Thomas Cairo (born February 19, 1958) is an American retired

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 ...

. He is best known for his appearances with

Eastern Championship Wrestling Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) was an American professional wrestling promotion that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and operated by its parent company HHG Corporation. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as Nationa ...

from 1992 to 1994, in particular his

feud A feud , also known in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, private war, or mob war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially family, families or clans. Feuds begin ...

with The Sandman. He is the former co-owner of the

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

–based Force One Pro Wrestling

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

and

school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

Early life

Cairo was a

bodybuilder Bodybuilding is the practice of progressive resistance exercise to build, control, and develop one's muscles via hypertrophy. An individual who engages in this activity is referred to as a bodybuilder. It is primarily undertaken for aesthetic ...

before training as a professional wrestler. As a bodybuilder he placed 9th place in the

AAU Mr. America The Mr. America contest is a bodybuilding competition started by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). It was first held on July 4, 1939, and the winner was named "America's Best Built Man". In 1940 this was changed to what is now known as the Mr. ...

1985 Medium group.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1988–1992)

Cairo debuted in 1988. In 1993, Cairo wrestled several matches with the

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

UWF International Union of Wrestling Forces International, better known as UWF International, U-Inter, or simply UWFi, was a shoot style professional wrestling promotion in Japan from 1991 to 1996. The UWF international was the successor to the ''Newborn UWF'' th ...

Eastern/Extreme Championship Wrestling (1992–1994)

Pennsylvania Champion

In 1992, Cairo joined

, where he used the

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

We Will Rock You "We Will Rock You" is a song by the British rock band Queen from their 1977 album '' News of the World'', written by guitarist Brian May. ''Rolling Stone'' ranked it number 330 of " The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2004, and the RIAA it p ...

" by

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

as his

entrance music The use of music at sporting events is a practice that is thousands of years old, but has recently had a resurgence as a noted phenomenon. Some sports have specific traditions with respect to pieces of music played at particular intervals. Others ...

. On May 14, 1993 in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Cairo won a

battle royal Battle royal (, also battle royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules, where the winner is the one who registers the most wins. In recent times, the term has been ...

to become the inaugural NWA Pennsylvania Heavyweight Champion. He held the title until August 7, 1993, when he was defeated by

Tony Stetson Anthony Matteo (born March 21, 1959) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Hitman" Tony Stetson. He is best known for his time in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) during the 1990s. Stetson was one of ECW's i ...

Feuding with The Sandman

Cairo was originally an ally of The Sandman, assisting him in his

with Jason Knight. The alliance crumbled in February 1994 after The Sandman was temporarily blinded following a match and inadvertently struck his wife,

Peaches The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and the glossy-skinned, non-fuzzy varieties called nectarines. Peac ...

. When The Sandman regained his sight and saw Cairo assisting Peaches to her feet, he attacked Cairo. The Sandman subsequently became estranged from his wife (claiming "life's a bitch, and then you marry one"), and Peaches became the

valet A valet or varlet is a male servant who serves as personal attendant to his employer. In the Middle Ages and Ancien Régime, ''valet de chambre'' was a role for junior courtiers and specialists such as artists in a royal court, but the term "va ...

of Cairo. After Cairo insinuated that he was sleeping with Peaches, The Sandman stated that Cairo owed him "$25 a romp" and began demanding that Cairo "pay your bills". Following the highly publicised

caning Caning is a form of corporal punishment consisting of a number of hits (known as "strokes" or "cuts") with a single Stick-fighting, cane usually made of rattan, generally applied to the offender's bare or clothed buttocks (see spanking) or han ...

of Michael P. Fay in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

on May 5, 1994, Cairo and Peaches faced The Sandman and his new manager,

Woman A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or Adolescence, adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functi ...

, in an intergender "Singapore Caning" match on May 14, 1994 at

When Worlds Collide ''When Worlds Collide'' is a 1933 science fiction novel co-written by Edwin Balmer and Philip Wylie; they also co-authored the sequel '' After Worlds Collide'' (1934). It was first published as a six-part monthly serial (September 1932 through ...

. After Cairo and Peaches defeated their opponents, Peaches caned The Sandman's

crotch In humans, the crotch is the bottom of the pelvis (the region of the body where the legs join the torso) and is the part of the body that includes the groin and genitals. Etymology ''Crotch'' is derived from ''crutch''; it was first used in 1 ...

until Woman threw

salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

in her eyes, enabling The Sandman to regroup and use his cane on both Cairo and Peaches. The feud led to a "Cane on a Pole" match on June 24, 1994 at Hostile City Showdown that was ruled a No Contest after the cane fell off the pole and The Sandman retrieved a second cane from beneath the ring, and a "Dueling Canes" match on July 16, 1994 at Heat Wave 1994 that was won by The Sandman. In late 1994, The Sandman was once again "blinded" after a lit

cigarette A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into Rolling paper, thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhale ...

was pushed into his eye during an "I Quit" match with

Tommy Dreamer Thomas James Laughlin (born February 13, 1971) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and professional wrestling promotion, promoter better known by the ring name Tommy Dreamer. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestli ...

. The Sandman subsequently claimed that he would have to retire as a result, with Dreamer responding by dedicating the remainder of his career to The Sandman. Cairo began mocking The Sandman, which led to Dreamer heavily beating him in a match on November 5, 1994 at November to Remember 1994. During The Sandman's retirement ceremony, The Sandman reconciled with Peaches (Woman had abandoned him upon his blinding) before revealing that he was not in fact blinded and attacking Dreamer. The Sandman later revealed that his "blinding" had been an elaborate ruse concocted to trick Dreamer into hurting Cairo on his behalf.

Independent circuit (1994–2013)

Cairo left ECW in the mid-1990s. On June 24, 1995 in Williamstown, New Jersey, Cairo defeated Devon Storm in the finals of a tournament for the vacant

NWA North American Heavyweight Championship The NWA North American Heavyweight Championship, also known simply as the NWA North American Championship, was a professional wrestling championship created by the National Wrestling Alliance in 1994 after World Championship Wrestling withdrew fro ...

. He was stripped of the title in 1996 after no-showing a defense, due to the birth of his first child. Between 1996 and 1997 Cairo held the Ultimate Championship Wrestling North American Heavyweight Championship, he wrestled in various matches with the likes of Chris Chavis aka " Tatanka", Bruce Hart, Jim Neidhart, Falcon Coperis. Between 1998 and 2000, Cairo operated the Outlaws of Wrestling promotion in

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

. In the same time period, he appeared with USA Pro Wrestling, winning both the Heavyweight and North American championships. In September 2001, Cairo retired from professional wrestling and began working as an

electrician An electrician is a tradesman, tradesperson specializing in electrical wiring of buildings, transmission lines, stationary machines, and related equipment. Electricians may be employed in the installation of new electrical components or the ...

. In 2007, Cairo returned to wrestling when he, former wrestling radio host Phil Varlese, and wrestlers The White Lotus (Pat Di Giacomo), and Diego DeMarco (James Pilman) opened 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 carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that o ...

and promotion in the

Northeastern United States The Northeastern United States (also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. Located on the East Coast of the United States, ...

known as Force One Pro Wrestling. Force One Pro Wrestling held its inaugural event, "Pledge of Allegiance", on May 19, 2007, in Egg Harbor City, New Jersey, with Cairo, (in his capacity as commissioner) crowning Heavyweight Champion Breaker Morant and Junior Heavyweight Champion White Lotus. In late 2009, Cairo resigned from Force One Pro Wrestling as well, turning the promotion over to Diego DeMarco (James Pilman) & former student turned wrestler Johnny Calzone (John Short), who took the promotion in a different direction, renaming the promotion Force 1 Pro, who ran shows in the same venues as the old Force One. Cairo returned to the business in 2011 with Coastal Pro Wrestling (again with former partner Phil Varlese, and with former NWA official Fred "Richards" Rubenstein). Coastal signed on as a National Wrestling Alliance affiliate, and eventually a licensee, but broke away a year later due to differences with the ownership of the NWA. Cairo eventually split from Coastal after a 2-year run, and ran several shows under the Global 1 Pro Wrestling banner, before leaving the wrestling business again in 2013.

Personal life

Cairo is married to his wife Alba and has two children, Skye and Christian.

Championships and accomplishments

** ECW Pennsylvania Championship ( 1 time) *Eastern States Wrestling / Eastern Shores Wrestling **ESW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *

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 New York Television Championship (1 time) **

( 1 time) *Outlaws of Wrestling **OoW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Richmond Championship Wrestling **RCW North American Championship (1 time) **RCW Television Championship (1 time) *Ultimate Championship Wrestling **UCW North American Heavyweight Championship (1 time) * USA Pro Wrestling ** USA Pro Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Ultimate Wrestling Federation **GWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) *Unified Championship Wrestling **UCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *USA Pro Wrestling **UPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **UPW North American Championship (1 time)

References

External links

ForceOneProWrestling.com
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cairo, Tommy 1958 births American male professional wrestlers Living people Professional wrestlers from Philadelphia People from Tuckerton, New Jersey NWA North American Heavyweight Champions 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century American professional wrestlers 21st-century male professional wrestlers 21st-century American professional wrestlers