Joseph DiTomasso (1922 – April 30, 1988) was a Canadian

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 Tiger Joe Tomasso. He is most known from his matches in

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 prom ...

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

Early life

DiTomasso was born in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, but moved to

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

at a young age.

Professional wrestling career

Tomasso debuted in 1952 for

, then known as Big Time Wrestling, where he lost his debut match against George Scott. His second match was against

Stu Hart Stewart Edward Hart (May 3, 1915 – October 16, 2003) was a Canadian sport wrestling, amateur and professional wrestling, professional wrestler, wrestling Booker (professional wrestling), booker, professional wrestling promotion, promoter, and ...

where he once again lost. In his third match, Joe, Chico Garcia and Ripper Leone defeated George Scott,

Sandy Scott Angus Mackay Scott (May 27, 1934 – March 11, 2010), better known by his ring name Sandy Scott, was a Canadian professional wrestler. He worked with his older brother George from the 1950s until the 1970s as The Flying Scotts in North American ...

and Sugy Hayamaka. During the 1950s, he engaged in a long-running series of NWA regional American midwest grudge matches against

Bobby Nelson Bobby Nelson (born ''Charles Karass''; 17 April 1917 – 20 February 2002), was a Canadian-American professional wrestler and businessman who appeared frequently in the National Wrestling Alliance midwest territories beginning in 1936 and contin ...

. In 1960, Tomasso was defeated by Bob Rasmussen in one of his first

matches. In 1976, Joe was defeated by Karl von Schotz. After two years of not wrestling, Tomasso had his last wrestling match in 1980 where he defeated Smith Hart by disqualification.

Personal life

According to wrestling book '' Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling'', Tomasso was in a friendly "clique of Alberta wrestlers", including

Tiny Mills Henry W. Mittlestadt (December 7, 1912 to June 24, 1987), best known by his ring name, Tiny Mills, was a Canadian professional wrestler. He often teamed with his brother Al Mills as the tag team Murder Incorporated (Murder Inc.). Later on Stan "K ...

Championships and accomplishments

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 Idaho Heavyweight Championship (2 times) **NWA Western Heavyweight Championship (2 times) ** NWA Western Tag Team Championship/NWA World Tag Team Championship (4 times) - with Rocky Monroe,

Mitsu Arakawa Mack Mitsukazu Arakawa (May 23, 1927 – April 17, 1997) was an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the Minneapolis, Minnesota-based NWA Minneapolis Boxing & Wrestling Club/American Wrestling Association. ...

Tony Borne Anthony Wayne Osborne (July 13, 1926 – August 27, 2010) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Tough" Tony Borne. Professional wrestling career Osborne was an amateur wrestler in both high school and in the Uni ...

and Eric The Great *

Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Championship The Stampede International Tag Team Championship was the main tag team title in the Canadian professional wrestling promotion Stampede Wrestling. It was created in 1958 as the NWA International Tag Team Championship (Calgary version). When promote ...

(4 times) - with Gil Hayes, Earl Black and

Dave Ruhl Dave Ruhl (August 12, 1920 – December 21, 1988) was a Canadian professional wrestler who during his near 30-year career competed in North American regional promotions in Western Canada and the Canadian Prairies as well as in Japan and other int ...

Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame 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 prom ...

(Class of 1995) *

World Wrestling Association The World Wrestling Association (WWA) (Asociación Mundial de Lucha Libre in Spanish language, Spanish) is a lucha libre promotion based in the Tijuana-area of Mexico. It was founded in 1986 by Benjamin Mora Jr.. It featured some of Mexico's best ...

WWA World Tag Team Championship The WWA World Tag Team Championship was the primary tag team title in the Indianapolis-based World Wrestling Association The World Wrestling Association (WWA) (Asociación Mundial de Lucha Libre in Spanish language, Spanish) is a lucha libre ...

(3 times) - with Assassin #1

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tomasso, Tiger Joe 1922 births 1988 deaths Canadian male professional wrestlers Canadian sportspeople of Italian descent Masked wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Hamilton, Ontario Stampede Wrestling alumni Professional wrestlers from Montreal 20th-century male professional wrestlers Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Champions 20th-century Canadian sportsmen