James Maritato
|
|
Nunzio.jpg
James Maritato, better known as Little Guido or Nunzio (born 1973) is an American professional wrestler performing for World Wrestling Entertainment on the Smackdown! brand, in its cruiserweight division.
| Contents |
Profile
- Height: 5'6" (167.6 cm)
- Weight: 175lbs (79.4 kg)
- Birthday: March 12, 1972
- Hometown: Queens, New York City, New York
- Trained By: Billy Robinson
- Professional Debut: September 1991
- Previous Identities: Damien Stone, James Stone, Little Guido, Little Guido Maritato
- Previous Manager(s): Tommy Rich
Finishing/Signature Moves
- Arrivederci (Springboard-Armbar Takedown)
- Kiss Of Death (Inverted Double Underhook Facebuster)
- Sicilian Crab (Boston Crab)
- Sicilian Slice (Flying Legdrop Bulldog)
- Side Italian Legsweep (Russian Leg Sweep)
- Middle-Rope Missile Front Dropkick
- Jujigatame
- Fujiwara Armbar
- Wakigatame
Career
In high school, Maritato was an outstanding amateur wrestler from the state of New York. He was trained as a professional by the legendary Billy Robinson and debuted in the early 1990s. Maritato then went to Japan to compete in the shoot style promotion called Union of Wrestling Forces-International. He stayed there until 1995 where he joined Extreme Championship Wrestling. He was packaged as Little Guido and put in the comedy stable called the Full Blooded Italians, alongside a black wrestler (J.T. Smith), an obese wrestler (Val Puccio), and two wrestlers from the southern United States (Tracy Smothers and Tommy Rich).
In 1999, he became a "serious wrestler," although still accompanied by an obese wrestler (Sal E. Graziano). He was involved in some intense singles matches until late 2000, when he formed a tag team with Tony Mamaluke.
Maritato and Mamaluke won the ECW World Tag Team Titles that year and stayed as a team until ECW closed in 2001.
Maritato wrestled for several independent promotions, mostly in the New York Tri-State area until he was signed by WWE in 2002. In the WWE he was a heel to start with and he started the Full Blooded Italians (FBI) group again on Smackdown! along with Johnny "The Bull" Stamboli and Chuck Palumbo. After Wresltemania 20 Palombo was drafted to Raw and it was just him and Stamboli. Later the F.B.I. turned face by siding along with the fans. The F.B.I. broke up after Stamboli left WWE.
Championships/Accomplishments
- 2-time ECW World Tag Team Champion (1-time with Tony Mamaluke, 1-time with Tracy Smothers)
- 1-time USA Pro United States Champion
- 1-time USA Pro Tag Team Champion (with Kid Kruel)
- 1-time Chaotic Wrestling Tag Team Champion (with Luis Ortiz)
External Links
- WWE Profile (http://www.wwe.com/superstars/smackdown/nunzio/profile.jsp)