Gary Michael Cappetta
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Gary Michael Cappetta (born December 12, 1952) is an American
professional wrestling 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, real- ...
ring announcer A ring announcer is an in-ring (and sometimes on-camera) employee or contractor for a boxing, professional wrestling or mixed martial arts event or promotion, who introduces the competitors to the audience. In boxing and mixed martial arts bouts ...
, author, voice over artist, screenwriter, stage performer, and teacher. For years, he was dubbed "The World's Most Dangerous Announcer" by longtime friend and colleague
Jim Cornette James Mark Cornette (born September 17, 1961) is an American author, sports historian, and podcaster who previously worked in the professional wrestling industry as an agent, booker, color commentator, manager, photographer, promoter, tra ...
. Having spent more than 20 years in the middle of the pro wrestling ring, he then wrote and self-published ''Bodyslams: Memoirs of a Wrestling Pitchman''. The autobiography was later re-released by ''ECW Press'' in 2006, this time adding chapters that covered 10 additional years of his wrestling experience. Cappetta was the ring announcer on
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, ...
broadcasts from 1974 to 1985, followed by stints with the
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 ...
(AWA), the
National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and governing body owned by Billy Corgan and operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA be ...
(NWA) and
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 ...
shows. He was released from WCW in May 1995 due to budget cuts. Later on, he worked backstage for
Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011; the promotion was subs ...
, doing backstage interviews for their DVD releases. He also was the ring announcer for the 2004 wrestling game Showdown: Legends of Wrestling. On the February 26, 2020 episode of ''
AEW Dynamite ''AEW Dynamite'', also known as ''Wednesday Night Dynamite'' or simply ''Dynamite'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by the American Professional wrestling promotion, promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW). It air ...
'', Cappetta presided over the AEW Revolution main event weigh-in as the Master of Ceremonies between AEW World Champion
Chris Jericho Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler, rock musician, and actor. As a wrestler, he has been signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) , where he ...
and
Jon Moxley Jonathan David Good (born December 7, 1985) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Jon Moxley and is the current AEW World Championship, AEW World Champion in his ...
. Cappetta grew up in
Kearny, New Jersey Kearny ( ) is a town in the western part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, and a suburb of Newark. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 41,999, an increase of 1,315 (+3.2%) from the 2010 census cou ...
, where he attended Kearny High School and spent his summers in Seaside Park, New Jersey, before moving to
Ocean County, New Jersey Ocean County is a List of counties in New Jersey, county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the southernmost county in the New York metropolitan area. The county borders the Atlantic Ocean on the east and in terms of total area is the ...
following his high school graduation.Cappetta, Gary Michael
''Bodyslams!: Memoirs of a Wrestling Pitchman''
p. xvii. ECW Press, 2006. . Accessed October 2, 2015. "As a child, my family lived every summer in the shore community of Seaside Park. The month I graduated from Kearny High School in Northern New Jersey, my family moved to Ocean County, where my father established a lucrative amusement business on the local boardwalk."
In addition to his announcing duties, Cappetta has produced and directed commercials to promote WCW special events and was the Spanish announce voice for World Championship Wrestling programming on KCAL in Los Angeles. Cappetta has written a
screenplay A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...
about the sport of wrestling entitled ''Fall For The Dream''. Gary wrote, directed, and starred in "Bodyslams! & Beyond", a one-man stage show based on his autobiography, ''Bodyslams: Memoirs of a Wrestling Pitchman''. Cappetta taught Spanish at Donovan Catholic aka Monsignor Donovan aka St. Joseph's High School and Christian Brothers Academy in New Jersey intermittently for years, rising to chair The World Language Department before resigning.


Championships and accomplishments

* NWA Mid South Wrestling Hall of Fame **Class of 2017 * New England Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame **Class of 2019


Bibliography

* Ettkin, Brian (2004). "Get this: The Animal is a good guy." ''Albany Times Union''. May 8. * Gramarrosa, Andrew (2001). "Wrestling pitchman pins insider's look at sport." ''South Bend Tribune''. July 15. * Russo, Ric (2000). "Circling the Square." ''Orlando Sentinel''. October 13.


References


External links


Online World of Wrestling profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cappetta, Gary Michael 1952 births Living people Professional wrestling announcers Kearny High School (New Jersey) alumni People from Kearny, New Jersey People from Seaside Park, New Jersey Writers from Hudson County, New Jersey Writers from Ocean County, New Jersey