Emil Sitoci (born May 17, 1985) is a Dutch

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 ...

and

television personality Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group due to the attention given to them by mass media. The word is also used to refer to famous individuals. A person may attain celebrity status by having great w ...

, He is Best Known for His Work in German professional wrestling promotion

Westside Xtreme Wrestling Westside Xtreme Wrestling, commonly shortened to wXw, is a German professional wrestling promotion based in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. wXw has been one of the leading professional wrestling promotions in Germany, and most of its event ...

Professional wrestling career

Sitoci started his career in 2001, wrestling under a mask, in mainland European wrestling promotions. In 2003 he travelled to America as an exchange student, which enabled him to stay for a full year and train under

Chris Hero William Christopher Spradlin (born December 24, 1979), better known by his ring name Chris Hero, is an American professional wrestler and trainer. , he is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a producer. Hero has worked for a number of indepen ...

. By 2004 Sitoci had dropped the mask and was given the nickname "Tremendous". During this time, he competed in companies such as

IWA Mid-South Independent Wrestling Association (IWA) Mid-South (also known as IWA Mid-South, IWA-MS, and IWA Mid South Wrestling) was an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in New Albany, Indiana. It was formed by Ian Rotten in 199 ...

CZW Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) is an American independent professional wrestling promotion founded in 1999 by John Zandig. Commonly associated with the 2000s hardcore wrestling genre, early CZW shows showcased a brand of wrestling dubbed by the pro ...

and Chikara. In 2005 he returned to CZW to challenge

Mike Quackenbush Michael Spillane (born March 18, 1976) is an American podcaster, author, Glossary of professional wrestling terms#school, professional wrestling trainer, Promoter (entertainment), professional wrestling promoter, and semi-retired professional wre ...

for the

CZW World Junior Heavyweight Championship The CZW World Junior Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling junior heavyweight championship owned by the Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) promotion. The championship was created and debuted on February 19, 1999, at CZW's Opening Night e ...

in the

ECW Arena 2300 Arena is a multipurpose indoor arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, used primarily for professional wrestling, boxing, mixed martial arts, and concert events. Originally known as Viking Hall, the venue has since been named XPW Arena, New A ...

. Upon returning to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, Sitoci achieved success in Germany in

by capturing the wXw World Lightweight Championship from

Jonny Storm Jonathan Whitcombe (born 19 April 1977) is an English professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Jonny Storm. He has worked for many independent promotions across the United Kingdom, including the Frontier Wrestling Alliance, Real ...

. Sitoci went on to defend against the likes of

Matt Sydal Matthew Joseph Korklan (born March 19, 1983), better known by the ring name Matt Sydal, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is also known for his tenure with WWE from 2008 to 2014 under the ring nam ...

El Generico Rami Sebei (born July 12, 1984) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Sami Zayn. Sebei made his professional wrestling debut in 2002 under the ring name Stevie McFly. Pr ...

and

PAC Pac or PAC may refer to: Aviation * IATA code PAC Albrook "Marcos A. Gelabert" International Airport in Panama City, Panama * Pacific Aerospace Corporation, New Zealand, manufacturer of aircraft: ** PAC 750XL ** PAC Cresco ** PAC CT/4 ** PA ...

before losing the title in 2006. In 2008 he recaptured the title for a second time by defeating

Zack Sabre Jr. Lucas James Uggles Eatwell (born 24 July 1987), known by his ring name and its abbreviated form ZSJ, is an English-born professional wrestler. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). In NJPW, he is the second and current leader of the ...

in the finals of an 8-man tournament in

Oberhausen Oberhausen (, ) is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen ( ). The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Rout ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Throughout 2009 and 2010, Sitoci stayed active on the European wrestling scene, regularly in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, Engeland,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. In November 2010 Sitoci made

Steve Corino Steven Eugene Corino (born May 29, 1973) is a Canadian professional wrestling trainer and former professional wrestler. , he works for the American professional wrestling promotion WWE as a trainer at the WWE Performance Center and as a produ ...

tap out to the Fujiwara Armbar to become the German Stampede Wrestling Heavyweight Champion. In the same month he was also seen in a short appearance

WWE Smackdown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It airs Live television, live every Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on USA Netwo ...

, where he was attacked by

Kane Kane or KANE may refer to: Art, entertainment and media Fictional entities *Kane (comics), the main character of the eponymous comic book series by Paul Grist * Kane (''Command & Conquer''), Tiberium universe character in the ''Command & Conquer'' ...

. in April 2011, Sitoci was part of an American wXw tour, where he came up victorious in a 4-way match against

Brandon Gatson Brandon Gatson (born May 29, 1984) is an American professional wrestler. He has worked for several independent promotions throughout the southwest United States and has appeared on several episodes of World Wrestling Entertainment, WWE and Natio ...

, Chuck Taylor and

Johnny Gargano John Anthony Nicholas Gargano (born August 14, 1987) is an American professional wrestler. , he is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand and is one-half of #DIY with Tommaso Ciampa. Gargano is known for his time in NXT, where ...

on iPPV. Sitoci returned to America in October 2011 as part of

Jeff Katz Jeff Katz is an American film producer and comic book author, best known for genre movies such as ''The Pope's Exorcist'', '' Snakes On A Plane'' and ''Freddy vs. Jason''. Early life Katz is from Franklin, Michigan. He started a pen-pal relat ...

's Wrestling Revolution Project in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

, where he was cast to portray a German

nihilist Nihilism () encompasses various views that reject certain aspects of existence. There have been different nihilist positions, including the views that life is meaningless, that moral values are baseless, and that knowledge is impossible. Thes ...

. On November 6, 2012, Sitoci became the third Dutchman, after

Hans Mortier Jacob "Jaap" Grobbe (January 28, 1924 – December 15, 2010), better known as Hans Mortier, was a Dutch professional wrestler best known for his stint in the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) and his feud with WWWF Champion Bruno Sammartin ...

and

Wim Ruska Willem "Wim" Ruska (29 August 1940 – 14 February 2015) was a Dutch judoka and professional wrestler. He is the first athlete to win two gold medals in Judo in one Olympics – in the heavyweight and absolute categories in 1972. He later worke ...

, to compete in a

WWE 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, ...

ring. He lost to

Jack Swagger Donald Jacob Hager Jr. (born March 24, 1982) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and former Amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler and Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He currently performs on the independent circ ...

in a dark match prior to

WWE SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It airs Live television, live every Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on USA Netwo ...

tapings in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

. On January 25, 2013, Sitoci made his debut for

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese promotion

Wrestling New Classic was a Japanese ''puroresu'' or professional wrestling promotion, founded in April 2012 by Yoshihiro Tajiri. WNC was the follow-up promotion to Smash, which folded in March 2012. History On April 5, 2012, Tajiri held a press conference to ann ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, defeating

Yusuke Kodama is a Japanese professional wrestler and currently wrestlers for All Japan Pro Wrestling as a freelancer. Kodama is best known for his time with Wrestle-1 (W-1), where he is a former two time UWA World Trios Champion, two time Wrestle-1 Cruiser ...

in a singles match. Two days later, he picked up another win over

Koji Doi (born February 11, 1990) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working as a freelancer and is best known for his tenure with the Japanese promotions Wrestle-1 and All Japan Pro Wrestling. Professional wrestling career Independent circui ...

. Afterwards, Sitoci joined WNC's top

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exerted ...

stable A stable is a building in which working animals are kept, especially horses or oxen. The building is usually divided into stalls, and may include storage for equipment and feed. Styles There are many different types of stables in use tod ...

Synapse. However, in Sitoci's first match as a member of Synapse on February 28, he turned on the stable's leader, Akira, costing him and

Syuri , better known simply as , is a Japanese professional wrestler, shoot boxer, kickboxer and mixed martial artist. She is signed to World Wonder Ring Stardom, where she is the leader of God's Eye as well as the current IWGP Women's Champion in ...

their six-person tag team match against Makoto, Tajiri and Zeus, and afterwards challenged him to a match for the

WNC Championship The WNC Championship was a professional wrestling championship owned by the Wrestling New Classic (WNC) promotion. The title was a spiritual successor to the Smash Championship, the top title of WNC's predecessor, Smash. The championship was fi ...

. Sitoci received his title shot on March 31, but was defeated by Akira.

Personal life

Sitoci is a graduate of the

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; , formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public university, public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2023, it had an enrollment of ...

. He earned his

Master's Degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

Media Studies Media studies is a discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history, and effects of various media; in particular, the mass media. Media studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but it mos ...

in 2010, specializing in

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

and

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

sciences. He has been featured on a large variety of television shows in The

. In 2008 he starred in a Dutch variation of

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's Last Man Standing, called Hollandse Krijgers. The show was centered around 5 athletes who had to live with native

African tribes The ethnic groups of Africa number in the thousands, with each ethnicity generally having their own language (or dialect of a language) and culture. The ethnolinguistic groups include various Afroasiatic, Khoisan, Niger-Congo, and Nilo-Sahara ...

for 8 straight weeks, and compete in local sports such as

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

and

stick fighting Stick-fighting, stickfighting, or stick fighting, is a variety of martial arts which use blunt, hand-held "sticks" for fighting, most typically a simple, non-lethal, wooden staff or baton. Schools of stick-fighting exist for a variety of weapon ...

. Sitoci ended up tying a

kickboxer Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid martial art and boxing type based on punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouth guards, shorts, and ...

for the win in the series finale. In 2012 Emil was the central figure in an episode of The World of Beau, In which he was described as "the best wrestler in the Netherlands." In this episode he trains presenter Beau van Erven Dorens on his debut in the ring. Sitoci has a Master Training Film and Television Studies degree from the University of Utrecht. In early 2013 he has done behind the scenes working as an editor for the BNN program "Proefkonijnen". Currently Emil is working on a new reality show by

John de Mol Johannes Hendrikus Hubert "John" de Mol Jr. is a Dutch media proprietor. De Mol is one of the men behind production companies Endemol and Talpa Network, Talpa. He created the reality television formats ''Big Brother (franchise), Big Brother' ...

(creator of Big Brother and The Voice) called Utopia. It’s about building up a new society from scratch, with no laws and no rules.

Championships and accomplishments

*Dutch Pro Wrestling **Dutch Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Freestyle Championship Wrestling **FCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **FCW Lightweight Championship (1 time) *German Stampede Wrestling **GSW Breakthrough Championship (1 time) **GSW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Steve Douglas **GSW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Pro Wrestling Allstars **PWA European Allstar Championship (1 time) *Pro Wrestling Holland **PWH Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Pro Wrestling Showdown **PWS Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *

**wXw Hardcore Championship (1 time) **

wXw Shotgun Championship The wXw Shotgun Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the German promotion Westside Xtreme Wrestling. All of the matches disputed for the title are broadcast on wXw's YouTube channel. The first champion wa ...

(2 times) **wXw World Lightweight Championship (2 times) *Other achievements **Dragonhearts Championship (1 time)

References

External links

Official websiteCageMatch profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sitoci, Emil 1985 births 21st-century male professional wrestlers Dutch male professional wrestlers Dutch television personalities Living people People from Ede, Netherlands WXw Shotgun Champions