destination X is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event held by Impact Wrestling currently in the month of August. The event primarily revolves around the X-Division, the 2005, 2006, 2009, and 2010 events had Ultimate X matches. It ...

, with the winning tag team's sponsor becoming Rhodes' sole assistant. Trinity selected Phi Delta Slam, and they debuted in February 2005, wrestling

dark matches Professional wrestling has accrued a considerable amount of jargon throughout its existence. Much of it stems from the industry's origins in the days of carnivals and circuses. In the past, professional wrestlers used such terms in the presence o ...

. They made their on-screen debut on March 13 at Destination X, where they lost to Traci's choice,

The Harris Brothers Donald Harris and Ronald Harris (born October 23, 1960) are American twin brothers best known for their professional wrestling careers with promotions including Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling, and the World Wrestlin ...

. Phi Delta Slam remained in TNA for several weeks afterwards. Tilly and Sassi later made a cameo appearance in a series of comedy segments on the December 20, 2007 episode of '' Impact!'' where they were seen at Eric Young's Christmas party, which also involved the likes of Bushwhacker Butch,

Kevin Nash Kevin Scott Nash (born July 9, 1959) is an American actor and retired professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE under a legends contract. He is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) where he performed under his ...

ODB ODB may refer to: People * Ol' Dirty Bastard (1968–2004), American rapper and founding member of the Wu-Tang Clan * ODB (wrestler) (born 1978), Stage name of American professional wrestler Jessica Kresa * Original David Baker (born 1972), a monik ...

, and

Awesome Kong Kia Stevens (born September 4, 1977) is an American actress and retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her time with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA)/Impact Wrestling under the ring name Awesome Kong. She also worked with Ring ...

Return

In early 2009, both Tilly and Sassi returned to TNA as the personal security of The Main Event Mafia in order to help them fend off

The TNA Front Line The TNA Front Line (also spelled Frontline and commonly referred to as the Front Line) was a heroic alliance in the professional wrestling promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). They were also known as The TNA Originals. They feuded wit ...

. In order play into the

mafia "Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of ...

aspect of the stable, Sassi was renamed to Sal (it was later tweaked to Sally Boy), he began wearing sunglasses at all times, dyed his normally blond hair to black and began sporting a short beard. On the March 13 edition of ''Impact!'', Sal and

Kurt Angle Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler, Olympic gold medalist in American freestyle wrestling, and former collegiate wrestler. He is best known for his tenures in WWE and Total Nonstop Actio ...

accompanied Rocco as he wrestled Frontline member Eric Young in the main event, which Rocco lost after Young pinned him following a Death Valley driver. On the April 2 edition of ''Impact!'', Rocco and Sal challenged and lost to

Team 3D The Dudley Boyz (also known as Team 3D) are an American professional wrestling tag team that consisted of kayfabe half-brothers Bubba Ray Dudley (Mark LoMonaco) and D-Von Dudley (Devon Hughes). The team was also joined by various Dudley family m ...

. On the May 7 edition of ''Impact!'' they were defeated in a handicap match by

Matt Morgan Matthew Thomas Morgan (born September 10, 1976) is an American politician, actor and retired professional wrestler. He is a current City Commissioner in Longwood, Florida. He is known for his time in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he ...

. On the May 28 edition of ''Impact!''

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-ear ...

, the new leader of the Main Event Mafia, fired Sal and Rocco. On the June 4, 2009, edition of ''Impact!'' Rocco and Sal were hired by

. The two of them have since made sporadic appearances as bodyguards.

Independent circuit

Phi Delta Slam is currently wrestling with the

South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of ...

-based Coastal Championship Wrestling. In addition, all three members of Phi Delta Slam (Sassi, Tilly and Evans) operate a

professional wrestling school Professional wrestling has accrued a considerable amount of jargon throughout its existence. Much of it stems from the industry's origins in the days of carnivals and circuses. In the past, professional wrestlers used such terms in the presence o ...

called Bodyslam University in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...

. Notable graduates include former WWE United States and

WWE Tag Team Champion WWE (formerly the WWF, the WWWF, and Capitol Wrestling) has maintained at least one primary tag team championship for its male performers since 1958 (except for a two year interim between 1967 and 1969). During periods of brand division, separat ...

Montel Vontavious Porter Hassan Hamin Assad (born Alvin Antonio Burke Jr.; October 28, 1973) is an American professional wrestler and manager currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name MVP (standing for Montel Vontavious Porter) ...

Championships and accomplishments

*American Wrestling Federation (Puerto Rico) **AWF World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Brett Blair **AWF International Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Brett Blair *Coastal Championship Wrestling **CCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **CCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Big Tilly *

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 ...

FOW Heavyweight Championship The FOW Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling title in American independent promotion Future of Wrestling. The title was created when "Ram Man" Johnny Evans won the title in Miami, Florida on May 1, 1998. It was defended throughout ...

(1 time) ** FOW International Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Florida Wrestling Alliance **FWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **FWA Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **FWA Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Big Tilly *Independent Pro Wrestling Association **IPWA Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **IPWA Tag Team Championship (5 times) – with Big Tilly *International Wrestling Federation **IWF Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Big Tilly *South Eastern Championship Wrestling **SECW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Big Tilly *World Wide Wrestling **WWW Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Big Tilly

External links

PhiDeltaSlam.com Official website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sassi, Bruno 1970 births American male professional wrestlers Living people Sportspeople from Baltimore Professional wrestlers from Florida Professional wrestlers from Maryland People from Hollywood, Florida